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I hate it when I discover a mistake in my already published book. There’s the book all printed and bound—etched in stone—and, oops a mistake appears. When you spot it, it’s like a big, red zit suddenly appears on the face of the book. Embarrassing.

I don’t think there is a book of any substance anywhere without a mistake. Not that this is an excuse to go ahead and make them or to avoid all of those final pre-printing edits and proofs. I teach and preach that we must produce the most pristine product possible. But something is going to escape our eyes and those of our editors and proofreaders. It’s pretty much a given that your perfect book will arrive with a few mistakes.

You might find them right away, upon first glance—and it’s a real shame when that happens. Or it might take you days, weeks, months even years to discover all of the mistakes.

When my books arrive from the publisher/printer, I always set aside one copy to mark up. Whenever anyone points out a mistake or I spot one, I highlight it so I can correct it in the next printing.

I use my local history book, The Ojai Valley, An Illustrated History frequently to look up information for someone. Likewise, I am constantly searching through the pages of my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. It was during a routine search that I located a new mistake yesterday in this book. I wrote that Mark Levine’s book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, which I recommend all the time, rates 75 fee-based POD publishing services. Dang, it is actually 48. Where that figure came from, I do not know, but shame on me for missing the error.

I’m currently in the tedious process of fine-tuning my new book, The Author’s Repair Kit; Heal Your Publishing Mistakes and Breathe New Life Into Your Book. I should finish it within the next few days or week. It’s a rather small book—a quick and easy read. It will be in ebook form and it will be an extremely valuable book for those with published books that aren’t doing very well. Do you know how many books that is? About 76 percent of all titles.

Visit my online bookstore at http://www.matilijapress.com Check out where I’ll be this spring—Atlanta March 29, Nashville March 31, Baltimore May 2 and 3. Details at: http://www.matilijapress.com/activities.htm

Public speaking is a common activity for authors. We go out and speak to our peers, members of civic organizations, corporate employees, church groups, writers’ club members and others gathered at offices, rented halls, libraries, schools and even private homes. Our goal is to inform and/or entertain…oh yes, and sell books.

I’ve been speaking to authors and hopeful authors fairly often, lately. For the most part, I just wing it. Well, I’ve been talking about publishing for so long that it kind of comes natural. The problem with that arises when there is a strict time element. I can go on and on and on about publishing, book promotion, writing a book proposal, etc. And just try to stop me from talking when it’s question and answer time. I’m not happy until I’ve answered every writer’s question and quelled every publishing curiosity.

I’m currently working on a one-hour speech to present at the Spring Book Show in Atlanta March 29 and I’ll give it again at Borders in Nashville a few days later. Check out my calendar of activities and events for details: http://www.matilijapress.com/activities.htm It’s my favorite speech on the two steps to publishing success. So if it’s my favorite speech, why am I working on it? I have a problem using the same speech over and over again. I always change, tweak, tickle, modify and adjust the speech before the next event and then I do a lot of improvising—making me wonder why I even bothered writing and rehearsing it.

Everyone prepares for a public speaking gig in different ways. I know one woman who writes the speech down after learning it. She creates it in her mind and begins practicing it before she commits it to paper. I typically write the speech and then I print it out and take it with me on my daily walks. I go over and over it in an attempt to familiarize myself with the content and the order. Each day for a couple of weeks, I come home and revise the speech. Once the speech is set, I create a skeleton from it. I remove all but the first 6 or 8 words of each line, for example. I work with the speech in this form for a week or so (depending on how much time I have before the event). And then I bring in the index cards.

It’s at this point that I reduce the speech to a barebones outline form that will fit on a few small index cards and this is what I carry with me on my walks. My goal is to recite the speech without using the index card prompts and within the time allotment for at least 10 days before the event. Of course, while the speech travels along the same path every time, it comes out sounding a little different. It’s not exactly a canned speech and it doesn’t sound like one.

At the moment of delivery in front of my audience, the thoroughly prepared speech and all of that rehearsal might go right out the window. Once I meet my audience and, in some cases, find out something about them, I may lean my speech in a direction slightly different than I had planned. It doesn’t really matter. The rehearsal was not for naught. At that point, my planned speech becomes a crutch that I can use if I need/want to and discard if I so choose.

I’m also presenting a 3-hour seminar in Atlanta. But I won’t be stressing my brain by attempting to memorize it. Oh no. I’ve written a lesson plan, but the seminar will be pretty much student directed. I have the information and I’ve created some great opportunities for audience participation. But the students will set the pace for the seminar. My job is to make sure they get everything they came for.

Have you gone out to speak about your marvelous book, lately? For help developing public speaking skills, read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, pages 260-263. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html And go out and join a local Toastmasters Club today.

Have you heard of Borders Personal Publishing? Two resourceful, imaginative major players in the “self-publishing” industry have managed to partner with Borders Books to form, yet, another self-publishing service for authors.

You pay and, together, Lulu and Borders will provide editorial support as well as design and print your book. In some cases, your book will be produced while you wait; through an interactive kiosk. And here’s the really exciting part—well, for some: Publishing with Borders makes your book ELIGIBLE to be carried in Borders stores. Come on guys, this is like the “self-publishing” contracts that say (in so many words), “Pay us to produce your book and we will make it available to bookstores nationwide.”

The price seems right. I know Dan Poynter (he’s a good guy), and his partner, Danny O. Snow, seems to have a good reputation. Mark Levine, in his book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, ranks their company, Lulu, among the outstanding self-publishing companies, along with BookLocker, Infinity, RJ Communications, Xulon Press, Virtual Bookworm, Outskirts Press, Cold Tree Press and a few others, but I still have my reservations about the world of fee-based “self-publishing.” It’s simply not the knight on a white horse for everyone.

It’s becoming more difficult for me to bash this community as a whole, now that reputable people (Poynter, Ron Pramschufer, Angela and Richard Hoy) and organizations (Borders) are jumping on the bandwagon. My reservations have more to do with the unaware author. While some “self-publishing” companies are on the up and up, many authors approach “self-publishing” companies with way too many unreasonable expectations and way too little knowledge. In fact, I wrote my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book in order to educate and inform hopeful authors about the publishing industry, their options, the possible consequences of their choices and, of course, their responsibilities as published authors.

What is the best way to approach the world of publishing? I say that you should be armed with knowledge. And your education should begin BEFORE you sit down to write a book. Read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Read Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual. Read Mark Levine’s, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing and other books related to the industry. Use my Author’s Workbook to determine IF publishing is for you, what is the best publishing option for you and your project, whether or not you have a platform and what it would take to build one, whether your book idea would compute into a viable product or not, your promotional plan, etc.

Before getting involved in any publishing option or a particular company, as Levine’s book insinuates, “Read the fine print.” Research the industry and compare several individual companies. Read between the lines. Scrutinize their contracts and ALWAYS have an intellectual properties attorney or literary attorney look at a contract before you sign it.

Examine your expectations—is it likely that this company can meet them? Are your expectations realistic? You probably won’t know that unless you know something about the publishing industry.

What is the worst case scenario that could occur as a result of you working with this company? Is this acceptable to you? Are you willing to gamble that, for example, your book will be among those chosen for sale at bookstores? Will you be satisfied to have your book in one major bookstore nationwide—one store, not one chain—as is part of one company’s contract?

Not every “self-publishing” company is the same. If you don’t know this, you’re definitely not ready to sign a contract. If you want to go the “self-publishing” company route with your amazing, professionally edited book, please do your research. Study the contracts, references, websites, samples of their published books, etc. for several companies before entering into an agreement with one. Seriously consider other options.

As I point out in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, not every option is for every author and every project. Use the Author’s Workbook to determine which option is best for you and your book.

If you’ve heard me say this before: “Publishing is not an extension of your writing. It is a business and it must be approached as such.”

Order The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and The Author’s Workbook:
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Have you ever used a workbook to help spark your forward motion on a stalled project? The Author’s Workbook is designed to accompany my hallmark book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. I created this guide to help hopeful and struggling authors develop a publishing and marketing plan for their stalled book projects.

If you have a book in mind or even in manuscript form and you aren’t sure what to do next, The Author’s Workbook could help you to take the next step and then the next until you have a published book in your hands. And a book that is created using a professional workbook format such as in The Author’s Workbook, has a better chance at success.

How can The Author’s Workbook help you complete a more successful project? Let me count the ways:

1: You’ll discover whether or not you are a candidate for authorship.
2: You will gain more clarity with regard to the scope and focus of your project.
3: You’ll learn how to identify your book’s genre.
4: You’ll define your purpose for this book, which will help direct you.
5: You’ll be guided in choosing the right publishing option for your project.
6: You’ll devise your list of appropriate agents and/or publishers.
7: You’ll be led through the process of writing a complete book proposal.
8: You’ll learn volumes about your book as you work through the proposal process.
9: You’ll learn how to write a query letter, a cover letter.
10: You’ll be led through the process of self-publishing your book.
11: You’ll be coached in designing your marketing plan.
12: You’ll learn how to set up a bookkeeping system.

Order your copy of the coveted The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and the companion Author’s Workbook today. Read the book. Use the workbook. And here’s what you can expect:

• You could be holding your published book in your hands within the year.
• By this time the following year, you could be enjoying a measure of success

Of course, it’s all up to you. But I can tell you this with some certainty, if you don’t study the publishing industry before getting involved and if you don’t write a business plan for your book, you are more likely to join the 76 percent of authors who fail every year.

Order the book duo NOW at a special price: http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html If you already own either the first or second edition of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, order The Author’s Workbook at a discount here: http://www.matilijapress.com/workbook.html

Imagine this, you’re finally holding your published book in your hands. What a joyful day. Next comes the hard part—getting word out to the right audience about your useful, informative and/or entertaining book. And this is no easy task.

Think of it, you have really accomplished a lot, lately. You’ve written a book. You may have done incredible amounts of research in the process. You shopped publishers and chose one. You managed details required to design and produce a book. Now you must change hats again and start promoting it.

If you wrote a book proposal, you know who your audience is. You know where they are. You know that they need or desire your book. So how do you convince them of this? How do you approach your audience and what can you do to persuade them to actually step up and purchase copies of your book? It’s no easy task in today’s competitive bookselling market.

The first thing you must do is get exposure for your book. Show it, flaunt it, flash it; make sure that it is everywhere. But then you have to sell it. How do you turn a potential customer into a customer?

Think benefits instead of features. Address emotions instead of intellect. Consumers want to know, “What’s in it for me?” “How will this book benefit me?” “What will I get out of it?”

Instead of telling potential customers that the book has 20 chapters, it was professionally edited and it features exercises at the end of each chapter, say, “This book shows you how to unlock the door to a more stress-free life.” Rather than saying, “This book is hardcover and tells the story of Goldilocks all grown up,” try, “This story will make you laugh, cry and fall in love with the three bears all over again.”

Book marketing and promotion are not natural byproducts of writing or even publishing a book. It takes understanding and knowledge of a different kind. In order to sell your book you must understand the mechanics of marketing and the psychology of salesmanship. After reading my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, which is designed to prepare you for the writing, publishing and book promotion road, I suggest reading Marilyn Ross’s, Jump Start Your Book Sales and Debbie Allen’s Confessions of Shameless Self-Promoters. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

There are varying degrees of authors. While some are writers, first and foremost, others simply have something to say and writing seems to be the best way to be heard. But there are a few authors who are also businessmen/women.

I teach and preach the importance of incorporating business savvy into your book even before you write it—especially before you publish it. And here are some reasons why:

Just this morning, a client told me that Oprah is no longer reviewing memoirs. My client’s book could be considered a memoir, but it has so many other elements to it AND she is just in the beginning stages of writing it, so she can make this book fit the genre of her choice. If this hopeful author had been holing up in her writing closet pouring all of her energies and concentration into the manuscript, this tidbit of information would have gone unnoticed and she may have made decisions that would prevent her from the Oprah option.

There’s a lot going on outside of your writing room—there are decisions being made within the publishing industry, rules being adopted and strict policies being set in motion. There are changes taking place, old-school procedures being adhered to and history in the making. And, as hopeful authors, you need to come up for air, look around and pay attention to what’s happening in the publishing industry. Here are some of the questions I get from hopeful authors each year:

• How do I get my book published?
• How do I approach a publisher?
• Do I need an agent?
• What’s a book proposal—do I need one for my book?
• How do I figure out what genre my book is?
• How do I get my book into bookstores?
• Can I get my book reviewed after it’s published?
• How can I find out about book reviewers for my book?
• Do publishers accept manuscripts via email?
• Do I have to adhere to those simultaneous submission policies?
• How much does a publisher charge to publish a book?
• What’s the first thing I should do now that my book is published?
• What is included in a press release?

And here are some of the complaints I hear from authors who didn’t study the publishing industry before producing their books

• The major reviewers have turned down my book.
• Bookstores won’t carry my book.
• I don’t know how to sell this book. Can you help me?
• I’m told that there isn’t a market for a book like this.
• How do I get people to come to my website?
• Libraries won’t buy my book because of the binding.
• My market is so limited.

To learn much more about the publishing industry, read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Don’t wait to be unpleasantly surprised by the hard truths in publishing. Start studying the publishing industry from day one. Remember that publishing is not an extension of your writing. Publishing is a business and your book is a product. The earlier in the process that you shift from closet writer to active participant in the business of authorship, the more likely you will experience publishing success.

I’m an author with books to sell. I’m also a teacher—some call me “mentor.” As such, I frequently recommend books and resources other than my own. For example, I have a list of resources for writers/authors/publishers at my website, http://www.matilijapress.com/forwriters/resources.html and it includes many books, websites, etc. that I think will help you, not just those that generate from me.

Here are the books I recommend in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Naturally, I recommend my book first. I wrote my heart and soul into it in hopes of guiding hopeful authors gently and successfully toward their individual goals. It includes the basics you need in order to succeed in the competitive publishing field and it is designed to use as a reference book for years to come—for as long as you have a book to publish, promote, distribute, sell…

Here are some of the other books I recommend throughout the pages of my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book:

Writers Market, (Writers Digest Books) This book tells you how and where to sell your articles, stories and book manuscripts. (A new edition is published each September)
The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, The Contracts and Services of 48 Self-Publishing Companies—Analyzed, Ranked and Exposed By Mark Levine (Bridgeway Books)
The ABC’s of POD: A Beginner’s Guide to Fee-Based Print-on-Demand Publishing by Dehanna Bailee (Blue Leaf Publications)
Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah M. Adams, (John Wiley and Sons)
The Fast-Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal by Stephen Blake Mettee (Quill Driver Books)
1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer (Open Horizons)
How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less, by Patricia Fry (Matilija Press)
Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishes and Literary Agents, 2005: Who They Are! What they Want? How to Win Them Over by Jeff Herman (Harper Collins)
The Self-Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter (Para Publishing)
Grammar Traps by Stephen Dolainski (Paragraph Publishing)
Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book by Patricia Fry (Matilija Press)
Confessions of Shameless Self-Promoters by Debbie Allen (Success Showcase Publishing)
Jump Start Your Book Sales: A Money Making Guide for Authors, Independent Publisher and Small Presses by Marilyn and Tom Ross (Writer’s Digest Books)
Kirsch’s Handbook of Publishing Law by Jonathan Kirsch (Silman-James Press)
Literary Law Guide for Authors by Tonya Marie Evans and Susan Borden Evans (FYOS Entertainment)
The Copyright, Permission and Libel Handbook by Lloyd J. Jassin (Wiley and Sons)
The Writer Within You: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing and Publishing In Your Retirement Years by Charles Jacobs (Caros Books)

And these are just the books listed at the end of each chapter of my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. There are over 15 additional recommended books listed in the Resource Section.

If you want to know more about some of these books, visit the SPAWNews archives. We frequently publish book reviews in SPAWNews. http://www.spawn.org

Whether you are just thinking about writing a book, you’re in the beginning stages, you’re almost published or you’re a published author with a book to promote, never underestimate the value of expert advice from people that you trust. No matter what stage of authorship you’re currently experiencing, you’ll make fewer mistakes and enjoy greater success if you pay attention to the professionals. Fill your home library with a generous helping of these useful books, read them and refer to them often.