Writing and Publishing News from

Yesterday’s blog post featured what it takes to be an author. Today, I’d like to say a few words about how to get that training, those skills and the information you need in order to move more comfortably and successfully through the publishing process.

By “publishing process,” I mean the writing, producing and marketing of a book.

It sounds so simple when contained in a brief sentence like this. “No big deal,” you might say. “People publish books all the time. What could be so hard about writing, publishing and selling a book?”

If you are still in this stage—where you are only thinking about becoming a published author or maybe you are in the process of writing a book and you think this is the hardest part—you really need a reality check. Talk to some published authors. Ask what it was like to produce a book. Inquire about marketing the book. Most of them will tell horror stories to match any scary Halloween tale.

Authorship isn’t for the weak. And I am an advocate for hopeful authors starting their training very early in the game. I teach that there are two keys to publishing success. I just gave a talk to the Redwood Writers Group in Santa Rosa, California yesterday featuring these two keys to publishing success. And what it all boils down to is knowledge, education and a keen understanding of the entire process of publishing and book marketing as well as a keen understanding of your particular book—your product.

What are the keys to publishing success? If you’ve been visiting this blog often over the years, you know that they are:

Study the Publishing Industry.
Write a Book Proposal.

Two simple, although not easy, tasks.

Start the process of studying the publishing industry by reading my book: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. I wrote it for new and struggling authors. I wrote it because I meet so many authors at various stages of the publishing process who do not understand anything about the industry they hope to pursue. They have erroneous views and unrealistic expectations with regard to what’s ahead in publishing for them. They have very limited knowledge and this limits their progress and success.

They also lack understanding when it comes to their books. Most people write a book for themselves. It’s true. They get an idea in their head and run with it. Sometimes it’s based on what they perceive as a need among a certain segment of people. But, until the author writes a complete book proposal, he/she probably has no idea as to their target audience, what they actually want in a book, whether or not there is a market for this book, whether they have what it takes to promote their book or how to get it published and sell it.

A book proposal teaches the author volumes about his/her book and how to proceed with it.
The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book also has a large section on how to write a book proposal. Or purchase my book, How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less. http://www.matilijapress.com

Neglect to study the publishing industry, reject the idea of writing a book proposal and you are more likely to end up a statistic. More than 76 percent of authors today fail. Most of them did not study the publishing industry, nor did they write a book proposal.

If you don’t want to be part of this statistic, then I suggest becoming proactive on behalf of your book project. Become an author in training and start studying and learning what it takes to succeed as a published author before simply stumbling into the world of publishing completely void of skills and tools.

The fact is that there are numerous companies out there quite prepared to shove you through the publishing process in conveyer-belt fashion with your cookie cutter book. But I want you to rise above that. Take charge. Be proactive. Be successful.

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

Anyone who tells you that authorship isn’t a business and that it doesn’t require a multitude of skills, has never fully enmeshed him/herself into the role of author. So what does authorship entail? You can either dive blindly into publishing and find out for yourself, which is, unfortunately, what too many newbie authors do. Or you can follow the experts’ advice and learn about the industry, the book business and the world of publishing before getting involved.

Here are some of the skills an author should hone:
• Writing. You’d think this is pretty obvious, but I know authors who aren’t actually very good at expressing themselves through writing. What do members of your writers’ group say about your writing? Hire a book editor to evaluate your skills in this area. If you cannot quite get your message or story across, don’t show your work to any publisher or produce it yourself without hiring a good book editor first.

• Business sense. Authorship, even if you land a traditional royalty publisher, should be considered a business. If you are self-publishing or considering contracting with a pay-to-publish company, you’ll have a multitude of decisions to make. Without a good business sense, you may flounder and drown in the deep sea of choices and options.

• Organizing. Authors need organizational skills in order to juggle the tasks involved with producing a book and marketing it. In some instances, timing is everything.

• Technology. The author who can build and maintain his/her own website, set up a blog, become comfortable managing social media sites, for example, is going to have more freedom within the world of technology than those who have to hire these things done. You’ll also save money if you can DIY. And do not minimize the importance of having and maintaining your own website. You can’t even imagine the number of opportunities you might miss if you are difficult to locate.

• Communication skills. As an author, you’ll be required to arrange various promotional opportunities for yourself and, hopefully, you’ll want to get out and do some public speaking. Communication is so important throughout the publishing and marketing processes

• Negotiating. There are distributors and wholesalers to deal with; book reviewers, booksellers and so forth to contact and negotiate with. The more comfortable you feel within this realm, the more successful your dealings with these entities will be.

• Marketing. The author is required to promote his/her own book. So the more clued-in you are about the book market and book marketing, the better chance you have to succeed in this business.
Study the publishing industry by reading my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

At what point does one become an expert or a professional? Have you ever considered this question related to yourself or others? Sometimes you read an interview with a celebrity who considers him/herself a “fake.” I believe that they say this because they reached a level of celebrity or perceived success rather quickly/suddenly or simply by working hard doing what they love.

Can you relate? Have you been happily enmeshed in your work or profession (writing or otherwise) for so long that it is strange to think of yourself as anything other than someone who is enjoying the process of the work?

A day may come when someone asks you a question with regard to your field. And you surprise yourself by responding quickly, confidently and accurately. Others may come to you with their questions, which you easily answer. You begin to discover that you really know stuff that, perhaps, other people don’t. While you’ve been working at what you love—learning, experiencing and meeting challenges—you’ve also transitioned (over the years) from eager beginner to seasoned expert.

This is a natural transition for many. But have you noticed that some people try to promote their expertise before they are ready? They put in a year or two, complete one project and become a teacher. Sure, we are all teachers and we are all students. But I become skeptical when a relative beginner launches out on a mission to teach others something they barely understand themselves.

Have you ever looked back over a long-term learning experience only to realize how little you knew in the early stages of your involvement? Let me use my experience with horses as an example. As a family, we bought a few horses. We spent a lot of time with the horses, read about horsemanship, hung around people who were knowledgeable about horses and learned a LOT in a short period. I remember thinking (after several months) that I knew practically everything there was to know about horses because I had learned so much and because I’d had so many experiences with the horses. But it wasn’t until years later that I learned how much I didn’t know during those early years. It takes time and numerous experiences and study to become a relative expert or specialist in your field.

Which person are you—the one who has incredible knowledge, experience and understanding in your field, yet feels like an imposter when you are held up as an expert? Or have you jumped ahead of yourself eager to work with others in your field even though your experience and knowledge are limited?

Interesting question, don’t you think?

To learn more about me, my books and what I do, visit me here:
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com