Publishing Decisions Ramifications

  

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As an acquisitions editor, I’m often talking with authors about their publishing plans. Sometimes they will tell me, “I’m going to publish with _____ (a publisher that I've never heard of).” It’s a red flag of concern that they named a publisher I’ve not heard about since I’ve been in this industry for decades.

Or they will object to publishing with Morgan James Publishing because of our model which requires an initial investment. There are good reasons for author investment requirement. In over 20 years of working with authors and literary agents, we’ve learned if there is no initial investment from the author, then that author has little incentive to market and promote their book to the bookstores. As a publisher, our money is made not making books but selling books. If the author does not participate, then their book does not sell (and the bookstore will return it). When a book is returned to the publisher, often it is returned in poor shape for reselling and has to be destroyed. The publisher loses money and opportunity when that happens. I hope you are seeing some of the publishing challenges. These authors have made a simple decision with big ramifications. 

If they are objecting to Morgan James because of the initial investment, I encourage them to use a free tool like Publishizer to do pre-sales and raise the funds. One of my authors raised over $10,000 using Publishizer. That author invested time and energy into this process and it paid off.

Every author has a story about their book and why they are publishing it. When I speak with them, I often ask for the story behind the story. I want to learn why they have invested their time and energy into a particular book. The author will tell me about their vision for why their book needs to get into the world. They have their connection to the market or are finding their connection to the market. Frequently these authors don't have experience in writing or storytelling or publishing. 

These authors have people relationships and ideas for who could write the foreword and endorsements (blurbs) for their book. In one recent case, the author had a foreword from someone and company I’d not heard about but when I did some online searching, I learned the name recognition of this person and his company. I applauded this author’s initiative for going ahead and getting the foreword then putting it into his proposal or pitch. This added foreword was only one unusual and different way this author distinguished his submission from others. It’s something every author needs to do for their submission--figure out a way to standout for that agent or editor.

Another author submitted a 5,000 word manuscript. With a glance at this word count, I could see the challenge for this author. Their manuscript is too short for a book and too long for a magazine article. I encouraged this author to craft something that is at least 23,000 words and preferrably 50,000 words. Inside a bookstore, you only see the spine of the book. Your word count needs to be large enough to show up on the shelf. It’s a simple reason but the author hasn’t considered this detail.

Other authors respond they don’t want an independent or hybrid publisher like Morgan James Publishing. They are shopping for a traditional publisher. I understand and have published over 60 traditional books. To get a traditional deal, you have to first sign with a literary agent to represent your book. For years, publishers have been sorting through inappropriate and poor submissions. Rather than waste that staff time, these traditional publishers announce every submission must come from an agent.The agents have become the gatekeepers for traditional publishing. For the agent to sell the book, they have to craft or teach the author how to craft the right pitch or book proposal. Why does an agent do this work? Because the publishers have an ever increasing standard of the author they want to publish. 

Agents receive many rejections and traditional agents do not make any money from those submissions until they sell the book to a publisher.  With some projects, agents are getting repeatedly rejection and their author wants to get their book produced and into the marketplace. In recent days, I’ve been receiving more Morgan James submissions from literary agents. The market is shifting.

As a writer, what can you do in these situation?

1. Explore the various publishing paths: traditional, self-publishing and independent / hybrid publishing. Get The Babylon Blueprint for Authors (follow this link). It includes over 40 pages comparing these options. Also this book includes many no-cost and low-cost book marketing ideas for every author.

2. Produce an excellent and complete book proposal and/or manuscript. It takes effort to learn then produce an excellent book proposal or pitch. Download the free copy of my Book Proposals That Sell whch has over 150 Five Star reviews and has helped many other writers. Then read and study this book then apply it to your writing. On my book shelf, I have books with valuable insights for my writing. Unless I read the contents then apply the information, it has no application to my everyday work.  

Here’s an example of how a reader marked up my Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams book.

3. Get feedback from others before you submit. You can join a critique group or hire an outside editor or a writing coach. My point is to receive and process these insights from someone in the writing community before you submit to an editor or literary agent.

4. Ask better questions then listen for the answers. Where are they selling books? Is it only online or in brick and mortar bookstores? How and how long do they market the book? Do they charge you for marketing training? Have their books been on bestseller lists and can they show you these listings? Can you speak with some of their authors? Where can you see some of their books? Also use a search engine to look for that particular publisher. Every publisher has complaints but if you find pages and pages of complaints then take that as a warning about this company.

5. Gather all of the publishing information which is free before you make a decision about your path. Each one has different pros and cons.

6. Keep working on reaching readers and expanding your connections and network. If you need the help, ask for it and follow-up.

Throughout my decades in publishing, I’ve learned that many decisions are outside of my control. In fact, there is only one person where I have any control: me. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to get my 10 Publishing Myths which is focused on unrealistic publisihing expectations and practical information for every author. Pick up a copy for only $10 including the shipping with over $200 of free bonsuses. You must take action and become aware of the results of your decisions.

For this topic of publishing decisions and the ramifications, I’ve only scratched the surface and must be missing some elements? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

Small publishing decisions can have big ramifications according to this bestselling author and editor. Learn the stories and details here.  (ClickToTweet)

During my decades in publishing, I’ve co-authored over a dozen books and reviewed thousands of submissions (no exaggeration). As a part of the process of working with these authors, I speak with them about their dreams and plans. Many of these authors have  unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. Many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors 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 1,800 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

My Recent Tech Challenge

  

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

“What is SOS on my iPhone instead of where the connection bars are normally showing?” From my work as an amateur radio operator, I knew about SOS but why was it on my phone? 

On my desktop I searched and learned it meant my iPhone was not connecting to my email or the internet. It was a holiday but my local Apple store was open and I drove there trying to connect with the genius bar or tech help. All of those appointments were filled for the day. I spoke with an Apple person who told me normally this issue was a carrier problem. He gave me directions to the nearest Verizon store. I noted where it was located on his iPad and drove to the store. I couldn’t use my phone for direction help to locate it. 

At the store, the tech explained it was likely a failed SIM card. I had an older iPhone Pro Max 13 (and now they are selling 17). Removing my SIM card, after some manipulations (and time), he managed to reactivate my phone and return it to me.

I continued to monitor my phone and several more times I noticed the message SIM failure. Last week, my wife and I updated our phones the 17 release. In my writing life, my phone is much more than a phone. Throughout my day, it has many different functions and the continued failure of the old phone wasn’t an option. 

With the new iPhone, I’ve been mired in additional tech challenges to make sure my various applications work on the new phone. It took some work but to my relief it looks like everything is functioning. 

For over 40 years, I’ve been facing these tech challenges. When I was writing my Master’s thesis at the University of Texas at Arlington, I had an Osborne computer, which was one of the first portable computers. It was called a “lugable” because it was the size of a portable sewing machine. 

As writers, we continue to use new tools and learn new aspects of our work to become more effective and reach new readers. Whether we like it or not isn’t the issue, it’s part of our world.

One of the resources I use to keep up on some of the tech matters is The Current from Kim Komando. I’ve learned a great deal from reading these newsletters. Follow this link to learn more and subscribe. 

I watched an interview with director Christopher Nolan about his lack of email and not having a smartphone. He is finding it harder and harder to avoid using these tools. 

As a writer, how to you continue to upgrade your skills and tools? Where do you turn when you face a tech challenge? Or are you resisting using these tools like Christopher Nolan? I encourage each of you to keep learning, keep experimenting with new tools and growing in your abilities and skills. Let me know the actions you are taking in the comments below.

Tweetable:

Like the world of publishing, technology is constantly changing. In this article, this bestselling author recounts a recent tech challenge and how he overcame it. Get the details here.  (ClickToTweet)

Throughout my many years in publishing, I’ve co-authored over a dozen books and reviewed thousands of submissions (no exaggeration). As a part of the process of working with these authors, I speak with them about their dreams and plans. Many of these authors have  unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. Many aspects of the details of publishing are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 in  free bonuses.

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

For over a 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 list, 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 1,800 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

Organize and Save Data

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

“Don’t forget your business cards.” It’s common advice for writers going to conferences. For many years I’ve been going to different conferences, meeting new people and exchanging business cards with them. I’ve learned to ask some editors early during the event bccause often they have brought a limited number of cards and I’m able to snag one of those few cards. Other editors and faculty have forgotten to bring any cards. For these professionals, often I pull out my notebook and write down their name, email and phone number plus other information such as their company. I’ve given the other person my information but I’ve also received their information and it is a real exchange rather than one way from me. 

There is great value in exchanging cards with others during the event. Creating your business cards and carrying them with you is a good first step. In this article, I want to give you some additional information to make those cards valuable and useful to you. If you only collect the cards and do nothing else, then the information piles into your desk and you can’t use it.

From attending different events through the years, I’ve got piles of these business cards. I show a couple of those stacks in the image with this article. Recently I returned home from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. During the event, I exchanged business cards with authors and also collected their one-sheets about their books. For a number of authors who gave me parts of their books, I entered their email and other data from their material into my computer. Then I reached out to them and requested their submission. From a number of them I received responses. For several of them, I’ve already processed their submission and even sent a contract offer from my publication board.

It’s been several weeks since the conference and I had a stack of business cards that I had not processed. Last week I added the information to the address book in my computer and I reached out to each of them via email. My email reminded them of our connection at the conference and gave several free writing resources such as subscribing to this blog. Also I gave them some detailed information about Morgan James Publishing and encouraged their submission. Finally some of these people had profiles on LinkedIn. I found their profiles and sent them a request to connect on LinkedIn. 

Because this data is in my address book and LinkedIn, I can easily follow-up and reconnect with them. Some of my opportunity to reconnect is based on what information they included on their business card. Some authors only had their email while others included their phone number, mailing address and even the homepage of their website. As I created their entry in my address book, I added as much of this information as I could gather. Through the years, I’ve tried card scanners and other tools but often I return to the old fashion one: type it into my computer. 

The organization and capture of this author data is important. Your need for this information might be years in the future. You want to organize it in a way which you can easily access. If you have the information in your address book, you can search using the location or other details. It’s impossible to do such a search if it is still tucked into your desk in a stack of cards.

Because you have captured the business card data, you never know when you might need it. Here’s a couple of specific examples from my work. When I’m writing a new book, I will create a list of possible people to write endorsements or blurbs for the book. A number of the people on my list, I have not contacted in many years. LinkedIn is the first place I turn. Many people in the publishing community change jobs and locations but take their LinkedIn account with them. The email or other contact information will still work even if they have changed companies.

When I was writing my biography of Billy Graham, I thought Luis Palau would be a well-known person to write the foreword for my book. I’d written a biography about Luis Palau but that book was published years ago and I had not reconnected in some time. I looked in my address book for Luis and in the notes found the cell phone number for his son, Kevin Palau, who I had never met or spoken with. Most people do not change their cell phone numbers. I called it and immediately was connected and worked out the foreword for my book.  These connections are important but only valuable if you save the information or data in a way you can easily access it. 

Also my address book came in handy for my work on the Billy Graham audiobook. From listening to audiobooks, I know sometimes the audiobook will have something different from a simple reading of the text. The most iconic song that I know related to Billy Graham is the hymn Just As I Am played at the end of a crusade when people walk forward. With a simple Google search, I found a version of The Gaithers singing this hymn. I clipped out a few seconds of the recording but I needed permission to use it. Years earlier I worked for Howard Books and met Gloria Gaither. We exchanged business cards. I sent a simple email, telling her about my biography, sending my audio clip and asked for royalty-free permission. Within 24 hours, I received the permission. 

If you listen to this audio sample, you will hear each chapter begins with a few seconds of the hymn and it is scattered throughout the audiobook. It would not have happened if I had not exchanged busines cards, then saved the data in a format I could easily use. 

If you don’t have the data in a way to access it, you can’t reconnect. How are you organizing and using the connection data from your business cards? Let me know in the comments below and I look forward to learning from you. 

Tweetable:

After attending a conference, this prolific author and editor organizes then uses the business card data. Read the stories and details 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 new podcast recording launched: 

Precious and I spoke on the Becoming Precious Podcast about Shattering Publishing Illusions: The Grit to Take 100 Percent Responsibility. Listen at: https://bit.ly/4v0cKIB 

During my years in publishing, I’ve reviewed thousands of submissions and spoken with many authors about their plans and dreams for their book. I’ve found many of these authors have  unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. From my experience, many aspects of the details of publishing are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors 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 1,800 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