Make the Right Writing Connection

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As book authors, the emails blast into our mailbox. Throughout my day I receive many of these email pitches. They write me about books that I wrote years ago and are often out of print. Other emails are for books where I was the co-author. With additional emails, they pitch me to promote a book which I wrote as a work-made-for-hire (no ongoing royalties). The authors of these emails claim to be editors or literary agents or bestselling authors or publicists or ??? How do you sort through it and figure out which ones are real and which ones are simply artificial intelligence bots?

It isn’t easy to know sometimes. Last week, a long-term friend called me about an email he had received from an editor and known publisher. The email appeared legit and talked about the editor’s interest in a book which he had published years ago and was now out of print. I encouraged him to research then use caution in his response. 

Recently I received an email asking for an interview from a Texas radio station regarding my Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. This book is my only self-published book and when it was created I worked hard to have every element in a traditional book through the endorsements, design, publisher logo and even included cartoons in every other chapter. Now the revised edition is a Morgan James Publishing book and available in bookstores everywhere. Follow this link to see a sample.

Because of my greater emotional attachment to this book, when I read the email, it looked legitimate. When I searched, I located the sender on LinkedIn. Her profile raised some questions for me because it had no photo. Normally if the person is real and using LinkedIn, the individual will include an actual photo. On a different website about the radio station, I located a photo of the sender and decided to answer. I exchanged several emails with this person and on the second or third one when we agreed on a time to speak. She explained about a $100 administrative fee (red flag). 

Through the years dozens of radio stations have interviewed me about my books. None of them have charged an administrative fee. It’s the same in the podcast area where I’ve been on over 80 podcasts with no charge. I emailed the Texas radio interview and cancelled our interview. I learned the hard way not to respond to these questionable pitches--and I encourage you not to do so either.

Some Basics about these emails

1. You do not pay for a podcast interview or radio broadcast or media introduction. Nor do you need to pay for an introduction to a community of readers.

2. Use your common sense and ask yourself some questions. Why is this person reaching out to you about this book? Do they include a real website link and even a phone number with their email? Consider their agenda and whether it is a common pitch.

3. Type the person’s name into a search engine and see what you learn before responding.

4. Type the person’s name into LinkedIn. I found the person in Texas without a photo. I requested to connect with this person and did not receive any response (another red flag). I have thousands of LinkedIn connections and have used this site for years. 

Some Typical Ways to Connect

1. Meet the person at a writers conference and exchange business cards. This personal connection will evaporate these fake email pitches. As an editor and former literary agent, I frequently email, call and sometimes text with authors I’ve met at an event. 

2. Ask someone else who knows this editor or agent or media person to introduce you. I’ve hired publicists and marketing experts to help me and introduce me to other professionals. These connections are developed through years of hard work and straightforward connections. 

Each of us need connections with others but it needs to be the right writing connection. What other steps am I missing in this article? What experiences have you had with these email pitches? I look forward to reading your comments.

Tweetable:

In a world with fake emails and bots, writers need to make the right connection for their writing. This prolific author and editor tells his stories and gives simple actions to make true connections.  (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

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

Dominic and I spoke about 10 Publishing Myths Every Author Needs to Know on Hidden Secrets in Books Podcast. Listen at: https://bit.ly/4h4X4Qp

Book coach and author Natasha Tynes (@NatashaTynes) and I spoke about “Nobody is coming to save your book” on the Read and Write with Natasha Podcast at: https://tinyurl.com/yba53yw7 

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.

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