Archive for August, 2010

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How My Book Proposal Saved the Day

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Thank heavens for the book proposal. One of mine saved me hours of time and a lot of stress this week. How?

Well, I think you know that one of my books has been accepted by a publisher. I’ll tell you more about that as we get further into the process. I can say, however, that I signed the contract last week. Yesterday, I received a 3-page Author Questionnaire from the marketing department and a note stating their deadline.

Yikes! I’m leaving on vacation TODAY. I had a lot to do yesterday. But I knew I had to give that questionnaire my attention and attempt to complete it before leaving. I began studying the questions and then it dawned on me that my book proposal said it all. Most of the questions they were asking are addressed in my book proposal. I was so thankful that I had written a detailed proposal—which, of course, was instrumental in my landing the publishing contract to begin with. What I didn’t understand, though, was why the proposal, with all of this pertinent information about me, my platform, my connections, my marketing ideas, etc. hadn’t been passed along to the marketing department.

Another bit of information requested in the questionnaire related to magazines where we might get the new book reviewed. The marketing department wondered if I knew of a few. I referred to my binder where I list around 60 writing/publishing-related magazines and newsletters and their contact information and quickly compiled a list for them.

Within an hour or so, that 3-page questionnaire had grown to 16 pages!

This is a good lesson for us all as it demonstrates the value of putting and keeping our ducks in a row when it comes to our book projects.

Do you have a book in the works? Whether you will be approaching traditional publishers, self-publishing or going with a pay-to-publish company, it will behoove you to write a detailed book proposal. First, it will show you whether or not you actually have a book at all. It will help you to determine how you will promote it. It will point out where you are lacking in your platform and, perhaps, prompt you to start building on it.

Of course, your book proposal could be the reason a publisher accepts your book for publication.

And, as I was reminded yesterday, it can also become a very good resource for filling out that all-important Author’s Questionnaire from your publisher.

I’m traveling this week and may not post to this blog every day, but I will try to post a few times while I’m away.

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The 5 P’s of Authorship

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

What does it take to become an author? Notice that I didn’t even insert the word, “successful” in this sentence. Success is relative, anyway, isn’t it? I know authors who don’t believe they are successful until they sell 100,000 copies. And then there are authors who celebrate their success if they earn back enough to pay their printing costs.

But what does it take to become an author? I’ve narrowed it down to 5 P’s. Ask any author who has been around the block and they will tell you that it takes:

• Planning
• Preparation
• Proofing
• Publishing
• Promotion

There are no shortcuts. One cannot deviate from this established path to authorship. If you want to become an author and experience whatever measure of success you desire, you must consider each of these 5 P’s. (It wouldn’t hurt to throw in the word Patience, either.)

Planning
Before you start writing the novel or the nonfiction book of your dreams, put some thought into the potential for your project—a lot of thought. I suggest writing a book proposal. You wouldn’t open a business without a business plan. Consider the book proposal a business plan for your book. At the same time, look at your book as a product. If you view this project any other way, you are already starting down the wrong path.

Preparation
Once you establish that your book is a viable product, begin outlining, organizing and writing it.

Also work on your platform:
• Create a massive mailing and emailing list.
• Become known among leaders in your book’s genre/topic.
• Write and submit articles or stories to appropriate publications.
• Develop workshops and seminars on your book’s topic and present them.
• Publish your own newsletter.

Proofing/Editing
Once you’ve completed your manuscript, you’ll become involved in self-editing. Proof and edit as thoroughly as you possibly can.

• Check for inconsistencies and repeated material.
• Make sure your spacing and punctuation is correct.
• Examine your manuscript for muddy writing and run-on sentences.
• Eliminate those sneaky mistakes that aren’t picked up by spellcheck.
• Correct any misuse of apostrophes or words.

Once you have done your self-editing, hire an experienced book editor for your final edit. Yes, this is necessary and the expense must be factored in. Hiring a good editor is an investment in your publishing success. But I must repeat—this should be an experienced book editor.

Publish
You now have a choice to make—you have options. Will you try to land a traditional royalty publisher for your piece of fine work? Will you go with a pay-to-publish company? Or will you self-publish (establish your own publishing company)?

People ask me, which is the best publishing option? My response is, “It depends on you and it depends on the project.” Your job is to study the publishing industry so that you understand all of your options and the possible consequences of your choices. My book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, provides a good start in that direction. If you are considering a pay-to-publish company, also read Mark Levine’s The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, wherein he rates and ranks 48 of these companies and scrutinizes their contracts for you.

Promotion
Do not even consider producing a book for publication if you do not have the money, time, experience, interest, enthusiasm for and/or knowledge about book promotion.

One of the things you will learn from studying the publishing industry is that the competition for books is fierce. You may have already noticed that everyone is writing a book. Did you know that over 75 percent of all published books sell fewer than 100 copies? And lack of promotion is only one reason why so many books fail. What are the other reasons?

• Lack of appropriate planning.
• Improper preparation.
• Inadequate proofing/editing.
• Ineffective publishing methods.
• Lackadaisical promotion.

Put your P’s in a row before you even put your pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and you will have a much greater chance for publishing success.

Note: You’ve been used to reading a new blog post here every single day for years. I’m taking off for a much needed vacation tomorrow and wanted to let you know that my posts might be a bit sporadic during the next 10 days. This might be a good time to review some of the posts in my archives. You’ll find posts on many aspects of writing, publishing and promoting a book.

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Passion and Focus—the Author’s Dilemma

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

I’ve edited quite a few book proposals lately, and am noticing a common thread among authors. They are so passionate about their projects that they tend to lose their focus when attempting to pitch their books to agents or publishers.

Sometimes an author is so in love with the concept of her book and the way she presents it that they can’t appropriately pitch it. She sees it as a classic piece of literature—a fabulous story that must be told or a meaningful book needed by many. Of course, the publisher is more interested in the economics of the project. He looks at it as a product. He needs to know if this book is worth his investment in time and money. While the author views her manuscript as a work of art, the publisher sees it from a commercial point of view. And, authors, this is what you must understand while compiling your book proposal—even your query letter.

The query letter and the ultimate book proposal are the means through which you communicate with the publishers of your choice. In preparing these, you must think more like a publisher (an investor) than an author who is passionate about her project. Save the flowery description of your inspiration for your writers’ group. Reserve the comments from your mom, sister, husband and friends for your Facebook page or your diary. Omit, altogether, your wildest dreams of a movie contract with Julia Roberts playing the lead.

The publisher wants to know what this book is about, how it differs from other books like it on the market, who the target audience is and how large it is, what is your platform (your following, your connections) and how do you plan to promote this book. He is interested in his bottom line: “Will this book make me some money?”

Get help with your book proposal from an industry professional before sending it out to an agent or a publisher. I can’t tell you how many proposals I see that simply miss the mark. Authors sometimes spend weeks or months perfecting their proposals only to have them fail where it counts—with the publisher. When I get a proposal from an author, typically, I change only one aspect of it—a major aspect. I tone down the passion and help the author to focus on the publisher’s concerns.

And I know how hard this is for most passionate authors. They become so attached to their passion for their projects that they simply can’t shift gears and think like a businessman/woman.

If you are struggling with a book proposal, you might find help and guidance through my online book promotion workshop. Learn more about it here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Or contact me directly: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

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Writers: Make Sure Your List Items Conform

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

We’ve talked about this subject before. When you write a list of items, your amateur status as a writer glares through when you neglect to make each item conform. In other words, when you introduce a list, each item following should conform to the introduction. Here’s an example of a list that does not conform. “When you go to the beach, you’re likely to encounter, riptides, stingrays, go sailing, rent a surfboard and jellyfish,” part of your list does not conform. Each item should work off of the original introduction. You should be able to use each item correctly in a complete sentence with the introduction: “When you go to the beach, you’re likely to encounter riptides.” “When you go to the beach, you’re likely to encounter stingrays.” “When you go to the beach, you’re likely to encounter go sailing…” This does not work.

Sure, it seems elementary—it IS elementary. But many writers still goof up their “lists,” by inserting words, terms and partial sentences that just don’t fit. In order to correct this list, you might change it to, “riptides, stingrays, opportunities to go sailing, surfboard rentals and jellyfish.”

Here’s another example of a nonconforming list. “This book will benefit individuals:
• struggling with drug addiction
• looking to discover help with their addiction
• what their purpose in life will be
• interested to work through personal issues
• who want to change their behavior
• searching for a new identity”

Rather, I would suggest this: “This book will benefit individuals who are:

• struggling with drug addiction
• looking for help with their addiction
• seeking their purpose in life
• interested in working through personal issues
• ready to change their behavior
• searching for a new identity”

Do you see how you could take each of the items on this list and create complete sentences using the introduction? If you cannot create sentences that work using each of the items on the lists you’re constructing, you need to reframe those items—and maybe the introduction, as well.

If you found this helpful, you may want to enroll in my online self-editing course. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_selfediting.htm

Pay $200 for this course, clean up your manuscript and save hundreds more when you turn your project over to a professional editor.

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Freelance Writers: Where Are You?

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

I realize I haven’t addressed freelance writers in a while. There are so many people in some stage of writing, publishing or promoting a book that I write mostly for this group. Even some of my freelance writer friends are working on books. So who is holding down the periodicals fort? Are any of you still submitting articles?

Lately, when I send out a query or offer a completed piece, the editor says, “I’ll use it in our next issue.” They seem eager to receive stories to fill space. It makes me wonder, “Where have all of the writers gone?”

And, with all of the talk of books going digital—electronic books—what is the future of magazines? How do you feel about holding a metallic object in your hands in order to read your favorite magazine copy? Would you miss the feel and smell of the slick paper, the brilliance of the colors, the sound of the pages as you turn them? Speaking of smell—if you are viewing a magazine through a reading device, you won’t be able to sample the scented perfume samples.

Every era—every generation—has experienced what is known as “progress.” With each invention and step into the future, there were people mourning the loss of the old and resisting the advent of the new. But change happens anyway, doesn’t it? And new generations are born into a world of inventions and change which they soon take for granted.

Okay, I’m getting carried away. All I wanted to do this morning was to check in with my freelance writer friends and colleagues. So are you getting work? Is it easier or more difficult to get an editor’s attention today? Are you working for the same magazines and the same editors or have you been forced to (or desire to) branch out and approach new and different publications? Is the pay staying steady? I hear that some magazines are slow paying. Is this your experience?

If your work has slowed to a dwindle. I can tell you that there definitely are new magazines cropping up. There are editors seeking good works to publish. There is work for those of us who want it badly enough to meet all of the requirements of a good freelance writer. Members of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) get some GREAT resources and leads each and every month in the SPAWN Market Update posted in the member area of the SPAWN Website each first of the month. http://www.spawn.org

If you have a book to promote and you have never tried promoting it through article (or story) writing, maybe this is a good time to start. You’ll find some articles at my website that might help you get a feel for what’s involved with article-writing. I also have a great little book on the subject. A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles.

For articles on writing: http://www.matilijapress.com/articles.htm#writing

Check out the book at: http://www.matilijapress.com/writingpage.html

Posted in Writing | 1 Comment »

Online Discussion Groups for Authors

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Do you belong to a “list” or an online discussion group? Many people subscribe to lists related to their interests or profession. There are Google groups, Yahoo groups, Microsoft groups and others. You can go to these sites and find a list of “groups” on practically any topic—science, animal communication, ferrets, senior issues, comic animation, gardening, genealogy, astronomy, parenting twins and even writing and publishing. You can join a group or start your own group.

Some groups are open to anyone and others are closed. SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) has a discussion group through Yahoo and it is open to members of SPAWN only. SPAWN members can sign up to belong to the group and then communicate with other members through email.
It’s as simple as sending an email. Your email is forwarded to a server where it is moderated. When approved, it is then sent to everyone on the list. Most groups have rules—no comments off topic, for example, no off-color or mean-spirited comments and so forth.

Are you a member of a discussion group—what type/topic? How do you feel this experience serves you? I know authors who have found collaboration partners through discussion groups—book designers or editors for their manuscripts, for example. We receive heads-up warnings before diving into bad situations, learn about new opportunities for getting published or promoting your book and engage in discussions on all sorts of writing/publishing subjects.

You may be an expert in your field—that’s why you wrote a book. But there’s always more to learn, which is why, even after being involved in publishing for 35 years, I keep my ear to the ground through discussion groups. I moderate the SPAWN Discussion Group and I also participate in the Cat Writers Association Pro-list Discussion Group.

If you are interested in finding a discussion group or starting one, here are two links to help you get started:
http://groups.google.com
http://groups.yahoo.com

If you would like to be a part of the lively SPAWN Discuss discussion group, join SPAWN at http://www.spawn.org

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