December 2, 2011

This week in the “Destressing the Writing Life” workshop, we talked about information overload–how much valuable information is available on the Internet–and the pressure we feel because there’s no time to read and absorb it all.

To that end, I hope my recommendations once a week help you sift through the wonderful (often free) material out there. To that end, here’s my Friday offering.

 

Take all weekend to read them, if you like. Do NOT stress over getting them all read right now!

• How do you know if you’re “called to write”?
• Why does this writer choose NOT to self-publish?
• Here are five steps to developing more discipline!
• Can you soften the uncertainty that comes with writing?
• Here’s a fabulous checklist for critiquing your own work or someone else’s.

 

 

 

May 27, 2011

Some terrific reading is waiting for you this weekend! The articles below from around the Web will give you writing and marketing help, help you see through the current publishing confusion, and even show you ways to get your kids to read through the summer.

Enjoy!

“Is Publishing Turning into the Wild West?” The publishing world has changed radically in the last couple of years, thanks to those pesky e-books. Do the old rules still apply? Does chaos rule? Or are there ways to survive and thrive in the new environment? [Terrific article here by Randy Ingermanson, plus interesting comments.]

“A Dozen Ways to Get Your Child to Read Over the Summer and Have Fun Doing It!” Every year student assessments show that when kids take a break from school over the summer and they don’t read or have any reading instruction during that time, their reading skills are adversely affected. But this doesn’t HAVE to happen. Encouraging children to read during the summer will not only sustain their current reading achievement, it will also contribute to their success in reading proficiency. [Here you'll find suggestions for early primary grades, middle grades, and teens.]

“6 Query Tips from a Publishing Insider” To help you write a query letter (or submission letter) so that an agent will give your manuscript the time of day here are the top 3 Do’s and Don’ts from our head Acquisitions Editor. [The first tip was even a surprise to me, although just last week I sent a proposal to a publisher and got an email suggesting that I add more marketing stuff-even though this publisher has published nine of my previous books! She said there was also talk of adding a marketing clause in new author contracts.]

“Twitter-patted” Twittering gave the world a fast way to communicate and also a new tool for marketing. Marketing with only a few words takes planning and focus. [Read this article for a brilliant way to plan and write your Tweets while you are working on your book/story/article/ebook to be released later.]

“Ways to Improve Your Writing Style” Newer authors struggle with writing technique, and long time writers still find elements in writing that are their nemesis. Being aware of problem areas in your writing can help you move ahead as a writer when you focus on them and find ways to improve those techniques. Here are a few tips on become a better writer. [Gail Gaymer Martin's blog posts are meaty and almost a mini-workshop. Don't stop with this post, but go through her whole Writing Fiction Right blog site.]

“Tidbits” from Writer Beware! This article is FULL of information and links to longer articles, discussing topics like the new trend of agents-turned-publishers and how to interpret the numbers when you read that print-on-demand epublishing is out-stripping sales of paper books.

January 28, 2011

As long-time readers of my blog know, I’ve given warnings over the years about self-publishing. I’ve seen so many new writers get “taken” by going this route.

They’ve been charged unbelievable amounts of money to have their books printed by a “publisher.” Then they’re left with a garage full of books they can’t get into book stores. They list them on Amazon.com, hoping this will do the trick, but no one knows them or knows to look for the book. Without a proven track record of some kind, it is nearly impossible to sell self-published books.

Where’s Your Audience?

Your track record might be in a professional area associated with your day job. For example, let’s say you give more than a dozen speeches every year on a particular topic (health, financing, etc.) and you have the credentials to back it up  (you’re a doctor or MBA, for example.)

If you have a built-in audience (those who come to your talks), then a self-published print book (on your topic) might sell very well. In cases like this, a self-published book where you get to keep all the profits is a smart idea. However, unless you have a built-in repeat audience, you’ll also be stuck with boxes of unsold books you’ve already paid for.

Enter e-books on the publishing scene…

Years ago, when they were first being talked about, I gave e-books a try. The print book many of you have of Writer’s First Aid started as an e-book and was later picked up by the ICL Bookstore and issued in a paper edition. That was a good deal for me–e-books didn’t sell all that well ten years ago.

But last year I decided to stick my toes in the water again with the two e-booklets I created (50 Tension Techniques and Writing Mysteries for Young People.) I did no advertising except telling you about them on this blog. They have made a good little chunk of money without me doing anything. I have been pleasantly surprised.

So last year when Amazon.com said that more than half their income came from selling Kindle e-books, I took notice. I already had the built-in audience (thousands of blog subscribers), and I knew how to do the e-books (how to work with Amazon and Clickbank, how to get ISBN numbers, etc.)

I especially loved the fact that publishing e-books costs almost nothing, you can promote and publicize online for free most places, and your percentage of profit is good, even after Amazon takes their 30% cut for Kindles and Clickbank takes their cut. In these economic times, I’m looking for ways to make more money with the writing, just like most authors.

That’s why More Writer’s First Aid is coming out as an e-book in .pdf and Kindle and for the iPad and a few other formats.

Factors in Success

Should you try this? Maybe, if…

• you feel you have a built-in audience already, or you’re willing to take the time to build such an audience first
• you have excellent writing, editing, and copyediting skills (I’ve worked as writer, editor and copyeditor over the years) or you’re willing to pay for such services
• you can do Internet marketing, or you are willing to learn how

If all these things apply, then you may want to try e-books. My 34 children’s books are all print editions (although I see that many of them have Kindle editions now too.) I have been slower to try these new formats, so I’ll have to let you know how it goes.

For those interested in learning more about this, here are some links:

Publishing E-books: Kindle, iPad, Nook, Kobo?

Publishing Your Own E-book

You Should Write an E-book

How to Write Your First E-book

August 30, 2010

I’ve been reading a lot about e-books lately. For a long time, I didn’t pay much attention. Then I tried my hand at it with my e-booklets 50 Tension Techniques and Writing Mysteries for Young People.

E-books have exploded lately. Now that about half the books sold on Amazon.com are e-books, it’s time to take them seriously.

Since it may highly impact your own writing future–especially if you hope to make a living at writing–I’d encourage you to check out these articles:

“The Future of Publishing” by Randy Ingermanson is a good overview of the rise of e-books and what the next few years are going to mean, especially for fiction writers.

“The High Cost of Self-Promotion” and how author Jon Konrath was able to go back to writing full-time because of e-books.

“It’s All Hard Work” by Sherryl Clark–with e-book cautions for the new writer breaking into print–and advice on how published authors can make e-books work for them.

The More Things Change…

What do you think about all the news about e-books? Do you personally read a lot of e-books? Do your children read e-books? Would you buy more e-books if the readers were less expensive?

Give me your opinions on this!

June 11, 2010

After the post a month ago on WriterMag.com: A Place to Learn, I was asked if this was the best writer’s magazine. The student could only afford one magazine, so which one (he asked) would give him the most for his money?

Bear in mind that the following is only my opinion. When my writing students graduate, I recommend that they continue learning by subscribing to a writing magazine. The two most popular are The Writer and Writer’s Digest. I subscribed to both for over twenty years. Just two years ago I dropped my subscription to Writer’s Digest.

Why? Two reasons. (Or really just one reason, and a sub-reason of that reason.)

What Are You Paying For?

The Writer has very little advertising. Most of the magazine consists of articles on the craft of writing. There are lots of interviews, practical tips, and great advice. By contrast, the last few issues of Writer’s Digest, before my subscription ran out, was overloaded with advertising. That was my main beef. I know magazines need advertisers to keep publishing, but it was pages and pages before you found the writing articles.

My “sub-reason” for cancellation was this: a large amount of the advertising was for self-publishers. Not the occasional small-to-tiny black-and-white ads like in The Writer, but many large (sometimes full-page) colored ads. These businesses might call themselves self-publishers, or independent publishers, or vanity publishers, or co-op publishers. All of them wanted the writer’s money.

Feels Misleading

Based on the large number of ads for such printers, I felt that it could give my students the feeling that “this is the way to go” and “everyone has to pay to publish.” Each year shows an increase in the stories of innocent writers who believed everything they read and got taken.

I know this sounds more like a rant than a blog post today, but I do honestly think The Writer is a better buy–and well worth your money. Just this week in my copy were several articles that I’ll be tearing out and filing: an excellent article on setting, an article on how to make your story about loss into a universal story, how flexibility and adaptability helped a writer break in, a method for revision, and how to know if feedback is toxic or not. (And that’s not half the articles in the magazine.)

If you can afford it, subscribe to both writers’ magazines. If you need to choose, I’d recommend The Writer.

May 7, 2010

A question from a blog reader asked, “Would you consider using a newly formed publishing company? What questions should a writer ask a new publisher to ensure they are getting appropriate care for their book?”

I’ve had one experience with a newly formed publisher–which I’ll write about below–but first let me mention a blog post on this subject on Writer Beware! The post is two years old, and due to the economy, it is even MORE true today than it was when posted. I hope you’ll read the entire post, but this is the bottom line summary:

“So unless you are absolutely, 100% positive that the publisher is staffed by people with substantial publishing experience–and maybe even then–it’s a good idea to wait until a new publisher has been in business for at least a year, and has published a number of books, before submitting. Not only does this assure you that the publisher can take books all the way through the production process, it lets you evaluate important things like physical and editorial quality, how the books are distributed, and how they are marketed. It also allows time for complaints, if there are any, to accumulate.

Tempting as it may be to join the rush to get in on the ground floor when a new publisher opens its doors, watching and waiting is a much better strategy.”

My Own Experience

My first mystery series fifteen years ago was my only experience with a brand new publisher. The man who started it had great credentials, and we met when speaking on a panel at a writer’s conference. It was professional from beginning to end, although his advance was a lot smaller than I was used to.

The first two books came out on time, but the sales were pretty low. (Thankfully I had had several mysteries published by that time because the “editor” I got knew nothing about mysteries and was an unpublished aspiring writer.) The third mystery ran into one snag after another, but since that happens sometimes, I wasn’t worried. I knew he was working on other books too and accepted the explanations for delays.

One Eye-Opening Day

I had several school visits approaching and needed copies of the third book, so when I had to be in his city for something else, I decided to just stop by the publishing house and pick up the books, as he’d said they were finished and boxed up.

When I finally located the address, I felt surely it must be wrong. It wasn’t in the business area of town–it was a residence. His home. No one answered the door, so I walked around the back and peeked in the window of the basement.

There were stacks of books and piles of papers everywhere. Evidently this was the publishing “house.” Literally! And it turned out that this man was the entire “staff” and he was out of money. Any books sold would be up to me. (This was prior Internet marketing, so I was stuck with the books and no way other than school visits to sell them.)

Needless to say, I wished I had asked a lot more questions early in the process. The books weren’t reviewed and fell through the cracks.

(Reminder: do read the full article on Writer Beware!) And please become a regular reader of their blog. It will save you years of headaches and heartaches!

Questions to Ask

If you are still considering submitting to a newly formed company, ask them:

1. How many titles are you publishing this year?
2. If there are published titles already, buy one or two and read them. (Look for quality of editing, typos, quality of art work, etc.)
3. Contact other authors who have published with them. Ask about editing, sales, art work, whether the publisher answers their emails, etc. Thanks to the Internet and Facebook and Twitter, you can find almost anyone online.
4. What constitutes your staff? (You may find that the publisher is also the editor, layout designer, promoter, sales rep, publicist, and delivery man.) If these jobs are “hired out,” who does these jobs? Are they qualified?

Google the new company too and check for complaints in blogs and message boards.

Forewarned

I know several writers who have signed with new publishers over the last few years. Every time, it’s been a dismal, frustrating experience–and resulting in so few sales.

If you don’t ask these questions before you query, at least get answers you’re happy with before you sign ANYTHING. As the blog title says, writer beware!

April 28, 2010

Last week I received this question in my email from a blog reader: “I wonder with the proliferation of print on demand companies reducing the need for inventory, providing on-line marketing capabilities, and the writer keeping a higher percentage of the book profits, what in your opinion, is the best route to go and why?”

 If you read my other comments on self-publishing in “The Four D’s” or “Publishing Confusion,” you probably guessed that I am negative about self-publishing. [Do read those articles-there are links to various websites where you can become more informed-and warned.]

Some of my opinion comes from personal experience: none of my 35 books were self-published. Some of my opinion comes from seeing writing friends and students get burned by false promises. (Yes, the writer gets to keep a higher percentage of book profits, but often those profits are miniscule. Fifty percent of a meager amount is still a pittance.) And some of my opinion comes from what I’ve heard agents and editors say (their negative perceptions of self-published books and authors.) I’m afraid that in at least nine cases out of ten, self-publishing turns out to be a very disappointing (and often expensive) experience.

Good Option for Some

Are there times that self-publishing something makes sense? Definitely so. Perhaps you’re a frequent speaker for a national organization like MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), and you speak to large audiences many times per year. If you have a nonfiction book that this group would love, then a print-on-demand book (POD book) could be a good idea. You have a built-in audience and credibility as an expert through your speaking. (I’ve heard of many professionals-from agents to landscape gardeners-who’ve been able to sell hundreds of books when they speak at conferences.) But they had credibility first-and a built-in large audience for their books. 

My One Experience with Self-Publishing

For the above reasons, I decided to e-publish a couple of $7 e-booklets this month. [See "Don't Re-Invent the Wheel."] I had the credibility first. Most of my published books are novels, so “50 Tension Techniques” was easy to put together from a workshop on that subject that I’ve done at many SCBWI events. And since eleven of my published books are mysteries, I had the credibility for “Writing Mysteries for Young People.”

And my built-in audience? I’ve had a website for many years, a blog for four years, and already had friends on my Facebook and Twitter pages. Everything was already in place for “e-sales.”

And (this is key to me), it was almost free to set up. I just added information pages to my website and blog. (If I had used PayPal instead of ClickBank, it would have been totally free to e-publish them, but my Google research turned up a lot of disgruntled PayPal experiences, so I opted to pay the one-time $49 ClickBank fee.)

What About Self-Published Fiction?

Self-published nonfiction out-sells self-published fiction by an enormous margin. Few people starting out as novelists have a speaking platform where they can sell their books. Few have a huge following online-and you must have if you expect to market your novel online. Otherwise you are stuck marketing the book from the trunk of your car, begging a few small bookstores to stock your self-published novel (the chain stores won’t), and arranging your own autograph parties and signings where you will probably sell fewer than a dozen books.

With self-published novels you won’t have the kind of support you get when published by traditional publishers. [For example, my latest publisher has nine of my books on their website, which I'm sure gets a lot more hits than my website! They have separate pages for the mysteries and the devotionals.] In addition, the four mysteries and one devotional are all getting new covers in May and another “publicity push” from the publisher. Traditional publishers can do that-they have whole publicity and promotion teams who work on such things.

Publicity and Promotion

When you self-publish, remember that you are the publisher (or you pay for it), the art designer (unless you pay for that service too), and your book’s publicity/promotion/sales team. Most of the on-line promotion packages that self-publishing companies want to sell you are things you could do for yourself for FREE.

And unless you already have a big following, your sales will be minimal. Most self-published books are way over-priced. Why would a stranger take a chance and buy a novel from an unknown self-published author when the same money will buy him a famous name author’s novel? Once self-published authors have run through their friends and family members, the pickings are slim when it comes to sales.

Be Extra Careful

If you are considering self-publishing, please thoroughly research the pros and cons first. Do Google searches on “self-publishing scams.” For each company that wants to “publish” your book, Google them. Contact other authors they’ve “published” and ask about their sales and what the “extra services” (like editing, marketing, book jackets) cost them. (Remember: with a traditional publisher, all those services are free to you and done by whole teams of professionals: editors, publicists, sales reps, promotion, etc.)

Do not let your blind faith or impatience to publish make you naïve. Take time to get your facts. Self-publishing is very risky business for an author. Except in rare cases (like those mentioned earlier), I can’t recommend it.

December 21, 2009

When my first book was published in 1983 by Atheneum Books for Children in New York, things were black and white. You were either published by a reputable publisher (usually in New York) or you used a (gasp!) vanity press.

There was only one real distinction: real publishers paid you, and vanity presses (self-publishers) required you to pay them for services rendered. It’s still the definition I go by. I can’t make a living by paying someone else to publish me.

Blurred Outlines

Today, new writers are confused. I can tell by the large number of email queries I get, questions from my students, and email “blasts” announcing someone’s “just published” new book by XXXX vanity publisher of some kind.

I hate to see my students and other new writers get suckered into this. If you look at your options and still choose to self-publish, that’s one thing. But I find it alarming how often I hear that writers are plunking down HUGE amounts of money to some vanity press, thinking that that’s the way it’s done.

Take Time to Study

Today I found a terrific discussion (and at the end of the article, read the definition of terms) that it would be wise for every writer to read. It’s at the Writer Beware blog and called “Blurred Distinctions: Vanity Publishing vs. Self-Publishing.” 

This would be a great blog to subscribe to, by the way. Knowledge is power, but you need to take time to be informed.