April, 2011 - Writing and Publishing News

Archive for April, 2011

Can You Trust Your Editors?

Friday, April 29th, 2011

That’s a strange question coming from an editor, isn’t it? But I do have a point.

I’ve been creating the index for the revised and expanded edition of my original 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book. Allworth Press will come out with the new edition in July of this year. The new title is Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.

The index is completed. Now I am proofing the edited galley. Even after I did my best self-edit before sending this manuscript to the publisher, and even after the publisher’s editors went through it, I am finding mistakes. I’ve discovered 22 so far and I’m less than ¼ of the way through.

What am I finding? I discovered that we had used “off” rather than “of” in one spot. The editors misunderstood where the section break should be in one instance. I caught some inconsistencies where we capitalized Chamber of Commerce, for example, in some cases and not others. I am asking them to put this term in lower case. Italics are missing in a couple of spots. A word is in italics that shouldn’t be. There are some closed quotes missing. A question mark was missing. I even found an instance where we had “yar,” instead of “your.”

These are all small things that make a big difference and they’re all things that are easy to miss when you have the enormous task of editing your own or someone else’s book.

While editing is going on whenever you spend time with your book—while you’re fleshing out a scene, searching for a comment, looking it over for style, creating an index, etc.—you must also edit with intention. By this, I mean plan to spend several days or a week in complete editing mode—scrutinizing each and every word and sentence. Pull your copy of the Chicago Manual of Style out of mothballs (better yet, spring for the latest edition—14th) and use it to determine those questions that come up. Should numbers be written out or not? When is “captain” capitalized? How is dialogue handled? Is it heartwarming, heart-warming or heart warming?

And once you have done your best job of self-editing, it is time to hand your book over to someone with fresh eyes and some editorial knowledge. Yes, pay an editor to fine-tune your manuscript.

Now you are ready to present your wonderful manuscript to the publisher of your choice. Once it is accepted and their editors work with it, you will get it back for your final review. This is another important opportunity for the author. The time you spend in this phase is also highly important. You WILL discover at least a few mistakes. There will be things that everyone missed. The company editors may have made changes in error.

As an example, I mention my book, The Mainland Luau, in the book I am currently proofing. I wrote that I use handouts during book signings for this book featuring a recipe for a pork roast that you cook in the oven, and that it tastes like kalua pork. The editors changed this to kalhua-flavored pork. Sounds good. But that isn’t what I meant. “Kalua” is the Hawaiian term for cooking underground and that’s the word I meant to use here.

Can you trust your editors? In most cases, yes. But you still want to cover all of your bases by hiring a good book editor who is knowledgeable about the publishing industry. You want to pay close attention to her suggestions. Never accept them all blindly—she may have misunderstood your meaning. And always give your book a good proofing before it goes to the publisher and before it goes it print. You’ll be glad you did.

This blog site will go dark for the next two days while I am working hard (and having fun) at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. This is a good opportunity for you to spend time in the archives. You’ll notice to the lower right, a list of topics. Click on those that interest you and start enjoying some past posts. I’m sure that you will learn something new.

http://www.matilijapress.com

Did you know that I have a huge resource list at this website? Check it out here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/forwriters/resources.html

For a FREE report and information about my services, visit this site:
http://www.patriciafry.com

Posted in Editing | No Comments »

The Gifts That Come With Writing

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

This morning a freelance-writer friend emailed me with news that an editor from a new (to her) magazine had tracked her down and wanted an article from her. She was certainly pleased. It’s always thrilling to get an assignment without having to do all of the legwork, creative-thinking, pitching, begging…

I responded to her email with congratulations and by saying that freelance writers who stay in the business for any length of time enjoy some wonderful opportunities and experiences.

So what are some of the gifts that writers receive?

• Assignments, of course. It does happen—editors will see your article in a competitor’s magazine and commission you to write one for them. Editors and publishers also go on the prowl for good writers at blog sites. If you’ve been putting off establishing a blog, this is one good reason why to move forward with it.

• Perks. As a journalist or freelance writer, you may be invited to tour an off-limits area, meet high profile people, have interesting experiences, etc. that most people wouldn’t have. Because of my status as a freelance writer, I’ve been given private tours of massive natural gardens, a bird rehabilitation center, factories, amazing homes, etc. I was even invited to enter a cage with a pair of Pallas cats at a zoo in Denver years ago in order to photograph the wild cats for a story.

• Opportunities. Since I wrote regularly for The Toastmaster Magazine for many years, I was noticed. In 2006, I was invited to be the keynote speaker at a Toastmaster convention. I said YES and I was presented with an all expenses paid trip to Dubai where I spoke before 800 Toastmasters from all over the Middle East.

If you’ve been freelancing for any length of time, you’ve probably already experienced some of the gifts that come with the profession. I’d like to hear about some of them. PLFry620@yahoo.com. Or leave your comment here.

Learn more about my services:
http://www.patriciafry.com

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Book Promotion on the Internet and Beyond

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

I responded to an email from the author of a novel who is confused about book promotion this morning and I thought I would share parts of it with you. I told this author:

“Promotion is the hard part—that’s for sure. You mentioned some of the things you are doing on the Internet to attract readers. You are definitely going after wide exposure. Yes, there are a few things you can do additionally to maximize your Internet presence, but I’m not sure it will have any greater effect than what you are already doing. Just look at the competition for space and attention on the Internet. It’s fierce. You’ve probably seen that commercial on TV where everyone is trying to get ‘Marcel’s’ attention—trying to get him to watch their show. It’s that way on the Internet. Everyone is so busy trying to get attention that there is no one paying attention to what others are offering.

However, here are a couple of additional ideas for getting exposure on the Internet:
1. A virtual tour. This is a one-time blast, and I’m not sure how effective they are. You set it up with other bloggers to be guest blogger at their sites during a one-day or one-week blast of promotion for your book. You might also post stories at related sites, comment at other blogs, advertise something free from your website and anything else you can think of to become known among your potential audience.

2: You can become known on websites related to your genre. Get your book listed as recommended reading, etc. This means spending a lot of time searching out and visiting websites.

3: Get book reviews—lots of them—online at appropriate fiction sites, as well as book review sites. If your book has elements that would be conducive to reviews by a garden site, autism organization site, girl biker site, etc., consider that, too. The sites you choose would depend on the subject matter or theme of your novel.

4. Get book reviews in literary magazines and other magazines and newsletters that review books like yours.

5: Get involved with public appearances. This, in my opinion, is still the best way to sell books. Book signings—are they successful? They can be. You may not sell a whole lot of books at each book signings, but you are meeting your readers, you are getting press and all of this equates to exposure. Without exposure, you will not be noticed. I would also go out and give unusual and interesting presentations. Have audience members help you act out scenes, etc. Find ways to make presentations memorable. (Request a copy of my article on how to have a more successful book signing.)

Maybe it would help you to get more organized and to create a more reasonable marketing plan if you took my online book promotion workshop. Check it out at http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Keep in mind, that book promotion is ongoing for as long as you want to sell your book and it can be intense. But, you can’t do it all and you shouldn’t try to. At first, book promotion may be sort of a smorgasbord—you test and taste several activities. But, as a survival tactic, you really do need to pare it down—choose those activities you can handle and that seem to work best for your book and spend all of your efforts in that area.”

PLFry620@yahoo.com

Posted in Book Promotion | No Comments »

Gain More Respect as an Author: Write For Your Audience

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

Most of us, when we start writing, write for ourselves. We write to figure something out, to sort out some aspects of our life or to amuse ourselves. We write about something that’s bugging us or making us happy, perhaps.

It used to be that was enough—just to put down on paper the thoughts or stories that were dancing around in our heads or hearts. We kept our thoughts in journals. We wrote about them in letters to close friends. Only a few daring people shared their writings in articles or books.

Today, however, everyone wants to have their writing published. It doesn’t matter if it is good or bad, timely or old hat, rough or wonderfully written, meaningful or useless, it is being published.

One of the biggest problems I see with material that newby freelance writers and authors are writing is that they continue in “this is what I want to write—this is what I need to say,” mode instead of doing what a professional would do, write for his or her audience.

I advise my clients and students, who want to write successfully for publication, to stop writing for themselves and start writing for their audiences.

Sure, you might have a cause that is important to you. You want to share a message that is close to your heart. You can still do this—and even more effectively—if you think more about what your audience wants—what will benefit him or her—than what you need or want to tell them.

Maybe this will help:

• As you write, visualize members of your audience. Focus on them, their needs and desires and you may do a better job of writing the right article or book for the right audience—one that is more well-received.

• Determine, as you plan and write your article or book, how your audience would benefit from what you know or are interested in?

• Research your topic or the theme of your article or book before deciding to share your writings with the world. Is it a topic or a genre that would be welcomed by a segment of the population? Is it a popular genre? Is it a topic of interest to at least a strong niche of people? Has the topic been overdone? What can you bring to the table that is different, fresh, desired?

• Write to be understood. If it is fiction, make sure that your story is believable—not in the sense that it has to be true, but that it must be presented in a logical order and be consistent in the way the story is told. If it is nonfiction, your book or article must be organized logically and filled with useful information or material that is presented in a way that is easy to follow and digest.

Keep your audience in mind as you plan and write your book or article and you will more likely attract a publisher or editor and more readers.

Are you looking for a good online course where you get plenty of personal feedback and attention for your project? Sign up for one of my courses: Book Proposal Course, Memoir-Writing Workshop, Self-Editing Workshop, Book Promotion Course, Build Your Platform Course, Article-Writing Course or Self-Publishing Workshop.

http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

If you’re ready to start working with an editor on your book manuscript, learn more about my services here: http://www.patriciafry.com

Contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Posted in Writing | 2 Comments »

Get Your Publishing Facts Straight

Monday, April 25th, 2011

Today, we’re continuing our list of publishing rumors that you really shouldn’t believe.

Rumor
I don’t have to have my manuscript edited. If the publisher is interested, he’ll edit it.

Fact
Yeah, right! But how are you going to get him interested in an inferior manuscript when there are so many others to choose from?

Rumor
I won’t need to promote my book because I’ve paid my POD publisher to do the promotion.

Fact
Don’t get me started. No matter what publishing option you choose, you WILL be responsible for promoting your book.

Rumor
Bookstores won’t carry self-published books.

Fact
Have you contacted independent bookstores?

Rumor
No one will review self-published and POD books.

Fact
This describes most pre-publication reviewers. But there are numerous book review opportunities throughout the Internet and among print publications related to your genre and/or topic.

Rumor
Writing the book is the hardest part.

Fact
No, successfully navigating the publishing industry is harder and marketing is even harder, yet.

Folks, don’t rely on rumors and the experiences of a few others when you are ready to enter into the world of publishing. Be proactive. Study the publishing industry so that you are completely informed and well-prepared to make the right decisions on behalf of your particular project.
As part of your study of the publishing industry, be sure to read the book I wrote for newby and struggling authors. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.

This book will go into detail about all of the “rumors” we’ve mentioned here in the Sunday and Monday blogs.

This book is on sale NOW at http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Contact me for a free manuscript evaluation. PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Posted in Publishing | No Comments »

There is Danger in Believing Publishing Rumors

Sunday, April 24th, 2011

Watch out for publishing rumors. They can sabotage your success.

Almost everyone who enters the publishing arena for the first time, has heard a rumor or two. They’ve listened to the publishing war stories of those in their writers’ groups. They’ve met disgruntled authors at conferences and book festivals with stories to tell. Or they talk to neighbors who tried to get a book published in the ’80s. Some hopeful authors embrace the first of what seems to them the most logical/reasonable testimonial and consider it publishing gospel. Here are a few examples of publishing rumors that hopeful authors have shared with me:

Rumor
A publisher will take your 500-page manuscript, throw away 450 pages and then tell you to rewrite the book.

Fact
A new author actually used this rumor as a reason not to fine-tune her manuscript. I hope she believed me when I told her that this would be rare, indeed. Publishers get enough good manuscripts that they aren’t going to work from scratch with an unknown author. This is absurd.

Rumor
Publishers won’t even look at your manuscript if you don’t have an agent.

Fact
There are hundreds and hundreds of small to medium-size publishers who prefer to work without the involvement of an agent.

Rumor
All I have to do in order to get published is find an agent.

Fact
Sorry, an agent does not guarantee a publishing contract.

Rumor
It’s impossible for a first-time author to land a traditional royalty publishing contract, so I might as well pay to have this book published.

Fact
There are plenty of publishers who work with new authors—some of them claim that 75 or even 100 percent of their books are from first-time authors.

I will bring you 5 more rumors and facts in tomorrow’s blog post. And if you’ve heard what you consider a rumor and you would like to check it out with me, please send it to PLFry620@yahoo.com and I’ll give you the truth in the matter.

Happy Easter. While you’re home and surfing the net, check out my websites:
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

Posted in Publishing | 1 Comment »

7 Simple Ways to Promote Your Book This Weekend

Saturday, April 23rd, 2011

What have you done this week toward the promotion of your book? What will you do this weekend? Do you have plans for promoting it next week? Next month? Or have you run out of ideas, energy and enthusiasm for book promotion?

After all, you didn’t sign up to be a promoter when you decided to write a book did you? Maybe not as far as you are concerned. The typical author focuses on writing and producing a book with little thought about how he or she will generate sales. Some of you are at a total loss when it comes to book promotion. But here’s the reality: The author is responsible for promoting his or her book. And when you stop promoting, the book will die.

So let me ask you again, what did you do this week to promote your book? What will you do this weekend? What plans do you have for promoting it next week? Month?

Here are a few ideas for this Easter weekend:

1: Locate three websites related to the subject, theme and/or genre of your book and see if you can become involved. How? Participate in their forum, ask to have your book reviewed for their newsletter or offered as recommended reading at the site. Open a line of communication with the director and find out if they need articles (or stories) for their site or newsletter or if you could help in any other way which might afford you some publicity for your book.

2: Start a blog and vow to post at least three times per week. What will you write? If your book is nonfiction, post information, resources, news items, instructions and so forth related to your book topic. Share your perspective with others who are interested in this subject. If your book is fiction, create a blog around the theme of your story or the genre. Share some of your experiences as a writer and maybe some of your stories.

3: Locate three magazines or newsletters where you could submit articles or stories designed to promote your book. Study the submission guidelines and write a query letter or submit a story, for example. How do you use articles or stories to promote your book? By demonstrating your knowledge and/or talent through the article or fiction piece. You mention your book and ordering information in the bio at the end of the submission. People who find you credible in your field or who like your style of writing will be interested in purchasing your book.

4: Stop in at a local independent bookstore and arrange to have your book placed there. It is easier than you might think. While the mega-bookstores are run by corporate headquarters and managers are held to rigid policies, independent bookstore owners are often pleased to carry good books by local authors.

5: Contact a reporter or columnist at a local newspaper with a story idea. Or ask about an interview. Does your book topic fit in with one of the regular columns—cooking, pets, parenting, seniors, health, business, finance, etc? Ask about a book review for the appropriate column. Some newspapers run book review columns. Or simply come up with an interesting angle on your story and pitch it to a columnist or reporter.

6: Locate three new publications where you could get your book reviewed.

7: Find three places where you could possibly do a book signing, demonstration or reading—bookstores, specialty shops related to the theme of your book, house parties, group meeting, etc.

There you are. Pursue these seven book promotion ideas this weekend and you could ultimately sell dozens of books that would otherwise remain stored in boxes in your garage or storage unit.

Learn more about book promotion and how to develop your own marketing plan by taking my online course, Book Promotion Workshop. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Check out the six other courses offered by Patricia Fry: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Posted in Book Promotion | 1 Comment »

New Book on Public Speaking for Authors

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

How many of you would welcome a ebook focusing on public speaking for the author? Do you want to go out and speak to promote your published book? Do you plan to get some speaking engagements once your book is completed? Or would you rather have a root canal than stand up and speak in front of people, but you know you need to get over your fear?

I’m currently working on an ebook called “The Author’s Public-Speaking Workshop Tips and Techniques for Selling Your Book Through Speaking Gigs.”

Is this a book you would like to study as part of your preparation for promoting your book? Here’s the Table of Contents for this book. Does it sound interesting? Useful? Is there anything else you’d like to see included?

Introduction
Presentation Basics
When Authors Engage in Public Speaking
Public Speaking Rule Breakers
How to Speak Up For Your Writing
Build Your Author’s Platform Through Public Speaking

Locate Speaking Opportunities
How Do You Get All of Those Speaking Gigs?
Authors Must be Easy to Find
Speak at Conferences on Your Book Topic
Find the Right Venue
How to Get People to Attend Your Presentations
How Many Books Can You Sell?

Book Signings and Demonstrations
The Author’s Book Signing
Book Signing Tips
The Demonstration Presentation

Public Speaking Tips and Techniques
Create Fascinating Presentations Around the Theme of Your Book
Protocol and Practices for Better Presentations
Gain More Confidence and Skill as a Public Speaker
Public Speaking for Authors: The Large and the Small of it
The Whole Truth in Writing and Speaking

What Else Do You Need to Know About Public Speaking?
Public Speaking for the Novelist
The Author-Speaker’s Voice
How to Establish Greater Rapport With Your Audience
How to Give an Awesome Author Interview
Just Say Yes and Sell More Books

Resources for Budding Speakers
Let me know your thoughts. PLFry620@yahoo.com. Or leave a comment here.

AOL VERSUS YAHOO
Are any of you Yahoo emailers having trouble communicating with AOL people? I am having trouble getting my yahoo emails through to my aol friends. Those emails that do make it without bouncing arrive hours or days late. What’s the problem? Does anyone know? PLFry620@yahoo.com

http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

Posted in Book Promotion | No Comments »

Don’t Let Your Emotions Kill Your Book’s Success

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

We all operate through our emotions—we can’t help it. Emotions are built into us to be experienced and expressed. But we’re advised not to allow our emotions to drive our book projects. And there’s good reason for this.

Sure you are excited about your book projects. Passion is an emotion. The sense of joy you feel while you’re writing and when you think about helping others or pleasing others through your book is an emotion. At the other end of the spectrum, the disappointment you feel when your manuscript is rejected or when you get a bad book review is also an emotion. It is impossible to get involved with the writing and production of a book without some sort of emotion.

Even staunch business-minded people experience some emotion throughout the process of creating and producing a book. But the most successful authors keep their emotions in check and even override their emotions when common sense and logic make more sense.

But how many of us become so attached to our book projects that we make emotional instead of logical decisions on its behalf? I can tell you that it is way too many of us. We write from an emotional place, which can be a good thing. It’s when we decide to publish and we start making business decisions from an emotional place that we find ourselves in trouble.

Here are some of the things we might say to ourselves in order to justify our decisions. Can you see how they are emotionally-driven?

• I don’t want to spend time trying to find a publisher so I’m going to sign with this pay-to-publish company whose representative seems as excited about my book as I am.

• I can’t wait to get my book published—I want to give a copy to my dad for his birthday. So I’m going to accept the pay-to-publish contract. I don’t actually know how to go about finding a regular publisher anyway and this seems like a good solution.

• I read over the contract and it seems okay. There are a few sections I don’t quite understand, but they tell me they have published hundreds of books for authors. They must know what they’re doing. I just want to live my dream and finally publish this book.

• I heard a speaker at my writers’ group talking about book promotion. Heck, I don’t want to get all involved in marketing my book. I just want to publish it and make a little money back selling to whoever wants it. I have a website. My pay-to-publish company said they would make it available to bookstores all over the country. I should be able to sell at least 10,000 copies without even trying.

• I wrote in my query letter to a major publisher that this is going to be the next bestseller and that it is a book for everyone—not just a specific niche audience.

Some would call these authors short-sighted. Some would consider them arrogant. I suggest that they are somewhat delusional, but that’s because they are not looking at publishing as a business. They have not studied the industry so they don’t know their options, the possible consequences of their choices and their responsibility as a published author. Some of them do not want to know. They simply want to fulfill and/or live a dream. They want to create their own reality without tuning into the reality of the industry. Their decisions are driven by their emotions.

And then they wonder why their dream sizzles—why they don’t experience the success they desire.

If you are pouring more emotion into your book project than thought, be sure to order my book TODAY at a discounted rate. Read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and learn more about the publishing industry and how to more successfully navigate it on behalf of your book project. The best time to read this book is BEFORE you even start writing your book. But it is never too late to study it.

What you learn in my book could dramatically change the direction of your book. And this could be a good thing.

Order The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book NOW.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

If you need editorial help, check out my personal website:
http://www.patriciafry.com

Posted in Authorship | No Comments »

Prepare for Your Author Appearances NOW

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Do you listen to talk radio? Do you notice that all of the guests on every show and on every topic have books? A book has become as common as the business card and it is used as casually to establish credibility, to give individuals an identity…

Whether I am listening to a radio program or watching one on TV related to spirituality, religion, parenting, politics, gardening, health or writing, every guest is promoting a book on the subject. In most cases, however, these individuals did not speak on the topic until they came out with their books. They were not considered experts in their fields until they became authors. Now the former bank teller is doing radio interviews and TV appearances to talk about her book on childhood abuse; the homemaker/homeschool teacher guests locally to share her book of tips for homeschool teachers; the retired accountant travels around talking about his novel; the long-time tax preparer provides information from his book on family budgeting and the extensive traveler shares stories and lessons learned from her travel memoir.

If you’re writing a book (and millions of people are these days), do you plan to join the parade of ordinary people turned performer in order to promote your book? Are you honing your public speaking skills and are you coming up with ideas for programs you can present on radio and TV, at bookstores, conferences and so forth? Or would you prefer to just remain in the shadows with your book and hope it will sell through your website?

Yes, there seems to be a real flood of authors guesting on every talk show around. If you attend conferences in your area of interest, you see no lack of speakers on that topic. At writers’ conferences, for example, every imaginable subject and angle related to writing, publishing and book promotion is covered by savvy experts—most of them with books of their own.

Do authors sell books through live presentations? Absolutely, they do. Some people are impressed or inspired by the program and purchase the book on the spot. Others will take a brochure or business card and eventually buy the book online. Still others will hold off on the book until they read an article or two by this author, hear him or her speak at another event, discover their blog and/or have another professional in this field recommend him or her.

This is how it works. And, if your book is conducive to live presentations, you really should be thinking about how you’re going to go about them. What will you talk about? How can you make a presentation featuring the topic/theme of your book fascinating and/or informative? Do you have what it takes to effectively speak in public? Can you come up with a variety of interesting programs?

Here’s what I suggest:

1: Join a local Toastmasters Club. Find one near you:
http://www.toastmasters.org

2: Put yourself in situations where you have the opportunity to speak up in public. Join a networking group or a writers’ group, perhaps. Volunteer for a project at work or for a committee outside of work.

3: Practice pulling sub-topics from your book and developing potential programs from them.

4: As you consider your live audience, this might give you some insight into your readership and assist you in fulfilling your obligation as an author during the writing of your book.

5: For more about honing your public speaking skills, read some of the articles at my website under “Book Promotion.”
http://www.matilijapress.com/articlespublishing.htm

Download your FREE copy of “50 Reasons Why You SHOULD Write That Book,” here http://www.patriciafry.com

Posted in Authorship, Public Speaking | No Comments »

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