Business
Kath here. Please welcome Harry Bingham, of the U.K. based Writer’s Workshop, to WU today. Harry is a best-selling novelist and non-fiction author (check out his impressive and prolific list of books), and his Writer’s Workshop has been successful in helping writers negotiate the tricky U.K. market. Harry’s book, THE WRITERS’ AND ARTISTS’ YEARBOOK GUIDE TO GETTING PUBLISHED: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR AUTHORS is his latest, and looks to be a valuable edition to the novelist’s craft library:
Written from the writer’s point of view, this is an expert guide to the process of getting published, from submitting your work and finding an agent, to working with a publishing house and understanding the book trade.
We are pleased Harry was able to guest post with us today. Enjoy!
You know the rules. First, you start to build character. Something like this:
Emma. 28 years old. Now a florist, used to be a financial analyst. Loves horse-riding, ski-ing. A few boyfriends, one of them serious. Hates swimming after sister drowned fourteen years ago.
And so on. You need to make it believable. But you also need to freshen the character up a little (so a banker turned florist, why not?), and make sure you’ve got a few of those quirky little life details – the swimming / drowning thing – that create edge and interest and individuality. Avoid clichés (flame-haired passionate Irishwomen, for example). Go on building your character up, till you’ve got enough to start writing. Then off you go. That’s characterisation sorted.
Except that somehow those rules, sensible as they are, seem to exclude everything that really matters. Take, for example, these possible character notes:
BJ is a late-twenties woman. Mildly but not seriously overweight. Social drinker, but sometimes very social. Ditto, when it comes to smoking. Uncertain self-esteem. Longs to be loved. No steady partner. Occasionally decisive, more often not. Sometimes awkward when in company, especially so with men.
DC is a mid or late thirties man. A business type. Charming, but deceitful and untrustworthy. There to bed women, not commit to them. Witty, however, and with some money and power.
There’s nothing very individual there. Nothing fresh or quirky. And if we’re honest – if we’re trying to think about this the way a literary agent or publisher would – then DC seems like the ultimate chick-lit cliché, the handsome bounder.
And that’s all true, except that then you read this:
Read MoreWhen Writer Unboxed held their unpublished novelist search back in April ’10, the first post I submitted for consideration was called, “Do You Need Minor Writing Credits to Publish Your Novel?”
Back when I started writing my novel, I had a number of concerns about spending my time trying to get some minor writing credits:
Essentially, after a handful of failed attempts to get my short fiction published, my position was that achieving print credits would be irrelevant, expensive, and potentially take years, and that online credits would be sub-par and not worth my time anyway.
Read MoreI’ve written a great deal about why social media might not sell books, and how your efforts at audience development impacts your career.
I’d like to take a new twist on this familiar topic, and speak specifically about why your online marketing might not be working—assuming you’ve reached the point where your intent is to sell something.
1. It’s not personal. None of us like impersonal message blasts. I’m going to assume you’re already smart enough not to do that. But you can still be impersonal with a one-on-one message. How? You don’t actually personalize the message, or think about the needs of the person on the receiving end. You might be using a stilted or sales-y approach that turns people off. You may send messages based on the bullhorn approach, where you yell, and everyone else is supposed to listen.
Instead, try something interactive, engaging, or personalized. Try being a human being. Don’t change who you are or what you do when you market. Better yet, don’t see it as “marketing,” at which point you might turn on your fake marketing voice.
2. You’re too noisy.
Read MoreWhen someone who knows my story asks me if I would recommend self-publishing, I say no, which always surprises them. The Lace Reader’s success story is so often mentioned in self-publishing seminars that it shocks writers to hear that, knowing what I know now, I probably wouldn’t do it again. Don’t get me wrong. I am thrilled with the results. It’s just that there was so much luck involved in the process that I can’t, in good conscience, tell other writers that they should do the same.
Why didn’t I go the traditional route to publishing? Well, I almost did. After an early draft, I sent query letters to a few agents who then wanted to see the book. Both thought it still needed a lot of work, which it did. The problem was, the first agent took almost six months to respond, and the second took almost a year. It didn’t matter that much, because I was rewriting the entire time, but when the book was finally finished, I wasn’t too keen on waiting around for another year to get it published. So we decided to do it ourselves.
My husband and I started a small press to publish local books, both fiction and non-fiction. The first book would be The Lace Reader. The idea was a simple one. We would publish and market the books, and if one of them became a hit in our local area, we would then try to sell it to a larger publisher. The sales numbers would prove marketability.
This wasn’t a new idea. For ten years, we had run an entertainment software publishing company that created brainteaser puzzles. Our products became best sellers and won awards. Eventually, we were picked up by Hasbro.
So the business model was familiar to us. We were already publishers. How hard could it be to publish books? We like to say that we were “emboldened by our ignorance.” We were also incredibly lucky.
Read MoreTherese here. Today’s guest is historical novelist Sandra Gulland, whose Josephine B. Trilogy–a trilogy about Josephine Bonaparte and the Napoleonic era–was published in fifteen countries and sold over a million copies. Her follow up to that popular series, Mistress of the Sun, a novel set in 17th century France about the Sun King–Louis XIV–and his mistress, required years of research and writing, and when published in 2008 immediately hit the bestseller lists.
Sandra, apart from knowing a thing or two about penning a novel, is also a former book editor. She’s with us today to talk about something we don’t often discuss–numbers. Selling books. And what those sales–or lack thereof–may mean for our careers in the long term. Enjoy!
Tyranny of “The Numbers”
N.Y. agent Donald Maass, in his excellent new book, The Breakout Novelist, devotes a chapter to “the numbers.” Don’t read this chapter if you wish to sleep.
The fact is that it’s hard to get published, but even harder to stay published. Success, in the guise of a large advance or an initial best-seller, has ruined many a promising writer’s career. Why? Because of “The Numbers.”
Say your first book is a hit. The champagne bottles are popping. There is nothing greater. For your second book, you will be offered a respectable advance, based on the expectation of another home run. A large advance can be an albatross, however, because if your second book fails to sell as well as expected—if it fails, in the words of the trade, to earn out—your career as a published writer is in trouble.
Why?
Read MoreWhen this post goes up I’ll be in Lisbon for the launch of A Vidente de Sevenwaters. I’m looking forward to some Portuguese sunshine, not to mention meeting up with my most dedicated fans. Before that, I’m presenting a workshop for SCBWI in Santa Barbara and attending the RWA convention in New York. My itinerary is ridiculously full, so this is being written in advance.
I posted in May about the pros and cons of building an online presence. Here are my thoughts on some opportunities for flesh-and-blood interaction with readers.
Literary Festivals:
Sophie’s April post covered these brilliantly. If you’re not easily intimidated and can speak fluently and convincingly on a wide range of literary topics, you may enjoy these events. Genre writers don’t often get invited. Participating effectively at a literary festival will give you credibility as a Serious Writer. It may gain you some readers who otherwise wouldn’t have tried your work.
Genre Conventions:
These are a different kind of event from literary festivals, and they come in all sizes and shapes.
Therese here. Today’s guest is author Adrienne Giordano, whose debut romantic suspense novel, Man Law, releases tomorrow from Carina Press. (Her second book, A Just Deception, will be available in September.) Adrienne is also the co-founder of the popular Romance University blog, which is “[d]edicated to helping writers establish and advance their careers, introducing readers to a variety of authors, and delving into the ever-inscrutable male mind.” I’m thrilled Adrienne is here today to talk about dangerous critique partners. Enjoy!
Five Reasons Your Critique Partner May Be Toxic
I’ve often compared finding a good critique partner to finding a spouse. There may be plenty of first, maybe even second dates, but then the novelty wears off and you’re back to the hunt. And rightly so. You wouldn’t enter into a marriage (I hope!) with the attitude that you could always get divorced if it didn’t work out. For me, entering into a critique relationship with that attitude can be just as emotionally taxing.
Over the years, I’ve been through a few critique partners. Well, maybe more than a few, but critique dating takes time and a whole lot of patience. The one thing I can say about every critique partner I’ve had is I learned something from them. The lessons may have been along the lines of yeah-I’d-never-say-that-to-someone, but I walked away garnering something from the relationship.
After years of searching and finally (finally!) grabbing on to fabulous critique partners, there are five things I know for sure can be toxic to the relationship.
What are those five things you ask?
Read MoreToday’s guest is international bestselling author M.J. Rose. The third book in M.J.’s Reincarnationist series, The Hypnotist, was released in paperback in May (and is sitting in wait on my side table right now since I fell under the Reincarnationist’s spell years ago). The Hypnotist–a book that blends “the provocative reality of past lives” with art crimes–is said to be one of M.J.’s best books, receiving a starred review from Publishers Weekly and this rave from Bookreporter.com:
If you haven’t been reading M.J. Rose’s Reincarnationist series, then THE HYPNOTIST will blow away any excuse you may have had… A memorable, engrossing read, a story that sets a new bar for Rose. Something for everyone: murder, suspense, history, romance, the supernatural, mystery and erotica. These elements are woven together so skillfully that the whole becomes something new and different…. Rose, who never disappoints either her die-hard fans or the casual reader, has surpassed herself.
I’m thrilled she’s with us today to speak to something all authors want to know more about: making meaningful connections with bookclubs. Enjoy!
Reaching Out to Bookclubs
I think we all want to connect to bookclubs and make that connection the richest experience we can have. But, like everything else, it’s all about expectations.
As an author—and as the owner of the first marketing company for authors, AuthorBuzz.com—I am continually reminded that it’s expecting too much that so often makes us unhappy. The Dalai Lama said if you compare yourself to people who have more than you do, you will always be disappointed. But if you compare yourself to people who have less, you will always be happy and grateful. We’ve all heard about the authors who have met with over 1000 bookclubs via phone, Skype or in person, and think that’s the Holy Grail.
It is, but we’re not all created equal.
Adrianna Triagini is the kind of funny, warm, charming, big-hearted author that clubs really want to have over. The books suggest she’d be that… and she is.
But we aren’t all.
Not every book suggests the author is going to be someone the clubs want to meet. So if you don’t get invites, don’t take it personally, and don’t force it or think that you’re failing. Being a bookclub pick or favorite is not dependent on your personality or ability to visit the clubs. That said the big question is how best we can tap into this enormous market and get book clubs excited about our books?
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Back in 2007, I published a post here called The Unpubbed Writer’s 7 Deadly Sins. It seemed to resonate with a lot of readers, and was our first experience with the power of StumbleUpon as our stats reached new highs. I was published in 2009, and have had it in mind to revisit this idea–the what-not-to-dos–from a published author’s perspective. I’ve collected some of my own missteps here, but I also reached out to one of my favorite author communities–Fiction Writers Co-Op–to round out the list. If you’re unpublished, learn these lessons now and save yourself some grief later; and if you’re published and doing any of these things, take heed.
The 7 Deadly Sins of the Pubbed Writer:
1. Believing that publication means you’ve found Easy Street. I wish I could tell you that once you’ve published a book you’re suddenly gifted with a smooth ride in this industry. You might think that your next works will flow effortlessly from your fingertips because you’ve traveled this way before; you know how to write a book. But the truth, at least for most of us, is that each book presents with its own lessons and challenges. You’re still going to want to rip your hair out at times, and need another writer’s fresh eyes on your work, and decide on occasion that you’d much rather have been a banker. You’re going to need to open one or twelve of your writing books when you’re stuck–to figure out what went wrong or because you need a hit of inspiration. You’re going to question in some of those moments that you know anything at all, if your muse was replaced by a rusty can of SPAM.
So, no, the writing doesn’t necessarily become easier.
And just because you’re “in” with a publisher, just because you have an editor who chose one of your works and deemed it worthy of a cover and a shelf, doesn’t necessarily mean smooth sailing either. Says author Judy Merrill Moticka:
Editors leave, houses change/restructure, and just because I have one published book out there, it seems that each submission is just as hard as the previous one (or . . . harder). There is no straight path.
Read MoreOn the level of professional credentials, my guest today might be described as a former literary agent for Curtis-Brown; a person who excels at Twitter, blogging and Facebook; and one who parlayed that very passion into his position as Social Media Director for CNET. If that weren’t enough, he is now the author of JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW — the first in a middle-grade series published by Dial/Penguin.
On a personal level, when people speak of Nathan Bransford, it isn’t unusual to hear words like “I just love the guy” or “someone with integrity.” To see why they might lavish that type of praise about a man they’ve never met, and to hear more about Nathan’s perspective on industry changes, please read Part I of this interview.
Today we’ll be focusing on Nathan’s ideas about self-promotion and authorship.
Jan: You seem to have either superhuman levels of energy or efficiency to accomplish all that you manage within a day. To what do you attribute this?
Nathan: Well, truthfully there’s not a real secret to it. I’m a bit of a workaholic, and I don’t mean that in braggy fashion. While that quality was helpful as I was managing a more than full time job, building a blog, and writing novels, it has also been something I’ve had to try and balance as well because for a while last year I was operating at an unsustainable pace.
Where were we? Oh yes, time management! I don’t know that I too many secrets, other than having a fast typing speed and knowing that when I die I’ll have a lot of explaining to do to the gods of typos and malaprops.
What are your preferences for electronic devices and how do you find yourself using each of them?
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Therese here. Today’s guest is author Camille Noe Pagán, whose debut novel, The Art of Forgetting, releases today! It’s a book Library Journal has called a “page-turner” for “readers who enjoy intelligent novels about women’s friendships,” and it’s been named one of the “Best Books Just Out Or Coming Soon We Thought You Should Know About” by Huffington Post. What’s the book about? Says J. Courtney Sullivan, author of Commencement and Maine:
As it chronicles the complicated yet loving bond between two young women, The Art of Forgetting manages to be both a hilarious page-turner and an insightful exploration into the nature of friendship and self. This impressive debut is at turns funny, thought-provoking and achingly sad. It is (dare I say it?) unforgettable.
Read on to learn more about the book as Camille delves into a topic every author struggles with at one point or another: the dreaded query. Enjoy!
Write Your Query FIRST for a Better Book
Ah, the dreaded query letter. Writers bemoan, obsess about and labor over them—not realizing that this one-page document may be one of the greatest tools at their disposal.
In fact, I’d argue that you shouldn’t wait until you’re done with your novel to craft your query letter. Whether you’ve just started a new draft or you’re ¾ of the way through, write a one-page synopsis—a.k.a. a query letter—now.
When I got the idea for my first novel, The Art of Forgetting, I quickly scribbled down a synopsis on a legal pad. After I thought about it for a day or two, I transferred my chicken scratch into a word document and reviewed it. Main characters? Check. Narrative arc? Check. Theme? Check. The elements were all there, and as a result, I felt confident enough to tackle the first draft.
Writing a one-page synopsis that’s intended to sell your novel—both literally or figuratively—is the middle ground between being a “pantster” and a “plotter.” It helps you determine:
Read MoreMy debut novel, The Kitchen Daughter, has been out in the world now for about six weeks. So it’s early days yet in the grand scheme of things, but far enough into the process that it’s time for me to address a question I’ve been asked for years now. And I always promised myself I’d answer it as soon as I felt confident in the answer.
Is it who you know?
Are connections and friends and favors so key to publishing success that if you don’t have someone helping you behind the scenes, you shouldn’t even bother trying to get published in the first place?
After all, you hear so many stories. You read interviews with authors who say “Well, I wrote this book, and my brother’s girlfriend/ cousin’s maid of honor/ wife’s sister is a literary agent, so she helped me sell it to a publisher, and now I’m all set.” You see novels by celebrities (“by” celebrities, I suppose) on the shelves and you burn at the perceived injustice. You hear that someone knows someone knows someone and that’s why they got a leg up somewhere along the way.
So is it true? Is it who you know?
Read MoreMany of you are familiar with my guest today. I’m willing to bet the majority of you have a link in your sidebar to his popular writing blog, begun in his days as a literary agent for Curtis Brown, Ltd. (When I say popular, I mean 150,000 plus hits per month.)
These days, Nathan Bransford works as the Social Media Manager for CNET. As of the time of this interview’s writing, within a four-month tenure, he used his expertise to double their Facebook popularity. He has a Twitter account with 95,000 followers, owns and moderates a popular writing forum, and a few weeks ago joined the ranks of the published with his middle-grade novel, JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW. In other words, if you’re looking for someone to provide insight on how to get from unpublished author to author-in-the-limelight, it doesn’t get much better than this.
After I plumb the depths of his multi-faceted mind about publishing issues, we’ll be discussing Nathan’s book. By the way, its sequel? Already scheduled by Dial/Penguin for publication next spring.
Welcome, Nathan, and congratulations on your debut!
Jan: Shall we get rid of the inevitable question first?
When you left agenting, the big question on everybody’s lips was “why?” – the perception being you were the canary in the coal mine; that you had sensed traditional publishing’s demise and were getting out before it took you down. You’ve since explained your career shift had different origins; that it was based on passion for social media and desire for a more balanced life. Yet when I asked people what they’d most like you to address, unease remains. People believe you know something you’re reluctant to articulate, presumably because it would cause panic. Is that the case?
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Kath here. Today’s guest post is by WU community member Crystal King. Crystal is a freelance writer and Pushcart-nominated poet who is currently working on her first novel. She holds an M.A. in Critical & Creative Thinking from UMass Boston where she centered her thesis on developing a system to help fiction writers in progress. An 18 year marketing and communications veteran, Crystal currently drives social media for CA Technologies, a $4.3B high-tech firm. She has taught classes in writing, creativity and social media at Harvard Extension School, Boston University, Mass College of Art and UMass Boston. Enjoy!
As someone who teaches classes on social media for writers, I spend a fair amount of time explaining how to use tools such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Those channels tend to be the mainstay of an author’s publicity arsenal, and for good reason. However there are other social media sites that are often overlooked, sites that can help writers boost their visibility and reach new audiences. One of the best sites for authors to add into their social media mix is LinkedIn.
It’s likely that you’ve heard of LinkedIn. And no wonder, with over 100 million members worldwide it’s a sizeable social media community. Most know of it as a site for business professionals to network, or a great place for job-seekers. It’s also an excellent place for authors.
Why?
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