Writing and Publishing News from

June 8, 2012

Your Fiction and Nonfiction Platform

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 4:33 am

Have you thought about your platform, lately? If you are writing a book or even thinking about writing one, your platform should be primary in your mind. Well, your audience is of vital importance, too. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, you need to write for your audience. And you’d better start establishing your platform.

For nonfiction, become known in your topic/field. How?
• Write and submit articles to appropriate magazines, ezines and newsletters.

• Conduct workshops on the topic of your book.

• Establish a website related to your subject and provide resources for your audience.

• Start blogging at your own blog site and also comment at others.

• Join organizations focused on your book’s topic and participate.

• Find ways to network with others in your field or area of interest.

• Start producing booklets or pamphlets of interest to your readership and distribute them in a variety of interesting ways—through your website, to workshop attendees, at trade shows/conferences related to your subject and book festivals.

In other words, find ways to be visible to your audience as an expert in your field.

Here are some ideas for developing a following for your fiction book.
• For name recognition as a fiction writer, submit stories in your genre to magazines and ezines—lots of them.

• Enter your short stories in contests.

• Establish a website and keep adding interesting things that make potential readers coming back.

• Blog about your characters, plot, etc. Get readers interested in your story before publication.

• Comment on some of the most popular blogs related to your genre.

• Get involved in appropriate writers groups and organizations.

• Teach a class or course on some aspect of fiction writing.

Don’t wait until you are published to begin establishing your platform. If you want to come out of the gate selling books to eager readers, you’ll have to prime the pump. This means become known as a writer in your topic or genre before your book is a book.

For additional help establishing your platform, understanding your publishing options, choosing the right publisher for your project, writing a book proposal, devising a marketing plan and so much more, order your copy of Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It’s at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. It’s also on Kindle and Nook. Amazon is currently bundling Publish Your Book with Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. Order both and get a deeper discount.

June 7, 2012

Are You a Writer?

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 4:00 am

According to Ray Bradbury, who passed away this week, “You must not talk about writing, you must do it.”

Are any of you still just talking about writing your memoir, a children’s story, a business or reference book or a novel? Or is everyone who reads this blog writing?

Who are you writing for? Yourself, an editor or a particular audience?

Do you know why you are writing? To make a point, to share something from inside you, to gain more credibility in your field or because you can’t not write? If you aren’t writing, do you know why? Is it that you haven’t discovered a strong enough motivation to write? What would it take to motivate you to finally start writing?

Do you have trouble finding time to write? What would you have to give up in order to start writing or to spend more time writing?

What are your writing goals? Have you set some? If you don’t have a goal and you haven’t found your motivation, you are probably still in the talking stages—you’re talking about writing, but you aren’t doing it.

This week, let’s examine our attitude, aptitude and potential with regard to writing. Are you a writer or are you just giving lip service to a dream that you’ll never experience?

June 6, 2012

The Newsletters Writers Should Be Reading

Filed under: Resources — Patricia @ 4:43 am

Check out my article in latest edition of Book Promotion Newsletter on “7 Secrets for Getting Book Reviews.”

Do you subscribe to this newsletter? Do you subscribe and READ this and other publications related to writing, publishing and/or book promotion? If you are a freelance writer, you’re writing a book or promoting a book, there are newsletters and enewsletters that can definitely support and help you along the sometimes difficult path.

Read my entry for April 14, 2012 featuring the best magazines and ezines for freelance writers and authors for my recommendations. http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog

Join SPAWN and you’ll have access to one of the best enewsletters around. The SPAWN Market Update provides opportunities and resources for freelance writers, authors, hopeful authors, screenwriters, artists and photographers. I write this meaty newsletter and I can tell you that it is heavy with news, information, resources and opportunities/ideas for authors and freelance writers. You’ve never read a publication quite like this before.

And, of course, we provide the archives of all back issues. It is an absolute treasure-trove of exactly what you need to know in order to better understand the publishing industry and navigate it, publish more successfully, sell more freelance articles/stories and sell more books.

SPAWN is Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network. http://www.spawn.org It’s $65/year to join. Subscribe to the FREE enewsletter SPAWNews to learn more about the organization and your craft—your industry.

In the meantime, why don’t you share with us the newsletters you like to read. Which newsletters and magazines are most valuable or useful to you? Which do you recommend to other freelance writers or authors?

June 5, 2012

Stop Promoting and Watch Your Book Die

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

Did you hear? Oprah’s Book Club is back. Here is a link to the book club information: http://www.oprah.com/packages/oprahs-book-club-2.html

Perhaps you can leave a comment here and have your book noticed: http://www.oprah.com/oprahdotcom/Oprahcom-Community-Conversations-Books

Are you an author who is actively seeking book reviews for your book? Have you used some of the resources I’ve offered in this blog? Have you checked out some of the book review directories I’ve told you about? Have you asked key people to leave a review at Amazon.com?

Or are you taking the summer off to read some of the books Oprah recommends rather than promoting your own books?

Have you noticed that you sell books when you are promoting—to the degree that you are promoting them? And when you slack off, book sales tend to dip. Book promotion takes our full attention. People ask me, “How long must I promote this book?” The answer is simple, “For as long as you want the book to sell.”

So what are you doing to sell books this season? Have you made note of the various resources I’ve offered you over time—seasonal prompts, book festival and conference directories, book review leads, tips for landing live presentations and other ideas for book promotion, for example?

Let me hear about your summer book promotion plans. As for me, I continue to blog daily. I spoke to a group in Sacramento last month and have plans to speak at a local conference in a few weeks. I continue to submit articles on my topic to appropriate newsletters (those that my audience reads), I still contact people for reviews and I continually research new ideas and opportunities for promoting my books. In between these tasks, I am proofing my upcoming book, Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More.

To learn more about book promotion, order my book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. Study the many articles I have posted on book promotion here: http://matilijapress.com/articlespublishing.htm Sign up for my FREE ebooklet, 50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book http://www.patriciafry.com

June 4, 2012

The Author’s Bounty

Filed under: Publishing — Patricia @ 5:24 am

I love both publishing and gardening. But it wasn’t until recently that I realized how similar these two activities are. How? Well, you never know whether your efforts will be rewarded.

No matter how much you study and how much effort you put into your book or your veggie plants, the outcome could go either way. You might be fabulously successful, you could fail miserably or experience many scenarios in between.

You certainly have a much better chance of a successful garden if you follow known protocol—prepare your garden bed with amendments during the right time of year, plant fresh plants or seeds, care properly for the seedlings, etc. And your success potential in publishing is maximized if you study the industry, produce a good product and take your responsibility as a published author seriously during the promotional phase. But still things can happen to thwart all of your good intentions.

There are sometimes things outside of yourself that can interfere with your success. Your garden might suffer due to varmints, insects, disease or severe weather situations, for example. And the success of your book could take a nose dive in a poor economy, due to an upsurge in competition or a shift in reader interests or the loss of your best bookselling outlet.

You can’t predict the weather and you can’t predict the publishing climate, especially in light of so many changes taking place so quickly within this industry.

So what will you do? Will you give up on planting a vegetable garden this year in case things go south and it fails? Or will you do some additional research and put in more effort to give it the best chance for success?

Will you stop production on your book or stop promoting it in case it isn’t well accepted? Or will you educate yourself to a greater degree and step up your game a notch?

Farming is hard work. There are many things to consider before you ever begin to harvest. Publishing is equally difficult and should be taken every bit as seriously as any gardening attempt or any other business. For an introduction into the reality of publishing—covering every aspect and every option—study my latest book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It’s at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores.

June 3, 2012

Milestone for Writers and Authors

Filed under: Announcements,Publishing — Patricia @ 4:47 am

I’ve been so busy with this facebook hacker problem that I didn’t even notice my blog milestone. A couple of days ago, I hit blog number 1,500.

I’ve been blogging here since November of 2005—nearly 7 years. While I started out posting every two or three days, I’ve been posting daily for most of that time.

People ask me how I can come up with something to write about every day. For me it is mostly easy. There are times when I sit looking at a blank screen for a while. But that is rare.

My intentions with this blog are to inform and educate authors, hopeful authors and freelance writers who are interested in publishing their works. Occasionally, I write on an unrelated topic, such as my current problem with facebook. Or I’ll offer you a peek into my writing life and/or try to give perspective on an issue. I also like to provide resources I think you can use.

So how do I manage to write a blog-a-day? Maybe you’ll find this interesting. I get up around 4 or 4:30 a.m.—a habit I developed many years ago when I had a job and desired extra time in which to write. I grab a tall glass of water, feed the cats, start the coffee and enter my office. I check my email and respond while hydrating myself. Then I squeeze (or pour) a glass of orange juice and, generally, with a cat curled up on my lap, I write my daily blog post.

Admittedly, 1,500 posts represent a lot of ideas. Where do the ideas come from? Sometimes, I become aware of an interesting writers’ resource or something in the news on publishing. I may jot it down and consider including it in my blog post. I note comments from writers—questions they ask and concerns they express. I circle things I read that, when expanded upon, might make a good blog topic. And I write down thoughts that occur to me and that, when fleshed out, might make for an interesting post. Sometimes I just sort of ramble about what’s happening in the Patricia Fry offices.

This week, with construction going on in my kitchen, I’m proofing the galley for my upcoming book, Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More. I think this book will be of great help and comfort to the millions of authors out there who want to or who know they should be speaking to their audiences or who are struggling in this capacity.

In the meantime, you can order my two latest books in a bundle through Amazon. Did you know that? For $30.36, you can buy both Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author and Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author.

Do you need both books? I sure wish I’d had both of these books with the enormous amount of support, information, resources, ideas, perspective and guidance when I was starting out in publishing. They are an absolute goldmine to new and struggling authors.

Just go to Amazon.com and read the reviews.

If you think you can enter into the world of publishing on your own, with just a writer’s knowledge, you are sorely mistaken. Publishing is a serious, fiercely competitive business and the best way to prepare is to educate yourself. That is the purpose of these two books.

June 2, 2012

Facing Off With a Facebook Hacker

Filed under: Announcements — Patricia @ 5:17 am

Help! My reputation and my friends’ financial security are at stake.

On May 27, my Facebook account was cloned. I thought someone was just using my Facebook account to impersonate me and I closed it. I thought that would protect me and my friends. But no, this creep cloned my account. While I am no longer on Facebook, he continues to operate as me, using my profile, photo, etc. And now he is starting to ask for money, using poor grammar, from what I understand.

If I’d known that closing my account wouldn’t stop this, I would have alerted all of my “friends” as to what was happening. But when I killed my Facebook account, I also eliminated my friend list. So I am trying various other methods of reaching those people who had agreed in good faith to be my Facebook friends and warning them about this imposter.

If you get anything from me through Facebook, it is not from me. Do NOT respond to any pleas for money from anyone using my name or Facebook persona.

Yes, we have contacted the “Facebook team.” I think they are on vacation or taking an extended martini lunch because they have not responded in any way. We left a message on their phone. We have gone through all of the things they suggest online to alert them to this scam. We have heard nothing and nothing seems to have been done.

A few friends have reported this scammer. We are trying to reach others to warn them and to ask them to report him. If you are a friend of mine on Facebook, please, if you receive something from this creep, do NOT send him money or even give him the time of day. And DO report him to the “Facebook team.” Perhaps they will eventually wake up from their afternoon naps and take action to protect their members.

Reach me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com

June 1, 2012

The Wonderful, Wretched Internet

Filed under: Announcements — Patricia @ 5:06 am

First a high note: We talked about freelance writing a while back. Here’s an article you might want to read. It’s in the print edition of the Freelance Writer’s Report. It tells you how to ask for more money for your writing work by Devyani Borade in the UK. This author gives you 14 tips for getting more money for your writing. Subscribe to this useful print newsletter here http://www.writers-editors.com

Still no satisfaction from the Facebook team with regard to the fact that my account has been hacked or cloned or something sinister. I am no longer on Facebook. But there is an imposter using my Facebook photo and bio and pretending to be me. He (or she) is using my identity to spread his word—whatever it is. Aggravating. And I guess this is not an isolated case. I’m hearing from others who have had their Facebook identities stolen. Some of them also closed their accounts. Well, what other choice do you have when there is virtually no team support. And a recent article in the LA Times indicates that this problem is growing. Check it out here:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-facebook-scams-20120531,0,7188241.story

The article mentions the Grandparent Scheme. Have any of you had the call from the Grandparent Schemers? I did—but I had heard about it and knew what it was—so I played with the criminal on the other end of the phone for a while—before telling him what I think of him and hanging up!

My mother was the first to get the Grandparent call. She couldn’t understand how her 14-year-old, well-supervised grandson ended up in some foreign country without his parents knowing his dilemma and needing quick money. She halfway believed the young man on the phone—but not quite. Finally, she asked for proof that the caller was, indeed, her grandson. She asked, “What is your middle name?” He hung up. Yay Mama!

The most common scheme I’ve been subjected to is when I receive an email from someone I barely know—a client or colleague, perhaps—asking for large sums of money to get them out of a jam in another country. They’ve lost their luggage, been mugged, or??? Of course, it is someone impersonating them.

I still get a lot of those “Dearest One,” emails from someone in a part of the world I didn’t even know existed (maybe it doesn’t) saying they are the wealthy ruler and need to get a large sum of money out of the country or some such nonsense. I am the only one in the world they can trust, don’t you know?

I guess people do fall for some of these schemes, which is why the criminals keep working them.

My message today is beware. Be smart. You truly don’t know who is at the other end of an email or a social media account. I mean, look at how many unsuspecting young people are harmed or nearly harmed by “nice” people at the other end of emails who turn out to be lecherous, dangerous predators.

May 31, 2012

Facebook Account Hacked/Cloned

Filed under: Announcements — Patricia @ 8:31 am

Everyone has a Facebook page these days. As is the case with most things new, I resisted, drug my feet, refused to get involved with Facebook for the longest time.

But I eventually caved in to the hype. Friends, colleagues and experts said, “Social media is good for business.” “It’s a great way to get exposure.” “You meet potential customers and clients.” “Everyone who is anyone has a Facebook account.” I’d say it was about three years ago that I got my own Facebook account.

This week, “friends” began contacting me to say they had received strange messages with misspelled words from my Facebook account, but they were sure these things weren’t from me. And they were right. I rarely use Facebook, and I certainly don’t promote hearing aids and other things this imposter was promoting.

I’ve spent way too much time these past few days trying to discover what is happening—my account was apparently cloned/hacked. And I’ve been stressing over what to do about it—Facebook offers very little help that is useful.

I changed my passwords for Facebook and Yahoo. But the abuse of my account continued.

I followed the Facebook help instructions. I made a few calls—left messages, sent emails. After hitting nothing but dead ends while attempting to stop the imposter and after consulting people who know more about Facebook than I do, which is practically everyone, I closed my Facebook account.

But guess what? A Facebook account resembling mine, with my picture and profile, but with different contact information, is still up—the one that was started May 27, 2012—5 days ago.

Now we are spending valuable time trying to jump through the Facebook hoops to close that bogus, imposter account.

Has anyone had a similar experience? How did you handle it? Help!

PLFry620@yahoo.com

May 30, 2012

Authorship is a Business

Filed under: Authorship,Publishing — Patricia @ 5:13 am

Are you ready to enter into the business of publishing? If you’re still in the writing stage of producing a book, you may not have given much thought to what comes next. Many hopeful authors envision their books selling like crazy through Amazon and other online and downtown bookstores. You visualize t being ordered by the hundreds for Kindle, Nook and other readers. You imagine waking up every day and finding dozens of orders to fill at your website.

But do you have any idea how you’re going to get from point A (writing the book) to point B (selling truckloads of copies)?

I can tell you that it won’t happen unless you change your writer’s creative mindset and approach the next phase of the process—publishing—with a business head.

Authorship is a business. It takes an informed, educated author to understand the business he or she is entering and to make the best decisions for his or her project. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What are some of the decisions you’ll have to make? Are you well enough informed to handle the following? Before you respond, let me say that publishing, today, is a fiercely competitive business. Are you ready to compete?

• Is your book a valid product—have you written a complete book proposal so that you know you have a viable product and a strong platform?

• Will you attempt to land a traditional royalty publisher for your professionally edited manuscript?

• Do you need agent representation for the publishers appropriate to your project or not? (Many publishers do not require or even invite agent involvement.)

• Is the contract the publisher issued reasonable?

• Will you opt for a pay-to-publish company?

• Which one has the best contract?

• Which one has the least complaints against them?

• What, exactly, can you expect from a pay-to-publish company?

• Will you consider self-publishing—establishing your own publishing company?

• What are the benefits/the downside? Is this book a good candidate for e-publishing?

• What is your responsibility beyond getting the book published? Distribution, promotion, etc?

• Do you know enough about book promotion to understand which services are of value to you and which ones are a waste of your money?

• How does one go about promoting a book like yours? Do you have any idea how difficult promoting a book in this publishing climate is and how creative, energetic and enterprising the author must be?

Can you see the truth in the statement, “Publishing is NOT an extension of your writing?” Writing is a craft and publishing is a business, requiring very different strategies, skills and mindset.

Are you prepared to enter into the world of publishing? If you haven’t spent any time studying the publishing industry, the answer is a resounding, “NO!”

Order my book today in print, on Kindle, Nook or another type of reader. It’s >Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It’s at Amazon, at the publisher’s website http://www.allworth.com and at my website: http://www.matilijapress.com

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