I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 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. <\/p>\n
Tomorrow, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be packing for a weekend in Baltimore where I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll speak on writing a book proposal. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n
I make it sound as though there is only one way leading to success\u00e2\u20ac\u201dmy 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\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcollect 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.<\/p>\n
I wrote my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book<\/em>, 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.<\/p>\n I get frustrated when I realize that my message isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t reaching everyone who needs to hear it. Last night, for example, I met, yet, another author who didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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.<\/p>\n 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. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I can publish my book myself?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe their ears.<\/p>\n There are many types of hopeful authors. Which one are you?<\/p>\n 1: James says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I found someone who will publish my book and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all I need to know. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only going to cost me $2,000 and my book will be available in all bookstores\u00e2\u20ac\u201dat least that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what the nice lady told me. Now that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve finished my work on book number one, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m busy writing my next one. Gosh, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t writing fun and pretty easy, too.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Of course, this author is heading for a big disappointment. Why? He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize that it is his job to promote his book. And he, obviously, didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a literary attorney to read his contract\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153available in all bookstores?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think so. What the nice lady (and maybe even the contract) probably said was, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We will make your book available to bookstores nationwide.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d In other words, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If a bookseller comes to us asking for a book like yours, we will certainly tell them about yours.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d And that ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to happen.<\/p>\n James\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 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.<\/p>\n 2: Linda says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll quit my job and start my author tour.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t publish and why. And she needs a reality check with regard to choosing and working with an agent. <\/p>\n 3: Ilene says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have time to make any copies\u00e2\u20ac\u201danyway it would be too expensive. So I just sent it to my favorite major publisher in New York. When do you think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be calling me about publishing it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n Yes, people still do this!!! If Ilene sent the original copy of manuscript without a self-addressed-stamped envelope, her \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dream\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is probably on its way to the landfill in the back of a garbage truck by now.<\/p>\n 4: Jake says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just did the final edit on my manuscript and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ready to go. Oh, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not very good with grammar and punctuation, but I know that the publisher will have it edited before publishing it. So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sending it to Random House today.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut never, never send out a manuscript without having it professionally edited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 workshop. I spoke on the art of and the necessity of research […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t