Writing and Publishing News

I often tell new authors that one of the most important things they can do to prepare for a successful publishing experience is to study the publishing industry. So how does one go about this?

1: Read my book, Publish Your Book. I wrote it specifically to help authors understand the hugely competitive and complex field they are about to enter. While Publish Your Book covers publishing options and how to choose the right one, self-publishing, pay-to-publish companies, steps to writing a book proposal and book promotion, if you want more on some of these topics, read: Dan Poynter’s Self Publishing Manual; Mark Levine’s The Fine Print of Self Publishing and Brian Jud’s Beyond the Bookstore, for example.

2: Join publishers’ organizations. I recommend SPAWN, IBPA and SPAN, for example. Participate in their discussion groups, read the articles and check out the resources at their sites and read every newsletter.

3: Subscribe to magazines and newsletters related to publishing. (Read the “SPAWN Market Update” in the member area of the SPAWN Web site. Read the “IBPA Independent” and others.)

4: Search the Net. Spend time each week checking out the resources you’ve already discovered and searching for additional resources, articles, discussion groups and books. Use these materials and sites to gather additional information you need about the industry (your publishing options, how to choose and approach publishers/agents, what are your responsibilities as a published author, etc.).

What is the key to publishing success? It’s nothing new—it’s not a big secret. Just think back on the other successes you’ve experienced in your lifetime. What were they based on? If you’re candid, your list will probably include:

• Knowledge
• Information
• Research/study
• Experience
• Work/effort/energy
• Persistence
• Practice
• Skills/talent

Order Publish Your Book at Amazon in print, Kindle or audio. Also available at most other online and downtown bookstores and here: http://www.matilijapress.com

Yesterday I visited a group of the Southern California Writers Association in Fountain Valley. I talked to them about book marketing for the reluctant fiction and nonfiction author. However, I got the impression from audience questions and from chatting with some of the delightful attendees that there probably wasn’t a reluctant marketer among them.

This seemed like a savvy group of authors who had taken the time to study the publishing industry before getting too deeply involved. However, several of them told me they picked up some ideas during my presentation that they hadn’t even thought of, and they were eager to try. Cool! And some of them bought copies of my books—all of which include at least a section on book promotion. Yes, these are serious authors—authors who want to make an impression with their books.

If you take your book project seriously and if you want a successful outcome, there are steps you should definitely take before launching it.

1: Make sure you are writing the right book for the right audience. So often, we write what I consider “throw-away books.” We write what we want to write and there is no real audience for our “masterpiece.” Define your audience and keep them in mind throughout the entire writing procession.

For help with this step, I strongly suggest that you write a book proposal. Yes, now. It will help you to understand more about your audience, the appropriateness and value of your proposed book, whether it is a valid project, your role as a published author and so much more.

2: Study the publishing industry before you ever think about getting involved in it. Read books like my “Publish Your Book.” Available at amazon.com in print, Kindle and audio. Also available at most other online and downtown bookstores. Also attend lectures, subscribe to industry publications and read them. (For a list of those I recommend, plus other author resources, email me: PLFry620@yahoo.com)

3: Determine which publishing option you will pursue early on in the process of writing your book. And have some companies in mind. This research could take some time—be sure to check each company you consider. Let me know if you need some tips for checking the credibility of publishing companies and self-publishing companies. (PLFry620@yahoo.com)

4: Begin building your platform. This means, if you aren’t already known in your field or in your genre, take steps to become known. There are countless ways to do this. Read some of the posts I’ve done on platform. Study the section on platform in “Publish Your Book.” In the meantime, use your imagination to make yourself more visible to your particular audience, talk about your book everywhere you go, collect email addresses of those who might be interested in your book, join organizations related to the theme/genre of your book and so forth.

5: Start devising a marketing plan early on. What skills do you have that you can use in promoting your book? You already know who your audience is—where do they hangout, buy books, etc. What conferences, meetings, lectures do they attend? What periodicals do they read, what websites do they visit? Map out a plan based on your responses to these questions.

6: When you finish your last draft, hire a book editor. This does not mean your child’s teacher, a friend who is good with words, the retired professor down the street. Hire a book editor who is currently working in the field. Expect to pay anywhere from $800 to $3,000 (possibly more), depending on the extent of work your manuscript needs.

7: Part one: If you hope to attract an agent or one of the many traditional publishers out there who are hungry for a good project: while your book is with the editor, start approaching appropriate agents or publishers. (Not all publishers require that you come to them through an agent.) Locate the submission guidelines for each agent/publisher you hope to approach. Send a masterfully-written query letter to those that require one first. (If your editor is industry-savvy, he/she can help you with the query letter.) If you didn’t do so as part of step 1, start preparing a book proposal for those agents/publishers who require one.

Part Two: If you plan to self-publish (establish your own publishing company) or go with a pay-to-publish company, begin now implementing your marketing plan. Make contacts, write press releases, schedule presentations, etc.

Doesn’t sound like an easy journey, does it? But if you want your project to succeed—if you want to be one of the 22 percent of authors who actually makes it, it is important that you pay close attention to these 7 steps.

Questions? PLFry620@yahoo.com

I have hundreds and hundreds of articles stored on my computer. Most of them relate to writing, publishing and book promotion. In the last eight years alone, I’ve posted over 1,750 blogs. I constantly come up with new article, blog and book ideas. But occasionally, I find it worthwhile to go back and revisit some of my topics. That’s what I’m doing today.

Here’s a message that’s worth repeating.

Following are 7 mistakes that many new authors make—mistakes that can cost you large sums of money and dramatically diminish your opportunity for publishing success.

1: Inexperienced authors write a book as the first step. Why is this considered a mistake? If you aspire to have your book published and widely distributed, this may be the wrong approach. Whether you’re writing a how-to book, biography, self-help, romance novel, children’s story, mystery, memoir or dictionary, write a book proposal first.

In the process of writing a book proposal, you will:
• Learn if you have a viable book at all.
• Discover whether there is a market for this book.
• Determine your target audience.
• Ascertain the best way to promote your book.
• Understand more about establishing your platform.

Write a book proposal as a first step and you’re more apt to write the right book for the right audience. How better to snag a traditional royalty publisher than with a promising project?

2: Eager new authors often go with the first publishing opportunity they stumble across. You don’t make other business decisions this quickly. You research the possibilities and study your options. Many authors forget that publishing is a business. We get so attached to our projects and so eager to see our books in print that we act emotionally rather than logically.

Learn the difference between a traditional royalty publisher and a pay-to-publish service. You’ll find hundreds of traditional royalty publishers listed in Writer’s Market (available in the reference section of your library or for sale for about $30 in most bookstores. A new edition comes out each September). There are other directories available online and in book form.

Visit bookstores in search of books like yours. Find out who published these books and contact those publishers.

As an author, you have many options. Research them, understand them and scrutinize them in order to choose the one that is right for your project.

3: New authors believe that they don’t have a chance with a traditional royalty publisher. This is simply not true. If you have a viable project, you arm yourself with knowledge and you approach the publisher in a professional manner, you have a definite chance of landing a traditional royalty publisher.

Find publishers who produce books like yours. Study their Submission Guidelines. Follow these guidelines in approaching them with your project. If they request a query letter first, do NOT send your complete manuscript. If you don’t understand what goes into a query letter, study books and articles about writing a query letter. Get help from a professional. I can help you, for example. PLFry620@yahoo.com

There are hundreds of small to medium-sized publishers eager for good, marketable books. For example, everyone knows that poetry books are a hard sell. Yet, Writer’s Market lists over 40 traditional royalty publishers who publish books of poetry. There are at least 125 publishers of mysteries and about the same number who produce historical novels. There are over 200 traditional royalty publishers that publish biographies and more than 175 who produce children’s books. Encouraging, isn’t it?

I’ll continue with items 4-7 tomorrow.

There are certain things that I constantly harp on. And sometimes I repeat my mantra over and over to the same clients, audiences and students. When speaking to groups of writers in various cities, often a hand will go up during the Q and A session and the individual will ask me something that I covered quite sufficiently in my spiel. How did he miss it? Why don’t some of my clients/students get what I so carefully and thoroughly pass along to them? Am I a poor teacher?

No. Some authors are in deep denial. They ask the same question again and again hoping for a new answer—one that they can accept and digest—something that is more within their comfort zone.

Some new authors don’t want to write a book for their audience. They want to write it strictly for themselves and, once they pay to have it published, they wonder why they can’t get people interested in reading it.

Many authors won’t accept responsibility for promoting their books—they don’t believe they should have to do anything other than write it and make it available. Later, they chalk up their failure to the fact that bookstores won’t carry their books or that they didn’t get that big break on the Jay Leno show like they should have.

Authors don’t believe me (and other professionals) when I say they need a platform—a following, credibility in their field or genre. When their book doesn’t perform the way they hope, they figure it’s because their editor screwed up, their cover designer led them astray or their webmaster didn’t build a good enough site.

Authors, pay attention to the experts—those professionals you trust. Listen to everything they say, not just those things you want to hear. Avoid reading falsehoods into what they tell you. Stop resisting those things that make you feel uncomfortable. Look at the big picture so that you can understand what you’re being told and why. Take the initiative on behalf of your book project. In fact, from day one—when you decide you want to write a book for publication—you should consider yourself the CEO of that book. This means that you must make educated decisions—that you need to take full responsibility for your project.

Now, do you want to pursue a project that is doomed to failure? If not, you’d better begin your education. Start by studying the publishing industry, read good books on the subject, attend writers’ conferences and writers’ group meetings where there are speakers from the publishing community. Once you truly understand the highly competitive business you are about to enter, you’ll be able to make better decisions on behalf of your book. And you’re more apt to be among the twenty-two percent of authors who sell more than just 100 books total.

Start by reading Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. Available at Amazon.com http://www.amzn.to/Tze53Z and most other online and downtown bookstores.

Plan to attend the huge Tucson Festival of Books and sit in on some of the panel discussions with industry professionals—agents, publishers, successful authors and others. I will be on four panels over the weekend (March 9 and 10) on publishing, finding a publisher, building your platform and marketing.

1: The author either doesn’t attend lectures and workshops presented by professionals in the publishing/book promotion field or he attends some, but discounts the speakers’ suggestions.

2: The author hires an editor or a publishing consultant and doesn’t heed their advice.

3: The author neglects to hire an editor.

4: The author writes the book she wants to write without considering her audience.

5: The author has his book packaged in a bland cover, thinking that the cover doesn’t matter—it’s what’s inside.

6: The author does not research beyond finding an agent and expects his job to be over at that point.

7: The author hears about the concept of book promotion and marketing, but doesn’t think it applies to him or her.

8: The author learns that it is up to him or her to promote their book, but chooses not to go there.

9: The author signs with the first pay-to-publish company that he stumbles across.

10: The author doesn’t understand the contract, but signs it anyway.

11: The author expects his pay-to-publish or traditional publisher to handle all promotion.

12: The author doesn’t have a clue about the business of publishing.

If you see yourself in these scenarios, you are either already published and highly disappointed in the experience or you will soon be. What’s the remedy?

Study the publishing industry so you know what to expect and how to more successfully navigate this highly competitive business. Start by reading “Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author.” It’s at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores.