Showing posts with label publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publishing. Show all posts
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Guarantee Your Publishing Success
Guarantee Your Publishing Success
By Patricia Fry
Do you want to write the next best-selling novel? Maybe you dream of landing a contract with Random House or selling a million copies of your book. Perhaps you simply want to be widely read.
How can you guarantee this kind of publishing success? Let me start by revealing the sure path to failure. It isn’t a matter of holding your mouth wrong while engaged in writing. It has little to do with the distractions in your household or your choice of pen names. The sure way for an author to fail is to Quit!
Quit writing that book of your dreams.
Stop pitching it to publishers.
Stop promoting your book.
Now, turn that message around and you’ll have some of the most well known secrets to publishing success: Persistence, Perseverance and Patience. But wait, I have another P word to add. You must also be well-Prepared.
Study the Publishing Industry
The first step toward any measure of publishing success is to understand something about the publishing industry. It is imperative that you educate yourself. In order to succeed in this field, you really must understand your options and the consequences of your choices.
Think about it, you wouldn’t start an electronics business in your city without knowing something about electronics; the electronics field; your competition; the manufacturers, distributors, suppliers you’ll be working with and the needs and desires of your potential customers.
Well here’s a news flash, while writing may be a craft—a heart thing—publishing is a business and your book is a product.
How do you learn about the publishing industry? One of the reasons I wrote my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, was to help educate hopeful authors about the publishing industry and the business of publishing.
But you can also learn volumes by joining and participating in local and online writers groups and publishing organizations. Join and participate by reading their newsletters, spending time at their Web sites and networking at meetings and in online discussion groups and forums. Attend writers’ conferences. Learn about those in your area through your local writers’ club or arts council. Search for nearby conferences at www.shawguides.com/writing.
Write a Book Proposal
The second most important thing you can do to enhance your chances for publishing success is to write a book proposal.
Book proposals aren’t just for nonfiction books anymore. Write a proposal even if your book is a novel, a book of poems, a young adult fantasy or a children’s book, for example. Of course, a book proposal for a novel or children’s book is not quite as detailed as one for a nonfiction book.
Why write a book proposal?
Because many traditional royalty publishers require one. That’s a good reason, don’t you think? But what if you plan to pay a fee-based, POD “self-publishing” service to produce your book? They don’t need to see a book proposal. They’re going to produce the book for you no matter what. Maybe you will self-publish. It really doesn’t matter which publishing option you choose, you will still need a book proposal. You see, a book proposal is a business plan for your book. It will actually help you to produce a viable product.
I can’t tell you how many authors I meet every year who are promoting the wrong book to the wrong audience. And they wonder why so many publishers rejected them.
When should you write a book proposal?
Many authors wait until they fine-tune their book before writing the proposal. I say, they’re putting the cart before the horse. I recommend writing the book proposal before you even sit down to write the book.
I meet authors of fiction who say, “But the book is just screaming to be written—I don’t want to interrupt my creative flow.” That’s okay. Go ahead and get the story out while your emotions are all juiced up. But, before completing the final edit, sit down and write that book proposal.
Why is this so doggoned important?
A well-developed, well-organized, well-written and complete book proposal will actually help you to write the book. All you have to do is follow your chapter outline. Also, after writing a book proposal, you might decide to change the focus of your book and this can be a good thing.
A student in one of my online book proposal classes, after writing her book proposal, changed the whole focus of her book. As a result, she landed a contract with Houghton Mifflin. If she hadn’t done the work necessary to develop a book proposal, she might still be trying to pitch the book she first envisioned—which, as it turns out, was the wrong book for the wrong audience.
Do you have a book at all?
How many books are there on your topic? Is there room for another diet or fitness book, for example? If there are numbers of books on your topic, how can you make yours different so it will stand out?
What happens if you just jammed on through and wrote your book without doing a comparative study of books similar to yours? You might just end up writing another run-of-the-mill diet or fitness book and get nowhere when it’s time to pitch it or promote it because you simply don’t have an audience.
If you had studied the diet book market before writing yours, for example, you might discover that, while there are numerous books on the subject, there are few or none focusing on dieting for the diabetic or how to maintain a healthy weight. Or how about one on how to keep from gaining weight after you quit smoking? Has anyone written a book telling how to romance your pounds away?
What if you discover that there are no books on your topic? Wow, this sounds like an opportunity, right? Maybe not. Further research might show that there are no books on that topic because there is no market for this book.
Will you succeed as a published author? You have a definite advantage over Gerald. He didn’t bother to study the publishing industry or write a book proposal. He paid to have his book published and found that he couldn’t sell it. I met Gerald in St. Louis at a writers’ conference. He attended my book promotion workshop and then he came to me later with some questions. He said, “I have this book and I need help promoting it. Bookstores won’t carry it. I can’t seem to sell it at all.”
I asked him to tell me about his book and he said, “It’s scientific proof that there is no God.” Wow.
Setting my prejudices aside, I asked, “Gerald, who is your audience for this book?”
He said, “Well, everyone.”
I said, “Do you mean that you believe everyone would be interested in reading this book?”
He quickly responded, “Well, everyone should!” Yes, isn’t this how we all feel about our lovely prose?
I hope that I convinced Gerald that his audience was not the general public, but people just like him—scientists with the same philosophy, atheists, agnostics and people who were still on the fence about this issue. I told him that he would find his audience in the same places where he goes—the same lecture halls and Web sites. They read the same magazines and newsletters, belong to the same organizations.
Now, if Gerald had written a book proposal before he wrote this book, he may have realized that he was writing the wrong book for the wrong audience. He may have decided to sugar coat his message—imbed it in a fiction story, for example, or take a very different path with the material he wanted to share.
And so you can see that another important aspect of a book proposal is, it will reveal your target audience and tell you where to find them.
Build Promotion into Your Book
A book proposal will tell you how to market to this audience. But, if you write the book proposal first, you can do a lot toward building promotion into your book—making it more salable.
For Nonfiction:
Involve a lot of people in your book. Your experts and other contributors and their friends and families will certainly want to purchase copies of the book if it mentions them or someone they know by name. Quote experts, list agencies in your resource list, include a bibliography, offer recommended books at the end of each chapter. List the names of everyone who helped you with any little detail of your book. In my Ojai Valley, An Illustrated History, I list over 100 people who contributed in some way to this five-year project and most of them purchased several copies.
For Fiction:
Give your story dimensions that will compute into promotional opportunities. How? Connect a character to a popular resort, health agency or hobby, for example. Give a character diabetes. If it’s presented in a positive way, the American Diabetes Association might agree to become involved in the promotion of your book.
Maybe they’ll purchase 10,000 copies to use as a fund-raiser, recommend it in their newsletter or pay to publish the book.
Give a character a motorcycle, a horse, triplets or a brain injury. Come up with ideas, twists and turns that could, perhaps, give you more marketing options. Discuss a popular issue in your novel—autism, for example, or the new look everyone’s taking on abortion after baby Amelia’s birth and survival, an avalanche, people surviving snowstorms while mountain climbing…
Choose your setting carefully—always with promotion in mind. If you are using a real city, make sure it is one that hasn’t been over-used—a kind of happening place where the residents have a sense of community pride. Don’t you know that they’d be more apt to welcome you with open arms to promote your book in say Santa Barbara or Durango, Colorado than Coalinga or Taft, California (where little is happening) or even New York city (where everything is happening at once).
Your Platform
Your platform is your reach, your following, and your ability to attract readers. Hillary Clinton has a platform for her memoir. She has quite a large following of admirers, supporters and curiosity seekers. Britney Spears does, as well. These two women could probably successfully sell any book they write. Dr. Phil’s expertise is relationships. He has a solid platform for his books on this topic. And Rachel Ray’s platform revolves around her reputation in the kitchen.
Do you have a platform for your nonfiction book? If you are an accountant promoting a book on personal finance, your platform includes your experience and expertise in your field. If you produce a highly popular newsletter that goes out to thousands of people who are interested in budgeting and so forth, this is also part of your platform. If you haven’t developed a platform for your nonfiction or fiction book, you may want to do so before you publish it.
If your book is conducive to presentations or workshops, start presenting some NOW. This is an excellent way to start building your platform.
Whether you are a novelist or the author of nonfiction, there are three things that you can do now toward building your platform.
1: Hone your public speaking skills. Whether you will be promoting a nonfiction book or reading your novel before groups, be the best that you can be by learning and practicing good speaking habits. For speaking opportunities and constructive feedback, join a Toastmasters club near you.
2: Establish and keep adding to your mailing/emailing list. A mailing list is pure gold. Collect business cards everywhere you go. Log contact information for everyone you meet, particularly customers and those who attend your presentations and readings. Send notices to your list when your book is published, when you are scheduled to speak, etc.
3: Start NOW submitting your articles or stories to appropriate magazines, e-zines, Web sites and newsletters. Get published and you will become known—you’ll start establishing a following. Nonfiction authors will also gain credibility in their field.
Tip: Keep a running list of every magazine, ezine, newsletter and Web site that uses articles or stories in your category, subject or genre. Note contact information and submission guidelines. Place this list in a binder or create a database. Submit often.
So now you know how to guarantee relative success as a published author. It all boils down to producing a more salable book and preparing yourself to appropriately and properly promote it.
Patricia Fry is a full-time freelance writer and the author of 29 books. Her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest, Entrepreneur Magazine, Cat Fancy, Your Health, The Toastmaster and many others. View her collection of books at http://www.matilijapress.com. And visit her informative publishing blog often: http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog.
Click here
By Patricia Fry
Do you want to write the next best-selling novel? Maybe you dream of landing a contract with Random House or selling a million copies of your book. Perhaps you simply want to be widely read.
How can you guarantee this kind of publishing success? Let me start by revealing the sure path to failure. It isn’t a matter of holding your mouth wrong while engaged in writing. It has little to do with the distractions in your household or your choice of pen names. The sure way for an author to fail is to Quit!
Quit writing that book of your dreams.
Stop pitching it to publishers.
Stop promoting your book.
Now, turn that message around and you’ll have some of the most well known secrets to publishing success: Persistence, Perseverance and Patience. But wait, I have another P word to add. You must also be well-Prepared.
Study the Publishing Industry
The first step toward any measure of publishing success is to understand something about the publishing industry. It is imperative that you educate yourself. In order to succeed in this field, you really must understand your options and the consequences of your choices.
Think about it, you wouldn’t start an electronics business in your city without knowing something about electronics; the electronics field; your competition; the manufacturers, distributors, suppliers you’ll be working with and the needs and desires of your potential customers.
Well here’s a news flash, while writing may be a craft—a heart thing—publishing is a business and your book is a product.
How do you learn about the publishing industry? One of the reasons I wrote my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book, was to help educate hopeful authors about the publishing industry and the business of publishing.
But you can also learn volumes by joining and participating in local and online writers groups and publishing organizations. Join and participate by reading their newsletters, spending time at their Web sites and networking at meetings and in online discussion groups and forums. Attend writers’ conferences. Learn about those in your area through your local writers’ club or arts council. Search for nearby conferences at www.shawguides.com/writing.
Write a Book Proposal
The second most important thing you can do to enhance your chances for publishing success is to write a book proposal.
Book proposals aren’t just for nonfiction books anymore. Write a proposal even if your book is a novel, a book of poems, a young adult fantasy or a children’s book, for example. Of course, a book proposal for a novel or children’s book is not quite as detailed as one for a nonfiction book.
Why write a book proposal?
Because many traditional royalty publishers require one. That’s a good reason, don’t you think? But what if you plan to pay a fee-based, POD “self-publishing” service to produce your book? They don’t need to see a book proposal. They’re going to produce the book for you no matter what. Maybe you will self-publish. It really doesn’t matter which publishing option you choose, you will still need a book proposal. You see, a book proposal is a business plan for your book. It will actually help you to produce a viable product.
I can’t tell you how many authors I meet every year who are promoting the wrong book to the wrong audience. And they wonder why so many publishers rejected them.
When should you write a book proposal?
Many authors wait until they fine-tune their book before writing the proposal. I say, they’re putting the cart before the horse. I recommend writing the book proposal before you even sit down to write the book.
I meet authors of fiction who say, “But the book is just screaming to be written—I don’t want to interrupt my creative flow.” That’s okay. Go ahead and get the story out while your emotions are all juiced up. But, before completing the final edit, sit down and write that book proposal.
Why is this so doggoned important?
A well-developed, well-organized, well-written and complete book proposal will actually help you to write the book. All you have to do is follow your chapter outline. Also, after writing a book proposal, you might decide to change the focus of your book and this can be a good thing.
A student in one of my online book proposal classes, after writing her book proposal, changed the whole focus of her book. As a result, she landed a contract with Houghton Mifflin. If she hadn’t done the work necessary to develop a book proposal, she might still be trying to pitch the book she first envisioned—which, as it turns out, was the wrong book for the wrong audience.
Do you have a book at all?
How many books are there on your topic? Is there room for another diet or fitness book, for example? If there are numbers of books on your topic, how can you make yours different so it will stand out?
What happens if you just jammed on through and wrote your book without doing a comparative study of books similar to yours? You might just end up writing another run-of-the-mill diet or fitness book and get nowhere when it’s time to pitch it or promote it because you simply don’t have an audience.
If you had studied the diet book market before writing yours, for example, you might discover that, while there are numerous books on the subject, there are few or none focusing on dieting for the diabetic or how to maintain a healthy weight. Or how about one on how to keep from gaining weight after you quit smoking? Has anyone written a book telling how to romance your pounds away?
What if you discover that there are no books on your topic? Wow, this sounds like an opportunity, right? Maybe not. Further research might show that there are no books on that topic because there is no market for this book.
Will you succeed as a published author? You have a definite advantage over Gerald. He didn’t bother to study the publishing industry or write a book proposal. He paid to have his book published and found that he couldn’t sell it. I met Gerald in St. Louis at a writers’ conference. He attended my book promotion workshop and then he came to me later with some questions. He said, “I have this book and I need help promoting it. Bookstores won’t carry it. I can’t seem to sell it at all.”
I asked him to tell me about his book and he said, “It’s scientific proof that there is no God.” Wow.
Setting my prejudices aside, I asked, “Gerald, who is your audience for this book?”
He said, “Well, everyone.”
I said, “Do you mean that you believe everyone would be interested in reading this book?”
He quickly responded, “Well, everyone should!” Yes, isn’t this how we all feel about our lovely prose?
I hope that I convinced Gerald that his audience was not the general public, but people just like him—scientists with the same philosophy, atheists, agnostics and people who were still on the fence about this issue. I told him that he would find his audience in the same places where he goes—the same lecture halls and Web sites. They read the same magazines and newsletters, belong to the same organizations.
Now, if Gerald had written a book proposal before he wrote this book, he may have realized that he was writing the wrong book for the wrong audience. He may have decided to sugar coat his message—imbed it in a fiction story, for example, or take a very different path with the material he wanted to share.
And so you can see that another important aspect of a book proposal is, it will reveal your target audience and tell you where to find them.
Build Promotion into Your Book
A book proposal will tell you how to market to this audience. But, if you write the book proposal first, you can do a lot toward building promotion into your book—making it more salable.
For Nonfiction:
Involve a lot of people in your book. Your experts and other contributors and their friends and families will certainly want to purchase copies of the book if it mentions them or someone they know by name. Quote experts, list agencies in your resource list, include a bibliography, offer recommended books at the end of each chapter. List the names of everyone who helped you with any little detail of your book. In my Ojai Valley, An Illustrated History, I list over 100 people who contributed in some way to this five-year project and most of them purchased several copies.
For Fiction:
Give your story dimensions that will compute into promotional opportunities. How? Connect a character to a popular resort, health agency or hobby, for example. Give a character diabetes. If it’s presented in a positive way, the American Diabetes Association might agree to become involved in the promotion of your book.
Maybe they’ll purchase 10,000 copies to use as a fund-raiser, recommend it in their newsletter or pay to publish the book.
Give a character a motorcycle, a horse, triplets or a brain injury. Come up with ideas, twists and turns that could, perhaps, give you more marketing options. Discuss a popular issue in your novel—autism, for example, or the new look everyone’s taking on abortion after baby Amelia’s birth and survival, an avalanche, people surviving snowstorms while mountain climbing…
Choose your setting carefully—always with promotion in mind. If you are using a real city, make sure it is one that hasn’t been over-used—a kind of happening place where the residents have a sense of community pride. Don’t you know that they’d be more apt to welcome you with open arms to promote your book in say Santa Barbara or Durango, Colorado than Coalinga or Taft, California (where little is happening) or even New York city (where everything is happening at once).
Your Platform
Your platform is your reach, your following, and your ability to attract readers. Hillary Clinton has a platform for her memoir. She has quite a large following of admirers, supporters and curiosity seekers. Britney Spears does, as well. These two women could probably successfully sell any book they write. Dr. Phil’s expertise is relationships. He has a solid platform for his books on this topic. And Rachel Ray’s platform revolves around her reputation in the kitchen.
Do you have a platform for your nonfiction book? If you are an accountant promoting a book on personal finance, your platform includes your experience and expertise in your field. If you produce a highly popular newsletter that goes out to thousands of people who are interested in budgeting and so forth, this is also part of your platform. If you haven’t developed a platform for your nonfiction or fiction book, you may want to do so before you publish it.
If your book is conducive to presentations or workshops, start presenting some NOW. This is an excellent way to start building your platform.
Whether you are a novelist or the author of nonfiction, there are three things that you can do now toward building your platform.
1: Hone your public speaking skills. Whether you will be promoting a nonfiction book or reading your novel before groups, be the best that you can be by learning and practicing good speaking habits. For speaking opportunities and constructive feedback, join a Toastmasters club near you.
2: Establish and keep adding to your mailing/emailing list. A mailing list is pure gold. Collect business cards everywhere you go. Log contact information for everyone you meet, particularly customers and those who attend your presentations and readings. Send notices to your list when your book is published, when you are scheduled to speak, etc.
3: Start NOW submitting your articles or stories to appropriate magazines, e-zines, Web sites and newsletters. Get published and you will become known—you’ll start establishing a following. Nonfiction authors will also gain credibility in their field.
Tip: Keep a running list of every magazine, ezine, newsletter and Web site that uses articles or stories in your category, subject or genre. Note contact information and submission guidelines. Place this list in a binder or create a database. Submit often.
So now you know how to guarantee relative success as a published author. It all boils down to producing a more salable book and preparing yourself to appropriately and properly promote it.
Patricia Fry is a full-time freelance writer and the author of 29 books. Her articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest, Entrepreneur Magazine, Cat Fancy, Your Health, The Toastmaster and many others. View her collection of books at http://www.matilijapress.com. And visit her informative publishing blog often: http://www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog.
Click here
Friday, July 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Navigating Through the Publishing World: An 8-Step Program
Navigating Through the Publishing World: An 8-Step Program
By Brenna Lyons
How do you accomplish writing successes? I think all successes come down to a few simple things, and they overlap with writing tips somewhat.
1) Write well. I don't just mean edit well; I don't just mean know your grammar, punctuation and such, though all of that is important. I mean write an engaging story, a strong story, something that compels the reader to keep reading. I mean show, don't tell. I mean engage the senses and draw the reader fully into the world and characters. I mean, make it as three-dimensional as you can, THEN GO FURTHER and capture the reader. Make the reader think and even more important than that... Make the reader feel and care! That is the mark of an excellent fiction book! If the reader doesn't care what happens next, you aren't there yet. And, if you have to ask me if it's there, it's not there.
2) Submit well. I've been through this, so you know how seriously I take submissions. They should be clean. They should be in the format asked for by the agent or publisher and include only what they ask for...no more, no less. They should be powerful. You should know your work inside and out and be able to SHOW (not tell...show) someone why it's special, different and essential. Copycats lead to diminishing returns. In addition, you should choose your publishers well. Research them, ask around, weigh the risks, and invest well in your career as an author. This is a career, and it requires no less care than any other lifelong career track. Know what the terms mean and use them correctly. Know the questions to ask and don't rush the process of choosing a publisher and submitting properly.
3) Never give up! Stephen King threw his first book in the trash...the first few chapters of Carrie. His wife pulled them out and demanded he write more. When he argued that he didn't know anything about teenage girls, she told him to write. She'd tell him what a teenage girl would do. Frank Baum had more than 100 rejections on Oz before he got the first book published. He never stopped trying. The only difference between published and unpublished is not giving up. Well, there's a little more to it, and you can see that in this post. But, there is the ONE undeniable fact. If you give up, you will never be published. How could you?
4) Play well with the editors. It's your book. That is undeniable. But the editors are there to do a couple of things. They are there to help you make the book cleaner, more compact, and more powerful...a stronger presentation. They are also there to protect you and the publisher from things like infringement cases. I am not saying that an editor is always right. I've proven a few of them wrong. I am saying that there are some things they cannot bend on...and there are others they can. Dealing with an editor is a fine line, but there is room for negotiation. What you think the editor is saying isn't always what he/she is saying. Sometimes, you have to hash it out and see what the bottom-line problem is. Then, perhaps, your answer for addressing it might be completely different than the editor's idea but just as workable and acceptable to the editor and publisher. There are few times when you cannot work with an editor, so you shouldn't rush to call in a higher power. Most editors do have your best interests at heart, and as my first editor told me: “Editing isn't dismembering your baby; it's polishing a gem.” (Suzanne James) Sometimes, that means cutting off the rough edges before you bring in the polishing cloth.
5) Market well. No matter where you are, New York or small press, you have to be able to market yourself and your book. Never forget that the creative side of writing is really a small portion of the whole. You can't publish and sit back to let the royalty checks roll in. It doesn't work that way. If you want to sell, promote! There are a ton of resources out there. I post them often. I'll post them again, if someone wants them. Research and use them. Remember that everything you do should be part of an interconnected web, and all marketing is cumulative. Whenever possible, avoid segregating your promotion attempts. Make them work together.
6) Enter contests well. This is another thing I've written articles on, and my success in contests seems to indicate that I have this one down. You have to know your work inside and out. You have to consider the guidelines for individual contests as carefully as you consider the guidelines for publishers; remember that the one making the rules has the final say. You have to apply them, taking your audience into consideration. You have to choose your contests wisely. You have to use your finals and wins to further your promotion.
7) Remain professional when dealing with the professionals. I can't stress this enough. I've seen publishers talk. Belonging to a couple of pro lists, I've seen publishers warn other publishers about the nutcases out there submitting. NEVER burn your bridges completely. A rejection is an opinion, a simple opinion that the book isn't right for a given line. Nothing more—that is, unless the editor is rude and makes it more. Even then, authors talk too. You can let other authors know your bad experience without branding yourself in the publisher's eyes. When you're rejected, thank them and move on. When they give criticism, consider it carefully and go with your gut. If you hear the same thing many times, consider it carefully again. What you should never do is get rude and snippy with an editor. They share this. While an editor is unlikely to remember your name a week later if they have rejected you, hence the reason you remind them they asked for more from you, they WILL remember a hothead, and they will pass it on.
8) Keep writing. Few publishers want a one-hit wonder. That is the best way to build an audience, get attention and sell...having a lot to offer.
Brenna Lyons is an award-winning bestselling author in the field of indie press spec fic dark romance, erotica, journalism and poetry. In the last six years, she's been a finalist for seven EPPIES, three PEARLS, two CAPAS, and a DREAM REALM AWARD, as well as the recipient of Spinetinglers' (UK) Book of the Year for 2007.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Getting Real About Getting Published
Getting Real About Getting Published
By Penny C. Sansevieri
http://amarketingexpert.com
Click here
So you say you want to get published? Well, great! These days you have more options than ever to see your work in print. Whenever I teach at conferences I am always amazed at how many authors are still unaware of their publishing options. Today, more than ever, writers have the ability to take control of their writing future and get published...today!
How? Well, self-publishing for one. What? You don't want to self-publish. You're worried about the stigma attached to it? Did you know Mark Twain self-published his books? Didn't seem to hurt his career, did it? Ever heard of a little book called The Joy of Cooking? Yep, you guess it, self-published as well. Or how about the movie: Legally Blond? Yes, that's another success story. Whenever an author comes up to me and asks if there's anything wrong with self-publishing I always tell them "No, as long as it doesn't look self-published." Save the science projects for your kids, but make sure what you're publishing is nothing short of perfection.
Let's look at it this way: your book is your resume, it's your message to the world. Would you ever consider sending a resume that was less than perfect to a potential employer? I doubt it. So you should never consider sending your book out into the world unless it's ready for the intense scrutiny it may receive from your readership.
These days, we're dealing with a publishing market that seems to be shrinking by the second. In fact, did you know that 83% of the books published each year are put out by the five major publishing houses in New York and to add insult to injury only 1% of everything published in the U.S. each year by these five houses is by previously unpublished authors? Does this mean that there are fewer books worthy of publishing success? No way.
What this means is that publishers are no longer willing to take risks on unknown authors and untested topics. So, how can you beat them at their own game? By circumventing the traditional publishing model and taking your work through the process of self-publishing. Then, if you catch the eye of a traditional publisher you have a bit more bargaining power than you would, say, languishing in the slush pile. When traditional publishers pick up a self-published title, it eliminates a great deal of risk for them.
It’s by no means a sure thing, but when a self-published title is selling well a traditional publisher knows two things: they know they have an author who knows how to market their book, and they know they have a book that’s found an audience.
When it comes to self-publishing, you have a number of options. First, you can become your own publishing company, creating your own imprint and publishing your own work. The downsides to this are the funds needed to launch a company, design a book and run the first printing. This form of publishing is a good idea if you have a gift book or desire something other than a standard paperback format. The alternative is of course going print-on-demand. If you're unfamiliar with this form of printing then listen up: it's revolutionizing the publishing industry and leveling the playing field. Authors are no longer need to navigate a myriad of obstacles set forth by an elusive and often unforgiving industry; they can see their work published - sometimes in ninety days or less.
Now, for a minimal fee (usually from $499 to $1,500), you can see your book in print. Essentially, what you're doing is hiring a publisher to publish your book. They take care of the cover, the book interior, the ISBN, and the distribution. They are compensated for this by receiving a portion of the profits every time you sell a book. You are compensated through royalties and while these do vary, they typically fall somewhere in the 18-20 percent range per book. The great part about POD publishing is that the "on-demand" part enables them to print books as they are needed, meaning that someone (probably you) won't get stuck with a garage full of books you can't get rid of. If you only sell 100 books, that's what they'll print. There are no minimum orders, and your book will always stay in print.
Understanding how the publishing industry works will go a long way to helping you determine which publishing option is right for you. For some, the idea of POD or self-publishing will open doors you might not have otherwise considered. For others, the traditional route is the only way to go. In the end, the decision of how to publish is up to you but understanding and educating yourself to available options is your duty to yourself and your career. I encourage all of our yet-to-be-published readers to empower themselves and take control of their publishing future. Your dream of becoming published can now be a reality. It's up to you to make it happen!
Wishing you publishing success!
By Penny C. Sansevieri
http://amarketingexpert.com
Click here
So you say you want to get published? Well, great! These days you have more options than ever to see your work in print. Whenever I teach at conferences I am always amazed at how many authors are still unaware of their publishing options. Today, more than ever, writers have the ability to take control of their writing future and get published...today!
How? Well, self-publishing for one. What? You don't want to self-publish. You're worried about the stigma attached to it? Did you know Mark Twain self-published his books? Didn't seem to hurt his career, did it? Ever heard of a little book called The Joy of Cooking? Yep, you guess it, self-published as well. Or how about the movie: Legally Blond? Yes, that's another success story. Whenever an author comes up to me and asks if there's anything wrong with self-publishing I always tell them "No, as long as it doesn't look self-published." Save the science projects for your kids, but make sure what you're publishing is nothing short of perfection.
Let's look at it this way: your book is your resume, it's your message to the world. Would you ever consider sending a resume that was less than perfect to a potential employer? I doubt it. So you should never consider sending your book out into the world unless it's ready for the intense scrutiny it may receive from your readership.
These days, we're dealing with a publishing market that seems to be shrinking by the second. In fact, did you know that 83% of the books published each year are put out by the five major publishing houses in New York and to add insult to injury only 1% of everything published in the U.S. each year by these five houses is by previously unpublished authors? Does this mean that there are fewer books worthy of publishing success? No way.
What this means is that publishers are no longer willing to take risks on unknown authors and untested topics. So, how can you beat them at their own game? By circumventing the traditional publishing model and taking your work through the process of self-publishing. Then, if you catch the eye of a traditional publisher you have a bit more bargaining power than you would, say, languishing in the slush pile. When traditional publishers pick up a self-published title, it eliminates a great deal of risk for them.
It’s by no means a sure thing, but when a self-published title is selling well a traditional publisher knows two things: they know they have an author who knows how to market their book, and they know they have a book that’s found an audience.
When it comes to self-publishing, you have a number of options. First, you can become your own publishing company, creating your own imprint and publishing your own work. The downsides to this are the funds needed to launch a company, design a book and run the first printing. This form of publishing is a good idea if you have a gift book or desire something other than a standard paperback format. The alternative is of course going print-on-demand. If you're unfamiliar with this form of printing then listen up: it's revolutionizing the publishing industry and leveling the playing field. Authors are no longer need to navigate a myriad of obstacles set forth by an elusive and often unforgiving industry; they can see their work published - sometimes in ninety days or less.
Now, for a minimal fee (usually from $499 to $1,500), you can see your book in print. Essentially, what you're doing is hiring a publisher to publish your book. They take care of the cover, the book interior, the ISBN, and the distribution. They are compensated for this by receiving a portion of the profits every time you sell a book. You are compensated through royalties and while these do vary, they typically fall somewhere in the 18-20 percent range per book. The great part about POD publishing is that the "on-demand" part enables them to print books as they are needed, meaning that someone (probably you) won't get stuck with a garage full of books you can't get rid of. If you only sell 100 books, that's what they'll print. There are no minimum orders, and your book will always stay in print.
Understanding how the publishing industry works will go a long way to helping you determine which publishing option is right for you. For some, the idea of POD or self-publishing will open doors you might not have otherwise considered. For others, the traditional route is the only way to go. In the end, the decision of how to publish is up to you but understanding and educating yourself to available options is your duty to yourself and your career. I encourage all of our yet-to-be-published readers to empower themselves and take control of their publishing future. Your dream of becoming published can now be a reality. It's up to you to make it happen!
Wishing you publishing success!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Guest Blog: Book Publishing 2009- Twist, Turns & Possibilities
Book Publishing 2009- Twist, Turns & Possibilities
By Cheryl Pickett
http://www.publishinganswers.com
Click here
Many writers dream of writing a book someday. In years past, the process was fairly simple. Write the book, or at least have a strong start, propose it to an agent or publisher and there was a decent chance your dream could come true. Fast forward to 2009 however, and you'll quickly discover a very different set of circumstances. The traditional publishing industry has more turns and detours than a mountain road, and there are so many other choices that even researching what to do can become mind-boggling in a matter of moments.
So what's a would-be author to do? Move forward, but take it slow and steady. Here are three tips to help you navigate that twisting road on your way to making your dreams a reality.
1. Make a Plan:
My favorite analogy for this strategy is to think of making decisions about publishing a book like taking a trip. If you want to take a trip, one of the first things you need to do is decide where you're going; if you don't know where you're going, the rest of the decisions are tough, if not impossible to make.
The same goes with deciding when are the best time and the best way to get your book into the world. Whether you're just starting to write or you have a complete project, take time out to consider key points like: Why this topic or story now? Is writing this book going to be for fun or part of a business? What do you want your book to accomplish for you?
2. Understand Your Audience:
Not that long ago, if you said you wrote a book, people would have expected to look in a bookstore if they wanted to buy it. Obviously, this is far from the case now. Besides being able to order print books everywhere from Wal-Mart to Amazon, books are now delivered in audio and digital formats. Beyond that, digital formats may be read on a computer on your desk, on your laptop or on your phone and still others are willing to carry an e-reader like a favorite novel.
Now more than ever, it is important to know what your audience wants. Once you have a good idea as to what that is, you can do your best to give it to them. When you both meet at the same place, you have a better chance at selling what you write either to a publisher or directly to your reader.
3. Understand Your Options
One of the benefits of the Internet is getting almost any information you want in a matter of a few keystrokes. It is truly an advantage compared to older research methods. However, when it comes to choosing a publishing option, a handful of quick searches will not suffice.
For example, if you type something like "publish a book" into the search engines, you'll undoubtedly find a lot of POD/fee-based publishers will top the list. To the uneducated, these companies may look the same as commercial publishers. They also often make their process very tempting; make a reasonable investment in your project and you'll have a book in no time.
If you don't realize this is not the same as being published traditionally, but traditional is what you're expecting, you're likely headed for a big disappointment. On the other hand, if you've done your homework thoroughly, you are clear on the options and you know how to filter through the information you gather, you'll find the journey to published is much smoother.
As I stated in the beginning, the publishing industry is going through a world of change right now. The good news is that even though there are new twists and turns almost daily, it is still very possible to get where you want to go. Make a roadmap, get directions as needed and enjoy the journey.
Cheryl Pickett has been a freelance writer for almost a decade. Her new book, Publishing Possibilities: 8 Steps to Understanding Your Options & Choosing the Best Path for Your Book, helps authors publish with less stress and more success. Find out more about the book and Cheryl's other services at http://www.publishinganswers.com.
Tweet Your Way to Jobs in Writing, Media, Journalism, Publishing, Etc.(Revised)
http://twitter.com/MediaJobsinUSA
Click here
http://twitter.com/jobs_in_media
Click here
http://twitter.com/jobs4bloggers
Click here
http://twitter.com/newmedialinks
Click here
http://twitter.com/publishingjobs
Click here
http://twitter.com/media_jobs
Click here
http://twitter.com/seojobs
Click here
http://twitter.com/journalism_jobs
Click here
http://twitter.com/themediaishuntn
Click here
http://twitter.com/themediaishirin
Click here
http://twitter.com/GetFreJournJob
Click here
http://twitter.com/wFreelanceJobs
Click here
http://twitter.com/newmediajob
Click here
http://twitter.com/jobs_NY_writing
Click here
http://twitter.com/MediaJobsNYC
Click here
http://twitter.com/MediaJobsinLA
Click here
http://twitter.com/MediaJobSanFran
Click here
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Get Real! Publishing Myths Exposed!
Get Real! Publishing Myths Exposed!
By Penny C. Sansevieri
http://www.amarketingexpert.com/
Click here
In the years since I've been in publishing I can't even count on one hand how many myths I've heard or how many of them have been pushed on unknowing authors. Arming yourself with knowledge is always a good idea and my intention is to share what I've found to be the biggest myths in publishing. There are twelve that rise to the surface for me, you might have a few that you’ve learned the hard way. I hope that I can help dispel a few myths and, in the process, give you a few promotional tips as well.
1) If someone writes a review I don't like, can I get them to rewrite it? No, this will never happen, nor should you ask for this. Doing this will show you are a novice. If you get back a bad review try to learn from it and move on. It happens to everyone at least once, it's disheartening but unfortunately, it's part of the business.
2) Radio is all I need to sell books. Not true. For some authors radio is golden but that's few and far between. Doing a lot of radio may be great for your exposure but it may not sell books. The best type of radio are interviews that are done to promote an event or workshop, that way you can at least drive people to something, rather than hoping they'll click on your site.
3) I'm going to take my independent title and get it on Oprah. Some years back, Oprah decided to be "unique" when selecting her books and she picked a title that came from a very small publisher. Because a mention on the Oprah show can produce a high demand, the publisher could not keep up with the orders, nor did they have enough in stock or stocked in a bookstore. The result? A lot of viewers called into the show when they couldn't find the book and Oprah vowed never to feature a small press title again. The challenge here is always availability. If you have a book from a small press but it has significant bookstore placement and availability, be sure to let the producers know this when you're pitching the book. It could go a long way to helping you gain consideration for the show!
4) I'm going to get my book on the New York Times Bestseller list. Bestseller lists are funny things, many of them (like the New York Times list) are not based on sales but rather on exposure and popularity. Meaning that if your book is gaining huge popularity, it might not be selling a ton of copies but bookstores are buzzing about it. The New York Times has around thirty or so bookstores around the country that report to them on what's hot and what's not. None of this is based on sales, just on what people are asking for. But regardless of the sales quota, in order to attain this level of exposure your book needs to have a significant print run of at least 50,000 or more. This also means that there needs to be placement of the book in bookstores. Yes, there are always exceptions to this rule, we saw that recently with the success of The Shack, but if someone is promising you bestseller status, take your marketing dollars and run.
5) If I get into Amazon does that mean my distribution is handled? No, Amazon is not a distributor, they are an online portal. Distribution means that there is a distributor actively involved in selling your book into bookstores. While it's great to be listed on all the online sites, having this as your only access point could hamper your book's success. If at all possible, get someone to distribute your title. Distribution can be tricky but it's often the one missing piece to a book's success.
6) How can I prevent my review copies from being sold? Unfortunately you can't, nor should you waste your time and energy on trying to get them back. Review copies are sold, it happens all the time and spending your time chasing used copies isn't a good use of your promotional efforts.
7) When I schedule a book signing the store will do all the promotion, right? Wrong. The bookstore may do some of the promotion, but not all of it. You will handle the lion's share of promotion for your event - this includes but is not limited to: notifying the media, printing up flyers and taking them to the store (if they'll let you provide bag stuffers to notify patrons prior to the event), getting a calendar listing in your local paper(s), getting posters done with your book cover on them, printing up and inviting every single one of your local contacts.
8) Will major media outlets review my book? Possibly, it depends. There's a lot of competition out there for review space, and review space is shrinking. While aspiring to a review in the New York Times is nice, it's important to be realistic. If your book is print-on-demand, major media may be less inclined to review it. Instead, take a look at trade or local (regional) media. And if your regional media says they won't review your book, try getting them to do a story on you.
9) Your book will be judged by its cover: This means unless your grandson is Rembrandt he or she may not contribute her finger paintings to your cover design. Period. End of story. There is a rare exception to this but it's important to note that it's rare. Having a professional cover is like trying to decide whether to use hot pink paper for your resume or stock white. Unless the job you're applying for welcomes a wildly creative bent, it's likely that an off-beat approach to your resume will turn off any future employer. Your book is the same way. Your book is your resume, your book cover is your cover letter. If you want to get them to read on you'd better be careful about the first thing you put in front of them. Don't take chances with your cover. Do your research, know what sells and what doesn't, and know what will get your reader to pick up the book and what won’t.
10) All of my friends will buy my book! Your friends may not buy your book; the truth is, strangers tend to buy books faster than friends do so don't be discouraged if your pals aren't snapping up your book.
11) How many copies should I plan to give away to promote my book? As many as it takes. Don't give copies to family and friends. I know this might sound mean but fair is fair, the only people who get a free copy are Mom and Dad. Friends and family need to pony up the money and buy their own copies. The rest (promotional copies) you’ll buy and give away like candy.
12) How long will it take for me to be successful? I don't know, no one does. I wish I had the answer to that question. We've worked with authors who are rising successes after six months, and others who are still plugging away two and three years after their book came out. The key is to have passion for what you're doing. Passion and commitment will keep you going through the good times and the dark days which will most certainly happen. Passion and commitment will remind you why you're in this and why you need to stay dedicated to your work. If you're not passionately committed to what you're doing, how do you expect anyone else to be?
Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a book marketing and media relations expert whose company has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.
By Penny C. Sansevieri
http://www.amarketingexpert.com/
Click here
In the years since I've been in publishing I can't even count on one hand how many myths I've heard or how many of them have been pushed on unknowing authors. Arming yourself with knowledge is always a good idea and my intention is to share what I've found to be the biggest myths in publishing. There are twelve that rise to the surface for me, you might have a few that you’ve learned the hard way. I hope that I can help dispel a few myths and, in the process, give you a few promotional tips as well.
1) If someone writes a review I don't like, can I get them to rewrite it? No, this will never happen, nor should you ask for this. Doing this will show you are a novice. If you get back a bad review try to learn from it and move on. It happens to everyone at least once, it's disheartening but unfortunately, it's part of the business.
2) Radio is all I need to sell books. Not true. For some authors radio is golden but that's few and far between. Doing a lot of radio may be great for your exposure but it may not sell books. The best type of radio are interviews that are done to promote an event or workshop, that way you can at least drive people to something, rather than hoping they'll click on your site.
3) I'm going to take my independent title and get it on Oprah. Some years back, Oprah decided to be "unique" when selecting her books and she picked a title that came from a very small publisher. Because a mention on the Oprah show can produce a high demand, the publisher could not keep up with the orders, nor did they have enough in stock or stocked in a bookstore. The result? A lot of viewers called into the show when they couldn't find the book and Oprah vowed never to feature a small press title again. The challenge here is always availability. If you have a book from a small press but it has significant bookstore placement and availability, be sure to let the producers know this when you're pitching the book. It could go a long way to helping you gain consideration for the show!
4) I'm going to get my book on the New York Times Bestseller list. Bestseller lists are funny things, many of them (like the New York Times list) are not based on sales but rather on exposure and popularity. Meaning that if your book is gaining huge popularity, it might not be selling a ton of copies but bookstores are buzzing about it. The New York Times has around thirty or so bookstores around the country that report to them on what's hot and what's not. None of this is based on sales, just on what people are asking for. But regardless of the sales quota, in order to attain this level of exposure your book needs to have a significant print run of at least 50,000 or more. This also means that there needs to be placement of the book in bookstores. Yes, there are always exceptions to this rule, we saw that recently with the success of The Shack, but if someone is promising you bestseller status, take your marketing dollars and run.
5) If I get into Amazon does that mean my distribution is handled? No, Amazon is not a distributor, they are an online portal. Distribution means that there is a distributor actively involved in selling your book into bookstores. While it's great to be listed on all the online sites, having this as your only access point could hamper your book's success. If at all possible, get someone to distribute your title. Distribution can be tricky but it's often the one missing piece to a book's success.
6) How can I prevent my review copies from being sold? Unfortunately you can't, nor should you waste your time and energy on trying to get them back. Review copies are sold, it happens all the time and spending your time chasing used copies isn't a good use of your promotional efforts.
7) When I schedule a book signing the store will do all the promotion, right? Wrong. The bookstore may do some of the promotion, but not all of it. You will handle the lion's share of promotion for your event - this includes but is not limited to: notifying the media, printing up flyers and taking them to the store (if they'll let you provide bag stuffers to notify patrons prior to the event), getting a calendar listing in your local paper(s), getting posters done with your book cover on them, printing up and inviting every single one of your local contacts.
8) Will major media outlets review my book? Possibly, it depends. There's a lot of competition out there for review space, and review space is shrinking. While aspiring to a review in the New York Times is nice, it's important to be realistic. If your book is print-on-demand, major media may be less inclined to review it. Instead, take a look at trade or local (regional) media. And if your regional media says they won't review your book, try getting them to do a story on you.
9) Your book will be judged by its cover: This means unless your grandson is Rembrandt he or she may not contribute her finger paintings to your cover design. Period. End of story. There is a rare exception to this but it's important to note that it's rare. Having a professional cover is like trying to decide whether to use hot pink paper for your resume or stock white. Unless the job you're applying for welcomes a wildly creative bent, it's likely that an off-beat approach to your resume will turn off any future employer. Your book is the same way. Your book is your resume, your book cover is your cover letter. If you want to get them to read on you'd better be careful about the first thing you put in front of them. Don't take chances with your cover. Do your research, know what sells and what doesn't, and know what will get your reader to pick up the book and what won’t.
10) All of my friends will buy my book! Your friends may not buy your book; the truth is, strangers tend to buy books faster than friends do so don't be discouraged if your pals aren't snapping up your book.
11) How many copies should I plan to give away to promote my book? As many as it takes. Don't give copies to family and friends. I know this might sound mean but fair is fair, the only people who get a free copy are Mom and Dad. Friends and family need to pony up the money and buy their own copies. The rest (promotional copies) you’ll buy and give away like candy.
12) How long will it take for me to be successful? I don't know, no one does. I wish I had the answer to that question. We've worked with authors who are rising successes after six months, and others who are still plugging away two and three years after their book came out. The key is to have passion for what you're doing. Passion and commitment will keep you going through the good times and the dark days which will most certainly happen. Passion and commitment will remind you why you're in this and why you need to stay dedicated to your work. If you're not passionately committed to what you're doing, how do you expect anyone else to be?
Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a book marketing and media relations expert whose company has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Talk the Talk: Writer’s Jargon
Background Info—Information given to a reporter to explain more about the situation and details of a story.
Pull Quote—A hot-button quotation from an article displayed separately, often in larger type, as a way to highlight it on the story page.
Slug or Slug Line—The label or name given to stories when filed.
Tweak—To edit a story. Also called finessing or massaging.
Head or Hed: Slang for headline.
Masthead—The page of a publication that gives its staff and editorial information.
Pitch or Query—Story/Book proposals/ideas of various page lengths sent to an assigning editor or literary agent.
Kill—To cancel or delete a story.
Tearsheet or Clip—A term for a sample of a writer’s published work. It's named for the tearing of the published work out of the newspaper or magazine, and is usually sent to a queried publisher/editor.
Slushpile—A pile (often located in or near the trash bin) for unsolicited manuscripts to a publisher/editor.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Demystifying Literary Agents
Seven Essential Points on Literary Agents
By Jill Nagle
Reprinted by permission from author
(An excerpt from the no-longer-for-sale e-book, “How to Find A Literary Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar.”)
As an aspiring author, you may have heard, “if your work is really good, you can get an agent. Getting the work into shape is the hard part. If you get the work into shape, the right agent will follow.” Is it really that simple? Well, yes and no.
The seven essential points below prepare you for what to expect when seeking an agent, or literary representative.
Point 1: Fiction or nonfiction? Differences in approach
As a novelist, or fiction writer, you need to complete your whole book, format it properly, and find an agent who specializes in selling novels. If you write nonfiction (self-help, how-to, memoir), forget about writing the whole book, unless you want to self-publish. Instead, write your book proposal.
A book proposal is like a business plan for your book. Its job is to convince the publisher to part with money so you can get paid to write your book.
In either case, to minimize your chances of rejection, you’ll need to have your proposal or manuscript polished before approaching an agent.
Point 2: That someone calls themselves an agent says nothing about what they can do for you
Some things haven’t changed in the century since the first literary agent was born. Today, anyone can still hang out a shingle and say they’re an agent—many people do. Not all agents are effective, ethical, or even sell any books.
Jill’s Guerilla Caveat
Don’t settle for just any agent. Agents vary tremendously in their effectiveness and in what they sell well. Get your proposal (for nonfiction writers) or manuscript (for novelists) into tip-top shape, then go for the agent who has a proven track record selling work similar to your own.
Point 3: Membership in the Association of Author’s Representatives (United States) indicates that the agent has agreed to abide by the AAR’s code of ethics
This professional guild for agents requires, among other things, that an agent:
* has sold at least ten literary properties (i.e. books) in the eighteen months prior to application for membership; and
* does not charge any fees for reading or evaluating authors’ work.
However, not every legitimate US agent belongs to the AAR. Many extremely successful agents opt out of AAR membership. A comparable agency called the Association of Author’s Agents operates in Britain.
Point 4: Legitimate agents earn their living by selling to legitimate publishers the rights to publish authors’ books
In return for writing your book and granting a legitimate publisher the rights to print it, the publisher gives you, the author, a percentage of whatever the book makes, otherwise known as a “royalty.” In return for brokering the deal and acting as your advocate, you in turn give your agent a percentage (usually 15 per cent) of this royalty.
This is how legitimate agents make their money. They pick good literary prospects for the publishers to consider, who rely on them to reduce the time and energy it would otherwise take to wade through the enormous amount of submissions the publishers receive.
Publishers know the legitimate agent’s living depends on being able to separate the wheat from the chaff, so they tend to look more seriously at submissions from reputable agents.
To reiterate, legitimate agents get paid through commissions on book rights only, period. If an agent charges you any money, except a small fee for expenses (and many people believe agents shouldn’t charge authors even for those; they should simply be considered the cost of doing business), they have little incentive to sell books.
Successful agents use a well-established network of relationships with editors in legitimate publishing houses. They know the right editors to call for the particular projects that come their way. They don’t have time to do anything but sell book rights, because selling book rights is how they make their money.
Aside from selling the rights to publish your book in your own country, many other possibilities exist for making money from your book both within your own country and abroad. These include translating the book and selling it overseas, making an audio recording of the book, or having the book used as the basis for a movie. The legal permission to do these things is called foreign rights, subsidiary rights and options, respectively.
To help you make the most money possible from your book, your agent should be able to negotiate for the subsidiary and foreign rights to remain with you, and then work either on their own or with someone else, to help you sell and make yet more money on sales from those rights.
Jill’s Guerilla Caveat
Apart from those agents who are simply mediocre, watch out for scammers – there are plenty! Apart from trusting your gut, and not paying an agent, avoid any agent who:
* insists you hire a particular editorial or consulting service (this is different from making a referral, or even better, two or three referrals and letting you interview them and make up your own mind);
* refers you to a publisher who wants to charge you money;
* suggests representing multiple works of yours simultaneously (unless they have a really good reason for thinking this is a good idea).
Agents who profit from upfront fees for reading or handling manuscripts, who affiliate themselves financially with editorial, coaching or publishing services, or who claim to need your money for any other purpose probably aren’t selling the rights to your book for a living.
Why should they, when aspiring writers who don’t know any better are kind enough to bankroll their other enterprises?
Point 5: At their best, agents advocate for author interests, and earn their commissions by:
* using their inside information, reputations and well-oiled relationships with editors to approach just the right publishers for your book – especially the increasing number of those publishers who won’t take un-agented submissions;
* applying their contractual and negotiating expertise to garnering higher advances, more rights and a lot of other stuff you might not be aware of;
* helping you refine both the form and content of your book so that it appeals to the publishers they plan to approach;
* intervening on your behalf if you get into a disagreement with the publisher;
* assisting you with making long-term decisions about sequels, options, subsidiary rights, next steps and other aspects of your career.
Point 6: Agents reject 99 per cent of all material that comes their way
The best and most reliable way to up your odds of getting published is to a) research your market, b) know and communicate to the agent via a perfect query letter how your work fits in with and stands out from others in its class, c) deliver an original, well-written, impeccably formatted manuscript or proposal, then d) choose an agent who is obviously interested in and has a record of selling work like yours. Read that again.
Point 7: Don’t initiate contact with a phone call – really. Approach an agent with a query letter instead
Unless you are famous (and even then), approach an agent with a query letter. A query letter introduces you and your book idea, and invites the agent to see your book proposal or manuscript.
Don’t email unless the agent specifically states somewhere in print or on the internet that they welcome email queries. Also, don’t call with general questions about their qualifications.
Agents who haven’t expressed interest in representing your work generally will not consent to have you interview them unless you’re a journalist calling to give them publicity.
Once an agent has expressed interest in your work, you can and should ask questions of them, then take up to a week (or longer, by mutual agreement) to decide whether to accept their offer of representation.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations—you now have a solid introduction to agents, a crucial piece of the mainstream publishing world. However, as you might guess, finding exactly the right agent for your work, so you can beat those 99 per cent rejection odds, takes a bit more effort.
Jill Nagle, an author as well as a writing coach and consultant, has been helping writers get published for over a decade.
By Jill Nagle
Reprinted by permission from author
(An excerpt from the no-longer-for-sale e-book, “How to Find A Literary Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar.”)
As an aspiring author, you may have heard, “if your work is really good, you can get an agent. Getting the work into shape is the hard part. If you get the work into shape, the right agent will follow.” Is it really that simple? Well, yes and no.
The seven essential points below prepare you for what to expect when seeking an agent, or literary representative.
Point 1: Fiction or nonfiction? Differences in approach
As a novelist, or fiction writer, you need to complete your whole book, format it properly, and find an agent who specializes in selling novels. If you write nonfiction (self-help, how-to, memoir), forget about writing the whole book, unless you want to self-publish. Instead, write your book proposal.
A book proposal is like a business plan for your book. Its job is to convince the publisher to part with money so you can get paid to write your book.
In either case, to minimize your chances of rejection, you’ll need to have your proposal or manuscript polished before approaching an agent.
Point 2: That someone calls themselves an agent says nothing about what they can do for you
Some things haven’t changed in the century since the first literary agent was born. Today, anyone can still hang out a shingle and say they’re an agent—many people do. Not all agents are effective, ethical, or even sell any books.
Jill’s Guerilla Caveat
Don’t settle for just any agent. Agents vary tremendously in their effectiveness and in what they sell well. Get your proposal (for nonfiction writers) or manuscript (for novelists) into tip-top shape, then go for the agent who has a proven track record selling work similar to your own.
Point 3: Membership in the Association of Author’s Representatives (United States) indicates that the agent has agreed to abide by the AAR’s code of ethics
This professional guild for agents requires, among other things, that an agent:
* has sold at least ten literary properties (i.e. books) in the eighteen months prior to application for membership; and
* does not charge any fees for reading or evaluating authors’ work.
However, not every legitimate US agent belongs to the AAR. Many extremely successful agents opt out of AAR membership. A comparable agency called the Association of Author’s Agents operates in Britain.
Point 4: Legitimate agents earn their living by selling to legitimate publishers the rights to publish authors’ books
In return for writing your book and granting a legitimate publisher the rights to print it, the publisher gives you, the author, a percentage of whatever the book makes, otherwise known as a “royalty.” In return for brokering the deal and acting as your advocate, you in turn give your agent a percentage (usually 15 per cent) of this royalty.
This is how legitimate agents make their money. They pick good literary prospects for the publishers to consider, who rely on them to reduce the time and energy it would otherwise take to wade through the enormous amount of submissions the publishers receive.
Publishers know the legitimate agent’s living depends on being able to separate the wheat from the chaff, so they tend to look more seriously at submissions from reputable agents.
To reiterate, legitimate agents get paid through commissions on book rights only, period. If an agent charges you any money, except a small fee for expenses (and many people believe agents shouldn’t charge authors even for those; they should simply be considered the cost of doing business), they have little incentive to sell books.
Successful agents use a well-established network of relationships with editors in legitimate publishing houses. They know the right editors to call for the particular projects that come their way. They don’t have time to do anything but sell book rights, because selling book rights is how they make their money.
Aside from selling the rights to publish your book in your own country, many other possibilities exist for making money from your book both within your own country and abroad. These include translating the book and selling it overseas, making an audio recording of the book, or having the book used as the basis for a movie. The legal permission to do these things is called foreign rights, subsidiary rights and options, respectively.
To help you make the most money possible from your book, your agent should be able to negotiate for the subsidiary and foreign rights to remain with you, and then work either on their own or with someone else, to help you sell and make yet more money on sales from those rights.
Jill’s Guerilla Caveat
Apart from those agents who are simply mediocre, watch out for scammers – there are plenty! Apart from trusting your gut, and not paying an agent, avoid any agent who:
* insists you hire a particular editorial or consulting service (this is different from making a referral, or even better, two or three referrals and letting you interview them and make up your own mind);
* refers you to a publisher who wants to charge you money;
* suggests representing multiple works of yours simultaneously (unless they have a really good reason for thinking this is a good idea).
Agents who profit from upfront fees for reading or handling manuscripts, who affiliate themselves financially with editorial, coaching or publishing services, or who claim to need your money for any other purpose probably aren’t selling the rights to your book for a living.
Why should they, when aspiring writers who don’t know any better are kind enough to bankroll their other enterprises?
Point 5: At their best, agents advocate for author interests, and earn their commissions by:
* using their inside information, reputations and well-oiled relationships with editors to approach just the right publishers for your book – especially the increasing number of those publishers who won’t take un-agented submissions;
* applying their contractual and negotiating expertise to garnering higher advances, more rights and a lot of other stuff you might not be aware of;
* helping you refine both the form and content of your book so that it appeals to the publishers they plan to approach;
* intervening on your behalf if you get into a disagreement with the publisher;
* assisting you with making long-term decisions about sequels, options, subsidiary rights, next steps and other aspects of your career.
Point 6: Agents reject 99 per cent of all material that comes their way
The best and most reliable way to up your odds of getting published is to a) research your market, b) know and communicate to the agent via a perfect query letter how your work fits in with and stands out from others in its class, c) deliver an original, well-written, impeccably formatted manuscript or proposal, then d) choose an agent who is obviously interested in and has a record of selling work like yours. Read that again.
Point 7: Don’t initiate contact with a phone call – really. Approach an agent with a query letter instead
Unless you are famous (and even then), approach an agent with a query letter. A query letter introduces you and your book idea, and invites the agent to see your book proposal or manuscript.
Don’t email unless the agent specifically states somewhere in print or on the internet that they welcome email queries. Also, don’t call with general questions about their qualifications.
Agents who haven’t expressed interest in representing your work generally will not consent to have you interview them unless you’re a journalist calling to give them publicity.
Once an agent has expressed interest in your work, you can and should ask questions of them, then take up to a week (or longer, by mutual agreement) to decide whether to accept their offer of representation.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations—you now have a solid introduction to agents, a crucial piece of the mainstream publishing world. However, as you might guess, finding exactly the right agent for your work, so you can beat those 99 per cent rejection odds, takes a bit more effort.
Jill Nagle, an author as well as a writing coach and consultant, has been helping writers get published for over a decade.
Spotlight Interview: Marcela Landres
Marcela Landres, Author, Book Editor/Writing Teacher & Consultant/Motivational Speaker
Before starting her own business as a freelance editorial consultant, both guiding aspiring writers through the publishing process and helping them develop winning career strategies, Marcela Landres worked for seven years as an acquisitions editor for Simon & Schuster.
During her tenure at S&S, in which she was one of the scant few Latino editors in major book publishing, Ms. Landres acquired and edited the likes of best-selling authors Karen Rauch Carter and Dora Levy Mossanen, as well as oversaw the award-winning Spanish language division Libros en Español.
She’s on the Literature Panel for the New York State Council on the Arts; a judge for the Beyond Margins Award for PEN, the Latino Book Awards, and The Scholastic Art & Writing Award; and a member of the Women's Media Group, New York Women in Communications, and Las Comadres.
In addition to her consulting business, Landres has authored the book, “How Editors Think: The Real Reason They Rejected You” and runs a popular workshop called “How to Write a Knockout Book Proposal,” speaks before such organizations as The Learning Annex, Columbia University, the National Writers Union and the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, and publishes Latinidad, a newsletter for Latino writers.
Please check out her Web site at:
http://www.marcelalandres.com/
Click here
And her Yahoo group at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/marcelalandres/
Click here
And feel free to contact her at:
marcelalandres@yahoo.com
Here is my exclusive newsletter interview with Ms. Landres:
Mike: What was your childhood like? Were you born to be in book publishing?
Landres: No, far from it. I grew up the daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants in the projects of Long Island City, Queens in New York City. My dad was a fireman and my mom was a schoolteacher, and neither of them were readers. In fact, we didn’t have any books in our home while I was growing up.
Mike: So, where did your love of books come from?
Landres: When you’re the child of a schoolteacher you must be a straight-A student—that’s the expectation—and my mother went about that by teaching me how to read at a very young age. I don’t think her intention was to make me a book lover, but learning to read very early certainly struck something inside me.
Plus, we lived across the street from a small public library and by the time I was 10 I was coming home with stacks of books. I started reading books written by authors whose last names began with the letter “A” and worked my way from there.
In addition, my father is an old-school Latino, so my sisters and I couldn’t date until we were 18. We couldn’t go to parties. We couldn’t throw parties. We couldn’t go to friends’ houses and play. We lead very sheltered lives. All I had was TV and books, and, although I watched a lot of TV, I was mostly a book nerd—and proud of it. Books like Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby and Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn—these were my first best friends. Writers were my heroes because their stories opened up my otherwise circumscribed world.
I had no desire to hang out on the streets with the other kids. I was a loner and painfully shy. My mother used to snatch books out of my hands in the summer, and order me to go outside. And she’d come into my room at nighttime, when I was supposed to be asleep, and order me to stop reading by moonlight. Needless to say, it didn’t work!
Mike: Did you study publishing or literature in college?
Landres: Not right away. Originally, I was on the pre-med track, because I was supposed to become the first doctor in my family. But that ended once I got to organic chemistry lab. I quickly switched to English Lit and never looked back.
Mike: What was your route to Simon & Schuster?
Landres: I’d done some book publishing internships while in college. But I’d heard that magazines promoted faster and paid more, so I gave magazines a chance and worked for The American Lawyer for a year-and-a-half as the assistant to the editor and publisher. But my heart wasn’t in magazines. I didn’t love them nearly as much as I did books. So I left there to join Simon & Schuster.
Mike: What was your job at S&S exactly?
Landres: My main function was to read proposals and manuscripts and to separate them into two piles: “reject” and “pursue.” The fact is I put almost all of them into the rejection pile. The very few I didn’t I did my best to put under contract.
In essence, I was the gateway to a book being published.
I did very little reading in the office. Most of it was done at home, on the weekends, or on the subway ride to and from work. In fact, my decision to accept or reject something was often made on the subway.
Mike: Did you read unrepresented submissions?
Landres: Yes, but that made me very unusual among my editing colleagues. I was very open and accepting of those submissions, mostly because I became an editor to help Latino writers get published and most Latino writers didn’t have agents. The reason for that is, most agents aren’t Latino, and to ask them to find Latino writers is an exercise in futility.
Mike: How many manuscripts would you receive daily?
Landres: From around a half-dozen to dozens.
Mike: And how many of those would you publish in a good year?
Landres: On average, around 15.
Mike: Wow! So the numbers are pretty bad?
Landres: Yes, it’s a very low percentage. The odds are heavily against you.
Mike: So, what do you suggest to writers to increase the numbers in their favor?
Landres: It’s all about your reputation and your Rolodex. Who you know is your Rolodex. Who knows you is your reputation. The person that once said, “It’s all about who you know,” was half-right. The two combined make your platform. And platform is what’s most in demand in book publishing these days.
Most editors and most agents are not primarily looking for talented writers. What we’re looking for are people with a strong platform. Look at Dr. Phil. He had a best-selling weight-loss book, yet he’s hardly a great writer, hardly a fitness expert, and hardly looks like someone who should be writing about weight loss. But he has a great platform. He’s a friend of Oprah and has a top-rated TV show. He’s a perfect example of platform meaning much more than writing talent.
Mike: What are the five best pieces of advice for aspiring writers to build a strong platform?
Landres: 1) Spend no more than 50 percent of your time being the best writer you can be and no less than 50 percent of your time learning the business of publishing. Although writing can be a hobby, a vocation, a calling, a form of artistic expression, if you expect to be published, that means you expect to be paid, so at the end of the day writing is a job. Writers who treat writing as a job have a much better chance of being successful.
2) Attend writing conferences. Specifically, choose conferences that focus on the genre in which you write. In other words, if you write horror, go to a horror writers conference. It’s a wonderful way to not only meet successful horror writers, but also to network with agents and editors who specialize in horror.
3) Get your short pieces (e.g. poems, short stories, and essays) published in literary journals, magazines, newspapers, and reputable Web sites before seeking to publish a book-length work. It’s very difficult to get a book-length work published if you haven’t had short pieces published first. You need to start developing a readership that extends well beyond your mom, best friend, and significant other.
4) Make new friends. Most unpublished writers make the mistake of only hanging out with other unpublished writers. Hanging out with other unpublished writers all the time won’t get you very far in your writing career. I’m not suggesting that you get rid of all your old friends. Keep and cherish your old friends, as you’ll need them on the way up, as well as on the way down. But you should carefully seek out new friends who are successfully published writers, and try to make them your mentors.
5) Read the author bios printed on book covers. Notice how bios invariably list highlights of a writer’s platform. How do you think they got that book deal in the first place?
Mike: What do you think of self-publishing?
Landres: I sing the praises of self-publishing. For the right writer and right kind of book, it’s been a time-proven method of launching a successful traditional writing career. All kinds of writers have done it, though it’s worked best for authors of commercial women’s fiction. African-American writers in particular have benefited from self-publishing.
E. Lynn Harris started out self-publishing and is now a huge best-selling author at Random House. Zane, a best-selling erotica author published by Simon & Schuster, also began as a self-published author. James Redfield self-published The Celestine Prophecy before it became a huge mainstream hit. And Karen E. Quinones Miller and M.J. Rose are also examples of best-selling authors who built their platforms via self-publishing. If all these people can do it, so can you.
Mike: But aren’t a lot of self-published books just plain horrible?
Landres: Sure. But most of the stuff published by traditional publishing houses is crap. So why should self-publishing be different?
Mike: Do you write yourself?
Landres: No. Just for my newsletter and Web site, though I wouldn’t even call that writing. I’m an educator, not a writer. But I’m unusual among editors that way. In my experience, most editors are repressed writers.
Mike: What do you do in your consulting business?
Landres: I work one-on-one with writers, editing their manuscript or critiquing their proposals. I tell them what’s wrong and how to fix it. But that’s just part of what I do. The other part is educating them about the business of publishing, which is as important as the craft of writing. About half of my clients have agents, and half don’t. Some write fiction, some write non-fiction. About 40% are Latino, which means 60% are not. But the one thing they pretty much all have in common is they’ve gotten really nice rejection letters from publishing companies telling them their writing or book idea is good but needs polishing. That’s where I step in. I teach them craft, and then empower them to make informed choices in their writing careers.
Mike: Could you recommend a Web site for writers other than your own?
Landres: Yes, it’s called Backspace—The Writers Place, at:
http://www.bksp.org/
Click here
Mike: Any book recommendations?
Landres: Two, actually. First, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published by Sheree Bykofsky & Jennifer Bayse Sander. The greatest value of this book is that it includes a real live book proposal that resulted in a book deal. And the other is Publicize Your Book! An Insider’s Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves by Jacqueline Deval. It’s a fabulous book. In fact, let me read you these first two sentences:
“The reality of book publishing is that there are too few resources to support every book. This means that some books will get publicity campaigns and budgets, while others will go without.”
That’s exactly right. This goes contrary to what most authors believe. They simply assume that their publishing company will automatically spend money promoting their book just because they published it. The reality is that’s not always the case.
Mike: Who are some of your heroes in the literary world?
Landres: Oh, god, I have so many. Toni Morrison. Terry McMillan. Charles Dickens. Annie Dillard. And a Dominican-American writer named Angie Cruz, who grew up in Washington Heights.
Mike: What inspires you?
Landres: People’s stories, either reading them or hearing them. I love storytellers.
Mike: Do you have a favorite quote?
Landres: I have a motto I live by:
If you are in a position to help someone, it is your honor and your obligation to do so.
I believe that knowledge is power only when shared. I tell my clients and everyone who attends my workshops that now that I’ve shared my knowledge with them, they better get off their butt and do something with it. I think it’s my duty to crush unrealistic expectations and replace them with achievable goals.
Mike: Any lasting thoughts?
Landres: Yes. Always remember that, whether you are published or not, we all have stories to tell, and we’re the only ones who are qualified to tell them. All of us are storytellers. Some of us simply have a greater need to share our stories and attract an audience.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Q&A with Literary Agent Jeff Kleinman
pubQ&A with Literary Agent Jeff Kleinman
Interview Cunducted By Maria Schneider
http://editorunleashed.com
Click here
Jeff Kleinman is a literary agent with Folio Literary Management who represents both fiction and nonfiction authors.
I asked Jeff what he’d most like to see in his inbox right now: “I’d love to see a splendidly written novel with a premise that’s very cool, very original, and that I can talk about at lunch with an editor and have the editor say, ‘Wow, that sounds amazing!’ ” As for nonfiction: “An amazingly written, never-before-known story, probably with a historical and/or science twist, that changes how I think about whatever the events are surrounding the story.”
Here, Jeff answers five questions, including whether or not publishers are buying now and his predictions about what they might be looking for in the next few years.
So read on, and make sure you check out the announcement at the end of the interview about Jeff’s upcoming visit to the Editor Unleashed forum.
1. Are publishers actively buying or have acquisitions slowed down with the economy?
I wish I knew. Oddly, I managed to sell five books last week, and one of my business partners sold even more, but I think that was very much the exception to the rule. I think acquisitions are slowing down—I think editors will be even more exceedingly careful before they take a chance on a new, untried writer.
2. What should a writer look for in an agent. Is AAR membership a credential writers should be concerned with?
I think AAR membership is helpful, but not critical. In this kind of an economy, though, having an established agent, or an agent at a very reputable firm, seems more important than ever—the agent’s clout can help tip the balance, I think. AAR membership means at least the agent has sold a certain number of projects, and abides by their canon of ethics. That said, a lot of incredible agents don’t belong to the AAR, so that shouldn’t be the deciding factor if the agent is highly reputable and with a very solid client list.
3. Folio offers some services that aren’t typically available at agencies, like marketing and PR services. How does that work from the writer’s perspective?
The marketing and PR services are examples of two ways that Folio tries to support its authors. We realize that publishers are often overextended and underfunded: so if we can help support the publisher’s (and author’s) efforts, we want to do so. All of the services that Folio supplies are elective —some of our authors decide to use them; others don’t. Either way is fine by us—we want to at least make the tools available, and if the author decides not to avail herself of those tools, at least we can sleep at night, knowing that we tried.
4. Are there any acquisition trends you see on the near horizon?
• Escape stories. Stories that take us totally out of our world and into another. Maybe another Harry Potter? Certainly these types of alternative worlds seem a lot more palatable right now than the grim one we’re presently living in. But they don’t have to be Science Fiction and Fantasy. It can be any story that transports us into a worldview different than our own.
• Brand authors. Authors with established track records and an established fan base—these will be “safe” for the publishing house and bookstore.
• Happy subjects. I think a lot of misery memoirs, difficult situations, and post-apocalyptic disasters are going to be difficult. Anything that isn’t upbeat will be a struggle for even me to read.
• Inspirational stories. Books that celebrate some aspect of life, or inspire people to try harder and work more. This doesn’t mean really saccharine stuff—I think well-written, solid stories that inspire and charm are definitely what I’ll be on the lookout for.
5. How important is it for writers to be social networking, blogging, etc? Does having a strong blog readership influence your decision to accept a client?
I think anything that builds the author’s platform is incredibly helpful. Strong blog readership, or a dazzling writing style, is certainly very helpful. I’m working with a writer now, Quinn Cummings, who writes The QC Report, is an absolutely laugh-out-loud writer; I sold her memoir, Notes from the Underwire, on exclusive to Hyperion, and I’ve just seen the final manuscript and it’s unbelievably funny. Quinn has a following, certainly, but more important her writing style is just so wry and witty that the editor and I both fell head-over-heels for her.
Interview Cunducted By Maria Schneider
http://editorunleashed.com
Click here
Jeff Kleinman is a literary agent with Folio Literary Management who represents both fiction and nonfiction authors.
I asked Jeff what he’d most like to see in his inbox right now: “I’d love to see a splendidly written novel with a premise that’s very cool, very original, and that I can talk about at lunch with an editor and have the editor say, ‘Wow, that sounds amazing!’ ” As for nonfiction: “An amazingly written, never-before-known story, probably with a historical and/or science twist, that changes how I think about whatever the events are surrounding the story.”
Here, Jeff answers five questions, including whether or not publishers are buying now and his predictions about what they might be looking for in the next few years.
So read on, and make sure you check out the announcement at the end of the interview about Jeff’s upcoming visit to the Editor Unleashed forum.
1. Are publishers actively buying or have acquisitions slowed down with the economy?
I wish I knew. Oddly, I managed to sell five books last week, and one of my business partners sold even more, but I think that was very much the exception to the rule. I think acquisitions are slowing down—I think editors will be even more exceedingly careful before they take a chance on a new, untried writer.
2. What should a writer look for in an agent. Is AAR membership a credential writers should be concerned with?
I think AAR membership is helpful, but not critical. In this kind of an economy, though, having an established agent, or an agent at a very reputable firm, seems more important than ever—the agent’s clout can help tip the balance, I think. AAR membership means at least the agent has sold a certain number of projects, and abides by their canon of ethics. That said, a lot of incredible agents don’t belong to the AAR, so that shouldn’t be the deciding factor if the agent is highly reputable and with a very solid client list.
3. Folio offers some services that aren’t typically available at agencies, like marketing and PR services. How does that work from the writer’s perspective?
The marketing and PR services are examples of two ways that Folio tries to support its authors. We realize that publishers are often overextended and underfunded: so if we can help support the publisher’s (and author’s) efforts, we want to do so. All of the services that Folio supplies are elective —some of our authors decide to use them; others don’t. Either way is fine by us—we want to at least make the tools available, and if the author decides not to avail herself of those tools, at least we can sleep at night, knowing that we tried.
4. Are there any acquisition trends you see on the near horizon?
• Escape stories. Stories that take us totally out of our world and into another. Maybe another Harry Potter? Certainly these types of alternative worlds seem a lot more palatable right now than the grim one we’re presently living in. But they don’t have to be Science Fiction and Fantasy. It can be any story that transports us into a worldview different than our own.
• Brand authors. Authors with established track records and an established fan base—these will be “safe” for the publishing house and bookstore.
• Happy subjects. I think a lot of misery memoirs, difficult situations, and post-apocalyptic disasters are going to be difficult. Anything that isn’t upbeat will be a struggle for even me to read.
• Inspirational stories. Books that celebrate some aspect of life, or inspire people to try harder and work more. This doesn’t mean really saccharine stuff—I think well-written, solid stories that inspire and charm are definitely what I’ll be on the lookout for.
5. How important is it for writers to be social networking, blogging, etc? Does having a strong blog readership influence your decision to accept a client?
I think anything that builds the author’s platform is incredibly helpful. Strong blog readership, or a dazzling writing style, is certainly very helpful. I’m working with a writer now, Quinn Cummings, who writes The QC Report, is an absolutely laugh-out-loud writer; I sold her memoir, Notes from the Underwire, on exclusive to Hyperion, and I’ve just seen the final manuscript and it’s unbelievably funny. Quinn has a following, certainly, but more important her writing style is just so wry and witty that the editor and I both fell head-over-heels for her.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
How to Get Published in 2009
How to Get Published in 2009
By Patricia L. Fry
Is this the year that you’ll finally hold your finished book in your hands? What steps are you taking toward this goal?
For many, the hardest part of the publishing process is finding a publisher. If publishing is in your thoughts this year, you are probably asking:
* How do I go about finding a publisher?
* How do I approach a publisher?
* Do I need an agent?
* How many rejections are enough?
* At what point should I consider self-publishing?
If you haven’t had any of these questions rolling around in your mind, you aren’t ready to publish your book. The rest of you are probably eagerly awaiting my responses to one or more of these questions.
1: How does one find an appropriate publisher? Note: The word appropriate, in this sentence, is important because publishers are not one-size-fits-all propositions, these days. Most of them specialize. It’s necessary that you can identify the genre of your book before you start a publisher search.
A: Find the appropriate publisher for your genre and topic in Writer’s Market. Or use their database at www.writersmarket.com for a nominal fee. There are also other publishers references guides you can use.
B: Visit your nearest mega bookstore. Look at books similar to yours and note the authors of those books. Locate contact information and submission guidelines for those publishers.
C: Do a Google search to find publishers in your genre.
2: Approach the publisher in the way he or she requires. First, always request (or locate online) their submission guidelines. Study them. Make sure that your project fits this publisher’s requirements. Submit the materials that particular publisher requests and in the way he/she requests it. Address your query letter or book proposal cover letter to the appropriate individual (by name).
Likewise, if the publisher accepts only manuscripts of 80,000 words, don’t send him a 20,000-word novella or a 150,000-word book. If he requires a book proposal first, don’t send the complete manuscript.
3: Do you need an agent? It depends. While some publishers require that you approach them only through an agent, others prefer working directly with an author. Finding an agent can be as daunting and frustrating as finding a publisher. And landing an agent does not mean that you will automatically get published.
Note: Choose an agent appropriate for your particular book who is a member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR, www.aar-online.org).
4: If you get rejected—and you probably will—then you have a decision to make. The thing that most authors don’t realize is that there are hundreds of publishers out there—large, medium and small. Writer’s Market lists over 150 publishers of educational material, for example. There are at least 60 publishers for creative nonfiction. Do you write mysteries? In Writer’s Market you’ll find over 100 publishers of mysteries seeking good books. And there are around 100 publishers for juvenile books. Writer’s Market has an extensive list of publishers, but this volume does not include all of them.
Rejection is pretty much inevitable. As you may know if you’ve been studying the publishing industry, some best-selling books were rejected numbers of times before they were either accepted or the author self-published and brought them to notice. There’s one thing for sure, if you give up after three or 103 rejections, the book will never be published.
A general rule of thumb for many is that if a book is rejected across the board by, say 10 or more appropriate publishers, maybe you need to take another look at your book. Perhaps the focus isn’t quite right. Maybe it needs editing. Did any of the publishers critique the book, give you advice or suggestions? If so, this could be a sign that it has promise. Most publishes will reject a bad idea or a poorly written book with no comment.
So how many rejections are enough? You could land a contract the first time out or it may take 120 rejections before the time is right, the circumstance is right and the right publisher comes along. Or you might decide to bypass the traditional royalty publisher altogether and self-publish. If this is your decision, be prepared to promote hard and hardy to make your book a success. Better yet, be sure that your book is truly a good idea and not just wishful thinking.
5: When should one consider self-publishing? For some, self-publishing is the answer. Don’t waste your time seeking out a traditional royalty publisher. An example would be a local history book, a memoir about someone who isn’t known. For others, self-publishing is never the right answer. How’s that for confusing the issue?
Truly, if you have a great idea, you present it in a timely manner, it is an extremely well written book, there is an audience who is hungry for this book and you have the time, ideas, money, energy and willingness for promoting this book, then go ahead and consider self-publishing.
For the rest of you, once you have exhausted all avenues to getting your book published, you have examined your book to make sure it is a viable product, you’ve written a complete book proposal and have honestly responded to all parts of it, then self-publishing may be for you.
I generally suggest self-publishing (establishing your own publishing company) rather than going with a POD publishing service. But if you want to go that route, please, please, please, study your options. In his book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing, Mark Levine compares many of these companies to make it easy to choose the one that’s right for you.
Don’t be in so much of a hurry to publish that you start making costly mistakes.
Patricia Fry is the author of 25 published books, including, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book and The Author’s Repair Kit. She is also the president of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network, www.spawn.org).
Visit her publishing blog at:
www.matilijapress.com/publishingblog
Click here
Ms. Fry’s free guide to writing a Post-Publication Book Proposal can be requested by emailing her at:
PLFry620@yahoo.com
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
One-Day Writers Workshop in New York City on Jan. 18!
Reserve your spot now for the one-day writers workshop in New York City on advanced strategies on making it in the publishing world!
Please join award-winning writer/journalist Michael P. Geffner, former Simon & Schuster book editor Marcela Landres, and children's book editor Eileen Robinson for three infinitely enlightening hours on the world of big-time publishing.
What: Building the Professional Writing Life; Learning How Editors Think; Finding, Impressing and Landing a Literary Agent
When: Sunday, Jan. 18, 1-4PM (with 4-5PM for private one-on-one consultations)
Where: A gloriously-serene restaurant in Forest Hills, Queens (easy to reach by car or subway)
Cost: $99.00
Pre-Registration Required before Jan. 15: Please email mgeffy@gmail.com for details.
Register now with a payment to reserve your spot! Only 20 people max!
Bios:
Michael P. Geffner has written for Details, Texas Monthly, The Village Voice, USA Today, The Sporting News, Los Angeles Magazine, and The Associated Press. His work has been acknowledged for excellence by The Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press Sports Editors, Best American Sports Writing, New York Press, and the New York Publishers Association.
http://mikeswritingworkshop.blogspot.com
Marcela Landres is the author of the e-book How Editors Think: The Real Reason They Rejected You, and is the publisher of Latinidad, an award-winning e-zine which was chosen as one of the 101 Best Web Sites for Writers by Writer's Digest Magazine. She speaks frequently for organizations such as the New York Round Table Writers’ Conference, Columbia University, and The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.
http://www.marcelalandres.com/home.html
Eileen Robinson is a children's book editor, editorial consultant and creator of F1rst Pages. For almost 10 years, she has acquired, developed, and edited children's books for both Scholastic as Executive Editor, and Harcourt publishers, as Editorial Manager. She has also worked on projects for National Geographic, Santillana USA, Marshall Cavendish, Weekly Reader, and others. Having published many new authors, Eileen believes in helping newcomers get their feet in the door, as well as working with experienced fiction or nonfiction authors.
http://www.f1rstpages.com/
For an additional charge of $30, you can reserve a 15-minute private consultation with any of the speakers. Book writers should submit no more than 10 double-spaced pages of a manuscript plus a one-page synopsis by Jan. 12, so it can be forwarded well in advance to Ms. Landres (she does not accept poetry or children’s books) or Ms. Robinson. Journalists should submit to Mr. Geffner their query letters and/or resumes of no more than one page, or a story of no more than 10 pages double-spaced. You should include your name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address on the first page of each piece of work.
These one-on-one sessions are open only to workshop attendees!
Please join award-winning writer/journalist Michael P. Geffner, former Simon & Schuster book editor Marcela Landres, and children's book editor Eileen Robinson for three infinitely enlightening hours on the world of big-time publishing.
What: Building the Professional Writing Life; Learning How Editors Think; Finding, Impressing and Landing a Literary Agent
When: Sunday, Jan. 18, 1-4PM (with 4-5PM for private one-on-one consultations)
Where: A gloriously-serene restaurant in Forest Hills, Queens (easy to reach by car or subway)
Cost: $99.00
Pre-Registration Required before Jan. 15: Please email mgeffy@gmail.com for details.
Register now with a payment to reserve your spot! Only 20 people max!
Bios:
Michael P. Geffner has written for Details, Texas Monthly, The Village Voice, USA Today, The Sporting News, Los Angeles Magazine, and The Associated Press. His work has been acknowledged for excellence by The Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press Sports Editors, Best American Sports Writing, New York Press, and the New York Publishers Association.
http://mikeswritingworkshop.blogspot.com
Marcela Landres is the author of the e-book How Editors Think: The Real Reason They Rejected You, and is the publisher of Latinidad, an award-winning e-zine which was chosen as one of the 101 Best Web Sites for Writers by Writer's Digest Magazine. She speaks frequently for organizations such as the New York Round Table Writers’ Conference, Columbia University, and The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.
http://www.marcelalandres.com/home.html
Eileen Robinson is a children's book editor, editorial consultant and creator of F1rst Pages. For almost 10 years, she has acquired, developed, and edited children's books for both Scholastic as Executive Editor, and Harcourt publishers, as Editorial Manager. She has also worked on projects for National Geographic, Santillana USA, Marshall Cavendish, Weekly Reader, and others. Having published many new authors, Eileen believes in helping newcomers get their feet in the door, as well as working with experienced fiction or nonfiction authors.
http://www.f1rstpages.com/
For an additional charge of $30, you can reserve a 15-minute private consultation with any of the speakers. Book writers should submit no more than 10 double-spaced pages of a manuscript plus a one-page synopsis by Jan. 12, so it can be forwarded well in advance to Ms. Landres (she does not accept poetry or children’s books) or Ms. Robinson. Journalists should submit to Mr. Geffner their query letters and/or resumes of no more than one page, or a story of no more than 10 pages double-spaced. You should include your name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address on the first page of each piece of work.
These one-on-one sessions are open only to workshop attendees!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Blockbuster or Bust
Blockbuster or Bust
Why struggling publishers will keep placing outrageous bids on new books
By ANITA ELBERSE
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123093737793850127.html
Dark days are upon the book industry. Last month alone, Random House announced a massive restructuring; Simon & Schuster laid off 35 staffers; the adult division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt stopped acquiring manuscripts for the rest of the year; and HarperCollins sent comedian Sarah Silverman a contract worth $2.5 million to write her first book.
Yes, that's right -- amid the worst economic crisis to hit the United States in decades, publishing executives are still making what many see as outrageous gambles on new manuscripts.
The move by HarperCollins is only one of the latest in a string of big bets by companies employing a blockbuster strategy -- a common approach among movie studios, television-production companies and music labels. A spokeswoman for the publishing house says it doesn't disclose author advances. (HarperCollins Publishers is a unit of News Corp., which also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.)
Most large media firms make outsized investments to acquire and market a small number of titles with strong hit potential, and bank on their sales to make up for middling performance in the rest of their catalogs.
In the past, the strategy seemed to work wonders. For example, Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, generated roughly 80% of its sales and an even larger share of its profits from just 20% of its titles in 2006. In 2007, Grand Central purportedly shelled out $1.25 million for the rights to Vicki Myron's "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World," a nonfiction book about a fluffy orange kitten found abandoned in the returned-book slot of an Iowa public library.
The project, which was written with Bret Witter, did not scream instant success: Cat books are not particularly hot sellers, Ms. Myron was a first-time author and the book's main character passed away in 2006 -- making him unavailable for an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's couch. But the book has been a mainstay in the upper echelons of The New York Times bestseller chart ever since its September release. To the surprise of many, the book looks well on its way to earning its advance back -- and then some.
A prudent manager in any other industry might be left scratching his head: Why would Grand Central put itself in the position of having to outsell all cat books released in recent memory to earn back its seven-figure advance? Rather than putting all its eggs in one basket, wouldn't it be smarter for a publisher to place a larger number of smaller bets -- particularly in today's harsh economic climate?
Hardly. Despite its double-or-nothing daring, the blockbuster strategy remains the most sensible approach to lasting success.
Consider, first, how these bets come about. Given the variability in execution in books, and the constantly shifting tastes of consumers, it is extremely difficult to forecast demand for a new title. The one useful indicator of commercial potential is its resemblance to an existing bestseller, so a project can be tagged, say, "the next 'Tipping Point'" or "a hipper 'Harry Potter'." This similarity is an indicator that's evident to any editor or publisher who sees the proposal -- and thanks to busy agents, many do. As a consequence, there is heavy convergence of interest on certain properties, triggering competitive bidding situations.
Soon after "Dewey" started to make the rounds, industry insiders billed it as the feline answer to "Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog," John Grogan's 2005 memoir, published by William Morrow, a HarperCollins imprint. "Marley" was a runaway hit and in its wake came related children's titles and a movie starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. Publishers saw the essential similarities in "Dewey": It was a touching story about how an animal could bring out the humanity in people it encountered. While executives at Grand Central are careful about making comparisons between "Dewey" and "Marley" -- every title needs to be judged on its own merits, after all -- the resemblances undeniably spurred publishers' enthusiasm for the "Dewey" rights. Fearful that the price would reach astronomical heights at auction, Grand Central snapped up the book with a pre-emptive bid a day before several other publishers would have had their shot at it.
When a publisher spends an inordinate amount on an acquisition, it will do everything in its power to make that project a market success. Most importantly, this means supporting the book with higher-than-average marketing, advertising and distribution support -- which is exactly how Grand Central handled "Dewey'"s launch. To do otherwise would be foolish: If a product like "Dewey" fails to draw readers, Grand Central knows its profitability will be severely hurt. With such high stakes and money tied up in a few big projects in the pipeline, the need to score big with a next project becomes more pressing, and the process repeats itself. The result is a spiral of ever-increasing bets on the most promising concepts, creating a "blockbuster trap."
Examples are everywhere. Perhaps buoyed by Grand Central's success with Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You!)" in 2007, Little, Brown & Co, another division of Hachette, reportedly bid more than $5 million for the rights to comedian Tina Fey's first book in October of last year, when the economy was already in deep trouble. A senior executive at Little, Brown declined comment on the advance.
Expect Ms. Fey to get star treatment from the publisher. And if her new book falls short of the high expectations -- to earn back the advance, industry experts estimate that the book would need to sell over a million copies -- Little Brown will be all the more determined to make its next acquisition a hit.
But what would happen if a publisher like Grand Central decided to stop making large bids like the one it placed on "Dewey" and systematically walked away from the most sought-after -- and therefore expensive -- new properties?
First, agents would stop sending such a publisher their most promising book proposals. "If you are constantly backing out of big-ticket auctions, your list is going to hurt," is how one publishing executive explains it. "You are going to get a stigma that you don't play for the big ones, and you are going to get shunned out. Agents will no longer consider you for what they feel are their best projects." Publishers can't afford to cost-save themselves out of the market. Even if they could develop extraordinary competence in finding gold in the "slush pile" of hundreds of pieces of unsolicited material received each week, the dividends would be limited. After one success, the talent the publisher had nurtured would discover the value of an agent.
In addition, the most talented editors and other creative talent would leave to work for a publisher that would let them pursue the projects they thought had the highest chances of success. Careers are built on blockbusters. Jamie Raab, Grand Central's publisher, is known for discovering the bestselling novelist Nicholas Sparks. As a result, she continues to receive a steady stream of the best new love stories from literary agents.
Not bidding for sought-after projects also makes it harder to get best efforts from sales and marketing representatives and other internal constituents. After winning the hotly contested rights to a book like "Dewey," it is easier for the Grand Central executives to make the case that this book will beat its competitors. Firing up those that will be involved in the book's development and marketing process is important, because most media titles have only a short window in which to make money; the lion's share of marketing activity takes place before their launch -- when it's still largely unknown how audiences will respond.
Book retailers like Borders and Barnes & Noble want to see evidence that a book is worthy of their scarce resources. They like nothing better than to know that a book publisher has made a significant push for a title and is planning an extensive marketing campaign. In most media markets, support from the biggest retailers is decisive. A significant share of books is bought on impulse, so significant shelf space and room on display tables ("pile 'em high and watch 'em fly" tactics) are particularly important. A blockbuster strategy helps retailers to use their resources effectively, too.
In fact, the way in which retailers market their books to consumers is driven by the same forces that made "Dewey" such a pricey creature. This is noticeable even in the smallest details. If you have ever walked into a Borders bookstore you may have noticed the "Like this? Try these!" signs with one arrow pointing to a bestseller such as "Marley & Me," and another arrow to a bunch of books that are similar to that hit book. For "Marley & Me," those included "The Art of Racing in the Rain," "A Three Dog Life," and "Merle's Door," all dog books. Expect to see "Dewey" on one of those shelves in your local store soon, if it's not there already, and an array of other cat books to follow in its footsteps.
Media companies' hit-focused marketing did not emerge in a vacuum. It reflects how consumers make choices. The truth is that consumers prefer blockbusters. Because they are inherently social, people find value in reading the same books and watching the same movies that others do. This is true even in today's markets where, thanks to the Internet, buyers have easy access to millions and millions of titles. Compounding this tendency is the fact that media products are what economists call "experience goods": that is, shoppers have trouble evaluating them before having consumed or experienced them. Unable to judge a book by its cover, readers look for cues as to its suitability for them, and find it very useful to hear that "Dewey" is "a 'Marley & Me' for cat lovers." In much the same way that potential publishers do, readers value resemblances to past favorites.
Blockbuster strategies are certainly not free of risk, but, in the long run, they beat the alternative of more balanced investment strategies. That explains why, even when the book industry struggles with the effects of the economic downturn, publishing houses won't steer away from big bets. Publishers may be even more determined to land such projects in tough times. HarperCollins won the rights to Sarah Silverman's book only after an intense auction with several other houses. The highest-performing companies in the media and entertainment sector thrive by taking a chance on certain titles, and turning those choices into successes by giving them a higher level of development and marketing support. It may be partly a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it works. And because the marginal cost of reproducing and distributing media products is relatively low -- especially compared to their up-front production expenses -- the cost advantage of brisk sellers is huge.
Are there breakout hits that no one sees coming? Sure. And do media companies sometimes pick the wrong titles to focus their attention on? Absolutely -- no one in the industry has a perfect record, and the process of picking winners remains "an informed crapshoot," as one executive put it. But given their recent performance, it is hard to argue against the approaches taken by publishing houses like Grand Central and Little Brown. "Dewey" is quickly turning into one fat cat: In the latest sign of his ascent to superstardom, New Line Cinema landed the rights to a film adaptation, and Meryl Streep is believed to be in talks to play his owner, author Vicki Myron. Let's hope "Marley" loves a chase.
Anita Elberse is an associate professor at the Harvard Business School.
Why struggling publishers will keep placing outrageous bids on new books
By ANITA ELBERSE
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123093737793850127.html
Dark days are upon the book industry. Last month alone, Random House announced a massive restructuring; Simon & Schuster laid off 35 staffers; the adult division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt stopped acquiring manuscripts for the rest of the year; and HarperCollins sent comedian Sarah Silverman a contract worth $2.5 million to write her first book.
Yes, that's right -- amid the worst economic crisis to hit the United States in decades, publishing executives are still making what many see as outrageous gambles on new manuscripts.
The move by HarperCollins is only one of the latest in a string of big bets by companies employing a blockbuster strategy -- a common approach among movie studios, television-production companies and music labels. A spokeswoman for the publishing house says it doesn't disclose author advances. (HarperCollins Publishers is a unit of News Corp., which also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.)
Most large media firms make outsized investments to acquire and market a small number of titles with strong hit potential, and bank on their sales to make up for middling performance in the rest of their catalogs.
In the past, the strategy seemed to work wonders. For example, Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, generated roughly 80% of its sales and an even larger share of its profits from just 20% of its titles in 2006. In 2007, Grand Central purportedly shelled out $1.25 million for the rights to Vicki Myron's "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World," a nonfiction book about a fluffy orange kitten found abandoned in the returned-book slot of an Iowa public library.
The project, which was written with Bret Witter, did not scream instant success: Cat books are not particularly hot sellers, Ms. Myron was a first-time author and the book's main character passed away in 2006 -- making him unavailable for an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's couch. But the book has been a mainstay in the upper echelons of The New York Times bestseller chart ever since its September release. To the surprise of many, the book looks well on its way to earning its advance back -- and then some.
A prudent manager in any other industry might be left scratching his head: Why would Grand Central put itself in the position of having to outsell all cat books released in recent memory to earn back its seven-figure advance? Rather than putting all its eggs in one basket, wouldn't it be smarter for a publisher to place a larger number of smaller bets -- particularly in today's harsh economic climate?
Hardly. Despite its double-or-nothing daring, the blockbuster strategy remains the most sensible approach to lasting success.
Consider, first, how these bets come about. Given the variability in execution in books, and the constantly shifting tastes of consumers, it is extremely difficult to forecast demand for a new title. The one useful indicator of commercial potential is its resemblance to an existing bestseller, so a project can be tagged, say, "the next 'Tipping Point'" or "a hipper 'Harry Potter'." This similarity is an indicator that's evident to any editor or publisher who sees the proposal -- and thanks to busy agents, many do. As a consequence, there is heavy convergence of interest on certain properties, triggering competitive bidding situations.
Soon after "Dewey" started to make the rounds, industry insiders billed it as the feline answer to "Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog," John Grogan's 2005 memoir, published by William Morrow, a HarperCollins imprint. "Marley" was a runaway hit and in its wake came related children's titles and a movie starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. Publishers saw the essential similarities in "Dewey": It was a touching story about how an animal could bring out the humanity in people it encountered. While executives at Grand Central are careful about making comparisons between "Dewey" and "Marley" -- every title needs to be judged on its own merits, after all -- the resemblances undeniably spurred publishers' enthusiasm for the "Dewey" rights. Fearful that the price would reach astronomical heights at auction, Grand Central snapped up the book with a pre-emptive bid a day before several other publishers would have had their shot at it.
When a publisher spends an inordinate amount on an acquisition, it will do everything in its power to make that project a market success. Most importantly, this means supporting the book with higher-than-average marketing, advertising and distribution support -- which is exactly how Grand Central handled "Dewey'"s launch. To do otherwise would be foolish: If a product like "Dewey" fails to draw readers, Grand Central knows its profitability will be severely hurt. With such high stakes and money tied up in a few big projects in the pipeline, the need to score big with a next project becomes more pressing, and the process repeats itself. The result is a spiral of ever-increasing bets on the most promising concepts, creating a "blockbuster trap."
Examples are everywhere. Perhaps buoyed by Grand Central's success with Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You!)" in 2007, Little, Brown & Co, another division of Hachette, reportedly bid more than $5 million for the rights to comedian Tina Fey's first book in October of last year, when the economy was already in deep trouble. A senior executive at Little, Brown declined comment on the advance.
Expect Ms. Fey to get star treatment from the publisher. And if her new book falls short of the high expectations -- to earn back the advance, industry experts estimate that the book would need to sell over a million copies -- Little Brown will be all the more determined to make its next acquisition a hit.
But what would happen if a publisher like Grand Central decided to stop making large bids like the one it placed on "Dewey" and systematically walked away from the most sought-after -- and therefore expensive -- new properties?
First, agents would stop sending such a publisher their most promising book proposals. "If you are constantly backing out of big-ticket auctions, your list is going to hurt," is how one publishing executive explains it. "You are going to get a stigma that you don't play for the big ones, and you are going to get shunned out. Agents will no longer consider you for what they feel are their best projects." Publishers can't afford to cost-save themselves out of the market. Even if they could develop extraordinary competence in finding gold in the "slush pile" of hundreds of pieces of unsolicited material received each week, the dividends would be limited. After one success, the talent the publisher had nurtured would discover the value of an agent.
In addition, the most talented editors and other creative talent would leave to work for a publisher that would let them pursue the projects they thought had the highest chances of success. Careers are built on blockbusters. Jamie Raab, Grand Central's publisher, is known for discovering the bestselling novelist Nicholas Sparks. As a result, she continues to receive a steady stream of the best new love stories from literary agents.
Not bidding for sought-after projects also makes it harder to get best efforts from sales and marketing representatives and other internal constituents. After winning the hotly contested rights to a book like "Dewey," it is easier for the Grand Central executives to make the case that this book will beat its competitors. Firing up those that will be involved in the book's development and marketing process is important, because most media titles have only a short window in which to make money; the lion's share of marketing activity takes place before their launch -- when it's still largely unknown how audiences will respond.
Book retailers like Borders and Barnes & Noble want to see evidence that a book is worthy of their scarce resources. They like nothing better than to know that a book publisher has made a significant push for a title and is planning an extensive marketing campaign. In most media markets, support from the biggest retailers is decisive. A significant share of books is bought on impulse, so significant shelf space and room on display tables ("pile 'em high and watch 'em fly" tactics) are particularly important. A blockbuster strategy helps retailers to use their resources effectively, too.
In fact, the way in which retailers market their books to consumers is driven by the same forces that made "Dewey" such a pricey creature. This is noticeable even in the smallest details. If you have ever walked into a Borders bookstore you may have noticed the "Like this? Try these!" signs with one arrow pointing to a bestseller such as "Marley & Me," and another arrow to a bunch of books that are similar to that hit book. For "Marley & Me," those included "The Art of Racing in the Rain," "A Three Dog Life," and "Merle's Door," all dog books. Expect to see "Dewey" on one of those shelves in your local store soon, if it's not there already, and an array of other cat books to follow in its footsteps.
Media companies' hit-focused marketing did not emerge in a vacuum. It reflects how consumers make choices. The truth is that consumers prefer blockbusters. Because they are inherently social, people find value in reading the same books and watching the same movies that others do. This is true even in today's markets where, thanks to the Internet, buyers have easy access to millions and millions of titles. Compounding this tendency is the fact that media products are what economists call "experience goods": that is, shoppers have trouble evaluating them before having consumed or experienced them. Unable to judge a book by its cover, readers look for cues as to its suitability for them, and find it very useful to hear that "Dewey" is "a 'Marley & Me' for cat lovers." In much the same way that potential publishers do, readers value resemblances to past favorites.
Blockbuster strategies are certainly not free of risk, but, in the long run, they beat the alternative of more balanced investment strategies. That explains why, even when the book industry struggles with the effects of the economic downturn, publishing houses won't steer away from big bets. Publishers may be even more determined to land such projects in tough times. HarperCollins won the rights to Sarah Silverman's book only after an intense auction with several other houses. The highest-performing companies in the media and entertainment sector thrive by taking a chance on certain titles, and turning those choices into successes by giving them a higher level of development and marketing support. It may be partly a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it works. And because the marginal cost of reproducing and distributing media products is relatively low -- especially compared to their up-front production expenses -- the cost advantage of brisk sellers is huge.
Are there breakout hits that no one sees coming? Sure. And do media companies sometimes pick the wrong titles to focus their attention on? Absolutely -- no one in the industry has a perfect record, and the process of picking winners remains "an informed crapshoot," as one executive put it. But given their recent performance, it is hard to argue against the approaches taken by publishing houses like Grand Central and Little Brown. "Dewey" is quickly turning into one fat cat: In the latest sign of his ascent to superstardom, New Line Cinema landed the rights to a film adaptation, and Meryl Streep is believed to be in talks to play his owner, author Vicki Myron. Let's hope "Marley" loves a chase.
Anita Elberse is an associate professor at the Harvard Business School.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
