Writing and Publishing News from

Yesterday, we talked about strange places to have book signings. I forgot to mention that I have signed books in the local cemetery twice. Well, that’s because I had a book (two books) featuring the history of the Nordhoff Cemetery and profiles of the earliest burials there.

What are some of the most unique places where you have sold books, promoted your books or received unsolicited, unexpected exposure for your books?

I was publicly recognized as the author of the Ojai Valley history book at my class reunion which took place in Ojai one year and also at the year-end party for those who volunteered or worked for the city in some capacity. (I was on the Historic Preservation Commission for the city.)

I often discover people talking about my work or my books on their blogs or in their articles/newsletters, etc. Be sure to do a search on your name or the title of your book occasionally to find out who is commenting. You might find some great testimonials for your website.

But none of this will happen for you unless you are tirelessly seeking exposure for yourself and your books all the time—in the most common and the most unique places and ways. Here are some of the other opportunities I’ve had as a result of my writing career.

1: I flew business class to Dubai all expenses paid and was honored as the first woman ever to give a keynote speech at the District Toastmasters convention that year. The organizers were familiar with me because of my numerous articles published in The Toastmaster Magazine over the years.

2: I was once invited to photograph a pair of Pallas cats from inside their cage at the Denver Zoo for an article commissioned by Cats Magazine.

3: I’ve enjoyed behind the scenes tours of many places throughout the US—amazing homes, a massive natural gardens, a bird rehabilitation center, interesting factories and so forth because I was writing about them.

4: I’ve received assignments from larger magazines when their editors noticed my articles on certain topics in other publications or at my blog, for example.

5: I’ve interviewed high-profile people for articles and books.

6: I’ve received invitations that might not have been issued if I wasn’t a writer or hadn’t produced books on certain topics. I was selected a Living Treasure in the literary category in my community, for example.

So what’s the message here? You know that I rarely post a blog without something in it for you—something that will assist you along your writing/publishing path. In case you haven’t figured it out, the message is:

• Promote, promote, promote.

• Put yourself out there. Become known among editors in your field/genre and readers in your field/genre.

• Get all of the exposure you can generate through every possible channel. In other words, talk about your book everywhere you go. Constantly come up with article/story ideas and then pitch them. Locate promotional opportunities and pursue them.

• Concentrate on your audience and pursue them with your book or your article/story-writing.

Selling your writing is as simple as getting noticed. And that is your assignment today. Get noticed. You can’t get a story or article published if you don’t come up with the idea, write it and submit it. You can’t sell a book no one knows about. Your success is up to you.

By the way, while you’re sitting around playing computer games and checking your friends’ facebook pages today, visit my websites. Sign up for one of my online courses designed to help you move forward within the writing/publishing/book promotion realm. Purchase one of my books. I wrote them just for you. Send me a few chapters of your current book project for an editorial evaluation and estimate.

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

Most of us, these days, write for more than just pleasure. We feel a need to justify our enjoyment of the craft. We seek validation as writers. Many more of us now than ever before write to be heard/read. And this means that more of us seek publication.

Here are some tips for getting your work published:

Locate magazines that publish material like yours. Perhaps you have some magazines in mind. Start there. And then reach out and become familiar (if not intimate) with the multitude of magazines and newsletters that currently seek submissions from writers. Writer’s Market is a great resource (about $30 at most bookstores or in the reference section at your library). The 2012 issue will debut in September. You might also take a look at the Directory of Little Magazines and Small Presses by Len Fulton. Research appropriate magazines on the Internet.

Study the magazines for which you want to write. The magazine listings in Writer’s Market include contact information, type of material desired, submission requirements, word count, pay scale and so forth. But you’ll also want to locate a copy of their Guidelines for Writers at their website.

Read at least one copy of the magazine from cover to cover. This will help you determine whether or not your work is right for this publication and give you ideas for revising it to fit. Examine the stories, the editorials, letters to the editor and even the ads. Who is their target audience? Demographics are often available in their Writer’s Market listing or their Guidelines for Writers.

Research publishers for your book. Go to a mega bookstore and find books similar to yours. See who published them and contact those publishers. If you have written a true crime, for example, you’ll want to approach publishers who publish true crime books. If yours is a cookbook, you’ll need a publisher of cookbooks.

Also find publishers and their contact information listed in Writer’s Market, Literary Market Place (in the reference section at your library), Gale’s Directory of Publications (also a library reference book) or Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers and Literary Agents.

Follow the submission instructions. Magazines and publishing companies pretty much each have their own requirements. While some magazine editors encourage article ideas from writers, others like to assign stories, for example. In this case, they will ask only for a resume. If you go ahead and send them your story, you’re just wasting time and postage. Here are some additional rules for submitting your work.

• Send only what they request.

• Consider the format when preparing an article or story for submission. While some magazines use a variety of styles, others might use only heavily researched pieces, essays, first-person stories, how-tos or question and answer articles. Adjust your piece to conform.

• Stay within the suggested word count. This will vary from magazine to magazine.

• Polish your story, article or book manuscript before submitting it. This seems like a no brainer, but I’ve talked to writers who will send something that needs extensive editing in hopes that their editorial staff will fine-tune it for them. What they’ll do is send your submission back to you in the next mail delivery.

• Don’t bug the editor. Wait an appropriate amount of time for their response. How long? Generally the response time is in their Guidelines. If you don’t hear from them by their two or three month response time, for example, email or write asking for an update on your submission. Be sure to give your full name, the title of the project, the date sent and anything else that makes it easy for them to check the status of your project.

So back to the question, what is the right venue for your work? First, ask yourself:
“What do I hope to accomplish by having my work published?” Do you want to get paid, build a portfolio, promote your published book, prove to yourself you can do it, impress friends, feel validated as a writer/poet/author?

Determine your deep down desire and your venue will become apparent. Through this process, you may discover that you simply want to put your story or collection of poetry into a form that you can hold in your hands and give as gifts. In this case you may decide to self-publish. You could design greeting cards featuring your poetry, for example. Have your book of poetry or short stories copied and bound at a business center. Or check into print on demand—where you can have only a few copies of your precious book printed and bound professionally.

Whatever you decide is the right publishing path for you, keep in mind that a magazine editor or book publisher is not going to come looking for you. It’s up to you to do the research necessary to find the right venue for your work.

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

“I have an idea and I’m going to write a book. I’ve never written anything before. But I think my idea is valid and I want to share it with the world. The best way to get my idea out there is to put it in book form.”

“I would like to build my credibility and my business by writing a book related to my profession.”

“I have this urge to tell my story and I want to tell it to as many people as I can reach. How better to reach them than through a book. I’ll write my story and present it as a book for the whole world to read.”

“I want to teach what I’ve learned about life. There are a lot of people suffering as I did for years and maybe my story will make a difference in the lives of many others.”

“People should stop eating so much junk food. If they knew the truth about the dangers of a steady diet of junk food, they would change their ways and maybe even lose weight. I’m going to write what I know about healthy eating and try to change the habits of millions of junk food junkies.”

“If he and she can produce a novel and sell a few copies, I should be able to write and sell my novel. My story is better than many I see on TV or in the movies and a lot better than those I’ve read, lately. I want to get people’s reaction to the amazing story that’s rolling around in my head, so I’m going to write a novel.”

“I’d like to earn a little money for my retirement years. I have the time now and I might as well spend it writing. I know I have a good idea for a book. All I need to do is write it. A publisher will do the rest. I should be able to collect thousands of dollars each year from royalties. Writing could be a lucrative pastime.”

“I’m told I have writing talent. I do love to write. Maybe I should put some of my stories in book form and see if I can get a publisher interested.”

Do you see yourself in any of these scenarios? I’ve known people in each of them. Is your story missing from this list? We’d like to have you share it with us.

No matter which of these stories resembles your own, there are two things you really should do before writing that book (or at least before seeking publication).

1: Study the publishing industry
2: Write a book proposal.

And there is one thing you need to do upon completion of your book: Hire a good book editor.

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

Are you alienating your readers? Does your message or your way of presenting it turn off the very people you hope to attract? How do you know and what can you do about it?
Maybe it’s time to review your presentation.

• Are you writing with clarity?
• Is your topic popular with one or more groups of people?
• Are you promoting to the right audience?
• Are you coming on too strong with your opinions?
• Does your material come across as weak/unconvincing?

If you are not getting the response you desire or expect, maybe it is time to reevaluate your writing, your style, even your mindset.

More and more authors today produce books primarily to help others—to teach, to share, to make a difference. And for some, it becomes a crusade to change minds. How else are they going to help the uninspired, overeater, alcoholic, grieving, hate-filled, abused, abusing or ill reader?

How else can a writer change people and change the world?

What we sometimes forget or don’t comprehend is that many of these people do not want to change, won’t go in search of help, don’t trust unknown authors, aren’t ready to accept assistance, don’t want to do what it takes to change or can’t or won’t read. Sometimes it isn’t the message itself, but the way it is presented that turns off readers. Everyone has his comfort zone and most people are content to stay within it rather than venture out into unknown territory on an off chance that their life will actually change.

Sure books that promise wealth, health and a great figure/physique, are popular. Can you guess which ones are read? Not the book by an unknown author designed to transform the hardcore junk food junkie into a lean vegetarian. Probably not the one that teaches good eating habits for the anorexic. Probably not the one about money-saving techniques by the author who collects state aid/welfare.

If you are writing on behalf of a cause—you’ve launched a personal crusade through your writing—stop to think about your audience.

• Who are they?
• Where are they?
• What do they want—not what do they need—what do they want?
• How do they want to see it presented?

How can you best accommodate this audience? This is the attitude that will sell your articles and your books.

But you might say, “I have a meaningful message—something of value to teach and to share. If I give them what they want, they won’t learn anything new—they won’t improve and or grow.”

My entire career has been devoted to nonfiction writing. This includes informational articles and books, self-help, how-tos, reference books, etc. I, too, have what I believe are important messages to share and valid perspectives to teach—the value in writing a book proposal, for example. How do I make this point with an audience who may not be ready to hear it? I embed it in the stuff they can accept and that they want to know about. Sneaky, huh? And you might be surprised at the number of readers who come back to me months or years after reading one of my books and say, “I just re-read your book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, and notice that you recommend writing a book proposal as a first step to writing a book. I never thought of doing that. What a good idea. I wish I’d done that with my first book. I would have saved a lot of time and steps in getting it published.”

Sometimes a long-time client will come to me with a question, “How can I get my book reviewed?” I will refer them to the section in my book on getting book reviews—something they paid no attention to the first time they read it.

These people may have purchased the book primarily for the information about book promotion or to use the section on how to self-publish your book (establish your own publishing company) and they completely disregarded or overlooked the parts of the book that rested outside their self-imposed, current comfort zone.

If you are working on a book, make sure that you are writing the right book for the right audience. If you have a published book that isn’t doing well, maybe it’s time to rethink your marketing campaign. If your audience isn’t listening to your sage advice, try giving them more of what they want—what they can handle—and then sprinkle it with the things they really need to know.

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