Writing and Publishing News from

Everyone has a back-story. I’m interested in the back-stories of some of the individuals who are offering services to the many authors entering the wide world of publishing.

I notice that more and more long-time professionals are starting to speak out against the sharks that have shown up in the publishing waters since publishing became so much easier, thus more popular. Home computers opened up the opportunity for even non-writers and two-finger typists to pound out complete stories in their spare time. Job loss and early retirement has prompted thousands more ordinary people to start writing the next great novel, their fascinating memoir, a children’s book or….? Once you learn how to navigate your word processing program and carve out some time, writing a book is a fairly straight-forward activity.

It’s when you emerge from your writing closet with your manuscript in search of a publisher, that things can get sticky. That’s when you begin to meet up with a variety of “helpers”—people who claim they can assist you in getting your book published. And no doubt they can. But some of them may pretty much ruin your life and ding your bank account in the process. Countless authors are telling some pretty ugly stories about their encounters with “helpers.” And many others are not talking—they’re too embarrassed or too damaged to speak out.

How can you tell whether the fish that comes swimming your way is a dangerous shark, inexperienced guppy or truly beneficial dolphin, for example? Through education.

Study the publishing industry BEFORE getting involved. Write a book proposal. When you decide that you need editorial help, assistance writing that proposal, publishing advice and guidance, consider someone who has been in the business—in the trenches—for a long period of time. Consider that individual’s history (back-story) and current status within the industry. Is this person experienced in only one aspect of publishing—he published one book therefore considers himself an expert? Or is he/she well-rounded and experienced in many aspects of publishing. Has she even written a book proposal before? How many of them? How many clients has he worked with—what do they say about this individual?

It is a jungle out there among the sea weed and raging, shark-infested waters. If you don’t believe me, just search writers’ forums and boards using keywords such as, “publishing” “publisher,” “editor” “warning,” “scam.” If you want to check out a particular publisher or author assistant, use this person’s (or company’s) name and “warning,” as key words.

Use these warning sites to get an idea of the scope and types of problems authors are having with scammers. And understand that most of the problems occur when the author is not armed with knowledge about the publishing industry.

I do not advocate joining one writers’ group or attending one meeting or reading one book or subscribing to one newsletter or listening to one expert’s teleseminar. Do it all—launch a study that involves all of this and much more. Make it your job to learn how the publishing industry works, who the players are and how to successfully navigate through it.

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware
http://www.todayswriting.com/poetry-scams.html
http://www.writersweekly.com/whispers_and_warnings.php
http://www.writertowriterwarnings.blogspot.com

I sometimes receive questions from non-authors who only want to write one book—usually their own story and often one that borders on slander. Of course, the individual feels that he or she is justified because they have been hurting for years. They want revenge or some sort of personal satisfaction. I generally suggest that they write the story because it may be healing, but only for themselves—not for the public. I warn this person that, while writing is healing and I recommend it, revenge-writing can be hurtful to others and self.

If they insist that they want to publish this book, I recommend that they speak with an attorney before considering publishing. And then I offer the following. Keep in mind that this is someone who has no idea what publishing is about. And most of them, if they choose to go ahead with their projects, neglect to follow my suggestions because they’re so focused on the content of their pending book and their intent with it that they can’t be bothered with the ever-so-crucial big picture. They are in this game only to experience self-satisfaction, they have no interest in or room for learning the all-important basics of the publishing business.

Nonetheless, this is what I advise non-authors who only have one revenge book in them and who are hell-bent on writing it because they believe it will give them a sense of peace:

“If you decide you do want to produce this book for the public, here’s what I suggest:

1: Begin now studying the publishing industry. A good place to start is with the first 60 pages of my book, ‘The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.’ There are few books on the market that explain the publishing industry so the layman can understand it and prepare for it. This is one of them.

2: Study other books similar to the one you plan to write. This is very important. This will give you an idea about how to create a book that will actually sell.

3: Learn about your publishing options before you get too far into the planning/writing process. My book, ‘The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book,’ helps you to determine the publishing option that would be best for your book and to choose the best publisher for your project. This is another unique and useful aspect of this book.

4: Write a complete book proposal. A book proposal will tell you whether or not you have a book at all. It will help you determine if you have an audience for your book. Your friends and family are only a very minute percentage of the audience you need to address if you are to entice a publisher and/or sell enough copies to actually make some money. The ‘Right Way’ book also explains how to write a book proposal.

5: Create a detailed outline including the stories and anecdotes you want to feature in the book.

6: If you can see, through the above exercise, that you actually do have a story, use your outline to start writing the book.

I hope that you can see through my responses that book publishing is a serious business and you must approach it as such. Again, if this is not your cup of tea, I suggest that you write the book for yourself. Once you have completed it, you may decide to take the steps necessary to publish it—and it could be that, at that time, you would also need to revise it so that it is a more publishable book.

Good luck,
Patricia Fry”

For more about me and my books visit my websites:
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

Are you satisfied with how your book proposal/query letter looks? It reads well to you. It includes all of the information you feel is important to give a publisher. Anyway, even if the formatting, writing or presentation isn’t that great, the idea is wonderful and you’re sure that the publisher will see the value in your project through any potential flaws.

Authors, if this is your first rodeo (as Dr. Phil says), don’t assume you can ride that bull to the finish line the first time out of the chute. Check your project out with a professional.

I always recommend that authors read books like the one they propose—lots of them—to make sure that they are using appropriate style, language, etc. I advise that they study query letters and book proposals as well as books and articles on how to write them. I know authors who follow this advice and still misunderstand the concepts or the process. And few of them even stop to consider what the publisher or their eventual readers want.

Too many authors write for themselves. And this is okay unless you want to publish your work and then you must write your book or article for your readers. Write your query letter or proposal for the publisher. When you shift from pleasure writer to a potentially published author, in order to succeed, you need to give up writing for yourself and start thinking about your audience.

This is not easy for most authors. And that’s why it is important to check with a professional before you finalize your query letter, book proposal and manuscript.

Are you reluctant to spend money with an editor or some other brand of publishing consultant? This could become the reason for your failure to find an agent, land a publisher or, if you go with a pay-to-publish company, to break even with your book.

Make sure that what you are presenting is well-done, not flawed. Be confident that you have a viable product and not a weak one. Check out book editors and publishing consultants before approaching an agent, a publisher or the public with your project. Get a second opinion because yours could be a bit biased. (Do ya think?)

If you are working on a query letter, book proposal or a manuscript, don’t go it alone. Reach out and get some professional feedback. It might cost you in the beginning, but you’ll be rewarded in the end.

PLFry620@yahoo.com

How do you know that your nonfiction book idea is a good one? Have you thought it through? Or have you become attached to writing and publishing this book no matter what? Perhaps you’ve never thought about checking the validity of the book before writing it—you planned to wait until it was published to find out if it was a good idea. If people buy it, then yes. If it sits on the shelves, no.

Producing a book can be an expensive way to discover whether it is a worthwhile project. And if you just forge ahead without appropriate study, you may miss the opportunity to create a book that will actually sell. Doesn’t it make sense to do a little research prior to the writing and publishing? For example:
• Identify your target audience and determine how extensive it is.

• Study books similar to the one you have in mind and find out what is missing from them.

• Read readers’ comments on these books’ pages at Amazon to discover what readers are asking for—more case histories/anecdotes, a stronger self-help aspect, more resources, etc.

• Locate book reviews for these books and see if you can get a sense about what improvements, additions the reviewers would like to see.

• Study reader testimonials at the books’ websites to learn what they appreciate most about these other books.

• Visit forums on this topic and “listen” to what your potential audience needs/wants.

• Sign up for discussion groups dedicated to this topic and participate.

• Go out and speak to your audience and present workshops. You’ll soon discover what information and resources your readers desire/require.

• Write articles, a newsletter and a blog on this topic and encourage feedback.

• Get involved in other websites dedicated to this subject and pay attention to what visitors are asking for.

• Create your own interactive website focusing on the theme of your book idea.

• Develop or locate an opportunity to write an advice column related to this subject. You will attract just the sort of questions and comments you need to help you design the right book for the right audience.

In this incredibly competitive publishing climate, it makes no sense to rush a book into being or to wish a book toward success. The fact is that more books fail than succeed and the reason for this is often lack of preparation.

Before you finish writing your nonfiction book, follow these 12 tips. With the knowledge you’ll gain from these exercises and a total understanding and acceptance of the major task that follows publication—book promotion—you just might be one of the few who experience a measure of success with your nonfiction book.

Visit my book showcase at: http://www.matilijapress.com

Visit my new website: http://www.patriciafry.com

Most unaware authors want an easy publishing option—a quick and painless way to produce the book of their dreams. And that’s where the pay-to-publish companies come in. Most of them have packages you can choose from, friendly representatives to work with you and/or easy-to-navigate do-it-yourself websites. Once he signs a contract with one of these companies, there’s little for an author to do but wait to hold his finished book in his eager hands.

When that day comes, and after the celebrations cease, he will, perhaps, build a website focusing on the theme of his book. He will email or visit friends and colleagues to tell them about his book, but he is confident that the “publisher” will spread the word through the promotional plan he signed up for. All he has to do now is wait for folks to start responding to the press releases and collect “royalties” from the books sold through online and regular bookstores. From his point of view and based on what the “publisher” told him, he is half way toward a comfortable retirement. And he goes to work on his next book.

Gosh, that sounds like heaven to a writer, doesn’t it? Of course, this author has paid thousands of dollars to the “publishing company,” but, on paper, he can see that money being recouped relatively quickly. His only concern now is which of those books that are dancing around in his imagination will he write next.

And that is the reason why over 76 percent of books today sell fewer than 100 copies.

This author’s book isn’t going to be sold through any brick and mortar bookstores, even though he may have paid as much as $800 for a return policy. The press release campaign will generate very little interest in his book. In fact, he may have to go back to work in order to continue paying his bills.

Such a shame—but it is, indeed, a story that is being told practically every day. How does an author bypass this trap? Here are my strong recommendations:

1. Study the publishing industry before getting involved. (Talk to other authors—lots of them, subscribe to publishing newsletters, attend conferences, join author discussion groups and networking organizations, and read books by professionals in the industry.) Learn ALL of your options, the possible consequences of your choices and become familiar with your responsibilities as a published author.

You may still decide to go with XYZ pay-to-publish company, but you will be doing so armed with knowledge and prepared to do your part to help your book succeed. Never, ever leave book promotion up to a company like this. Always take responsibility and action on behalf of your book.

2. Write a book proposal. This will teach you a lot about what you need in order to succeed as a published author and it will tell you whether you have a valid book project or not.
Start by reading my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book to help you better understand the world of publishing and book marketing. I am so sure of the value of this book to your publishing project that I am willing to send the ebook version to those of you who absolutely cannot afford to buy a print copy. Contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

It seems that the memo should have gone out to everyone who is writing a book and who has ever thought of writing a book—“The first step to a successful publishing experience is studying the publishing industry.”

I’ve been vocalizing it and writing about it ever since the huge increase in publishing options. My colleagues also shout it from the rooftops. “Study the publishing industry BEFORE getting involved in book publishing.”

But still there are hopeful authors with what they feel are genuinely wonderful books diving into this fiercely competitive business without so much as a clue about their options, the possible consequences of their choices and their responsibilities as published authors. They know what they observe and what they read/hear from the media—they know that there are thousands of books in bookstores, that people read books while waiting for their flights, that authors are getting paid big bucks for their books. They view the publishing industry as an outsider—as a casual observer. And this is a rather distorted and narrow view of the industry.

When they decide to delve further and check the Internet for publishing opportunities, the first links that pop up belong to some of the biggest pay-to-publish companies—Xlibris, Authorhouse, PublishAmerica… The sites seem informative. The responses seem friendly and caring. AND they love your book. (Unbeknownst to you, they even loved the error-riddled, poorly written, poorly organized mystery by the woman with a 3rd grade education and the not-so-charming tell-all by the man with no writing skill and a grudge.)

When a company earns its money producing books and not on sales, they are generally going to publish anything. And some of them will tell you anything to get you to sign with them.

Over the years, I’ve heard enough negative stories about dealings with some of these companies to fill this daily blog for the next 10 years—only the stories are basically all the same. Hopeful author meets would-be publisher. They “marry” and produce a book. While the author is in heaven for a short time, soon things go all to hell. The baby book is much harder to raise than the author thought—especially with the restrictions placed upon it by and the stigmas evident around the parent company. The baby book never had a chance in this environment. And the cause for the failure of the book is generally always the same–the author did NOT do his/her homework.

Again—if you plan to write a book or if you are close to launching one, start the process NOT by signing a contract with what appears to be a wonderful company who will make it super easy for you. Publishing and book promotion are just about as easy as birthing and raising a child. If you find an easy path to successful publishing, run the other way.

So what should you do? Study the publishing industry! Learn what all of your options are. If you ultimately decide to go with a pay-to-publish service, make sure that you understand their contract fully. Hire a publishing or literary attorney to explain it to you. If there is anything that bothers you question it until you are sure about it—get it in writing! What might bother you? The enormous fee to make your book returnable so bookstores will carry it…HOGWASH! Or the fact that this company is the only one who can get your book into online bookstores, such as Amazon…Nonsense!

See, I told you that you have a lot to learn by studying the publishing industry. Start today—order my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html