What’s Your Book About?

I could feel the intensity increasing among the other editors involved in acquisitions. I felt it as well because we were facing a deadline to turn in our material for the next publication board meeting. We typically set deadlines several weeks in advance of the actual meeting, then the various participants could read our background materials before the meeting and come prepared with their questions and comments. Besides the author’s proposal, we had internal documents to get ready for the meeting. An editorial assistant prepared an agenda which gave the order for the editors to present their books for that particular month.

Tensions in our editorial group always tended to run high the day of the publication board meeting as no one could predict what would happen in these sessions. There is an old saying about editors that it depends on what they had for breakfast. Reality isn’t that subjective but the mood of the room can swing to different extremes. For some meetings, the questions were minimal and the reaction was positive about the authors that I championed for the publishing house.

On other occasions it was different. I walked into the room filled with publishing staff, armed with my stack of folders and paperwork. As an editor, I prepared a series of short presentations on the key details of each book. Another editor on our editorial team had worked at multiple publishing houses and appeared before different groups of these publication boards. This colleague told me, “Our publication board is different and a bit crankier than some of the others.”

Waiting for your turn in the room can be a nerve-racking feeling for an editor. Finally my turn came and I walked into the large board room. Key leaders from the publishing house—including sales, marketing and editorial personnel—sat around a conference table. It was almost certain that several of these leaders had only skimmed your paperwork or not read it at all or they read it during your presentation. Some days it was like sitting on the hot seat trying to defend your titles to a room full of skeptics. Other times they were supportive of your selections. As a book is accepted for publication in this meeting, the various groups such as sales and marketing are held responsible for their support of a particular title. Key business decisions for the life and future of the publisher are made in these meetings. You, as the author, aren’t present but your view is represented from your work on the book proposal and the voiced words of support from your acquisitions editor.

Your words on your proposal become elevated in importance. How will your book be represented through your words? What is the hook? This should come in the first sentence or two of your overview—the first section for any book proposal. This section defines the topic of your book in a few words. I’ve already explained the difficulty involved in getting an editor to read your material. Now you have a few seconds to grab the editor’s attention. What hook will you use to entice him to keep turning your pages? Your first responsibility is to reach the editor who is thinking about his readers and book buyers when he reads your initial words. He can then use your overview material to hook his publication board.

The overview should be a maximum of one to three pages in length and should clearly explain what the book is about, why it is necessary and what makes this book different than others on the same topic. Normally this material is written in the third person.

If you are looking for a way to concisely tell the idea of your book, I’d suggest that you first write it on paper, but also work with it in an oral format. It’s one of the reasons to read your writing aloud after you’ve finished it—because the ear is less forgiving than the eye. Using this process, you will pick up on all sorts of ways to improve your manuscript.

W. Terry Whalin
W. Terry Whalin, a writer and publisher lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. A former acquisitions editor, former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. To help writers, he has created 12-lesson online course called Write A Book Proposal. His website is located at: http://www.terrywhalin.com/

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author (eBook) for only $4.99 from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Evolution of eBooks

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, I’m sure you’ve heard about the dramatic changes happening in the publishing industry. Independent and chain bookstores are closing at an alarming rate. Borders, the second largest U.S. bookstore chain, recently filed for bankruptcy and went out of business. Sales of hardcover books are down 40%. Editors at the Big 6 houses are reserving contracts for their big moneymaking authors, as the mid-list shrinks. The current situation has become so dire that Huffington Post, the Internet newspaper, now includes “bookstore obituaries” as a regular feature.

At the same time, the sale of e-books is up 400%.

Nine years ago, when I started writing, my only goal was to get an agent and sign with a New York publisher. During the first few years of my writing career, I had conversations with writers that had or were considering self-publishing their books. The idea of handling the details of publishing my own book turned me off to say the least. I knew self-published books couldn’t get shelf space in the major book chains. Many reviewers wouldn’t review them, and I’d heard stories about authors ending up stuck with boxes of unsold books stacked in their garage. No way did I want any part of that.

Fast forward to 2007. The first rumblings had begun about Amazon.com’s newest electronic gadget – the Kindle e-reader. At that time no one, except perhaps for Jeff Bezos himself, imagined this little gadget would be the game changer in an industry already plagued by antiquated policies and procedures, ridiculously long wait times between contract and release, decreasing sales, and increasing competition from tablets, smartphones, video games, DVDs and all things electronic.

As an author trying to break into the business, I kept my ear to the ground, fascinated by what I was hearing about the possibility of getting my books directly into the hands of readers. I submitted to editors and agents for several years and even signed with two well-known agents but received no offers. The whole process had begun to wear me down.

By 2009, with Kindle dominating the e-book market, authors were beginning to take notice, and many had taken the plunge into the electronic world. The financial perks of direct e-pubbing were a definite lure, along with the fact that e-books are eternal. They have no limited on shelf life like paper books, which eventually go out of print.

Traditional publishers generally pay authors 6-17% of the cover price of their books. E-publishers like Kindle offered 35% at the outset and subsequently raised that royalty rate to 70% for all books selling for $2.99 or more. The increase in electronic books has sparked a very loud and fierce debate among readers, writers. Many in the publishing industry stand by the necessity for gatekeepers (editors and agents) to protect readers from an in influx of bad books. Those on the other side of the debate insist that gatekeepers aren’t necessary, because readers are smart enough to determine for themselves what is good and bad. They believe, as I do, that what’s good will sell and what’s bad won’t. Simple.

The other debate increasing in intensity is what I call “the cold, dead handers” versus the “e-people.” These are the folks who staunchly declare that their paper books will have to be pried from their cold, dead hands before they switch to electronic reading. They melodramatically pontificate about the feel and smell of paper books and fight anything hinting of electronic progress.

Personally, I don’t think books will disappear completely, but as I look back at my vinyl albums, 8-track tapes and cassettes packed away in the garage, I’m not so sure. What is important is the ability of authors to be able to sell their stories to readers. It’s the words that make the story, not the paper they’re printed on. All of the current flap about the smell and feel of books will eventually fizzle out. Honestly, when was the last time you saw anybody sniffing and hugging a vinyl LP with tears in their eyes? Change is hard for some, but change will eventually come whether we like it or not. We might as well embrace it and enjoy it.

In July 2010, I took the plunge and joined the ranks of electronic authors and published my debut novel directly to Kindle and Nook. I have since released three of my previously written novels with another due out in late December.

This is an exciting time for authors, but e-pubbing isn’t for the faint of heart. This isn’t a deal where you simply take your Word manuscript from your hard drive and toss it into cyberspace. The preparation is very much the same as getting a paper book ready for release. Professional editing is a necessity. The quality of the cover is a determining factor in the success of the book. Formatting of the manuscript for each of the different e-book sites can test the patience of a saint. Promotion and marketing is a never-ending chore.

But for those writers with the fortitude to learn the language and requirements of this new market, the doors are wide open.

Guest Blogger: Chicki Brown
http://www.chicki663.webs.com/
http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/chicki.brown
and @Chicki 663 on Twitter

Dee here: I’d like to thank Chicki for being a guest blogger this month. She is a self-publishing queen and has always been very helpful to others. THANKS.

Death By Social Media

In today’s electronic age, a strong web presence is one of the best tools in your arsenal to become a successful author. That’s a no brainer, right? Not necessarily. Many of my fellow authors are suffering a slow painful death by social media.

Instead of just telling you to do this and not that in order to avoid death by social media, I’m coming at this from a different angle. I’m about to give you a little history in hopes that if you have the entire picture, you’ll understand why we must make adjustments for the time we live in. So stick in there with me to the end.

Let’s take a short trip back in time to a decade ago. Personal Data Assistants (PDAs) were popular, especially the PalmPilot. Smart phones were around, but using their limited functionality could be quite expensive. Internet access in households was increasing exponentially, but the cost of using that access caused many to limit their usage. Online personal journals (blogs) and social media were in their infancy and would have to grow up fast. People received most of their news and entertainment from traditional routes such as newspapers, television and radio. For this reason, online marketing was used, but nowhere near the extent that it is today. This may be hard for some of you to believe, but a decade ago, Amazon.com made its first profit. The world was different back then. We were at the onset of the first major boom of the electronic age. Back in the day, authors were encouraged to capitalize on this new age by harvesting the emails of anyone who sent them an email for their own email promotions list.

In 2003 My Space came along, then Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006) and a host of other social media and blog sites. Along with joining social media sites, everyday users began setting up personal email accounts. With the increase in personal email accounts and Internet usage came the increase of online marketing. This was a boom for the marketing industry because it’s so much less expensive to send blast emails than print ads or mailings. Everyday users began seeing more and more advertisement emails they didn’t ask for, but most found these unsolicited emails manageable.

Then it happened. June 2007 the first iPhone was released and need I say more? Yes, I do (SMILE). The cost of being online fell drastically and accessibility to email, social media, news… was at your fingertips 24/7. Though iPhones are the leader in smart phones, other excellent brands have inundated the market so just about everyone can be online at all times.

Wow, what a difference a decade makes.

Unfortunately, many businesses and authors (publishing is a business) are still promoting as if they are at the onset of the first major boom of the electronic age. Remember when mailboxes were filled with junk mail and we’d all complain? Well this has happened twenty fold in the electronic world (remember how inexpensive it is to send mass emails compared to snail mail). Users, readers are now inundated with tons of junk email that is often referred to as spam.

Hold up a second. Did I just call the unsolicited email you sent to my personal account junk mail? I plead the fifth. Anywhoooo, let’s look at social media. Many of these sites allow you to add members to mailing list and groups without their permission. I know you may enjoy people harvesting your email and then filling your account with unsolicited promotions and group posts (advertisements), but with the plethora of these types of promotions going to individual’s email accounts, the everyday user is starting to revolt and tuning out people who add them to groups, send them unsolicited emails and other such behaviors. You do not want to become part of the noise. You do not want to die by social media.

So what’s the solution? Be patient and build loyal, opt-in communities and mailing lists. It will take more time, but your return on investment will be much greater and will increase the credibility of your brand. You don’t want to be known as one of those authors who swamp people’s emails with their advertisements.

When someone sends you an email, send back a request for them to join your mailing list. Instead of adding individuals to your groups, send invitations. Don’t over promote (finding that happy medium is not easy, but you can do it). Allow the readers to get to know you for more than a book pusher. You want readers looking forward to your emails and posts, not to think of them as intrusions in their lives.

Just say no to death by social media.

Deatri King-Bey

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author (eBook) for only $4.99 from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Self-Publishing – Is it for you?

I’m an author who has experience being with a traditional publisher and as a self-published author. In fact, right now, I do both. For my full length novels, I continue to go the traditional route, but with my short stories or novellas, I self-publish those. As a writer, you may be asking yourself what route you should go. The beauty of being a writer right now is that you do have options.

I will be using HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH & MARKET YOUR OWN BOOKS by Mack E Smith and Sara Freeman Smith as a reference in today’s post. If you don’t have the book now, this is one book to add to your MUST BUY list. It has been helpful in more ways than one.

Writing to most of us is fun. Somewhere along the way, we decided we wanted to share our thoughts with the public. Where do we begin? Some of us pursue the traditional publishing route of trying to find an agent and/or publisher. Others may decide to self publish outright. Either way, we all have one common goal: To see our book IN PRINT.

Before we go any further, realize SELF PUBLISHING IS A BUSINESS. Besides writing the manuscript, you will need stamina to handle the “business side” as well.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

Am I ready to be a sales rep, an accountant, a publicist, an inventory analyst…etc?
Am I prepared to do research and determine who’s the best editor, graphic designer, printer, distributor, etc for me?
Am I prepared to promote, promote and PROMOTE my book (s)?
And last but not least, am I willing to learn as much as possible about the publishing industry?

Keep in mind a lot of today’s best selling authors may have started off self-published. Self-publishing is another way to get agents and major publishers to notice you. I don’t know if you’ve read the books, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER by Reshonda Tate Billingsly or Momma’s Baby Daddy’s Maybe by Jamise Dames. Well, they both started off self-published and are now with major publishers. I remember seeing MOMMA’S BABY, DADDY’S MAYBE as an Essence Bestseller for several months prior to it being picked up by a major publisher.

I mention those two books to show you that although you may self-publish, you don’t have to give up hopes of being with a major publisher. There’s a popular author who has several books out with a major publisher, but they also self publish other titles. So in actuality you can do both.

WHAT IS SELF-PUBLISHING AGAIN?

To self-publish means that you deal directly with editors, graphic designers, printers, and handle the marketing and distribution of your book.

Here are a few advantages of self-publishing:

You are in total control of the input (your manuscript) and the output (the finished product–YOUR BOOK).
After expenses and distributor and book store discounts, you get to keep the profits. You don’t have to give the publisher and agent anything, because YOU’RE THE PUBLISHER.
You determine when you want your book released. If you want the date of your release to be your birthday, then that’s the date you can release your book. With a traditional publisher, they TELL YOU when it’ll be released.

There can be other advantages, but those are the main ones.

Now to some of the disadvantages:

Limited resources can be a hindrance. However, don’t fret, because if you don’t have the finances to outright self-publish, you do have options – Print on Demand (POD).
A limited distribution channel is another challenge self-publishers face. Thanks to the Internet and the success of those who came before us, you now have more options.

What is Print on Demand (POD)?

This is printing small quantities of books upon request within a short period of time using digital technology and minimum upfront costs.

If you choose the POD route, I advise you to read the fine print and use the one that best fits your needs. I also caution when using some of their services. The link I’m about to provide is the best resource I’ve seen on the subject. http://www.sfwa.org/beware/printondemand.html.

Hopefully, this post gives you a better view on the pros and cons of self publishing or at least sparks your interest to find out more about it.

Is your head spinning yet? Smile. Feel free to jump right on in and start asking questions, if you haven’t already.

Shelia M Goss
http://www.sheliagoss.com/

Shelia is giving away a copy of her “Query EBook Workshop.” For your chance at this excellent workshop, you have to leave a comment here or on her What’s In A Synopsis post between now and Sunday Oct. 9, 2011. I’m (Deatri) also giving away a copy of Become A Successful Author to someone who comments on any of the site’s posts between now and Sunday Oct. 9. 2011. Winners are announced on the Winners page of this website.

What’s in a Synopsis?

A synopsis is a condensed version of your full length novel. A synopsis is normally anywhere from two to five pages long. Although books and articles give different lengths, I’ve been told by industry professionals that a two page synopsis is sufficient so for the sake of this blog post this will be my focus.

A lot of agents and publishers request not only a query letter, but a synopsis during your first initial contact. The synopsis tells the reader exactly what your book is about. It should capture the essence of your novel from chapter one to the end. Keep in mind that you should not leave questions unanswered in your synopsis. I know when writing book reviews, you don’t tell the whole story out of fear of spoiling the story for the reader. But for the synopsis, please tell the reader what happened. Don’t leave the reader guessing. Stick to key points that will entice the reader to keep reading the synopsis until the only option they feel like they have is to read your manuscript.

Key things to remember when writing your synopsis:

Your synopsis should mirror your novel. The person reading should be able to tell your writing style by reading your synopsis.
Write in present tense.
Write in third person.
Your opening paragraph or the last sentence of the opening paragraph should have a hook.
Introduce your main characters. Show the internal and external conflicts they face in your story. Your synopsis is not the place to mention all of your minor characters unless the minor character causes a major conflict with your main character and is an integral part of your story.
Make sure you add transitional sentences so that the synopsis flows from paragraph to paragraph
Only include the major scenes or high points of your novel in your synopsis.
Edit your synopsis before submitting it.

Shelia M Goss
http://www.sheliagoss.com

Shelia is giving away a copy of her “Query EBook Workshop.” For your chance at this excellent workshop, you have to leave a comment here or on her Self-Publishing-Is It For You? post between now and Sunday Oct. 9, 2011. I’m (Deatri) also giving away a copy of Become A Successful Author to someone who comments on any of the site’s posts between now and Sunday Oct. 9. 2011. Winners are announced on the Winners page of this website.

Editing—Why Bother?

Let’s be real! No one wants to hear that his or her self-determined work of art is subpar. That is understandable, but tough skin is essential if you are serious about producing an above-average product. Many authors are hesitant to invest in all three stages of editing. However, it’s vital that authors recognize the importance of each step in the process. The road to becoming a successful author is dependent upon one’s adherence to this mandate. Be sure to seek professional editing services, not close friends or family members who love to read your projects. Your “baby” deserves to be cared for by an objective experienced eye. The purpose of professional editing is to strengthen the content and minimize the flaws that exist within your manuscript after the cycle of self-editing, rewriting, receiving feedback from a critique group and more rewriting has been completed.

The following brief summary illustrates a few main purposes of each editing method.

The first priority is to acquire a developmental editor who will work side-by-side with you to:

Explain what works in the manuscript and what doesn’t
Point out areas in which the story does not make sense and inconsistency issues
Ensure that the plot is well-defined
Determine if the characters’ motivations line up with the characters’ personalities, feelings, thoughts and actions
Evaluate the Point of View’s validity throughout the document
Check that the showing of the characters’ actions is not overshadowed by an exhausting amount of telling
Assist in the proper set-up of dialogue and paragraph formation
Flag inconsistencies in setting and descriptions
Establish proper pacing and conflict resolution
Eliminate aspects of the manuscript that are not true to its established genre
Reorganize, add or remove scenes as needed
Provide guidance on all trouble areas

Once that detailed assessment has been completed and all of the necessary changes have been entered, seek out a copy editor skilled in the fine art of:

Sentence structure
Word reduction
Spelling
Grammar
Punctuation
Reducing redundancy
Improving the flow of the text

Naturally, one would assume that the aforementioned steps are enough to guarantee a fine-tuned manuscript, but that is not the case. The editing process does not stop there. A proofreader is the essential missing link in this equation. What can a proofreader offer that the developmental editor and copy editor cannot? The proofreader serves as the final official set of eyes on your manuscript. He/she is the polisher, so to speak. The one who is there to add in that missing punctuation, forgotten word or two or three. And seal any loose ends—misspellings, misconstrued character names or minor formatting issues.

In essence, no stage should be skipped. The developmental editor, copy editor and proofreader are key participants in the transition from a mediocre effort to a job well-done.

Lynel Washington
www.lyneljohnsonwashington.com

Shocking News To Authors: The Book Business Is A Business First

Before I began working inside a book publishing house, I had written more than 50 nonfiction books, ranging from children’s to adult books. I have never self-published a book and always worked through traditional publishers. However, I was unaware of the financial production numbers for nonfiction books and I found it shocking—and something critical for potential authors to understand. The author never sees these figures for their books as the publisher doesn’t reveal them throughout the contract negotiation process. A publisher will produce these financial calculations as simply a part of good business practices. As an author, understanding this helped me see publishing as a business. Authors have huge amounts of time and emotional investment in their words. When I saw these production numbers, I understood that the publisher, not the author, has the largest out-of-pocket cash investment in a book.

Inside the publisher, the editor will gather a sales projection about how many copies the sales department believes they can sell of your title the first year. That sales figure will be used to calculate the production costs of ink, paper and binding for various amounts of printing (5,000, 10,000 or 15,000 copies). As the initial print number is raised, the cost per book decreases. You may ask, So why not print a large volume each time? The answer is, if the publisher prints a large number of copies, then he has to store those copies in their warehouse (read cost and expense), plus make sure they actually sell those copies within a year’s timeframe. The cost of tying up financial resources in storing and warehousing books that aren’t selling is large. Also the federal government taxes publishers on each copy in storage. These tax rules have forced publishers to think long and hard about how many copies of each book to print.

Inside my former publisher, we calculated the overall printing details of the book (paperback with general publishing look or hardcover with jacket) and the number of books to print before offering a book contract. In short, publishers pour a great deal of work into their books and financial projections before they call you and offer a nonfiction book contract. Understanding this process helps you see some of the reasons it takes such a long time for an author to receive a publishing contract…

Often the publisher returns to an author with whom they have already published a book. If the publisher takes a second or third book from the same author, they are investing in that author’s career and trying to build that author’s audience and market. If the author’s books are selling well, then the publisher will be eager for another project. Each week, publishers monitor sales numbers on their books to see if particular authors merit another book contract.

Many writers focus only on the creative aspects of writing a book and getting it published, but the executives inside a publishing house are business people who want to sell books and turn a profit at the end of the day. It’s a delicate balance between creating the best possible product and assuring that each product has the best opportunity to sell into the market and reach the target audience.

W. Terry Whalin

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and publisher lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. A former acquisitions editor, former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. To help writers, he has created 12-lesson online course called Write A Book Proposal. His website is located at: http://www.terrywhalin.com/

Deatri here. I’m giving away a copy of Become A Successful Author to someone who comments on any of the site’s posts between now and Sunday Oct. 9. 2011. Winners are announced on the Winners page of this website.

Everybody Loves Me

Recently on my Twitter and Facebook pages, I asked authors if they could only use one of the following, which one would they use: Facebook, Myspace, Opt-in Mailing list or Twitter? Only one person dared to answer. Hmmm, I wonder why. This should be an easy one to answer. Maybe the problem was I placed Facebook and Twitter in the options and they couldn’t choose between them. Maybe they thought this was a trick question. Nah, I wasn’t trying to trick anyone. I honestly wanted to know your opinion.

Thankfully, we don’t have to choose one, but if we did, I’d have to go with my opt-in mailing list. Why, why, why? Everyone knows social media such as Facebook and Twitter are the in thing. What kind of nut would choose an opt-in mailing list over social media? Okay, so I’m a nut. If I had to choose the type, I’d say walnut. They are good in cookies, brownies, in ice cream, for cooking…

Like many authors, I’m an observer of human behavior. I love to discover what makes people tick and the hows and whys behind their actions. I went to several of my Facebook friends who aren’t authors and have 150 friends or less and asked them how they use Facebook and Twitter. I have over 1000 friends on Facebook and thought authors such as myself don’t use social media the same way. I was slightly surprised by my finding. My non-author friends test group who were not marketing products (such as books), use social media the same way I do.

They pop on a few times a day to see what’s going on, post a status and/or comment. Here comes the important part. Most did not or rarely looked at older post. Go to your Facebook account and scroll down. Unless your marketing/promotions post is near the top of the user’s newsfeed page when they happen upon it, the chances are, it won’t be seen. Same goes for Twitter or any other social media. With 150 friends, that front page of the newsfeed can fill quickly. And many don’t realize there is a way to sort by most recent. YIKES.

I experiment all the time, using myself as the lab rat—ewww, I don’t like that term. Anywhooo, I’ve always known how important opt-in email subscriptions are but wanted to find some hard evidence that my theory was correct. I released a romance and sent an announcement to one of my mailing list of 100 people and received 14 sales by the next day. I then waited a few days for sells to stop and began promoting this same book on Facebook and Twitter (1000+ people) for three days straight. I received two hits to my website (I pay close attention to referrals on my stats) from Facebook and clicks on the buy link. When I went to the sells report, I saw that two did purchase the book. I’m making the assumption these were a direct result of the Facebook and Twitter campaign.

The next romance book, I flipped the process around. I did the campaign on Facebook and Twitter first for one day (1000+ people). I received four hits to my website from them and three buys. I then waited two days (received no additional hits or sells) before I sent out the announcement to 100 people on my mailing list and guess what? Twenty-three purchases over the next day.

See where I’m headed? Social media is extremely important, and I’m truly glad to have 1000+ friends. “Everybody loves me!” But don’t forget your opt-in mailing list.

Let’s talk about opt-in mailing list for a second, or two, or three. Back in the day, authors were encouraged to harvest every email that they received from people and add them to their mailing list. Please stop doing this. Times have changed. Everything is going online and people receive entirely too many emails they don’t want.

You do not want to be considered part of the electronic age’s noise also known as spam. I’ve taken my theory to the streets and asked numerous readers how they feel about being added to mailing list and groups without their permission and over 90% loathe this practice, and they usually ignore the author. I know some of you may be thinking, but I’m reaching nearly 10%. Yes, this is true, but that doesn’t mean they are purchasing your book or you are winning them over or that they open your emails every time or that you aren’t pushing them to think of your emails as spam. You are also creating a sour taste in the mouth of over 90% of the others and word of mouth has a big influence on what books readers purchase. Do you really want to turn them off?

Talking about word of mouth, I feel confident saying that’s how authors get most of their sells. I have an opt-in mailing list of supporters who want to be there, and they often tell others. They are spreading the word online and I assume offline also. When they see my post about the my books, they share (without my harassing them to do it). On social media they often tag me after they’ve read the book as they share their love of it on their walls. Or I’ll receive emails saying they told so and so about my books. It usually takes a few days or weeks before you start seeing the results, but building that loyal base is the key.

Back to mailing list. My various opt-in mailing lists have an extremely high open rate. It’s three times higher than the industry average. Why? Well, my lists may not be as large as others’ lists, but the people on my various lists want to be on it and look forward to my emails. Okay, maybe that’s a bit much. I hope they look forward to them. Instead of automatically adding people to your mailing list, send an invitation for them to subscribe. It’s going to take longer to build your list this way, but your list will be of higher quality.

Social media is extremely important. It is a part of your web presence, but don’t forget about your mailing lists.

Deatri King-Bey

Patience, Please

: Lynel Washington

The most challenging task of being a copy editor is delivering what I’ve termed, “The Patience Speech.” Oftentimes, I receive manuscripts which I deem as incomplete from anxious first-time writers who are convinced their project is beyond ready for self-publication. My sense of professionalism is often tested by potential clients who haven’t researched the inner workings of the book industry and the intricate process of editing.

“What do you mean there are stages of editing?”

“Can’t you just do what you do and not focus on the missing parts?”

Well, to the novice writer asking me to perform copy editing services while closing my eyes to the developmental issues that may be present in his/her manuscript may be simple. Not! Don’t rush the process. Patience is a necessity. The journey toward becoming a published author is filled with speed bumps and pit stops. This is your first endeavor into the writing world. Trust those who’ve paved the way, learned the valuable lessons before you—your ancestors of writing, so to speak. Don’t judge these obstacles as painful; they are a catalyst for growth. What you may think is a finished product may be a rough draft in a professional editor’s eye. The work presented to your editor may include a great concept that may require further tweaking. On another note, until you have been through the process of developmental editing setting a release date is a no-no. It takes time to write, rewrite and write again.

Though you’re feeling excited about seeing your name on the cover of your first work of art, believe that an award-worthy finished product is more fulfilling than a less-than-stellar effort.

Lynel Washington

www.lyneljohnsonwashington.com

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Become A Successful Author Table of Contents
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Joining Writing Associations—A Good Idea for Authors?

: Rob Shelsky

Okay, I’m going out on a bit of a limb here. I want to discuss something that seems to get controversial at times, because writers seem to have a love-hate relationship with writing associations. Those that love them will defend them to their, figuratively speaking, dying breath. Those that hate them will often vituperatively try to drive their point home in a no-holds-barred diatribe. As for the neutral folk on this subject, few though there still may be, it’s a darn hard position to sit on that proverbial fence—very uncomfortable, to say the least, because the vast majority don’t want anyone sitting there. They want everyone to take sides on the subject of writing associations, it seems.

Yet, despite the philosophically inflammable nature of whether to join writing associations or not, I think it is a topic that needs discussion. Why now? Well, I just decided to join the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America), after having equivocated for some long time about doing so. It’s been so long, in fact, that my qualifying sale was almost obsolete! Of course, part of my delay was simply that I didn’t qualify—I hadn’t sold any stories “professionally” (as defined by the SFWA).

Anyway, let me back up and start at the beginning. When I first began to write, I became a columnist for AlienSkin Magazine. Now, sadly, that magazine has finally closed its doors this year, but only after almost a decade of having published online as a paying magazine, although, not at “pro rates,” again, as defined by the SFWA. And this sort of thing has been a problem for many writers. We are published, and some of us, as with me, are published very often, but it isn’t at the “defined” rates that are considered those of professional writers for various writing associations’ purposes, or through the types of publishers, they demand. For instance, some organizations do not recognize “eBook” publishers” as fitting their requirements for authors being “published.”

So one reason for my delay in joining SFWA was simply many magazines weren’t on their list, or didn’t pay the necessary minimum rates to authors. Besides this, I had asked an editor what she thought of joining SFWA, and her answer was rather equivocating, feeling it was very much up to the individual as to whether it was at all worthwhile or not. After all, it costs money—every year! So a writer has to ask him or herself always if something is worth the expense, if the “payback” is good enough to justify the costs.

I don’t know about you, but it seems everyone nowadays wants to “help” authors in some way (advertising, publishing, printing, PR exposure, workshops, promotions, etc.), and it always costs! But as a writer, I want to make money, not constantly spend it. So, I didn’t actively pursue joining a group that would cost me a significant amount of money on an annual basis. What’s more, I didn’t want to be bound to having to adhere to the list of publishers they allowed.

So why did I finally join the SFWA? Well, for one thing, it is a very old and prestigious organization. For another, there are definite benefits to an SF author there that can’t be found elsewhere, such as contacts, awards, etc., that if you are not a member, you simply don’t have much access to. So for me, joining SFWA, I think, was finally the right decision. And I have to admit, I feel a certain small sense of superiority at having been accepted by them, so there is that touch of snob appeal, as well. Yes, I’m shallow…but also, there can be no doubt they are an excellent organization for Science Fiction authors.

Moreover, most writers think this when it comes to whatever organization they join that represents their genres best, as with Romance Writers of America. And there are similar such organizations for mystery, horror, fantasy writers, and many others. But the point here is that we writers must think the benefits are worth the costs. With SFWA, I believe this to be so for me, at least. And many feel the same way about RWA and all those others.

But do these organizations always benefit authors? Well, that depends on the writer’s principle reason(s) for joining, I suppose. For example, I joined EPIC^TM, a few years back, because some fellow authors told me it was “created by authors for authors,” as they put it. Apparently, this was indeed so at one time, and by that organization’s own statement. However, I didn’t realize that this notion had changed considerably since the original founding of the group. As their own site, under “About Us,” now says:

“Once an authors’ organization, EPIC^TM has expanded to include hundreds of professionals from all facets of the electronic publishing industry…members work together in a unique collaboration to further the industry…” [Emphasis and Underscoring Added.] (Source: http://www.epicorg.com/about.html)

Now this may be fine for those who are now members, but it wasn’t at all why I had joined, paid my money, if you know what I mean. You see, I recently had been burned at several eBook publishers, as an author, just about that time. I wanted more protections for authors in the exploding eBook market, and as a direct result of those experiences. That’s why I joined what I thought was an organization founded by and for authors.

Well, I quickly found out this idea put me at direct loggerheads with many in EPIC^TM. This was especially true, since the president and board were made up mostly of eBook publishers and editors (or former editors) of such companies at the time, and because, as you can see by their statement above, many of the actual members were eBook publishers and editors, as well. They all viewed the situation very differently from me. My viewpoints, sadly, were seen as a direct threat, or at least a challenge to their goals, although in all honesty, this had not been my intention. But even so…

So I withdrew from EPIC^TM before my first year was even up with the group. It was better than putting up with a long list of horrible emails sent to me, or posted in the public forum there, because of my pushing for authors’ rights. (Apparently, many saw this as some sort of attack on eBook publishers, which again, hadn’t been my intent at all.) In fact, I was taken off guard by the sheer vehemence of some of those who opposed my ideas, because to me, they had seemed innocent enough—just some simple protections for authors to aid them in choosing a “safe” and “reputable” eBook publisher.

So for me, personally, EPIC^TM wasn’t at all about authors’ protections anymore, so much as it was about publishers, editors, and many authors promoting eBook publishing itself. And that’s fine for them, but it certainly wasn’t for me. The aim of the group no longer coincided with what I wanted—protection for authors against predatory practices by some new, and definitely “fly-by-night” eBook publishers, of which I’d already been a victim.

So that’s an example of having to decide if a group is right for you. EPIC^TM just wasn’t for me. However, for others, who do have an active interest in promoting epublishing, the organization probably has many benefits. But as an author, I’m not so concerned personally with what type of publisher I publish with, so much as I’m concerned about just getting published with a reputable publisher, for good money, and with one who will help promote my career. This can be either actual print or eBook. I don’t care which it is, personally. I just like being published.

Now, how about other organizations, such as Romance Writers of America? Well, those who love it really do love it. And those who don’t, well, they don’t at all. Does Romance Writers of America (RWA) have many benefits for its members? According to many, it does. But it’s not cheap to be a member, and membership is limited in many ways. As a General Member, for instance, you must be “seriously” pursuing a career in romance writing, as their website says.

However, besides this, from what I’ve read on their site, you cannot be involved as a General Member if you are also an editor, agent, publisher, columnist, etc. I understand the reason for this restriction, but it is still a rather daunting one for many of us. Because if you are such (editor, publisher, agent, etc.), you have to go in as an “Associate” member, apparently, which is a much more restricted membership. For instance, they do not have voting rights.

Well, although I do write romances, have had several books published which are selling well right now in that genre, these provisions preclude me from being a General Member, since I also “seriously” am writing in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror genres, as well, and even more so than in romance. This doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be a good romance writer, too, but it isn’t my sole goal or aim. Also, since I do edit and am an editor for Wonderlust Magazine, I also cannot hold General Membership for those reasons. And my attitude is if I can’t vote, than why bother paying those annual fees?

Of course, I’m not saying there are not benefits to joining RWA. Of course, there are! But again, it’s just not for me. I had to make the decision, go by their own guidelines for General Membership, and so simply cannot become such a member. Nor, under such circumstances, do I want to be in the organization, restricted as I would be, and not allowed to vote. But for the author who wishes to pursue “seriously” a romance fiction career, and is not an editor, agent, etc., than perhaps RWA is the way to go. You must decide this for yourself.

So do you see what I mean, what I’m driving at here? Membership in each of these and other organizations is contingent on many variables. These can be number of books/stories sold, who you sold them to, what payment you received, and/or other things such as what career you wish to “seriously” pursue, whether or not you are also writing “seriously” in other genres, whether or not you are a publisher, editor, agent, as well, etc. These last are difficult, because many of us writers resort to these sorts of jobs to help us make enough money to continue writing. We often wear many different working caps. Plus, for me personally, being an editor seems to improve my own writing skills, since the job trains me to look for things editors don’t want in submissions (and for what they do want). So I like being an editor, as well as being a writer.

So should you join a writing association of some sort? Perhaps, but the choice must be strictly yours. You should research them carefully, weigh the positives against the negatives, and only then put down your money for membership. And always remember; you chose to be a member, and you can “unchoose” that decision at any time. And yes, I know “unchoose” isn’t really a word.

In any case, my point is you are not bound forever once you have made such a choice. And do remember, as with any organization involving humans, there will be those inevitable cliques there, those who play power games, and/or have their own particular axes to grind. That’s just life. So you have to either be able to deal with these aspects, or avoid joining such organizations. I will say this; things became so heated when I was in EPIC^TMand so time consuming and disturbing, that it was a relief for me to leave the group. I’m sure some of those in the group also felt the same way about me leaving there! Again, that’s just life. EPIC^TMwasn’t right for me, but who knows; it may be right for you.

As for me, I’m now delighted to be a member of SFWA, feel happy to be there, look forward to the benefits, want to contribute, and yes, I feel just a little smug about being a member. What can I say? Again, I’m just shallow!

Rob Shelsky

Don’t Miss Rob’s Latest Science Fiction Anthologies, Where Worlds Collide I & II, at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3ARob+Shelsky&keywords=Rob+Shelsky&ie=UTF8&qid=1298820526&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B002BO9RIE
For Links To All Rob’s Stories, Check Out His Web Page at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~robngeorge/
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=rob+shelsky
My Blog: http://robshelsky.blogspot.com/

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To celebrate the official launch of this Website, I’ll be giving away a few advance review copies of the print version of Become A Successful Author, which is due for release February 2012. Be one of the first to hold a copy in your hot little hands. I will also be giving away a copy of Guide to Writing & Publishing Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror by Rob Shelsky and a copy of Book Marketing & Promotions on a Budget: Quick Tips by Shelia Goss . All you have to do to be eligible is comment on the blog posts Sept. 8 – 12, 2011. The more you comment, the greater your chances of winning a copy. Shy, don’t want to comment? Be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Besides notices of the articles, you’ll receive goodies like a chance to receive an advance review copy of Become A Successful Author.

The Writer’s Love Affair

: Shelia M. Goss

The relationship between a writer and a reader can equate to a love affair. First it’s the courting period. Before the first date, the writer must introduce themselves and their book title. The title should be catchy; something easy for the reader to remember. Don’t be shy. Tease the reader with a short synopsis about your book.

If you’re feeling risqué, now would be the time to flirt a little by allowing the reader a sneak peek of the book by offering a chapter excerpt on your website.

Once you get the reader’s attention, put your best foot forward and make sure on one of your dates you show them an eye-appealing book cover for your new book. If you don’t have a book cover yet; don’t fret; the reader is not going to turn you down just because you don’t have the cover yet. In fact, with a catchy title and unique premise, readers will be salivating at the mouth to see you unveil your cover.

While building up a solid relationship with the reader, make sure you keep communication open. Communicate your release dates and where your books will be sold.

Readers, just like lovers, like gifts. Don’t hesitate to offer prizes for purchasing your book. Don’t forget about your faithful mailing list subscribers either. I know it may be hard when you have so many potential lovers, but you must treat each one as if they are special.

Also remember just like you, readers love others; so there’s no need to hate. There’s enough love to go around. Cross-promote with other writers and reach more book lovers. When the “release” date finally arrives, don’t be shy.

After courting the reader, the reader decides if they will take you up on an exclusive relationship for X amount of hours by purchasing and reading your book. When the reader picks up your book, they are expecting to be taken on a journey. Let the journey be enticing and enthralling so that your book lover won’t hesitate to tell their friends about the great love they’ve found in your book. In the book love fest, the more the merrier and the pleasure you’ll get from hearing about a book club selecting your book is immeasurable.

If you build a solid relationship with your readers, they will look forward to your next release. Continue to learn ways to improve your techniques and hopefully with each book release, you will gain more book lovers.

Shelia M. Goss
www.sheliagoss.com or www.thelipglosschronicles.com

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5 Things to Consider When Writing a Novel

: Shelia M. Goss

Main Character(s) – Who is your main character or characters? Determine whose point of view the story will be told from. Will the story be told from one character’s point of view or several? Remember the more point of views told, the more confusing it will be to the reader. I suggest no more than two points of views. Although there are three main characters in my young adult series the Lip Gloss Chronicles, each book is told from one main character’s point of view.

• The Ultimate Test – Britney Franklin’s point of view
• Splitsville – Jasmine McNeil’s point of view
• Paper Thin – Sierra Sanchez’s point of view

Setting – Where will your story take place? When will it take place (now, 1800’s, 1960’s)?

The Ultimate Test takes place in Plano, TX, the suburbs of Dallas, TX in modern day times.

Plot or Theme – What is your story about? What message are you trying to get across to your readers? Your plot determines what’s going to happen; when it’s going to happen and who it’s going to happen to.

The Ultimate Test is about best friends who deal with growing up. Trust and friendship is tested.

Conflict (internal & external) – What type of crisis is your character dealing with? Is the character dealing with their own insecurities or something from their past (or present)? What or who is standing in the way of your character getting what they want? Conflict is drama. Drama makes the readers turn the pages.

In The Ultimate Test – D.J. is an external conflict that causes friction between the friends.
Some internal conflicts: Sierra is dealing with weight gain. Jasmine is dealing with jealousy. Britney feels she is the glue to keeping the friendship together. Will these young ladies be able to grow up and stay together or will the tests they face tear them apart?

The End – How will your story end? Will all of your characters’ problems be resolved? Can readers see a difference in the character’s attitude or situation? Knowing the end of the story makes it easier to write. You will be writing with a purpose—to get to the end.

Shelia M. Goss
www.sheliagoss.com or www.thelipglosschronicles.com

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Navigate The New World Of Publishing

Anyone with access to a word processor and the Internet can become a published author, but most do not become successful authors. We all know the publishing industry has changed drastically since the introduction of eReaders, but how many authors (traditional, self, or aspiring) truly understand the changes and how to navigate this new world?

Step Away From The Treadmill

I belong to a few writers groups and am amazed at what great shape many of the authors are in. They run on the publishing treadmill like nobody’s business, so I reckon they should be in great shape.

With each book they pump out, they follow in the footsteps of Amanda Hocking and John Locke (authors who self-published and sold over a million copies of their eBooks) by working Facebook, Twitter and many other social networks to get the word out about their books. They combine resources with other authors to find low to no-cost ways to promote each others’ work. Run, run, run on the treadmill they go. Again, in excellent shape, but unfortunately, they are so busy running, they don’t realize they aren’t getting anywhere.

But aren’t they doing as Amanda and John did? No, not really. It’s time to step off the treadmill. There are proven, less exhaustive ways to become a successful author that actually get you to where you want to go.

The Field of Dreams

A decade ago I started in the publishing industry as an editor for Third World Press. This 40+ year old publishing house has released numerous NYT bestsellers, has a few million-plus-books-sold authors, and has way too many awards to count. Over the years, I’ve bounced around between publishing houses and become friends with authors who have nice-sized backlists and a good reader base. Ready to capitalize on the electronic age, many of my author buddies have self-published their backlists and—CRICKETS.

Well, not that bad. But their backlist and newly self-published titles don’t sell nearly as well as they expect. There are three teeny, tiny items they didn’t factor into their projected sells:

With a backlist, their reader base likely already has these titles so they are marketing to the wrong target audience.
When they self publish a book, they no longer have the reach of the traditional publishing house behind them. Publishing houses keep track of orders from their website and have extensive mailing lists and other opportunities to promote new works of authors who publish through them, not the authors’ self-published works.
They market as if the book is from a traditional publishing house or they join authors on the treadmill.

This is not the field of dreams. If you build it—well, write it—they will not necessarily come. It’s a new world, learn how to navigate it.

Now does this mean they can’t sell a decent amount of books? Nope. But they often join the treadmill and are so busy running they don’t realize the opportunities they are missing.

Divide And Conquer

I read publishing industry and author blogs daily, and lately I’ve come across quite a few self-published authors who bad mouth traditional publishing. There are pros and cons both ways, but this sounds more like sour grapes. Then you have the traditionally-published authors who have had it pounded into their heads (usually by the publishing industry) that self publishing is only for authors who aren’t good enough to sign book deals, that self-published books are low-quality and thus, so are the authors.

I need for everyone to take a step back, inhale, exhale and release. It’s a new day and age, folks. Do not allow insecurities or the industry to divide and conquer. Authors, you need to capitalize on the strengths of self and traditional publishing to build your own high-quality brand.

Number Crunching

Self-published authors love to point out Amanda Hocking’s success story as evidence of why they don’t need traditional publishing. I like to use her example to show why all authors should go both routes. Let’s break out the numbers. For argument’s sake, let’s say Amanda sold her million copies in one year. At $0.99, that would be approximately $333,000 in royalties from Amazon’s digital services. Wow, that’s great.

With her doing so well, why do you think she signed a traditional publishing deal? Here are a few reasons: James Patterson, $80 million, Danielle Steel, $35 million, Stephen King, $28 million, Janet Evanovich, $22 million, Stephenie Meyer, $21 million in sales last year. Self publishing is the new “agent” of the industry.

I’m sure I’ll have traditionally-published authors saying, “Wow, I need to stick with my publishing house.” Yes and no. The publishing world has changed so quickly that many traditionally-published authors aren’t in the position to self publish their books and keep all of the profits. This is more than not knowing how to put out a high-quality product, but also includes reaching the market they’d gotten used to their publisher reaching for them and finding new members of their target audience. Now don’t get me wrong. Many of them do have a direct connection to a portion of their base, but not a large enough reader base to reach multi-million dollar paydays.

Bring It All Together

So where do we go from here? What to do? What to do?

It’s time to bring the traditionally and self-published authors together. Whether you go the self or traditional route (you should do both), you need to release high-quality books and grow your loyal reader base. You need to become a brand.

But how?

There are no guarantees, but there are proven steps you can take to help you become a successful author. With the advances in technology, anyone can be a published author, but not all authors are successful. This is not a traditional or self-publishing issue. Keep your focus: Increase quality, credibility and visibility of your brand. Become a successful author.

Deatri King-Bey
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Official Website Launch

The official launch of this Website is Sept. 8, and I can hardly wait. I’ve been editing and conducting workshops on the craft of writing and the publishing industry for a decade and can’t believe I didn’t think of creating a site sooner. I’ve called upon a few others to drop by and blog from time to time, so be sure to subscribe to the newsletter so you don’t miss anything.

The electronic version of Become A Successful Author is available now. No need to wait to get started down the road to success.

Become A Successful Author Table of Contents

Purchase the eBook from: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Happy Reading and Writing

Deatri King-Bey

Become A Successful Author

Dee, how do I …fill in the blank with anything to do with publishing from research to the craft to formatting an eBook to self publishing to marketing to creating a website…? In the decade that I’ve been in publishing, I’ve answered the questions to the best of my ability and done everything I can to help my fellow authors, but since I began self publishing titles, the questions have increased ten-fold. I’ve been spending so much time answering the same questions for numerous published and aspiring authors that I decided to write a book. Now that’s a novel idea, an author writing a book. LOL.

I often teach workshops and learned a long time ago that I can’t tell you everything you need to know in the confines of a workshop. Same goes for a book. In order to tell you everything you need to know, I’d have to write an ever changing publishing encyclopedia. I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you enough to get you well on your road to Become A Successful Author.

I begin this journey with aspiring authors and work all the way through marketing of your brand. Yes, I said “brand” on purpose. I want you to be in the writing game for the long haul and building a reliable brand is the key. Below is the Table of Contents for Become A Successful Author. Once you all have your book, I know many of you who are published will be tempted to jump down to Chapter Eight where I begin explaining “How To” self publish. I’ve accepted that and tried to write in a way that if you skip around, you won’t miss too much. Go satisfy your curiosity, but then please go back and read the rest of the book, especially the Branding section and the Developmental Editing chapter. Actually, just read the entire book. It’s okay to review things you already know, and you may find new nuggets of information.

On this website, I’ll have guest bloggers from time to time to help you Become A Successful Author, so be sure to spread the word and sign up for the newsletter. The newsletter will be released a maximum of once a month. If there are topics you’d like covered or questions, use the contact page of this website and let me know.

The publishing industry has shifted 180° in the decade I’ve worked in it. The traditional route is no longer the only way to become a legitimate published author, and self publishing is no longer a dirty little secret. As an author, should you travel the traditional or self published route? Become A Successful Author does not tell you to pick one over the other or pit one against the other. Become A Successful Author gives you steps to capitalize on the strengths of both to build a strong brand readers can’t get enough of.

What is branding? How do you grow a large, loyal reader base? How do you break into traditional publishing? How do you publish your backlist? How do you format a book? How do you find your target audience? How do you market your books? It’s all in there and a whole lot more.

With the advances in technology, anyone can be a published author, but not all authors are successful. Keep your focus: Increase quality, credibility and visibility of your brand. Become a Successful Author.

Become A Successful Author Table of Contents

Purchase the eBook from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The print version will be available February 2012. Don’t have an eReader and can’t wait until February for the print? Amazon and Nook offer free applications for reading eBooks.

Note: The first time you comment on this website, the comment must be approved before it shows. After it’s approved, your subsequent comments will post automatically.

To celebrate the official launch of this Website, I’ll be giving away a few advance review copies of the print version of Become A Successful Author, which is due for release February 2012. Be one of the first to hold a copy in your hot little hands. I will also be giving away a copy of Guide to Writing & Publishing Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror by Rob Shelsky and a copy of Book Marketing & Promotions on a Budget: Quick Tips by Shelia Goss . All you have to do to be eligible is comment on the blog posts Sept. 8 – 12, 2011. The more you comment, the greater your chances of winning a copy. Shy, don’t want to comment. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Besides notices of the articles, you’ll receive goodies like a chance to receive an advance review copy of Become A Successful Author.