Writing and Publishing News from

As we turn another page on the 2008 calendar, I’m reminded of how important it is for authors to periodically assess where we are and where we’re going. Are you a hopeful or struggling author? Do you sometimes feel stuck—not knowing what to do next in your quest toward publication or how to attract more attention to your published book? Maybe you’ve been closed up in your writing room working on the book of your dreams or you have run out of steam and enthusiasm for promoting your published book. Are you ready to start approaching publishers, and aren’t sure where to start? Do you have questions about book publishing, distribution, bookstore sales, finding an agent, book promotion or???

Perhaps it’s the right time for you to do something different. If what you’re doing isn’t working for you—if you just don’t know what to do next—consider a change. One positive change that can help you along your publishing path is to connect with others who are on a similar journey. Join a local writers group. Attend writers/authors’ workshops and conferences. Join publishing organizations such as SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network).

We signed up 8 new SPAWN members at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books over the weekend. And we spoke to dozens and dozens of other authors at all stages of their projects—hoping to steer them in a direction toward success. How do we help authors to succeed? By providing the information and resources they need. Our mission is not to brain wash authors into using a certain service or publisher. We keep our fingers on the pulse of the industry and provide our members and our site visitors with the information they need in order to make the best decisions for their particular projects.

Members are eligible to have their books or services listed in our SPAWN Catalog of Members’ Books and Services. As a member, you can participate with us at book festivals and other events. (An additional fee is required for both of these benefits.) And you can post announcements for your new book, an upcoming book signing, awards you’ve earned, etc. in SPAWNews, which goes out to 2,000 subscribers.

There is an enormous amount of information and resources available to anyone who visits our site. But we also provide a member area where members can network with other members, learn about discounts on services and products and peruse the monthly SPAWN Market Update. This 8 to 11 page e-publication is worth many times the $45 annual membership fee. Herein, we provide a plethora of ideas and opportunities for authors, scriptwriters, freelance writers and artists. For example, we list directories of jobs for writers, unusual and/or promising book promotion opportunities, publishers seeking manuscripts, freelance writing opportunities and lots of these.

Members have access to 7 years of the SPAWN Market Update in our archives. Sure, some of the information is old, but many of the resources and all of the agent, publisher, author, editor, etc. interviews and thought-provoking, informative articles as well as most of the resources are quite valuable still today. How many resources and information bites will one find in the archives? Thousands!

I suggest that you visit the SPAWN website today—really take some time to check out the articles, resources, recommended books, our FREE newsletter archives and more. Use the Index to find the information you need. Sign up for the FREE SPAWNews. This e-newsletter will come to your email box every first of the month. http://www.spawn.org

By the way, SPAWN is 12 years old this month, and a few of us who are working to keep the information and resources coming your way have been with SPAWN from the beginning.

If you’d like a hint at what you’ll find in the SPAWN Market Update (for members only), email me and I’ll send you some Tables of Contents for this amazing newsletter. I subscribe to dozens of newsletters for authors and writers and I can tell you that this is one of the best around. And we do not publish ads in our publications or at our site. So you won’t have to scroll through advertising clutter.

Also, we do not have an agenda other than to provide you with the information, resources and opportunities you need in order to succeed on your publishing path.

Email me at: PLFry620@yahoo.com and ask for sample Tables of Contents for the SPAWN Market Update.

I’ll be traveling over the weekend and may not be able to continue my daily blog commitment during that time. I’ll try to check in with you and let you know what’s going on at the Maryland Writers’ Association Conference.

I’m still aflutter with activity and events this week. After a good Los Angeles Times Book Festival event over the weekend, I dove right into a consultation with an author and landed a new long-term client. Last night, I helped teach a writers’ workshop. I spoke on the art of and the necessity of research for writers. I also sold a few books and have two more people interested in my services.

Tomorrow, I’ll be packing for a weekend in Baltimore where I’ll speak on writing a book proposal. That’s a long way to travel in order to present a one-hour talk. But there are hopeful authors everywhere who need to hear the facts along with the possibilities. Yes, I spew some truths that are sometimes hard to hear, but I also try to offer encouragement. After all, there is hope for authors who will take the right path.

I make it sound as though there is only one way leading to success—my way. Not so. There are many avenues. But I do believe that there is a best pathway for authors to take and my mission is to help them find it. I tell authors that what is right for one author and one project might not be the best choice for another author and his/her project. My job, then, is to encourage you (the hopeful author) to study the publishing industry—collect as much understanding and knowledge as you can with regard to how the publishing industry works, your options, the possible consequences of your choices and your responsibilities as a published author.

I wrote my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, in order to provide the information and knowledge you need. I explain your publishing options and even outline the pros and cons of each in an attempt to help you decide which one is best for your particular project and your personality/activity level/time allotment, etc. Of course this book covers volumes more than I can share in a one-hour talk. And much of it is material, facts, resources and information that you will refer to over and over again throughout your writing and publishing journey.

I get frustrated when I realize that my message isn’t reaching everyone who needs to hear it. Last night, for example, I met, yet, another author who didn’t know that the rule is now one space after all punctuation when typing a manuscript or even an email. Did I surprise any of you with that fact? If you want more information about this, contact me at PLF620@yahoo.com.

Several people I spoke with at the LA Times Festival of Books were shocked to learn that there are publishing options for authors. They stopped searching for publishers at the first hit on their Google search and were ready to exchange cash for a published book. When I mentioned self-publishing as in establishing your own publishing company, they were stunned. “I can publish my book myself?” When I told them about the hundreds of small and medium-sized publishers out there eager to invest in a good book project, they couldn’t believe their ears.

There are many types of hopeful authors. Which one are you?

1: James says, “I found someone who will publish my book and that’s all I need to know. It’s only going to cost me $2,000 and my book will be available in all bookstores—at least that’s what the nice lady told me. Now that I’ve finished my work on book number one, I’m busy writing my next one. Gosh, isn’t writing fun and pretty easy, too.”

Of course, this author is heading for a big disappointment. Why? He doesn’t realize that it is his job to promote his book. And he, obviously, didn’t get a literary attorney to read his contract—“available in all bookstores?” I don’t think so. What the nice lady (and maybe even the contract) probably said was, “We will make your book available to bookstores nationwide.” In other words, “If a bookseller comes to us asking for a book like yours, we will certainly tell them about yours.” And that ain’t going to happen.

James’ book will be one of the approximately 75 percent that sells fewer than 100 copies this year. In fact, unless he becomes educated about the publishing industry and becomes proactive, his book will die on the vine.

2: Linda says, “I’m looking for an agent to represent my book of poetry. My cousin knows a woman who just signed on at an agency near his home in Parachute, Colorado. He thinks he can get me in with her and she only charges $1,000 up front. Once she gets me a contract with Simon and Schuster or one of the other big publishers, I’ll quit my job and start my author tour.”

Oh dear! Hopefully, Linda will stop the madness and start studying the real world of publishing. First, she needs to understand something about how publishers work and what they will and won’t publish and why. And she needs a reality check with regard to choosing and working with an agent.

3: Ilene says, “I don’t type, but I have a wonderful manuscript handwritten with only a few inserts on each page and drawings to show my vision for this 500-page book. I didn’t have time to make any copies—anyway it would be too expensive. So I just sent it to my favorite major publisher in New York. When do you think he’ll be calling me about publishing it?”

Yes, people still do this!!! If Ilene sent the original copy of manuscript without a self-addressed-stamped envelope, her “dream” is probably on its way to the landfill in the back of a garbage truck by now.

4: Jake says, “I just did the final edit on my manuscript and it’s ready to go. Oh, I’m not very good with grammar and punctuation, but I know that the publisher will have it edited before publishing it. So I’m sending it to Random House today.”

Always, always hire a qualified, credible editor before showing your manuscript around to any publisher and before self-publishing. And make sure it is someone who is involved in and knowledgeable about today’s publishing industry and preferably someone who is familiar with your genre and/or topic. A publisher wants to receive only edited manuscripts. Sure, if he accepts it, he will probably have his editorial staff go over it again—but never, never send out a manuscript without having it professionally edited.

I’m a little late getting the blog up this morning because I’ve been on the air. Yes, I recorded a podcast for Philip Harris over at the author promotion site, Author’s On the Net http://www.authorsonthenet.com
I’ll let you know when it goes live. How does this work? I just chatted with Philip and answered some questions by phone—in my robe and slippers.

Being interviewed is quite an interesting process. My goal, in doing these things, is to teach and inform the listener, but I always end up learning something along the way. Some of what I learn comes from what I say or what thoughts occur to me during the process of speaking. I think this is something we all experience. That’s why talking your concerns, worries, fears out with someone else or writing them down can be so valuable. When you hear those words or see them in black and white (or purple and yellow, if you choose), you are more apt to own them and you can see the situation in a slightly different light.

So what did I learn from my interview today? I learned that Puss and Boots (Sophie and Max) will actually respect a closed door, although they are no longer speaking to me since I locked them out of my office. I think they have a little nose-bent-out-of-shape-itis. I learned that people who drive loud trucks know when a neighbor (me) is on a business call. I discovered that the finches at the feeder outside my office window do the cutest things when I’m trying to concentrate.

But I also learned that I have truly gathered a treasure-trove of information and perspective that can greatly help hopeful and struggling authors over these 35 years. Yes, there, I said it—I have been writing for publication, not for “over 30 years,” but for exactly 35 years. You read articles and books on writing and publishing by authors who claim they’ve been writing for 10 years or 4 years. You visit websites where the hosts say they’ve been involved in publishing for 6 years or even 15 years. I guess this makes me a relic. But I can tell you, I am a working relic in this world and I have been writing/publishing consecutively for a whopping 35 years—since I was a uh-hem…a teenager… Yeah, right!

Sometimes it amazes me to realize how much I have experienced within the writing/publishing realm over the years. One question Philip asked me was, “How do you find the time to write so many books?” I responded, “It’s what I do.” My life is and always has been about writing and publishing. It’s how I earn my living. It’s my passion. And an aspect of that passion is to help others enter into and manage the world of publishing and to succeed unscathed.

How do I help others? Through my books, articles, online courses and lectures. If you know someone who is thinking about entering into the world of publishing—they writing a book or talking about writing a book—tell them about my book. I wrote it specifically for them: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Do you know someone with a book that isn’t selling very well. Point them in my direction. Tell them about this blog. And certainly suggest that they order my newest ebook, The Author’s Repair Kit. http://www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html

I thank you and he or she will thank you.

In the meantime, here’s a blog you might find interesting. J.T. Ellison wrote this eye-opening (for some) blog entry this morning called, How to Avoid Scams. It’s directed to the author. http://murderati.typepad.com April 25, 2008 entry.

I will not post a blog for the next two days as I’ll be in Los Angeles. Yup, this is the weekend we’ve all been waiting for: The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I’ll be in SPAWN booth both Saturday and Sunday talking to authors and hopeful authors. If you’re in the neighborhood of UCLA, stop by our booth: #142.