Face the Silence With Action

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Are you getting silence as you reach out to literary agents or editors during the holidays? Yes you might get a little response such as holiday greetings or Merry Christmas. From my years in this business, there is often a shift in the community from right before Thanksgiving until right after New Year's Day. People put off sending manuscripts. If they have a book contract from a publisher, they often delay to sign it until after January 2nd and any number of other decisions of this nature.

My authors are Morgan James are still active and corresponding with me but little is finalizing and moving forward—so mostly silent in some ways. How do you handle this silence? Does it stop your writing and your work in the community? In this article, I want to give you some pro-active idea of what you can do to be productive and face the silence with action.

1. Read books on the craft of writing. As you read these books, use a highlighter and post-it notes to take action on what you are learning. For example, my book, 10 Publishing Myths will release on December 17th. I encourage you to go to my website—and use one of the four different ways I offer to get the book. Also you can immediately get the 11th Publishing Myth (a chapter not included in the book).

I need your help to promote and tell other people about 10 Publishing Myths. Use this page for some social media posts as well as links to the various places to write reviews and much more.

2. Plan an event for January. Maybe you want to plan a webinar or a local speaking event. Send some emails or make some phone calls or take some action for this event to get schedule and promoted.

3. Write a new book proposal or begin a new book manuscript. You can also take my Write A Book Proposal course and begin step-by-step to learn the important craft of writing a book proposal. This proposal will be your blueprint for writing and marketing your book. Do this writing work during these days in December.

4. Make plans to get to a writers' conference in the new year. Which one will you select? Who will you pitch? Take this time to plan and strategize your next publishing steps.

5. Look for new writing markets. Get the first chapter in Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams (follow this link) and study the various writing opportunities. Pick one or two and try a new one.

6. Try some new ways to market your book. Get 1001 Ways to Market Your Book or a similar type of marketing book with proven ideas.

Each of us have the same amount of time. Let's seize the day during these silent days and move forward into the new year with great action and expectations.

How are you facing the silence in the publishing community? Let me know what actions you are taking in the comments below.

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