Writing and Publishing News from

I’m preparing to start day two of the Cat Writers’ Association conference in White Plains, New York. I have to tell you there is nothing better than traveling a long distance to participate in a conference and then really enjoying the experience.

This is a well-run event with lots of nice surprises and perks. The attendees and volunteers, mostly cat writers, are terrific. I’ve met writers of cat stories, cat articles and cat books (both fiction and nonfiction). These are not just cat owners (some of them don’t even currently have cats). Many of them work hard for cat causes as rescue organization leaders, providing foster homes for kittens and cats and otherwise crusading on behalf of the feline population. I’ve met veterinarians who write and who also work toward the betterment of all sorts of animals— domestic and wild. I’ve met breeders, those who show cats and people involved in pet therapy programs. These are people of passion, I tell you.

When is the last time you attended a writers’ conference? Maybe you should consider it. Do your homework, though. Choose the right conference for your needs. If you want to become a freelance writer or to get more work in this area, make sure that the conference you choose has a strong freelance writing focus. Maybe you are ready to pitch a book idea. Select a conference that offers editor/agent meetings. If it is writing help and inspiration you are seeking, choose a conference that features writing instruction and time to write—a writers’ retreat…

One author I heard speak yesterday said that she landed her agent at a writers’ conference. She went there expressly to find an agent for her book in progress and was successful. The agent later helped her negotiate a contract with a name publisher. Yes, it can and does happen.

Why not spend some time over the Thanksgiving holiday week to research writers conferences in our genre, area of interest and/or region? Start here: http://www.shawsguides.com

Are you a sappy writer who is driven more by emotions than good sense?

Face it, a lot of emotion goes into writing. By the time we are ready to publish our work, we are so attached to it that our passion often clouds our decisions. Many of us advance from sappy writer to sappy author.

If our publishing success depended on our feelings about—our attachment to—our work, there would be thousands more authors experiencing bestseller status, living in mansions and driving to book signings in Rolls Royces.

But no—it is not passion that will see us through the difficult process of publishing. It is knowledge. We must set our emotions aside and become a savvy author. How?

By studying the publishing industry and entering this realm armed with the right information.

Start here:
Read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Order your copy now at http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Patricia Fry will speak in New York
I’m heading out tomorrow to White Plains, NY to speak at the Cat Writers Association Conference and sign books (including my book of cat stories) at the Westchester Cat Show. That will be fun. I’m accustomed to working surrounded by cats. I’ll feel right at home.

I plan to update you about the event through my blog as often as I can.

KUDOS
My article, “You’re the Expert” is featured in Fran Silverman’s Book Promotion Newsletter today. http://www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com

How much thought do you put into your nonfiction book and article titles? Is choosing a title something you enjoy or is it a real drag? Do you feel confident about the titles you come up with or do you hate most of them? Maybe you don’t even select your own titles—you turn that task over to someone who’s actually good at it.

I’m not an expert when it comes to choosing titles. But sometimes I actually enjoy the process and other times not so much. There are times when the perfect title comes to me immediately. There have been occasions when the title occurred to me before I even outlined the article or book. Have you had that happen—you write a book, story or article around a title? And how many times do you end up changing that title once the piece is written? Sigh!

I’m not an expert on titles. Some of mine are good and others, not so much. But I do know some of the basics of choosing a good title.

For nonfiction:
• When contemplating a title for a nonfiction book or article, think about the audience you want to attract. If your book is for people who want to quit stuttering, use a title such as, “Stutter No More.”

• Spell out the subject of the book in the title and, perhaps, the slant you are taking so the reader knows that this book has the information he or she wants. Going with the stuttering theme, how about this: “The 10-Day Stop Stuttering Plan,” or “Stop Stuttering in 10 Days, Guaranteed.”

• Use a subtitle when the brief title doesn’t quite sum up the scope of the book or article. Here’s an example, “Self-Publishing: Is it for You?” or “Stuck: How to Crush Writer’s Block.”

• Use your title to respond to the questions your audience may have on the subject. In fact, you might even ask an appropriate question in the title. For example, maybe you are addressing issues of dog behavior. An intriguing, inviting title might be, “Does Your Dog Need an Attitude Adjustment?”

• Describe the book in the title. “The Big Book of Easy Family Meals,” is a fairly succinct title, don’t you think? How about, “Go Fishing. Catch Fish! The How-to Book For Neophyte Anglers,” is a title that does not leave any doubt about its content. Well, there actually is one question left unanswered. What type of fishing are we talking about, fly fishing, lake, stream, ocean? If it is one type of fishing, the photo on the cover could respond to that question. If the book covers all fishing styles, show a collage of fishermen on a boat in the ocean, on a pier, standing in the surf, fishing in a river and so forth.

How many words should go in a title? According to one source, The longest book title belongs to Nigel Tomm, whose book title consists of 3,999 characters (with spaces) or 670 words. I’m not going to repeat it here. You can see it at WikiAnswers, if you want. It’s pretty bizarre. Several authors have used one-word titles. I suggest a title that fits nicely on your cover so that it is large enough to be seen by book browsers and, perhaps, easy to remember. As authors, we rely heavily on word-of-mouth for book sales, so you want a title that is easy to read and memorable.

If you are having trouble coming up with a title for your book here are some ideas:
• Review the content/theme/purpose of your book and your audience. If it is a book designed to teach or inform the public about the work that homeland security does, for example, consider a title such as, “What You Didn’t Know About Homeland Security.” Or make it more provocative, if you like: “Homeland Security: Are They Helping or Hindering?”

• Go through your book and highlight some of the interesting or particularly succinct phrases. Perhaps something will jump out at you.

• Brainstorm with friends, family, colleagues about a title.

• Study titles for books similar to yours.

How did you come up with your book title? Do you have a particularly good title you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you.

Now is a good time to sign up for one of my online, on-demand courses. http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Do you constantly seek story prompts that you can use to practice your writing skills? Do you ever have trouble coming up with story ideas? Do you sometimes need ideas to help you develop scenes or to create interesting situations for the book that you’re writing? Here are a few prompts that might help:

• Sign up for Google Alerts using your name. Contrive what comes up into unique stories. You ought to see some of the strange alerts that show up related to my name—and very, very few of them have anything to do with me. http://www.google.com/alerts

• Go people-watching. I knew a writer who used to sit on the local pier watching the variety of people who walked on, fished from and otherwise hung out there. I remember her writing into a story once that her character watched a piece of newspaper cartwheel along the boardwalk in the ocean breeze. That came from her astute observations while people-watching and while paying attention to the detail around her.

• Listen to what people say and how they say it. Not every character in your story will speak using the same gestures, inflection, vocabulary, level of emotion, etc. Let real people influence your characters.

• The more groups you belong to, outings you take and activities you participate in, the more opportunities you will have to observe people and their gestures, dialect, way of speaking, thought processes and experiences—all things you can incorporate into your characters and stories.

• Read, read and read some more. Study books in your genre and on your topic. It is surprising how many authors never bother to follow this advice. I guess some of them fear they will lose their voice if they try to copy another author. I’m not asking authors to imitate other authors, but to learn from them.

Train yourself to be more observant and open-minded and you’ll pick up ideas everywhere you go, in every situation, on every cereal box, billboard and magazine cover. You’ll discover potential aspects to your characters and your story on the freeway, in the airport, at your family Thanksgiving celebration, in the doctor’s office, on the soccer field and even on TV.

I’d love to hear about some of the unusual prompts that have enhanced your characters and/or stories. Leave your comments here.

In the meantime, whether you write fiction or nonfiction books, be sure to order my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. Read it from cover to cover and then leave it close at hand so you can reference the self-editing section, the chapter on choosing the right publisher/agent for your project, the pros and cons of pay-to-publish companies, distribution questions and helps, how to locate an appropriate and legitimate agent, how to establish a platform and tips for devising your marketing plan, for example. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

This might be a good time to take an online course. Check out those I offer on writing a book proposal, establishing a freelance article-writing career, book promotion or how to set up your own publishing company. Let me walk you through the difficult terrain. http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

Are you a freelance writer or a published author? Do you get a lot of press—have numerous articles published every year, are involved in many websites and organizations related to the genre/topic of your book, are an active promoter, add to your blog practically daily, travel around and speak/sign books quite often? If so, then you get a lot of exposure and you probably have “fans” (or, at least wide recognition).

Perhaps you have found out that, with recognition comes the occasional or even the frequent acknowledgement from someone who has met you, knows your work, knows of you, admires you or is jealous of you.

I’ve been putting myself and my work out there for decades and I’ve collected quite an array of “followers.” I love hearing from someone who says they found value in one of my books, that they read my blog religiously, that they enjoy and learn from my articles, that they heard me speak and liked what I had to say or that I came highly recommended as an editor/consultant. These are the emails, letters and phone calls that make my day.

Just this weekend, I received three great emails—one from a gentleman who said he read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, in one day and loved it. A woman wrote to ask for help with a book project because I came highly recommended by a dear friend of hers. The third one was from someone I’ve been in communication with over the years about her book project. She wanted to check in with me and let me know she is almost ready for me to take a look at her book. She also mentioned how much she enjoys this blog and she bought a copy of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.

Do I ever get “hate” mail? Well, a couple of times clients were unhappy with my recommendations. I must have come on too strong with one of them because he wrote one last email strongly defending his decision to mislead his readers and I never heard from him again. Another one disappeared for a while after my evaluation of his manuscript and then, weeks later, he returned ready to work with me.

He said that he couldn’t believe my comments at first. But after thinking about it, he realized that I was right.

I had one doozy of a jealousy situation once. One of my articles appeared in Entrepreneurial Woman . A woman I knew slightly called, I thought to compliment me. But, no! She called to say that she couldn’t believe that HER national magazine would publish something written by someone who, as far as she knew, had written nothing more than a book on the local history. Evidently, she did not know that I had been writing articles for magazines, by then, for about 15 years quite successfully and that I’d been published in Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurial Woman and many other magazines during that time.

She ended the conversation by saying that she was going to end her subscription to the magazine and she was going to tell the editors why—because, if they would publish articles by me—someone that she knows—an ordinary person—their magazine must not be legitimate.

Can you believe it? Just because she knew me and one of the people I interviewed for the quite legitimate and interesting article on what does success mean to you, she figured that the article and the magazine were now bogus.

Most people, after reading an article by someone they knew, would adopt a more positive take on it—“Wow, I didn’t know that you had worked your way up to the point where you are getting published in such prestigious magazines. Good for you!”

Do you collect “fan” mail? I sure do. It does a heart and soul good to be acknowledged for our accomplishments. It encourages us to do more for our readers—to try harder. It spurs us on to reach the next level. Don’t you think so?

I’d like to hear about your fan mail and any jealousy mail you have received over the years. Leave a comment here or email me at PLFry620@yahoo.com.

And, while you’re at it, be sure to thank or compliment another writer. Dennis and I read a book by a friend this week—Thrift Me Deadly by Wendy Dager. It’s an ebook available at SmashBooks. It is fantastic. And I emailed Wendy to tell her so. She said, “Because of your comments, I’ll be smiling all day.”

Make someone smile today.

This week, I’m working on my speech for the Cat Writers’ Association Conference November 19-22. I’m looking forward to meeting the cat writers in White Plains, New York. Should be a warm gathering in a chilly place. And the Westchester Cat Show takes place in the same city on the same weekend. How cool is that?

On Friday morning, I’ll be talking to writers about how to break away from cat writing and expand into other genres and topics. As you may know, I started my freelance article-writing career writing about horses. That was what I knew about at the time. I was also familiar with horse-related magazines and knew what was lacking—what was needed. So I got my start writing how-to and informational articles for these magazines, along with an occasional humor or human interest piece.

Are you a freelance writer stuck in a writing niche and you don’t know how to expand your horizons? Here are my suggestions in a nutshell:

Okay, so you’re writing about what you know and love. Consider what else you know or are involved in. For me, way back when, it was the subjects of a column I was writing for the local newspaper.

I had developed a business column for the Ojai Valley News—Profiles in Business. I met some interesting people doing interesting things and I began selling some of their stories to regional and national magazines—with their knowledge and permission, of course.

Early on, I also wrote articles for cat magazines. I did a lot of work for Cats Magazine before it folded. And I’ve written quite a few articles for Cat Fancy. I wrote a piece on the calico cat, for example; one featuring the Pallas cat (the wild and rare cat that lives in the steppes in Asia and parts of Russia). I’ve written about cat personalities, holistic medicine for cats, feral cats, how to bring a kitten into your home, and so forth.

So what else do you know well, parenting, caring for elderly parents, gardening, quilting, woodworking, collecting swords or cars, shopping—are you an expert at shopping with coupons? Maybe you work with therapy animal, you’re good at budgeting, you pride yourself on your happy marriage or you operate a volunteer organization. Consider writing about these things.

Here’s another idea: stay with your original theme, just go in a different direction. If you write about cats, for example, consider creating articles on your pet topic for non-cat magazines. I sold articles about cats in the workplace and in libraries to a few regional magazines. (I was one of many to write about Dewey, the Library cat). I’ve also sold pieces on how to teach children responsibility through caring for their pets, for parenting magazines. How about a piece featuring animal-related paying jobs for business publications? Yup, I’ve done that, too. I even sold a piece on using mind-talk with cats, reflecting an experience I had with my calico, Daisy. This sold to a metaphysical magazine.

Eventually, of course, the goal is to come up with totally new article ideas.

Many freelance writers are at a total loss when it comes to article ideas outside of their areas of interest. But I can offer a whole list of prompts for locating new ideas to write about. Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll write a blog telling you how.

In the meantime, be sure to check out my useful books and online courses at http://www.matilijapress.com

Do you take those tests in Reader’s Digest Magazine that are designed to help you improve your vocabulary? Do you strive to learn a word-a-day by using it in your communication? I remember when this was a common practice for writers and those who wanted to be a more skilled conversationalists.

I don’t hear or read so much about the various exercises designed to help you increase your vocabulary, these days. I guess we’re so busy trying to be somebody and attempting to make a difference through doing, that we don’t tend to focus down on this type of pointed self-improvement.

I urge you to consider increasing your vocabulary when it comes to writing articles or a book manuscript. And I don’t mean that you should build a huge vocabulary that includes a lot of obscure words. I’ve actually met authors who believe that the more big words they use in their writing, the more they will impress a publisher or their audience. Not so. Oh, if you are writing a scholarly book for a select group of highly educated professors, maybe so. But if you are writing for a segment of the general public, telling your story or relating your information using obscure words will not impress them; it will turn them off. But you do need an arsenal of synonyms if you want to make your writing more interesting.

A common trend I see among authors is the tendency to repeat words rather than searching for a synonym (or a like word). Here’s an example:

Don took his dog to the dog park where he romped and played with other dogs. Some of the dogs were on leashes, but they weren’t inclined to make friends as easily as those dogs that were free to roam. Don’s dog spent most of his time romping and playing with a small wooly dog.

This is kind of boring, don’t you think? Try this to liven it up:

Don lead Marshmallow into the enclosed dog park and the young poodle quickly found Lucky, a Pekinese mix, to romp and play with. Most of the dogs were allowed to roam free, but a few reluctant owners kept their pets leashed. Those that were restrained seemed more aggressive than the others. There’s a psychology to that, I guess.

Here’s another one:

Nathan was eager to find a date for the prom. All of his friends had dates. Some of them were taking their steady girlfriends, others just found random girls to date just for that one evening. He wondered if Susan would be his date. She seemed nice enough and he doubted that she dated much, so probably wasn’t taken. Nathan wasn’t used to dating. In fact, this would be his first date.

Or:

Nathan was eager to find a date for the prom. All of the other guys on his team were going. Some of them were taking their steady girlfriends, others found random girls to take. He wondered if Susan would go with him. She seemed nice enough and he doubted that she had a beau. Nathan didn’t go out much. In fact, this would be his first such experience.

This is the same paragraph without all of the instances of “date,” “dating” and “dated.”

Now, go look at the article, story or book manuscript you’re working on. Do you have instances where you’ve repeated words? Make it your project this week to change some of these words so that your writing has more variety.

How do you come up with new words?

• Use your thesaurus.
• Use your brain—brainstorm.
• Listen when conversing with others.
• Practice using new words.

Is that how you feel sometimes? Are you afraid you will run out of time to write before you’ve satisfied your writing dreams?

Most new writers are in a big hurry to get that story or that nonfiction book out of their heads and in the computer. They are eager to see it published. Some are so eager, in fact, that they bypass some of important steps.

Some of you might remember my article, “Hurry Up and Fail.” Herein, I caution hopeful authors against rushing their projects in order to meet a personal deadline. Why? They miss important steps that could mean the difference between their project’s success or failure. Here are my recommendations:

Before you start writing the book:
1: Study the publishing industry. It is imperative that you know what choices are available to an author and the consequences of your publishing decisions. You must also have a clear understanding of your responsibilities as a published author.

2: Write a book proposal. A well-organized, well-designed, well-written book proposal will tell you whether you have a book at all, whether it is a viable product, who your audience is, where you will find them and it will guide you in establishing your platform and your marketing plan.
Don’t guess at these important questions. Don’t make your decisions based on your desire. You must do the research necessary to more accurately respond to these vital issues.

After you’ve finished writing your book:
3: Assess the content of your book. Review it from many angles. For a nonfiction book, make sure that you have included everything that you need in order to inform, guide, teach and/or educate your audience. Is your book organized logically? Is it easy to follow? Should you break up long streams of text by using headings and subheads? Is your content correct, quotes exact and statistics fresh and precise? Spend as much time as you need to make your nonfiction book the useful tool it is meant to be.

For a novel, does every transition and instance of dialogue work? Are there any areas that sort of grate on you? This could indicate that your story needs more work. Don’t quit writing too soon. But try to avoid stressing over your story to the point that you start changing things that don’t need changing.

4: Hire an editor. Every author needs at least one extra set of eyes before they can call their book finished. Hire a good editor and allow them the time it takes to perform his or her job. How do you pick a good editor? Choose one who is familiar with the type of book you’ve written—if they know the topic well, all the better. Select an editor who has come highly recommended. And it is a bonus if this editor is also involved in and knowledgeable about the publishing industry.

5: Proof any and all changes. Anytime you make a change or you ask your book design person to make a change, do a thorough proofing of the entire area that may be affected by this change.
Did the designer type the new phrase correctly? When he added it in, did this affect the spacing or the flow from one page to the next? Do you need to make a change in the index because of an addition?

6: Add all of the appropriate aspects. Don’t skimp because of a time constraint. If you forgot to purchase a barcode and decide to publish without it, know that you are making a huge mistake. Now your book is automatically ineligible for most retail store sales. Omit the ISBN and you probably can’t get your book placed at amazon.com. Is your book suitable for libraries? Then obtain the Publishers Cataloging in Publication block. And if yours is a reference book or a self-help or how-to book with many references, resources and tips, please, please, take the time to create an index.

In publishing, time is probably not so much of the essence as is professionalism. Don’t allow yourself to be governed by the clock when it means rushing your project. Take charge. Concentrate on perfecting your manuscript, first and foremost. Deadlines can be changed. Producing a book before its ready can be a costly and embarrassing mistake.

Patricia Fry is a full-time freelance writer, editorial consultant and the author of 29 books including, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.” Order it here: http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

She’s also the Executive Director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org

I can’t tell you how many manuscripts I see that just don’t seem very interesting or promising when I read the first few pages. If I continue on, however, I will often get into the story and actually enjoy it.

I always wonder, why did this seem like it would be a dull book? Why didn’t the author’s description pique my interest and prepare me for enjoying this story? How did this seemingly mundane, dreary book suddenly catch my interest? Why did it take so long for this to happen?

Most novelists and memoirists desperately need help writing their openings and describing their books. In fact, as I read through some of the books I evaluate and/or edit, I wonder why the author didn’t go back and rewrite the first page or two after completing the book? That’s also when you should write your synopsis and your back cover copy—after you’ve completed the book.

Most authors, however, don’t truly know what their book is about. They don’t understand what it is about their story that is going to entice the reader. They don’t get what is actually intriguing about their books.

You’ve probably read books that were a real surprise to you. The book was actually nothing like what you thought it would be. The description and the first few pages you scanned did not represent the book at all. Sometimes this is a happy surprise and sometimes you feel scammed.

Oh, how many times we have been scammed. The book is touted to be a lovely story of a cat, for example. But it turns out to be a personal memoir and a history lesson.

If you are writing a book, I have a couple of suggestions.

Once you’ve finished your book and after you’ve edited it a whole bunch of times and you’ve done a lot of fact-checking, etc., revisit your opening. Is it as intriguing as the bulk of your story? Does it aptly represent what is to follow? Does it even relate to your story? Most of all, does it grab the reader and make him/her want to continue reading?

Here’s an idea: after completing your manuscript and making it as readable as possible, make copies and give it over to several friends to read. Then ask them to describe your story. You’re not asking for an evaluation or critique, you want them to describe it as if they are giving a book report.

You can provide them with a questionnaire and ask them to give detailed responses. Ask, for example, “What is this book about?” “What is the point of the story?” “At what point in the story did you begin to enjoy it?” “What would you suggest for making this book better?”

Most good books have a point of no return—a place in the book where the reader gets hooked. You want to know when that happened for your test readers.

Pay close attention to what your readers say and you might just get the material you need to rewrite your opening, write your book proposal synopsis and prepare some really good back cover copy.

If you need help writing a book proposal, establishing a career as a freelance article writer, promoting your book or starting your own publishing company, consider signing up for Patricia Fry’s on-demand, online courses. Read about them here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

What will cause/entice reader (or a publisher) to read your book? For a novel or memoir, for example, your intriguing title might cause someone to pick up your book. But what’s going to keep him or her reading? Your opening line. The trick is to grab the reader within the first line or paragraph. Wait too long to introduce something interesting, mysterious, exciting or captivating, and you may lose readers and, by the way, that publisher you want to attract.

What makes a good opening line or theme? Many first-time writers tend to start at the beginning. One technique for creating an intriguing opening is to start at the most exciting/dramatic place in the story. Give enough of a snapshot to whet the reader’s appetite, but not so much that it spoils the suspense. At the same time, watch out for the tendency to barely touch on the event. If you don’t give enough, you won’t attract an interest. Instead, you may confuse, thus turn away your potential reader.

For some stories, it works to describe a scene and then tell your story from there. Some authors are expert at starting at the end and bringing the story forward. Some good books begin with a simple, but shocking, ironic or totally off-the-wall statement. The rest of the book seems to be developed around that statement.

If you’re skilled enough, you can actually create an excellent opening by starting at the beginning of your story, but NOT using one of the following:

• Joshua was born to Emma and Jake Laughlin in a log cabin in 1875.

• This is the story of a logger and his challenges.

• Once upon a time in a small city in New England…

Unless your second sentence is truly captivating, don’t even try this.

If you are working on a book, check your opening sentence/paragraph. Is it full of emotion? Does it grab the reader and make him or her want to continue reading? Does it incite questions or promise delicious things that the reader can’t resist?

This weekend, I suggest that you study your opening line. Have others read it and ask them the following questions:

• What do you know about this book after reading the opening?

• How do you feel about pursuing this book after reading the opening?

Read the opening lines in other novels to get an idea of what really works.
Good luck. And I invite you to share your findings here at this blog site.