Writing and Publishing News

I’m off to speak to a group of writers this morning.

I love my work. I’ve discovered over the years that if you choose to exercise all of the possibilities within the writing/publishing realm, there’s such variety of things to enjoy. I’m sure this is true of many professions. You can choose to sort buttons in a warehouse all of your life or you can also learn how to select the buttons that will sell that season, find out where they are available, travel to exotic places to purchase them, explore different ways to display and promote buttons, establish a sales route and go in person to sell the buttons, give demonstrations for ways to use the buttons, learn to sew, design clothing and other items using buttons, teach sewing and crafts using buttons and/or come up with new markets for buttons—button art, for example. Pretty soon, you are designing buttons from your mansion and traveling worldwide with your wares.

Does this scenario resonate with you at all? Do you see how you can develop a more interesting, challenging life just by expanding on the topic of your book, for example? Maybe you wrote a young adult fantasy and paid to have it published. Don’t stop there. If you enjoy writing and you love the story you created and your characters, take your interest to other levels. How?

• Go on a book tour—arrange book parties at interesting bookstores and other venues where you can meet your readers. Have fun with these—hire magicians, involve the audience in acting out scenes from the book, etc.

• Write short stories for fantasy and young adult publications.

• Establish a national fantasy book club or organization.

• Teach fantasy writing workshops.

• Work with a group of homeschooled children on their own fantasy book.

• Write one or more sequels to your book.

• Create a brand and produce related items—games, toys, figures, etc.

• Run contests related to the theme of your book.

• Ask young people to help edit your next book—some of them have amazingly keen eyes for inconsistencies in a story.

• Launch a fantasy conference or festival where every booth represents some sort of young adult fantasy book or other item.

• Turn your book into a play and produce it locally.

Not only will you have fun pursuing some of these activities, these are all excellent ways to promote your book (or your series of books), as well.

So what will it be for you? Will you continue to sort buttons or will you break free of the mundane tasks and establish some sort of fascinating life around your love for those buttons?

In the meantime, let me help you through the writing, publishing and/or promotion processes of your book. Perhaps I can guide you toward your dream life. PLFry620@yahoo.com. Visit my website: http://www.matilijapress.com

Yesterday, I gave you a list of 7 concepts that I took away from a teleseminar with public relations expert, Milton Kahn. You’ve read about some of them in my articles, books and this blog. You’ve heard me talk about some of them during my presentations. As I said yesterday, they’re each worth a blog post of their own. Let’s start by discussing the first two on the list as they strongly relate. By the way, here’s the list again:

• Be in the flow of publishing.
• Read the Sunday New York Times.
• Public relations is not an exact science.
• Most book publicists specialize.
• Some books are not promotable through a PR company.
• Personality sells books (and, by the way, helps land a publicist).
• Media kits are out of style.
• Don’t go it alone, find the right people to work with.

Be in the flow of publishing. What does this mean? It means that you really must take the time to look around and find out what this publishing business is all about before jumping in with both feet. I consider it jumping in with both feet when you publish a book, whether you self-publish (establish your own publishing company), go with a pay-to-publish company or land a traditional royalty publisher (large or small). There is no little bit of publishing. You are either in or you’re out. You’re either involved or you’re not. And if you plan to be involved, you are doing yourself and your project a great disservice if you neglect to educate yourself beforehand.

Milton Kahn recommends reading the Sunday New York Times because, he says, there’s a tremendous education each week about the publishing industry and bookselling.

I recommend adding to that by reading the book I wrote for new authors—The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Also attend writers’ conferences—in particular, those that cater to authors and hopeful authors. You won’t generally learn much about the publishing industry if you sign up for a writers’ retreat or a novel-writing conference. Make sure that at least some of the workshops are directed toward book publishing. These conferences usually also include meetings for attendees with agents and publishing company representatives.

Join organizations such as SPAWN, IBPA and SPAN and then participate in their discussion groups and forums, read their newsletters, listen in on their teleseminars and so forth. We, at SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) constantly provide many opportunities for our members (and even visitors to our site) to learn about publishing. But the education goes on. It is ongoing. http://www.spawn.org

I also recommend subscribing to AND READING several other credible newsletters, researching your area/genre, visiting writing/publishing forums and more.

What do you need to know about publishing before getting involved?

• What are your publishing options?
• What are the possible consequences of your choices?
• What are your responsibilities as a published author?

You should understand completely that publishing is a highly competitive business and how it works. You need to know enough to make good decisions on behalf of your project. You need to establish relationships within this industry with the right people who can actually contribute to the success of your project.

But first, you must have enough information and savvy to know whether or not your book idea is even a viable project. In other words, you need to take control of the situation way before you dare to write a book for publication. One way to start the process—and one that I, and other professionals, highly recommend—is to write a book proposal as a first step.

Not only will you learn volumes about your project and its potential, but you will be gaining insight into the publishing industry, as well. You’ll begin to understand what other books have to do with the one you are writing. You’ll learn the importance of building a platform. And, hopefully, you’ll find out what it takes in order to succeed in this field.

There must be several new and struggling authors reading my blog and the articles that are appearing in newsletters and online everywhere because sales for The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book are up. Amazon is ordering nearly every other day. But I prefer that you order books from me at
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html.

Once you are a published author with books to sell, you’ll understand why. Basically, amazon takes a HUGE chunk of your profit. We love amazon. The exposure is great. But gosh it’s nice not to have to share my profit with them. I already paid to have the book proofed, designed and printed. When I sell books through amazon, I’m actually losing money. They take 55 percent per book AND there is an annual fee for belonging to the Amazon Advantage program.

And you thought that authorship was glamorous and profitable.

At SPAWN, we have free monthly teleseminars for members. If a member can’t listen in to the teleseminar, they can download a recording of it from the SPAWN website later.

So far, we have had some giants in the industry—each giving us an hour of their time and they have shared an enormous amount of valuable information. We’ve welcomed Sandra Beckwith, “Build Book Buzz,” Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, Peter Bowerman of The Well-Fed Writer fame, and this week, book publicist, Milton Kahn.

Coming up are Hobie Hobart, on book cover design, Penny Sansevieri, A Marketing Expert and Stephanie Chandler, “Publish, Promote and Profit From Books, Ebooks and Information Products.”

Quite a line-up, don’t you think? Any author or hopeful author who has the opportunity to hear any of these experts for FREE, ought to take it. And they can by joining SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org It’s only $65/year.

Also at SPAWN, our new Catalog of Members’ Books and Services is completed and posted here:
http://www.spawn.org/catalogofbooks.htm Be sure to take a look—the catalog is available to the public.

And visit us at Facebook.

Today, I wanted to share a few concepts that Milton Kahn presented in his teleseminar Thursday. Each of these deserves at least a full page of commentary. But I’m going to bullet them here. If you want more on any of these topics, leave a comment or contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com and I’ll devote a blog post to the topic.

• Be in the flow of publishing.
• Read the Sunday New York Times.
• Public relations is not an exact science.
• Most book publicists specialize.
• Some books are not promotable through a PR company.
• Personality sells books (and, by the way, helps land a publicist).
• Media kits are out of style.
• Don’t go it alone, find the right people to work with.

There is some food for thought in these brief comments, isn’t there?

I spend time every single day trying to give you something you can use—information and resources as well as concepts that will help you to succeed as a published author. But you have to do your part. You have to show up here every day. You have to be present. You need to consider the information, do your own research, check out the resources and put those things that make sense to your project into practice. If you choose your own path based on emotions rather than education and knowledge, you may be one of the majority—authors who fail.

Oh, let’s not end on a sour note. Know that you have the power to create the level of success you desire. But it starts—not after your book is published, not once you’ve entered the world of book promotion—but before you begin your publishing project. Start your successful publishing journey when your book idea is a mere concept in your imagination.

The key to publishing success is, first, an excellent idea that you mold to fit—not your heart’s desire—but what your audience wants/needs. Always keep your readers in mind from the very beginning. Be realistic. At the same time, groom yourself as a keen representative for your book—work on your public speaking skills, build a platform, study the world of book promotion, engage your audience so they know you even before you have a book. And when you get to the place where you need help marketing your book, you will be able to attract a professional PR person, if that’s the route you want to go.

For more about how to prepare yourself and your project for success, what to expect once you are published and so much more, read the book I wrote expressly for you: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Yes, this book is also available through Amazon.com.

Have you noticed that most authors make publishing decisions based on their perception of the time element? We may come up with all sorts of excuses during the writing phase—“I can’t write today, I just had my nails done,” or “I don’t feel like writing this evening; let’s watch The Bachelor.” Many self-imposed deadlines may pass before the writing of a manuscript is finished.

But, when an author decides that it’s time to publish—when he turns the manuscript over to a publisher or printer—he gets in the biggest rush of his life. He insists, “I’ve gotta have my book for the event next week,” or “I need copies for Grandma’s 80th birthday party.”

It may have taken the author 23 years to write a 125-page book (or even 18 months), but he must have it published right away. Now, he’s in a hurry. And it is this hurry-up frame of mind that can interfere with the success of a book.

Some authors admit to choosing the first pay-to-publish company that approaches them just so they’ll have books quicker. They don’t take the time to learn their options, study the possible consequences of their choices or even to understand their responsibilities as a published author. And most of these authors are either immediately or eventually disappointed.

The thing is, publishing is not an exact science. You can’t randomly choose one of the three main publishing options and experience success. Nor can you turn your manuscript over to just any pay-to-publish company and expect the same results. Successful publishing requires the author to be present, knowledgeable, discriminating and patient. Rush in unprepared and uneducated and you’re apt to run into major (and usually, expensive) obstacles.

Let’s see if I can paint you a clear picture depicting the dangers of rushing your publishing project. Okay, here’s one—you want to have a baby, but you have no wife or even girlfriend, so, around Halloween, you randomly approach a woman at a diner. You ask her to have your baby. You tell her that you live with a group of guy roommates in a small house at the moment, but that you think it would be nice to have a child by Christmas, so you can surprise your parents.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Because you know something about having babies, caring for one, preparing for the birth and planning for a child’s future, you realize how absurd this is. Well, although you’re not dealing with a human life when you publish a book, I can tell you that the way too many authors’ approach publishing is almost as absurd.

Here’s another example: You decide one day that you would like to be a chiropractor. You use a chiropractor, so you know something about what they do. So you go out and rent an office, purchase some equipment and start promoting your business. It’s laughable, isn’t it? But that’s because you know that chiropractors must be educated in the anatomy and structure of the human body…there are requirements for becoming a chiropractor. There are standards in place.

While there are no rules for entering the world of publishing and no real standards in place, common sense tells us that publishing is a business and one should understand something about it before getting involved.

The problem is that too many authors look at publishing as an extension of their writing. They see people they know getting books published. They hear stories of successful publishing experiences. But, unless an author takes the initiative to find out something about the publishing field, he or she knows nothing other than, “publishers produce books and I want my book published…whatever that actually means…”

The fact is, it is relatively easy to get published. Being successfully published is the challenge because publishing success depends on the author making educated decisions.

Make your decisions based on knowledge not on emotions. If you hear nothing else before you start scrambling to get a book published, hear this! And if you read nothing else, read this, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

I wrote this book for authors who are entering their first publishing venture. It is designed to give you exactly what you need in order to succeed with your publishing project.