Every Book Author Needs a Team

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

In the publishing community, there is an explosion of self-publishing. Author struggle to build reader connections or a platform--click for an explanation). They struggle to write a proposal which catches the attention of a literary agent and a traditional house. They decide to follow the bandwagon of others and self-publish. What they don’t consider is that because they self-published, they have established a visible sales record for others in publishing to see through bookscan. This record could affect the response from agents and editors when they pitch another book project. 

One of the greatest challenges for those who self-publish is what actions to take when something goes wrong. Where do they turn and what sort of extra time and money do they have to spend to fix this situation? In this article I want to tell a couple of stories and give you some reasons for having a team.

The Value of a Team

As an acquisitions editor, I work with my Morgan James Publishing authors until they sign and return their contract. At this point, other colleagues take over the responsibility for producing the book. I’m still available to my authors but often I don’t hear from them unless there is some issue.

One of my children’s book authors reached out to me about the pre-sale information in her book listings had some misspellings. I wasn’t sure how to fix this issue so I reached out to a colleague and asked for her help. She quickly pinpointed the issue was in the metadata. This technical information is data that our team creates about the book then disperses it to a series of online bookstores throughout the world. With the work of producing almost 200 books a year, one of our team members works on metadata full-time. In a short amount of time, this team member fixed the metadata and showed us her revision. When she sent the revision, she told us that it would take several days for this information to populate the different bookstores and if it wasn’t resolved in three or four days, to reach back out to her again. The revised metadata corrected these misspellings so my author could promote her book on these bookstores without concern about the incorrect words for her book. 

It took me a bit just to explain what steps we took to correct this metadata error. Now imagine if you were self-publishing and trying to fix it. The task would be huge without a team to help you.

I want to tell you about another Morgan James author I connected with during a writers’ conference. With a lot of distress, she told me about a series of typos in her book. This author paid an editor to fix these errors yet they were in her printed book. I empathized with her situation but wanted to know the details before I did anything. I asked this author to send me a copy of her book and mark the various errors in her book. 

When this author followed through and mailed a print copy of her book (an important part of the process for every author--follow through), I learned she had 15 errors in a book that was published several years ago. Armed with these details I reached out to my Morgan James colleagues to see how we could fix these errors. When this happens, the author normally pays for these corrections. For this author, I learned we didn’t have a lot of copies in the warehouse or bookstore. Also this book was agressively priced when released and the price of paper has increased so it would be a help to the author and Morgan James to raise the retail price on this book. The typos could be fixed in this process. I gathered the necessary internal documents and sent them to this author. It took a few weeks but she filled out the paperwork and returned them. Now these corrections are in production along with other details such as the raised retail price. 

I told this story for several reasons. Every author needs a team to help them with the details for their book. It takes cooperation from multiple people to fix these situations. At the end of the day, the author will have positive feelings about Morgan James and her book to be marketing and promoting it (which every author must do no matter when your book was published). At the conference, this author told me she was writing a second book. Before these errors were fixed, I dolubt she would have considered publishing again with Morgan James but now hopefully she will give us another opportunity to work with her. The relationship and the details are important. 

Finally, every author needs a champion inside the publishing house to help them navigate the relationships. I’ve published where my champion (acquisitions editor) has left the company. Within publishing we call this book an orphaned situation (not where any author wants to be with their book). Without a champion, many details on that book were lost and it did not succeed/ sell. 

As a book author, do you have a team? If not, how can you build or find one? If you want to explore working with Morgan James Publishing (follow this link because my contact information is at the bottom of the second page). I look forward to your comments and insights.

Tweetable:

Every book author needs a team to help them handle the publishing details according to this prolific editor and author. Read the stories and get some action ideas.  (ClickToTweet)

A key part of the writing life is a word I don’t really like but do: the discipline of consistently writing. A blog is an important part of this process for me. Many authors have an unrealistic idea about the details of publishing. 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS is a practical easy reading book to help you. Get my decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses.

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

During the last year, once a week I’ve been sending a short free newsletter. Just follow this link to subscribe. When you are added to the newsletter, you will receive a FREE 87-page Ebook which is packed with insights for every writer.

Get these articles on your email: 

Since 2004, I have blogged about The Writing Life over 1,700 entries and one of the top 27 content writers. With this simple form, each week you can get my new articles, encouragement and insights at: https://t.co/W6uU64u6aA

Forgotten Follow-up

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

In some ways, my continual pitching podcast hosts is like putting together a puzzle. You have to turn the different pieces around so they fit into the right picture. If you’ve done puzzles, sometimes toward the end you discover you are missing a key piece.

I’ve had this sort of experience with PodMatch which has a database of over 90,000 podcasts. I reached out for help from support and for a couple of days, I had more matches of podcast hosts to pitch. In fact, I booked a couple more podcasts, then the matches again stopped. I asked support what else could I do and received a short list of suggestions.

The first suggestion almost leaped off the page:

1. Go through your messages and send some follow-ups. 

During the months I’ve been with PodMatch, I have not gone  back to any of the podcast hosts who did not respond and follow-up with a second pitch. I had forgotten to follow-up.

 

I’m aware there are many reasons why I didn’t get a response. Some of those podcast hosts didn’t see my pitch as a fit for their show. But there are many other reasons why they didn’t respond and a second pitch may generate interest. Here’s a few of the other reasons (speculation on my part) why they didn’t respond: 

--Maybe they never received my pitch

--Possibly the pitch went into their spam

--Or my pitch arrived at the wrong time when their schedule was stacked.

--Or maybe they were distracted and rushed when they read my first pitch and didn’t give it careful consideration.

Through PodMatch, I do not have their email address to follow-up. I do have the ability to send a follow-up message. My plan is to return to the first matches (even six months ago) and craft a second follow-up pitch. In my pitch, I’m going to highlight my own connections and how I promote each podcast. The suggestion from the PodMatch help support was brilliant and worth some of my effort.

Sometimes in these articles, I confess to being behind as an acquisitions editor processing the flurry of Morgan James Publishing submissions. In some cases, I’m many weeks behind in reaching out to an author and processing their work. Last week I got a creative follow-up email from an author. He reached out and said it had been weeks since we communicated and he believed my silence told him that we were not interested in his submission. Then he said he was leaning toward self-publishing. 

His unusual and pointed follow-up caught my attention. For the first-time I looked at his submission and scheduled a time to explore publishing this book. He used a brilliant and attention getting strategy.

As editors we have mounds of material to process and a simple gentle follow-up is a good way to catch the editor’s or literary agent’s attention. Everyone needs to follow up no matter what you are pitching--books, magazine, speaking gigs or anything else. 

Each of us have limited time to pitch our books or our writing. There are also crazy things that happen which prevent others getting our pitches. Timing is a huge element with pitches--which is another reason a gentle follow-up is important. 

What are you neglecting to follow-up? Do you have other ideas about follow-up? I look forward to your comments.

Tweetable:

Follow-up is one of the most important skills for every writer according to this prolific editor and author. Read the stories and learn the details here.  (ClickToTweet)

Many authors have an unrealistic idea about the details of publishing. 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS is a practical easy reading book to help you. Get my decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses. 

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

During the last year, once a week I’ve been sending a short free newsletter. Just follow this link to subscribe. When you are added to the newsletter, you will receive a FREE 87-page Ebook which is packed with insights for every writer.

Get these articles on your email: 

Since 2004, I have blogged about The Writing Life over 1,700 entries and one of the top 27 content writers. With this simple form, each week you can get my new articles, encouragement and insights at: https://t.co/W6uU64u6aA

Practice Short Writing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Thousands of new books are published every day. Two of my bestselling author friends released a new book over four weeks ago. I heard about the book and requested a review copy which they sent. I have read the book and I’m trying to find a few minutes to write my review. I checked Amazon and Goodreads  for this book and they have zero reviews. 

Why are these reviews important? It’s been proven that 98% of people who purchase a product online have read a review before they buy it. In general, book reviews are short articles and can be written in a brief amount of time. It’s an important skill to write a book review and every writer can learn this skill. In these articles, I’ve written a number of articles about book reviews (follow this link to easily find some of them). 

Another bestselling author friend hired me to write some profiles for a large project. As we spoke, she admitted that her skill was writing longer pieces of writing like books but not in the shorter profiles. This friend was placing limitations on her writing through her resistance to write the shorter pieces. When you write a short piece, you learn to write for a particular audience. You also gain the insight of which sentences are extra or fluff and can be easily eliminated. You improve as a writer and a commuicator through the continual practice and execution of these short articles.

After a recent writer’s conference, another writer reached out to me asking where she could publish her writing. I suggested magazine articles because they are short pieces and when published you can reach thousands of readers. As we exchanged emails, this author was a grief chaplain and wanted to know where to publish her writing. 

Without knowing it, this chaplain had a wealth of writing possibilities. As a former magazine editor, I know editors are actively looking for writers. It’s why they publish writer’s guidelines (use google to find them). I encouraged this author to use her Christian Writer’s Market Guide which had over 150 magazines in their listing. You need a current guide because a great deal of the information changes every year. Editors move and magazines close or new publications begin. The current guide gives you the best possible chance with your pitch. Some publications require a query letter (learn how to write one) while others want the full manuscript. 

The chaplain asked me what she could write? Almost every magazine will publish personal experience stories. This writer had a vast number of experiences that she could easily write into a 500 to 1200 word article. Yes, she would have to learn how to write a magazine article and how to properly format it and pitch it to the editor. Each of these skills can be easily learned. At the end of your articles, you have a simple statement like: Terry Whalin is the author of more than 60 books including 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed. (with a link to my book and website)

If you follow these simple steps, you get published. Then editors and literary agents will be more interested in your submissions because you move from an unpublished author into a professional writer. 

There are many types of short pieces that you can learn, practice and submit over and over including (but not limited to) book reviews, devotions, jokes, short filler pieces, magazine articles, quotes, and short social media posts. The possibilities and the opportunities are endless. 

My bottom-line emphasis in this article is that short pieces of writing is a valuable skill which can be learned and exercised over and over throughout your writing career. What am I missing here? Does it stir some ideas for your writing? Let me know in the comments below. 

Tweetable:

What is the value of writing short pieces? How can you expand your publishing efforts and reach more readers? This prolific author and editor gives the details and the reasons here.  (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week another podcast recording launched: 

Mike Wagner and I spoke about publishing expectations on The Mike Wagner Show. Listen at: https://bit.ly/4oniMkn

Many authors have an unrealistic idea about the details of publishing. 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS is a practical easy reading book to help you. Get my decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses. 

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

During the last year, once a week I’ve been sending a short free newsletter. Just follow this link to subscribe. When you are added to the newsletter, you will receive a FREE 87-page Ebook which is packed with insights for every writer.

Get these articles on your email: 

Since 2004, I have blogged about The Writing Life over 1,700 entries and one of the top 27 content writers. With this simple form, each week you can get my new articles, encouragement and insights at: https://t.co/W6uU64u6aA

Find Grit Instead of Fear

   

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Grit is rarely discussed but important for every writer. If I’m honest, I face the same fears as the next writer and get rejected a great deal. The best way to get through my fears is to keep moving forward or use my grit. If I let the fear grip my thinking and stop me from continuing to try, then nothing happens.

Today I want to tell you some stories about grit and encourage you to keep trying. As I’ve often said in these entries, nothing happens by learning about it or thinking about it. The only way your writing will get published is to get it out of your head with your fingers on your keyboard and writing words. Getting the words out is the first step, but then you have work and rework those words until they make sense,  then actually send them to someone to possibly get it published. 

For example, I’ve been writing about using PodMatch to book and be a guest on podcasts. This week I booked three more podcasts which are on my schedule for the future. In the last six or seven months, I’ve booked or been on over 50 podcasts. PodMatch has over 90,000 podcasts in their system. Using your profile and keywords, they will match you to possible podcasts where you can guest. My issue is the matches were not happening for several weeks. I changed my keyboards and still the matches didn’t happen.  I filled out a support ticket and asked for help. Because of this assistance, PodMatch began to give me some matches. During the last few days, I have booked three more podcasts. Also I have some new matches to read about the podcast then pitch that host about why they should book me on their program.

Each time I get a match, I need to read the podcast host’s profile to see if I’m a good fit to be on their program. If so, then I need to craft a pitch to this podcast host. I make sure I personalize my pitch and show that I’ve read the details about their audience and who they want to have on the podcast. Even doing this preparation, some podcast hosts will decline and others simply do not respond. It takes grit and determination to continue. I want to be booked on more podcasts so I continue pitching. 

Some Action Steps

Where are you dreaming about going with your publishing? Are you looking for a literary agent? Are you looking for a publisher? If what you are trying is not working, what action steps can you take to change and go in a different direction that will give you the opportunity to find more success? Or can you reach out to someone and ask for their help (like I did with PodMatch)?

I find many authors who are looking for a traditional book deal. Yet if they are honest, they have few connections to sell books (platform) and it will be hard for a traditional publisher or literary agent to represent their work and sell it. Many of these authors feel like their only alternative is to self-publish. I’ve seen authors spend thousands of dollars to self-publish then they are only selling their book on their own website and Amazon. Instead, I encourage you to explore independent publishing with Morgan James Publishing. The exploration process costs nothing (except a little time) and it could open a new world of opportunity for you and your writing. 

Resolve today to move out of fear and inaction into using grit and determination to find your opportunity. I believe it is there but it doesn’t just float into your life. You have to be actively moving forward to find it.

Resources to Learn More About Grit

If you want to learn more about grit and how to find it, I recommend this article from Amy Bernstein. For over two years, she has been pitching to find the place for her next book. She continues using sheer grit--and you should too. 

Literary agent and long-time friend Dan Balow wrote recently about why are traditional publishers so picky? He called publishing a failure business. Read his full article to understand more of the reasons and find your own grit.

Finally I encourage you to read or listen to bestselling author Angela Duckworth’s book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance. 

Use these stories and resources to find your own grit and determination to keep moving forward, seize opportunities and find the right path for your words. What am I missing from your view? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

In the face of fear about his writing, this prolific writer and editor encourages you to choose grit and determination. Read the details in this article. (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week another podcast recording launched: 

Harry Vashisht and I spoke about my vision on the Vision Pros Podcast. Listen at: https://bit.ly/4ohF3Qr  

Publishing is a complex business and much of the process is outside of anything an author can control—no matter how they publish. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors realistic expectations  and practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses. 

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

During the last year, once a week I’ve been sending a short free newsletter. Just follow this link to subscribe. When you are added to the newsletter, you will receive a FREE 87-page Ebook which is packed with insights for every writer.

Get these articles on your email: 

Since 2004, I have blogged about The Writing Life over 1,700 entries and one of the top 27 content writers. With this simple form, each week you can get my new articles, encouragement and insights at: https://t.co/W6uU64u6aA