My life has been about kittens, cats and clients for the past few weeks. And I’ve enjoyed practically every moment—except the part where our 11-year-old cat, Max, got sick. We think it was because of an enlarged heart. But his scary episode is over and he seems normal. We have changed one thing—we’ve elevated his food so he doesn’t have to lean over to eat. From what I understand, it can be uncomfortable for a cat with an enlarged heart to lean down to eat.
I learned this, not from our vet, but from the Internet.
Do you use the Internet fully when you have a question about publishing or you’re looking for information about publishers, an editor, a distributor, an appropriate organization to join, a book proposal workshop or guidance through the self-publishing process, for example? Or do you even research these things at all? Did you just go blindly through the process of writing and publishing your book with little or no qualified help?
The fact is that most authors fail. The figures in 2007 indicated that around 76 percent of authors sold fewer than 100 copies of their books over a period of a year. And most of them gave up after selling only a handful of books. Do you know why these authors failed? Because they did not bother to educate themselves about the publishing industry.
• They did not know much about how the publishing industry works.
• They did not know their publishing options.
• They did not know the possible consequences of their choices.
• They did not understand their responsibilities as a published author.
Most authors start the education process too late to create a success of their first book. Those who realize their mistakes, may produce a second book and do much better with it. This time around they will:
• Study the publishing industry.
• Write a book proposal before writing their book.
• Be clear about their target audience and how to approach them.
• Find out what their competition is—is there a market for this book?
• Hire an editor before even considering a publisher.
• Evaluate their options and choose appropriately for their project.
• Avoid signing a “self-publishing” company contract without fully understanding it.
• Be completely prepared to promote their books for as long as they want them to sell.
Those of you who are reading this blog post today probably found it through an Internet search. My hat is off to you. I hope that you will continue searching and evaluating what you discover so that you have the best information available to guide you in creating the success you desire.
Success as an author does not hinge on your audience, the publishing industry or luck. It is all up to you. You can’t rely on forces outside of yourself to make your book a success. It won’t happen automatically just because you believe in your book, you worked hard on it, your friends love it and you once won a literary contest. The success of your particular book depends on your publishing savvy because you’re the one making the choices and decisions on behalf of your book.
So get out there and learn all you can about the industry, how it works and what it takes in order to succeed. Here, let me help you with some of your research. Here are some of the sites, organizations, books and classes/workshops that I recommend. Search the Internet for others that relate to your project and that resonate with you.
For everything you need to know about fee-based POD “self-publishing” companies, read Mark Levine’s book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. Highly recommended for those of you going the self-publishing route.
To learn more about the publishing industry in general, your publishing options, how to make the right choice for your particular project, how to write a book proposal (a step-by-step guide), tips for writing that book, book promotion, oodles of resources and much, much more, order Patricia Fry’s hallmark book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org. There are currently opportunities to get involved in the administration of SPAWN. Contact me, if you’re interested: Patricia@spawn.org. This is a great way to become known by your peers and to network with others in the publishing field.
Take one of Patricia Fry’s online, on-demand courses and gain an enormous value for your money. She offers a Self-Publishing Course, Book Proposal Workshop, Article-Writing Course and a course on Book Promotion. You couldn’t get more personalized service if you became Patricia’s private client. This is one of the best bargains out there for authors and freelance writers. http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm
If you do nothing else for yourself and your publishing project this year, tap into these 4 resources. The $100 to $300 you spend educating and training yourself through these means could ultimately save you or earn you thousands of dollars. Questions? PLFry620@yahoo.com.
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