Little By Little Actions

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

The simple short message on LinkedIn startled me. It asked, “Are you still doing podcasts?” 

“Yes.” I answered at first. With a little more thought I expanded my answer. “I’ve booked or recorded over 90 podcasts and the best place to learn about the new recordings is on my blog (and I sent the link).”  

My exchange was a short one and I have no idea if something will come from it or not. I have over 19,800 connections on LinkedIn and their email is not my normal way of communication. It’s an example of a little action with unknown and possibly big potential. Maybe this person has a podcast and wants to invite me as a guest or maybe they will just listen to some of my podcast recodings. I don’t have my own podcast but I’ve been guesting on others podcasts then promoting that recording.

In the above image of a woodcarver, he has an idea or concept for that piece of wood. With little by little cuts in the wood, he works on that carving to create something beautiful. It’s how a great deal of the publishing world works--through little by little actions. It’s not glamorous or flashy but here’s the truth about the writing life: the majority of things happen with little by little actions.

Last week one of my long-time publishing friends who is now a literary agent received a letter of acknowledgement for the  Morgan James Publishing submission that he sent for his author. The physical letter came via the US Mail. This agent acknowledged the rarity of receiving such a publishing letter. Publishers used to send these letters but most have stopped this practice. David Hancock, the Morgan James Publishing founder told me, it’s one of the reasons we do it--to stand out and be distinct. We receive over 5,000 submissions each year and only publish about 150 books. A little action of mailing a letter is a means to stand out from other publishers. 

To write a 50,000 word or 80,000 word manuscript takes a lot of thoughtful writing. It's not done in a single session but little by little. The same discipline is involved in writing a book proposal or a magazine article or pitching a podcast.

As a reader of these articles on The Writing Life, I understand your interest in writing and publishing your work. It’s a task that you do little by little. Early on in my writing I learned that I have to do more than writing. If you want people to read your work, you have to be pitching your writing. Your pitch can be through an email or a proposal or in person at a writer’s conference. If you speak with a magazine editor and she encourages you to submit, then you have to take action and send the submission for consideration. If you don’t hear from that editor, then you have to follow up and make sure they received it and put it into consideration. Even in these last two sentences, the writer has to take little actions and do the necessary connection work. 

One of the keys for every writer is the need to do consistent work in the marketing area. If you aren’t knocking on new doors and telling people about your book, then people don’t know about it to buy it. We've learned that someone has to hear about your book a dozen times before they purchase it. As the author build different tools and methods of telling people into your consistent actions. For some people it will be on YouTube and others it will be on podcasts and the radio. There are multiple methods and part of the author journey is to experiment and find the best activity for you and your book. It will take persistent action often done little by little.

I don’t pretend the work of publishing is simple but with little by little action, you can reach readers and get your work into the marketplace. When you have an idea to pitch, do you execute that idea or lose it? I encourage you to take little but consistent actions to learn then reach your readers. As the author, you are the best person to represent your work and reach readers. Each of us want someone else to do this work like a publisher or a publicist. 

I encourage each of you to take little by little actions and 100% responsibility for your own success. What little actions are you going to take today and tomorrow and the next day? Let me know in the comments below and join the conversation.

Tweetable:

Through little by little actions, this prolific author and editor contends much can be accomplished. You can read the stories and apply the details to your writing with 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 one more new podcast recording launched:

Troy Stuart and I spoke about 10 Publishing Myths Every Author Should Know on The Wisdom Trade Podcast. Listen at: https://bit.ly/3VGG4rH 

Currently I’m working with my third publisher as an acquisitions editor. During these years, I’ve spoken with many authors about their expectations, dreams and desires for their books. I find many unrealistic expectations. 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

Author Talk Is Cheap

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As an author, you have to learn a great deal about publishing to make a good pitch. The reality is you have seconds to capture that person’s attention. If you are meeting in person at a writer’s conference, your first few minutes are important. 

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to learn to catch attention, craft a book proposal, write a query letter, and generally make the right connection to secure a positive reaction from that publishing professional. No doubt that achievement is valuable and terrific.

In this article, I want to encourage you to take an additional step: do the work to successfully execute your plans to reach readers. It’s the work which gets no attention and no one pushes you to do but if you do it, then you will become the exception and sell books. As my title for this article says, author talk is cheap.

I understand the work and thought that goes into an author pitch to a literary agent or editor. From my experience, the more detailed about your connections to the reader, the better the plan.

Here’s what I have learned: authors can make detailed marketing plans, then not execute those plans when the book is published. You may tell your editor about your terrific connection to a large circulation print publication, then when the book comes out, the editor looks at the book sales and sees that little happened. Talk is cheap. The real action from authors comes day to day in the trenches when they do the work.

For example, it’s no accident that since 2004, I’ve written and published hundreds of how-to articles on this blog for people interested in publishing. I’ve taken my variety of experiences and poured them into these stories and the articles. No one required me to do it but I have consistently written these articles and done the work. It’s the same sort of detailed work that you must do as an author with your topic.

I encourage you to keep learning about new aspects of publishing, then engaging in the process and do the work to apply that information to your work. Admittedly the work can feel routine and boring but your consistency is a critical element in your success. Even if you don’t get any (or much) feedback. Keep learning, going to workshops and reading books and online to discover new aspects of publishing. 

If you notice that something isn’t happening, then increase your work on that aspect. For example, using PodMatch I’ve booked or been on over 90 podcasts during the last year or so. Recently I don’t have as much activity in this area. When I think about the reason, it’s because I haven’t been pitching new podcasts. I’ve put more effort into this pitching and believe soon I will be adding more podcasts to my schedule. 

You want to keep knocking on new doors and trying new tools and ways to get your message into the marketplace. One of the critical and unglamorous aspects is to continually do the promoting and marketing work. 

What new aspects of publishing are you learning and reading about? How are you apply these plans to your topic and passion? Talk is cheap but the real work takes steady and continued effort. If I can help you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. Let me know your actions in the comments.

Tweetable:

Are you making plans to reach readers and tell others about your book? These plans are terrific but are you doing this work? As this prolific author and editor says, author talk is cheap. Read the details here. (ClickToTweet)

After speaking with authors for years, I know many authors have a unrealistic ideas about the details of publishing—and these details are important for your book to succeed. 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 1,800 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

Why Follow Up Is Critical

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

No matter how you publish your book, it is a mulltiple step process where you work with others to accomplish your goals. At Morgan James Publishing, I’m working with a number of authors at different stages with their books. For example, last week I sent book contract offers to several authors. Then a few days later, I made a brief phone call to check in with these authors. For each call, I got their voicemail then left messages to see if they had additional questions. If they don’t have any questions, I encouraged them to take the next step: to print their contract, sign it, date it then scan and email it back to me.

After those calls, I turned and made calls to a couple of new authors that I spoke this past week. I followed up with these authors because I'm missing some details from them which I mentioned during our conversation and in my follow up email. If I don’t get these details from the author, I can’t move forward wtih their submission to my colleagues and possibly get them a book contract offer. These follow up calls are an important part of getting the information that I need from them. With my phone calls or voicemail messages, I reminded them of the information I needed and encouraged them to send it. 

I’ve learned without my follow up, the publishing process gets stalled and does not move forward. For every writer in many different areas, followup is a critical skill. You need to learn to do it--and use the right words in your followup. If you push an editor to make a decision about your submission, this type of follow up will likely give you an answer you don't want: no (rejection). Instead when you followup on a submission (which is important to do), you want to ask if the editor received the submission or possibly needs you to resend it. This type of question shows empathy for the massive amount of submissions that pours into the email and mail for every editor and literary agent. We each get way more material to consider than can be easily processed. 

While day in and day out, I do a great deal of follow up work, there are times that I fail in this area. Several weeks ago I told you about my secret plan to promote a new Morgan James Publishing book that I brought into the company. I poured a lot of work and effort into this behind-the-scenes effort. I emailed and/or called almost 20 people, told them about the book, sent them details and asked if they wanted a print advanced copy of the book. I kept a list of these people and the dates when I contacted them. When they agreed to read and review the book, I mailed each one a copy of the print book to their home address. Here’s what I missed in this process, I did not follow up with each one to confirm the arrival of the book and that they read it and were writing a review.

A few weeks after this book launched, I checked the Amazon page and Goodreads page for my requested reviews. There were only a few reviews. It showed me again the importance of following up. While my followup failure happened weeks ago, I know I can still follow up and it is not too late. I can send those follow up reminder emails, asking for their honest review and encouraging them to do it. Followup is critical.

Throughout publishing, without follow up almost nothing happens. People are busy. People forget and have other things crowd into their lives.

It’s the same with submissions. Authors need to follow up.

It’s the same with book contracts. Editors need to follow up.

It’s the same with any sort of pitch to a podcast, a magazine, newspaper, a speaking event, etc. You have to follow up.

Don’t forget to use care in your follow up. Don’t accuse or make the person receiving your follow up to feel terrible. Your follow up is to remind them about your interaction and ask if they got it. I call these actions the gentle follow up. With each exchange in the publishing community, you are building a lasting relationship with this author or editor or professional. 

Where do you use follow up? I encourage you to tell me about those experiences. I look forward to your comments.

Tweetable:

An important skill for every writer to learn is followup. This prolific author and editor gives the details why followup is critical.  (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

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

Sheila Slick and I spoke about publishing myths no one talks about on the Milestone Moments in Business and Leadership Podcast. Listen on Apple at: https://bit.ly/4dPgxCC  or YouTube Music at: https://bit.ly/4AJsDqV

Every type of publishing has its own complexity, and many parts of the process are outside of anything that an author can control. In addition, from speaking with authors, I find many of them have unrealistic expectations about publishing. I wrote  10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. 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 1,800 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