February, 2012 - Writing and Publishing News

Archive for February, 2012

How to Find a Job in the Publishing Industry

Sunday, February 19th, 2012

Do you want a job in the publishing field—as an editor for a magazine, for example, or a publishing company; as a videographer; columnist in the area of beauty tips, cooking, style, pets, etc? Are you aware of the number and magnitude of job boards for writers and others on the fringes of the writing field—photographers, artists and art teachers, web developers, etc? I report on job boards for the SPAWN Market Update from time to time.

I also list publishers, reviewers, magazine, etc. databases, which I believe can be of great help to writers and authors. But you have to be willing to put in the time seeking out those sources that are right for you. This also means sorting through some dead links and leads that go nowhere.

Is it worth your time? If you want a job as an editor in Chicago, as an art director in San Francisco or you need a publisher for your children’s chapter book, you certainly could score if you are diligent and thorough in your research. In case you would like a new start within the world of publishing, here are some job boards you may want to check out. To find more, join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) and read back issues of the SPAWN Market Update to locate thousands and thousands of opportunities you may not be aware of.

http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings
http://www.gofreelance.com
http://www.modernfreelance.com/freelancer-job-sites/freelance-writers.php

If you want to find job boards of your own or any other type of directory, do an Internet search.

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FREE Book for Serious Authors

Saturday, February 18th, 2012

Would you be willing to write a review for my Amazon.com page in exchange for a FREE copy of my latest book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author? This is a book for authors in all genres and at any stage in the publishing process. Among many other things, it includes:

• How to write your book for the right target audience
• How to build promotion into your book
• How to write a successful query letter and book proposal (with examples)
• How to choose the right publishing option.
• How to Establish or strengthen your author’s platform
• How to Promote and sell your book.

And it includes many real examples to follow.

Can you use help in any or all of these areas? Is this a book you’ve been wanting to order? Are you a seriously aspiring author who wants to succeed? Do you care what others are saying?

Brian Jud says, “Patricia Fry has written an eye-opening book that tells it like it really is. I believe this is one of the most helpful publishing books out there.”

Jeff Herman says “This book provides generous doses of insider information about the publishing process.”

Do you know who Brian Jud and Jeff Herman are? Brian is the author of “How to Make Real Money Selling Books” and “Beyond the Bookstore.” He’s extremely well-thought of in the publishing world. He writes a newsletter—Marketing Matters. You really should subscribe.

Jeff Herman is a literary agent and the author of “Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors and Literary Agents.” He also wrote a book I have used often, “Write the Perfect Book Proposal.”

Let me know if you are serious about writing and publishing a successful book, finishing your fiction or nonfiction book and publishing it (either through a traditional publisher, a pay-to-publish company or self-publishing—establishing your own publishing company) or if you have a published book and it isn’t doing as well as you had hoped in the marketplace.

Contact me today for your FREE copy (US addresses only) and with your promise to review this book for Amazon.com. In the meantime, read all of the reviews for my book, Promote Your Book at Amazon. Just go to Patricia Fry’s Amazon pages. And read the one review we have so far for Publish Your Book.

Note: This offer good for the first five responders only.

If you are one of many who have already purchased this book or you’ve received it from my publisher, I’d appreciate knowing that and I’d love it if you were so inclined to write a brief review at my amazon.com pages.

PLFry620@yahoo.com Put “Publish Your Book” in the subject line and give me your mailing address.

http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html

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Put Your Best Bio Forward

Friday, February 17th, 2012

Today I want to talk to you about your bio. When you become an author, there will be many occasions when you will be asked for your bio. You’ll need to include a bio when you are quoted in someone else’s book, invited to speak at a conference or another venue, scheduled to do a book signing, interviewed by a blogger or radio host or when you submit an article or story, for example.

The first few times I was asked for my bio, I found it difficult to write. How does one encapsulate his or her professional persona in a brief few lines? What is most important to include?

Since then, I’ve provided hundreds of bios for a variety of purposes and I’ve requested bios from people I’m working with on different projects. Here are some pointers to guide you in writing your bio the next time someone requests it:

1: Keep to the number of lines or words requested. If someone asks for one or two lines or thirty words, do not write a hundred-word description of your accomplishments.

2: Keep it simple. Avoid using words that are just going to get in the way of what you really want readers to know. “Award-winning,” repeated before every achievement is generally not necessary and can become cumbersome. If your bio is confusing, people won’t give it a second read.

3: Make sure the bio make sense—that the sentences are complete and accurate. Some authors tend to write run-on sentence after run-on sentence to get in everything they want to say in.

4: Give contact information, but don’t overdo it. Generally, your main website URL is enough. I’ve seen authors forget to provide contact information and I’ve seen others include three or four website and email addresses.

5: Use the information that is most pertinent to the particular audience. Will this audience be most interested in the fact that you are the author of several novels, that you have won some awards, that you are the president of a writers group, that you write stories for several online sites, that you are an editor and book coach? Do they want to know the titles of your books? Unless you have space to include all of what you do and have accomplished and you can do it succinctly, choose just those things that matter most to this particular audience.

If you are an author or plan to become one, or if you write for publications, present workshops, etc., you will be required to write a bio at some point in your career. Make sure it represents you in the best light and that also means that it is well-written.

Patricia Fry is a career writer who supported herself for many years writing articles for magazines. She currently has 35 books to her credit, most of them related to publishing and book promotion. Patricia is the Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org. Check out her latest pair of books, Publish Your Book and Promote Your Book at http://www.matilijapress.com

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Your Author’s Platform

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

This is excerpted from my book in progress, Talk Up Your Book:

You’ve probably heard the word platform. It is commonly used within publishing circles to indicate an author’s following (who would buy a book by this author?), connections (who can he count on to help him reach his audience?) and way of attracting readers (the author’s popularity, expertise and/or credibility in the topic or genre).

There are numerous ways to establish your author’s platform and to build on it. Basically, it’s a matter of becoming known in your field or genre. You are strides ahead of the competition if you enter into the publishing realm with a solid platform. One way to do this is through public speaking and other activities that put you in front of your audience.
Why build a platform before your book is a book? For one thing, this would go a long way toward impressing a publisher. Traditional publishers are interested in an author’s marketing plan, and a solid platform can be a deal maker. If experience and exposure as a public speaker is part of that platform, all the better.

Additionally, no matter your publishing choice, once your book is launched, if you’ve established yourself as a speaker on your topic or in your genre, you already have a reputation and credentials. You know how to talk to people about your book, and there are at least a few people who trust your expertise in your field or appreciate your skill as a writer in your genre.

Conducting workshops and/or getting out and speaking on your topic before your book is a book will help immensely with name recognition. People are more willing to purchase your book if they already know who you are. If you also provide a signup sheet where you speak, you’ll have a leg up when it comes to promoting your book. Depending on when you start the process, you could conceivably collect the names and contact information for hundreds of people who are interested in reading your book. You will have a following even before you have a book to sell.

Note: If you are new to publishing, you may not know how difficult it is to promote and sell books and how much time and effort it takes on the author’s part. Believe me (and other publishing professionals) it is hugely time and energy-consuming. Anything you can do during the writing process of your project toward establishing and building on your platform, the greater chances you’ll have of success.

See Patricia Fry’s array of books for authors at her website:
http://www.matilijapress.com

Learn more about Patricia’s services and online courses:
http://www.patriciafry.com

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An Educational Journey

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

I had an inquiry this week as to a particular website I listed as a resource in one of my blogs sometime back. I attempted to locate it for the person who inquired, but was not clear enough as to which one she was seeking.

In the process of researching my past blog posts, I found many useful ones with numerous resources for authors and freelance writers. So today, I thought I’d suggest that you do a little research of your own through my blog posts and see what you can find of interest to your situation. A resource that was meaningless to you four years ago might be of great interest to you now, for example. You may have noticed a resource you wanted to check out, but never got around to it.

My posts number 1,397 with today’s entry. If you want a real jolt of information on writing a book proposal, book promotion, freelance writing, resources, etc., scroll down to “Categories” and begin an educational journey.

In the meantime, today is a good day to order a copy of my latest book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author You’ll find it at Amazon.com and also at my website: http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html

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Books and More Books for Authors

Monday, February 13th, 2012

I’m putting the finishing touches on my latest book—on public speaking for authors (Allworth Press). I’m in week 8 of the research, interviews and writing. My deadline is in 2 ½ weeks. I actually hope to finish the fine-tuning this week. I have a new book to promote, after all.

Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author (Allworth Press) debuted last month and I haven’t even had an opportunity to spread the word. I have a large database of client, customer, etc. names and scads of ideas for promotion. But all of my time right now is taken up by the book in progress.

You, my blog followers, are the only ones I’ve told about Publish Your Book. I hope that, if you’ve found my blog, my articles in the publications you read and my books useful, that you will order a copy of this book and tell your friends, members of your writers group, those on your lists and in the forums you frequent about this book. When you read it, please post a review at amazon.com. In the meantime, this book responds to all of those questions I get pretty much constantly:

• What’s the best way to publish my book?
• How can I find a publisher?
• How does one go about self-publishing?
• Do I need an agent?
• How do I go about getting an agent?
• How do you distribute a book?
• How can I get my book into bookstores?
• What’s the best way to promote a book?
• Can I get my book on Amazon?
• How can I find a legitimate pay-to-publish company?
• Do I need an editor?
• How can I get my book reviewed?
• Do I need a book proposal—why?
• How do I write a book proposal?
• What are the most effective book promotion activities?
• How can I set up book signings?

This is just a fraction of the issues that are covered in this book. And yes, it is for the fiction writer, children’s book writer as well as the nonfiction book author. I went through and counted the tips, information and resources and they number close to a thousand. Yes, it is a viable book and one that every hopeful, new and struggling author should have at his/her elbow.

Order your copy of Publish Your Book from amazon.com or from my website: http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html

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The Five P’s of Authorship

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

This week, we’ve been talking about the five P’s of successful authorship. Today I’m going to give you the last one. You may ask, “Which ones are most important?”

The answer, of course, is all of them. One is no more important than the other and all of them must be addressed during your writing and publishing journey if you are to succeed with your project.

To recap, we discussed:
Planning
Preparation
Proofing
Publishing

Today’s let’s concentrate on Promotion.

Don’t 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.

In order to sell copies of your book, you must turn practically all of your attention to promoting it. This means identifying your audience, locating them and finding ways to effectively approach them with information that will entice them to purchase your book.

There are numerous ways to approach book promotion and, in my articles, courses, workshops and books, I outline various activities for each type of promoter—the bold and the bashful. Do not expect to sell books without promoting them. Your book will not sell itself. (Don’t laugh. I’ve met authors who believe that their books will do just that.)

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 nearly eighty percent of all published books sell fewer than 100 copies? (You may have noticed that this statistic has gone up in the last several years.) 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.

To properly do your planning, adequately prepare, effectively proof, successfully publish and participate in the most difficult and time-consuming aspect of publishing—promotion—be sure to read my latest books: Order your copies of Publish Your Book and Promote Your Book today at Amazon or at my website: http://www.matilijapress.com

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Publishing, the 4th P

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

This week we’ve been covering the 5 Ps of publishing. So far, we’ve discussed Preparation, Planning and Proofing.

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, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author, 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.

Publishing is not free. If you land a traditional royalty publisher, you may not be required to put any money up, but you’ll receive only five to fifteen percent of the selling price of the books and this doesn’t typically add up to much.

If you go with a pay-to-publish outfit, you could end up with anywhere from $500 to $10,000 out of pocket. And in many cases, you still have to purchase your books. Read and understand any contract before signing.

If you self-publish (establish your own publishing company), you could spend anywhere from $1,000 (for a few copies produced at a business center) to $10,000 or more. My first self-published book cost me $25,000 to produce in 1983.

Am I suggesting that you give up on your publishing project? Not at all. I just want you to think hard about it before investing a lot of time, energy and money. As I suggest to my clients, before publishing consider your reasons for wanting to produce this book—are they valid or frivolous? And determine your book’s purpose. If you are still confident in your commitment to your project and it appears to be a viable product in this highly competitive publishing climate, then take the next step and publish. But we aren’t finished yet. There is one more P to consider.

Have you noticed that each P seems to indicate a greater commitment to your project? Yes, that’s pretty much the nature and the process of publishing. If you still aren’t convinced or if you don’t know much about the publishing industry and your responsibilities within it, please read the book I wrote for you: Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Authors. It’s at Amazon and it’s here:
http://www.matilijapress.com

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Book Proposal Help!

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Will you soon be faced with the task of writing a book proposal? Here are some resources that might help.

Former acquisitions editor and literary agent, Terry Whalin is offering a 12-lesson online book proposal course for under $100 ($27 per month for three months). Check it out at http://WriteABookProposal.com

And then there are a couple of good books on the subject:
Write a Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff and Deborah Herman
Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author by Patricia Fry has a 53-page section on writing a book proposal.

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

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Proof Your Manuscript

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

The third P in successful publishing is Proofing. Along with that, of course, goes 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.

Plan to pay an editor from $800 to $3,000 (or more). This depends on the size and scope of your manuscript as well as the condition of it.

Read more about self-editing and so much more in my newly released book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author.