Tag: publishing tips

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Guest Posts

What is Sustainable Publishing?

Guest posts

Sustainability is a hot topic in every industry. 69% of consumers say they’ve made changes to their shopping habits to become more sustainable and 50% say they intentionally reuse more products to minimize waste. In fact, increased interest in sustainability has bolstered the second-hand book market in recent years. The compound annual growth rate (CARG) of the used book market is currently 6.6% as readers show a preference for low-waste reading options.

As an author, you can minimize your carbon footprint and increase demand by pursuing sustainable publishing options. Going carbon-neutral can help you stand out in a crowded market and may gain you a loyal following of carbon-conscious readers.

Carbon Neutral

Going carbon-neutral can be a boon for your brand as an author and could help bolster your book sales. However, you may find that actually achieving a net-zero publication is harder than it seems. Start by taking simple steps to achieve carbon neutrality like:

  • Measure: Ask your publisher to track emissions during every stage of the publishing life-cycle. This includes everything from ink usage to shipping and sales.
  • Reduce: As an author, you can reduce your carbon usage by opting for low-energy computers and energy-efficient suppliers. This will make achieving net-zero carbon use that much easier.
  • Offset: Carbon offsets aren’t a perfect science, but they do play an important role in combating climate change. Before launch, fund some projects that align with your book and appeal to your audience.
  • Communicate: Eliminating carbon emissions entirely may be impossible for you at this time. Be open and honest about your current operations and share yield analysis findings with your readers.

Going carbon neutral is a noble goal. However, you’ll need to account for every step of the writing, publishing, and distribution process if you want to truly claim to be net zero. Avoid the temptation to trump up sustainability claims, as greenwashing can undermine your brand image as an author.

Finding a Publisher

As an author, the publishing process is largely out of your control. You don’t get to decide what paper the book is printed on and may not even choose the cover of your upcoming title. That means you need to find a publisher that you trust to deliver on sustainability promises.

Even major publishers, like HarperCollins, are starting to switch to a net-zero business model. The publishing giant (which owns Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster) has already reduced emissions by 30% over the past five years and aims to achieve a 60% reduction by 2030.

If you’re still building your brand as an author, you may want to consider a smaller publisher instead. Small-scale publishers offer higher royalties and may give you greater control over the way your book is turned from an MS manuscript to a printed book.

Before signing with a new publisher, do your research and ask them key questions like:

  • Do you disclose your carbon emissions?
  • How do you source paper for your printed materials?
  • What is your Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policy?
  • What steps do you take to reduce waste and how do you measure progress?

These questions ensure that you only work with publishers who take climate change seriously. They’ll help you uncover any evidence of greenwashing, too.

Low-Waste Supply

In the U.S. alone, the publishing industry fells 32 million trees every year to produce books. This makes publishing the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses related to paper and pulp. Fortunately, many publishers now work with sustainable suppliers who are committed to reducing waste and recycling old books.

As an author, you can take the reins by getting involved in the process. Learn how paper recycling works and push your publisher to turn discarded paper and pulp into bags, kitty litter, insulation, or packaging. This keeps your unsold books and off-cuts out of the landfill and can significantly reduce your carbon footprint.

If you’re a new author, you may be able to pursue print-on-demand publishing. This means that your publisher will only print a single copy of your book every time an order is placed. While this isn’t an appropriate business model for bestsellers, it can be a great way to reduce costs and minimize waste if you’re selling to a niche audience in low volumes.

Conclusion

The book industry produces massive amounts of pulp and paper waste every year. As an author, you can do your part to reduce waste by opting for sustainable publishing. Sustainable publishing minimizes your carbon footprint and can mitigate most of the by-products associated with printing. Just be sure to avoid greenwashing, as this will derail your book launch and undermine your brand image as an author.

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

Categories
Book Proposals

Why Publishers Prefer Proposals

When you submit your materials, editors, agents and publishing executives prefer to read a well-crafted proposal instead of a full-length manuscript. For several years, I’ve been an acquisitions editor or the first person to read the proposal or manuscript that comes into the publishing house. I’ve interfaced with the publisher’s existing authors and talked with them about new projects. I’ve also championed many first-time authors’ proposals inside the publishing house, presented them to the publication board (the decision-making body in most houses), worked up the financial figures (an internal document which no one sees outside the publishing house), then negotiated with the author or their agent on the final contract. I have firsthand, insider knowledge about the consideration process and can give you a glimpse at how your proposal will be processed and handled.

As you think about approaching a traditional publisher, keep these points in mind:

If the publisher has been in business for some time, a key and regular part of their acquisition’s strategy is to return to their existing authors (provided these books are selling well) and ask these authors for additional projects.

If a publisher has a book with an author who has been consistently selling in the market, they have less risk of publishing another book from this same author and sell it to the audience. Like many other businesses, publishing is about managing risk. To take a completed 60,000-word manuscript and produce it into a book will cost the publisher anywhere between $25,000 and $50,000. This number isn’t a typographical error. Recently I attended the annual conference of the American Society of Journalists and Authors in New York City. One of the participants on a panel about book proposals was Brian DiForio, a New York literary agent who is a former editorial director for some major publishers. He presented to the conference some even higher production numbers, saying,

“Even with a modest advance of $20,000 to $30,000, the overall costs for the publisher are between $75,000 and $100,000. You are proposing a business decision like any proposal to a bank.”

Brian DiForio

These numbers do not include marketing or advertising expenses nor do they account for a large advance for the author (which increases the risk for the publisher). The number is pure production costs, editorial expenses and design costs for the cover and interior pages of the book.

Publishers make this type of financial investment in an author with care, forethought and wisdom—especially if they want to stay in the book business for many years.

If you are writing nonfiction children’s books, the above figure doubles. When I mention this information at a writers’ conference, I can hear the visible gasps in the room. Many parents have read stacks of 24- or 32-page full-color books to their children. They’ve seen few words on the page and probably believed they could have easily written a better book. They don’t realize, however, that the production numbers for these books can vary from $150,000 to $200,000. The reason for these costs is because when it comes to children’s books, the publisher normally purchases full rights from the artist to whoever owns the artwork in these books. In general, these artists/illustrators do not receive a royalty for their work, only a flat fee, and that price adds to the production expense.

Before I began working inside a book publishing house, I had written more than 50 nonfiction books, ranging from children to adult books. I had always worked through traditional publishers. However, I was unaware of the financial production numbers for book production, 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 can become expensive. 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 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.

I know I took a brief aside to explain about the inner workings inside a publishing house. Now let’s return to my original point about book acquisition. 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 businesspeople 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. Book proposals are a critical tool in the decision making process and every writer needs to create one.

Terry Whalin

WW. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Get a free copy of his proposal book (follow the link). Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success
Categories
Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap For September Part 1

Writers Chat Recap

Writers Chat, hosted by Johnnie Alexander, Brandy Brow, and Melissa Stroh where we talk about all things writing, by writers and for writers!

“Because talking about writing is more fun than actually doing it.”

Be Your Own Publicist with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

In her dynamic presentation, Saundra covers several topics including: knowing the “core” of what you write about. “What is the imprint on your heart from heaven?” She shares where to pitch and how to find their contact info, what to include in your online media kit, and so much more. This is an episode you will want to watch again.

Watch the September 5th Replay

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is an award-winning author and speaker. She spent over 20 years in clinical practice as an internal medicine physician before transitioning into a career that allows her to indulge in her love of books. Saundra has spoken at numerous Christian writer’s conferences teaching authors how to effectively launch their books, improve their author platform, and secure their own media placements.

The Benefits of Having a Writing Coach with Lori Roeleveld

Lori shares how partnering with a proven professional can help optimize your potential. She explains the role of a writing coach as well as what not to expect. In addition, Lori shares how to find a coach who is a good fit and what a writer can expect from a typical coaching session. If you’re thinking about hiring a coach, be sure to check out this week’s replay for more information.

Watch the September 12th Replay

Lori Stanley Roeleveld, award-winning author, professional writer’s coach, freelancer, editor, speaker, and disturber of hobbits, who enjoys making comfortable Christians late for dinner. She’s authored six books and contributed to ten+ more. Lori has coached over 100 Christian writers toward their dreams. She speaks her mind at www.loriroeleveld.com and manages her coaching business at www.takeheartcoachingandfreelance.com.

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on Zoom. The permanent Zoom room link is: http://zoom.us/j/4074198133

Categories
Kids Lit

Inside the Ten-Foot Line: Conception to Publication Part One

Kids Lit

As I wrote this article, I got an email from my publisher letting me know that the pre-order sales of my book Inside the Ten-foot Line earned three #1 bestselling banners on Amazon. Wow! Which leads me to believe I might have an insight or two to offer about the whole publishing process.

Keep in mind, every author’s path to publication differs. Some things I mention might resonate with you. Others may provide an ah-ha moment. You can also visit Kelli’s article on three lessons she learned on her way to publication.

My story is too long for a single post, so this month, I’ll explore the birth of the idea and draft process behind Inside the Ten-foot Line, and next month I’ll target what happened after the manuscript was complete.

The Idea

While there is no hard and fast rule for finding an idea for your book, write what you know is a good starting place. I took that advice and made a list of all the topics that interested me. I compared that to a list of topics that might interest my target age group to trim down my options. I mean—I know a lot bedtime routines. And while that’s a great topic for picture books, it’s less palatable for a middle grade novel, right? (Unless I work a hilarious bedtime routine into a scene where my protagonist is dealing with pimples and self-doubt.)

For me, one theme continued to rise to the top and melded well with the interests of my reader. Sports.

Question: What idea rises to the top for you?

Action: Check out another article on content issues from Kelli McKinney.

What’s Out There

Where does your idea fit in the current market? What other books will sit on the shelf next to yours? I found my answer in the local library. Sports had its own special identifying sticker and location in the building, making it easy for me to pull down and compare titles. Books geared for male athletes dominated the genre. However, even though the niche offered only a handful of books for female athletes, the market showed recent growth. And that was promising.

Question: Does your book can fill a gap in the market?

Action: Visit a library and look for books with a similar idea to yours.

Know the Genre

Determined to balance the scales, I read through several books, looking for similarities in plot, mood, and resolution. Most used sports as a setting to deal with larger social or emotional issues. After dissecting a whole stack of novels, I had a good idea of how to move forward.

Question: What genre are you writing? Contemporary? Speculative fiction? Historical fiction?

Action: Do your research. Take time to read books you will find next to yours on the shelf.

Write the Story

I wrote an outline for the plot using one paragraph descriptions for each chapter. Then I took one summary at a time and expanded it into a full chapter. This loosely structured approach left room for my characters to nudge (or throw) the story in a new direction. And trust me—when they take on a life of their own, they will! When that happened, I could easily go back to the summaries and adjust the plot accordingly.

Even though my book addresses social issues, I also made sure to pack plenty of sports action into the plot. In that way, I catered to my target audience.

Question: Will your story be written in first or third person?

Action: Create a detailed outline for your story.

That’s where the series started for me. How about you? Stop back next month to find out what happened after I completed my manuscript.

Elementary school teacher Lori Z. Scott usually writes fiction. Her down time is filled with two quirky habits: chronic doodling and inventing lame jokes. Neither one impresses her principal (or friends/parents/dogs/casual strangers), but they do help inspire her writing. Somehow, her odd musings led her to accidentally write a ten-title bestselling chapter book series and on purpose write over 175 short stories, articles, essays, poems, and devotions. Lori enjoys speaking, leading workshops, and visiting local elementary schools to share her writing journey. Follow her on Instagram @Stories.by.Lori .

Categories
Book Proposals

Will An Editor Fix All My Mistakes?

Among writers in the publishing community, there is a false belief that my submission does not have to be perfect because the editor will fix any mistakes. After all, isn’t that what editors do?

While I’ve been an editor for decades, I’ve also been a writer. I believe it is important for writers to understand some of what editors’ face. A key responsibility for every editor is to produce the best possible magazine or book for their company. They want every publication to be as excellent as possible. In their search for content, they are looking for the best possible writing for their particular audience. To catch their attention, you want your submission to be a fit for what they need and as enticing as possible.

           “You only get one chance to make a good first impression.”

An old yet true saying,

The first impression from your submission is a critical factor. As a writer, you do not want to be missing some crucial element for the editor. The hardest missing element to find with your submission is something that is not there.

Another important element for you to know about editors is many editors are not writers. Yes, they write emails or guidelines but they do not write for publication (magazine or books). Their expertise is in management of workflow and excellent editing skills. Also, a number of my editor colleagues do not teach workshops at writers’ conference. It is simply not in their skill set. These individuals can recognize excellent writing and can adjust your writing but not create it in the first place which is a different skill.

Recently I spoke with a bestselling author and asked about her forthcoming books. She admitted that she had no forthcoming books because she had not written a book proposal or made a pitch through a query letter. If you want to be published at a magazine or publisher, you have to learn how to craft an enticing book proposal or query letter then be pitching it consistently until you find an editor who is interested. Every magazine and publisher has expectations about what they need. They spell out these expectations in their guidelines which are often on their website. The simple steps are to study their guidelines and what they publish, and then send the editor what they need.

While writing is a creative endeavor, publishing is a business.

As you understand the business, marketing and selling aspects of publishing, this information will feed into your submission and you will become more of the type of writer that editors want to work with and publish.

I’ve been in some of the top literary agencies and publishers in the United States, the good news is every one of these professional colleagues are actively looking for quality writing—whether they send you a response or not. Each personal is actively reading their email and their physical mail looking for the right fit.  If you write what they need, you could be the next person that they publish.

Terry Whalin

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success.

Categories
Book Proposals

When Your Book doesn’t Sell

I used to cringe when I saw the mail or email from one of my publishers. It probably contained a royalty statement and experience told me many of those numbers would begin with a minus (negative balance). I’ve written for many different traditional publishers and have had this experience from a broad spectrum of types of books including how-to, self-help, biographies, gift books and children’s books.

When your book sales are off, it’s a natural tendency to want to blame someone. Maybe my editor has left and my book was orphaned inside the publisher with no champion or advocate. Maybe my publisher didn’t market the book to bookstores. Maybe they changed the title between what was printed in the catalog and what was published. Or _(fill in the blank). I’ve had all of these things happen to my published books. Good publishing involves a cooperative process and working with many different people. Much of this process is outside of the author’s control.

I’ve also learned there are many pro-active steps authors can take to change their situation.

1. Take 100% responsibility for your own success.

In The Success Principles, Jack Canfield makes this the first principle. Over ten years ago, I heard this
principle and adopted it in my publishing efforts.

2. Be active in the promotion and marketing of your book.

As the author, you have the greatest passion for your book—way beyond anyone else including your publisher. The great promoter, PT Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens—nothing.” Consistent promotion of your book is important.

3. Be Generous with your book.

Reviews sell books but many authors have few reviews for their book on Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes & Noble. Give books to people who are willing to write a review. If they’ve never written a review, give them a tool to help them like with this form.

4. Ask for others for help.

“You do not have because you do not ask.”

New Testament, James 4:2-3

If you need endorsements, ask but make it easy for them to say yes (offer to draft it). If you need social media promotion, ask but create possible posts. Here’s an example of a page, I created to help others help me spread the word on my latest book.

5. Take the long view of publishing.

Publishing and promoting a book is more like a marathon than a sprint. With the huge volume of published books, someone has to hear about your book seven to twelve times before they purchase it. What actions can you take every day to give your book this exposure? My Billy Graham book trailer has been seen over 11,500 times in the last five years.

6. No matter what happens in your life, keep going.

In Perennial Seller, New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday writes,

“The hard part is not the dream or the idea, it’s the doing.”

If there were a simple formula to create a bestseller, every book would be a bestseller. There are practical actions every author can take. Each part of the publishing process has challenges and as writers your persistence and consistency is critical. As #1 New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins wrote in the foreword of my book, 10 Publishing Myths, “Only one of a hundred writers literally make their deadlines.” If you meet deadlines with quality writing, it’s an easy way to stand out from the crowd. I wrote 10 Publishing Myths to give writers realistic expectations and practical steps every author can take to succeed. Today, you can get the 11th Publishing Myth as a free e-book.

When you point a finger at others because your book is not selling, just
remember: when you extend your pointer finger, four more fingers are bent back
toward you. Take action today.

What actions can you take today to continue to build your sales potential?

Terry Whalin

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your
Success. Check out his free e-book, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His
website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Book Proposals That Sell
Categories
Book Proposals

Looking For Authors Who “Get It”

            Editors and agents are blasted with submissions every day. I know because I’ve been one of them for years. Authors are frustrated receiving form rejection letters with no information or response at all. To many authors, it is a mystery how their submission is “found” and published.

            For the last ten years, I’ve been an acquisitions editor for a New York publisher who receives over 5,000 submissions a year and only publishes about 180 to 200 books. Yes there is a selection process for every author and every book. Here’s the encouraging news for authors: every day I’m actively looking for authors. Also I understand every day over 4,500 new books are published. This large number includes the self-published books which may only sell 100 copies during the lifetime of the book. This statistic helps authors understand the massive amount of new material constantly entering the marketplace. It also explains why you as an author have to be promoting and marketing your book.

            How can you get the attention of an editor or agent?

I want to give five ways to show you are an author who “gets it.”

  1. Submit an excellent proposal or manuscript. Editors and agents can recognize excellent writing. The old saying is true, “You only get one chance to make a good first impression.” Every author needs to pour polish and storytelling into their submission. Yes it is easy to reach people via email. Before you hit send, your submission should be excellent. Use my free book proposal checklist at: http://terrylinks.com/bookcheck It works for nonfiction and fiction.
  2. Follow proven author practices. While there is not a bestseller formula for success, there are proven author actions. Every publisher and literary agent is looking for authors with connections or a platform. Pick up my free ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author at: http://terrylinks.com/pb
  3. Take action every day to learn more about publishing and build your market connections. Join a writers group or organization and get involved.
  4. Understand the various types of media and do not build your platform on “rented” media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn are examples). Start and maintain your own blog and email list to reach your readers.
  5. Diversify your writing business. Write and sell information products. Learn about affiliate income. Write for magazines. Don’t put all of your efforts into one type of writing. As a writer, there are many different possibilities. Get ideas from my first chapter of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams at: http://terrylinks.com/JYPD If I can help you, reach out to me. It’s why my personal email is in my Twitter profile.

As an author, I’ve been inside some of the top publishers and literary agencies. Every professional is actively looking for the next bestseller. The path to your success is out there.

Take steps every day to show you are an author who “gets it.”

Terry Whalin

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success.

Categories
Book Proposals

How to Grab Attention in Your Opening Paragraph

 “Don’t Bury the Lead” is a common instruction to new writers. Literary agents and editors receive high volumes of email and physical submissions. If your prime material is over on page six, it may never be read. According to some at any given time there are over a million manuscripts and proposals in the in boxes of agents and editors. With that volume of material, most of us have seconds to give a submission and decide if we are going to do anything other than delete it (yes harsh but the truth).

As writers, it is our task to capture this attention and get the recipient to keep reading and ultimately to work with you on getting that submission published. Your words count and will be the attention-getter for that individual.

There are many ways to capture positive attention from these professionals. Almost every element of a book proposal is important. If you don’t know what goes into a book proposal, then I would encourage you to begin there. Every writer—even if you self-publish needs a book proposal because this document contains information which does not appear in your manuscript but is your business plan for your book.

In this article, I’m encouraging every writer should give their opening paragraph a little bit of extra polish before sending it. Here’s a number of ways to get read:

man working on an article

Tips for an attention-grabbing opening paragraph

1. Begin with a startling statistic related to your book or yourself. If you have millions of potential readers for your topic, beginning with this statistic captures attention. Also if you have a large email list or a social media following, this statistic can kick start the reading process.

2. Ask an intriguing question. A thought-provoking question is another great beginning to a proposal.

3. Open with an engaging story. Everyone loves a moving story. If you can tell this story in a few words with intrigue or entertainment, you pull the editor or agent into your proposal.

Whatever method you use, it is important to get the editor or agent reading your submission. Several years ago I interviewed another acquisitions editor and asked how he found a good submission. He answered: “Terry, I read the first sentence and if it is a good sentence I read the next sentence. If it is a good paragraph, I read the next paragraph and if it is a good page, I read the next page.” This editor revealed if it is a poor sentence or paragraph or page, he stops and goes on to the next submission. To learn more about proposals, I encourage you to check out my free webinar: askaboutproposals.com

Writers have confided to me their key material in the sixth chapter. My advice: don’t do it. Your reader may never get there. Start your proposal with a bang.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s newest book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. The revised and updated edition will release October 5th. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Categories
Book Proposals

Use the Holidays to Beat the Catch-22 of Publishing

      From my experience in publishing, editors and agents are often slow to respond to submissions. This time lag grows even worse during the final months of the year because often these professionals are focused on outside activities like sending holiday greetings and special events.

     Yet time is marching on during the holidays. How can you make the best use of this slow publishing season when you feel like your correspondence goes into a black hole? Take this time to be writing and refining your book proposal. Use my book proposal checklist to make sure you are creating what is expected and needed.

     Also use this holiday season to increase your publishing credits and credibility with the editors and agents. As a New York acquisitions editor, I’ve read thousands of submissions. One of the key elements publishing professionals will notice is your publishing experience. But maybe you’ve never published anything or only self-published and your credits are limited. If you are in this situation, it is like when you get your first job. How do you create a job resume when you don’t have any experience? You are stuck and unsure how to do it—which I call a catch-22 type of situation. It’s the same in publishing but you can get around this catch-22 if you publish in magazines. If you have published other books and in magazines, your proposal gains a more careful reading and consideration.

          The best place to gain publishing experience is in print magazines. Magazines are shorter than books and quicker to accomplish than books. Yet in print magazines you learn how to write for a target audience, for a specific deadline and word count—all valuable skills for your book writing. First select some target publications. Use a Writer’s Market Guide (even from your library). Which publications do you read? Study them and see how much freelance material they are using? Craft a query letter or if they allow it, the full article, then submit this material. Then you will be published and your proposals will gain much more attention.

Use the holidays to improve your publishing potential.

W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. Get his free Book Proposal Checklist at: http://terrylinks.com/bookcheck Terry is the author of Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success  and he has written over 60 books and for more than 50 magazines. He has over 200,000 followers on twitter. http://twitter.com/terrywhalin

Categories
Publishing Pulse

Do You “Own” Your ISBN? Do You Really Want To?

I recently read some advice to self-published authors, to the effect that Lulu offers their clients a “free” ISBN—but it comes with a catch. The “free” ISBN means Lulu imprints their name on your book. I suppose the writer was bothered that Lulu was getting free advertising on their clients’ books, but I’m not entirely sure. (The advice was in the middle of an online self-publishing discussion, so you had to be there, I guess.)

The advice was good (a more succinct piece of advice is to stay away from Lulu altogether), but it served another function for me. It pointed out how much misunderstanding there is about the ISBN system among authors.

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a system in the bookselling industry used to identify a specific book (a specific product, really;  every edition of a book—hardcover, paperback, ebook, and so on—has a different ISBN). It’s the number built into the barcode on the back of a printed book. The cashier scans the barcode, the cash register looks up that specific book in its database, and the correct price is added to your bill. Everybody understands how that part of the system works.

What most people, including authors, don’t seem to understand is that the ISBN also identifies the publisher/publishing house—the person or company through which a distributor or retailer can obtain the book. The ISBN system in the US is managed by a company called Bowker. Publishers pay a fee to Bowker to have ISBNs assigned to that publishing house.

Bowker is the ONLY company in the US authorized to assign ISBNs, and they ONLY assign ISBNs to publishers/publishing houses. A publisher/publishing house cannot re-assign their ISBNs. So when a company other than Bowker tells you they will give you a “free” ISBN, or that you can “buy” an ISBN from them, they are not being accurate. What they are really saying is, they are going to publish your book through their publishing house. Distributors that look up your book with an ISBN will be told that the book is available through a specific publisher, because that ISBN is assigned to that publisher.

I’ve heard people try to connect the ISBN to copyright, by asking questions like, “This company put their ISBN on my book; have they stolen my copyright?” No. Nothing could be further from the truth. Remember, all an ISBN does is identify a specific edition of a book, and the publishing house that produced it. The copyright has nothing to do with it.

If you self-publish a book, and pay Bowker to assign an ISBN to you, you are effectively setting up your own publishing house. A publishing house is, by definition, an entity with one or more ISBNs assigned to it—nothing more or less.

Well, let me qualify that. A publishing house is, of course, an entity that publishes books, but one can assume that the books are published so that they can be sold. And to sell a  book in today’s market it needs an ISBN — a number which identifies what book it is and what entity has published it.

A book cannot be distributed and sold commercially without an ISBN, and ISBNs are assigned only to publishing houses.

Do you want to deal with distributors  and retailers about details of your book’s distribution and sale? If so, then pay Bowker a fee to assign you an ISBN, and become a publishing house. If not, then work with an established publishing house, whether it be traditional or subsidy (“self-publisher”), and let them worry over the details. Some of the issues that can arise are complicated and difficult—and dealing with those problems is a rather high price to pay just so you can say you “own” your ISBN!

David Fesseden has degrees in journalism and theology, and over 30 years of experience in writing and editing. He has served in editorial management positions for Christian book publishers and was regional editor for the largest Protestant weekly newspaper in the country.

Dave has published seven books, written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and edited numerous books. He is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences. Two of his books, Writing the Christian Nonfiction Book: Concept to Contract and A Christian Writer’s Guide to the Book Proposal, are based on his experience in Christian publishing. The Case of the Exploding Speakeasy, Dave’s first novel, reflects his love for history and for the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan-Doyle.

Dave and his wife, Jacque, live in south-central Pennsylvania and have two adult sons.

Website: davefessenden.com
Literary Agent, WordWise Media Services
Publisher and Proprietor, Honeycomb House Publishing LLC

Categories
Publishing Pulse

Beware of Purported “Trends” in Christian Publishing

Every time I read an article from Publisher’s Weekly about trends in Christian publishing, especially fiction, I find myself stifling a sarcastic laugh.

First of all, I don’t have that many articles to choose from, because PW appears to publish just one article on Christian fiction trends per year, in May. (My comments concern last year’s article; this year, in May, they had an article about a “Fiction Readers Summit” held by Baker Book House, rather than a review of the market.) This once-a-year market review seems a bit odd to me, considering that Christian books make up about a third of the total book  industry. (Disclaimer here: that statistic may be a bit old, but if you change that from “Christian” to “religious” books, I’m sure it’s still valid.)

But the infrequency of the market review is not what gets me chuckling; it’s some of the “trends” that PW reported last year, such as “Amish [romance] fiction remains popular.” Really? In my contacts with acquisition editors, there doesn’t seem to be interest in more titles in this genre, though well-known, established authors of Amish fiction still seem to be cranking out new titles. The conventional wisdom is that the Amish craze peaked a long time ago, and acquisition editors generally follow conventional wisdom, because it’s usually right.

PW also made a big deal about Christian romance fiction in general, yet my reading of the market indicates that, while still a viable subcategory, romance no longer dominates Christian fiction in the way it did years ago—but you sure wouldn’t know it from this article. There was some discussion of the popularity of other genres, suh as Christian suspense and adventure, including political thrillers, but I was surprised that there was little mention of speculative fiction, a genre that appeared to be growing last year (though it may now be on the wane now, for all I know).

Of course, I’m probably being a little too hard on Publishers Weekly, considering that their article on trends was looking at what had been published by May of 2017. The trends they were identifying appeared to be based on looking back at 2016. Still, their comments seemed more dated than that. Oddly enough, at the end of the story they announced some titles that were scheduled to come out in the spring of 2018. Why did they not look for genre trends in those upcoming titles?

It only highlights the problem a Christian author has when looking at trends—it’s something you don’t want to take too seriously. Not only is the information almost always dated (a published book may have been acquired up to two years previously), but it is pretty much irrelevant. In the publishing world, acquisition editors have the unenviable task of having to guess as to what topics and genres are going to be “hot” two years from now. Since they can’t read the future, they can only speculate—rolling the dice, you might say.

It’s a waste of time, therefore, for a Christian author to try to catch the wave of a new publishing trend; by the time you write the book, prepare a proposal, sell it to a publisher, and it gets out there in the market, the “trend” is going to be long gone. Even if you decide to write the book extremely quickly and self-publish, it’s bound to take six months or so — even more, if you you take into account the months it can take to publicize, promote and market the book. If you time it right, you just might catch the tail end of such a trend, if at all.

Do I dare to suggest that you ignore elusive “trends” and ask God what he would have you write about? Get your advice on trends from the only person who actually does know the future! It’s really the only sure way to stay ahead of the ever-changing Christian publishing market.

David E. Fessenden

Literary Agent, WordWise Media Services

Publisher and Proprietor, Honeycomb House Publishing LLC

Dave has degrees in journalism and theology, and over 30 years of experience in writing and editing. He has served in editorial management positions for Christian book publishers and was regional editor for the largest Protestant weekly newspaper in the country.

Dave has published seven books, written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and edited numerous books. He is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences. Two of his books, Writing the Christian Nonfiction Book: Concept to Contract and  A Christian Writer’s Guide to the Book Proposal, are based on his experience in Christian publishing. The Case of the Exploding Speakeasy, Dave’s first novel, reflects his love for history and for the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan-Doyle.

Dave and his wife, Jacque, live in south-central Pennsylvania and have two adult sons.

Websites/Blogs:
www.fromconcepttocontract.com
www.davefessenden.com
www.thebookstore.info

Categories
Publishing Pulse

The Dirty Little Secrets of Self-Publishing

Book authors are hearing more and more voices telling them to self-publish and “reap the profits that traditional publishers are stealing from you.”

Okay, not every promoter of self-publishing puts it that way, but some do. And it should make you curious as to why these people are giving you so much pressure to self-publish. The answer boils down to the first dirty little secret of self-publishing:

There is no such thing as self-publishing.

In the process we call self-publishing, authors are portrayed as doing all the necessary steps in publishing a book—writing, editing, typesetting/interior design, proofreading, designing the cover, arranging for printing and/or e-book production, distributing, marketing and promotion. But in reality, authors do not do all those things by themselves, because no one person could possibly have all those tools and skills. Instead, the “self-publishing” author pays someone else to do most of these jobs.

And there is the motivation for the push to self-publish: most of those who push an author to self-publish are hoping to get hired to do the work the author cannot do. No matter what publishing method you use, publishing is a team effort. The only difference is in who invests the money—the publisher (traditional publishing) or the author (subsidy publishing, or so-called self-publishing).

The self-publishing promoters often argue that since the author is paying the bills, the author has complete control over the entire publishing process. And this brings us to the second dirty little secret of  (so-called) self-publishing:

No single person has complete control over the entire publishing process.

Of course, that goes back to the fact that publishing a book is a group effort. Authors, even those who pay to have their book published, cannot control all aspects of publishing their book—and they should not want to. Authors who try to have total control over their own publishing process will find that they cannot control those who have the publishing expertise they lack. They either learn to trust others with their creative baby, or they find others who will let them be “in control,” but who, like them, lack the publishing expertise needed for success.

The moral of this story, then, is that success in publishing is dependent upon finding a team you can trust. Are you confident that the publisher you work with, whether subsidy or traditional, has professional expertise and knows the audience you are aiming at? Certainly you have your own ideas about your book, but are you willing to take advice from someone with experience and a track record in publishing? If so, your book has ten times the chance of success than if you find someone who gets paid to follow your instructions blindly.

David E. Fessenden
Literary Agent, WordWise Media Services
Publisher and Proprietor, Honeycomb House Publishing LLC

Dave has degrees in journalism and theology, and over 30 years of experience in writing and editing. He has served in editorial management positions for Christian book publishers and was regional editor for the largest Protestant weekly newspaper in the country.

Dave has published seven books, written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and edited numerous books. He is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences. Two of his books, Writing the Christian Nonfiction Book: Concept to Contract and  A Christian Writer’s Guide to the Book Proposal, are based on his experience in Christian publishing. The Case of the Exploding Speakeasy, Dave’s first novel, reflects his love for history and for the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan-Doyle.

Dave and his wife, Jacque, live in south-central Pennsylvania and have two adult sons.

As a literary agent for WordWise Media Services, I am interested in historical fiction (not romance) and speculative fiction (sci-fi/fantasy); nonfiction titles on Christian living, spiritual growth and biblical studies. I am not interested in devotionals or memoirs. dave@wordwisemedia.com

Honeycomb House Publishing LLC is a subsidy publishing house, assisting Christian authors to publish their books at their expense, and reaping the full profit on the sale of their books. We believe there really is no such thing as self-publishing, because no one can publish a book completely on their own. Standing on Proverbs 16:24, “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones,” we are looking for gracious words that bring spiritual sweetness and healing. dave@fessendens.net

Websites/Blogs:
www.fromconcepttocontract.com
www.davefessenden.com
www.thebookstore.info

Categories
Journeying through the Writer's Life

9 Things for Your Writing Vault

We all know the value of saving for the future. The truth is that’s not just good financial advice—it’s also good advice for writers. There are times when creativity won’t come and times when failure seems to be all that’s happening. For those times, we need to have a place we go to renew and refresh. I like to call that my writing vault.

[bctt tweet=”Here are 9 things all authors need in their #writing vault – @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

Here are 9 things for your writing vault:

  1. Books—I’m a writer, so of course I have a library. But my library isn’t just for recreational reading. I have scores of writing craft books (ebooks and physical). I also have a lot of books that I study because the author is either really good or really bad at some aspect of the writing craft. For example, I learned some amazing tricks of dialogue by reading and studying Janet Evanovich. I bought several of her books at the used book stores and marked them up, studying how she made her dialogue so natural and interesting. I also have books full of writing prompts, and even some blank books for those days when I need to step away from the computer.
  1. Websites—these range from author sites I follow to writing instruction, to research. I bookmark my favorites and return to them again and again.
  1. Writing Friends & Critique Partners—these are the people who get me. They know the struggles I face. They also help me grow by holding me accountable, exchanging critiques and providing someone to brainstorm with.
  1. A History of Workshops & Classes—well, truthfully I have the notes and often audio recordings from these. But over the years I’ve amassed a lot of knowledge. I keep it filed away and easy to find so I can return to it when the need arises.
  1. Favorite movies and TV shows—I’m more of a movie person, but with Netflix and Amazon Prime, I’m watching more television shows. All of these help me with story, character, pacing, even ideas.
  1. Quality Equipment—I’m not just talking computers here. I have an iPad, stylus, standing desk, and a copier/printer. I also have a stash of my favorite pens, notepads, and general office supplies. Having what I need on hand helps take away the excuses.
  1. Inspirational Music—this isn’t necessarily religious music, it’s anything that inspires you. Put together a playlist on Spotify and keep it on in the background while you’re writing.
  1. Alligator-tough Skin—writing isn’t for the faint-of-heart. We must endure rejection, revision and those horrible voices that live in every writer’s mind.
  1. Faith—This may be listed last, but I believe it’s the most important thing of all. For me, it goes beyond faith in myself, although that is important. My faith in the God who created me for the purpose of stringing words together is my foundation every single time I sit down to write.

[bctt tweet=”What do you keep in your #writing vault? @EdieMelson” via=”no”]

These are the things that I keep in my writer’s vault. I’d love to know what’s in yours.