How to Fight Publishing Ignorance
By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin
Last week I turned in my judging
sheets for the Next
Generation Indie Book Awards. I've been judging this contest once a year for
at least five years. The good news is the overall quality of the books I've been
seeing are improved. The bad news is that I still receive terrible entries that
show publishing ignorance. In many ways I wonder how these books even got
produced because they are poor on many different levels. The covers are poor.
The interiors are strange. The title of the book does nothing to draw me into
the book. The writing is average. The layouts are odd. Yet someone
believed in the concept enough to publish it in the first place and then enter
it into an awards contest. Each year the judging experience makes me do a bit of
head shaking about the publishing ignorance.
Successful publishing is not
simple. While I've been in this business for many years, I understand it has
many twists and turns. Each book and author has to find their own audience and
readers. Yes there are some best practices in the process. As you learn and
execute these practices, you give your book the best opportunity to succeed and
sell in the marketplace. I continue to learn new aspects.
Here are some ways to fight
publishing ignorance:
1. Have high standards
for your writing. Excellent writing is the foundation of every
book—whether you self-publish or traditional publish. If you can't put it
together with excellence yourself, then get some training or hire an outside
editor or ghostwriter. If the writing is poor or even starts poorly, it will
affect how your book will sell in the marketplace.
2. Use an interesting
title. The author is the best person to title their book so put some
energy toward this aspect. I've titled many of my books which have been
traditionally published. If the title is boring, it will not draw
readers.
3. Have a well-done
cover. You've be shocked at the poor book covers I saw in this group of
books. We judge books all the time by their covers. It's an important aspect of
the publishing process.
4. Write an
interesting back cover. Several of these books had no back cover (zero). It's a
huge mistake because even if you self-publish and speak at an event. People will
read the back cover to see what the book is about and make a buying decision. Do
you have endorsements from someone well-known. It is work to get these
endorsements but anyone can get them with the right efforts.
5. The production details
matter. Do you have a logo for the publisher on the spine of the book
(at the bottom)? Look at the books on your shelf from Random House or Simon and
Schuster or HarperCollins—and follow every detail. Many of the barcodes in this
batch of books did not have the price of the book built into the barcode. Even
if you self-publish, these details matter.
6. Keep learning and
reading how-to books then applying them to your book. Whether you get
these books from your library or buy them used or buy them new or borrow them
from a friend, read these books and apply it to your own publishing journey.
7. Get to a writers
conference and meet professionals. Often it is who you know as much
as what you know that will make the tipping point with your publishing. Yes many
events have moved to online or been rescheduled but they are still going to
happen and are terrific resources.
I have probably missed something
in this list but it gives you an idea of some solid steps to take to fight
publishing ignorance. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Labels: book, book cover, contests, details, editor, excellence, ignorance, judging, publishing, writer, writers conference, writing
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