Writing and Publishing News

I promised you that I’d post a blog entry after the Santa Barbara Author and Book Festival. Here I am. The festival was yesterday. The weather was lovely. The people of Santa Barbara were charming and the SPAWN members who joined us in our large booth were delightful. It was a wonderful day, but it sure wasn’t a very busy day.

Typically, Virginia Lawrence (Executive Director of SPAWN)&#8212that’s Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network&#8212and I are slammed all day long, when we work a book festival. It is nonstop questions about publishing and about SPAWN’s benefits from the minute we arrive until we finally make it back to our cars and close the doors behind us. This book festival was different in that the foot traffic was very light. We talked to maybe only two or three dozen people about publishing and SPAWN. I actually ate my lunch in one sitting&#8212no interruptions.

I notice that the questions from authors and hopeful authors are becoming more sophisticated. This is a good thing, for the most part. It means to me that more people are doing the study that I recommend before getting involved in the publishing industry. Some are still misinformed, however. And that’s a shame. It can prove to be costly and time-consuming for authors when they make decisions based on erroneous information.

Here are some of the questions I got yesterday, “Do you know a good publicist I can hire to help me promote my children’s picture book?”

Well, it’s unlikely that a publicist would take on a picture book or that you would need to pay a publicist to help you promote it.

“Can you recommend an agent for my historical fiction?”

I suggested to this young man that he use the Association of Author Representatives directory at http://www.aar-online.org and search for agents that typically represent books of this type. He can also go to the bookstore and locate the area where his book would most likely be displayed. Look at the “acknowledgements” pages of some of the books and see if these authors thanked their agents. Contact those agents.

“All I’ve received from publishers so far for my memoir are rejection letters. How can I get Simon and Schuster or Random House to give my book a chance?”

I recommended that this elderly woman lower her expectations to a more realistic level and give some of the hundreds and hundreds of smaller publishing houses a chance.

“I want to self publish through a self-publishing company so I don’t have to promote this book.”

I had to break the news to this author that if he wanted a successful book, he would be required to do the majority of the promotion no matter what publishing option he chose. I also told him that he would have more freedom and control and receive more of the profits if he self-published&#8212established his own publishing company.

Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me? You can do so by using the Comments function at this blog site. Or email me at PLFry620@yahoo. Be sure to order your copy of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and get all of your writing/publishing/book promotion questions answered in one fell swoop. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

At SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) we heard from a member this week, who is trying to get out of her publishing contract and start fresh with her book. Why? Her POD “self-publishing” company put such a high price tag on her book that she is having trouble selling it and she has no profit leeway for working with bookstores. She doesn’t get much more than exposure when she reserves a booth at book festivals, either. By the time she pays the high price to purchase copies of her book, the price of renting a booth at the festival, gas, lunch and so forth, it often costs her for the experience.

So this author plans to end her partnership with the POD and self-publish her book. By this, I mean, she will establish her own publishing company. She’ll put up the money to have it printed, but now she can set her book price and she will get to keep all of the profits. She will now be able to afford to rent space at book festivals and deal with bookstores. Instead of paying something like $15.00 for each of around 1,000 books (when you figure the cost of producing the book through the POD company and the price she pays for each book), it will cost her around $5.00 each for the same number of books.

This is something you might want to think about before you choose your publishing option. While it seems nice and easy to have a company overseeing the production details of your book and one that will simply send you copies when you need them, think about the expense and the limitations. And beware of the publishing contract with a fee-based POD “self-publishing” company. Some of them tie you into the contract for months and years beyond what is ultimately comfortable. You might decide that you want more freedom with your book, but you have to wait out the contract with the POD before you can break away.

Be informed. Be aware. Know what you’re doing before you sign any publishing contract. Understand all of the innuendos and possible ramifications. You know this is good advice. This is exactly how you would behave if you were buying a car or a house. When you’re shopping for a new TV, computer or piece of expensive jewelry, you make certain that you understand the contract, that the contract doesn’t infringe upon your right to use the produce or wear it freely. You are clear about the item you are purchasing. Why is it that, in the world of publishing, so many authors go with their emotions instead of their heads?

One SPAWN member, a few weeks ago, was trying to get out of a contract with a distributor who had out and out lied to him when he signed on the dotted line. He believed them when they said they had a relationship with a particular agency and would be able to sell hundreds of copies of books to them. It wasn’t in the contract, but this is what they told the author. $3,000 later&#8212that is, $3,000 out of the author’s pocket&#8212the big deal the company spoke of did not occur and sales were dismal to say the least. This author contacted the agency in question and they said that they knew nothing about this distributor and had never heard a word from them.

If you are facing decisions related to your book project, STOP! Turn off the emotions (the desire to see your “baby” in print, the yearning to be a published author, the excitement of receiving royalty checks) and think.

• If you don’t understand the contract solicit a neutral party who can explain it.
• Do not believe any claims anyone tells you if it is not written into the contract.
• If the contract isn’t to your liking, negotiate for what you want.
• Don’t settle. Publishing is a big expense, responsibility and commitment.

If I have saved one author from making a big publishing mistake with this warning blog entry, I am a happy teacher.

Which publishing option is right for you and for your project? If you’re not sure, consult with someone who has been around the publishing block a few times. Read books like The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. If you have a copy of this book, sit down and read it today. If you haven’t ordered your copy, yet, do so NOW. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

If you have a book that isn’t doing well in the marketplace, perhaps I can help. Purchase my ebook, The Author’s Repair Kit. It is designed to help you breathe new life into your failing book. http://www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html

Every time I check my web traffic, I am amazed to discover how many people frequent this blog. I get around 25,000 hits every month. That’s not huge, I guess, in the scheme of things, but it pleases me. It means that at least some authors and freelance writers are “hearing” bits and pieces of information and, possibly, collecting resources that they need in order to succeed in the publishing field. That does my heart good.

I just wish that more hopeful authors would do a thorough job of research before they shift from writer to published author. I wish they would take off their writers’ hat much earlier in the process and start gearing up for the wild ride into the world of publishing.

It doesn’t take a college degree to become a published author, but maybe this should be a requirement. However, it does take knowledge in order to successfully navigate the publishing industry. I think that those of you who dove right into the world of publishing still wearing your writers’ hat will agree that wasn’t the wisest move you’ve ever made.

With your emotions and hopes running high (I mean, you’ve just finished writing the book of your dreams), you launch out on the Internet to locate yourself a publisher. Wow! Look at that!! You found a great sounding publisher on your first try. All you did was type in “publisher,” and several of them came up. Which one should you choose? First, let’s play it smart and check out their websites. Oh, this one charges only $999 to publish your book. Hey that’s a bargain&#8212no fuss and no muss. They do it all for you.

You hesitate only briefly and then fill out the form on the website and submit your manuscript.

They accepted it? You’re thrilled. Your dream is about to come true. You will be published. And the folks at the publishing company seem so very nice. They even offer to get your book into bookstores and it won’t cost all that much more to purchase the returnable policy—what about $800?

Then comes the day when you receive your precious book in the mail. What’s this? There’s a spelling error on the cover. And it isn’t a very attractive cover at that&#8212not at all what you expected. But it’s your book. You are published. You can go to any bookstore in the U.S. and you’ll see your book there on the shelf.

“What?” you say. You have to buy your own books? What was that $999 fee for? Well, at least you didn’t pay $3,000 like the author you talked to the other day did.

It’s a few months later and you’ve visited several local bookstores. Your book is not there. Your friends and family in other states are checking their bookstores, too. Nothing. The bookstore manager you talked to doesn’t know anything about your title. Uncle George, a retired attorney, reads your publishing contract and explains that the publisher doesn’t say the books will be in bookstores, only that they will be available to bookstores nationwide. He explains that this means if someone comes to the publisher asking for a book like yours, he will tell them about your book.

You attempt to place your book in local bookstores on your own. The independents will take them, but the discount is so deep and your initial cost of the book so steep that you can’t afford to sell books that way.

You sign up for a book festival&#8212reserve a booth with a group of other authors. You have trouble getting copies of your books to take to the booth with you. And, again, you figure out that you’re making no money because you have to pay so much to purchase your books and then there’s the cost of booth space. And several people tell you that the price on your book is awfully high. You check around and discover that this is so. Why did the publisher decide to charge so much for the book? There’s no way you can make money on this book except for those books the publisher sells. You get “royalties” on those books. The problem is, almost a year has passed and he hasn’t sold any books, yet.

Now, you know something about the publishing industry. You know that you made one huge mistake in not learning more about it, about your options and about your responsibilities as a published author BEFORE you ventured into the highly competitive publishing business.

Those of you who are writing a book, thinking about writing a book or who have just finished a book, stop!!! Before you write another word and before you click Google in search of a publisher, read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Read it from cover to cover. Join writers and publishers organizations with a learning mindset. Read this blog often. Become a sponge. Scrutinize every option and every opportunity. Make your publishing decisions based on knowledge, not emotions.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

This book is also available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble Bookstores.