Month: October 2012

How I Write Female Characters

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This post, by Marie Brennan, originally appeared on Science Fiction & Fantasy Novelists on 4/16/09.

But Marie — aren’t you a woman?

Yes, I am.

Do you really mean to imply that you write female characters in some different, specific way?

No, I don’t. Thank you, Imaginary Questioner, for leading me to the exact point I want to make.

 

Some years ago, a writer-friend asked me what I thought of his female characters. I told him that honestly, I hadn’t given them much specific thought. But now that I did, it seemed to me that he wrote them first as people, second as whatever kind of people they were (a soldier, a noblewoman, etc), and third as women. And that as far as I was concerned, that was the right way to do it.

That’s how I write characters, be they male, female, or (in the case of one story I’m wrestling with) mystical bilateral hermaphrodites. Female characters aren’t “marked” in my head, but neither are male ones; when I sit down to include a male character in a story, I don’t ask myself “okay, what are things guys do? They belch, they fart, they scratch themselves, they drink lots of beer –” A) That way lies stereotyping and B) I know plenty of women who do those things, too. When Deven gets drunk with his buddies and suffers through a hangover early in Midnight Never Come, he doesn’t do that because I was trying to write Guys, he does it because I was trying to write young Elizabethan gentlemen who had gone to war together welcoming a newcomer into their ranks. Their gender was not their foremost defining characteristic.

Of course, if you follow the path I outlined above, you run the risk of a result aptly described in The History Boys (though they’re discussing Michelangelo’s nudes): “These aren’t women, they’re men with tits. And the tits look like they’ve been put on with an ice-cream scoop.” Except I question the “of course”-ness of that danger; I have a hard time thinking of any stories I’ve read or watched where the women seem like men with a female paint job on top. The reason for that may lie in last month’s post; I’m more likely to process those characters as women who happen to exhibit characteristics usually associated with masculinity, rather than as somehow Not Real Women.

 

Read the rest of the post on Science Fiction & Fantasy Novelists.

Angst And Other Things Authorly

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This post, by Peg Brantley, originally appeared on the Crime Fiction Collective blog and is reprinted here in its entirety with that site’s permission.

When I slid over to the serious side of writing in 2004 and began learning a little bit about the craft, it became necessary to suck “Id” up and let other people read the words I’d written. The wait was terrible as my critique partners made their way through what was certainly mangled and bruised and very purple-y colored prose.

 

Fast-forward eight years to the beginning of 2012 when my first novel was published. I was torn between wanting everyone to read it and hoping no one would. People who knew me and had certain expectations of my abilities would read my book—and I would no longer be able to fool them. They would shake their heads at how easily they’d been conned. Publishing a book that proved I was not really as talented as I pretended was a very different way to come out of the intellectual closet. Almost as bad was the thought that complete strangers would read my novel and pass judgment on me within minutes. They wouldn’t even give themselves a chance to get to know the phony me. The angst loomed so large that I questioned any positive comments believing they were merely politely phrased pity.

So now, here I am, less than two weeks away from the release date for novel number two, The Missings. (No, I don’t write that fast. This was a manuscript that was written prior to Red Tide. I just needed to go back and apply things I’d learned.) I’m sure I’m going to disappoint some people who have been waiting for a series. (Go figure. I guess they did like the book.) I’m using the same fictional town but different characters. I’m going to disappoint some people who expect another thriller. Number two is a police procedural. And there’s only one dog in it and he’s not exactly in the spotlight. (Red Tide has some hero-dogs.)

The angst began early for this one and it’s building. I’ve sent the book out to beta readers. Their feedback came in and when there were pages and pages without comment I was sure they were bored and had skipped entire scenes. I had lost the pace or the story or whatever and therefore, I lost a reader. Never mind that I asked my enlisted volunteers to watch for that sort of thing in particular. Never mind that they told me they loved those pages. I was convinced I was doomed.

The next item on the agenda was a professional edit from Jodie Renner (who was a joy to work with, by the way). It’s now been formatted for Kindle, has been endorsed and reviewed and soon it will be time for that huge and final, no-going-back step. The step that requires me to jump off a cliff and knit wings on the way down.

The step requires me to trust the process. Trust that my meshing of words will find the audience they were meant to find. Trust that my book will provide as much entertainment as the next authors. Trust that I will live to take another breath and write another book and have the wonderful opportunity to be just as unsure about everything all over again.

Whatever it is you do in your life, if you feel moments where you are vulnerable and scared, then you’re doing something significant. It might be as large as saving thousands of lives, or as small as writing a book that gives people a few hours of escape into someone else’s life.

I’ve come to embrace my angst. Well, sort of. But I’ve pretty much concluded that if the angst leaves entirely, it might be time to move on.

How about you? Are you ever filled with angst? Or a little bit of dread? I’d sure love to have some company.

 

Peg Brantley’s debut thriller, RED TIDE, has found its way into the hands of more than 35,000 readers in the six months since its publication. THE MISSINGS, a police procedural, will be available soon

What Is Theme In Writing?

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This post, by Harvey Chapman, originally appeared on Novel-Writing-Help.com.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition, theme is "the subject of a piece of writing." Now, that might be factually correct (who am I to argue with the dictionary people?), but I still don’t believe it is helpful to anyone just starting out in novel writing who is trying to work out what theme actually is.

 

The "subject of a piece of writing" suggests "subject matter" – and, for me, a novel’s subject matter is something concrete and definite. So the subject matter of a horror novel, for example, might be vampires and spooky castles.

A literary theme, on the other hand, is not concrete at all. It can usually be summed up by a phrase like "grief" or "unrequited love" or "blind faith" – something intangible like that.

So let’s start again…

What is theme? According to my own definition, the theme of a novel is simply what a novel "means."

I think I have stated elsewhere on this site that a novel’s theme is what it is "about." Thinking about it, though, that sounds dangerously like "subject matter" again, which is why I am defining theme here as what the events of a novel "mean."

A love story, for example, is "about" two people meeting and falling in love. In other words, it is about…

  • The characters
  • The plot (or what the characters do)
  • The setting (or where they do it)

…and these things are all on the novel’s surface. In fact, they are the novel’s subject matter.

The theme of a novel, however – or the meaning of a novel – happens beneath the surface, and it is essentially the lesson that the surface story teaches us, or the conclusion that can be drawn from the events.

If all of this is sounding kind of vague, that’s because theme in writing is kind of vague. But we are slowly edging closer to a more concrete definition…

The theme of a novel is the deeper layer of meaning running beneath the story’s surface.

 

 

Read the rest of the post on Novel-Writing-Help.com.

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Email Updates (Your Fans Actually Read)

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The average person receives 147 emails every day.

When I first read that statistic, it seemed like total hooey. Almost 150 messages every day? Maybe fancypants famous people get that many, but definitely not me.

I was debating between feeling relieved or unloved, when suddenly, it hit me: I probably DO receive that much email every day.

Between spam, the latest sales at Hobby Lobby, updates from family and emails from our lovely indie author friends, the amount of mail adds up quickly!

The process of filtering through my emails has become so automatic, however, that I disregard at least half of those emails before even opening them.

I’d be willing to bet that you do the same.

With that in mind, would it surprise you to know that, as an indie author, your mailing list is your biggest asset?

 

Your Mailing List is Gold, Baby!

It’s true: more than website visitors, more than Twitter followers, more than Facebook likes or Pinterest repins, the amount of folks on your mailing list gives you an instant snapshot of the state of your fanbase.

Are you rolling your eyes? Maybe the thought of sending obnoxious email newsletters feels sleazy, or perhaps you’ve tried it before but haven’t had good results.

Bear with me. Forget everything you think you know about mailing lists and email updates, and let’s explore the easy, fun and *effective* side of email marketing.

1. Set Up Your List

Before we can create those awesome email updates, you have to have a mailing list, right? So, sign up for Mailchimp. The basic features are free and suit the needs of indie fiction authors nicely.

If you have a self-hosted website or WordPress blog, learn how to add a signup form to your site. If you’re on WordPress.com, it’s a little hackier, but can be done.

2. Encourage Fans to Join Your List

Now that we have a list, it’s time to add your readers! While this could be a whole post in and of itself (and probably will be eventually), the major actions that encourage readers to join your list are:

1. Giving something away (that your readers actually want).

When readers join your list, send them some sort of freebie as a “thank you.”

This could be a short story, excerpt, alternate POV piece — whatever. But make it short and awesome; something a reader could finish in a few hours or less. Think of this as your “audition piece.” If they like what they read, they’ll stick with you!

2. Creating an awesome, convincing signup page, then linking to it instead of your website’s homepage.

If this goes against your natural leaning, I understand, but here’s the deal: over half of the people who visit websites only view one page (that’s a stat from this site, but the pattern is similar across the web).

You know how it is: our attention spans are super-divided nowadays. Linking to your signup page directly:

  • Offers the visitor a peek into who you are and what you write.
  • Gives them a reason to entrust you with their email address (remember that freebie?).
  • Puts them on the road to becoming a fan.

The Checklist for Writing Fun, Effective Email Updates

Now that you have a list in place, it’s time to start interacting with those fans! Woot!

Timing

How often you send out your email updates is up to you, but my advice is this: send them as often as possible without sacrificing quality and value. I suggest weekly (gasp! I know!).

Don’t get overwhelmed. You don’t need to create exclusive content for every update. While that’s nice now and then, the format I’m about to share is tailor-made to point to content already on your website.

No matter what you decide, be consistent. Unless you’re getting close to launch time (when things get crazy), choose an update schedule and stick to it — this way,your fans used to seeing you in their inbox.

Look and Feel

When you create your email, your eyes will be bombarded with dozens of pretty themes to choose from.

Wanna hear a secret? I hate them all.

Seriously, I used to be all about email newsletters with those fancy colors and images, but no more!

Use the most bare-bones formatting you can find (here’s a stripped down template I made for Mailchimp and how to import it).

With this basic template in place, you can format your emails so they look like a regular email to a friend. Because, in a way, that’s exactly what you’re writing!

Subject Line

After you’ve selected your template, decide on a subject line. Think of this is a headline for your email – it’s that important.

To do this, first choose the point of your email. You’re not just sending out random updates, but using your emails to build relationships and encourage your fans to take some sort of action, such as:

  • Reading/commenting on a blog post
  • Leaving a review
  • Purchasing your book
  • Answering a question
  • Sharing an opinion

Choose one purpose for your email, a single action you want readers to take. This gives your email focus; the last thing you want is confusion!

After you decide on your action, compose a subject line that grabs your reader’s attention. You can use common headline-writing tactics, but be sure to throw in your own flair!

Caution! Whatever you do, don’t make your subject line “May 2012 Newsletter” or “Newsletter #5″ or “Author Namehere’s Newsletter.” There’s nothing fun-sounding or attention-grabbing about those!

Your Email’s Opening Line

Now we can move on to the email itself! First thing’s first: the opening line.

Most email providers (like Gmail) show the first sentence of an email in the inbox itself, so it’s important to sound personal and non-spammy. Some options:

  • If users share their name when they sign up for your mailing list, use that information here, like “Hi Toni!”
  • Use a typical opening you’d use in an email to a friend. We’re fans of “Hey there!” and “Happy [Day of Week]!” This is totally dependent, however, on your personality (and what your readers are familiar/comfortable with)!

The Body of Your Email

Write the body of your email like you’re writing to one person. While you’re writing, picture a single reader in your mind and write the email directly to him:

  • Write like you speak, NOT like you’re writing your novel. It’s okay — no one will be grading your grammar!
  • Use short paragraphs to break up your email. Long walls of text overwhelm readers!
  • Want a few bonus points? Read your email out loud!

Inserting Your Call to Action

Remember that single purpose we decided on before you started writing your email? Now it’s time to add it in!

  1. Add your call to action in at least two spots. Since most readers skim emails, it’s important to repeat yourself.
  2. Craft the link or action in a conversational way, like it’s a natural part of the email. Use “Click here to check out my short story” not simply “click here”

Add Your Closing

Like your opening, your closing line is up to your personal taste, but consider this excellent post on the “familiarity index” of different email closings.

PS: Don’t Forget the Post Script

Those fun asides commonly found at the end of letters and emails are actually the second most read part of your message!

While including a PS in every email could dilute its effectiveness, it is an excellent spot to restate your call to action or leave a closing thought.

Author Email Example

While it may seem like a lot to remember, seeing the concepts above in action makes the crafting engaging emails easy as pie. Here’s a sample I whipped up:

SUBJECT: NEW Halloween-y Short Story Inside (I’m eager to hear your thoughts!)

Hey there!

October is already here — are you breaking out the fall decorations? Even though there’s not the slightest hint of a chill in the air here in Florida, I’m already plotting out the design for my front porch Halloween display!

Believe it or not, Halloween is my favorite holiday. Everyone assumes that it’s Christmas (perhaps because of my awesome Christmas village), but Halloween is first on my list. Something about it signals the beginning of an exciting holiday season, and I’ve always been drawn to that.

Plus, you know, all the candy. I can’t lie, I’m a sucker for the candy (pardon the pun).

Anyways, I was struck by a bit of inspiration over the weekend, and whipped up a short story about new beginnings, old candy and the costumes we wear year-round. I’d love for you to check it out:
Click here to read ‘Did They Make All The Candy Corn in 1976?’

It’s a bit of a departure from my normal fare, so I’m interested to hear what you think. After you’ve read the story, would you leave  a short comment and share your thoughts (be honest!)?

I’ve been stressing over whether I should flesh it out, and your feedback will help a ton :-) 
Click here to read the short story and leave a comment!

Thank you for taking the time to check it out and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Happy October,
Toni Imnotanauthor

PS: Did I mention that the story involves a costume made completely out of candy corn? You know you can’t resist finding out more about that!

That’s all completely made up, of course, but it gives you an example of the principles I discussed above. The best part? It took me less than 10 minutes to write!

The Number One Rule of Emailing Your Fans

The biggest rule of mailing list etiquette is this: write emails that you would like to read. If it sounds boring to you, your readers will likely skip it: make those emails entertaining and action-oriented!

No matter how awesome your emails are, however, some folks WILL complain or unsubscribe — that’s okay. Don’t take it personally. Your real fans will stick with you!

Download the Super-Duper Author Email Checklist!

Even if you’re skeptical, give this style of email updates a try. It’s fun, fast and helps you build personal relationships with your fans. I’m so passionate about this stuff that I created a handy checklist to keep you on track!

Soon, you’ll be an emailing pro, interacting with your fans one-on-one — no sleazy feeling involved!

Talk Back

I’m curious: do you have a mailing list? Has it helped your indie career? Did the tips above give you any ideas or make it seem more do-able to you? Do you have other tricks to share? Let’s discuss in the comments!

 

 

 

This is a reprint from Duolit.

The Secret To Writing Humor

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This post, by Brent Diggs, originally appeared on Humor Blogging.

DO YOU KNOW THE SECRET?

 

High in the mountains of upper Bolivia, guarded for centuries by ancient Norwegian fish herders lies the secret.

Not the mystical law of attraction that promises to manifest wealth and satisfaction into your life for a small fee, but rather the secret to unleashing smiles and even audible laughter with your written humor.

This secret, which I am about to reveal in the next five words, is none other than editing.

I will pause for the inevitable groaning.

Once you retrieve the mouse you threw against the wall in bitter disappointment, we will continue.* Yes, there are some definite challenges when it comes to writing humor. The first of which is that it is painfully difficult to do. At least if you want to do it well.

Of course this really shouldn’t come as a surprise if you think about it, considering that nearly every tool of comedy is denied to the writer.

In stand up, live comedy, comedy films, and even in conversation much of the humorous effect of any exchange is delivered by facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, and sounds; all of which team up for an interlocking assault on the audience’s collective funny bone.

But as a humble writer of prose, your humor rests almost exclusively on the power of your words. Which is why you must pick them with care and arrange them for maximum impact.

PICKING YOUR WORDS

William Zinsser, in his well respected reference manual, On Writing Well, which has been in existence longer than many of the people reading this article, states that humor is the one type of writing where using a thesaurus is actually beneficial.

Although none of my work is available in a thirtieth anniversary edition, I too have found that there is a huge advantage to exploring the range of connotations and shades of meaning accessible through careful word selection.

It allows you to assume many different voices or tones in your writing and use them to sneak up on your readers while carefully concealing your punchline until the last possible minute.

 

Read the rest of the post on Humor Blogging. 

Short Film Story Structure

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This post originally appeared on the Short Films blog. While it’s a blog aimed at filmmakers, this particular post has a lot of great tips and advice about writing.

Short story structure demands that you abandon all ideas of forming your own brand of storytelling. The rules are very simple: comply to the form that sells, or you don’t sell.

Short story structure has been around since the beginning of time. You can read short stories in the Bible and on cave walls. They all have the same structure; so don’t try to reinvent the wheel.

 

Every short story has a theme – that invisible thread that runs from beginning to end, delivering a silent message to the reader. For example, Moby Dick wasn’t about hunting whales. It was about revenge. Gone With the Wind wasn’t about love. It was about Scarlet O’Hara’s manipulation and control and how it led to her devastation.

So – what is your story aboutc When you know the overall theme, think of the middle scene – the plot. What will be the one scene that will turn the whole storyc Get that firmly in your mind, take notes on it, and then head your whole story toward that objective.

Every story must have conflict, and without it, you are dead in the water. What is your conflict. There are five kinds:

· Man vs. man – any kind of man, woman, or child conflicting with anyone else

· Man vs. nature – any kind of conflict where man battles nature, whether it be a storm or wild animal

· Man vs. self – I advise new writers to stay away from this one. It deals with a man, woman or child battling with themselves. It is difficult to bring this kind of story to a good resolution.

· Man vs. society – man, woman or child battling with peers, groups, society, organizations, authority, etc.

· Man vs. machine – fantasy stories with aliens or machines

 

Where to Begin:

Don’t begin at the beginning. For example, opening a story with a normal scene no longer works. Today’s readers are an action-oriented group that bases their entertainment on electronic toys, fast-paced movies, and faster paced stories, so start your first paragraph with gripping action. It can be part of a flashback, or even the middle of a scene. 

 

Read the rest of the post, including the extensive Q&A section at the end, on the Short Films blog.

10 Signs That You Are Not Ready To Self-Publish

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Today we are happy to promote this blog post from Publetariat member Joseph C. Kunz Jr. to the front page.

 

Are you really ready – not just your manuscript, but you – to self-publish? Here is a list of the most important things you must consider before getting into self-publishing. So, before you ignore the traditional publishing process, make sure you have the stamina for becoming your own publisher. Self-publishing is not a short cut to seeing yourself in print, or to success. If anything, it’s more arduous and time-consuming than writing the book itself.

 

1. You Believe That, “If I Write It They Will Come”

Get serious. This thinking might work for a big-time author like Stephen King, but not for you and me. The rest of us need to work really long hours to make our books sell. We need to become experts in marketing, sales, SEO, blogging, and in all social media. We need to spend every minute possible sitting at our desk and writing. And the writing better be good.

2. You Haven’t Researched Your Market

You better know everything there is to know about your market and your audience. Who will by reading and buying your books? What are the hottest topics and trends in your market? What books are actually selling in your industry (on Amazon)? By writing and publishing you are putting yourself out there as an expert in your niche. Your audience expects you to sound and act like an expert. If they get the slightest hint that you are not the expert that you are telling them that you are, you will lose your audience and they won’t come back to read or buy your books.

3. You Don’t Understand What Actually Goes Into A Salable Book

This one might seem too obvious, but to some of us it isn’t. Too many books are getting published that barely look like a finished book. I have seen one too many books missing the table of contents, page numbers, index, isbn, etc., and even the author’s name! If you want to be taken seriously as a publisher and author, and gain your audience’s respect, you must create a professional-looking product. Complete in every way that a reader expects a book to be.

4. You Haven’t Researched Your Niche

Read everything that you can get your hands on about your niche. You should know who the big experts are, and have read their books. Read the publications and blogs of those writers and groups within your niche. It is important to remember that in today’s terms, niche now means “micro-niche”. As a self-publisher you will most likely find the biggest success by narrowly defining your market niche. It is much easier to become an expert in a very specific market where it is much less crowded with big well-established writers and publishers.

5. You Hope To Get Famous From Self-Publishing

This is possible, but not likely. Fame comes with a lot of hard work and lots of luck. Therefore, it cannot be your only motive for self-publishing your books. Instead, concentrate on building and improving your reputation within your market. Earning the respect of your peers and your audience is a very achievable and respectable goal – and will help improve your book sales.

6. You Believe That Book Sales And Financial Profits Are What Self-Publishing Is All About

There is no guarantee that you will have financial success by publishing your books. The majority of authors make little or no money from their books. But if you really understand your market, and become an expert in your niche, build a great book, and devote your life to marketing yourself and your books, you will have book sales. Those books will then help bring you new customers, and build your reputation within your industry.

7. You Haven’t Started Marketing Your Book

You must start marketing well in advance of releasing your book. Probably the easiest way to get started is to build your own blog where you write about your niche. In addition, blogging is a great way to prove to yourself, and to your audience, that you are serious about your niche.

8. You Have No Marketing Plan

If you haven’t figured this out already, publishing is 90% marketing, 10% writing. If you love the subject you write about, and love to share the information with others, then this will not worry you. If you expect to make your book a critical and financial success, you will look at marketing your book as a welcomed challenge. Marketing is all about understanding your audience – the very people that you want to share information with and help them improve their situation. Therefore, you must develop a guideline, or plan, of what you are going to do to market your book.

9. You’re Impatient

Publishing is not for the impatient. Everything in book publishing takes a while to complete. And when you are self-publishing, you are the one that needs to do all of the work – and also maintain your blog, job, family, and home. So it might take you twelve to twenty-four months before you see your book in print. And then it might take another two years to show any financial return on that book. So you better choose your niche very carefully.

10. Jumping In Before Understanding The Business Side Of Self-Publishing

Yes, self-publishing is a business. It will force you to become a true capitalist, whether you like it or not. This is a business that will take up a lot of your time and money, with no guarantee of a financial return. You will need to force yourself to learn all aspects of building and managing a company. But the more effort you put into it, the more you will get out of it.

 

This article was written by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. and originally posted on KunzOnPublishing.com

 

eBook Cover Design – That Annoying White Box Around Images [Photoshop Help]

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This post, by James A. West, originally appeared on his blog on 9/29/12.

Several weeks ago I did a blog series on eBook cover design. For anyone interested in those posts, there were three. The first was about choosing your image, the second covered turning your image into a finished cover, and in the last one we talked about branding and how it relates to your cover. 

Lately, eBook cover design has been on my mind again. I just published the first book in a new fantasy series Reaper of Sorrows: Songs of the Scorpion Volume I. I had to design a cover, and as my wife and I worked on it in Photoshop, we both asked the same question—how in the hell do you get rid of that white box around your image? Another way to think of this is, how do you extract an image so you can layer it over another? Don’t worry, if you don’t already know how I promise I will tell you before this post ends. 

My wife is one of the most laid back people I have ever met, and being a photographer, she knows a few things about Photoshop, but stick that white box in front of her, and even my ears were burning! I decided to delve into Photoshop tutorials, not only because we were stuck on the cover until we could get rid of The Box, but also to save my wife’s sanity (and the computer). It didn’t take long until we found the answer. I couldn’t believe how simple it was! 

As you read these instructions, I will assume you have some basic knowledge of Photoshop, so when I say to use the Magic Wand tool for instance you know what I mean. If you don’t know, no worries. Just Google Magic Wand tool, or whatever you aren’t sure of, and you should get a quick answer. I wish I could post a sassy tutorial with photos for you to see, but I haven’t quite mastered those technological superpowers yet! 

Also, I won’t take credit for this information, because that belongs to all the excellent tutorials I found online. I simply want to share what I’ve learned in hopes of saving at least one person time and frustration, and possibly wives and computers everywhere 🙂  

I will give you an answer with detailed instructions, and a short breakdown at the end. 

And now, drum-roll please, here is The Answer. Goodbye little white box from hell:

1) Open two files in Photoshop. One is your image with the stupid white box, and one is a new blank file (I usually make mine 900 x 1200 and 300ppi, but that is personal preference). Also, quick but important note here, be sure to make a layer via copy or save a master file of your image just in case something goes wrong!!

2) For this tutorial, make your blank file background a different color than white, just so you can see the white box is really gone when you finish! Just pick whatever color you like and use the Paint Bucket to fill the layer.

 

 

Read the rest of the post on James A. West’s blog.

10 Signs That You Are Not Ready to Self-Publish

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Are you really ready – not just your manuscript, but you – to self-publish? Here is a list of the most important things you must consider before getting into self-publishing. So, before you ignore the traditional publishing process, make sure you have the stamina for becoming your own publisher. Self-publishing is not a short cut to seeing yourself in print, or to success. If anything, it’s more arduous and time-consuming than writing the book itself.

1. You Believe That “If I Write It They Will Come”

Get serious. This thinking might work for a big-time author like Stephen King, but not for you and me. The rest of us need to work really long hours to make our books sell. We need to become experts in marketing, sales, SEO, blogging, and in all social media. We need to spend every minute possible sitting at our desk and writing. And the writing better be good.

2. You Haven’t Researched Your Market

You better know everything there is to know about your market and your audience. Who will be reading and buying your books? What are the hottest topics and trends in your market? What books are actually selling in your industry (on Amazon)? By writing and publishing you are putting yourself out there as an expert in your niche. Your audience expects you to sound and act like an expert. If they get the slightest hint that you are not the expert that you are telling them that you are, you will lose your audience and they won’t come back to read or buy your books.

3. You Don’t Understand What Actually Goes Into A Salable Book

This one might seem too obvious, but to some of us it isn’t. Too many books are getting published that barely look like a finished book. I have seen one too many books missing the table of contents, page numbers, index, isbn, etc., and even the author’s name! If you want to be taken seriously as a publisher and author, and gain your audience’s respect, you must create a professional-looking product. Complete in every way that a reader expects a book to be.

4. You Haven’t Researched Your Niche

Read everything that you can get your hands on about your niche. You should know who the big experts are, and have read their books. Read the publications and blogs of those writers and groups within your niche. It is important to remember that in today’s terms, niche now means “micro-niche”. As a self-publisher you will most likely find the biggest success by narrowly defining your market niche. It is much easier to become an expert in a very specific market where it is much less crowded with big well-established writers and publishers.

5. You Hope To Get Famous From Self-Publishing

This is possible, but not likely. Fame comes with a lot of hard work and lots of luck. Therefore, it cannot be your only motive for self-publishing your books. Instead, concentrate on building and improving your reputation within your market. Earning the respect of your peers and your audience is a very achievable and respectable goal – and will help improve your book sales.

6. You Believe That Book Sales And Financial Profits Are What Self-Publishing Is All About

There is no guarantee that you will have financial success by publishing your books. The majority of authors make little or no money from their books. But if you really understand your market, and become an expert in your niche, build a great book, and devote your life to marketing yourself and your books, you will have book sales. Those books will then help bring you new customers, and build your reputation within your industry.

7. You Haven’t Started Marketing Your Book

You must start marketing well in advance of releasing your book. Probably the easiest way to get started is to build your own blog where you write about your niche. In addition, blogging is a great way to prove to yourself, and to your audience, that you are serious about your niche.

8. You Have No Marketing Plan

If you haven’t figured this out already, publishing is 90% marketing, 10% writing. If you love the subject you write about, and love to share the information with others, then this will not worry you. If you expect to make your book a critical and financial success, you will look at marketing your book as a welcomed challenge. Marketing is all about understanding your audience – the very people that you want to share information with and help them improve their situation. Therefore, you must develop a guideline, or plan, of what you are going to do to market your book.

9. You’re Impatient

Publishing is not for the impatient. Everything in book publishing takes a while to complete. And when you are self-publishing, you are the one that needs to do all of the work – and also maintain your blog, job, family, and home. So it might take you twelve to twenty-four months before you see your book in print. And then it might take another two years to show any financial return on that book. So you better choose your niche very carefully.

10. You Jump In Before Understanding The Business Side Of Self-Publishing

Yes, self-publishing is a business. It will force you to become a true capitalist, whether you like it or not. This is a business that will take up a lot of your time and money, with no guarantee of a financial return. You will need to force yourself to learn all aspects of building and managing a company. But the more effort you put into it, the more you will get out of it.

 

This article was written by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. and originally posted on KunzOnPublishing.com

 

The Biggest Mistakes Self-Publishers Make, Part 1

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Let’s face it – writing, publishing and promoting a book is a lot of work. Some authors pour their soul (and sometimes considerable expense) into their books and are disappointed when sales don’t materialize as they expect. In this series of posts, I’ll be discussing five of the most common mistakes that self-published authors make, along with tips on how to avoid them.

Mistake #1 – Neglecting to learn about the publishing business.

Whether you are writing to share your story or expertise with others, or to earn money, it’s important to understand how the publishing business works. Many authors devote a lot of time to writing, but they don’t take the time to understand the pros and cons of various publishing options, the financial aspects of publishing, the sales potential of their book, or how to distribute and promote it successfully. 

Publishing is a business like any other, and most authors need to learn some new skills. See my Aspiring Authors resource page for links to articles and in-depth books that will help you learn about publishing and equip you to make informed decisions about your books. 

Stay tuned for the next post in this series of The Biggest Mistakes Self-Published Authors Make. 

 

This is a reprint from Dana Lynn Smith‘s The Savvy Book Marketer. Also see part two, part three and part four in the same series, by the same author.

Self Publishing: Second Class No More?

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This post, by Terri Giuliano Long (of indiereader.com) originally appeared on The Huffington Post on 10/3/12.

Not too long ago, traditional publishers held all the cards.

If publishing houses rejected a book, its author had two choices: self-publish and bear the stigma, or put the manuscript in a drawer, forfeiting years of hard work, all the while hoping the next book would be “the one.” A plethora of legitimate publishing options—ranging from DIY self-publishing platforms to assisted self-publishing partnerships—has eliminated this total reliance on traditional houses, in effect changing the publishing dynamic. Today, empowered authors are asserting greater control over their career—and driving revolutionary changes within the industry.

Rita Rosenkranz, among the first literary agents to work with indie authors, says that in the past “because of the stigma of self-publishing very good stuff was locked out by mainstream publishers.” Literary agent Steven Axelrod, who represents self-publishing rock star Amanda Hocking, credits readers for opening new opportunities for independent authors. Readers no longer see a huge difference between self- and traditionally published books, Axelrod says. By buying books, adds Rosenkranz, and increasing their rank in the marketplace, readers vote on which books are worthy of publishing. As a result, traditional publishers are finding themselves in bidding wars for the rights to republish the very books they once spurned.

With their meteoric rise, self-published authors no longer face a categorical stigma. Many traditional publishers now view self-publishing as a great way to discover new writers, Axelrod says. A quick search of Publisher’s Marketplace, using the keywords “self publish,” turned up 40 deals in the past twelve months, many ranked “significant,” $250K to $499K, or “major,” meaning over $500K. In July, Jamie McGuire inked a “major deal” for her runaway bestseller "Beautiful Disaster"; in August, Sara Fawkes landed a “significant deal” for her USA Today bestseller "Anything He Wants". In an increasingly common sign of the times—agile publishers are altering internal processes to bring books to market quickly—Atria and St. Martin’s republished their newly acquired bestsellers in e-book format within weeks of announcing the deals.

Spurred by astounding indie success—Hocking sold a million books before signing a deal with St. Martin’s worth over $2 million—publishers have adopted “a new set of indicators,” according to Axelrod. 

 

Read the rest of the post on The Huffington Post.

New Publishing Companies Are Starting That Are Much Leaner Than Their Established Competitors

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This post, by Mike Shatzkin, originally appeared on his The Shatzkin Files on 9/24/12.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“It’s become very, very clear to me that digital trumps print, and that pure digital, without any legacy costs, massively trumps print.” — David G. Bradley, owner of Atlantic Media, quoted in The New York Times on September 24, 2012.

The magazine business isn’t the book business, but…

For the better part of two decades, many people have seen the potential quandary the digital transition posed to big successful full-service publishing organizations. If distribution no longer requires scale, what does that mean to the companies that not only succeeded by creating distribution at scale, but which also are largely locked in to their high-cost, high-maintenence infrastructures?

This was one of my concerns when I delivered my “End of General Trade Publishing Houses” speech at BookExpo in 2007. When bookstores go away, I figured, it would become absolutely necessary but would be very hard for publishers working across audiences to adjust to being multi-niche. And it seemed to me that the big organizations built to deal with thousands of dispersed retail outlets at scale would be far too expensive to maintain when the outlets weren’t there. And stepping down the overhead level wouldn’t be easy.

There’s no shortage of understanding of this challenge. All big publishers are looking for new ways to apply scale to gathering names, analyzing data, improving discovery, social marketing, and creating partnerships with others that can provide audience reach.

Several companies have built business strategies around the expectation that traditional publishing organizations are going to have to get smaller and change the way they staff their print value chain. Among the biggest players, Donnelley, Ingram, Perseus, and even Random House fit that description: offering a variety of ways for publishers to offload everything except the functions that are absolutely core to publishing: editorial selection and development, rights management, and marketing.

The companies that offer the print value chain solutions also have digital services, of course, but they have competitors in that space that specialize in providing what demands scale for digital publishing. The competitors tend to start their service offerings further up the workflow than those that started by focusing on scalable distribution. Two new partnerships announced last week suggest the emergence of new commercial models for publishing.

The big eye-catching announcement was that Barry Diller and Scott Rudin, both with Hollywood roots, are putting substantial investment — announced as $10 million, but they could certainly add more when and if they want to — behind a new commercial trade house called Brightline to be led by publishing veteran Frances Coady. Brightline will partner and build its books with The Atavist.

Perhaps less noticed, but pointing in a similar direction, is that agent and entrepreneur Jason Allen Ashlock has set up a new niche publishing imprint to do crime and suspense books, working on the PressBooks platform created by Hugh McGuire.

The publishing ambitions here are quite different, but the point they make about the direction of publishing’s future are very much the same.

 

 

Read the rest of the post on The Shatzkin Files.

I've Started So I'll Finish…Or Maybe Not

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This post, by Jenny Hillborne, originally appeared on the Crime Fiction Collective blog on 9/26/12 and is reprinted here in its entirety with that site’s permission.

Confession: I watch reality TV.

Some of the shows are fun to watch, although I find it often takes time to get acquainted with the cast and build any sort of connection to the players. If the first episode is weak or uninteresting, my attention drifts elsewhere and I’ll switch channels. I’m fickle, and I’m busy. I’m also not likely to come back. When a great group is thrust together, the connection starts right away and I’m immediately hooked.  

It’s the same way with books. I want instant action, strong characters, drama, and a great plot. I want to be drawn in from the first page, held to the story, and care about the cast. I’m at my most critical right after I finish a great book and start a new one. At the end of a great book, I’m vested in all the characters and don’t want it to end. This makes it tough for the next author. Like a new job, I have to get to know all the new people and find out if I like it in this world. Unlike a new job, I don’t have to stay long in the fictional world if it sucks.

Some readers persevere with a "bad" book and read it to the end. I’ve done that once; a) because the book was short, and b) because I couldn’t believe how truly bad it was. The book was penned by a well-known author and I convinced myself it had to get better. After I finished, I was annoyed with myself for wasting the time, and struck said author off my to-be-read list for good. According to the reviews, so did lots of other readers. With so many great books, who has the time? 

So, what draws me in? What keeps a reader reading?

A Big Brother series just ended in the UK. Normally, I don’t like Big Brother, but the cast in this series had all the right qualities and reinforced what I want to find in the books I read (what I expect most readers hope to find): drama, shock, great character interaction and strong personalities. Likable members of the cast brought out the better side of the uglier personalities, added humility, redeemed them for the audience, and brought a wonderful balance to the house.The mix created a good level of intrigue and excitement. It played out like a great story that held my interest. I had to know what would happen next. But most of all, what really kept me – I cared.

Instant intrigue draws me in to a book, but I’m a wriggly fish and the hook alone is not enough. What keeps my interest is the growing suspense and the character dynamics. I want to see the flaws exposed in the heroines and heroes; the virtues of the villain. I want conflict, both external and internal, humor and humility, a little chaos. I can’t identify with perfect people, not even in the fictional world. Unbelievable characters are one of the fastest turn-offs for me in books. I don’t care about them. 

Here are five reasons I continue reading a book: 

1) Hook – it’s got to be there or it’s all over from the start.

2) Immediate intrigue and growing suspense. I want to have questions as I read.

3) Character dynamics – I must care about the characters, even the villains.  

4) Volatility. I love the unexpected, especially when I’m not prepared.

5) Good dialogue. Make it believable.

 

and 5 reasons I stop (and I haven’t even mentioned typos):

 

1) Weak plot – nothing more boring.

2) Poor motive or no motive. If the book fizzles, I’ll never read another by the author.

3) Unnecessary filler and long clumsy sentences. Okay, that’s two. Both drag me out of the story.

4) Unanswered questions. You can string me along for a while, but give me my answers.

5) I can’t identify with either the characters or the story. Most fiction is grounded in some kind of truth. I want to relate to what’s happening. 

I’m not as patient as I once was. If I’m not at least partially vested within the first two or three chapters, I’m done with the book, and probably the author. What makes you continue reading? And what makes you stop?

 

Twitter for the Absolutely Terrified Newbie Author

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Twitter just gets bigger and bigger. It’s amazing how often we’re hearing about tweets during the current election cycle, for instance. It’s really the perfect medium for getting the word out quickly, making a point, poking your opponent while they are still in the middle of a speech, or complaining about NFL refs.

Twitter is also an amazing resource for authors who want to market their books online.

But it’s not just book marketing, Twitter is so much more. Over the last few years we’ve seen this groundbreaking “micro-blogging” service transform into a worldwide communications utility. Twitter has played a major role in revolutionary struggles and social transformations.

Closer to home, Twitter has become a preferred method for celebrities, corporations, customer service departments, software developers, food trucks, dry cleaners and political movements to stay in touch with followers, customers, colleagues and fans.

Sometimes tweets can seem cryptic, but they are just as often illuminating, ironic, pointed, funny, or melancholy. Really, the only limitation of the utility of Twitter seems to be its 140-character limit.

I really enjoy Twitter and have been an avid user for several years. It has brought tens of thousands of visitors to my blog, allowed me to meet and get to know colleagues and readers around the world, helped me arrange writing and speaking opportunities. Oh, it’s also a lot of fun.

To get you started (and hopefully get rid of that terror that may be keeping you from diving in), I’ve put together this little primer on using Twitter.

Getting Started in 3 Easy Steps

Here’s how I would suggest you get started if you’re one of those people who is simply terrified of Twitter, or if you “just don’t get it.”

  1. Go to Twitter.com and sign up. You’ll need an email address, and you’ll get to pick your Twitter ID in the process.
  2. Fill out your profile and upload a photo of yourself so you look presentable to the rest of the Twitter world.
  3. Find some people to follow. Use the search field at the top right of your Twitter home page to enter a name or subject that’s an interest of yours, or that you write about. You’ll get a whole screen full of messages on the topic. Click the name of anyone who looks interesting, then click the blue “Follow” button.

Okay, relax, the hard work is done. Your next task is to listen. Keep reading the messages posted by people you are following, and follow new people who are also interested in the topic.

Once you start following people, Twitter will suggest other users to you on your home page. Follow them too. You can always “unfollow” them later if you like.

Many of the people you follow, by the way, will “follow you back.” That’s okay, you don’t have to worry about them until you start putting out messages of your own. But you’re not going to do that until you’re completely comfortable and feel safe.

After you’ve opened your Twitter account, spend some time listening, then dive in. You can make of it whatever you like. The ideas here will help you get started. Oh, and send me a tweet, I’ll be happy to respond.

Essential Twitter Basics

To use Twitter, you need to know some basic concepts. If you understand these, you’re ready to become a Twitter user.

Follow/Unfollow—On Twitter, you follow people you’re interested in. This means that every time they post a Tweet, it will show up on your home page, in your “timeline” or “stream.” Likewise, if someone follows you, they will see the tweets you post.

Tweet—A message you send via Twitter. Tweets are limited to 140 characters and can include links to websites or other resources. You can’t style these tweets, they are all just plain text.

Re-Tweet (or RT)—Broadcast a tweet by another user to your own followers. You can do this by clicking the “Retweet” button that appears when you hover your cursor over a tweet on Twitter, or by using the RT button in many programs that work with Twitter.

More on retweeting

Modified Tweet (or MT)—A tweet that’s been modified in some way before being re-tweeted.

Twitter ID (or Handle, username, etc.)—The name you create for your account when you set it up. Your Twitter ID always starts with an “at” sign (@). For instance, @BarackObama is the Twitter ID for the U.S. president. Pick this carefully, you’ll be using it for a long time.

Lists—You can create lists of other Twitter users and you get to control who is on each list. These are used only for reading the tweets by people on the list; you can’t broadcast just to one specific list. Lists are incredibly helpful in managing your Twitter feed so you can concentrate on one subject at a time.

More on Twitter lists

Direct message (or DM)—A private message you send to another user who is following you. No one else can see a DM. If you are following each other, you can carry on a completely private conversation this way.

By the way, when you follow people sometimes you’ll get a Direct Message from them instantly. These are automatic and I think most users avoid them. Don’t feel obligated to respond.

More on DMs

Trends (trending)—Twitter’s software robots watch what people are talking about and select the top 10 subjects at any moment, displaying them on your home page.

More on trending

Hashtags—A way to indicate that a tweet is part of a larger conversation or related to a specific topic or event. Hashtags are also really useful for filtering the stream of tweets to see those specific topics. They have a pound sign (#) followed by a word or phrase with no spaces within it.

Hashtags for writers

Profile Picture (or Avatar)—A clear, professional and friendly photo is usually the best to start off with.

Bio—The most crucial part of your profile, you want to use the 160 characters allowed to say something meaningful about your work and your interests.

Blocking—If you don’t want to unfollow someone, you can simply block their tweets, it’s easy. See the link for instructions.

More on blocking users

Mentions—When you are referenced in someone else’s tweet, using your @Twitter ID.

.@ (Period before a user’s Twitter ID)—If you tweet in reply to another user, your tweet will begin with that users Twitter ID, which starts with the “at” sign (@). Twitter may not send this Tweet to all your followers since it considers it a more or less “private” conversation. If you want the reply to go to all of your followers, put a period first.

More on “dot syntax”

Okay, Now What?

None of this will tell you what to do when you want to start publishing your own tweets. But watching the people you admire, and the people who seem to have a lot of followers will show you one very important thing.

Those who seem most successful on Twitter share lots of useful, interesting or amusing resources from other people. Interspersed will be tweets about their own content, books, or other projects.

If you do the same, you will also be popular. I think about 3 or 4 tweets from other people to every 1 of your own is about right for most people.

But listen as long as you like before you start tweeting. Here are some more resources if you’d like to delve deeper.

More Twitter Resources to Help You Get Started

10 Steps for Authors Who Want to Get Started on Twitter
Twitter Help Center Twitter Basics
Mashable’s Guide to Twitter
Twitter: Top 5 Ways to Find Your Tribe
Your 10-Step Plan for Becoming a Twitter Star
Metadata for the Tweeps: Using Twitter Hashtags

 

This is a reprint from Joel Friedlander‘s The Book Designer.

The Five Stages Of Grief Following The Publication Of One's First Book

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This post, by Misha Angrist, originally appeared on The Awl on 10/1/12. Note that it contains some strong language.

 

1. DENIAL

 

• "Sorry, Mom, I can’t talk long. Terry Gross is likely to call at any time and I imagine will want instructions on how to pronounce my name."

• "Everyone knows that Amazon rankings are a total joke. I mean, I could give a shit. But you and everyone else in our extended family did buy seven copies each at 5:22 a.m. EST just like I told you, right?"

 

• "And those Nielsen BookScan sales numbers are clearly off by one decimal place. Maybe two."

• "I need to be at Barnes and Noble right when it opens. What? No reason."

• "Book reviews, on the other hand… EXTREMELY IMPORTANT."

• "No, I’m still weighing ‘The Daily Show’ versus ‘Colbert.’ Say hi to Dad."

• "If they want to low-ball me on the film rights, that’s fine, but in that case I will need a piece of the back end and final say on casting. I feel strongly that in the interests of verisimilitude, I should be played by a hairy Jew from Pittsburgh. But of course he will have to be filmed in a way that makes him look a foot shorter."

 

2. ANGER

 

• "There are four people at my signing, Mr. Cantankerous Independent Bookseller, counting you and my wife and the barista/palm reader. You can’t even be bothered to show me how to work the microphone that I don’t need?

• "You know I spent most of my advance at your store, right?"

• "Blog blag blargh. @Twit tweet twat."

• "ME ME MOI. AHEM. HELLO!"

• "This fetid gasbag of a person you invited on the same radio show to antagonize me? It is totally working."

• "What the hell does it look like, Holmes? I am BUILDING MY BRAND."

• "It’s spelled A-N-G-R-I-S-T. That’s like ‘angriest’ without the ‘e.’"

 

3. BARGAINING

 

 

Read the rest of the post, which includes details on the latter three stages, on The Awl.