The Only Path to Success

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It sounds counterintuitive. The only path to success is through regular failure. To consider this topic, let’s begin with a couple of stories. 

Thomas Edison invented numerous inventions which we continue to use today--like the light bulb. “But despite his outstanding success, Edison failed frequently. In fact, it sometimes took thousands of attempts – literally – to perfect his experimentation. That was exactly the case when Edison was working to devise a novel storage battery. According to his close friend Walter S. Mallory, Edison had already tried 9,000 experiments and hadn’t yet found a solution. When Mallory commented about the lack of results, Edison promptly responded, “Results! Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! I know several thousand things that won’t work!”

Or consider James Dyson and his 5,126 failures to invent a vacuum cleaner. acuum cleaner. “That’s how many failures James Dyson went through before finding the winning prototype for his first vacuum cleaner. Five thousand — one hundred — twenty-six! That meant four years of developing the product, going deep into debt and putting up his house as collateral to the bank loan. He pinned everything on this invention without any guarantees that it would ever work. That level of determination and patience is absolutely mind-blowing to me. James is now the fourth richest person in the UK with an estimated net worth of £16.3 billion. Well deserved, I say!”

As writers, we face a great deal of rejection. Many people have forgotten those early days of finding a publisher for Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the co-authors of Chicken Soup for the Soul (one of the bestselling series in the English language). Their submission was rejected 140 times which is a lot of rejection. Yet they continued looking for a publisher. Mark wrote this story in the foreword of my book Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Follow this link to dowload a free section of this book including the foreword.  

If your work is getting rejected from editors and literary agents, keep submitting and writing. Your persistent effort will pay off if you continue looking for the right fit for your work. I admit the path is not an easy one. I’ve been rejected many times in my own journey. I’ve come to understand that rejection is not person but saying my writing was not the right fit for that particular editor or agent. I have to keep submitting and keep connecting with new people to find the right fit for my work.

The process or journey is not easy but possible. I encourage you to: 

--keep making new connections. Who you know is almost as important as what you know.

--keep learning your craft and reading how-to books, articles and online courses. I’ve been studying publishing for decades and continue to learn new aspects all the time. 

--keep trying new types of writing. In the free excerpt from Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, I have a detailed list of the variety of writing. You may not be a book author but you may be excellent at magazine articles. It’s a conversation I had recently with a contributing editor at Guideposts (one of the top circulation publications). She hasn’t published a book but loves writing short magazine articles and reaching millions with her writing.  

The only way to fail in your publishing efforts is to quit the journey. I encourage you to continue to move forward on the only path to success. Let me know what you think in the comments below. 

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Where Is the Easy Button for Publishing?

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Writing is easy. You sit at your keyboard, open a vein and bleed. This statement has been attributed to Ernest Hemingway. On the surface, publishing looks easy. You write a book and publish it. People are looking for something easy—an easy button. One of my friends, Joel Comm, was selling easy buttons that you could have on your desk and push when you needed it. Yet the button only went up and down—and didn't do anything. From my decades in publishing, there is no easy button and instead the days are full of many “minor” decisions which will make a huge difference in the success or failure of your book.

 

In the pages of these entries, I've told the story about Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield, co-authors Chicken Soup for the Soul (one of the most successful series of books in the English language). People often forget these books were rejected 140 times before they finally found a small publisher. That is a lot of rejection. Mark tells the story in the foreword to my book Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Just follow this link to download and read the foreword and first chapter.

 

Last year, on The Write Conversation blog, I told the story of Andy Andrews and his struggle to get published and then how he became a New York Times bestselling author. Follow this link to read this article but the key fact is to notice the persistence and perserverance Andy did to finally succeed with his books and writing. There was nothing easy about it.

 

A great deal of publishing is being in the right place at the right time with the right stuff. Those qualities of persistence and perserverance are key elements for every writer. Here's some ideas of action steps you can take—no matter where you are on your publishing journey:

 

1. Write shorter pieces or magazine articles and be pitching them to editors. It takes skill to write a book and it also takes skill to write a shorter article. I would rather be learning on the shorter article than the longer book. Plus you will reach many more people with an article than most books. I continue to write for magazines and have been doing it for many years.

 

2. Be making connections consistently through LinkedIn. Millions of people are on this business network and I ignored it for years but today I have over 19,000 connections. Last week I called a long-time friend's cell number and someone else answered. I checked the number with a colleague—and they had the same wrong number. I went to LinkedIN and found a different number in this friend's contact area—so I called it and left a message. I was reaching him with an old number which was forwarded to him—and apparently dropped during the last month.  Repeatedly LinkedIN has been a great source of information because generally when people move or change positions, they take their LinkedIN account with them. Each of us need the right connection and you can be expanding your network through LinkedIN. If we aren't connected, then send me a connection invitation (use the link) You might not need it today but maybe you will need to connect at a later point.

 

3. Get to an event and make new connections.  After two years of a pandemic, live events are returning. I will be at two of them this month and another in June. In May I will be teaching and meeting authors at a vircual event. Follow this link to see my schedule and possibly meet. This week an author who attended one of my workshops in 2018 reached out to me with some questions. She was going to attend the Write His Answer conference in May (which will be virtual and a combination of the Philadelphia and Colorado Christian Writer Conferences). This author was surprised that I answered her email and questions. Even four years after an event, I continue to be in touch with people that I met.

 

Your persistence and consistency is important—even in the face of rejection like Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Andy Andrews. Keep moving forward is my encouragement—whether you find the easy button or not. 

 

If I'm missing the easy button for publishing, let me know in the comments below.

 

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Use the Power of One Word

Are You Looking for The Next Big Thing?

In the publishing world, words fill our lives:

• a number of times each week, new books arrive in my mailbox
• new submissions from authors come into my email box
• new relationships happen on the phone or email or in person
• new opportunities to speak and help other authors

If you are in stall and spinning your wheels, I encourage you to use the power of one word to propel you forward. It does seem amazing but you can tap into the power of one word if you consistently use it. Are you ready for this word? The word is next. Speak it aloud: next. This one word is hopeful and expecting something to happen in the future.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, co-authors for Chicken Soup for the Soul, have a story that many people have forgotten because of their success. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series is one of the most successful in the English language. Yet these books were rejected 144 times—which is more rejection than most people will take. In this rejection process, Jack and Mark learned to look at each other and say the word: next. Yes they mourned the rejection but they did not stop and kept moving ahead to the next opportunity. If you want to read Mark Victor Hansen talking about this issue, follow this link to the free sample of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Mark writes about it in the foreword to my book.

As writers, we hear the word no a great deal in the publishing world. We write a book proposal and try to get a literary agent or a publishing contract. Yet we get rejected and sometimes that rejection is over and over. We get little feedback and form rejections saying things like “not a good fit” or “not right for us.”

For others, we get a book contract from a publisher, yet you decide the timing isn't right so you don't sign that particular contract. I understand the timing and publisher and details have to be right. I have it happen often with my work at Morgan James. We go through our internal process to evaluate a book and decide it will be right right book for the publisher (a team process). Then we issue a contract but the author doesn't sign it. I've had authors sigdn their contract years (yes years) after I've initially presented it to them. It is all about timing, passion of the author, resources,vision and other such intangibles. As someone who has been in publishing many years, I understand these intangibles but they are still frustrating. When I feel the frustration, I say to myself the single word: next. Then I move forward on something else.

For other authors, their book is not selling and they wonder what to do next. I spoke with an author last week who published his book a year ago, then was plunged into a personal medical situation which prevented him from marketing and promoting his book. Now his health situation is resolved and I encouraged him to begin again. Yes he had missed the launch window for his book since it is already in the marketplace, but it is never too late to work on the promotion of your book. Next.

I wrote this article to give you hope and encourage you to keep moving—in spite of the rejection and the no thank yous. If you can't write or publish in this place, look for the next opportunity. I know nothing will happen if you don't move forward, take responsibility and take action. You can do many things in the publishing world but your action will be the difference maker in this process. If I can help you in this process, my work contact information is on the bottom of the second page of this link.

What steps do you take to get it done? Let me know in the comments below.

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Keep Going With Your Writing

From my years in publishing, I've learned there are many different routes to success. As a writer, my task is to keep going and continue pursuing my dreams. Your persistence and continued effort will pay off. It's a message that I've given in my workshops—but one I've been hearing from others as well.

The road to success is littered with people who do not persist. These writers try a few things, get rejected then put their writing away and figure it no one wanted it. In contrast, the writers who get published continue to look for the right place for their material to be published. They are persistent. 

One of the best stories about persistence is Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen when they were trying to get the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book published. Their book idea was rejected over 140 times. Now that is a lot of rejection and persistence! In the process of their search for a publisher, they lost their literary agent and even considered self-publishing until a little publisher in Florida offered to publish the first of numerous books. Many writers would have given up on their book but Canfield and Hansen persisted. Today Chicken Soup for the Soul is one of the best-selling series of books but it certainly didn't begin that way.

If you are struggling to get published with one idea or manuscript, I encourage you to write a second book proposal or manuscript and try that one. Maybe the second one will be where you will find success. I've known many novelists who never published their first novel—and their manuscript remains in their desk drawer. Instead they needed to persist and write and market several novels before they found their writing voice and path to publication.

Or maybe you need to try a different type of writing such as publishing in print magazines. It is necessary to experiment in many different directions to find your path to publication. For the last year, each month, I've been writing an article about different aspects of magazine publication. Check this link and you will see that I've written many different articles about this key writing skill. From my experience there are many different writing possibilities.  I have a wide-ranging list of some of these possibilities in the free sample chapter of my Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams (just follow this link to download it).

Several months ago, I told about listening to a story in Lauren Graham's memoir, Talking As Fast As I Can. She was at a cast dinner and seated next to mega-bestselling author James Patterson. She asked him, “How do you do it?” He responded, “Keep going, keep going, keep going.”

Numerous obstacles will come into your life and prevent your writing. Persistence and continuing to write despite the barriers will be one of the keys to your success. As writers, we need to continually be reading and open to new ideas and trying new options. Last week, Smashwords Founder Mark Coker had an article in the current Publishers Weekly: Ten Tips for Autopilot E-book Marketing. Whether you have E-books or not, I encourage you to look at these ten ideas. These are perennial ideas that you can use with your books.

One of the hardest things to discover is something which is not there. This principle applies to proofreading, writing, marketing and many other aspects of publishing. When I read Coker's article, I began to think about #2 Add a Discussion Guide. Years ago when I was an acquisitions editor at David C. Cook, we decided to add a discussion guide into every new book—nonfiction or fiction. Why?

Because it was a simple addition which added value to every book. There are thousands of book clubs selecting books to read and discuss every month. If your book includes a study guide, then you have opened this possibility for your book. If your book is already in print, then you can write the study guide then give it away on your website as an added value for your readers. You can use the study guide as a list builder and have people give you an email and first name to get the free download—or you can simply give it away.

It is key to explore new ideas and to take action. 

What new ideas are you exploring and trying for your writing—so that you keep going? Tell us in the comments below. 

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Take Action in the Midst of Your Writing Fears

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” 
― Eleanor Roosevelt

I've read this quotation in a number of places and many different contexts.  It is a solid action step for every writer. 

Why? Because from my experience, fear can prevent us from taking action and moving forward with our writing. Will anyone want to read what I'm writing?  Will it sell? Can I find a publisher or literary agent? Is my writing good enough to publish in   a magazine or book? The questions in our minds can appear endless.

While I've published a great volume of material over the years, if I'm honest, I have a number of fears that I face each day. The key from my perspective is are you taking action with your writing in spite of those fears.  I have my ideas and pitches rejected and don't hit the mark—yet I continue pitching my ideas and looking for opportunities.

Years ago as a new writer, I was at a conference sitting around with several more experienced and published authors. It was late at night and I was learning a great deal from these new friends. One author who had published a number of books mentioned how every time he begins a new project he had huge doubts and fears in his mind. He wondered if he could do it and if the book would succeed. In the same breath where he mentioned these fears, he explained that he pushed ahead and beyond the fear to write the book. It's the key distinction between those who want to write and those who actually write: they push ahead and take action in spite of the negative thoughts and fears.

Possibly today your manuscript or book proposal is getting rejection letters from agents or editors. From my experience, you have not found the right place for your book when you get rejected. It means you have to keep looking for that right connection or champion. When the rejection arrives (even if that rejection is through no response), you face a critical choice.  You can either take action and seek another opportunity or you can quit and not respond.  Many authors will send out their material one or two times, get rejected and figure no one wants to work with them and publish their submission. Their writing fears have stalled them into no action.  

When you have writing fears, there are several things:

1. Everyone has these fears. Whether they admit them or not, you should understand it is part of the process.

2. The writers who get published, understand timing and the right connection are a critical part of the process. You have to be proactive to find the right connection with your material.

3. Rejection is a part of publishing. Everyone gets rejected—beginners and long-term professionals. The key is what do you do with the rejection. Do you quit or do you look for the next opportunity?

I believe the world is full of opportunity—yet as a writer you have to make the right connection and have to be facing your fears and continuing to move forward with your writing. One of the most published series of books in English is Chicken Soup for the Soul. What many people forget is Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected on their proposed series 144 times. Now that is a lot of rejection. I'm sure they had fears to face, yet they continued moving forward. You can get some of their story in the foreword for Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Just follow this link to download the foreword and free sample chapter (no opt-in and you can download immediately).

For your encouragement and inspiration, remember this saying. If you need to do so, I would write it out and put it over your computer and read it often:

It will not fly, if you don't try.

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How Writers Can Attract Editors and Agents

As writers, we want literary agents and editors to love our words and be attracted to our book proposals and manuscript pitches. The process is subjective and each editor and agent is looking for what will be right for their agency or their publishing house.  Yet after years in this business, we are attracted to great writing (and you don't have to read much of a manuscript to recognize excellence). Also writers who understand their target audience—and more importantly know how to reach them are attractive.

Today I want to give you four ways you can become more attractive to an agent or editor. This attraction factor can show up in any type of communication such as a phone call, an email or in person. I want to begin with something that does not attract or attracts negative attention. Recently I was corresponding with a novelist who was pitching her novella. She said, “I am no marketer.” As an editor, I don't want to work with an author who has this attitude. It started me thinking about how writers can attract literary agents and editors.

1. Have the Right Mindset. You may long to be a “writer” or “storyteller” and not a marketer. I understand and you are exactly like every other writer with this longing.  Yet saying such words to an editor or agent does not attract them.  In fact, it can drive them away from you. These publishing professionals are looking for authors who “get it.” If you have the right mindset, you understand you have to build your audience and work every day at being connected to readers. Everything begins with the right attitude or mindset.

2. Commit to consistent time to learning about the craft of writing and how to build your audience. It will take time to build your email list or your following. Get ideas from my free ebook, Platform-Building Ideas for Every Author. Your consistent effort in this area will pay off.

3. Don't let rejection get to you. When Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected repeatedly as they pitched Chicken Soup for the Soul (before they were published and when they were looking for a publisher), with each rejection they looked each other and said, “Next.” See the upbeat and looking ahead way they handled rejection. When you get rejected (and yes it will happen because it still happens to me after all these years), say the word, “Next” and move forward to the next opportunity.

4. It takes persistence to find the right publisher and editor for you. Editors and agents are looking for great material that will sell (subjective I know). You can be attractive to these professionals as you hone your pitch and test it with other writers. Get it down to a sentence or two that pulls the agent or editor to want to know more details.

Your persistence will pay off and if I can help in this process, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm always looking and as an acquisitions editor, I send contracts to authors every week.

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5 Ways to Become An Action-Taker

Many of us have dreams and desires for success in the publishing world. We want to have people read our books and write material that is read and appreciated.  Almost every day I'm speaking or emailing people who hold this dream. About 83% of Americans plan to write a book during their lifetime and many people have written a manuscript but can't seem to figure out how to move forward with it.

From my years in this business, I want to give you concrete and practical steps you can take to become an action taker and move forward with your dreams. I define an action-taker as someone who does more than dream but takes daily action to move toward making those desires a reality.

1. Create a specific goal and write it down. If your goal is not written, then it will be hard to achieve it. You can write it in a notebook or in a little card that you carry and look at from time to time.

2. Break this goal into action steps that you can take to achieve it. Maybe your goal is to start a blog on a consistent basis.  People are amazed at the volume of content in The Writing Life—over 1300 entries. The volume comes from consistently taking action and adding to the content. I also have a lot of information about blogging in this free teleseminar on the topic (follow the link).

3. Commit to moving on toward that goal every day. Some goals like a book manuscript or a book proposal take time and can't be created overnight but can be done with consistent effort. The old saying, “Inch by inch it is a cinch” is true. If you decide to write a page or two every day, then you will be able to keep your momentum going and complete each of the parts of a book proposal or a book manuscript. Getting your ideas down on paper is one of the first steps to completing the project—but it will take consistent action and effort to get it done. I've done and you can do it too. Use my free Book Proposal Check List to guide you in this process. Also make sure you check out the various resources and links to other information on this one-page document.

4. Seize unexpected opportunities.  In the past, I've written about the need for every writer to respond to their emails and phone calls—which is the essence of good customer service. Anyone connected to publishing is in the communication business. Admittedly communication doesn't often happen so if you communicate, you will stand out in a positive way. 

Last week Julie Eason sent a short email asking if I was available to participate in her Business Book Summit and could she interview me right away. I did not hesitate but said yes and scheduled a time to be interviewed. The summit begins next week in a couple of days and is free. I'm grateful to be able to talk about book proposals and Morgan James among such a great line up of speakers. Yes, Julie asked me—but I read my email, said yes and scheduled the interview. Unexpected opportunities will come to you as well. Are you taking action? 

5. Face Your Set Backs or challenges and keep on moving forward. Everyone has bumps in the road. These bumps could be a personal or family crisis or something with your work or even a technical challenge with your computer or software or ???? These challenges happen to all of us including me. The key is what are you doing to get through the roadblock or challenge. From my experience, there is a way through your challenge. Don't ignore them but take action and work your way through them. 

Often I read about someone who is an “overnight” success. They have suddenly skyrocketed on to the national front through a book or a YouTube video or a media outlet. Yet if you carefully examine the life of that “overnight” success you will learn (as I have) the person has been faithfully in the trenches and taking action. Many people tout the best-selling success of Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.  Throughout the first year of this series, each author followed the “Rule of Five.” It is a stellar example for each of us. 

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The Value of Persistence

In the writing world, it happens often. A writer will craft a piece of writing—like a query or a book proposal or a magazine article or a book manuscript. They will approach an editor or literary agent and either get no response or a polite “no thank you.” At this point in the process, the writer can give up and chalk it up to experience. Or they can choose another path of persistence and keep getting their work into the marketplace.

I often tell writers that successful publishing is the process of being in the right place at the right time with the right person with the right material.  A number of rights have to line up for that piece of writing to be published. As a writer, you are in search of the right opportunity. It does not happen instantly. And if it does, then that is a rare fluke. It happens to me—all the time. I write emails which are unanswered. I make phone calls and leave messages which are not returned. I even offer book contracts to authors which they don't acknowledge or accept.  The lack of response bothers me but it does not make me stop or give up. I understand the value (and necessity) of persistence.

In the last few weeks, an author signed her contract with Morgan James Publishing. Her memoir will be published next year. When we spoke, she told about sending her manuscript out to various literary agents and not getting a single response. I was struck with this lack of response.  Maybe her pitch wasn't attractive. Maybe she sent it to the wrong literary agents. There are any number of variables which can cause this type of response but I still felt bad for this author.  I found her personal story fascinating and well-written.  As her book gets published next year, I hope it catches a lot of attention in the market.  I've tried to manage this author's expectations and encourage her that the success of her book will be 80% up to her efforts. There are many unknowns ahead but I'm confident in this author because she understands the value of persistence.

One of the best known examples of persistence in the publishing community is Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen for their first Chicken Soup for the Soul book.  As Mark explains in the foreword for Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, their book was rejected 140 times. Now that is a lot of rejection.   In the process, Jack and Mark heard every reason for rejection from large and small publishes—yet they persisted to believe in their book and that they would eventually find a publisher.  Now this series of books is one of the best-selling books in history. If you follow this link, you can read the complete story and download the foreword and first chapter of the updated edition of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams.

What challenges are you facing with your current publishing? Are you getting rejected?

Maybe you need to send your material to a different set of editors or agents. Maybe you need to learn more about the craft and business of writing to improve the quality of what you are sending.  Possibly you need to select a good writer's conference to attend in the next few weeks or months. There are many ways to learn the skills you need. For example, I've had a number of people take my Write A Book Proposal course and gain practical teaching from those lessons. Each of us need to keep growing in our knowledge and skill and connections in this business. Persistence has great value.

Create a GBHG for This Year

Do you have a Great Big Hairy Goal (GBHG) for the new year?

Whenever the calendar flips to a new year, it's an opportunity to change and make some dream of yours happen. Mark Victor Hansen often talks about the necessity of creating this GBHG. Write down your goal in a few words. Then paste it on the mirror in the bathroom or on the top of your desk or some place that you see it often.

When you see that goal what steps are you taking today to accomplish this GBHG?

One of my friends wants to publish her fiction. She has taken courses and attended writers conferences. Active in publishing, she regularly helps other writers improve their books through detailed work and critiques. From time to time, I ask this friend about her own writing and what is happening with it. Year after year, it never happens and yet I know she continues to hang on to this GBHG.

I love what my friend Bodie Thoene told me years ago about the work of writing her 600+ page manuscripts. “No little elves come out at night and type my pages,” she explained. Instead Bodie consistently writes pages and completes novels.

Maybe you've actually completed several novels or nonfiction manuscripts. It takes something else to get that material published. You have to craft an amazing pitch or book proposal. Yes, fiction authors need book proposals. You have seconds to grab the attention of the agent or editor.

If you've done the work to create this proposal or manuscript, it does absolutely no good to keep it in your computer or file drawer. You have to actively be looking for the right connection—the right editor or the right literary agent who will champion your cause and get your book into the marketplace. I'm keenly aware that it is hard work and takes consistent and regular effort.

Consistent effort is how you accomplish a GBHG. You have to take your larger goal and break it into smaller goals. Get it on your daily list of “things to do” so you move forward and accomplish your goal.

A year ago, I was speaking with a friend about how I had not accomplished one of my GBHGs. For a year, I took a course on how to create a membership course. I worked through the lessons in the course and created my game plan of what I would make and what it would look like. I even wrote the website for it. But it never happened. I was speaking with this friend about how I had never pulled it completely together to launch this project. It was in limbo where it resided only in my head and not in the public.

As I spoke to my friend, I was struck with how crazy I must have sounded. In that moment, I decided to take action and complete my course and launch it.

Taking action is not simple. It required hours of focused work yet last year I launched my Write A Book Proposal course and have had great feedback from the various students who have completed the course. The course is 12 lessons and over three months. I am continuing to market this course and encourage people to take it. I know it is helping writers around the world to have better proposals and pitches.

Last summer, I met one of my students who came to the writers' conference in Philadelphia. She came from Sydney, Australia! It opened my eyes that my online course has no geographic or time boundaries. Students can learn on their own pace and schedule anywhere in the world.

I've got my own GBHG for this year. I've written it down and I've broken the goal into smaller parts that I can easily accomplish—with consistent effort. I'm excited about the potential of my GBHG to help many people in the weeks ahead.

OK, now it's your turn. What have you been dreaming about in your heart to accomplish, yet for whatever reason not getting done? Pull out some paper or open a file on your computer and write down your GBHG. Then break it into smaller steps and create a plan for you to get it done in the weeks ahead.

We've started a new year. I believe you can get it done. I will be accomplishing my GBHG. How about you?

Not A Natural But Working At It

From reading these entries, you may "think" that I'm a natural at the marketing end of this business. I'm not. I don't believe that I'm the best writer in the room but I'm a determined writer. It's why I've been able to persist and build such a large body of work in the marketplace. By the same token, I'm not a natural marketer yet I understand that marketing is a critical skill to get out my work.

About a month ago, I attended a free day-long meeting with Mark Victor Hansen and Loral Langemeier. While about 250 people signed up for the event, less than 100 actually came. Those numbers alone show you the importance of showing up. I have heard Mark speak a number of times and I always learn something significant from his sessions. I had never met or heard Loral Langemeier and I was fascinated with her teaching. By the way, if you get a chance, pick up her newest book, Put More Cash In Your Pocket. It's straightforward advice about creating more income in today's economic times. I enjoyed reading it.

During her teaching, Loral said all of business (and publishing is a business) comes down to four basic skills: marketing, sales, finance (managing the money) and team (working as a team even if you are an independent writer). Ironically these four entrepreneurial skills are not taught in most business schools (Loral has a business degree). If you want to make more sales, then you have to be telling more people about your product or book (marketing). It's a simple principle but true.

If you want a traditional publisher to take your book proposal, then you need to be telling more editors or literary agents about your proposal. If you want to be writing more for magazines, then you need to be pitching to more editors and publications--naturally with the best crafted proposal and best crafted pitch of your idea.

If you want to sell more copies of your book after it is printed (and you should because you took the energy to put it out there), then you need to do more personal marketing for that book. It is the author who has the greatest passion for their work--so use that passion to fuel your marketing efforts.

While I continue to be committed to learning more about writing, I am also committed to learning more about marketing and improving my ability to tell more people about my various products. In each book, I look for several key "takeaways" which I can apply to my own writing life. If you are looking for it, you will find it.

This past weekend, I read Linda F. Radke's book, The Economical Guide to Self-Publishing. The title of this book might have put you off. You might have said, "I'm not self-publishing." Whether you self-publish or use a traditional publisher, you can learn something from this book.

Here's one quick example from this book. It includes contributions from other writers and includes a brief article from John Kremer and Marie Kiefer called Seven-Soul Searching Commandments for Self-Publishers. I want to focus on their seventh commandment: Ten Minutes Per Day. They write, "Are you willing to spend at least ten minutes a day for the next three years marketing your book? This is a commitment that you must keep. If you are not willing to spend ten minutes each and every day marketing a book, let someone else do it--someone who believes in your book enough to spend a few minutes every day marketing it. In just ten minutes, you can make at least three contacts per day. Write influential buyers. Phone key media people. Network with contacts that can lead to other buyers, media, and associations. Three contacts per day comes out to about 1,000 contacts each year. If you make 1,000 appropriate contacts, you can't not sell books. I know that's a double negative, so I'll rephrase it. If you make 1,000 contacts per year, you will sell books. In fact, you can't miss." (page 136)

Do you see the value in taking consistent and persistent action in the marketing area? I may not be a natural but I'm continuing to work at it--and you can do the same.

Publishers Cringe At This Question

As a book publisher and a former acquisitions editor, I've often heard this question from my authors. They ask a few months (or a few weeks) after their book has entered the market. They want to know, "How's my book selling?"

Because I don't have instant access to this information, I can honestly confess, "I don't know." And why do I cringe? Because I'm fairly confident the author will not be thrilled with the sales answer. I'm confident that publishers are doing everything they can to sell your book and get people to buy your book--even if as the author you don't "feel" like they are making enough effort.

When you ask this question, in reality, you are facing an age-old question that we see in other areas of our life. For example, you don't like some of the behavior of your spouse or your co-worker or some friend. Often there isn't much you can do about that situation--but wait, you can do something about yourself. It's the same situation when it comes to selling books into the market.

Often authors feel powerless when in reality they have lots of power which they are not using. While the powerless feeling may exist, it is not true. As an author, you have a great deal of power to sell your book. Who have you told about your book in the last month? the last week? the last day? How are you telling them? Are you using an electronic newsletter? Are you using a blog? Are you using social media like Twitter and Facebook? Are you involved in online groups and telling people about your book in the signature of your email? Are you using direct mail such as postcards or printed pieces such as bookmarks? Are you speaking about the topic of your book? Are you doing radio interviews and readings at bookstores? The array of possibilities are endless for authors. Use what is in front of you to tell people about your book. They will have to hear about the book multiple times often before they purchase the product. What are you doing to stir those multiple presentations about the benefits and value of your book?

As writers, we invest huge amounts of time, energy and money into learning how to write a great book. Your publisher and you work hard to create the best possible book cover and riveting, page-turning content on the inside of your book. Yet many of us (yes I include myself) fail because of marketing and sales. We haven't assumed enough of the responsibility for our own book nor told the numerous people we can easily reach about the value of our book. In case, you didn't notice, I've turned the conversation to myself. Last year, I wish more people had purchased my Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. Instead of moaning and feeling bad about those sales, I'm recommitting to increase my efforts to tell more people about this book. It's one of the reasons that I'm getting out and speaking in a number of places during the coming months. Follow this link to check my constantly changing schedule because I'd love to meet you at one of these places.

Last week, I spent a day with Loral Langemeier and Mark Victor Hansen at a free Phoenix event. I've heard Mark a number of times (always inspiring) but I had never met nor heard Loral. The opportunity came through my email (which I read) so I signed up and attended. Over 250 people registered for the free event--but only about 80 people actually showed up (a key fact--show up when you have such an opportunity). I took pages of notes when Loral and Mark spoke.

Every author is an entrepreneur and you need to begin thinking like an entrepreneur to succeed. Loral pointed to four key entrepreneur skills: marketing, sales, finance (handling your money) and building a team. These are skills which you can learn but are not taught in business schools but are critical to learn to make money--i.e. sell your book and reach people with the message of your book. What are you doing today to market your book and your message? How are you selling your product and what steps can you take to increase that product? What steps can you take in the financial area to be smarter about how you handle your money? Some of you will be wondering about the team skill. As writers are great at working alone on our writing, but how are you working as a team with others? What sorts of cooperative ventures can you form to tell more people about your book or your message?

I'm convinced you have the power and responsibility to tell others about your book. What are you doing today to proactively move in the right direction?

Possibilities Abound--If You Persevere

As we approach the end of another year, I've been thinking about some of the great things which happened this past year--and some of the things which I attempted and fell flat. Yes, each of us have things on each side of that situation. Can you major on the possibilities and look for new opportunities? They are certainly out there yet only if you keep your eyes open for the possibilities and persevere. Many people along the way seem to drop off, give up and quit. Are you one of those people? You can make a choice not to be one of their number.

One of the continual discussions in the publishing community is whether a particular piece of writing is publishable or not. With the variety of possibilities from Internet to print-on-demand to traditional publishing to magazine work, there is always a way to get something to the audience--provided you reach the right audience. Publishability is a question the publisher will always ask--because they are investing a large amount of money into your project--just to produce it and also to market and sell the book.

I see many projects which don't have the depth or substance to be a book--and instead they are a longer magazine article or a substantial magazine article.

Who will you reach with this particular book AND does this publisher have the ability to reach that audience? Some publishers are better equipped to reach into an audience than others. Some times a publisher will consider your potential audience and reject the project because they are ill equipped to reach that audience and know it would be a mistake and misguided use of their resources. The answer about your audience returns to the age old question of researching the market and knowing how you will reach that market.

For example, if you are a children's author and tell me your book is going to be for any child from 3 to 12, your project gets immediately slated for rejection. You have no understanding of the divisions of children's literature and how that is handled in the bookstores and libraries of the nation. Your project is way too broad in scope from the beginning. Keep reading if you are a children’s author because I have some resources for you in a minute.

The same concern is true in the adult market when you say in your book proposal or query letter that your target market is women from 25 to 80 (as one which came across my screen this week said.). You have not done your preparation as a writer to see the true possibilities. So do not be surprised when that idea doesn't hit too broad of a target.

Who are you targeting for the sales of your product? If it is the brick and mortar bookstores, then you need to work toward a traditional publisher for your product because no one reaches these stores better than the traditional publishers. I love traditional bookstores and try to spend as much time as I can in them--browsing the books and purchasing them in the store.

If you have read these entries, you will know that I have encouraged you to get a copy of Brian Jud's 304 page book called Beyond the Bookstore, How to Sell More Books Profitably to Non-Bookstore Markets. Most writers do not understand that more than half of the books sold each year are sold outside of the bookstores. Jud helps authors understand some of these out-of-the-box markets. Here's a rich resource of training for authors which I have not mentioned. Booksurge is an Amazon.com company and Jud has been holding a series of free webinars which you can watch--and learn a great deal.

If you can show a publisher a large market (even if outside of the bookstore) and you have the ability to reach AND energize that market to purchase your new book, then you have moved out of the rejection pile and into a publishable category worthy of a publisher's consideration.

And for the children's authors, as a resource, you should subscribe to the free newsletter, The Children's Writing Update. Late last night I was reading the current issue and to my surprise found my blog on The Writing Life mentioned. They have produced a new ebook called I Wish Someone Had Told Me That! ebook where 64 published children’s writers give inside tips about what they wish they had known before they made the journey. Here's a YouTube video about this resource:

I've learned the hard way to add this link for my Feedblitz readers. Otherwise they have no idea what I’m talking about unless they return to the Internet entry.

Finally no matter where you are in the publishing process, I want to encourage you to listen to this Mp3 called The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightengale. It is the only gold record ever achieved for the spoken word and absolutely free from Mark Victor Hansen. You have to enter your first name and email to get the link--and you can opt out at any time. If you are wondering about success and how to become successful, this recording is loaded with sound tested wisdom. I've heard it a couple of times. It will encourage you that the possibilities abound if you persevere.