Why Every Author Needs a Newsletter

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

I can “hear” the reader’s objections to the title for this article saying things like I’m an author and I don’t have or need a newsletter. Yesterday I spoke with an author and she said that she didn’t need a newsletter or know what she would say in one. From working with authors, I often hear these objections. One of my authors who was publishing his third book with Morgan James Publishing, told me outright he hadn’t created an author newsletter. 

Other authors decide they can’t devote the time to write and send a newsletter. Others object they have nothing to say to their readers. I understand these objections and like any aspect of the work, there are challenges for authors. In this article, I’m going to help you to see the importance of having this direct connection to your readers.

Let’s think about how you use email. I read my email on my desktop computer but I also read it on my phone. I look at the subject line and decide if I’m going to open and read the email. I would assume my email practices are similar to others.

Email is a direct connection to your readers--provided they open and read it. That’s why your newsletter program will typically measure and display the open rates. I understand not everyone reads their email. This week one author was telling me about another friend who had declared to a class that he had over 700 unopened emails. I add this story to show the importance of creating an enticing subject line for your newsletter. While I don’t answer every email and I get a lot of it. I do open or process my email all the time--early and late in the day.

For over 17 years, I have been writing and sending newsletters. I knew my target reader but here’s been my personal issue: consistency. I was sending about once a month which is infrequent and readers forget they subscribed to your newsletter. About a year ago, my newsletter program and my shopping cart went out of business. With a large personal effort, I moved my newsletter to convertkit.com which has changed to kit.com.  

For over a year (in fact currently for over 100 weeks), I have been sending a short email with publishing insights each week to my subscribers. If you aren’t on this list, use this link to subscribe. When you do, you will receive a free 87-page Ebook. Each author has to determine the frequency of their newsletter such as daily, five days a week, once a week, twice a month or once a month. After you determine your newsletter schedule, it is important to deliver consistently on your schedule. 

Every author has to select a newsletter program to use. Some people use MailChimp while others use constant contact or AWeber or something else. Each one has different functions and costs involved. On Right-Writing.com, I have a series of additional articles about newsletters.

Everyone begins their newsletter with a small list of subscribers. Then you grow email list using lead magnets. In 2019, I wrote a detailed article about lead magnets with specific examples. Follow this link to see this information.

Unlike social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc, email is your direct connection to your readers. To follow the rules of email, each newsletter gives the reader a simple way to unsubscribe. Each week, I have people who unsubscribe and that’s fine with me. I want people to receive my publishing insights who want to receive them. It’s that simple. 

An email newsletter is your direct connection to your audience. Through my acquisitions work at Morgan James Publishing, authors will raise objections to building a newsletter. From my perspective, this newsletter is one of the best and most important tools for every author.

Do you have a newsletter? Are you using it consistently? What steps are you taking to build your subscribers? I look forward to reading your comments. Don’t forget to join the conversation. 

Tweetable:

For every author, one of the most important tools is their newsletter. Get the detailed reasons and actions from this prolific author and editor.  (ClickToTweet)

My Writing In Other Places:

With these articles, I encourage you to publish your work beyond your blog in other places. Below are three articles which were published in other online locations than this blog. While it's been a couple of months since I highlighted this section, I have continued to write each month on each of these websites. Find your opportunities to get your work into some other websites through guest blogging.

What’s Behind A Successful Book? In this article, I give some detailed examples about what it takes to create a successful book. It is not writing another book. Read it at:  https://bit.ly/4wPDCf5

Each month at Almost An Author, I write about some aspect of book proposal creation (an important skill for every writer). In this article I detail How To Catch Attention. Read it at: https://bit.ly/4h06JaO 

Each month, I guest blog on Writers on the Move. This month I wrote about how the gatekeepers (editors and literary agents) are looking for authors who will market their books. In Beef Up Your Proposal Marketing Section, I detail how to add this information into your pitch and also explain why it is important. https://bit.ly/4wvbJJ3 

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

Be A Responsive Communicator

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

If I stop and think about the piles of things that I want to accomplish, I understand that I am failing in many areas. I have more personal writing that I want to start and finish. I have authors who have pitched me that I want to get them contracts and need to process their submissions. I have organization work to do on my computer and even my desk. Authors have sent me books to read and review. The list goes on and on...

In this article I want to encourage you to be a responsive communicator. In a world where many editors or literary agents do not respond, I will send a short email (not always but more often than others). In a world where editors and agents don’t respond to pitches, I will send a short email saying “Got it.” 

If someone doesn’t respond to my email, I will call them or text them. I admit that I don’t use text often and it is one of my least favorite communication tools--but for some people it is the only way they will respond. I’ve learned to use the microphone button on my phone for texting, then carefully read the output before I send it. It is a way to communicate.

Why  should I take the time to communicate?

--In a world which does not communicate, if you respond, it is a simple way to stand out from the crowd. It does not take much. For example, in the area of submissions, Morgan James Publishing sends a letter of acknowledgement in the mail for every submission. We receive over 5,000 submissions a year and only publish about 180 to 200 books. Most publishers have dropped this letter of acknowledgement. The fact that we still do it is a way to distinguish ourselves. We also have a secondary motivation for collecting this address. If later on we decide to make a contract offer, we have the author’s mailing address for the document.

--distinguish yourself as a communicator. Your consistency as a communicator is important. Authors who ask good questions and communicate distinguish themselves as someone the publisher wants to work with. It’s a careful balance here beause you don't want to overcommunicate and become a high maintenance author. 

--distinguish yourself as reliable. As you steadily communicate meet deadlines for different matters. You distinguish yourself as a writer who is reliable. Many writers miss deadlines or extend them (often at the last minute). These actions throw publishing schedules into chaos and put greater pressure on others in the chain of events. It's much better if you meet the deadline--even if it requires some extra effort on your part.

As I’ve heard the stories about Pope Leo XIV, some friend who knew him talked about getting a text from him. This incident showed me that he is a communicator and which is a valuable characteristic.

--Your response can be short. Your consistent response will pay off for you. Unfortuately the publishing community is notorious for giving a slow response or no response (ghosting). If you are consistent--even if short, that responsiveness will pay off for you within the community.

--Try multiple methods to communicate. As an editor, I reach out to authors to set phone meetings. The majority respond to my email but others prefer text and others prefer a phone call. Be aware of these different communication tools and use them to increase your effectiveness.

--Use templates. As an editor, I have a number of different emails that I send in the submission process. I don’t have to reinvent each of them and use a template. Yet I make sure I personalize and change each template before I send it. It's all part of being a good communicator.

When You Fall Behind--Keep Going

If you watch my social media stream, you will see that for many years I post 12 to 15 times a day. I use a scheduling program called Hootsuite. Throughout last week I was tied up throughout the day at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. With this intense schedule, my posts for the last few days were pretty limited. At that point I could choose to change direction and stop (like many people do) or I could give myself grace and keep going. I’m choosing the grace option and not giving up. It’s what I recomend you do when you fall behind. Do not give up but keep going.

Are you a responsive communicator? What am I missing and insights do you have into this important process? I look forward to your comments.

Tweetable:

As a writer, you need to be a responsive communicator according to this prolific author and editor encourages simple actions. 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 of bonuses. 

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

The Endless Making of Books

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It is a Bible verse that I think about often about some words from King Solomon, the wisest man to walk on the planet.  He said, “Be warned, my son...Of making many books there is no end.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12, NIV) According to some people over 11,000 new books are published every day. That amounts to a massive amount of new literature entering the market.

I suspect many authors are following a false myth. They believe if you publish a book, then because it exists, people will buy it and it will sell. These people are following the untrue statement in the Field of Dreams movie: if you build it, they will come.

What can you do? You need to be telling others. You need to be focused on spreading the benefits of your book. You need to keep on promoting no matter what sort of response (mostly silence). You need to keep looking for new tools to use in your journey.

It is not easy. It is not simple. It never ends but you can do it. Get help. Build a solid foundation and keep on the journey. It’s the only way it will succeed. If your passion and promotion stops, then the journey stops. If your passion and promotion continue, then the journey continues.

Seize opportunities when they happen.

We need to be reading our email, answering our phone calls and taking action. As I’ve written in these articles, you have to be aware of the opportunity, then seize it (take action) for anything to happen.

For example, I received an email from another writer this week who complimented me on my weekly newsletter article. In the same email, he suggested this article could appear on a popular blog where he writes on a regular basis. I saw this email as an opportunity to touch more people with my original article. Instead of just emailing back and saying yes, I pulled up the Word file of the article and took a hard look at the message. Then I focused the article on one or two key links, included a GIF image and my headshot. When I responded, I sent a complete package that could be used for this guest blog post. 

Also last week I corresponded with another author who sets up a once a week virtual conference with writers. I pitched my participation. She responded with some possible dates and her need for a specific topic, a headshot and a short biography from me. I sent these elements and haven’t heard a response. Because it has been a couple of days and I haven't received any response. I’m going to resend my email and ask for confirmation from this author. Did she even receive my submission? The question is a fair one because each of us receive many emails and there is a great deal with technology that is outside of our control. Your gentle follow-up is a critical part of the process.

Face the Challenges

Our world is in constant motion with many challenges and changes. Repeatedly I’ve learned there is much that I can’t control or do anything about--except for one person: me. Last week through a spam email from a long-time friend who I rarely communicate with--that a technology service I’ve been using for about 20 years to send my newsletter is closing on May 15th. There was no email notification or any other communication from this service. I called their support line and verified this closing news. Imagine the chaos that would have happened if I had not read and responded to the spam message I read? My email list and all of the work that I’ve poured faithfully into this service for years would suddenly disappear.

Because I got the change information, in the next few weeks I will be transitioning and changing things to a different service with the overall goal of a smooth and seamless transition. I will be reaching out to a few people to get help. At the end of the day I need for the critical technology tools to continue. I’m realistically facing the challenge and going to get through it. The other option is to shut it down and stop--which I am determined not to select.

I want to finish this article with some practical steps for every writer:

• Keep writing
• Keep pitching your book 
• Keep seizing opportunities
• Keep meeting new people and touching new readers
• Keep trying new tools
• Keep getting together face to face with other writers
• Keep learning and exploring new methods
• Keep being consistent and reaching your audience

The journey for each of us is different but it is an important one to keep on keeping on. The only way your journey can stop is if you quit and I don’t want you to quit. If I can help you in your journey, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.What steps are you going to take and what am I missing? Let me know in the comments below.

New Podcasts:

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

Jon Coogan and I spoke about how to write a book which really sells on Mindset Mavericks Podcast. Listen to our conversation at: https://bit.ly/41BucGJ 

Tweetable:

The wisest man who ever lived told us about the endless making of books. This prolific author and editor gives some detailed actions for every writer with their books. Learn more here.  (ClickToTweet)

During my decades in publishing, I’ve heard the unrealistic expectations of writers. The reality is 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.

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

Don't Overuse This Word and Get Blacklisted

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Words have incredible power to influence and affect our life and work in the publishing community. There is a common word which authors will often use but in this article I want to give specific examples and discourage you from overusing this word and having the retailers blacklist your book.

Years ago when I was on the faculty of the San Francisco Writers Conference, I spoke with a bookseller and learned not to use this word in my conversation. I showed this retailer the first edition of Book Proposals That Sell and in my pitch I told him the book had over 100 Five Star Amazon reviews. Instantly he frowned and told me that he didn’t care about Amazon reviews. Yes the single word not to overuse is Amazon.

Instead of touting that you have an Amazon bestseller, you can say your book was a bestseller in _____ category. Instead of saying you have 56 Amazon reviews, you can promote your book has 56 Five Star reviews (or whatever number of Five Star reviews you have received). It is a slight revision but a significant one.

Amazon is a large player in the book retail market but many bookstore people believe Amazon has destroyed their business. The book market has made dramatic shifts and Amazon has been a factor in those changes. For example, at Morgan James Publishing, Amazon accounts for about 24% of our overall business. When I meet an author who has only published on Amazon, I tell them they are missing 76% of how Morgan James can distribute and sell their book. Our books are in 98% of the bookstores in North America including the brick and mortar bookstores. Recently I was looking for a book cover image on one of our novels and the first place I located it was at Target.com. Morgan James sells our books at Target along with over 180 other online retailers.

Give Your Readers Options

When you set up your website and the page to sell your book, what link or links do you include? I was looking at the books from a long-time author friend. He writes a new blog each week and sends it like clockwork. I admire and respect this type of consistent action from any author. Today I checked his book sales page. Each book had a single button that said, “Click Here to Buy on Amazon.” He used a publishing company to create his book and I didn’t recognize the name of his publisher. Yet he was giving his readers one option to buy the book: Amazon. As I’ve been saying in this article, it’s the one word you don’t want to overuse. 

Instead of sending your readers to a single place like Amazon, I encourage you to give them options like Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, their local independent bookstore or getting it directly from you (even encouraging readers they can get a signed copy from you). It’s how I set up my sales pages and here’s a couple of examples for some of my books. The sales page for Book Proposals That Sell is here. The sales page for 10 Publishing Myths is here. The sales page for Billy Graham, A Biography of America’s Greatest Evangelist is here. The reader is going to buy the book where they normally purchase books. As an author, you want to give them options and don’t just send them to a single place. 

A Little Known Bookselling Fact

While on the surface, the community of booksellers looks large with thousands of bookstores from chains like Barnes & Noble and independent bookstores. Most of the sales people for these chains have been in the book business for many years. As a part of their work, they cultivate and maintain relationships with owners, authors, editors and many other people in the industry. These sales people know each other and have developed friendships. On one level they are competitors but on another level they are colleagues. These colleagues speak together and share information. When an author is only focused on sending readers to Amazon, these sales people notice and can blacklist your book from the brick-and-mortar bookstores. According to my recent conversation with David Hancock, the founder of Morgan James Publishing, such a blacklist practice is happening.

Sometimes You Can’t Avoid the Word

In 2019, Morgan James Publishing released Steve Anderson’s book, The Bezos Letters: 14 Principles to Grow Your Business like Amazon. Even before the release date, this book garnered a great deal of attention. The Morgan James foreign rights person sold the book into multiple languages including the highest advance received in this area for a book in the 21-year history of the company. The Bezos Letters has hundreds of Five-Star reviews and a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller. It’s unusual for a book to achieve this level of success which translates into many book sales. 

Yet this book could not avoid using the word Amazon. According to David Hancock, “The brick-and-mortar bookstores blacklisted The Bezos Letters from the release in 2019 until this year. Now in 2024, the brick-and-mortar bookstores began to order and sell this title.”  The success and continued sales of this title eventually removed it from the blacklist. At the end of the day, retailers want to stock and sell books which will move off their shelves and into the hands of buyers. The steady and continued sales of The Bezos Letters eventually won over the retailers who want to serve their customers and sell books.

What actions will you take?

I’ve written this article to encourage you as an author to take action for your website and sales pages. Will you remove the word Amazon in your social media and promotion efforts? Will you give your readers a wide variety of bookstore options to purchase your book? What actions are you going to take? Let me know in the comments.

 

Tweetable:

There is one word authors should avoid and not overuse or their book will be blacklisted. In this article, this prolific writer and editor gives the details and specific action steps. (ClickToTweet)

Much of the publishing process is outside of the writer’s control. 10 Publishing Myths helps writers have a realistic perspective and take action. Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

Before You Hit Send

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As a writer and an editor, I understand the importance of good communication. In fact, if you clearly communicate, it’s one of the simple ways to stand out in the publishing world. From my perspective, the bottom-line of the publishing business is communications. Yet as a writer, I’ve often submitted things with no response or silence. I’ve heard editors say if you don’t hear anything from us in a certain number of weeks, then you can assume we are not interested in your submission. When I hear this comment, it strikes me as poor communication from the professional. I understand that we get thousands of submissions which can be overwhelming. Yet it does not take long to cut and paste a simple response and send it to the author.  

Recently I copied a colleague on a note to an author about an internal matter. This colleague is reading her email because she reached out to me and filled me in on some behind-the-scenes changes which I didn’t know about but were important for my day to day work. I appreciated the communication from my colleague. 

Many of us are working electronically and in this article, I want to give some general guidance and cautions before you hit send.  

Several months ago, Google changed their email and allows you to “unsend” your email (if you do it almost immediately after you have sent something). While I have not used this feature often, I like having this ability to unsend. Also Google gave users the ability to schedule emails. I like using this feature from time to time with my work emails.

As you write an email to someone, make sure you include enough information and not too much detail. Sometimes I will get an email from someone which is several pages in length. Then often I have to read and re-read it to make sure I absorb all of the information. If I have too much going, I will plan to read it later--and sometimes later never happens and I don’t read it. The balance can be tricky but it’s something I encourage you to consider and shoot for with each communication.

Also I use the draft feature with my email. If something comes in which needs to be answered and I can't do it at that time, I will put it into my draft folder to handle later. It’s critical that you check your draft folder from time to time so an important email doesn't get stuck in it. To my chagrin, I have found an email stuck in the draft folder and not sent.

As a writer, there are many different types of writing I send with email. I will send book proposals and manuscripts as attachments--only after I have sent a query and the editor agrees to receive it. Many news agencies don’t open attachments because at times they have a virus or bug. To reach them with your pitch, it is better for you to embed your release or pitch inside the email. 

When you send an email to your newsletter list, before you send it, check and make sure all of the links work. On a recent bestselling author friend’s newsletter where I’m on her list, she included a list of forthcoming speaking engagement and a city with the state abbreviation CS (which was actually SC for South Carolina). The details matter. I have an inexpensive product to help you with your email list called List Building Tycoon (use the link to check it out). 

As an editor, I sent sample contracts and other information as an attachment after I have spoken with an author. Then when our publication board meets and makes a decision about a book, I will also send the contract and other information as an attachment.

If you email someone and don’t get a response, I encourage you to resend it or follow-up about it. Many opportunities are missed because of not following up. 

You can also use google to find other resources on this topic like Your Top-to-Bottom Email Checklist: What to Include Before You Hit Send. What else do you need to consider before you hit send? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

What actions do you take before you send an email? This prolific writer and editor tells some stories and gives specific details in this article. (ClickToTweet)

Much of the publishing process is outside of the writer’s control. 10 Publishing Myths helps writers have a realistic perspective and take their own actions--no matter who publishes the book. Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

Control What You Can

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Much of our world is outside of our control--especially if you are going the traditional publishing route. Many authors have unrealistic expectations or myths about their publishing experience. For 10 Publishing Myths, I focused on ten of these myths and you can use this link--or the one at the end of this article to get the book for only $10 including the postage. Each chapter ends with practical steps every reader can take to control what they can in the publishing process or take their own action.

Through the years, I’ve built an active presence on social media with thousands of connections. In these articles, I’ve written about my actions where I spend limited time on the social media sites where I’m active (X or Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIN). I do not control these websites which are called “rented media” yet in general I post on these sites 14 to 15 times each day. It’s a pattern that I've been doing consistently for years. 

In this article, I want to point out two simple yet important actions I regularly take on two different social media platforms. 

First, let’s turn to Facebook. On my personal Facebook page, there is a limitation of 5,000 friends. I’m fairly close to that limit. Several times a week, people will add a comment to my post saying Facebook has suggested friendship and request a connection. Yet I don’t have room for such a connection. Here’s the actions I take each time:

1. I block this person so they will not be able to see my posts or get such a suggestion from Facebook in the future.

2. After the block, I delete their comment from my post.

This action can be done quickly but shows that you are monitoring your feed and account--or controlling what you can in this area.

Second, let’s talk about LinkedIN. I have over 19,000 connections on LinkedIN and have written about the importance of these relationships with editors and other publishing professionals. My public site says that I have over 500 connections but my number of connections is much larger.

Often I will get a request on LinkedIN to connect. In each case, I look at the profile of the person making the request. Do I know this person? Are they in a part of the world where I want to have a connection? For example, if they are in a foreign country, do I want a connection with this person? In many cases, I am not interested and will decline the request--and also tell LinkedIN I do not know this person. The notification of not knowing this person will be reported back to LinkedIN.

I also look at the occupation of the person making the request. Frequently I receive requests from real estate agents and people in the financial services industry. I do not need any connection from either industry so I decline the request. 

Some of these requests I will accept and make a connection. Then I will be watching to see what the person does with this connection. Frequently I get some standard email introduction asking for me to schedule a 15 minute phone call to “chat” with them. I'm not interested in such a chat. I rarely use LinkedIN email because with thousands of connections it is not an effective communication tool--for me. I will send a short response expressing these details. Then here’s my final step which I wanted to write about: I block this person and remove them from being a connection or being able to communicate with me through LinkedIN in the future. 

Such interaction is not worth the agony or mental anguish. Yes, build relationships on these social media sites. These relationships are important to every person in the publishing business. Each of us have the same amount of time. My encouragement is for you to control what you can and let the rest go. What steps are you taking in this area of controlling what you can? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

As a writer, much of the publishing world is outside of your control. In this article, prolific writer and editor gives some details about how to control two of the social media sites where he is active. (ClickToTweet)

Much of the publishing process is outside of the writer’s control. 10 Publishing Myths helps writers have a realistic perspective and take their own actions--no matter who publishes the book. Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

Kindness Always Counts

          

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

The incident happened years ago when I worked at a different publishing house. I don’t recall the author but the reaction of our editorial assistant is seared into my memory as well as the internal discussion.

“What a rude author,” she exclaimed. Our editorial team worked in an area with cubicals and the various editors could easily hear such an outburst. This author made a lasting impression on each of us and marked themselves as someone no one wanted to work with on any additional books. 

While infrequent, these types of conversations happen within the publishing house. In these articles, I’m committed to write about my journey as an editor and writer. As writers and authors, we only see our side of the interaction yet with each exchange you are making an impression. It’s the focus of this article that kindness always counts.

As an acquisitions editor, some authors submit a second book. To my surprise my colleagues will respond with details about this author like “they were not happy with anything we did for them” or “no way we want to do another book with this author.”

From working with different editors and publishers as a writer, I understand many details in the process are outside of our control as authors. It’s why I wrote 10 Publishing Myths to give authors realistic expectations and action steps every author can take to suceed with their book. Follow this link for a special offer to get it. 

Here’s some insights for authors as you interact with editors and agents:

--Realize every conversation counts. If you are upset or angry or fiesty about something, walk around the block or some action to calm down before you unload on the unsuspecting editor or agent. 

--Publishing Is A Small Circle. While to the outside, the publishing community appears large and diverse, it is actually small and inter-connected. As a member of this community, I understand how we speak with each other online, email and phone conversations. I’ve watched one bestselling author couple bounce from publisher to publisher with fewer books selling each time. The difficulties were always someone else rather than the author. These authors have faded from the marketplace and if you asked them probably don’t understand it. They would blame others when the challenges are their own actions. 

--Never burn a bridge or relationship. No matter what happens to you, take whatever necessary steps to preserve and continue the relationship. I have a long-time publishing friend who brought me into a publishing deal then months later called to cancel my publishing agreement. The experience hurt and cost me financially--yet my relationship continues with this friend. Since that experience, we've done other work in the publishing community. I encourage you to think about each relationship as you start them and as you continue them. 

--Don’t be a knucklehead. While likely unknowingly, some authors have made a bad impression. Internally they may be called a “knucklehead” or something worse. With each conversation you are making an impression whether good or bad. 

It is not easy to write these details but my emphasis and reason for writing them is to affirm kindness always counts. We need each other and I encourage you to keep expanding your relationships within and outside of the publishing community.

As you read my article, what am I missing or what else comes to mind? Let me know in the comments below.

My Recent Articles In Other Places

In various articles, I have encouraged you to publish outside of your blog. It’s a practice I do on a regular basis and here’s three recent articles as examples:

One of the most important relational skills for every author: An Important Skill for Writers: The Gentle Follow-up.

If you want to be published, every author needs to learn: How To Write What The Editor Wants. 

On the surface it may seem like a simple distinction but writers need to learn this aspect: The Difference Between a Fiction or Nonfiction Proposal. 

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Three Reasons to Use Gentle Follow-up

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As a writer, I participate in a couple of online groups. Several of these groups, I have been an active participant for decades. I hope you are active in some of these online activities for your own growth as a writer and the opportunity serve and help others. In one of these groups, members can ask questions and get help. Recently an author asked about what to do with a submission to an agent. This author followed the agent's submission guidelines and sent his material. The guidelines gave an estimated time for a response but this writer hadn't received a response and the time had been about three times past the estimated timeframe. What should he do?

 

I understand this situation from two perspectives. First, as a writer, I know the pain and frustration of waiting with no response or even finally getting a form rejection letter. Many publishers and agents never even bother to respond to the submission because of the large volume they receive. 

 

As an editor, I know the challenges of responding to authors and while I try to be prompt and in touch, I'm imperfect and know I have a number of submissions that I still need to press forward for my publisher. The work is never done and there is always more to do, another book manuscript and another author to process. Each of us have the same time limitations and over the years I've tried to give myself (and others) some measure of grace in how we communicate. 

Each publisher, editor and literary agent has their own system and method of responding and keeping up with their authors and relationships. The easiest answer for an editor or agent to give is one the author doesn't want to hear: “no thank you” or “not the right fit” or “going to pass.” That's why in the title of this article I include the adjective “gentle.” You want to be careful how you reach out to this decisionmaker/ gatekeeper to foster and build your relationship with them. While they may reject your current idea, they may be attracted to your next idea. There is truth in the old saying, “Never Burn A Bridge.”

 

In the remainder of this article, I want to give you three submission ideas for your writing:

 

1. Simultaneously submit. You should not wait around for a single editor or agent to respond to you because for reasons outside of your knowledge or control, they may never respond or respond months down the road. Waiting is hard for everyone. Your best action as a writer it so submit to multiple places at the same time. The key if you use this strategy is to explicitly say so in your cover letter and/or proposal. Then a second critical step is when you sell the project or sign with a literary agent or something happens, you need to notify everyone else who has not responded. This step keeps the lines of communication clear, transparent and professional. 

 

2. Keep track of the timeframe. How long has your submission been out? After a few weeks, it is often time to send a gentle follow-up—which I will explain in the next point.

 

3. Use The Gentle Follow-up. A gentle follow-up reaches out to ask if they received it. Maybe it got lost or arrived when they were out of their office. Or any number of other things could have happened to yur submission. It's a reasonable question to ask if they received it. If they have acknowledged their receipt (as we do at Morgan James), then follow-up asking if they need any additional information. This request is not pushing but gentle and reasonable and simple to answer. 

 

The reality is weird things happen in the publishing world. Many of those strange things are outside of your personal control. For example, I've written about 2,000 reviews on a large bookseller's website (not going to say the specific name). During an afternoon last week, about 800 of my posted reviews disappeared.  I have no recourse or anyone to ask about the reason. My response is to keep pressing forward and writing more reviews.

 

If you haven't read my 10 Publishing Myths book, I encourage you to take advantage of my special offer, get this book and read it. Of my goals with this book was to explain that much of the publishing process is outside of our control as writers. I balance this fact with a series of pro-active actions every author can take to get the word out on their book which will translate into sales. As you read this book and apply it to your life, you will be able to take advantage of my decades of experiences in the publishing world.

 

As writers, we need to use the gentle follow-up with our submissions. What experiences have you had in this area? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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You Must Seize Opportunity

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

The subject line of the email worked and performed it's function. It got my attention saying, “Can I promote you?”  Yes I opened the email and read it. A CEO was looking for case studies for people using his product (which I use). I hit reply and crafted a pitch or response. Will I get selected? I don't have any idea but I seized the opportunity and made a relevant and timely pitch.

 

One of the basic principles of publishing is that to secure any work or deal, you have to pitch. It might be as simple as returning a phone call or email. Or the process might mean learning how to create a book proposal then crafting a 30 to 50 page document that you send to literary agents and editors. Another way to express opportunity is through a series of doors. As a writer, you need to be knocking on different doors for the right one to open.

 

From my years in publishing, I believe every writer has many opportunities. For example, there are many radio shows and podcasts who are booking guests every day on their programs to talk about their topic and promote their books in this process. Will every pitch I make succeed? No, but like the homerun baseball player, I have to bat (or pitch) to get consideration.

Here are several keys in this process:

 

1. Awareness is the first step and the necessity to respond.

 

2. Read your email and look at your social media feeds to look for opportunities.

 

3. Take action when you find an opportunity and craft your pitch. For example, last week I received an email about a conference where I've been on their faculty several times (but not in several years). They were asking for proposals for their 2022 conference and gave a deadline. When I spotted this opportunity, I printed the page and have been thinking about my pitch/ proposal. It is the same process each of us have to do as writers—whether we've written many books or no books.

 

4. While taking action in a timely way is important, follow-up is also important. For example, I've been working with a potential Morgan James author on a contract. We were emailing back and forth. Their lawyer came back with some questions. We responded to their questions and then for several weeks, the dialogue ended. My phone calls and emails were ignored without response. Today I decided to use text to reach my contact and get some information. I learned the lawyer was recovering from COVID-19 (something I had no idea about), their manuscript was several months away from being final and the “author” was out of the country. Each of these bits of information helped me understand the delay in their response. My point is be a good communicator and let the other person know what is going on. Your follow-up and communication is an important part of the process.

 

Are you making an intentional effort to respond to the opportunities which cross your desk? Let me know in the comments below. 

 

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