Writing and Publishing News

I get that question sometimes and am always at a loss for a succinct answer. I’ve written a lot of books of all types in all sizes and they all take different lengths of time to complete. It also depends on what else is going on in my life during the time I’m working on a book.

It took me five years to write the Ojai history book back in the early 80s. That includes the research period, writing, self-editing…And I wrote that book on a typewriter. When I decided to revise and reprint it, we had to type the original into the computer.

I just finished all but the fine-tuning of a 90,000-word book for a publisher this week. This book took me two months to write.

People ask me how I’ve had time to write 45 books over the past 40 years. What they don’t seem to realize is that writing is all I do. I don’t come home from work and write for a few hours or write when I feel the inspiration. My work is my writing and my writing is my work and has been for all of these years.

But there was a time when I had a real job outside the home. I wrote a book in 8 months while working full-time. How? I got up every morning at 4 and wrote for two hours before work. I also wrote on weekends.

How long does it take you to complete a writing assignment? Are you working on a book? How much time do you spend every day or week? How’s it going for you?

What I find amusing and a little sad is that most authors spend months or years writing their books. When they finish, they are so eager to see it in print that they rush blindly into publishing without shifting gears. Now they’re in a big hurry to get the book published and most of them make some costly mistakes.

If you’re writing a book—fiction or nonfiction—I suggest that you write a book proposal early on. You may or may not end up sending it to a publisher. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you—the author—develop a business plan. As the CEO of your book, it is your responsibility to prepare yourself to make a smooth transition from the creativity of writing your book to the business of publishing it.

Publishing is not an extension of your writing. It takes a very different mindset and skills. The best way to prepare for the transition from writer to successful published author is to:

• Study the publishing industry—read books such as Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author by Patricia Fry (Allworth Press)
• Write a book proposal. This book gives you detailed instructions for doing so.

And take it easy. Don’t rush into something you know little about. The first item that appears during an Internet search for publishers is not necessarily the best option for you and for your project. You’ll likely experience greater success if you follow this timeline:

• Go ahead and write your book.
• At the same time, study the publishing industry.
• Write a book proposal in order to learn if your book is truly a good idea, how it will fit into the market place, what you have and what you need in order to represent your book in the market place, and how you will promote it.
• Once the book is completed, hire a good book editor.
• Begin your pursuit for a publisher or a publishing option. Take it slow. Do your homework, and you’ll surely make better decisions.

When did you first realize that you would have to be the marketing agent for your book? At what point in your book project did you become aware of your responsibility in promoting it? For some authors, it’s not until after publication. You finally hold your much awaited book in your hands and quickly prepare for an onslaught of sales.

Some of you set up your own merchant accounts. Others need only assign a bank account number to accept royalty checks. But where’s the money? You wonder, when will the wealth catch up with you? It’s not until you notice that your books aren’t selling that some of you realize something’s not right.

That’s when you join a writers’ group, search the Internet for even a smidge of professional wisdom, or associate yourself with publishing organizations in hopes of learning where you went wrong.

I’ve been writing and publishing books for nearly forty years—my first one having been accepted by a New York publisher in 1978. I established my own publishing company in 1983 and I currently have 45 books to my credit. I’ve learned a few things along the publishing path. One of them is that no one will buy a book they don’t know exists and it is up to the author to get the word out about their books.

When should an author begin the marketing process? Way before his book is a book. In order to succeed in a fiercely competitive publishing industry, you must understand your responsibilities as a published author early in the process of producing a book. That’s why I (and many of my colleagues) have attempted to reach authors even before they start writing their books in order to educate them as to what’s ahead.

Most authors, however, don’t read articles in writing and publishing-related magazines and ezines before they publish. They avoid getting involved in writing groups. They may not ever attend a writers’ conference, workshop, or lecture on publishing and book marketing. Many of them focus solely on writing their books and keep distractions such as these at bay.

Sadly, this author finds a way to publish his book and there he sits, an author without an audience—no readers in sight—and he wonders why.

If you’re reading this before you’ve published your book, good for you. You have the opportunity to prepare for the challenges ahead. You can start now studying what the publishing industry is all about, your publishing options and your responsibilities as a published author.

The fact is that it is up to the author to promote his or her book. And this responsibility begins with the book idea. Are you writing a book that is needed/wanted by a segment of readers? Is there an audience for your book? Are you writing in a popular genre that is selling? Are you bringing something new to the table with your nonfiction book? Can you actually write well enough to engage readers once they purchase your book? Before you can adequately promote a book, it must be a viable product.

Start today thinking of your book as a product. Identify your audience and keep that audience in mind throughout the writing of the book. Don’t write for you—to please yourself with some fancy prose. Write for a specific readership.

And this is just a start. To be continued in the next post.

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http://www.patriciafry.com

I heard a surprising statistic this week. Ninety percent of businesses in America fail. I was shocked at first and then I remembered the recent statistic saying that nearly eighty percent of books fail in the marketplace. Now that statistic began to make sense. When you decide to publish a book, you are entering a fiercely competitive business with a product.

Some of those products and their producers aren’t quite ready for commerce. Authors typically consider publishing just a natural transition. They treat publishing like an extension of their writing.

It’s likely that other people entering into various businesses make the same mistake. They bring with them a desire, maybe a product and a few ideas, but little business savvy. They try to enter into the world of business without enough information, knowledge and the right kind of skills. Authors, for example, remain in writing/creative mode when they should adopt a business mindset.

We can’t all be high-powered businessmen and women. We don’t all have the drive and the aptitude. But the ordinary author (hobbyist, inventor, idea-person) who is high on passion and serious about learning, can succeed in business to the degree that he or she desires. It all starts with a viable product (great idea), knowledge and hard work.

Most adults eventually realize that nothing comes from nothing. In other words, dreams don’t just occur, they must be embraced, nurtured and sought-after. It is our personal responsibility to foster our ideas, our dreams, our books projects, and this means stepping outside our comfort zones to make things happen.

Are things happening in your life? Do you have a book in mind or in your hand? Are you happy with the way things are going? If not, examine how you are pursuing your dream—with your arms folded across your chest and your chin set, defying the universe to bring you success? Or are you reaching out, seeking opportunities to learn and to grow and expressing gratitude for each small gift?

A blog can be many things—a place to share, a teaching tool, a resource center, and more. Sometimes we use our blogs to vent—to rant and complain. Today, I’d like to vent a little while also providing some gentle advice. (Although some of you may view this as a slap in the face.)

You’ve heard (read) me and others say over and over again that when you decide to enter into the world of publishing, in order to be successful, you must do so from a professional perspective. While writing is a craft, publishing is a seriously competitive business. Once you  become published and begin the rely on, work with and otherwise communicate with publishers, agents, publicists, organization leaders and so forth, you should do so with as much professionalism as you can muster.

What does this mean? Actually, many things. Here’s my short list:

• Check and double/triple check every email, blog post, article, written interview, inquiry, query letter, request, book proposal, etc. before sending it. There is nothing that reveals a lack of professionalism as clearly as carelessness in what you write.
• Take responsibility! By this I mean when you agree to participate in an interview or another activity designed to promote your book, for example, keep good records and follow through as promised and within the deadline. Don’t whine, become needy and make excuses for your repeated shortcomings and mistakes.
• Carefully manage your business and if you can’t handle it, hire someone who can keep track of the dates and requirements for your commitments, manage your emails so you can reference them when needed, and so forth.

Sure you’re busy. We all are. And certainly, things happen—you lose or misplace an email or note. You forget a deadline. You are confused about instructions and need assistance. But it is oh-so unprofessional when you keep sloppy records, get lazy and refuse to search for the information you’ve been sent and then ask the interviewer or organizer to backtrack and reiterate pertinent information or instructions.

A real pet peeve of mine is the individual who emails me with a question and then neglects to even check their email for days or even weeks. A few weeks later, he or she contacts me again asking for the same information. This is a good way to disrespect someone who is trying to assist you. Don’t you know that sometimes they have spent a good deal of their time to accommodate you? And you don’t have the courtesy to take responsibility on your end? Unprofessional, indeed.

Sure, I’m aware that everyone is writing books these days. A published book makes you an author even when you pay someone to produce your book and no matter whether you’re the CEO of a large company, homemaker, retired factory worker or telemarketer. Obviously, authorship does not a professional make. But every author should consider him or herself the CEO of their book and come out of the publishing gate with a professional persona.

Again let me say: publishing is a business. Most of the people you’ll be dealing with once you are a published author are professional people in their fields or positions, whether they are

publishers/agents, organization leaders or in businesses that support publishing and book promotion. I have to say that most of the people I meet and work with are wonderfully responsible and reliable, but those needy ones can sure be energy-draining. Just look at how much time these people took from me this morning by eliciting this rant.

Okay, the next blog post should cover how to shield yourself from the negativity from unprofessional, unreliable, irresponsible authors. I may or may not write it. Stay tuned. And leave your comments, if you dare.

There are a couple of ways for authors to accomplish things. You can learn to do it all. And I know authors who can, who do, or who try to. Or you can hire some of the work done.

What are the tasks I’m referring to? Well, there’s the writing of the book. Some hopeful authors lack the basic skill to write a cogent book. They and need help actually putting the story or material together.

Most of us need to hire a cover designer. And all authors should engage pre-publication readers and hire an editor and/or proofreader.

While many authors make it their business and their responsibility to learn the ins and outs of technology, others must employ help to have their book prepared for Kindle or to work with a printer or book manufacturer, for example.

There are two schools of thought on this topic. While some authors want total control of their projects—they resist relying on someone else—others don’t want to be bothered with the learning curve. They avoid getting involved in things that take them away from the writing.

Some authors even refuse to do their own promotion. They bring their book to fruition and then drop the ball. Some authors go in search of an individual who believes in their book as much as the author does and who will represent it with gusto. And where are they going to find this person? Even a large chunk of money can’t always buy someone’s blind devotion and dedication to a book they didn’t pen—that they have no emotional attachment to.

There are some excellent publicists and publicity companies. The thing that authors don’t understand is that many of these individual’s efforts and activities depend on the author’s participation. It’s rare (if not impossible) for an author to sell large quantities of his or her book without putting a lot of time, energy and effort behind it.

When you set out to produce that novel or nonfiction book, do yourself and your project a giant favor. Learn what the publishing industry is all about. Understand that you are not simply writing a book that will sell by the millions without your involvement. Publishing is a business. As an author, you must consider yourself a businessman or woman from the moment you sit down at the keyboard to create your masterpiece.

Tomorrow, we’ll discuss why writing for publication is not just another creative process.

So you’ve written a book. You worked long and hard on the story, theme or educational value of your book, and you’ve edited it over and over again. Your one expectation is that readers will appreciate all of the thought and effort you poured into this book. You want your message to resonate with readers in a meaningful way whether it is informational/educational or pure entertainment. You want your book to make a difference. What you don’t want is criticism.

But I have to tell you, you cannot put yourself out there in any way, shape or form without attracting some criticism. Your job is to identify the source and intent of the criticism. Not always easy. It’s important, however, that you listen and learn when there’s definite value to your project and disregard those comments that appear to be sour grapes.

How do you determine when a seriously negative review is from a delusional knucklehead or an astute critic? The wrong approach is to disregard all bad reviews. Another wrong approach is to believe all bad reviews or all good reviews, for that matter. Here’s my rule-of-thumb:

• If the reviewer gives reasons for disliking your book, take a look at these issues and determine whether they are valid. Consider making changes. If the negative comment or suggestion is made by more than one reviewer, this could be a beautiful gift in disguise. Pay attention.
• If the reviewer rambles on negatively about one scene or one resource or fact, and no one else mentions this, you probably touched a personal nerve with this individual. I’d disregard it.
• If the reviewer is obviously somewhat illiterate, you probably can’t take his or her opinion too seriously.
• If the reviewer admits he or she doesn’t generally read books in this genre, they may not be the best reviewer for your book as they may not understand the genre.

Remember that the majority of people filter the material or stories they read through their own personal life experiences and belief system. So, when you promote your book to the masses, even within a particular theme or genre, you will generate a wide variety of opinions. The more reviews you get, the wider the scope of opinions.

One area of critique that I highly recommend you heed is when it comes to typos and other errors. I’ve reviewed books that were riddled with errors. When I notice that the main character’s name changes throughout the book, the author misspells words, punctuation is messed up, there are words missing or extra words and typos throughout, for example, I will not write a review. I will contact the author and strongly urge them to pull the book immediately and hire a proofreader and/or editor.

So that’s another way to encourage positive reviews or to cut down on negative ones. Produce the best product you possibly can by making sure you have dotted all of your i’s and crossed all of your t’s.

Upcoming Newsletter for Authors

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Contact Patricia Fry here: PLFry620@yahoo.com