Business
Please welcome guest Meryl Evans to WU. Meryl was one of our quarter-finalists in our search for an unpublished contributor. When we asked Meryl what she could bring to WU that would be uniquely her, she wrote:
A writer who happens to be missing a major sense (hearing) has made a successful career out of writing in technology-driven times. I doubt I’d be as successful 20 years ago without the ability to make phone calls for myself.
We loved her technology focused post and its empowering angle. And it’s a great post to read in conjunction with Jane Friedman’s comprehensive Facebook post that ran just two days ago. Enjoy!
To Have or Have Not a Facebook Page
Every week I see another article hyping the benefits of having a Facebook Page, better known as a Facebook fan page. These articles don’t just talk about big companies with known brands. They also recommend freelancers, sole business owners and writers set up a Facebook page. Writers? Really? Oh, and they’re not just for the Stephen Kings and J.K. Rowlings either.
First, let’s get one thing out of the way. When you receive an email suggesting you join someone’s Facebook page, the message says, “So ‘n so suggested you become a fan of such ‘n such on Facebook and suggested you become a fan too.” These cringe-worthy emails scare many writers because they fear giving the impression they think they’re hotshots with fans when they do not believe that. Agreed, this is a problem that I’m not alone in wishing Facebook would drop the “fan” talk. Uncringe.
Also, finding time to update Facebook pages doesn’t count as an issue. You can automatically pull Twitter tweets, blog entries and other content into the page. Automation sometimes bugs people, but it works for many Facebook pages.
Questions to Ask
So, should you create a Facebook page? If you want a straight answer, I can’t give you that because social media has no rules. Every so-called social media rule has unwavering opponents and proponents. Seek the answer you desire by asking these questions.
Read MoreTherese here. Today’s guest is Jane Porter, author of SHE’S GONE COUNTRY. Jane has been in the enviable position of having several of her books adapted for various mediums. She’s with us today to tell us a little about that, and how she manages her writing when these other opportunities wait in the wings. Enjoy!
Writing a book with adaptations in mind
When I first start a book, I have only one goal–to write the strongest, most compelling book possible. That’s it. Obviously compelling requires some solid writing, combining the craft with inspiration. What will grab readers? What will hook them? What will interest them most?
I do write with the readers in mind because I have a solid fan base. Real women fork out real money for my books, and they have expectations for my novels. Expectations that I’ll deliver an emotional, engaging, relevant read.
Apparently there are those in the entertainment industry that like what I do as a writer, because my novels definitely generate interest in Hollywood. After Flirting with Forty was made into a Lifetime film in December 2008, a number of studios sat up and took interest in my work. Three more of my novels are in various stages of development–two for a TV series and my brand new release, SHE’S GONE COUNTRY, for another cable movie. A screenwriter has already adapted the novel, producers are creating a package to pitch to two big studios that includes possible actors, and the game is on.
Read MoreFacebook is now used by more than 500 million people, and the fastest growing demographic is in the 35+ range—which also happens to be a book-buying demographic. (Keep up-to-date on Facebook stats here.)
People, whether they realize it or not, use Facebook as a personalized news stream. That means rather than searching out the news, they let it find them through a circle of people they know and have something in common with.
There are many implications as a result, but briefly:
When it comes to a writer looking to connect with readership, though, ignoring Facebook would be like ignoring your first circle of devoted fans—i.e., friends, family, colleagues, and others who (let’s hope) want you succeed and want to support your work.
No matter where you’re at in your writing career, let’s start with a few principles to set the stage.
Facebook: Basic Principles
Read MoreToday’s guest post is by one of our semi-finalists for WU’s unpublished writer position, Christy Hayes. Christy wrote:
I’ve been at this for awhile and have seen my writing improve, made small and encouraging steps toward my ultimate goal of publication, and have come to rely upon the invaluable support of fellow writers. I don’t believe an aspiring writer can encourage people along this path unless he/she has experienced a multitude of pitfalls and the joys of incremental success.
So true. Welcome, Christy!
The Pain of the Pitch
My family loves to watch American Idol. We laugh and cringe our way through the auditions, marveling at the talent and the moxie of the contestants. But I have a confession to make: despite the fact that my husband and kids watch every episode religiously, I take about a four week break between Hollywood and the later live shows. Why, you ask? Because even though I would never dream of entering a singing competition, watching American Idol during those early weeks of the contest is a very close analogy to editor and agent pitch appointments. Watching literally makes my stomach hurt.
While I’ve never faced an editor or agent as fierce and brutally honest as Simon Cowell, they may as well all have British accents and wear v-neck sweaters. Quite simply, they hold what feels like my future in their hands–and they can see and smell my fear. That doesn’t mean I have body odor, it means I have all the telltale signs of stage fright: sweaty palms, cotton mouth, and trembling hands. It doesn’t matter how many times I have re-written and practiced my pitch, when I have to face them across the table and try to sell them my story, I’m like a house of cards on the verge on collapse. And when my almost two hundred rejection letters (for three separate manuscripts) waltz silently into the room behind me, it’s hard not to anticipate the fall.
Do these agents and editors have that much power?
Read MoreI was thirteen when I learned I’d switched the voices of the ABBA women by giving the blonde’s lyrics to the redhead’s, and vice versa. It shouldn’t have mattered. Frida and Agnetha continued to harmonize; their melodies remained the background music as my sister and I washed the nightly dishes. In truth, though, it took a while for me to shake my disorientation.
Accordingly, when the time came to meet a few WU people at RWA Nationals, I felt a wee bit nervous. What if the literary drapes didn’t match the carpet? What if we didn’t click?
What if I discovered they didn’t care for citrus?
Then it occurred to me: some of you might wonder about the Unboxed people in their unplugged moments, too. What are they like when they shed their pixellated masks?
Click to read below the fold, and I’ll endeavor to answer that very question.
Read MoreIn Part I of WU’s interview with MacAllister Stone, owner and CEO of Absolute Write, we spoke of minions, the challenges involved in herding 25,000 writers towards publication, and threats such as lawsuits. In an abrupt and unforeseen twist, this concluding post will cover more optimistic territory.
Jan for Writer Unboxed: Is there a special meaning to the avatar you use on AW and Twitter? (top left corner of this post)
MacAllister Stone: I grew up on a little place in the middle of nowhere, miles from the nearest neighbor, on the plains of eastern Montana. Coyotes were a regular feature of the landscape. One of the earliest stories I ever spun was explaining to my mother that I’d been kidnapped by a pack of coyotes who wanted me to be their leader, and that was why I was so late getting home for dinner. The Coyote-trickster tales were some of my favorites, too. So I’ve always felt an affinity.
The avatar is made from a photo of a coyote pictograph from the Columbia Gorge, very near where I lived for a while.
You’ve said you spend more time agonizing over the principles in settling minor board squabbles than lawsuits. In conflicts large and small, besides the moderators, is there anyone in particular who’s got your back?
You know, AW has just a huge number of members who I very much feel always have my back, and always have the best interests of the community in mind. AW is absolutely blessed with a membership who cherishes and nurtures this community just as passionately and with just as much dedication as any of the moderator staff, or myself. I really do think of the AWers as extended family.
A board dedicated to Celine Dion; days when all the threads are given silly or ironic titles; a calendar entitled “The Great AW Calendar of Neener and Triumph.” Please explain why you have left these things intact, or in some cases, even encouraged them.
All work and no play makes Jill a very dull writer? All that stuff comes down to a central question that I ask myself every single day: Is this something that’s good for the AW community? And while we all think and post about writing, every day, our lives as human beings are made up of all kinds of different elements, interests, and dynamics.
A healthy community needs to have enough room for those other interests. Moreover, play is something that’s really positive. People bond over play — whether that means more formal and structured sorts of games like the limerick thread that’s been running for years, or just having enough space to act really goofy sometimes. It’s how we get to know each other, find shared interests and common cause, and all of that works together to help us empathize with one another. That empathy is how we form bonds, and those bonds are what define our communities.
Money. You do not charge a membership fee. Absolute Write receives no compensation for the courses you advertise bearing the “Absolute” name. How do you make ends meet? Are there any plans to monetize the boards with membership fees? Why have you chosen to go this route?
Read MoreConfession: I was shoulder-deep into the manuscript revision of my fourth book, which has a deadline of, oh, one week from now, when I realized I had to write this blog post. And for the life of me, I could NOT come up with something to discuss. That tends to happen when I fully immerse myself into a book – all other aspects of my brain shut off. So I asked some writer friends if they had any subjects they wanted me to cover, and the wonderful Kris Riggle, who has a new book out next week called The Life You Imagined (and who DID NOT, I promise, ask me to say that for her!), asked me how I ensure that I don’t plagiarize myself, how I ensure that I don’t write the same thing book after book.
And I thought – what a great freaking question! Because now, on my fourth book, this is a huge concern of mine, and something that I am taking very strong steps to protect myself against. But at the same time, I’m also aware of the fact that quite simply, this is also who I am as a writer: I have a voice, a way of writing, a tone that is present in all of my books, and I think that readers have come to expect that from me…so I’m trying to toe this line, to figure out the balance between recreating my work and challenging myself and not, say, offering a work so different that no one recognizes the threads that tie all of my books together.
So. This is what I’m doing.
Read MoreIn 2000, just as I was starting to get serious about pursuing a career in fiction, I attended my first writer’s conference. Out of all the seminars and talks I went to, the one that was the most lightly attended was the one on e-publishing. The editors for Ellora’s Cave, St. Martin’s e-press (which folded a few years later), and a few others were pitching the concept that e-publishing was viable and was welcoming to authors who were writing books that “colored outside the lines” a little.
I remember our response too. The hidden eyeroll. E-publishing was surely a fad, we agreed after the seminar. Here today, gone tomorrow.
As digital books continue to gain market share, one of the country’s oldest mass paperback publishers is abandoning its traditional print books and making its titles available in digital format and print-on-demand only.
Dorchester Publishing Inc., a closely held book and magazine house, said it is making the switch after its book unit sales fell 25% last year, in part because of declining orders from some of its key retail accounts, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart declined comment.
Woah.
I believe this is the beginning of smaller presses going solely to digital in the coming months. Like the transition from CD to downloads for the music industry, the digital revolution is moving swiftly.
“By the end of 2012, digital books will be 20% to 25% of unit sales, and that’s on the conservative side,” predicts Mike Shatzkin, chief executive of the Idea Logical Co., publishing consultants. “Add in another 25% of units sold online, and roughly half of all unit sales will be on the Internet.”
What will this mean for writers?
Read MoreI’ve made no secret about my gratitude for certain literary communities — among them, Absolute Write . Its forums are a sprawling network where one can as easily receive critique on erotica as greeting cards; speak to industry people, such as agents or small press publishers; or joke around with other, writerly loons. (Guess where you’ll find me.)
In the midst of it all, a single figure roams, dispensing accolades and bannings as required. She assumed ownership of AW in 2006 and has taken it from 5,000 members to over 25,000 in that brief time. Known as “Mac” to her acquaintances, “El Jefe” to the boards, MacAllister Stone has always been an enigma to me. She was therefore a natural choice for my inaugural interview for WU.
Jan for Writer Unboxed: Welcome, Mac, and thank you for being here. As you know, I have a rep for asking hard-hitting questions – like the time on Tartitude when I forced Laura Kinsale to explain her fascination with hats. But we’re at a new venue now, and to establish my street cred here, let’s set the scene for our audience: Look around AW Central and tell me what you observe. How luxurious are the furnishings? Do your minions wear uniforms?
MacAllister Stone: Hi, and thanks for having me! Writer Unboxed is a great destination for writers, and a fun read besides. It’s an honor to be here.
Hmm. What do I see when I look around AW Central? I envision it sort of like a busy and vibrant multi-cultural downtown, full of distinctive little shops and bakeries and pubs and galleries. As for my minions wearing uniforms? Not so much, no. :) The mods are all a pretty individualistic bunch of folks, too. They’re more like municipal volunteers who paint signs, sweep streets, give directions, and act as designated drivers.
How does a double major in English and Arts end up running a board that serves writers?
Mostly by accident, actually. Much of my professional life has been spent working with horses. But I’ve always written, too. I found AW while I was researching publishers and novel-writing. I just lurked and read for a long time before finally signing up. After I’d been a member for a few years and a moderator for a couple of those years, when the former owner asked if I’d be interested in taking over the site.
Some people here won’t be familiar with AW. Can you give them a sense of its scope?
Hoo boy. It’s a pretty big place. On the forums alone, we have around 25,000 members — and since I purge inactive and spammer accounts, that’s actually a real number of people logging in and reading, even if they aren’t all actively posting. There’s something like 125,000 threads, and nearly five million posts. I occasionally stumble over a sub-forum that I don’t remember building, and had no idea was there.
And if that’s not enough, there’s also a blog and an archive with hundreds of pages of articles and interviews.
When I look over the threads that provide an introduction to newbies, two things struck me: first, that you have set down only one rule to guide members’ behavior, and second, that you value an inclusive […]
Read MoreTen years ago, a movie called PAY IT FORWARD hit the theaters. The plot was based on the notion of repaying a favor not with payback, but with new good deeds done to three new people, and so forth and so on until the world was revolutionized by peace, love, and happiness. I got to say, I like the concept. It appeals to my idealistic side, as well as that part of me that says, “Hey! I could really pull something like that off.” And then it occurs to me. I see this happening every day in the world of publishing.
(*insert sound of tires screeching to a halt*)
“What?” says the unpublished writer. “I just got three new rejections in my inbox. I’m not feeling the love just yet.”
“Pssh,” says the best-selling novelist. “I just received a 40-page editorial letter for my third novel, and my kids have the chicken pox. I don’t have time to do good deeds.”
Well, with all due respect, I’m suggesting that none of us can afford not to.
It’s no secret that marketing has fallen more and more on authors’ shoulders and, because most of us have no formal training in marketing and public relations, it’s this concept of paying it forward that is an overlooked and undervalued marketing tool for writers. What I’m trying to say is, supporting the writing community is a FREE and POWERFUL tool for self-promotion.
Use it.
“Okay, okay,” you say. “I get your point. So, how do I do this?” Paying it forward is something we can all do because no matter where we are in our writing careers, there’s always someone just one step behind, hungry to learn. Here are some ways to “pay it forward” that I have experienced from both sides of the fence.
Offer to Review Another Writer’s Query Letter: Sure it’s time consuming, but the goodwill that spreads about you after helping out a fellow writer is like butter on a griddle. Believe me, people talk. This goodwill equates with better name recognition, loyal fans, and . . . in the end . . . more dollars in your pocket. (Of course, the peace, love, and happiness doesn’t hurt either.)
Follow Other Writers Back on Twitter (even those who aren’t on the NYTBS)
Read MorePlease welcome Sharon Bially to Writer Unboxed. Sharon was one of our FINALISTS during our search for an unpublished contributor for the blog, which means you’ll see here her a few times annually from now on. After she announced her love of dark chocolate on her application (which earned her bonus points with us), she wrote:
I became serious about writing fiction in 1997, when I left a career in international economics to draft an early first novel. I’ve since completed a chapter book series for children and my latest novel, Veronica’s Nap…I write women’s fiction, and my stories portray a strong link between identity, autonomy and creativity.
Sharon has recently established a website to support her story, Veronica’s Nap, which she plans to self-publish through through iUniverse. Check out Sharon’s site HERE.
But Sharon has more than writing and self-publishing to tamp into here at WU. She’s also a publicist.
As a publicist, I’ve handled PR for many non-fiction books and have held dozens’ of authors’ hands through the publishing process, from manuscript-drafting and querying to agency and publisher relations, marketing and beyond. I have much to say about what I’ve witnessed as well as about book publicity and publishing industry trends.
We know you’ll enjoy her smart advice in her first post with us.
Ready, Aim…Bull’s-Eye! Targeting in Audience Development
A few months ago, Jane blogged about audience development. Her message: Writers must cultivate and grow their audiences every day of their lives.
As a publicist, I couldn’t agree more.
But I’d add that first, writers must ask: WHO is MY book’s audience? In PR lingo, this is called the “target.” Without it, audience-building has little chance of equating to readership. But to hit it, you have to define it.
Businesses spend significant chunks of their budgets defining targets by analyzing who will buy what products. Only after this groundwork has been laid does production begin.
Books are products, like it or not. So the implication for writers is that the first step in audience development – targeting – should take place before drafting. That it should be woven into our stories’ conception.
Read MoreToday I’m going to post the essay I wrote for the 2010 Guide to Literary Agents. Partly because you have never seen it and probably don’t know all of this (I was asked to talk about highs and lows of the publishing journey, and we usually focus on the highs here at WU). Also because I have one foot on a plane to Orlando and didn’t have time to write a new post (just keeping it real!). I hope you like it.
How I Found an Agent and Editor
Gifts come in mysterious wrappings. One of the very best gifts I’ve ever received came in the guise of a rejection letter from an agent back in 2004, after I’d spent two years working on the first form of my novel, THE LAST WILL OF MOIRA LEAHY. Said agent wrote, “Your story is just too much a hybrid right now. My gut tells me you need to write something bigger and that eventually you will. Why not analyze ways to make this story something more?”
Though that agent didn’t inevitably become my agent, her advice changed my life. After sulking over the mammoth undertaking it would be to rewrite THE LAST WILL OF MOIRA LEAHY, I studied, then studied some more. I brainstormed ways to explode the story out while maintaining the heart—the otherworldly connection between twin girls and how it related to a Javanese dagger called a keris. I experimented with voice, created new characters, thought through the interweaving of plotlines. A year later, elated with the story’s fresh potential, I began rebuilding the literary equivalents of bone and muscle and flesh around that well-preserved heart; I rewrote every word.
In the spring of 2008, I prepared to send the second complete incarnation of THE LAST WILL OF MOIRA LEAHY out into the world—proud of its metamorphosis, but aware of one likely problem: It was still a hybrid, just a bigger one, with various parts women’s fiction, psychological suspense, family saga, love story, mystery and magical realism. Would my cross-genre story ever find a home?
Casting a Wide Net
Read MoreYou can sabotage your writing career if you frequently engage in these two behaviors:
Let’s tackle the pitching scenario first. Important: While I will specifically reference editors and publications, these principles apply no matter what kind of gig you’re after. You might be trying to land a speaking engagement, a book signing, a guest blog post, a contributor role, a reviewer position. This applies to it all!
Pitching Specific Ideas vs. Being “Available”
I’d like to lay down some principles that I’ve found to be the hallmark of a professional.
Pitch Principle #1. If you have no relationship (yet) with the editor, pitch something very specific. That’s because you’re approaching cold, you’re an unknown quantity, and the onus is on you to quickly show what’s in it for them. How does your idea, concept, or product benefit the person or organization, and why will it be successful?
Read MoreKath here. In our quest to keep you informed of the latest tips and trends in publishing, we’ve invited guest poster Pam Veley to blog about one of the hottest trends in book promotion: book trailers. If you are considering using a book trailer to promote your novel, read on!
Pam has worked in book publishing for many years before joining a Connecticut video company, where she has worked for over twenty years. She holds a Ph.D. in English from Penn State University. You can visit her at at booktrailermagic.com. She has created trailers for WU’s valued contributor Anna Elliott, and she has an offer for the WU community: mention Writer Unboxed, and you will receive a 10% discount on the price of a trailer!
Enjoy!
You see book trailers more and more frequently nowadays: on Youtube, Facebook, authors’ websites, Vimeo, and Amazon, to name but a few places. Book trailers do for a book what a movie trailer does for a movie. In a short musical video format, a book trailer will intrigue/amuse/surprise/inform potential readers about a book and (most importantly) lead them to an online or actual bookstore to purchase that book.
You’ll find that book trailers are as varied as the books they represent. Some trailers are just author interviews (on Youtube, look at Al Roker’s trailer for his book The Morning Show Murders); the ones I made for Anna Elliott’s books, Twilight of Avalon and Dark Moon of Avalon used public domain artwork; some combine artwork and animation (for example, the trailer for Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton); some employ live actors (if you haven’t seen the trailer for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, for goodness sake, hurry on over to Youtube immediately!) *Kath interruptus again, I’m a big fan of Pride and Prejudice: Dawn of the Dreadfuls* and some trailers combine all those elements (such as the trailer for C.W. Gortner’s The Last Queen).
Most trailers use music to enhance the visuals and most tend to run between one and five minutes in length. As an author you can choose what you like and what makes the most sense for your own book. But a good trailer should pique a reader’s interest without revealing too much—no spoilers allowed!
The big question for authors, though, is: why do I want one?
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