Writing and Publishing News from

The promotion is starting for the new book—Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. The publisher (Allworth Press) has assigned me a publicist to do a blast of publicity—send out review copies, get some good promotional stuff at Amazon (like the testimonials from the back cover), arrange for some interviews for me and so forth. The publicist will contact key individuals, bloggers, newsletter editors about the book launch and solicit articles/announcements. He will also, most likely, get this book on Kindle. The last book they published for me—Promote Your Book—(Allworth Press, 2011) is on Kindle and from what I can tell when I check sales at Amazon’s Author Central, the Kindle version is selling well along with the print.

Book publishing is an interesting experience. I’ve been a published author since 1978. I began producing books through Matilija Press in 1983. I have 35 books to my credit now. And I can tell you that, while there are some basic elements to publishing (most importantly the author must be proactive in promoting his or her book), each publishing experience is different.

So when you go to someone who has had experience within the publishing realm for advice or guidance, this person can do only so much for you. You must realize that you are responsible for carving your path into the publishing jungle. You need to know the basics, which is what I present in my new book, Publish Your Book. You need to understand the publishing industry, which I explain in my book. You need to educate yourself—I show you how in my book. But know that your journey may be a very different one from others you meet.

Someone might tell you there are no publishers for books like yours and you might locate and land a publisher. People will tell you that publishers do nothing to promote your book. Then you might have a publisher who does a little more promotion than most. You may be told that books like yours are easy to promote. But you still have to promote if you expect to sell copies of your book. You may be told that pay-to-publish is the way to go and then find out the hard way that this was a bad decision for you and your book.

Publish Your Book is designed to give you the education you need in order to more successfully navigate the hugely competitive publishing world. Publishing is not something to be taken lightly—to just dabble in, if you desire success. It is a serious business. In order to be success as a published author, you really must take it seriously and learn the ropes before getting involved. Then, apply only those things that relate to you and your project. The problem many authors have is that they want things to happen fast. They want what they want now and without hassle. So they make snap decisions without knowing all of their options and the possible ramifications of their choices.

Don’t be one of these authors. Read Publish Your Book (the updated revision of “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book (2007).

For those of you who don’t know my work, I’m known as someone who can write in a friendly, clear manner so that anyone can understand it. Even though I portray the publishing realm as complex, my book, Publish Your Book, does not come across that way. I have a knack for taking the serious stuff and writing it so you can understand it, thus more successfully deal with it.

And in this edition, I’ve included numerous examples for you coming from other nonfiction and fiction authors and children’s book authors.

Order your copy today at amazon.com or here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html

I’ve been telling you about my new book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author at
http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html

You might legitimately ask, “What’s in it for me?” Let me give you an idea:

• A study of your publishing options whether you write fiction, nonfiction or children’s books (traditional publishing, self-publishing and the pay-to-publish option).

• Help determining which publishing option is right for you.

• Tips for working with a publisher and an agent.

• Sample query letters and book proposals for both fiction and nonfiction books.

• An introduction to self-editing

• Dozens of book promotion ideas with tips and techniques for all authors.

• Over two dozen anecdotes and examples from other fiction and nonfiction authors showing how they handled various writing, publishing and book promotion situations.

• Recommended reading after each chapter in case you want more information on a topic—pay-to-publish companies, for example, publishing law, book promotion, etc.

This book is your guide to publishing success. The time to purchase it is as soon as you start thinking about writing a book. A successful publishing experience begins with a viable product (a well-written and expertly edited book that has a strong general or niche audience). Publish Your Book coaches you in writing the right book for the right audience. If you are in the process of writing a book, you can use this book to make sure you are on the right track with your project and to guide you in making better decisions on behalf of your book once you enter into the daunting publishing realm. If you have already published your book and you are struggling to make sales, Publish Your Book will offer the insight and ideas you need to bump your sales up to speed. A lagging book is often the result of an uninformed author.

The most important thing you need when you decide to enter into the world of publishing is information and education. This book (a result of my nearly 40 years navigating the industry and a plethora of research) is designed to provide you with the education you need.

http://www.matilijapress.com/PublishYourBook.html Also available at amazon.com

So here it is, the New Year. This is the year you promised yourself you would finish that book and get it published.

Do you have a plan? What is your first step? How do you expect to handle the ongoing process? What is your backup plan? What is different this year than in past years to make your dream finally come true—to help you to meet your goal?

I would suggest that number one on your list is to educate yourself. Study books and articles and attend lectures designed to educate yourself about what it takes to become a published author.

Then gather information. What resources do you need at your fingertips?

Find a mentor or hire a coach to help ease you over the stumbling blocks you’ll inevitably come across.

Many, if not most, authors make many mistakes when they set out to join the ranks of the successfully published. Why? Because they neglect to look in all directions. They step outside their writing room wearing blinders and walk quickly to the only place they know within the publishing realm (usually a major publishing house) and they make a clumsy presentation for a book that isn’t ready to be published. And they wonder why they can’t get published.

If you are planning a book, writing a book, have a finished book, be sure to order a copy of my brand new book for authors—revised and updated—Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It is still listed at amazon.com as being on pre-order, but I happen to know that the book is completed and available for purchase. I’ll have it up on my website soon. You can purchase it at the publisher’s website
http://www.allworth.com/book/?GCOI=58115100599010

Happy New Year. Make this a Great year as an author

Are you thinking about writing a book, are in the process of writing a book or have completed one? Maybe you’re right on schedule with your project—you figure your big year is 2012. Perhaps this is the year you’ll meet those publishing goals. Well, there’s a lot to consider before you head off into parts unknown within the vast and fiercely competitive publishing field. And if you don’t believe me, ask a few published authors at your writers’ group. Attend book signings and question the authors about their path to publishing. Chat with authors at the writers’ conferences you attend. Most will tell you that there’s a lot of preparation necessary before you launch out into the wild blue yonder of publishing. And the more well-prepared you are, the more successful you will be.

So take it easy. Don’t rush into anything. Don’t make rash decisions. Here’s what you should be doing, instead. If you have a book in mind, you are writing a book, you are finishing up a book or you have a completed book and are seeking publication, whether it is fiction, nonfiction or a children’s book or book of poetry:

1: Study the publishing. Read books by me—Patricia Fry, Dan Poynter, Marilyn Ross and other professionals. I recommend my book, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.” I wrote it for authors who are new or relatively unfamiliar with the publishing industry. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

This book will tell you what your publishing options are, how to choose the best option for your particular project and exactly what your responsibilities as a published author are. You’ll also be more well-prepared to enter into the publishing arena if you understand, beforehand, all aspects of book promotion.

2: Write a book proposal. Yes, even for fiction or a book of poetry, etc. Many publishers today want to see a book proposal. But there is an even greater, more important reason to write one. It is for you—the author.

• You must know who you are writing (or have written) the book for. Who is your target audience? Few new authors actually realize how important this is.

• In order to make the best decisions on behalf of your book, you need to know something about your competition. Is there a need for another book like this? What will make your book standout (in a good way)? Why will people choose your book over the others in this category? If your book is fiction, is the genre a popular one or a strong niche genre?

• What can you bring to the table as far as marketing ideas and the skill, energy, time and, in some cases, money for implementing them? It is always the author’s responsibility to promote his or her book. And successful book promotion is all-encompassing.

3: Hire a good book editor. This is highly important whether you plan to seek a publisher, go with a pay-to-publish company or self-publish (establish your own publishing company). It could cost you anywhere from $800 to $3,000 depending on the scope of your project and the condition it’s in. It is so important that you present a perfectly edited manuscript to a publisher as well as to the public that, if you don’t have the money to do it now, I suggest holding off on your book until you can save it up.

You’ve just been presented with a valuable New Year’s gift in the form of valid information here today. It is up to you whether you embrace it or not. If you are way too eager to move forward with your project to “waste” any time following this advice, let me remind you that, while writing is a craft, publishing is a fiercely competitive business and it should be approached as such.

You should also know that the percentage of failed books (those that sell fewer than 100 copies) is on a rise. I understand that it is now eighty-percent. Eighty percent of authors fail. These authors enter into publishing with the same dreams and goals as you have. But they neglect these three points, ignore them or don’t bother to learn them. And they fail.

Remember that: Publishing is NOT an extension of your writing.

Yesterday, we talked about the phenomenon whereby publishers go visiting blog sites looking for potential book projects. So how could you fall into one of those sweet deals—where a publisher comes to you and says, “Love your blog topic. Would you consider writing a book for us? I can give you an advance that would pay your rent while you write it.” Oh yes, wouldn’t that be a nice way to start the New Year?

How could you make that happen? It seems like a completely foreign concept to you if you already have a book idea and especially if you have been showing it around to publishers and keep getting shut down.

The problem is, sometimes we write the wrong book. Your true book—the one publishers and readers want—might be imbedded somewhere within the book idea you are currently pitching. If you were blogging about aspects of your topic and getting a lot of notice, a publisher might find you and suggest a direction for your book that you hadn’t even thought of.

For example, your how to live off the land book might be more popular as a memoir—a, “this is how I did it” story. Your book featuring “my favorite world-wide hikes,” might be more appealing to a publisher if it featured famous world hikers or some of the more challenging hiking stories related to some of the most treacherous mountains in the world. A publisher might prefer seeing your book of humorous poetry transformed into a children’s story book. But the publishers you are approaching might not see the possibilities. Publishers don’t often make these sorts of suggestions when they are already inundated with submissions.

But if there is someone in their employ whose job it is to seek good book ideas by talking to writers at writers’ conferences and by keeping an eye on blogs, you could possibly stumble into a sweet deal simply by maintaining an interesting blog and getting plenty of publicity for it. It’s going to take work for some of you to move beyond your ego, though. If you want to break into the world of publishing as an author, you’ll have to omit the following from your vocabulary:

“But I wanna write about MY experiences.”
“That sounds like a whole lot of work. I’d rather not do all of that research.”
“Write a children’s book? But my poetry is serious stuff—not frivolous.”
“That isn’t the book I had in mind, so no thank you.”

Are you kidding me? You’d rather be an unpublished author than to strike a compromise with a publisher?

Has anyone reading this blog had a visit from a publisher? Would like to hear about it.

In the meantime, be sure to order your copy of my latest book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. Once you get that book deal or when you decide to self-publish, you will need to know a lot more than you do now about book promotion. Book promotion is the author’s responsibility and this is true even if you land a major publisher for your book. That’s why publishers are so interested in knowing what the author can bring to the table as far as promotion even before they strike a deal.

Order your copy of Promote Your Book from my bookstore or from amazon.com, Barnes and Nobel.com or IndiBound.com.

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