Posts by Jane Friedman
When I first started running more than 20 years ago, I was slow and couldn’t last for more than 5 or 10 minutes without taking walk breaks. I more or less kept at the same pattern (and same trail) day after day, not expecting much of myself. I didn’t feel like a runner, but I had the strange idea I should try anyway.
One day I completed the little trail loop without stopping to walk. It crossed my mind: What if I tried going around a second time? I did, without needing to walk. I felt a bit more like a runner that day.
I reflect on that moment often, because of the feeling of genuine surprise. It’s a reminder that we don’t always know what we’re capable of until we ask it of ourselves—or have no choice.
For some, this is what the spirit of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is all about. What can I accomplish if I push myself? What could I do if I put my mind to it? It’s such a human impulse as to be a cliche, yet when we break through a barrier that we thought impossible or beyond our capability, the world and its challenges look very different on the other side.
Last year, I took on one of the most significant writing projects of my career, which required that I produce roughly 120,000 words in three months. I agreed to do it before I really thought through the math of what I needed to accomplish: 10,000 polished words per week on top of my usual work load. But I did it, on deadline, and no writing project has since felt the same. I’m trained differently now—I am trained to go around the loop twice without stopping—and in the end it really wasn’t that bad.
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Photo credit: saibotography via Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA
When I was studying for my master’s degree in English, I took classes on peer editing and writing pedagogy to prepare me for a part-time job as graduate assistant of the university writing center.
One of the first concepts I learned was about the “discourse community.” While this isn’t a common phrase in day-to-day life, each one of us is part of at least one discourse community. For example, if you belong to an orchestra, there are certain terms that you and your colleagues understand that the audience doesn’t—as well as a variety of stereotypes and expectations. (For example, it’s well known among orchestras that the conductor should never look at the trombone section. If you want to know why, ask Google.)
Whenever you become involved in any hobby or profession, a certain language and shared knowledge comes into play, whether you’re a cyclist, a quilter, or craft beer connoisseur.
And the same is true of writers.
Writers are often told to read, read, read in their genre. This is partly because through reading you begin to better see and experience what good writing is (assuming that what you read reflects the quality you want to emulate). Furthermore, by reading, you begin to understand what’s been done before, what isn’t done, and what the expectations are of the readership and community you hope to be a part of.
But there’s yet another benefit that comes into play.
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Unless you’ve been garreted away working on the Great American Novel—and maybe you have!—you’ve probably noticed that video is becoming a big deal. There’s high market demand for it, and we’re all spending more and more time watching video online, which means more advertising money is moving to video. Trend reports indicate that video advertising is now growing faster than social media advertising.
As a result, Facebook is now paying big bucks to celebrities and others to produce high-quality video, in addition to rolling out Live Video functionality to all users.
Plus:
As a writer, should you care? And if you’re interested, what’s next?
Here’s the big problem—for everyone, not just writers: All video starts off wanting to be crap, even more so than a NaNoWriMo first draft. It’s no small thing to shoot, edit, and produce video that people want to watch, even if it’s just a minute’s worth.
Now, you may be blessed with a really entertaining pet (preferably a cute kitten, bunny, or panda), but as the owner of a pretty cute cat myself, I can tell you it hasn’t been easy trying to turn her into a viral sensation. (But allow me to try here.)
In the interest of interacting with readers, and being open to new ways of marketing our work, what should a responsible author do, aside from shoot cat videos? Let’s start with what you shouldn’t do.
1. Forget about book trailers.
Most book trailers are terrible and will not sell a single additional copy of your book. If you have a large production budget and can hire James Franco, then yes, you should create one. But creating a trailer as a teaser or book advertisement rarely works and can be a colossal waste of your time, unless you have some skills in screenwriting or humor—and preferably both.
2. Don’t talk at length in a static shot.
There are some exceptions to this rule, but generally, the worst author video in the world is the kind that features a talking head, and nothing else, with no cuts or camera changes. There are people who can pull this off with cuts (John Green), but you need some serious charisma or super useful information to compel people to watch. And, again, probably some screenwriting skills.
3. Don’t post unedited video that’s longer than a minute or so.
I’ll refer back to my earlier point: all video wants to be crap. It’s near impossible to create a compelling video using an iPhone or tablet unless you break out the editing software (even if it’s just iMovie) once you’re beyond 30-60 seconds.
Now that you know what to avoid, here are a few things to consider.
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For nearly five years now, I’ve taught classes on how to build and optimize author websites. Every single class, here’s the most common question I receive:
Is it OK if I publish my book on my website?
This question gets expressed in a multitude of ways, such as:
My first answer is a very direct one: Sure, posting content you own at your website is OK. But why do it?
What are you trying to accomplish by putting it on your site and not publishing it through the biggest retailer of ebooks (Amazon)?
This question indicates a misunderstanding of what author websites are meant to accomplish—or at least the majority of them.
An author website is primarily a marketing tool, not a publishing and distribution tool.
The No. 1 reason to build an author website is to create a marketing and publicity hub for everything you do. It tells the story of you and your work. It’s a 24/7 business card that never stops working on your behalf. It offers official information about your books, offers a way for readers to stay in touch (such as through an email newsletter or links to social media), and provides a public face to the media and others who might wish to offer media coverage.
Some authors blog on their website, and in that case, yes, there’s a publishing function involved—but the blog is, at its heart, a marketing tool, part of your author platform and long-term business strategy.
There will always be success stories and inspiring case studies of authors who blogged their way to book deals, or who serialized their work on their own site, and somehow amassed a huge following. One such example is The Martian. But these are such outlying cases that they have no bearing on the fact that author websites aren’t ideal as a publishing and distribution platform for book-length work. They’re best at building your author brand and direct marketing to readers.
A much more effective way to build a readership is to publish and distribute your work where the readers are looking for their next best read—whether that’s Amazon, Wattpad, or some other platform for reading and writing where thousands of people gather. It’s quite difficult for fiction writers to turn their own site into a destination site—not impossible, but not within the existing skill set of most authors.
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It’s been one year since I started freelancing full time. The good news is that it’s going well. The bad news is that the financial complexities are exceeding my entrepreneurial experience. So I decided to enlist the services of a financial planner to analyze my situation and make recommendations.
The first step in the process is data discovery and collection. I spent all day Saturday—nearly a full eight hours—gathering paperwork and preparing estimates. Some of it is pure number crunching, but there’s also an aspect I didn’t anticipate: a lengthy questionnaire about my behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge about money.
I’ll be blunt: When it comes to personal finance, I know nothing. In a question asking what publications I read to stay informed about financial news and concerns, I couldn’t confirm having read a single one. On a full page of questions about financial management, I had to answer “Not Sure” for all.
I felt slightly better when my partner completed that page in exactly the same manner.
Cut to another entirely different scene—
I’m on a message board where I spot the very frequent question: Should I start a Facebook author page? I get asked this question at every single conference I attend, even when I’m not speaking on social media. And I find it an impossible question to answer in a roomful of people.
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Here’s the brief answer to the title of this post:
Sell a lot of copies, strong five figures, if not six figures. Sell so many copies that traditional publishing is potentially less profitable for you than self-publishing.
Few people like the brief answer, so here’s the long answer.
By far, the No. 1 consulting request I receive is the author who has self-published and wants to switch to traditional publishing. Usually it’s because they’re disappointed with their sales or exposure; other times, that was their plan all along.
These authors ask me, in many different ways:
How can I get my book the exposure it deserves?
Back in ye olden days of self-publishing (before e-books), the message to authors was so much simpler: Don’t self-publish a book unless you intend to definitively say “no” to traditional publishing for that project. Yes, there was a stigma, and in some ways, it helped authors avoid a mistake or bad investment.
Today, with the overselling of self-publishing, too many authors either:
The assumption of #2 is one of the worst in the community right now. As far as #1, some authors end up self-publishing for the instant gratification (we have a serious epidemic of impatience), or to avoid what’s increasingly seen as a long, exhausting, and dumb process of finding an agent or securing book contract (which, of course, offers less profit than self-publishing).
I support entrepreneurial authorship, and authors taking responsibility for their own career success. But I would like to see more authors intelligently and strategically use self-publishing as part of well thought out career goals, rather than as a steppingstone to traditional publishing. It’s not any easier to interest an agent or publisher when you’re self-published, and since new authors are more likely to put out a low-quality effort (they rush, they don’t sufficiently invest, they don’t know their audience), chances are even lower their book will get picked up.
Before you self-publish, consider whether any of the following describe you. If you can say “yes” to at least a few of these statements, then you’re on a better path than most self-publishing authors I encounter.
Read Moreby André Freitas
Since 2010, I’ve been actively teaching students of all backgrounds about using digital media for creative endeavors, whether through traditional university courses or through online classes. I also send out a (not quite) monthly newsletter introducing writers to digital media tools.
The following resources have surfaced again and again as the most valuable. If you aren’t yet familiar with them, each is worthy of your consideration.
1. Lynda
This is, hands down, the best place to go to learn any software or digital media skill. It’s an on-demand education platform with more than 3,000+ courses at your fingertips. Their offerings have never let me down, and the curriculum and teaching style is the highest quality I’ve found anywhere. If you need to learn a new online or digital media skill, go to Lynda first. (I swear I don’t get paid for saying that.)
2. 279 Days to Overnight Success
Now more than five years old, I still consider this one of the most valuable blueprints and introductions to what it means to build an online presence and start living the creative life you want, on your own terms. Thank you, Chris Guillebeau. Go download it now.
3. Camtasia
As video becomes more prevalent as both a content delivery tool and marketing tool, know how to stitch together a simple video is immensely valuable. I use Camtasia when I need to create “talking head” style videos, screencast tutorials, or a combination of both. It’s fairly straightforward for a beginner to use, and if you feel intimidated, have I told you about an educational resource called Lynda?
4. Canva
Read MoreWhen it comes to interviews and profiles of commercially successful writers (or anyone for that matter), there’s always an undercurrent of “What led to their success?”—especially if we dream of following in their footsteps.
We know there’s not a single formula, but we still hope for that shard of insight that will make it clear how we might do even just one thing different—and that will make all the difference to our path.
Such insights do occur from time to time. One such moment for me was when I was editing Jerry B. Jenkins’ Writing for the Soul in the mid-2000s, when the Left Behind series was at the top of the bestseller lists. Jenkins talked about how everyone called him an “overnight success” when the series broke out, but that he’d been publishing a steady stream of articles and books since the 1970s.
It wasn’t until then that I really understood that big successes are almost never accidents or “overnight,” but the result of years of under-the-radar work.
Here are three insights to success that I’ve seen expressed again and again, just in different ways, from all types of creative people.
1. The psychological battle is the biggest.
I call this the Steven Pressfield insight, since I so closely associate it with his excellent book, The War of Art—a must-read for every writer. He shows how many of our behaviors, habits, and thinking are a form of resistance that we continually must overcome. He helps change how you think about and frame your work. Instead of asking, “Did I write anything good today?” ask, “Did I write today?” Which brings me to the next insight. [pullquote]Instead of asking, “Did I write anything good today?” instead ask, “Did I write today?” [/pullquote]
2. Discipline is more important than talent.
I always get into a lot of trouble when I say that talent doesn’t matter. (I still say it, though.) For those who are really, really concerned about talent, then:
I’d like you to show me your talent. Point to it. Let me see it. What does it look like? I’d like you to measure it and show me, quantifiably, how it’s more, less, or different than someone else’s talent.
Oh, you can’t? Then how do I know if you have talent or not? What if we disagree?
Read MoreBy Thomas Hawk / via Flickr
Note from Jane: This piece first appeared in the January 2014 issue of Scratch, a digital magazine about writing and money. I am delighted to run it here at Writer Unboxed, where it can be publicly discussed and shared.
Two commenters on this post were randomly selected to receive a free annual subscription to Scratch, starting with the first issue. They are Felipe Adan Lerma and Marcy McKay. Congratulations!
In September 2011, I received an e-mail from Sean Platt, who requested a meeting to ask for publishing advice. I had never heard of him, but he had significant experience in online marketing and copywriting, and I agreed to meet with him.
At Coffee Emporium in downtown Cincinnati, Platt showed me his unpublished children’s verse, which he was passionate about, but had a low chance of commercial success. Then he outlined a highly strategic plan to self-publish a continuing story in episodes and seasons, like a TV show, that would build suspense with a fast-paced thriller plot and cliffhangers at the end of every “episode.”
What he was describing was a serial. At the time, serials were most often found on the edges of the traditional book publishing industry, at fan-fiction sites and other niche communities. They were also primarily written and given away for free. I advised him on what I knew about self-publishing, but the serial aspect I privately had doubts about.
However, Platt struck me as a high-energy, creative person who was going to do well with or without my advice. He had all the qualities of a shrewd entrepreneur, which later resulted in me inviting him to guest lecture at my university classes. The students hung on his every word because he spoke with enthusiasm and without bullshit.
Inspired by his project, I researched and wrote a piece on serial fiction for Publishing Perspectives in December 2011. Platt’s project, which had launched by that time, was mentioned, along with a few start-ups and the over-reliance of publishing types on the example of Charles Dickens as the ideal serial author.
[pullquote] What first struck me as a fringe activity in 2011 is starting to look more like a potential driver of author discoverability, as well as how we consume stories. [/pullquote]
Since that article (and certainly since the Victorian era!), a lot has happened. Amazon has gotten into the game, and new services like Wattpad are affecting on how writers and readers interact, with participation from mainstream and niche authors alike. What first struck me as a fringe activity in 2011 is starting to look more like a potential driver of author discoverability, as well as how we consume stories. It’s time to take a fresh look at the form of serials: what’s happening with the trend, how authors are using serial publishing services, and why it matters to the future of publishing.
What’s a Serial?
Read MoreTherese butting in for a second to (very) happily announce the return of one of our favorite contributors: Jane Friedman! Jane is returning as a quarterly contributor, so we can look forward to seeing her essays several times a year here at WU–and of course you can see even more of her on her own site. Please join me in welcoming her back, and enjoy her words of wisdom.
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Most new authors, upon securing a book contract or planning a book launch, are advised they need to establish a Twitter account, a Facebook page, or [list social media channel here]. Why? To market their book, of course.
This presents an immediate dilemma: If the author is not already active on these channels, of her own interest and volition, she now has the mindset of using these tools to “market”—and the new author may have no idea what that means beyond telling people to like their page or follow them.
No one I know enjoys being a marketer on social media, not any more than people want to be marketed to. It poisons the experience, for everyone.
You might respond: Yeah, tell us something we don’t know, right?
Yet authors continue to use social media—and their online networks—as blunt instruments, posting things that beg people to pay attention and become a buyer or follower. Unfortunately, asking for such attention on a social media network is likely to ensure you won’t be getting any, except for those who already adore you or feel obligated to support you.
Here’s the much better alternative to begging: When you develop a strategic marketing campaign for a new book, the first thing you should do is list all the people you know who will buy it without you asking, and would likely recommend it to everyone they know.
These are the people you send a round of personal and private appeals to. These are the people whose attention you already have. These are your most important relationships, relationships you probably treasure and nurture. Ask these people for specific types of help during your book marketing campaign, based on their own strengths or connections.
Do not make a habit of broadcasting general, blanket appeals for attention and help to strangers. Keep those broadcast messages focused on what strangers most want to know, and focus on how those messages serve them. (Example: “Don’t miss the e-book giveaway on Wednesday only.”) After you make your well-strategized broadcast, go back to your regularly scheduled programming of cat videos, gardening tips, or beer photos—that is, whatever you normally post about, why people enjoy seeing you in their newsfeed or stream.
None of what I’m saying precludes sending appeals to influencers who may have never heard of you. That’s part of the game, too. But again, you should send personalized and private pitches if you’re seeking their time or energy. Their attention is precious, and they value their audience’s attention, too. You have to prove why you’re worthy of attention in that personalized appeal. (What I’m describing is basically what you might hire a publicist to do on your behalf. You can do it yourself, too, if you have the time.)
So, I’ve just outlined two types of […]
Read MoreWe’re so glad that former WU contributor Jane Friedman agreed to visit today as a guest, to give us some updates on the state of the ever-changing publishing industry.
Most writers are aware that the publishing industry is undergoing a range of transformations, new beginnings, failures, and consolidations. But there’s so much change it can be difficult to weed out and understand the most relevant and important changes—especially when hundreds of opinions seem to surround the smallest change.
Based on industry conversations I’ve had in the last six months, as well as reports I’ve read by people I trust, here are five trends that writers should keep a close eye on.
1. Publishing Contracts
When I started working in trade publishing (1998), it was very rare that the company’s boilerplate contract would change. Obviously it was negotiated in minute detail by every agent that came into contact with it—so contracts differed from author to author—but the process always played out by a certain set of expectations or guidelines.
By the time I left trade publishing (2010), the contracts were being tweaked every 6 months to reflect a changing business environment and new opportunities in digital and multimedia publishing. I’m starting to wonder if there will ever be a “typical” contract again, given the increasing number of variables. Consider:
Unfortunately, most publishing contracts are closely guarded and not available for public review. So what is an author to do? Here’s my advice.
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