Archive for September, 2012

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Subject Line and Press Release Titles

Friday, September 7th, 2012

We’re back to titles again today. Why? Because some authors really struggle with them. One problem authors often express to me is, “I emailed such and such publisher/agent/editor and received no response.” Many times, the subject line is the problem. The author has used a rather generic lead to his email. Most of us have learned not to respond to or are suspicious of emails from strangers that come with a subject line saying, “hi,” “Need your help,” “Please help,” or that have the title of the book, the name of the author (if it is unknown) or is blank, for example.

If you are trying to sell your book, you would not put in your subject line or your press release, “Great book for sale” or “Announcing a new book.” Not in this competitive bookselling climate. Instead, list a benefit to your particular readers. “A gripping story of struggle through the depression,” or “A suspense story that will keep you on the edge of your seat,” or “Learn how to be happy every day, no matter what,” or “1001 free things for every household.”

Learn more about your subject line, your title and writing press releases and web copy and sooooo much more in my book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It’s at amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. Can also be purchased from my website: http://www.matilijapress.com

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Can You Publish Without Money?

Thursday, September 6th, 2012

I get this question from a hopeful author every once in a while: “I am an author, but I don’t have any money. Is there any way that I can get my book published?” Here’s how I typically respond to that question:
Sure you have a chance of getting published without spending money. Here are my recommendations:

1: Study the publishing industry so you know how it works, what your options are, the possible consequences of your choices and your responsibilities as a published author. There are good books on publishing and book promotion in the library system. There are many FREE enewsletters you can subscribe to, blogs by successful authors and professionals you can visit regularly and useful articles and resources at the websites of professionals and publishing organizations. There are writers’ groups and free programs for hopeful authors in most communities. Sometimes you can get scholarships to writers’ conferences, which provide great opportunities to learn more about writing and publishing as well as to meet author’s agents and editors from publishing companies.

2: Become the best writer that you can be. Practice, practice, practice. And attend critique groups to find out how your writing is affecting others—because it is others that you are, presumably, writing for. Sign up for free or inexpensive writing workshops through your community college or arts program.
3: When you are ready—you have done your work well—approach some of the many, many traditional royalty publishers with your project. A traditional publisher will invest in your book—no need to put out any of your own money. Your studies will help you to approach publishers in an appropriate manner with the appropriate material—a book proposal, for example.

4: If the publishers you want to approach require that you engage a literary agent, locate an appropriate one through Association of Author’s Representatives. A legitimate agent does not charge you. They take a percentage of what you negotiate with a publisher.

5: Some authors can find investors for their projects or advertisers. If you book is a local history, for example, you might be able to get a local bank or another business to advertise in the back of your book, thus help with the production of it. If it is on a topic or has a theme of interest to thousands (or millions), you might be able to get funding from an appropriate entity (organization, agency, institution, or even individual, for example). In other words, if your book focuses on caring for feral cats, going green or how to feed a family healthy meals for less, you might find an advocate or group that is interested in spreading this message to fund your project. A college or university might help you get a book on astronomy for beginners, cancer research, job search tips or parenting for the single mother produced and help you distribute it.

Can you get published when you don’t have any money? Certainly, but you’d better rely heavily on other attributes, such as creative-thinking, ability to think outside the box, persistence, patience, and the willingness to be proactive on your own behalf. Here are some additional suggestions:

• Read this blog regularly.
• Ask for the information you would like to see included in this blog.
• Visit my websites for information and resources.
• Sign up for my FREE ebooklet at patriciafry.com
• Read my books—you’ll find them in the library system.
• Sign up for SPAWNews. It’s FREE at spawn.org.

For those of you with a little money and a huge desire to succeed, order my latest book today: Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. Available at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. Or order a copy here: http://www.matilijapress.com

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What’s Your Excuse for Not Selling Books?

Tuesday, September 4th, 2012

What are some of the excuses that keep authors from succeeding? Here are a few I’ve heard over the years and some I continue to hear.

1: “I don’t need to develop a marketing plan because this book will sell itself.” Promotion is about getting exposure, having your book become known, putting it before your audience… And if you don’t do that, no one will know about it, which means they certainly will not purchase it.

2: “I don’t feel like being around that many strangers.” An author told me this when I suggested a bookselling opportunity to him. It’s hard to sell books when there aren’t very many people around.

3: “You can’t sell books at book signings.” Of course, I’ve also heard, “Publishers don’t buy books from first time authors,” “You have to have an agent in order to get a publishing contract,” and other fallacies. The truth is, you can’t sell books at signings if you don’t attend them. Plus, sales aren’t the only thing you should consider when you are promoting a book. What else is there? Exposure, exposure, exposure!

4: “I don’t like getting up in front of a group.” I also hear, “I don’t want to mess with building a website,” “I hate approaching people to review my book, give me testimonials, publish my article, etc.” I tell these authors that personality sells books. In fact, personality is probably the most important factor in selling some books. An author who wants to sell books, should definitely become more proactive and more people oriented.

5: “I have publishers interested in my book so I don’t want to promote it.” I got this response after asking an author if she’d like to participate in a book festival. I think I convinced her that she could be selling some of the copies she has in her garage and making some money while continuing to wait for a publisher to commit to publishing her book. As a matter of fact, impressive sales might just tip the scale in her favor.

Authors who make these excuses—who prefer to stay within their comfort zone and out of the limelight—can probably expect to be one the over 78 percent of authors who fail every year.

Instead, I urge you to stop making excuses that interfere with your publishing goals. Educate yourself about the publishing industry and become proactive and assertive on behalf of your project.

Learn more about book promotion by reading my book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. If you still don’t quite “get” the world of publishing, purchase Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. They are both available at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. You can also order it from my website: http:www.matilijapress.com

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Apologies, Explanations and Dilemmas

Monday, September 3rd, 2012

I’ve been working on things that take concentration and time—lots of uninterrupted time. And I’ve given up a few things in the processes. One is my daily walk (I’m definitely walking this morning before the heat sets in) and another is my daily blog. I’ve missed a few lately—breaking my “daily” record.

What am I doing? This weekend, I’ve been writing the index for my upcoming book for Allworth Press, Talk Up Your Book. And for the last few weeks and now sporadically when I absolutely must have a break from the tedium, I work on my novel. (Working title, The Klepto Cat Mystery.)

I thought I did the final proof for the nonfiction book a month or so ago and actually started working on the index then. One of the experts who received a galley in order to write a testimonial, however, suggested a format change that the publishers’ editors accepted. Without consulting me, they made major formatting changes which increased the book by around 30 pages. Now all of my preliminary index entries are off from about page 40 to page 300. Not only that, the spacing is off in many areas because they didn’t do a thorough job in making these changes. In what should have been a clean proof this time (the 3rd pass), I have located approximately 40 problems—all resulting from their attempt to make a major change midstream. And one that was not necessary, in my opinion. It would have been fine the way it was. It was one of those close calls—an either/or situation. It was right either way. And I would have suggested they leave it the way it was. If it ain’t broke…you know…

When my mind isn’t so cluttered with the proofing and the index, which I’m eager to get out the door to make room for an incoming editing job, I want to discuss how to handle authors of poorly written published books. I have two authors in mind at the moment whose novels I have tried to read, but couldn’t because there were so many problems. One of them even had some decent reviews.

I guess I read books partially from an editor’s point of view. If it is full of clichés and mistakes and doesn’t ring true, I am not interested in reading it. If it is sappy, predictable, trite and written as if by a third-grader or for a third-grade mentality, I am totally turned off by it. Last night, I started reading a light mystery novel and I kept laughing out loud. My partner, Dennis, said, “Funny story, huh?”

I said, “No, I’m just blown away by the triteness of this writing.” It was unbelievably dull and uninspired. Last year, I bought a book by someone I’ve known professionally for a while. I thought I’d read it while traveling. I ended up leaving it on the plane on the first leg of my trip because I couldn’t read comfortably past the errors. The writing was decent, but OMG, the grammatical mistakes were so distracting, I couldn’t read the thing.

Now, what I want to talk to you about is this—do I contact these authors and gently suggest that they bring their next manuscript to me (or another qualified BOOK editor) before publishing it or do I just stay out of it?

Posted in Authorship, Editing | No Comments »

How Does an Editor Work?

Saturday, September 1st, 2012

I had a question from a potential client yesterday about how I work with authors. He wanted to know if I would be available for consultation after I do the editing in order to discuss my edits. He wondered if this was included in the fee.

I explained first off that I charge by the hour. This includes editing work, consultations, responding to questions and proofing the manuscript once the author has revised or corrected based on my editorial suggestions.

I do, however, provide a free sample edit (a page or 3) and free estimate.

Additionally, I said that while some clients have a few questions after I edit their manuscripts, generally they go through each edit and either accept it or not. As a matter of course, while I edit, I write my suggestions and, where appropriate, my reasoning. So typically, there is little to discuss. It’s a matter of the author either understanding and accepting or having some reason to discard my suggestion. I also told him that I will not defend or debate my work.

I said, “Certainly, if you have a question, I will do my best to respond. And email is absolutely the best way for me to do this since I will often need to go back to the manuscript to refresh my memory as to the phrase or storyline you are asking about. Once I’ve finished editing a manuscript, I go on to the next one and have pretty much put the one before it out of my mind. While I am close to the manuscript while I am working on it, I do not establish the sort of relationship with it that the author has, as you can imagine. I see several manuscripts each year.”

If you would like a free editorial estimate for your manuscript, contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com. Learn more about me and my work here: http://www.patriciafry.com

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