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A few days ago, I promised that I would continue with my “lecture” on how to succeed as a published author. If you missed the July 15th post, be sure to backtrack and read it. Here is what I suggest to serious authors who want to succeed in the competitive publishing field.

Continue reading this and other publishing blogs, pertinent books such as The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, and newsletters for authors. Attend writers’ group meetings and writers’ conferences. Sign up for appropriate online courses. And follow up with the speakers/authors whose messages resonate with you.

I often say that successful publishing depends on knowledge and understanding. I’d also like to add “strategy.” Here’s my formula—it’s simple—but not always easy. Study the publishing industry and write a book proposal.

As part of your learning path, let me say that publishing is not FREE. It requires that you produce your very best piece of work. I recommend saving up (or setting aside) money early on to pay a good book editor to put the polish on your amazing manuscript. You’ll need anywhere from $500 to $3,000 (or more), depending on the size, scope and shape of your manuscript.

I have charged as little as $700 for editing and as much as $3,500. I issued a quote of $12,000 recently. The author was nowhere near prepared to pay that much, but it was a HUGE manuscript (actually the size of three typical novels) and there were many, many problems with sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and such. The author, for whom English was her second language, also had a deadline. She wanted me to complete the work in a mere few weeks. That just wasn’t going to happen. I did my best to negotiate a lower fee, but the author chose to do her own editing (argh) and then call it good.

Okay, so put money aside for a good book manuscript editor. You may decide to self-publish (establish your own publishing company) or go with a pay-to-publish service. Set aside another $1,000 to $5,000 for a cover designer and page layout person. Depending on which company you choose and how many copies you want, it may cost you an additional $1,000 to $10,000 to produce your book.

And then there is the task of book promotion. This will require your time, commitment, creativity, imagination and, most likely, some money. It costs to travel, to reserve booths at book festivals, to set up a website, to hire a press release service, to have brochures and posters made, to have your book included in catalogs, to join important organizations…

These are the kinds of things many authors do not want to hear or to deal with. And that, dear readers, is the reason why so many authors fail each year.

Questions: Contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo. (I apologize for being silent for the last few days. I was traveling and had limited Internet access.)

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

You finally step outside your comfort zone and attend a writers’ group meeting or writers’ conference. You listen intently while the speaker explains aspects of the publishing industry and how to navigate it. The speaker hands out brochures, business cards—maybe a list of resources or an article or tip sheet. He or she takes time to answer audience questions, and then the speaker invites you to visit her website and even to email her if you have additional questions.

You have been given a great opportunity to connect in a personal way with someone whose presentation you found enlightening and informative—who has material and experience and is willing to share it. You’re excited at the prospect. You’re eager to learn more—to have your burning questions answered—to gain a greater understanding of the publishing industry. But you don’t follow through. Why?

You don’t want to bother the speaker? You don’t think your question is worth asking? Or is it that you would rather not know the answers because you suspect it will mean an uncomfortable walk along the learning curve or it will necessitate stretching on your part?

If you’re one of the many authors who hope to find an easy entrance into the world of publishing—one that does not require you to step outside of your comfort zone—you might as well quit now. If you’re not going to read the recommended books, follow up on the suggested resources or take the opportunity to connect in a meaningful way with someone who might be able to help in your publishing journey, you may become one of the seventy-six percent of authors who fail.

I know what you must do in order to succeed in the fiercely competitive publishing field. And I know that the seventy-six percent of authors who fail either do not know what it takes or they choose not to accept the truth. There are still authors who so believe in their projects that they expect success without the effort. They think that all they need to do is launch their books and the public will do the rest. If they make the book available, people will buy it. These authors go from point A to point Z with nothing but faith.

I have absolutely nothing against faith. I have it, too. But when it comes to a serious and, sometimes, costly business such as publishing, I advise bringing in oodles of knowledge, understanding and proactive measures.

I am probably preaching to the choir here. The author in this scenario would probably not be reading this blog, unless it is to find a way to revive a failing book. And in that case, I have a great resource. Order my ebook, The Author’s Repair Kit. This ebook is designed to help you to heal your publishing mistakes and breathe new life into your book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

You may have noticed the many, many author services that have cropped up in the last few years—and continue to launch. Some of them are pay-to-publish companies trying to disguise themselves as something else. But most of them have some new book promotion gimmick.

We get frequent questions about some of these outfits from authors through SPAWN. Random authors contact me for advice, personally, as well. I also receive emails and calls from some of these companies who want to somehow get to our members so they can sell their services to them… “We’ll offer your members a discount”—“create a special package for them,” etc.

What is my response to authors? I think you’ve heard/read me say it before—before signing with any company, become proactive.

• Arm yourself with knowledge by studying the publishing industry. By this, I mean, read books, blogs and articles by industry professionals; subscribe to and read newsletters for authors; join appropriate organizations and participate; attend authors’ conferences, etc.

• Check out the publishing warning sites. I provide them fairly often in this blog. If you have missed them and would like a list, contact me: PLFry620@yahoo.com

• Do a Google search to see if there have been any complaints lodged against them. Use keywords, “name of the company” and “complaint,” “scam” or “warning.”

• If you get to the point of viewing the contract, hire a publishing attorney to look it over before signing.

You may think that your timely, amazing, well-written book is what’s going to launch you into stardom and wealth. I’m here to tell you that this is only part of the story. What you really need is knowledge of the publishing industry and an understanding of your responsibilities as a published author.

Once you understand what it takes to promote a book, for example, you’ll be more able to discern which book promotion services are valid and which ones aren’t. In some cases, it depends on your book. For example, a press release service to public school districts probably isn’t going to bode well for you if your book is a guide to parenting triplets. A service that gets you on talk radio, probably won’t do you any good if you happen to be deaf or you simply refuse to speak in public. Likewise, hiring a publicity company that books speeches all over the US won’t be a good match for you if you don’t have time or inclination to travel.

I sit here and write new blog posts practically every day of the year, continually write and update my books, write numerous articles for appropriate publications, travel around and speak, continue as executive director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers), work with clients, teach online courses and field questions almost daily in order to help you make the best decisions toward your publishing success. I’m not just blowing in the wind, folks. I’m trying to help you here.

If you haven’t done so already, go to my Patricia Fry website and download my FREE ebooklet, 50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book. You’ll learn volumes that will help you to make the right decisions for you and your project.

http://www.patriciafry.com

Order books and sign up for my online courses here:
http://www.matilijapress.com

I got up early enough to write my blog today, after all. And I thought I’d share with you one of the premises I’ll, most likely, share in my talk this morning out in Apple Valley, California. Do you know what your publishing options are? Or have you just emerged from your writing room after months or years of working on your amazing book and you don’t know where to turn? I imagine hundreds and hundreds of hopeful authors running around madly in search of a secret entrance into the wide world of publishing.

Most will turn to the Internet. Type in “publishing,” or “book publishing” or “finding a publisher,” and what comes up? Generally, first listed, are the companies that pay for the top slots in a Google, Yahoo, etc. search—AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, PublishAmerica, and so forth. Does this mean these are your best choices? Is this some sort of omen indicating that you should publish with one of these pay-to-publish (self-publishing) companies? NO!

What you should do is take time to study the publishing industry so that you understand more about it, so that you know what your publishing options are, the possible ramifications of your choices and your responsibilities as a published author.

Have you ever gone into business before? Do you know anyone who has? Most likely you did not jump in with both feet until you knew something about the industry, your customers, the suppliers/distributors and your competition. Well, while writing is a craft, publishing is a serious business and, in order to experience some measure of success, you really need to approach it as such.

Read my book and others like it: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. This book is on sale now as I am making room for the updated version to be released by Allworth Press in February. Is the current version still of value to authors? Oh my gosh, YES! It is exactly what you need in order to learn more about the publishing industry and how to navigate it, understand more about your publishing options and how to make the right choices for you and your particular project and how to plan your marketing strategy, for example. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

If you plan to go the pay-to-publish route, PLEASE read Mark Levine’s book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. He rates and ranks the most popular “self-publishing” companies and explains the contracts to you will understand them. Get the ebook version FREE when you join or renew your membership with SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org

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

Do you have more than one writing project on your desktop? Do you sometimes debate with yourself, which one to get behind? Which one will be most interesting to a publisher? Which one has the most potential for sales? Which one do you favor—would you enjoy pursuing?

Hopeful authors come to me frequently with this dilemma. And here’s how I advise them: I suggest that they write a book proposal. How will this help you make this difficult decision?

• You’ll be required to write a synopsis and this will give you a clue as to whether you have enough material for a nonfiction book or whether you’re clear as to the scope and focus of a children’s book or novel, for example.

• I recommend that an author also write a one or two sentence description of his book. This exercise will help you to determine if you actually have a handle on the book you propose.

• You’ll need to check to see what else is out there like your book. For a nonfiction book, how does your book differ? What makes it better or more useful than what’s currently on the market? For fiction—is the genre popular? Will your book fill a need or a niche?

• You must determine whether you have what it takes to successfully promote this book. While you may want to write a novel, you may be more well-qualified to promote and sell a book related to a field of your interest and/or expertise—accounting, horse training, quilting, aviation, etc. So a how-to or informational book might be your best bet for a first publishing experience.

• You will be required to compile chapter summaries. This will certainly assist in your decision-making process. If you can’t come up with, say, ten chapters and describe them, maybe you don’t have a book, at all.

I hope this little exercise today helps you with your big decision as to whether you should work on your children’s book, your western novel, your memoir or your business book. Here are additional tips:
• Go with the one that is easiest for you to compile, write and promote.
• Start with a nonfiction project on a topic you are very familiar with.
• Test the market with a pamphlet or booklet.
• Write short stories and submit them.

For additional articles on this and many other subjects for authors, go to:

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