Writing and Publishing News

I meet and hear from many authors who are on the verge of quitting—giving up on their book.

“It’s too hard.”

“I’ve done everything I possibly can and my book’s still not selling.”

“I don’t want to go out and talk about my book, commit to a blog and all that.”

Generally, I try to help these authors by teaching basic book marketing concepts—helping them adopt a more realistic perspective about book promotion, identifying their audience, and finding ways to approach them. I encourage authors to keep on keeping on. But I wonder if this is always wise.

I’ve spent decades trying to reach authors before they make the huge publishing commitment. I’ve spoken to them at numerous writers conferences and I’ve produced several books and written hundreds and hundreds of articles for the magazines and newsletters they should be reading prior to entering into the highly competitive business of publishing. Some hopeful authors refuse to believe what I and others tell them and they forge ahead anyway, thinking their experience will be different.

Most authors today fail. They come out of the starting gate gung-ho—focused on winning the race, but soon learn that they haven’t brought their best game. They may know the rules, but choose not to follow them. They are focused on one things—the prize—the end result of their dreams. But they neglect to do the work and gain the knowledge they need in order to make it happen. They end up with a contender that isn’t up to the competition and unrealistic expectations. Of course, their plan fizzles.

This doesn’t have to be the end of the story for the author. He can definitely redeem himself. If he has the courage and the stamina, he can stop his forward motion, put the book on the shelf for a while and go back to square one. Study the publishing industry. Learn the important first steps to a successful product:

• Write the right book for the right audience—a book that is wanted or needed by a segment of people. This means identify your audience.
• Think about your readers while writing the book—write promotion into it.
• Early on, study the concept of book promotion and start making a plan—the best methods of reaching and engaging your particular audience.
• Hire a qualified editor before turning loose of your book.

Or you can quit. Maybe authorship is not for you. Certainly it’s to your benefit to determine this before putting out a chunk of money and devoting weeks, months, or years to your project.

If you’ve entered the publishing arena and you’re discouraged about your book’s progress, take time now to study the publishing industry. If you are just thinking about writing a book—the wisest step you could take is to read my book before moving forward.

Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. And don’t forget to follow up with Promote Your Book, Over 250 Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. By Patricia Fry http://www.matilijapress.com or at Amazon.com

If you want to know about rejection, ask an author—any author. Others may see authors as confident, successful, and living a charmed life. What the casual observer doesn’t see is the constant rejection from editors, publishers, reviewers, even readers. (Even though the majority of readers may love the book, there are always those who are have a different opinion.)

Non-writers don’t know about the time and energy spent trying to identify and locate the right publisher, promotional opportunity, and audience. They don’t understand the stress and work that goes into creating the perfect avenue of communication designed to engage these entities. They aren’t aware how many times in a week or even a day our attempts to be published and/or our promotional efforts are rejected or ignored.

But this is only true of those who work consistently and work hard. Hats off to those who put a lot of energy and effort into their publishing ventures. Only there’s one more element that might make life easier for authors—and that is to also work smart.

I think most of us waste a lot of time. We tend to disregard unfamiliar activities—those that make us feel uncomfortable. We get discouraged and consider quitting. We say “no” when we should say “yes” to opportunities. I know authors who won’t go out and speak to groups, even though their book is highly conducive to this type of promotion. Some authors refuse to establish a web presence. They rely on their publisher to market their book. Any reader, bookstore owner, radio or podcast host, blogger, magazine editor, etc. who wants to tout the book can’t easily reach this author. Just think of the opportunities missed. And plenty of authors can’t or won’t think outside the box, which is essential in this publishing climate.

Sure, we should follow the footsteps of successful authors with projects similar to ours, but we must also break new ground when the old ways aren’t working. Creativity, for a successful author, doesn’t end when the writing is done.

It’s not easy going from homemaker, executive, retiree, doctor, librarian, teacher, factory worker, etc., to author. It may look easy from the outside, but publishing is a highly complex business that one, if you are to experience success, must prepare for.

Let me introduce my series of books to get you started or to give you a boost toward the success you hope to attain.

• Publish You Book
• Propose Your Book
• Promote Your Book
• Talk Up Your Book

All are available at Amazon in print, ebook, and audio and at Allworth Press. allworth.com

Authors often contact me after their book is published and say, “Help! My book isn’t selling. What’s wrong?”

What’s wrong is that the author didn’t consider sales before deciding to write the book. Sure, he probably imagined his books flying off the shelves at bookstores and being delivered to homes and businesses all over the world via millions of Amazon drones. But what he didn’t do was fill in the blanks in the middle—between the imagination and reality. I tell authors that book promotion is a frame of mind. It’s a mindset more than a happenstance. It depends on the author more than most will admit because most authors are focused on writing what they need to write, feel is important to write, or simply want to write.

A large and growing percentage of books in the marketplace today fail and the main reason is the author’s frame of mind. He looks at his book project as a creative endeavor instead of a business venture. He sees publishing as the end of his responsibility—“Okay, my book’s published. I’ve accomplished my goal.” They don’t realize that publishing is only the beginning of a very long journey into the world of publicity and promotion—that is, if he wants to sell those books he’s produced.

Let’s back up the pony for a minute. Yes, for the most part, the process of promotion comes after publishing. But I maintain that marketing and promotion should be foremost in the thoughts and plans of the author before he ever starts writing that book. This is the point where you—the author—need to be asking:

• Why do I want to write this book?
• What is the purpose of this book?
• Is there a need or desire for this particular book?
• Who is the audience for this book and how many readers does this comprise?
• What’s the best way to approach my audience?
• Do I have the skills to promote this book to this audience? If not, am I willing to hone those skills?

I suggest to authors that they are the CEO of their book and should think like one from the very germ of the book idea. What, exactly, do I suggest an author do? First, realize that when it comes to book promotion one size does not fit all. However, there are some steps all hopeful authors should take:

• Study the publishing industry so you have a bit of a handle on what to expect. Way too many authors enter into the publishing world with warped expectations and, too often, no concept of the realities. My book, “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author” is a good place to start the study I suggest.
• Write a book proposal. This will guide you in determining if your book idea is actually a good idea, who your audience is, and the best way to reach them once your book is a book.
• Write for your audience, not for you.

Authors often ask me to tell them in 100 words or less how to generate more sales. What they don’t understand is that book promotion is not a cookie-cutter proposition. It’s personal to the project and the author. It is important that the author keep his readers in mind throughout the writing process. If the book is nonfiction, is it organized logically, are the steps and instructions written clearly, does it cover every aspect of the topic in a cohesive manner? For fiction, does your story flow, are you staying true to your characters and the theme/genre of your book, will your readers be able to follow the storyline?

So the way the book is written is actually the first step in promoting that book. It’s part of your plan to write the right book for the right audience. Once your book is finished, the next phase of promotion kicks in—understanding that a book that no one knows about will not sell and that it is up to you to know who your audience is and how to approach them. For more on book promotion, read my book, “Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.” And remember that my goal and those of other professionals is to guide you in taking charge of your business venture (your book project) because you are the CEO of your book.

Questions? PLFry620@yahoo.com