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Sunday, September 25, 2022


How To Have Perfect Timing


By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Much of the publishing world is outside of our control as writers. Publishers, editors, agents, retailers and readers are just a few of the key decision makers in the publishing process. As someone who writes for a variety of places and works in the community as an acquisitions editor, occasionally I see internal dynamics which will make a decision go against the author instead of in their favor to get published.
 
Here's a recent example, an author submitted an excellent book which was appropriate for our publishing house. In addition this author was committed to spending a large and explicitly stated amount of money on the promotion of this book. Yet when my colleagues looked at the details, the manuscript was large and in fact when moved into production was going to be over 400 pages. My colleagues asked me to return to the author and see if he would be willing to reduce the book manuscript to something with a higher likelihood greater book sales or possibly split it into two books. When I spoke with the author, he was unwilling to reduce it or split it. This stance became a red flag warning that he was not coachable and would likely be a “difficult” author. Despite the large promotion money, my colleagues decided to pass on publishing this book.
 
I'm telling you this story for several reasons. Publishers are looking for authors but the right authors and publishers also have experience about what sells and doesn't sell in the marketplace. As a writer, you show them something through your response. In this case the author revealed his lack of flexibility and willingness to learn from the publisher. The publisher made their decision from this interaction.
 
Because there are many details that can be seen and unseen outside of your control as a writer, how can you have perfect timing? 
 
1. Be active pitching your ideas and book proposals. Whether it is a guest blog post or podcast or radio show interview or speaking at an event or publishing a book, the author (or their representative) has to be pitching them. You have to be actively pursuing these opportunities because in general they will not come to you through passive activity.
 
2. Be consistently meeting new people. As writers we need to be constantly expanding our network and connections. As I've often written in these entries, who you know is as important as what you know.  It's one of the reasons I continue to expand my connections on LinkedIN. Last week I spoke with an experienced editor who called me and was referred from another friend. I spoke with this editor and also we connected on LinkedIN.  This editor was looking for either a full-time position or freelance work. I noticed his small number of connections on LinkedIN and encouraged him to expand them.
 
3. Seize and follow-up, when an opportunity comes across your desk (for anything). You must actively do something.  Your activity and consistency is one of the critical elements for finding and having opportunity.
 
4.  Learn new aspects and continue to experiment. You must apply what you are learning to your writing life. There are many different paths to success. You can learn from many different sources such as live events, reading books, reading online, taking courses and much more. Be committed to continually learning.
 
You can't control anyone other than yourself. Take your own responsibility and get out there. Like the author Paul Little said, “God can't steer a parked car.” The timing for many parts of publishing is simply outside of our control. Your consistent action and perserverance will be the difference maker. Many others will give up and yet you continue. Then some day your timing will be perfect.
 
I'd like to have perfect timing and the only way I've found achieve it is to take consistent action. What insights have you found to have perfect timing? Let me know in the comments below.
 

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Sunday, September 18, 2022


Dos and Don'ts When Signing Books


By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Several months ago, one of my long-term author friends rolled his eyes when I asked him to sign my book. He probably didn't know I noticed his lack of enthusiasm for signing books. He took my black sharpie and scribbled something and handed it back to me. Weeks later when I read this book and wrote a review of it, I discovered the print copy I received was an early release before the book arrived in the bookstores. My friend never mentioned this detail when he gave me the book. I'm always interested what authors do to sign their books.
 
Through the years I've watched many authors sign their books at events as well as to sign my copy of their book.  I've interviewed more than 150 bestselling authors and to prepare for my interview, I often read several of their books then bring them with me to my interview. At the end of the time, I ask them to sign my book. In my office, I have a section when I've kept a number of these signed books.
 
In this article, I'm going to give a series of don'ts and dos related to signing books.
 
Don'ts
 
Don't sign the inside of the front cover. It is not where people expect you sign to a book—even though I've seen a number of new authors sign on the inside of their front cover.
 
Don't simply sign your name. Some people want a generic signture without their name but in most situations, people want the signature personalized to them. Years ago I sat with a bestselling author in his living room and interviewed him for about an hour. At the end of our time, I asked him to sign my book. “Sure,” he said as he pulled out his pen, opened my book and signed his name (and nothing else) then handed it back to me. I didn't say anything but was surprised at the little effort he put into signing my book—not even including my name. After this experience, I decided that if anyone asked me to sign their book, I would put more effort into personalizing it for that reader.
 
Dos
 
Do sign on the title page for your book. The tile page is the common place to sign a book. If you have endorsements, this page is located several pages from the front of your book and right before the copyright page. The page layout often has room for you to personalize it and sign your name.
 
Do use a black permanent ink pen. These pens are the common ones authors use to sign books and present a bold black line for their writing and your signature.
 
Do personalize the book. You are creating a keepsake for this person when you sign their book.
  
My Personal Pattern to Sign a Book
 
When I sign a book, I turn to the title page, write a date, then the name of the person (making sure I spell it right). I don't have standard words I use each time (like some authors do). Instead I personalize my signature to that individual. Maybe I say something about nice to meet them at an event or something about why I wrote that particular book. I understand I'm creating a keepsake for this reader and I'm making it special for them.
 
Do you have a method of signing your books? Let me know in the comments below.
 

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Sunday, September 11, 2022


Time For Another Book Sort


By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

I'm an avid reader and love books. If you have read these entries for any amount of time, this fact comes through loud and clear. Books change lives and I know because years ago, my life was changed through reading a book. It's a key reason I've worked in publishing for decades. Because I read and write about books, authors and publishers will send books. They pour into my office and some days it is a challemge to open the packages—much less read the pages of a particular book.
 
My reality is that I work in a small office and the books can become overwhelming and stacked on my bookshelves. Every few months, the new books stack on my shelves and reach a point where they have to be sorted and eliminated. It's what I'm writing about in this article. I've reached the point where it is time for another book sort. I find this process painful because I love books and don't want to eliminate any of them. Yet I work better without clutter and chaos. Stacks of books can turn into chaos so they have to be narrowed down and eliminated.

My time for reading is limited to a few hours each day. As I sort through my books, I'm evaluating whether I will have the time to read this book. If the answer is “no” then I will have to eliminate it and remove it from my office. Some publishers send me their books. In other situations, I've asked publishers for their books. Also authors send me their books and in some cases I've asked the author to send me their books. The narrowing process is challenging for me because I love to read but also a reality check on what I can actually do in the limited time and hours I have for such reading.
 
Several months ago when we moved, I eliminated an entire bookcase because my new office would be smaller and not have the room for this third bookcase. That was a painful elimination process. Also I check out books from my local library and read those books.  In addition, I listen to audiobooks but thankfully they are stored on my phone and do not require the space of print books.
 
Do you have to sort your books and eliminate? What tips can you give in this process? Let me know in the comments below.
 

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Sunday, September 04, 2022


The Best Marketing Plan


By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Authors are on a continual search for the best marketing plan. After being in publishing for many years, I will tell you that you plan will be different than mine. A cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all plan does not exist. There is no formula and if a formula existed then every book would be a bestseller and successful. There are some great books which are not marketed and never get discovered. I've purchased other books which aren't that well-written yet because of excellent marketing, they become bestsellers.
 
To discover the best marketing plan is a process and takes continued effort to try a new tool, use it, then evaluate if the process helped you sell books and if not, try something else until it works. From my experience while there is no formula, there are continued practices such as having your own website, blog and email list. Some people sell many books on the radio and others through podcasts. Others sell books through live events or zooming into book clubs. There are many different ways to market your book. I have a shelf full of these books and each of them have valuable insights.
 
In these articles, I've written about how Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen followed the rule of five when they launched the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. You can read this old post to learn more about this practice. I encourage your perserverance in this area of marketing your books. It will pay off. Once a month I blog for Writers on the Move and several years ago I wrote the story of bestselling author Andy Andrews. Follow this link to learn the story and see the persistence and perserverance that Andy endured before he hit the bestseller list. 
I encourage you to read how-to write books and apply the material to your writing life. Each book will have insights for you. The updated edition of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams is available in bookstores across the country. Several years ago I got this image from a reader along with his appreciation. Notice all of the post-its stuck in this book and how he found insights in my book.
 
In 10 Publishing Myths, the conclusion of each chapter includes an MBA (Myth Buster Action). Many things in the publishing process are outside of our control as authors. This book emphasizes the aspects you can control and encourages you to take action in this area. If you haven't read my book, I encourage you to take advantage of this special offer (follow the link).
 
From my experience in publishing, the Best Marketing Plan is a plan that you as the author will execute—and not just once for over and over for the long haul. My biography of Billy Graham was published years ago but I continue to promote it every day. As the author, you have the greatest passion for your book and need to focus that passion into your regular marketing efforts to continually sell books.
 
Where have you found the best marketing plan? Let me know in the comments below.
 

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