Writing and Publishing News from

It seems that publishing is being discussed in many circles and in varieties of venues. People from all areas of interest and knowledge levels are writing books or talking about it. And discussions, as well as articles on topics related to writing and publishing are showing up at home décor, craft, parenting, pet, spiritual, etc. sites and forums.

You might see a comment, blog post or article about writing at a senior site you frequent, at your favorite gardening or travel site. The newsletter coming from your business, investment, cat breeders, pilots or boating association may run an article about writing a book.

And some of the most unlikely people are cropping up with books of their own—a clerk at your local supermarket, the gal who operates a bed and breakfast in town, your tax accountant, the wife of your personal trainer and the crazy woman you run into at the dog park every week.

It’s wonderful that so many people from all walks of life are able to express themselves through words, capture their memories on paper, share something meaningful with others or entertain readers with their storytelling skills. I know the joy of writing and of being read. Writing and publishing has been a huge part of my life for over 35 years. Coming with that territory, of course, is promotion.

Yes, I am pleased that people are living their writing/publishing dreams, but it upsets me to see so many of them going about it the wrong way.

What is the wrong way to approach a publishing project? Here’s the short list:

• Lack of knowledge about the publishing industry and no interest in or inclination to educate oneself.

• No financial backing—trying to launch a book without funds of any kind (for an editor, for book promotion and/or for actually publishing that book).

• Writing a book without making sure there is a true audience for it.

• Expecting a large return on your publishing investment.

• Lack of writing skills.

• Lack of research with regard to your publishing options.

• Signing a contract without fully understanding it.

• No interest in promoting your book.

If you recognize yourself in this list, you are a candidate for my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Herein, you will gain the understanding and the knowledge you need to more realistically plan and carry out your publishing project from start to a more successful finish no matter what your topic or genre is.

http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

We all like samples and examples. Today, I’m not talking about food samples like you get at the grocery store, but examples to illustrate a certain process in writing or publishing.

How much does it help you to write your query letter when you see an example of a query letter posted someplace? When you read someone else’s market analysis, does it help you to write yours? Some authors just get more confused by seeing examples from material that doesn’t exactly relate to what they are writing. But reading the instructions for writing the proposal or query letter, for example, doesn’t quite bring the process into focus for them, either.

If this is you, let me see if I can help. Before trying to follow a model or a set of instructions, find out what purpose the query letter or book proposal has. What is its function? What is it supposed to accomplish for you? Key in on how the query letter or the synopsis is supposed to benefit you—what its job is.

What is the job of an author’s query letter? To sell a publisher or agent on your project and on you. For example, a query letter will:

• Introduce your book project.

• Succinctly describe it to a publisher or agent.

• Help the publisher/agent understand why this book is important/needed.

• Identify the proposed audience and how large it is.

• Explain why you are the person to write this book.

• Describe your platform—what you have to offer toward promoting this book.

The publisher wants to know that he will make some money on your project.
When you write a query letter or an entire book proposal, you need to think like a savvy publisher not an emotional author. You need to know what his concerns are, what’s important to him and what it takes to convince him to consider a project like yours. If you don’t have a clue about any of this—you’ve been more concerned with what you want to write, how writing makes you feel, what you want to get out of publishing this book, etc.—you may not get a second look from a publisher or an agent.

Spend some time thinking about this concept this week. Practice thinking like a publisher when you ponder your project, while you’re writing, and especially while you work on your book proposal and your query letter. Keep in mind that a publisher is more interested in his bottom line than he is in your good writing or your feelings. It may surprise you to discover (through this exercise) how much your approach to your query letter, your proposal and your book changes.

Personal Note
I hope I stopped an author from blindly rushing into the first publishing contract she received for her book this week—from a pay-to-publish company. It is one that Mark Levine, in his book The Fine Print of Self-Publishing lists under “Publishers to Avoid.” Thankfully, she visited my blog first and contacted me. She is rethinking her rash decision.

If you are new to publishing and you have a book in the works or ready to publish, please, please read Mark’s book first.

And read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book to learn all of your publishing options. After reading the first three chapters, you will have a much greater understanding of the publishing industry and how you might fit into it. The remainder of the book will help you to choose the right option for you and for your project and it will guide you every step of the way through publishing and beyond no matter which option you choose. It will also prepare you for the largest, most intense part of producing a book—promoting it. YES it is up to the author to promote his/her book no matter which publishing option he chooses. This book tells you how.

http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Do you need an editor? http://www.patriciafry.com

Are you unsure whether you should produce your book at all? Sign up for the NEW ebook at this site. 50 Reasons Why You Should Publish That Book.

While there are more people making better decisions with regard to their book projects, STILL hopeful authors are taking unknown, treacherous roads in hopes of finding publishing success. They begin their journey without a map, blindly rushing here and there in hopes of locating the entrance through which they can follow their dreams. They either stop at the first place that offers them what they think they want or they choose the wrong fork in the road.

They say to themselves, “I could spend time learning more about the publishing industry or I can pick door number one—that nice publisher that will do all of the work for me and hand me a published book in a few weeks.” Door number one is oh, so tempting. Authors reason, “I’ve put in some hard months writing this wonderful book, why should I take any more time chasing after a publisher when this company wants to publish it NOW? And all they want is a few thousand dollars. I can afford that!”

Fast forward a year or so and you’ll find that author finally doing the work he should have done initially. He has a published book, all right, but things are not popping in his world like he thought they would. He has sold few books. The company has sold none. He gets so little profit from each book that he isn’t motivated to put much effort into promoting them. Besides, he truly hasn’t found an audience that embraces his book. It doesn’t seem to be of interest to those he thought would buy it. Friends have pointed out a few errors in his book and he’s disappointed that the editor he paid extra through the publishing company didn’t catch them. He’s also upset that the publisher won’t let him out of his publishing contract so he can start over and maybe take the other fork in the road.

Since publishing his book, he has had time to do a little research. He has joined a couple of publishing organizations and he’s begun to read some articles about publishing. He now realizes that he didn’t enter into publishing with the right stuff. In fact, he is kicking himself because he approached publishing like such an amateur—not realizing it was big business and that there were so many sharks just swarming to get his money.

He desperately wants to start over—to make some better decisions—and he is beginning to gather the information and facts he wishes he had collected before he went with the first company that expressed an interest in his project.

Now, however, he is stuck in a contract he can’t get out of—that is, without turning over another chunk of money.

If only… How many of you are seeking a publisher for your amazing book? Please, do not make the same mistakes this author and hundreds and hundreds like him have made. Here’s the wisdom for the day:

Study the publishing industry so you know what your options are, the possible consequences of your choices and your responsibilities as a published author.

And write a book proposal so you will know that you are writing the right book for the right audience.

I’m going to add, hire a good book editor for your project.

For more about how to navigate the treacherous publishing waters, read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Copies of my ebook, 50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book, are flying off of the Matilija Press shelves—actually, through the Internet waves. Order yours FREE at http://www.patriciafry.com

What will happen if major bookstores follow the path of so many independent bookstores and crash? (It’s happening as we speak!) What will be the lure and the perks of landing a traditional royalty publisher then? If books are no longer selling in large numbers through community bookstores, then how will they be sold?

Are publishers gearing up for this possibility? Do they see that the future of bookselling could take a very different form? Can they see that this is already happening? The future is beginning to take shape.

Will publishers go down? Those who have relied solely on bookstore sales certainly will. Those who have not been exploring new ways to promote and present books may not survive.

What could save them? Perhaps the lowly author.

Many publishers in recent years have required marketing plans from their authors. They want to know about your strong platform related to the theme/genre of your book. They need information about your skills, abilities and willingness to get out and promote your own books. Publishers have learned a lot from their more proactive authors. They know which authors will make them some money—and it’s not necessarily those with the most charming books. They also know more about what it takes to promote books because they’ve been watching their successful authors.

More and more publishers may also go out in search of authors who are working successful promotional plans and selling numbers of books on their own.

Publishers have expected authors to think outside the box for years. Now it’s the publishers’ turn. If their main source for bookselling freezes up, they will be forced either out of business or to become more creative.

With this in mind, folks, I advise you to choose your publisher carefully in these rapidly changing times. Consider this:

• If the publisher doesn’t require authors to come in with a strong business plan and a well-developed platform, maybe you should look for another publisher. He may not be realistic in his view of where publishing is going.

• If he doesn’t seem to have some creative marketing tactics up his sleeve, you should probably shy away from this publisher.

And, as an author, it is even more important that you take the steps we’ve been suggesting for several years.

• Keep up with publishing industry trends.
• Produce a viable product that is needed/desired.
• Establish a strong platform and keep building on it.
• Develop your marketing skills.
• Think and act outside the box.
• Become and remain proactive on behalf of your book.

This is a good time to familiarize yourself with the publishing industry. An excellent way to do that is by reading my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Then keep up with trends through SPAWNews (FREE) and the SPAWN Market Update. Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network at http://www.spawn.org

Order the book from me and get a free book of your choice. Email me for your choices: PLFry620@yahoo.com

I got word yesterday that more major bookstores are closing and several others are on the verge. Maybe you’re losing bookstores in your area. First it was the mom and pop stores that we loved, but didn’t support well enough. And now the big ones are going under. We’re losing those great purveyors of books as well as some of the most pleasant hang-out spots in our communities.

Now if you think this isn’t going to affect you because you never buy books in bookstores, anyway, think again. If you’re an author or hope to be, this could seriously affect your chances at getting published. Why? Because it isn’t just the bookstores in your area that are being affected. The closing of bookstores is becoming a national epidemic. Unless Borders can negotiate a new deal with publishers, they could be doomed. They’re trying, as we speak, to arrange a different payment plan. Some publishers are refusing to ship anymore books to them. It’s getting messy.

So what happens if the bookstores keep losing ground and eventually crash? Publishers who have not looked beyond the bookstore for sales over all of these years, and who do not want to or don’t know how to change their approach to bookselling, will go under. And those who are willing to adjust with the times and the circumstances, will put additional burdens on their authors.

Times are changing at a rapid rate. With bookstores closing by the dozens, forward thinking publishers are scrambling to discover new methods of promoting books.

Publishers will expect more from authors and their publishing agreements may reflect a partnership as opposed to the traditional publisher-author contract. Even fiction publishers will rely more on their authors now that their main outlets for sales is on shaky ground. Thus, more publishers will request serious marketing plans for fiction as well as for nonfiction.

Some publishers will become more web savvy. They will have to do what they’ve been expecting their authors to do—become fully enmeshed in promotion via the web. Publishers might start hiring publicists for all of their authors, offer instruction on book promotion and come up with other ideas for supporting the promotional efforts of their authors.

Can’t you see that it will become even more important to publishers that their authors are marketing savvy?

With this in mind, I advise hopeful (and even seasoned) authors everywhere to start now honing their promotional skills and building on their platforms.

You may want to take my 6-week online, on-demand book promotion course. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Check out my websites: http://www.matilijapress.com (for a showcase of my books, informative articles and oodles of resources.)
http://www.patriciafry.com (for a FREE booklet and to learn more about my services.)

Are you seeking a publisher for your manuscript? Thousands of people are. That isn’t comforting to hear, is it? It’s true—publishing is a mighty popular pastime these days. In 2009, there were over a million books produced. Sure, over 700,000 of them were self-published and produced through pay-to-publish companies. But nearly 290,000 were published the traditional way.

Hopeful authors come into the world of publishing with varying perspectives and attitudes. While some of you will accept nothing less than publication with a major publisher, others are convinced that they could not get even a toe in the door of a big publishing house. Then there are many authors in between—those who choose to become independent publishers, those who plan to seek out a niche publisher, those who will head directly toward the pay-to-publish company, etc.

Most new authors wait to finish their books before researching publishers. I advise starting that process before you write the book. Why? It’s wise to know your options and the possibilities for your particular project before you complete it. If you want to publish with one of the big guys, you may need to include certain aspects to your story to make it more appealing to them. Word count might be a serious issue for the publisher. And if you know this ahead of time, you can write to those specs. You may see an opportunity with a niche publisher that has specific requirements which you wouldn’t have adhered to if you has written the book first.

Here are a couple of scenarios to illustrate:

1: Sam starts looking around for a publisher after simply outlining his business book. He hopes to land a particular publisher who distributes to his audience. He plans to write a reference book for accountants. During his research, however, he discovers that this publisher is more open to workbooks for this audience. Further research and a chat with the publisher prompts him to shift gears and he ultimately writes a more publishable book. Once he gets his foot in the door with this publisher, he might be able to sell him that original reference book and many others along the same line.

2: Susan has a story in mind and she hopes to land a major publisher. After researching them, she learns that they have fairly strict word count limitations—she didn’t know that. Some of them also seem to have offshoots that are publishing in the ever-popular young adult arena. She decides to read several young adult novels and consider gearing her story in that direction.

3: Sarah wants to write her memoir. She’d love to have it accepted by an impressive publisher. But she wants to write it to suit herself—without word count or any other restrictions. While conducting research, she now realizes that memoirs by unknown authors are a hard sell to publishers as well as to the public. But she wants to bring out this book, anyway. So she goes to work on it knowing that she has complete control because she plans to go the pay-to-publish route.

I’ve pointed out before, the importance of keeping your audience and your publisher in mind as you write so that you end up with a book that is likely to be published and read.

If you are thinking about writing a book or you have already started the writing, don’t wait to check out publishers. Start now doing the necessary research. Continue the writing with a few publishers in mind. Also, write a book proposal so you are clear as to your audience and you are writing the right book for the right audience.

It’s January 2011—a new year. Perhaps you’ve set new goals. Now would be the right time—a perfect time—to start studying the publishing industry, understanding more about your publishing options and learning much more about your responsibilities as a publisher author. If you are writing a book, you need to know what is involved in navigating the publishing industry, how to get your book into bookstores, how to do self-editing, what to look for when hiring an editor, what distribution is all about, how to get book reviews—lots of them, how to write a book proposal and so much more. This is a perfect time for you to purchase the book that some consider their “bible.” The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. $19.95 at http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

This month only, I will throw in a copy of any one of my other writing/publishing/book promotion books or ebooks of your choice with your book order.

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

I used my blogging time slot to write a guest blog this morning. I’ll give you the link when it is posted. It’s on a subject I think many of you are interested in—what are the chances of and how do you manage to get your self-published book published traditionally? Stay tuned.

Yesterday I located a computer file I was unable to find. I want to share some tricks that might help you do the same in the future. I was desperately looking for my most recent version of the book I am currently revising for the publisher. I flat could not find it. I knew it was in my computer, but where—under what name? So I settled on a file from the original edition of the book and I was meticulously comparing it to the most current edition of the print book and making necessary changes. What a process!

I got to thinking about it and realized that I may have the file I wanted in an email as I had sent it to my page layout person as a Word document. Before I could check, I discussed my dilemma with him and he said, “I have your original document on my computer. I always save the original separate from the PDF file I create.” He found it, told me the file name and, of course, there it was in my computer. Lucky break!

Sometimes as I’m working on a client’s book, I will attach a copy of the document to an email to another address here in the house. That way, if my computer crashes and I lose everything (even though I do have a backup hard drive), I can retrieve the manuscript without having lost all of my edits.

Hey, how do you write “website,” “Website,” “Web site?” I’ve adopted “website.” But as I was conducting research for my revision, I checked the 16th (latest) edition of the Chicago Manual of Style (used by most authors) and see that they recommend “website.”

I hope that all of you who follow this blog or stop in periodically are looking forward to a super successful and fulfilling year as a freelance writer or author. What are your publishing plans for 2011? Finishing a book, landing a publisher, building your freelance career, selling 5,000 copies of your book??? Let me know. Also tell me what types of information and resources you need in order to reach your goals and I’ll see what I can do to bring it to you.

Make it a happy and successful New Year all year.

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

I’ve been spending a lot of time this week researching publishers’ submission guidelines for the revision of my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Things change fairly rapidly in this field and it has been just three years since my last such quest for information.

For the revision, I want to know the percentage of publishers who are accepting email submissions, the number who want to receive a book proposal, etc. I can tell you that most still prefer to receive submissions via regular mail, but larger numbers are okay with email submissions now than in 2007. And more publishers seem to be putting stronger restrictions and requests in their guidelines. For example, some are adamant that you have a strong platform in your genre/topic before contacting them with a project in mind. It seems that more publishers specify the importance of author participation in promoting their own books.

Anyone who takes the time to read publishers’ submission guidelines should have no doubts about what the publisher wants. And I can’t stress enough, the importance of doing so.

I get the impression from some of the authors who contact me that they study the guidelines of a few publishers and assume that these apply to all publishers. They couldn’t be more wrong! While, certainly, you’ll find similarities in some guidelines—pretty much all publishers want to see a professional, fully edited presentation, for example—there are also aspects of submission guidelines that vary considerably.

One publisher might want to see a query letter first. Others request the complete manuscript. And many, today, want to see a book proposal and they may require different types of information in that proposal.

If you want to land a traditional publisher, your first step should be to choose the right one. In fact many publishers today practically beg eager authors to check their line of books to make sure that theirs fits in. And it does you no good to overstep the boundaries.

For example, if the publisher’s catalog features only books for serious train and aviation enthusiasts and you don’t see evidence that they have ever published a children’s book on trains, do NOT assume that they will consider yours. If the publisher has been producing science fiction and fantasy young adult novels for eons, why would you ask them to publish your adult romance or your book on how to write young adult fantasies?

And your second step toward successfully landing a traditional publisher is to adhere to his or her submission guidelines. If they want to see a proposal including a brief synopsis, a market analysis involving four similar books, your platform and your marketing ideas sent via the post office along with a self-addressed-stamped envelope, then that’s exactly what you must send them.

You still might be rejected, but it won’t be because you sent the wrong manuscript to the wrong publisher or because you didn’t follow the submission guidelines. In fact, you’ll have a better chance of landing a publishing contract than those who do not take the time to study and follow each individual publisher’s requirements. There are hundreds of publishers in many categories. There were around 1,000 publishers listed in the 2010 Writer’s Market.

For more about this subject and many others, read my article archives, check out my list of resources and look at my display of books for authors: http://www.matilijapress.com

Newsflash: My most popular book during these past few months has been How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less. Amazon has ordered copies of that book almost every week since since July.

To learn about my services, visit: http://www.patriciafry.com

To ask me a question related to your writing project email me at PLFry620@yahoo.com.