Writing and Publishing News from

April 27, 2009

Bartering 101 For Authors

Filed under: Publishing — Patricia @ 6:51 am

Do you engage in bartering? Perhaps you trade your abundance of home-grown squash for your neighbor’s profusion of tomatoes. Or maybe you watch your cousin’s kids in exchange for a haircut or home-cooked meal. I know someone who bartered with a photographer for some family photos in trade for tickets to a theme park. Last year, I traded editing work for a week at a beach house.

There are numerous bartering opportunities out there for authors, if you are willing to seek them out or create them.

Before Publication
What do you have that you could trade for editing, typing or printing services, for example? Maybe you could barter for business cards, brochures and other promo material. How about offering something in trade for a website or lessons in web design so you can create your own?

After Publication
Offer something to friends throughout the country in exchange for promoting your book in their cities, college communities, on their website, to their newsletter list, etc.

Get FREE Publicity
Write articles for key publications for free.
Be guest blogger for related blog sites.
Speak without charging, for the opportunity to sell books.

What is Your Bartering Power?
This question is what stops most people from engaging in the bartering system. They wonder, “What do I have of value to trade?” Think about this long and hard. Do you have automotive skills? Can you teach beginning quilting, skiing, dog grooming, gourmet cooking, hip hop dancing, violin or fencing?

Do you raise puppies, do sewing alterations, do catering or have a lovely home with a view? Do you have a knack for planting and growing a garden? Could you become a personal trainer for someone who wants motivation to move? Are you a super typist, proofreader or graphic artist? Do you own a restaurant, dress shop or petting zoo?

Maybe you know someone who can get you cheap airline or Broadway show tickets, who would give you a discount on a parachute jump or who operates a whale watch boat.

Times are difficult and don’t seem to be letting up. Don’t give up on your excellent, timely book due to the economy. If you can’t afford the necessities such as editing and a promotional campaign, consider bartering.

Share your bartering stories here. Just leave a comment at this blog site or contact me a PLFry620@yahoo.com.

For more about me and my work, go to: http://www.matilijapress.com

April 26, 2009

Are You Sabotaging Your Book’s Success?

Filed under: Publishing — Patricia @ 5:45 am

I often receive emails from authors who have read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. They start their message by thanking me for writing the book and telling me how much it helped them and then they proceed to say one of the following:

• I published my book through ______ “self-publishing” company and things aren’t going well.
• My book isn’t selling and I don’t know what to do.
• I made some mistakes by not following your advice and now I have a poorly edited, poorly designed, poorly targeted book that I can’t sell.

They ask me:

• “What can I do now?”
• “How can I promote my book?”
• “What’s the best way to promote this book?”

Now what am I supposed to do with that? The author neglects to take the steps necessary for the success of his project and now he/she wants a quick fix. What are some of the mistakes that authors make? I can think of 10!

1. They don’t bother to study the publishing industry before getting involved.
2. They slap a crummy title and a poorly designed cover on the book.
3. They don’t have their manuscript edited (BIG MISTAKE).
4. They don’t research the market for their particular book before writing it.
5. They don’t keep their readers in mind while writing it.
6. They neglect to build promotion into the book while writing it.
7. They neglect to really research their publishing options.
8. They don’t check out the reputation of their “self-publishing” company.
9. They avoid even thinking about book promotion until after the book is published.
10. They give up when promotion gets too tough.

How many of these 10 sins have you committed? If you are working on a book or are contemplating writing a book, give your book a chance by avoiding all of these mistakes. Read The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and follow it to success. Order it from me (I get more of the profit) http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html. Or buy it through any of the online bookstores—Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, etc.

If you have a book that is faltering in the market, order my ebook The Author’s Repair Kit. The only place you can get it is from my website at http://www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html.

This is the only book I know of that will help you to revive a failing book. It’s short (27 pages) and to the point and extremely insightful and useful. It’s only $5.95 (no shipping involved).

I have a few possible students for my online Book Promotion Workshop. If you need help promoting your book and can spare a couple of hours per week for the next 6 weeks, this may be a good time for you to sign up for this course. How many books have you sold during these last few months? 100? 10? 0? Are you running out of promotional ideas? Are the activities you are pursuing only minimally successful? Does your marketing plan need a shot in the arm? Could you use some new promotional ideas? Consider joining in on my Book Promotion Workshop and get individual attention to help you find new ways to sell more books. Check it out at: http://www.matilijaperss.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

Questions? Contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com.

April 25, 2009

Writers/Authors: Change Your Bank Balance by Changing Your Mind

Filed under: Publishing — Patricia @ 6:06 am

Is writing so much a part of your core-self that you simply can’t not write? Or are you one of those people who sees an opportunity and has decided to take advantage of it by jumping on the writing/publishing bandwagon?

More people than ever are attempting to earn a few bucks by hiring out as writers, by contributing to paying magazines or by offering their services as ghostwriters or editors. Others are setting up publishing companies, promoting themselves as book shepherds and so forth. While some of these people truly enjoy what they do, others are out just for the buck. I’m sure you’ve met some of them along your writing/publishing trail.

I tend to look upon newcomers, who crash into the world of publishing with little or no experience and knowledge, as deficient imposters. But I have to say that some of us who have been in the business of writing for publication and of working with other writers and budding authors for a long time, could learn something from these career crashers.

Most of them generally do have a strong work ethic when it comes to the financial side of the business. Those of us who write for publication and who work with other writers because we love the process, sometimes short-change ourselves when it comes to fair pay for work done. We often give too much of ourselves. We’re so busy feeding our souls and sharing our hearts that we forget to take care of business. Writers and artists are famous for nurturing their inner selves and neglecting their financial health.

We’ve all heard of starving artists and starving writers. And the artist/writer typically blames the economy or the public, who just doesn’t appreciate their efforts.

I maintain that maybe we need to change our attitudes—our perspectives. Maybe we should think more like the businessman/woman who decides to make a living through the process of writing or helping others to become published. If we did, we might become more financially healthy.

Don’t you agree that it’s all in the perspective? If you believe in your work and are willing to do what is necessary in order to generate an income or build a business around it, you will succeed. If, on the other hand, you don’t have the stomach for promotion and marketing, you don’t feel that your work is worthy of a paycheck, then maybe writing for publication is not for you.

There should be no struggle involved. Either you are cut out for a writing or publishing career or you are not. Adjust your expectations and choices accordingly.

For ideas about how to make your writing pay, read some of my former blog posts. Check out those posted on January 6, 10, 24 and March 4 (2009), for example.

Don’t forget, I’m offering a free ebook to those who respond to the questions in my April 24 blog.

If you sincerely want to succeed within the world of publishing, make sure that you have armed yourself with the knowledge that you need. Purchase my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html.

Sign up for one of my online, on-demand courses:

• Book Promotion Workshop
• Self-Publishing Workshop
• How to Start and Operate a Successful Freelance Article-Writing Career
• Book Proposal Workshop

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

If you need help with your publishing project, check out my credentials at http://www.matilijapress.com/consulting.html And contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com.

April 24, 2009

FREE Books Offer For Freelance Writers/Authors

Filed under: Publishing — Patricia @ 6:26 am

How has your world as a freelance writer or author changed this year? Are you noticing differences in your income, your number of clients, your number of assignments, how quickly you are being paid, the number of books you are selling, etc? Is the recession finally starting to touch you where it hurts—your livelihood, your choice of lifestyle?

The trickle-down effect is certainly beginning to trickle down, isn’t it? The magazines you write for are folding, folks aren’t buying books, the authors you edit for are not hiring editors (some have gone back to work and aren’t writing, others are giving their books a lick and a promise and are bypassing a professional editing).

So today, I would like to know the answers to two questions:

1: How is your freelance writing business, book sales or plans for a pending book being affected by the recession?
2: What are you doing about it?

Two simple questions. Respond to them either via the “comments” function of this site or email me at PLFry620@yahoo.com. Everyone who responds receives their choice of ebooks:

How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less
The Author’s Repair Kit
Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary or Extraordinary Cats
The Successful Writer’s Handbook

The responder with the best idea for the rest of us gets a FREE copy of my book in print: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.

This offer is good through May 1, 2009.

April 23, 2009

Write About Your Family and Go Down in History

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 5:48 am

Did you notice that I missed a day of blogging? And today, I hope to post two blog entries—one for this blog site and one for my Catscapades site. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades. Why didn’t I blog yesterday? I was working on some genealogy material.

How many of you writers have written or are writing or even plan to write about your family? Some of you start out your writing “careers” writing your memoirs. Others like to pen short stories reflecting family incidents. Many of you simply use examples from your wealth of family experiences in your fiction or nonfiction writing. I once used a research opportunity to learn more about our family and then I wrote a book for interested family members.

Unlike some of you, I live in the same county where I was born. In fact, I’m a fifth generation native to this county. While I was doing the research for a book reflecting the history of the Ojai Valley, California (where I have lived most of my life), I came to realize how deep my roots are buried in this little community. And the research for the Ojai book also became genealogy research. I even had the privilege of researching our family at the huge genealogical library in Salt Lake City. Of course, I also spent time quizzing family members for information and stories.

In 1986, I put together a 40-page booklet filled with information, facts and stories focusing on one branch of the family. The material dates back to the supposed origin of the family name to around 1000 A.D. And we can trace family back only as far as 1639. All of the early data about our ancestors coming to America is interesting, but I especially enjoyed putting together actual stories of our family’s day-to-day lives as was reported in the local newspapers throughout the late 1800s. Family members enjoyed my efforts, as well.

This month, I’ve been revising the little book. Obviously, in 1986, I did not have access to the Internet. So I am locating tons more interesting facts that were previously hidden away. I found a site, for example, that told me the location of every American town with our family name. I have uncovered additional information about a great aunt who was a ghostwriter and am becoming aware of some of her works. I am able to incorporate stories my dad told about his childhood as we drove around town together one rainy day in 1999. As various landmarks and points of interest sparked his memory, I recorded the stories he told.

Have you become interested in your genealogy? I suggest that you gather more than simply the dates and cities of birth and death, names of all the children, etc. Create something of greater value for future generations. Go to the city where your ancestors lived and research their daily activities through newspapers and information stored in the local museum libraries, for example. Interview your elderly relatives. Locate lost relatives and others who might have known some of your ancestors through an Internet search.

There are a lot of genealogy sites where you might find that some of your family material has already been compiled.

Consider writing your family history just for fun or for posterity. Heck, maybe your story will be interesting enough to launch your writing career and bring you fame and fortune.

If you are new to writing and publishing, be sure to order my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book to help you through the writing, book proposal, publishing and marketing of your book. http://www.matiljapress.com/rightway.html

April 21, 2009

What’s Your Most Successful Book Promotion Activity?

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 6:19 am

How do you sell your books? Which of your activities, events or ploys result in the most book sales? Is there a particular region where you sell more books? If you haven’t figured this out, it’s time that you do.

Do you sell more books during speaking engagements, demonstrations and presentations? What about book festivals or book signings? Maybe you notice an increase in book sales after an article appears with your bio in a publication related to the theme or genre of your book. Or do you notice an upsurge in book sales after you’ve sent press releases to dozens of newspapers?

While I recommend that authors try a variety of book promotion activities, it makes sense to spend most of your energies and time on the one or two that bring the most results.

So this week, why not go where the money is. If you sell a lot of books when you go out and speak about it, set up more speaking engagements. If book fairs are lucrative for you, take time this week to seek some out. Maybe you sold large quantities of your business marketing book to a local company for an employee incentive program. Why not contact companies in other communities and offer them the same deal.

I’m definitely a fan of new promotional activities and I urge you to always be attempting something new. You never know when you’ll find another best way to sell your book. In the meantime, however, sell more books now doing what works best for you and your book. This is no time to kick back and get comfortable. These certainly aren’t the best of times for authors with books to promote. So you’re going to have to get serious, get moving and get those sales the best way you know how.

By the way, how’s it going with your book sales? What is your best marketing tool or ploy? Share stories of your book promotion successes by leaving a comment at this blog and I’ll send you a free copy of my ebook, The Author’s Repair Kit, Heal Your Publishing Mistakes and Breathe New Life Into Your Book.

Contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com. Visit my website at http://www.matilijapress.com

If you need help promoting your book, sign up for my Book Promotion Workshop: http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

April 20, 2009

Where’s Your Writer’s Breaking Point?

Filed under: Publishing,Writing — Patricia @ 6:22 am

Have you cried “Uncle,” yet? Have you thrown in the towel? Are you finished with trying to write for a living or promoting your book? Has the economy and personal circumstances simply made it impossible for you to continue along the path of your heart’s desire? Are you just too frightened to live your dream?

Or are you still hanging in there? Are you pushing through the obstacles and finding new forks in the road?

I’ve been riding the tumultuous highway toward writing and publishing success for over 35 years. And don’t you know that there have been wildly wonderful times and those that tend to bring you to your knees. It’s another lesson demonstrating that nothing stays the same in writing or in life.

Even if you put the same number of hours in and expend the same amount of effort, a writing career or book sales are bound to fluctuate depending on what else is going on in the world.
But, what happens to you and your business is totally up to you.

I think that many of you have found this out already. You have either given up because you are just tired of the constant hassles—the ongoing need to promote yourself and your work—or you are stretching to the limit, putting in longer hours and even experimenting with new options and ideas.

Which scenario describes you?

If you’re still sitting on the edge—unsure of what way to go—perhaps it is time to reexamine your ultimate goals. Here are some questions to consider. Ask yourself:

• What does the process of writing mean to me?
• What am I trying to achieve or prove as a writer or author?
• Do I have what it takes to support myself through my writing?
• What steps can I take in order to keep writing or promoting my book?

Is writing so much a part of you that it hurts you to think of giving it up? If so, can you make the decisions and sacrifices necessary to make your writing pay?

Are you trying to build credibility in your field or expertise through your writing or through your published book? Or are you simply trying to show off to your friends? Make sure that your motives are pure and realistic.

Do you have the energy, imagination, creativity, stick-to-it-iveness, persistence and so forth necessary to make your writing pay? Or have you run out of steam?

Are you willing to take the steps necessary to stay in the game of writing or book promotion? You might want to consider taking my course on establishing a freelance writing career, for example. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm.

If your book promotion well has run dry, consider reading my ebook, The Author’s Repair Kit, http://www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html or sign up for my Book Promotion Workshop at http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm

If you are finishing up a book and don’t want to spend the money getting it edited, please reconsider this decision. Some of the best money you can spend on a book is money spent on a good editor. Contact me for an estimate: PLFry60@yahoo.com

This is no time to hoard your money when you need the education in order to pay your bills. Think about it. And I’d love to read your comments.

April 19, 2009

What Sort of Writing/Publishing Resources Do You Need?

Filed under: Resources — Patricia @ 7:23 am

Today, I thought I’d offer some resources for my various writer/author friends who follow my blog. Let me know if there are other categories you’re interested in: PLFry620@yahoo.com

Directories of Publishers
Directory of children’s book publishers
http://www.childrens-publishers.com
• Over 100 publishers of children’s books
• Sites for children’s book writers
• Illustrators of children’s books

Directory of publishers in all genres/topics
http://www.acqweb.org/pubr.html

Magazine Directories
 http://www.newpages.com/litmags

Directory of electronic magazines and newsletters
http://ezine-universe.com
http://newsletteraccess.com

Newspaper Directories
http://www.newspapers.com
http://www.usnpl.com

If you write articles or stories for magazines or to promote a book; if you are seeking a publisher for your manuscript or if you want to send out press releases in order to promote your book, you’ll be glad that you stumbled across or came back to visit this blog today. These links represent thousands of resources that, if pursued, could help you to get published, sell more books or have some of your articles or stories accepted for publication.

A good value? You bet it is. Want more? Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org. You’ll have access to thousands more resources in many categories every month through the SPAWN Market Update, posted in the member area of the SPAWN website every month. We also provide searchable archives representing about 8 years worth of this amazing newsletter.

KUDOS for Patricia Fry
My article, “Expanding Within Your Niche” appears in Mike’s Writing Workshop Newsletter April 18, 2009 edition. Check it out at http://mikeswritingworkshop.blogspot.com

Learn more about me, Patricia Fry, and my work and services at http://www.matilijapress.com

April 18, 2009

Discussion Groups–What’s in it for You?

Filed under: Resources — Patricia @ 4:47 am

Do you belong to a “discussion group?” Of course, SPAWN has a discussion group where members can discuss writing and publishing subjects, share resources, etc. (SPAWN is Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network.) http://www.spawn.org. We’ve had some good discussions over the years and many members have been helped by the perspective, knowledge and resources shared by others.

Since I came out with my book of cat stories, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats, I joined the Cat Writer’s Association. Yesterday, a member who is an editor shared her story in our discussion group about her recent dealings with an author who became completely irrational. The author overreacted to the point of attempting to get the editor fired from the job and all because of the editor’s great editorial suggestion. You should have seen the emails flying back and forth in support of this editor and her plight.

Evidently, many of us in the Cat Writer’s Association are editors and we could all feel this gal’s pain. But, being somewhat removed from the situation emotionally, we could also see the humor and irony in the situation. Each of us had war stories to tell. We had each other cracking up and nodding in complete alignment over the often crazy and sometimes unreasonable responses and reactions we’ve experienced with our authors. And I think that all of us, including the editor who was currently hurting, felt comforted and supported knowing that there are others out there who understand.

If you are struggling along as a freelance writer, hopeful author or an author who is attempting to promote a book, don’t go it alone. Get involved with a discussion group or forum. Share your stories of deranged editors, difficult publishers and problems with booksellers and distributors, for example. Ask how others handle such situations. There are many online discussion groups and forums around and some of them are free. Get the support you need from others who can understand what you’re experiencing and even help in some way.

If you are a professional who writes about cats, consider joining the Cat Writer’s Association: http://www.catwriters.org. Commiserate and collaborates with other authors, publishers, agents, artists, illustrators, etc. as a member of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org. It’s only $45/year and you get a free book of your choice.

Some of the free networking opportunities include Writers Space at: http://www.writerspace.com, Writing Forums at: http://www.writingforums.com, Absolute Write at: http://www.absolutewrite.com.

Do a Google search to find others—use keywords “writing” “forums” or “publishing” “forums.”

Get all of the information you need about writing, publishing, book promotion and everything that goes with it in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

And if you want a hands-on approach to learning how to establish a freelance writing career, set up your own publishing company, write a book proposal or promote your book, sign up for one of my online, on-demand courses: http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

April 17, 2009

Resources for Authors

Filed under: Resources — Patricia @ 6:11 am

Today Max and I bring you a variety of ideas, tips and resources.

Who’s Max? He is my trusty behind the scenes feline assistant. Unbeknownst to any of you, every morning, he is here helping me write my blog. As I type my message to you, he’s either sitting on the corner of my desk “whiskering” in my ear or he’s on my lap purring out his opinion. This morning, he wants me to tell you, first off, to visit my Catscapades blog because he is the handsome dude featured this week. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades

How to Locate an Author
I had someone contact me a few days ago asking how to locate a particular author. She said she had done the usual Google search and came up with nothing. So I went to work to see what I could find out for her.

If you want to contact an author in hopes of having him/her write a testimonial for your book, to participate with you in a panel discussion at a conference, to interview at your blog site, to question with regard to their promotional activities, to quote for an article or ? here’s what you do:

• Conduct an Internet search using Google.com, Yahoo.com or your choice of search engines using the author’s name, his/her pen name and/or their book title. Hopefully, you will locate this author’s website.

• Look for the contact button. If you locate the author’s website, but can’t easily find contact information (which is becoming more and more of a problem at many websites), try the following: Look for the “contact” button among the links at the top, along the side or at the bottom of the page. If you don’t see one, click on “About Us.” Sometimes you’ll find the contact button embedded in this page. If the site offers any contests, submission information, advertising opportunities, list of names involved in the site, you might find contact information or a contact form on one of these pages. You can also take a peek at the Privacy Page at the site, if you can find one. And the Index page might help, as well.

• Get help. Here’s an interesting concept—Domain Tools, provides all sorts of information about the owners of most websites. Check it out at http://www.domaintools.com. I did a search using my own site and was quite surprised by the magnitude of information they have about me and my company, Matilija Press.

• Contact the publisher. If there is no website in sight, find out who published his/her book and contact them. Most publishing companies assign pr persons to their authors. Their job is to screen the authors’ messages and put them in touch with the people who can possibly help them to sell tons of books.

It doesn’t seem like something as simple as finding contact information at a website would become so difficult. But, if you ever need to reach someone who doesn’t really want to be disturbed, without these tips, you may end up a bit disturbed by the run-around you are given.

Book Promotion Tip and Resource
Use holidays to promote your book. How? Visit http://www.earthcalendar.net. Find holidays, events and special celebration days that relate to your book and use these to do some interesting promotion. For example, did you know that April 22 is Oklahoma Day in the U.S.? It’s also Earth Day and Administrative Professional Day (formerly Secretaries Day). April 23 is World Copyright Day. And the 25th is World Penguin Day. Oh yes, you’ll have lots of fun with this site and planning special promotional activities using it.

Changes in Library Directory Sites
I attempted to use the online ALA Library Directory this week and discovered that it seems to be disabled. Another Library Directory site that I list in my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, also seems to be gone. But don’t stress over this. I’m not going to leave you hanging. Now, if you want to access a library directory use http://travelinlibrarian.info/libdir or http://www.publiclibraries.com

Let Me Know When Links No Longer Work
Many of you have copies of my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. If you use one of my resources and discover that it is no longer useful, please let me know. I will personally locate replacement sites for you. In fact, if you have a need for a directory of any kind—job search for writers, book distributors, book festivals, writers conferences, legal help, etc., contact me either through this blog site or through my website or email address (both listed below). I’ll see what sites I can locate for you.

So there you have it—some important updates, a terrifically useful bit of information, some promises of help and enough new links to keep you busy until Max and I meet with you again.

Be sure to visit my website—you can always find a way to contact me there http://www.matilijapress.com. And to make it even easier, use this email address: PLFry620@yahoo.com.

And don’t forget to stop by and meet Max: http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades

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