Writing and Publishing News from

Check out my articles in Self Published Authors Newsletter, April 1, 2009 edition. Subscribe at http://www.selfpublishedauthors.com/subscribe

Newsletter editor, Dan Shaurette published my piece called, “Book Promotion Activities: How Many Should You Do?” and my commentary, “Have You Ever Bought a Self-Published Book?”

If you haven’t read my piece asking, “Have You Ever Bought a Self-Published Book?” you may want to. Herein, I attempt to make authors, who are concerned about the stigma of self-published books, think about how they buy books. What makes you decide to read or not to read books? Do you avoid purchasing books that you know are self-published? I doubt it. In my article, I say, “If you’re fascinated by astrology and you find a neat little pocket guide to astrology, you’re probably going to buy it no matter who published it. If you discover a quaint little book of poems about children, you may purchase it for your niece who’s expecting her first child whether it was produced by Simon and Schuster or the Mom and Pop Publishing Company of Kansas. If someone recommends a fantastic novel, you’re going to order it no matter where it came from.”

And I go on to tell authors how to do their part to change the stigma of self-published books. Check it out at the link above.

Speaking of Newsletters…
I often mention writers/publishers newsletters and enewsletters in this blog. I would imagine that you have never heard of most of them. Am I correct? Are you familiar with The Book Marketing Expert Newsletter, Book Promotion Newsletter or Wow-Women on Writing Newsletter? What about Book Marketing Matters? Have you heard of this newsletter? Do you subscribe to the FREE SPAWNews? Are you familiar with Cross and Quill Newsletter, Coffee Break for Writers, Freelance Writers Report or Mike’s Writing Newsletter? Then there’s Inkspotter News, Pen Wheels, Write Success, The Write Way and Write From Home. How many of these have you heard of?

If you’re a serious freelance writer or author, you should be checking out every newsletter that comes to your attention to see if they produce information, resources and news that you can use in your writing, publishing, book promotion pursuits.

When you hear about an article that sounds even mildly interesting or useful or you stumble across the name of a newsletter, do you just move on past the information, barely stopping to notice if the punctuation within the sentence is correct? Ideally, you would print out that page or jot down the title or link on your to-do list. And then be sure to follow through. At least look at a sample newsletter or print out the article and scan it. If there’s anything there that you think might definitely be of value, spend a few moments studying the document. Or lay it in the stack of things you read in the evening while watching the news or in the morning with your first cup of coffee.

Here’s what I want you to do this week—today, if possible:

• Establish a routine of viewing potentially valuable material you discover.
• Create space in your life when you can study these things.
• Follow through and actually read these items.

I have to say again that I subscribe to a whole lot of writers/authors newsletters and, still, the best one around is the one I compile for SPAWN members. Learn more about the SPAWN Market Update by subscribing to AND READING the FREE SPAWNews. http://www.spawn.org Click on “Free Newsletter.”

I’m on my way to San Diego today for the IBPA Affiliate Retreat. Unfortunately, we’re supposed to have dreary weather. But for those coming from places where they have real winter, seeing the green hillsides, the sprays of wild flowers and the vast ocean will probably make them feel warmer than they have in months.

I’ll be back in the shipping department Monday, so don’t hesitate sending your orders for The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html or The Author’s Repair Kit. This is an e-book that will help you to breathe new life into your struggling book. http://www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html

And if you want to snuggle up with my book of cat stories, order Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats place your order at http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html

Have you visited my NEW Catscapades blog? While struggling with the learning curve with this new blog program, I am also having loads of fun bringing you stories of cats and kittens. And I’m adding photographs of kitties to these blog entries. Go by there, spend a little time with the kitties and then let me know what you think. I’d like to post some of your cat stories. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades

I am so proud of myself. While I try to practice what I preach, I don’t always succeed. But this time I did it! Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’ve been quiet for a couple of days. That’s because I’ve been spending every free moment updating my website.

Do you recall my rant in the last blog entry (March 27)—about outdated websites with broken links and nonexistent or bad contact information? I complained about how time-consuming and frustrating it can be when you are trying to conduct research where the links are mostly bad or broken, the information outdated and the contact links dead.

After posting that blog, I visited my own website and realized that my last major update was way back in 2004—5 years ago. For shame! I checked some of the links on my Resources Page and discovered some that are no longer available—they lead nowhere. Neglect can certainly render a valuable site useless and I did not want this to happen to mine. So I dropped what I was doing and began the lengthy, tedious process of checking every link, omitting those that are no good, adding new links I’ve discovered in recent months (but only after checking them to make sure they were solid). My bio appears in different forms on several pages at my site and I updated these.

Here’s a hint: Use dates instead of numbers of years when stating how long you’ve been writing or editing or whatever. Then this aspect of your site won’t get outdated. Use loose figures for indicating numbers of articles you’ve placed or number of clients you’ve worked with. Rather than writing 300, 425, 25 or whatever, say, for example, “dozens,” “several hundred,” “hundreds.” Then you won’t have to make changes until your “dozens” becomes “hundreds,” or your “hundreds” become “thousands.”

When it comes to number of books you’ve produced, you want that number to be precise. You may have to go in and change that whenever you add a new book.

How often should a website be updated? I don’t know the rule of thumb. Ideally, you would update it every time there is a change or something new to report. But let’s vow to go in and check links on our Resource Pages, add new articles, resources, client/customer testimonials, etc. at least once a year. And be sure to post the date of the update on each page affected so visitors will know that the material is current.

It’s a bit more awkward for those of us who rely on someone else to maintain and manage our websites. I made the changes over the weekend, but I don’t know when my webmaster will have time to plug them all in. So don’t go rushing to my website to study the new links, read the newly posted articles, take a look at the fresh testimonials, etc.—not until I give you the word.

Stay tuned. I’ll let you know when everything is updated. Then we’ll have a giant open house at http://www.matilijapress.com

In the meantime, I want to hear how it’s going with your website update. Are you so well disciplined and web savvy that you keep your site updated? Is it a habit you’ve established? Or are you a bit lax about maintaining your website? When is the last time you revised pages at your site? If I go to your site will I find the most current information about you and your book or work? If I click “contact,” will I quickly find your current email address? If so, congratulations. If not, let this be a reminder as to how important it is to make the most accurate, timely presentation possible at your website. It is, after all, your storefront, your business card, your way of making an impression.

Take a look at your website. What sort of impression are you making to the public who purposely go there or who stumble across it? Does it say what you want it to say about you? Does it provide the message you wish to share? Does it give enough value that people will want to stick around for a while, return often and, perhaps, even purchase some of your products or services?

Read pages 241-245 in The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book for ideas and tips for building or revamping your author’s website. Order your copy now: http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Let’s do something about it this week. I want to hear from you with regard to your website.
Leave your comment below.

Oh my gosh, am I ever disappointed and pretty discouraged, too. Yesterday, I spent hours and hours doing the type of research I am always nagging at you authors to do. I did numerous Google searches in an attempt to locate cat-related sites that welcome story/article submissions from others, review books on cats and/or have newsletters for which they solicit submissions. And what did I find? Sites that are difficult to navigate, a lot of outdated material and faulty contact forms.

In some cases, I spent quite a bit of time in an attempt to locate an email address and, when I attempted to use it, discovered that it was bad. SIGH!

The sites that solicited articles and stories, did so only with threats and unreasonable demands—“This had better be the real deal and original material or else…” and “By offering this to us, we have the right to take your firstborn child…” Well, practically. From the sounds of their Terms they want more rights than the author ever had.

Directories. Now don’t even get me started on directories. I love them. I am always providing links to directories for SPAWN members who read my incredible SPAWN Market Update, for those of you who read my blog, in my various books, etc. But I get so crabby when I meet up with a directory of publications, distributors, agents, publishers, newsletters or ? where every other listing is bad. Sometimes directories, which are supposed to be designed to save us time in our searches, end up taking (and wasting) immensely more time.

It isn’t unusual, when you meet up with one of these poorly maintained directories, to average one or two good sources for every hour or two of work. I can attest to that.

When you plan to do the type of Internet research that I and other professionals recommend, whether you are promoting a book or attempting to take your freelance writing business to the next level, make sure that you have plenty of time. Here are some additional tips:

• Approach the task with large helpings of patience.
• Expect dead ends, the run-around and Wild Toad rides.
• Use every bit of common sense and creativity you have when searching for contact information. (I’ve written about how to do this in a previous blog post. If you request it, I’ll repeat it for you.)
• If a rather difficult site is valuable to you, note in a folder somewhere how to navigate it so you won’t forget the next time you want to visit.
• Contact the owner of the site with questions if the site doesn’t respond to them.
• If you can’t find the owner’s contact information on the site, do separate Google searches in an attempt to get a good email address.

And folks, if you have a website dedicated to your book or your freelance writing business, please, please keep an eye on it. Make sure to update it regularly. Go through the resource list and remove any bad links. Fix broken links. Evaluate your site from the perspective of a technological neophyte. How can you simplify your site so that it welcomes and guides your potential clients/customers rather than repel them?

Believe me, I intend heeding this advice with greater regularity concerning my own site, http://www.matilijapress.com

It is certainly easy to take your website for granted. Many authors and freelance writers do it. I have been guilty of it, myself. But why would anyone change his or her email address and not tell their site visitors? And why would they bury their email address so deeply into the crevices of their website that it takes a trained bloodhound to find it?

Let’s all make a pact to visit our own websites at least once every few months. View your site as if you are someone from Mars. Is it well-organized and easy to navigate? Does it realistically represent you/your services/your book? Check the links, evaluate your menu “items,” and don’t forget to check your spelling and grammar.

Now this is a whole “nother” topic, but have you noticed how many sites are riddled with errors? And do you know what? Some people don’t even care. Mention it to them and they will make excuses for not dealing with it. In the meantime, they are offending and repelling many potential customers and clients.

Wanna hear something crazy? (It makes me crazy, too). One publishing newsletter I receive carries a disclaimer stating that the “editor” knows there may be typos and errors in grammar, but not to pay any attention to them—just benefit from the information and resources. I wonder why this person doesn’t just hire an editor and make the best presentation possible.

I pointed out to another author and newsletter editor recently that, while he provides such a valuable service through the writing he does, he is a bit behind the times when it comes to certain editorial rules. He said, in so many words, “I know. I like doing it the way I do—I choose not to conform.”

SCREEEEAAAAAMMMMM!!!

I’ve had some interest lately in some of my online courses. I guess it’s that time of year—things have finally settled down after the holidays. If you would like someone to walk you through the book proposal or self-publishing process, you want help establishing a freelance writing business or you need some assistance with book promotion, check out my courses at http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm