Archive for the ‘Book publishing’ Category

I’ve been intending to get back to blogging and make it part of my writing life for weeks. I advise others to blog when they consult with me. So why haven’t I done it? Poor excuses mostly and I won’t bore you with them.

I read some incredible statistics on Friday in Publisher’s Lunch about what has happened to A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle since being selected as an Oprah Book Club title. In advance of the announcement, the publisher, Penguin, shipped an initial order of 775,000 books. Then, Oprah and Tolle announced a free 10-week online webinar for readers. In the past four weeks, Penguin has shipped an additional 3.34 million books, “the record for the most copies ever shipped by Penguin Group USA in a four-week period.”

Four million books in slightly over a month. Because Oprah endorsed it. That’s power. Not only of the woman, but of her words. Now millions of people are reading Tolle that never read him before and never would have. (Think some of them might even buy his previous titles?) Do you think he will influence lives?

You and I have the same power. Every time we speak or write, we send out messages. As writers, our words have lasting power. And so, I am once again inspired to write in my blog as well as in my weekly newsletter The Wordy Woman because I, too, have a mission and I believe in the power of the pen.

Lots of new writers contact me with questions about how to get their articles or books published. Some hire me to coach them. A few get past the first critique and assignment. The ones who stick it out get published. Why are the numbers so small? The fault lies not within the publishing industry (or my tutelage); the fault lies within the writer. Most people simply do not want to put in the time and hard work. Many have unreal expectations about what an agent or editor will do for them. Others think once the book comes out, the publisher will spend a small fortune to promote and sell it.

I never discourage anyone from writing. Writing for pleasure and expression is a pleasurable past-time. It’s fun and rewarding.

But, if you’re serious and want to publish your work, get educated about the publishing process. You’ve got to love the process or you’ll never have the stamina it takes to see your name in print.

My suggestions to all writers who want to become published is to go to a writers’ conference, subscribe to writers’ magazines and ezines (find suggestions at my website) and join a writers’ group. Oh yeah, and buy my workbook “4 Ps to Publishing Success: Get your manuscript off your desk and into print” when it comes out in a few weeks. You’ll get a complete overview of everything you need to know about the publishing process and practical information on how to navigate the system. Available as an old-fashioned print book or new-fangled eBook.

Once you know what you don’t (now) know you don’t know, it’s going to seem a lot easier. And your future agent and editor will thank you for it.

I have completed a book about creativity. I know I need an agent since this is not the only book I want to write. Now that I am in rewrite, I thought of you. Whatever thoughts or suggestions you might have, I would gratefully appreciate.–Warren

I went to your website. My very quick analysis: Your topic is sellable, you have good credentials and the potential for building a solid platform. If you’re planning or holding workshops already, that’s even better. These are all things an agent or publisher would look for. However, for a nonfiction book, you must have a proposal to send an agent or publisher. No exceptions (unless you are a celebrity or have successful past publishing experience).

Since you are in the revision stage of your manuscript, it seems to me that it’s the perfect time to focus on your book proposal. This way you can make any necessary adjustments to the book before the manuscript is finalized.

The proposal will help you answer the questions agents and publishers want to know: What’s your book about? How is it different from others on the market? Who will read/buy your book? Why are you the right person to write this book? What are you going to do to promote the book? What additional, if any, books are you writing or plan to write?

Book proposals are recommended even if an author is self-publishing because the proposal is a business plan for the book. As your own publisher, you would want to base your decisions on the same information as traditional publishers–that is, if you want to the book to sell successfully.

Your book proposal is a very important step in the process and must be done correctly to garner any attention. There are many good books to help you with format, etc. Many people come to me for help after their proposals are rejected and end up having to redo the entire project, which is a time-consuming activity. My advice to you is to find out how do it right the first time.