Writing and Publishing News

Do you know how to use an index? I can hear many of you chuckle at the thought of any adult who completed college or even high school not using an index. But I meet people all the time who don’t even know the difference between a table of contents and an index. You’ll notice that I clarified the differences in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. I also describe and explain the foreword, epilogue, glossary, preface and so forth (pages 188-192 of the 2007 edition).

For those of you who have been out of school for a long time and who don’t typically use nonfiction books as research tools, the table of contents introduces the chapters in an organized manner in the front of the book. The index (or subject index) is a more detailed alphabetical list of key words related to the subject/theme of the book. The table of contents generally gives chapter titles and, sometimes, subheads. But the index breaks the book down into minute subjects. You might read the chapter in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, called, “How to Approach and Work With an Agent or a Publisher,” or “The Self-Publishing Option,” but you want to know more about locating an intellectual properties attorney, soliciting library sales or how to write a query letter. This is when you go to the index at the back of the book. Here, you’ll find around 600 alphabetized entries and many hundreds of sub-entries on subjects from getting permissions to word count; from how to have a successful book signing to how to promote a novel; from newspaper directories to research techniques; from advances to book trailers.

I have authors contact me every week asking me questions that are clearly outlined in The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Yes, many of these folks own this book. They spent $19.95 to purchase it in order to learn how to write the right book for the right audience, write a book proposal, choose the best publishing option for their project, understand their responsibility as an author, plan their marketing strategy, work with distributors and all else that goes with becoming a successful author. It’s all there, yet, they email me in desperation asking, “Do I need a book proposal for a novel?” “Should I send my manuscript to a publisher before the final edit?” “How do I determine the genre of my book?” “What’s the best way to locate an agent?”

Sure, you can’t remember everything that you’ve read in a 340-page book—especially one that goes into as much detail on important topics as The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. And that’s why I designed it to be a reference book that authors can use forevermore. The index, of course, is part of that plan; as is the Resource List on pages 302-315.

The next time you have a question on a topic related to publishing or authorship, reach across your desk and grab your copy of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Thumb through the index and see if you can locate the answer. If not, of course, contact me. I’ll be glad to help: PLFry620@yahoo.com. To order your copy of this 5-star book, go to http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html or http://www.amazon.com

Are you just about ready to hire an editor for your manuscript? This is something you’ll definitely want to do before you publish your book or before you start showing it around to publishers.

And as I’ve said before, choose an editor who is accustomed to working with book manuscripts. The retired professor who attends your church is probably a very smart guy, but, if he isn’t involved in the publishing industry and if he’s unaccustomed to working with book manuscripts, he might not be the sort of editor you need. Your coworker might be brilliant in her job as ad writer for the company, but does she understand book editing?

How do you go about finding an appropriate and qualified editor? Word of mouth is usually fairly valid. Search out websites, follow up on editors and consultants whose articles and/or blogs you’ve read. Look at books they’ve edited. Ask for references and follow up on them. And get an evaluation and estimate from potential editors. Most editors will look at your manuscript, evaluate a portion of it (offer some idea about the types of problems they see and will correct) and give you an estimate.

How much will it cost? Depending on the scope and size of your project and the amount of editing it needs, you will pay anywhere from $400 to as much as $6,000 for a good editor. My clients generally pay between $800 and $2,000. Again, however, it depends on the shape and size of the manuscript and the client’s needs.

Once you’ve made your choice, it’s time to start establishing a working relationship with your editor. It sometimes takes time for a workable relationship to emerge through the egos, hopes, dreams and getting acquainted/learning to understand one another process. The process sometimes resembles a sparring match of sorts&#8212only in a reaching out/probing sort of way. Sometimes the working relationship is a match and other times it isn’t. When you’re still in the getting acquainted phase, it’s okay to question and express concerns. Your editor understands that your book is very dear to your heart. You’ve put a lot of work into it. It may be your passion, in which case the manuscript represents a lot of heart and thought. It isn’t easy to let go of any part of it for any length of time. This is a difficult transition period for you. And working with a publisher is going to be difficult, too because most of them will make a lot of changes&#8212usually to the title and sometimes to the content, as well.

When you turn your manuscript over to an editor, this may be the first time you’ve let it go&#8212that you’ve dared to show it to anyone. It’s a scary moment&#8212what if the editor blasts it, tells you it is terrible, says that you can’t write worth a darn? Well, most likely this won’t happen. In fact, the worst that could happen is that the editor may recommend that you look for another editor who would be more familiar with this genre or your writing style.

He or she might suggest some creative writing courses. I’ve seen manuscripts that weren’t quite ready for editing and I typically suggest to these authors that they join a good writing critique group and let the members help them to put the finishing touches on their books. A hopeful author might need help showing the story&#8212allowing it to happen rather than forcing it to happen. They may require assistance with sentence structure.

Sure, an editor can assist with these things, but if the author lacks some basic skills, this can be quite an expensive and possibly useless process for the author. I think it’s best that an author learn the basics and begin to apply them before approaching an editor. A writers’ critique group can be very helpful to the author who is willing to work hard and learn.

At the editor’s discretion, she might offer to work with you one-on-one in order to help you get your manuscript in better shape before the editing begins. I will sometimes work with a client on sentence structure, dialog, smoother transitions or creating imagery, for example and then send him back to the drawing board before I start the editing work. I once suggested that an author tell her complicated, rather sordid story as fiction rather than a memoir. And I recommended to another author that he give his manuscript a stronger self-help element instead of making it simply informational. In these cases, the authors did extensive rewriting before bringing their work to me for editing.

In situations like these, not only does the client discover some techniques he can use forevermore, this is a great opportunity for us to learn to work together.

When you approach an editor with your manuscript, you are hiring someone with knowledge, skills and opinions. Be open to his or her suggestions. But remember that you have the final say. You don’t have to take the editor’s advice. I would strongly urge you to seriously consider it before dismissing it, however. The editing phase of your manuscript is an excellent time to practice detaching from your project. Maintain an emotional attachment to your project while trying to work with an editor, agent or publisher and you might just spoil your chances of success.

For information about self-editing, choosing and working with an editor and everything else you need to know about publishing, read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway

As authors or freelance writers, we tend to focus on the agent, publisher or editor when we’re writing a book or an article. We fret, “Will he like this style, this format, the way I’ve handled the dialog?” We worry, “Will she appreciate my attempt at suspense? Is this well-organized? What will she think about the way I ended the story?”

Certainly, the agent’s, publisher’s and editor’s opinions matters—in fact, they matter a lot. But I believe that you can work your way into these gatekeepers’ good graces by thinking of your readers first.

I notice that my clients and students sometimes stress over such things as, vocabulary&#8212using words and expressions designed to impress a publisher, for example. Some of them are so concerned with explaining their premise or their story that they miss the important things, such as clarity, flow and readability. Authors and freelance writers are often so concerned with what they think the publisher or editor wants or needs from them that they actually misrepresent their projects in their query letters or book proposals. I find that if I can convince my students and clients to think about their readers when describing their project or even writing it, they have a much better manuscript, proposal or query letter to offer an agent, publisher or editor.

I’d like to propose an exercise today. Pick up the project you’re currently working on. It might be a query letter, the synopsis for your book proposal or an article or book manuscript. Look at it from the reader’s viewpoint. Pretend that you are a random reader and peruse it&#8212scrutinize it&#8212from this point of view. I’d love to receive your report after giving this experiment a try. Here’s what I want to know:

• How did it feel to look at your project from this angle?
• What did you get out of this experience? What did you learn about your project?
• Can you see how viewing your work from the reader’s perspective can greatly enhance your presentation to an agent or publisher?
• What changes will you be making to your project after this realization?
• How will the results of this experiment affect your way of writing from now on?

Contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com. Or leave a comment here at my blog site.

For more exercises, tips, techniques and hard facts, be sure to order your copy of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and The Author’s Workbook. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

I’m sure you’ve heard about the 17 teens in Massachusetts who made a pact to get pregnant. This sounds like an irresponsible thing to do, doesn’t it? Well, you see a similar irresponsibility among hopeful authors. Just this morning, my Google Alert noted a blog post by someone who was encouraging others to write books just because it was fun.

Certainly, having a child before you understand the responsibilities of parenthood is a more serious decision as it involves an innocent life. But I can’t help noticing similarities in some authors&#8212those who decide to write a book for the wrong reasons, for example, and then go blindly into publishing.

There are responsibilities in authorship, as well. As an author, you have a responsibility to your readers to provide a good story or a well-written self-help or informational book, for example. And you are responsible for promoting your book no matter what publishing option you choose.

A pregnant woman has nine months to prepare for parenthood. Most couples spend a great deal of that time studying baby magazines, talking to others with babies, shopping for the safest equipment and the most comfortable, convenient clothing and discussing issues of parenthood with their physicians.

It takes an average of four and a half months (eighteen work weeks or 725 hours) to write a typical nonfiction book. Most authors don’t have the luxury of 40-hour weeks and they spend a year or more writing. Few of them use any of that time studying the publishing industry. One day they simply emerge from their writing room and announce, “I’ve just written a book and now I’m going to have it published.” They rush blindly into the foreign, highly competitive world of publishing without even a hint of knowledge. How irresponsible is that? How self-defeating is that? This is part of the reason for the high failure rates among authors. At last tally, approximately 75 percent of books in print in 2006 sold fewer than 100 copies.

So what are the answers? For teenagers and others who are not prepared for parenthood, take precautions against pregnancy. For hopeful authors who simply must write that book, start studying the publishing industry from day one. Read books that are outstanding within the industry. This includes books by Ross (publishing), Jud (book promotion), Poynter (self-publishing), Levine (fee-based POD publishing companies) and myself (Fry). My hallmark book is an all-around reference book and teaching tool for anyone who plans to write or is in the process of writing a book. This book gives you your options and guides you in making the best choices for your particular project. Order your copy of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book TODAY at http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

If you are writing a book, read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book this summer and you will have a more well-written book to present to an editor before publication. Almost all of my clients make the same editorial mistakes and then pay me to fix them. If they’d read my Chapter 9&#8212″Get Ready, Get Set, Write,” they would have saved time and money.

Many of my clients don’t have a clue as to what to do once their book is completed. They don’t know their publishing options, the possible consequences of their choices or their responsibility as a published author. Most haven’t even heard of a book proposal. Those who have read my book and who took it seriously, have used my Chapters 4 through 7 to devise a book proposal. They are prepared to write a book that is needed and that will probably sell as opposed to one without an audience or a promotions plan.

Don’t be a clueless hopeful author who will surely fail. Be smart. Enter the world of publishing with the one thing that will practically guarantee your success&#8212knowledge. And start by studying and continuously referencing The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html