Writing and Publishing News from

April 26, 2011

Gain More Respect as an Author: Write For Your Audience

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 5:35 am

Most of us, when we start writing, write for ourselves. We write to figure something out, to sort out some aspects of our life or to amuse ourselves. We write about something that’s bugging us or making us happy, perhaps.

It used to be that was enough—just to put down on paper the thoughts or stories that were dancing around in our heads or hearts. We kept our thoughts in journals. We wrote about them in letters to close friends. Only a few daring people shared their writings in articles or books.

Today, however, everyone wants to have their writing published. It doesn’t matter if it is good or bad, timely or old hat, rough or wonderfully written, meaningful or useless, it is being published.

One of the biggest problems I see with material that newby freelance writers and authors are writing is that they continue in “this is what I want to write—this is what I need to say,” mode instead of doing what a professional would do, write for his or her audience.

I advise my clients and students, who want to write successfully for publication, to stop writing for themselves and start writing for their audiences.

Sure, you might have a cause that is important to you. You want to share a message that is close to your heart. You can still do this—and even more effectively—if you think more about what your audience wants—what will benefit him or her—than what you need or want to tell them.

Maybe this will help:

• As you write, visualize members of your audience. Focus on them, their needs and desires and you may do a better job of writing the right article or book for the right audience—one that is more well-received.

• Determine, as you plan and write your article or book, how your audience would benefit from what you know or are interested in?

• Research your topic or the theme of your article or book before deciding to share your writings with the world. Is it a topic or a genre that would be welcomed by a segment of the population? Is it a popular genre? Is it a topic of interest to at least a strong niche of people? Has the topic been overdone? What can you bring to the table that is different, fresh, desired?

• Write to be understood. If it is fiction, make sure that your story is believable—not in the sense that it has to be true, but that it must be presented in a logical order and be consistent in the way the story is told. If it is nonfiction, your book or article must be organized logically and filled with useful information or material that is presented in a way that is easy to follow and digest.

Keep your audience in mind as you plan and write your book or article and you will more likely attract a publisher or editor and more readers.

Are you looking for a good online course where you get plenty of personal feedback and attention for your project? Sign up for one of my courses: Book Proposal Course, Memoir-Writing Workshop, Self-Editing Workshop, Book Promotion Course, Build Your Platform Course, Article-Writing Course or Self-Publishing Workshop.

http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

If you’re ready to start working with an editor on your book manuscript, learn more about my services here: http://www.patriciafry.com

Contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

April 25, 2011

Get Your Publishing Facts Straight

Filed under: Publishing — Patricia @ 4:25 am

Today, we’re continuing our list of publishing rumors that you really shouldn’t believe.

Rumor
I don’t have to have my manuscript edited. If the publisher is interested, he’ll edit it.

Fact
Yeah, right! But how are you going to get him interested in an inferior manuscript when there are so many others to choose from?

Rumor
I won’t need to promote my book because I’ve paid my POD publisher to do the promotion.

Fact
Don’t get me started. No matter what publishing option you choose, you WILL be responsible for promoting your book.

Rumor
Bookstores won’t carry self-published books.

Fact
Have you contacted independent bookstores?

Rumor
No one will review self-published and POD books.

Fact
This describes most pre-publication reviewers. But there are numerous book review opportunities throughout the Internet and among print publications related to your genre and/or topic.

Rumor
Writing the book is the hardest part.

Fact
No, successfully navigating the publishing industry is harder and marketing is even harder, yet.

Folks, don’t rely on rumors and the experiences of a few others when you are ready to enter into the world of publishing. Be proactive. Study the publishing industry so that you are completely informed and well-prepared to make the right decisions on behalf of your particular project.
As part of your study of the publishing industry, be sure to read the book I wrote for newby and struggling authors. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.

This book will go into detail about all of the “rumors” we’ve mentioned here in the Sunday and Monday blogs.

This book is on sale NOW at http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Contact me for a free manuscript evaluation. PLFry620@yahoo.com.

April 24, 2011

There is Danger in Believing Publishing Rumors

Filed under: Publishing — Patricia @ 5:13 am

Watch out for publishing rumors. They can sabotage your success.

Almost everyone who enters the publishing arena for the first time, has heard a rumor or two. They’ve listened to the publishing war stories of those in their writers’ groups. They’ve met disgruntled authors at conferences and book festivals with stories to tell. Or they talk to neighbors who tried to get a book published in the ’80s. Some hopeful authors embrace the first of what seems to them the most logical/reasonable testimonial and consider it publishing gospel. Here are a few examples of publishing rumors that hopeful authors have shared with me:

Rumor
A publisher will take your 500-page manuscript, throw away 450 pages and then tell you to rewrite the book.

Fact
A new author actually used this rumor as a reason not to fine-tune her manuscript. I hope she believed me when I told her that this would be rare, indeed. Publishers get enough good manuscripts that they aren’t going to work from scratch with an unknown author. This is absurd.

Rumor
Publishers won’t even look at your manuscript if you don’t have an agent.

Fact
There are hundreds and hundreds of small to medium-size publishers who prefer to work without the involvement of an agent.

Rumor
All I have to do in order to get published is find an agent.

Fact
Sorry, an agent does not guarantee a publishing contract.

Rumor
It’s impossible for a first-time author to land a traditional royalty publishing contract, so I might as well pay to have this book published.

Fact
There are plenty of publishers who work with new authors—some of them claim that 75 or even 100 percent of their books are from first-time authors.

I will bring you 5 more rumors and facts in tomorrow’s blog post. And if you’ve heard what you consider a rumor and you would like to check it out with me, please send it to PLFry620@yahoo.com and I’ll give you the truth in the matter.

Happy Easter. While you’re home and surfing the net, check out my websites:
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

April 23, 2011

7 Simple Ways to Promote Your Book This Weekend

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 4:52 am

What have you done this week toward the promotion of your book? What will you do this weekend? Do you have plans for promoting it next week? Next month? Or have you run out of ideas, energy and enthusiasm for book promotion?

After all, you didn’t sign up to be a promoter when you decided to write a book did you? Maybe not as far as you are concerned. The typical author focuses on writing and producing a book with little thought about how he or she will generate sales. Some of you are at a total loss when it comes to book promotion. But here’s the reality: The author is responsible for promoting his or her book. And when you stop promoting, the book will die.

So let me ask you again, what did you do this week to promote your book? What will you do this weekend? What plans do you have for promoting it next week? Month?

Here are a few ideas for this Easter weekend:

1: Locate three websites related to the subject, theme and/or genre of your book and see if you can become involved. How? Participate in their forum, ask to have your book reviewed for their newsletter or offered as recommended reading at the site. Open a line of communication with the director and find out if they need articles (or stories) for their site or newsletter or if you could help in any other way which might afford you some publicity for your book.

2: Start a blog and vow to post at least three times per week. What will you write? If your book is nonfiction, post information, resources, news items, instructions and so forth related to your book topic. Share your perspective with others who are interested in this subject. If your book is fiction, create a blog around the theme of your story or the genre. Share some of your experiences as a writer and maybe some of your stories.

3: Locate three magazines or newsletters where you could submit articles or stories designed to promote your book. Study the submission guidelines and write a query letter or submit a story, for example. How do you use articles or stories to promote your book? By demonstrating your knowledge and/or talent through the article or fiction piece. You mention your book and ordering information in the bio at the end of the submission. People who find you credible in your field or who like your style of writing will be interested in purchasing your book.

4: Stop in at a local independent bookstore and arrange to have your book placed there. It is easier than you might think. While the mega-bookstores are run by corporate headquarters and managers are held to rigid policies, independent bookstore owners are often pleased to carry good books by local authors.

5: Contact a reporter or columnist at a local newspaper with a story idea. Or ask about an interview. Does your book topic fit in with one of the regular columns—cooking, pets, parenting, seniors, health, business, finance, etc? Ask about a book review for the appropriate column. Some newspapers run book review columns. Or simply come up with an interesting angle on your story and pitch it to a columnist or reporter.

6: Locate three new publications where you could get your book reviewed.

7: Find three places where you could possibly do a book signing, demonstration or reading—bookstores, specialty shops related to the theme of your book, house parties, group meeting, etc.

There you are. Pursue these seven book promotion ideas this weekend and you could ultimately sell dozens of books that would otherwise remain stored in boxes in your garage or storage unit.

Learn more about book promotion and how to develop your own marketing plan by taking my online course, Book Promotion Workshop. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Check out the six other courses offered by Patricia Fry: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

April 22, 2011

New Book on Public Speaking for Authors

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 5:00 am

How many of you would welcome a ebook focusing on public speaking for the author? Do you want to go out and speak to promote your published book? Do you plan to get some speaking engagements once your book is completed? Or would you rather have a root canal than stand up and speak in front of people, but you know you need to get over your fear?

I’m currently working on an ebook called “The Author’s Public-Speaking Workshop Tips and Techniques for Selling Your Book Through Speaking Gigs.”

Is this a book you would like to study as part of your preparation for promoting your book? Here’s the Table of Contents for this book. Does it sound interesting? Useful? Is there anything else you’d like to see included?

Introduction
Presentation Basics
When Authors Engage in Public Speaking
Public Speaking Rule Breakers
How to Speak Up For Your Writing
Build Your Author’s Platform Through Public Speaking

Locate Speaking Opportunities
How Do You Get All of Those Speaking Gigs?
Authors Must be Easy to Find
Speak at Conferences on Your Book Topic
Find the Right Venue
How to Get People to Attend Your Presentations
How Many Books Can You Sell?

Book Signings and Demonstrations
The Author’s Book Signing
Book Signing Tips
The Demonstration Presentation

Public Speaking Tips and Techniques
Create Fascinating Presentations Around the Theme of Your Book
Protocol and Practices for Better Presentations
Gain More Confidence and Skill as a Public Speaker
Public Speaking for Authors: The Large and the Small of it
The Whole Truth in Writing and Speaking

What Else Do You Need to Know About Public Speaking?
Public Speaking for the Novelist
The Author-Speaker’s Voice
How to Establish Greater Rapport With Your Audience
How to Give an Awesome Author Interview
Just Say Yes and Sell More Books

Resources for Budding Speakers
Let me know your thoughts. PLFry620@yahoo.com. Or leave a comment here.

AOL VERSUS YAHOO
Are any of you Yahoo emailers having trouble communicating with AOL people? I am having trouble getting my yahoo emails through to my aol friends. Those emails that do make it without bouncing arrive hours or days late. What’s the problem? Does anyone know? PLFry620@yahoo.com

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

April 21, 2011

Don’t Let Your Emotions Kill Your Book’s Success

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 5:40 am

We all operate through our emotions—we can’t help it. Emotions are built into us to be experienced and expressed. But we’re advised not to allow our emotions to drive our book projects. And there’s good reason for this.

Sure you are excited about your book projects. Passion is an emotion. The sense of joy you feel while you’re writing and when you think about helping others or pleasing others through your book is an emotion. At the other end of the spectrum, the disappointment you feel when your manuscript is rejected or when you get a bad book review is also an emotion. It is impossible to get involved with the writing and production of a book without some sort of emotion.

Even staunch business-minded people experience some emotion throughout the process of creating and producing a book. But the most successful authors keep their emotions in check and even override their emotions when common sense and logic make more sense.

But how many of us become so attached to our book projects that we make emotional instead of logical decisions on its behalf? I can tell you that it is way too many of us. We write from an emotional place, which can be a good thing. It’s when we decide to publish and we start making business decisions from an emotional place that we find ourselves in trouble.

Here are some of the things we might say to ourselves in order to justify our decisions. Can you see how they are emotionally-driven?

• I don’t want to spend time trying to find a publisher so I’m going to sign with this pay-to-publish company whose representative seems as excited about my book as I am.

• I can’t wait to get my book published—I want to give a copy to my dad for his birthday. So I’m going to accept the pay-to-publish contract. I don’t actually know how to go about finding a regular publisher anyway and this seems like a good solution.

• I read over the contract and it seems okay. There are a few sections I don’t quite understand, but they tell me they have published hundreds of books for authors. They must know what they’re doing. I just want to live my dream and finally publish this book.

• I heard a speaker at my writers’ group talking about book promotion. Heck, I don’t want to get all involved in marketing my book. I just want to publish it and make a little money back selling to whoever wants it. I have a website. My pay-to-publish company said they would make it available to bookstores all over the country. I should be able to sell at least 10,000 copies without even trying.

• I wrote in my query letter to a major publisher that this is going to be the next bestseller and that it is a book for everyone—not just a specific niche audience.

Some would call these authors short-sighted. Some would consider them arrogant. I suggest that they are somewhat delusional, but that’s because they are not looking at publishing as a business. They have not studied the industry so they don’t know their options, the possible consequences of their choices and their responsibility as a published author. Some of them do not want to know. They simply want to fulfill and/or live a dream. They want to create their own reality without tuning into the reality of the industry. Their decisions are driven by their emotions.

And then they wonder why their dream sizzles—why they don’t experience the success they desire.

If you are pouring more emotion into your book project than thought, be sure to order my book TODAY at a discounted rate. Read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and learn more about the publishing industry and how to more successfully navigate it on behalf of your book project. The best time to read this book is BEFORE you even start writing your book. But it is never too late to study it.

What you learn in my book could dramatically change the direction of your book. And this could be a good thing.

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

If you need editorial help, check out my personal website:
http://www.patriciafry.com

April 20, 2011

Prepare for Your Author Appearances NOW

Filed under: Authorship,Public Speaking — Patricia @ 5:18 am

Do you listen to talk radio? Do you notice that all of the guests on every show and on every topic have books? A book has become as common as the business card and it is used as casually to establish credibility, to give individuals an identity…

Whether I am listening to a radio program or watching one on TV related to spirituality, religion, parenting, politics, gardening, health or writing, every guest is promoting a book on the subject. In most cases, however, these individuals did not speak on the topic until they came out with their books. They were not considered experts in their fields until they became authors. Now the former bank teller is doing radio interviews and TV appearances to talk about her book on childhood abuse; the homemaker/homeschool teacher guests locally to share her book of tips for homeschool teachers; the retired accountant travels around talking about his novel; the long-time tax preparer provides information from his book on family budgeting and the extensive traveler shares stories and lessons learned from her travel memoir.

If you’re writing a book (and millions of people are these days), do you plan to join the parade of ordinary people turned performer in order to promote your book? Are you honing your public speaking skills and are you coming up with ideas for programs you can present on radio and TV, at bookstores, conferences and so forth? Or would you prefer to just remain in the shadows with your book and hope it will sell through your website?

Yes, there seems to be a real flood of authors guesting on every talk show around. If you attend conferences in your area of interest, you see no lack of speakers on that topic. At writers’ conferences, for example, every imaginable subject and angle related to writing, publishing and book promotion is covered by savvy experts—most of them with books of their own.

Do authors sell books through live presentations? Absolutely, they do. Some people are impressed or inspired by the program and purchase the book on the spot. Others will take a brochure or business card and eventually buy the book online. Still others will hold off on the book until they read an article or two by this author, hear him or her speak at another event, discover their blog and/or have another professional in this field recommend him or her.

This is how it works. And, if your book is conducive to live presentations, you really should be thinking about how you’re going to go about them. What will you talk about? How can you make a presentation featuring the topic/theme of your book fascinating and/or informative? Do you have what it takes to effectively speak in public? Can you come up with a variety of interesting programs?

Here’s what I suggest:

1: Join a local Toastmasters Club. Find one near you:
http://www.toastmasters.org

2: Put yourself in situations where you have the opportunity to speak up in public. Join a networking group or a writers’ group, perhaps. Volunteer for a project at work or for a committee outside of work.

3: Practice pulling sub-topics from your book and developing potential programs from them.

4: As you consider your live audience, this might give you some insight into your readership and assist you in fulfilling your obligation as an author during the writing of your book.

5: For more about honing your public speaking skills, read some of the articles at my website under “Book Promotion.”
http://www.matilijapress.com/articlespublishing.htm

Download your FREE copy of “50 Reasons Why You SHOULD Write That Book,” here http://www.patriciafry.com

April 19, 2011

Hiring Staff for Writers and Authors

Filed under: Authorship,Writing — Patricia @ 6:23 am

I’m thinking again about hiring someone to help me out around here. But I’m not clear yet as to what kind of help I need or want. I’ve hired a friend in the past to do typing for me. She typed an entire book into the computer one year. I wrote that 360-page book on a typewriter and, twenty years later, when I decided to do a revision, there were no computer files or disks to extract it from. We had to start from scratch.

I suggested an article to a writers’ magazine once about hiring help in your freelance business. The editor laughed at me. She rejected the story by saying how unrealistic it is to even consider that a freelance writer could afford to hire anyone to help. This is such a short-sighted, narrow-minded view—and inaccurate!

When my bread and butter came from freelance article work, I hired someone to send out my query letters. I did the research as to which query letters I wanted to go out to which publications and she typed the correct name/address on each letter, printed them, prepared envelopes (including my SASE) and mailed everything out for me. That left me free to write articles, come up with new article ideas and so forth.

I hired my grandchildren to do filing for me at various times over the years. They’ve also helped me with large mailings.

Now I am considering hiring someone to arrange for my speaking gigs, maybe produce a newsletter and help me to get more exposure for myself and my products and services. I’d like this person to be more technologically savvy than I am. I have more to learn within the realm of ebooks, for example. This simple concept has become a strong industry with many facets and I would like to be brought up to speed with it all.

I realize that my colleagues, who seem to stay on the cutting edge of the industry, all work with a staff. I need to start building a knowledgeable staff.

I welcome your advice and suggestions. PLFry620@yahoo.com

If you would like to see more of my blog posts related to freelance writing, editing, book marketing, writing a book proposal, etc., use the “categories” list at the lower right of this post to locate all of the entries on that topic. Let me know if you have questions.

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

April 18, 2011

Why Do You Need an Editor For Your Amazing Book Manuscript?

Filed under: Editing — Patricia @ 5:02 am

I just finished compiling another issue of the SPAWN Market Update for the member area of the SPAWN website. That’s Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network, http://www.spawn.org.

In so doing, I had occasion to check publishers’ guidelines, their announced calls for submissions and their press releases with some innovative new publishing options for authors. Guess what I read over and over and over again:

“Send your completed manuscript ONLY after it has been professionally edited.”

Yup, this bit of advice can make the difference between a contract and a rejection letter. And it often does.

You hear that publishers will run a manuscript through their editorial department before sending it to the printers. And they do. Most publishers have specific editorial requirements and they want their stable of editors to make sure your excellent manuscript conforms. But a manuscript that is not professionally edited when the publisher receives it, won’t get this far in the process.

After you have gone through your manuscript numerous times looking at it from all possible angles and checking for all possible problems, it is time to hire an editor.

Here are some of the things your savvy editor will look for when editing your perfect manuscript:

• Spacing. It is now one space between sentences, not two!

• Punctuation. Are you using quotation marks and single quotes correctly? Are you creating the em-dash correctly? What about commas and exclamation points? Do you place them only where they need to be?

• Hyphens, etc. Do you know when it is two words, one word or a hyphenated word? (Many authors are inconsistent in this area. For example, they write heartbreaking on page 12, heart breaking on page 76 and heart-breaking on page 101.)

• Capitalization. Do you know when to capitalize Mom, Father, etc. and when not to? Have you been consistent in your capitalization of special words you use in your story or nonfiction book?

• Spelling. Have you triple checked your spelling? Are you consistent in the way you spell names and other specialized words you’ve chosen for your book?

• Mistakes. Have you checked for misused and extra words leftover when you’ve made changes? (These can be really hard to catch.) Maybe you changed someone’s name along the way—did you remember to make that change in all places?

• Clarity. Are your sentences tight, clear and necessary to your nonfiction book or your story? Is there enough explanation? Could someone from Mars read this sentence or paragraph and comprehend it? (Be careful here. Often, folks who engage in muddy writing rarely recognize the mud in the writing. Another good reason to hire an editor.)

• Is your story told or your how-to book organized logically? Does it flow? I can’t tell you how many times I have to help an author reorganize his or her material or story so that it works.

Each phase of preparing a book for publication is important and editing is one of the most important. After you have self-edited to your satisfaction, hire an experienced book editor and see the difference he or she can make with your amazing project.

http://www.patriciafry.com
http://www.matilijapress.com
PLFry620@yahoo.com

April 17, 2011

Finally Finish That Writing Project

Filed under: Authorship,Writing — Patricia @ 1:58 am

A new season is upon us. Are you ready to finally complete that novel, memoir, children’s or other book in 2011? Despite years of putting off your dream, you can succeed. You can experience the joy of authorship. Here are some suggestions to help you move closer to your writing goals.

1: Schedule time each day to write. Make writing a priority just like you do feeding the dog, working out and going grocery shopping. You might be surprised at how much you can accomplish in smaller pockets of time. I once wrote a 200-page book in eight months while writing for only two hours per day.

2: Do five things every day toward your writing goal. For example:
• Write five paragraphs or five pages of your novel.
• Make five contacts with regard to research or expert interviews.
• Self-edit five pages of your book.
• Check out five resources to help you in your publishing journey.

3: Stay positive. As a writer, you are constantly setting yourself up for rejection. Your articles are rejected. Your writers group is critical of your work. You criticize your writing. It’s hard to come by positive feedback.

Here’s how I conquer this writer’s curse.

• I display things in my office that make me feel accomplished and loved. I have my published books around me, of course, and then there are family photos, treasured gifts from friends, certificates, plaques and ribbons I’ve won and some of my best photography.

• I connect often with my most positive and supportive friends and family via brief emails and phone chats.

• I take mini-vacations almost every day. I spend an hour walking amidst stands of oaks, along a nearby river, around a lake or at the beach. Go out and ride your bike, walk the dog, sit and read an uplifting book or play with a kitten or a child, for example.

• I frequently engage in something creative outside of writing. I spend time in my garden or working on a needlework project. Other authors I know paint, draw, do woodwork or participate in little theater.

If you’re tired of looking at that unfinished manuscript, make this your year of achievement. Incorporate these ideas into your lifestyle now and you, too, will do yourself proud.

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

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