The Reality of the Marketplace

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

As writers, the marketplace for our writing is in constant motion. Editors come and go. New publications start and end. Different systems come and go.

The last few years have been challenging for publishers and retailers. Some publishers have closed their doors. Others are struggling. For example, one of my author friends publishes a specialized type of books. Her publisher has two of her books finished in production but haven’t been distributed into the bookstores. Why? Behind the scenes, one of the largest financial expenses for a publisher is printing those books for distribution to the bookstores. It’s a gamble because bookstores can hold the books for a period of time (even years) and if they don’t sell, these retailers can return the books for a complete refund. Often the returned books arrive in such bad shape the only option is destruction. The publisher has to be willing to absorb and handle that unseen cost. Other times the books can be returned to a different bookstore. It’s part of the cost of working in publishing.

Back to my writer friend who has a long-track record of success in this business. Her two titles are stuck with this publisher and her long-time relationship. When I spoke with this author, we explored some alternatives like other manuscripts that she could generate and could go into production. 

Also in the last few years, the cost of paper has increased. This means the small margins of profit for publishers have grown even smaller. Publishers can increase the retail price which could affect future sales but this step involves changing the barcodes on the printed books or the retailer will have to use stickers. If the books do not sell and are returned, the removal of these stickers takes time and can destroy the books. I hope you see that behind the scenes there are difficult decisions for the publisher which is not often discussed. These decisions spur publishers to make cautious decisions about which books are contracted and produced. In a practical sense, it means there is a lot of silence for authors who are submitting and a lot of frustration for literary agents, who do not make money unless the book is contracted. The bottom-line is a huge stall in many areas.

Also the retail price and the price of paper has affected the length of books. At Morgan James Publishing, we had a internal 100,000 word guideline for our novels but now that guideline has been adjusted to 80,000 words. People are buying and reading shorter books.

If you are an author who has a large novel which isn’t getting traction, maybe your rejection is not based on your storytelling or topic but simply on the word count. Often as an editor, I will suggest an author divide their lengthy novel into two or three books. While it is rare someone listens to my request and takes action, sometimes the author will do this work. Recently at Morgan James, a novelist pitched a 160,000 word manuscript. I suggested he divide it into two books. This author did the work and now has two novels into production and headed to the bookstores for readers. I admire the flexibility of this author to divide his manuscript. I’ve had a series of other authors who have pitched a 200,000 word novel or 150,000 word novel and have not been willing to break it into two novels or three novels. The lack of flexibility will ultimately force these authors into self-publishing and a different set of issues and concerns.

How to Keep Up

What steps do you take to be aware of these realities in today’s book market? I encourage you to read online publications and newsletters that tie to your particular type of book or genre. Also I encourage you to attend writer’s conferences and network with other writers, editors and literary agents. Maybe a different connection is what you need for your book and to find success.

Finally every writer needs to continue expanding the elements that are under their control. I’m not talking about a “rented” platform like LinkedIN or Facebook. You and I do not control these places and could be kicked off these sites because of something innocent which we post on them. Instead I’m pointing to your website, your newsletter, and your blog. What actions can you take to expand your newsletter subscribers? As I pointed out in these articles, behind the scenes, I’ve changed some elements of my newsletter. Check out this link and if you add your name, you will receive an 87-page Ebook loaded with insights for every writer. To receive this FREE ebook, you are added to my weekly newsletter which will give continued value to you but you can also choose to unsubscribe if it is not right for you. 

As authors, we have many choices and need to take consistent actions to meet the realities of the marketplace. Maybe you need to explore a different social network to attract new readers to your work and newsletter. 

Recently at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, I taught four sessions titled: Making Books Is Easy but Selling Books Is Hard. Unlock the Mystery: How Do Authors Sell Books? As a part of my teaching, I prepared a 39-page handout. This document included multiple links to other resources and ideas for authors to succeed with their book. On the final page, I pointed to Samantha Evans who has been finding success with her topic of grief on YouTube. Sam is giving away a free multiple-page PDF which explains what steps she is taking and how she is increasing her reach. How do you get this information for your work? Follow this link, join her newsletter and learn from what she is doing for her own writing journey.

Throughout my decades in publishing, I’ve learned one consistent lesson: there is a great deal in publishing outside of my control except for one person: me. It takes consistent and persistent action to find your path and the right connection.

What have you learned from reading this article? What am I missing that you want to add? I look forward to your comments. If I can help you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. My email address is in my X/Twitter profile. 

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The publishing world is in constant motion. This prolific author and editor gives the details about the reality of the marketplace along with some action steps for every writer.  (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. 

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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

Invest In Your Writing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Many editors and agents are difficult to reach. These gatekeepers play an important role in the publishing community. This aspect of publishing is rarely discussed but your connection to this person is important aspect of publishing. As I’ve written in these articles, every author needs a champion for their submission. 

As a new writer, how can you connect with these important gatekeepers? Many publishers don’t take electronic or mail submissions which is sometimes called a slush pile. They are not on LinkedIN or interested in developing new connections. These professionals are busy with their current books and authors. It’s the same story with the literary agents and often more difficult to get their attention much less to have them represent your work. In fact, it’s rare for them to sign a new author. 

If you want to break into the publishing business, what are your options? They are limited but one of the best ways to make connections with an editor or literary agent is to attend a writer’s conference. For many years I’ve been teaching and attending various writer’s conferences. In detail, this article gives the reasons why you should attend a conference. At the bottom of the article, there is a link to learn about various conferences.

Next month I will be teaching at the Blue Lake Christian Writer’s Conference. This particular event is a smaller conference (about 100 people) which gives each person the opportunity to get to know the faculty, talk about why you want to do what you want to do, then get their ideas and input. 

I understand that attending such an event is an investment in your writing. It will cost you time and money to make this effort but it is an investment that I’ve seen return many fold through my years in publishing.

I encourage you to invest in your writing and attend a conference--even plan to come to Blue Lake next month. Take the time to get prepared, select your classes and the people you want to meet at the event. Also create a business card and bring lots of them to exchange with people. Create a one-page pitch with your article idea or your book project. Then go to the event with an open heart. You never know who you will met and what door of opportunity they will open to you during your conversation. I find often what happens is not what you expect or anticipate. At these events, I’ve made life-long friends who have read and reviewed my books. I’ve also met editors who have called or reached out to me when they have a writing need or a project for me to tackle. These relationships often began at a writer’s conference. 

As writers, we spend a lot of time alone but we need each other to accomplish this work and reach others. Some of these connections happen at a writer’s conference. I look forward to what will happen at Blue Lake next month. I hope to see you there. In the comments below, let me know what steps you are taking to invest in your writing. 

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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.

Use the Power of Introductions

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

From my years in publishing, there is an under-used tool which every writer can access. It doesn’t matter whether you have published many books or never published. In this article, I'm encouraging you to use the power of introductions. 

Who do you want to meet in the publishing community? Is it an editor, a bestselling author, a literary agent, a publicist or any other role? Make a list of these individuals. Who do you know who can introduce you to this person? 

There is a parlor game called Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon or Bacon's Law “where players challenge each other to arbitrarily choose an actor and then connect them to another actor via a film that both actors have appeared in together, repeating this process to try to find the shortest path that ultimately leads to prolific American actor Kevin Bacon. It rests on the assumption that anyone involved in the Hollywood film industry can be linked through their film roles to Bacon within six steps. The game’s name is a reference to “six degrees of separation”, a concept that posits that any two people on Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart.” You may not have considered it but it is likely someone in your circle of friends and relationships, can easily reach whoever you want to reach. You just need to be introduced to them. 

As an editor, authors often need to be connected to someone inside the publishing house. Whatever need you have, someone can help you. The action you need to take is to ask this person who is connected for an introduction. A Bible verse in James says you have not because you ask not. It may feel uncomfortable but to get to this person, you need to ask for an introduction. 

As you use introductions, you need to understand the role of persistence in this process. From my years in publishing, persistence is a key characteristic for every successful writer. We often hear the word “no” or “can’t” in the writing life. The key is to understand that particular action didn’t work but the next one may work for you. 

As an example of persistence in the area of introductions, during the last few weeks I’ve been trying to get introduced to a particular literary agent. Her email isn’t on the agency directory or on other directories of literary agents. I know because I’ve searched for it and come up empty. Instead I turned to introductions. I called a friend who lives in the same town as the agent. They had no connection. I called a literary agent friend who might have worked with this agent years earlier. Again the connection didn’t work. Finally I texted a former colleague of this agent who gave me the right email address. Then I crafted an email to this editor and a few days later I received a response. 

My purpose for telling this story is so you see that reaching the right person takes persistence and finding the right connection for you. It is not a singular action but could involve multiple actions to get there.  

Do you use the power of introductions in your writing life? What techniques work for you? Let me know in the comments below.

My Articles in Other Places. 

Often in these articles, I encourage you to publish your work on other blogs and places. Here’s some of my articles which have been published recently:

Escape the Catch-22 of Publishing Editors and agents are looking for people who have published to publish them some more. Yet how do new writers break into that cycle? I give the details how writers can escape this catch-22 of publishing. 

Do you have a Side Hustle? Every writer needs to diversify their income and in this article I give the details and ideas for every writer to get at least one side hustle.  

Why Publishers Prefer Proposals Every author needs to create a business plan and in this article I give writers the specifics why publishers prefer a proposal submission. It contains information that never appears in your manuscript but is important as they make publishing decisions. 

Tweetable:

Who do you want to meet in the publishing community? This prolific editor and writer encourages you to use the power of introductions. Get these details here. (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.

Preserve and Expand Your Relationships

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Admittedly at times, it is frustrating to be a writer. I’ve been rejected and had books cancelled. Internally I moan and groan but I never burn my relationship bridge. To outsiders, the publishing world looks daunting and huge. After decades in this business, instead of huge, I find this world often interconnected and small. Many of us know each other from going to conferences, working on different projects and maintaining our connections. 

For example, I’ve been acquiring books at Morgan James Publishing for over ten years. Even earlier, I acquired fiction at Howard Books (an imprint of Simon and Schuster) and before that experience I acquired books at David C. Cook. With each of those positions, I worked with editors and literary agents. Some of those agents I’ve not spoken with in years but we maintain our relationships and connections. If I reached out to them via phone or email, I would likely get a response. 

In addition to my publishing work, I’ve also interviewed more than 150 bestselling authors and written their stories for over 50 publications.  If you don’t have this type of experience, don’t be concerned. I didn’t begin with these connections but they were built over time and one relationship at a time. Each of these relationships is important. You need to design your own system to keep track of the various emails, phone numbers and other critical information. You never know when you might need to revive one of these relationships.

Several years ago I was working on the audiobook version of my biography of Billy Graham. From listening to audiobooks, I was looking for a way to make my audiobook to be “different.” One of the most iconic songs related to Billy Graham is the hymn Just As I Am sung at the end of his crusades. I did a simple Google search and found a YouTube version with the Gaithers singing along with Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea. Using an audio program, I clipped out a few seconds but then I needed permission to use it in my audiobook. 

Years before I met and exchanged business cards with Gloria Gaither who was an author with Howard Books. In a few minutes, I crafted an email to Gloria Gaither and told her about my audiobook project. I sent along the YouTube clips and asked for royalty-free permission to use them. Within a few hours, I received the official permission. Each chapter in my audiobook begins with a brief clip from the hymn. If you follow this link, you can hear a sample. From this story, I hope you can see the value in preserving and maintaining relationships. 

One of the ways I have preserved my relationships with bestselling authors was through my unusual practice of pre-publication review. Years ago I learned that I could not control the editing process at magazines but what I can control is what I turn into the publication. Before I submit my articles, I returned to the subject and showed them my article asking them to check the facts. I was careful how I reapproached them because I didn’t want them to rewrite my piece but I wanted to make sure it was accurate. When I told Chuck Swindoll about my practice, he affirmed something I knew saying, “The media never checks.”

Journalists are taught they control the story and never to let your subjects see the article before it is printed (pre-publication review). Yet I have done it for the simple reason that it preserves and maintains my relationship with these authors. 

Here’s some additional action steps everyone can take with their relationships:

--answer your emails

--return phone calls

--follow-up with authors and leads

--check in with others to see how they are doing and how you can help them

This week on social media, I noticed a new book from one of my friends. I reached out to that friend and ask for a review copy of the book so I could read it and write a review. I did not hear from my friend but someone in publicity later that day emailed to say they were mailing the book. The bottom-line is be known as someone who wants to help other people succeed. Look for creative and simple ways you can help them. 

Another wise place to expand and continue your connections is on LinkedIN. For years I ignored the email invitations to connect. Yet today I have over 19,400 LinkedIN connections. If I’ve not reached out to someone in a long-time, LinkedIN is my first place to check on their email and sometimes their phone number. Editors, literary agents and writers will often change positions. When they change, they often will take their LinkedIN accounts with them. Recently I needed to connect with an agency for my work. I selected a couple of leaders in this organization and sent them personalized invitations to connect. A few hours later I was connected to one of those two leaders and sent them a personalized email. You can do the same thing on LinkedIN to expand your network. 

Are we connected on LinkedIN? If not, follow this link and send me a personalized invitation (even mentioning this article). What methods do you use to preserve and expand your relationships? Let me know in the comments below.

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Who you know as a writer can be as important as what you know, according to this prolific author and editor. Get insights about how to preserve and expand your relationships 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 action. Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

How To Have Perfect Timing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Much of the publishing world is outside of our control as writers. Publishers, editors, agents, retailers and readers are just a few of the key decision makers in the publishing process. As someone who writes for a variety of places and works in the community as an acquisitions editor, occasionally I see internal dynamics which will make a decision go against the author instead of in their favor to get published.

 

Here's a recent example, an author submitted an excellent book which was appropriate for our publishing house. In addition this author was committed to spending a large and explicitly stated amount of money on the promotion of this book. Yet when my colleagues looked at the details, the manuscript was large and in fact when moved into production was going to be over 400 pages. My colleagues asked me to return to the author and see if he would be willing to reduce the book manuscript to something with a higher likelihood greater book sales or possibly split it into two books. When I spoke with the author, he was unwilling to reduce it or split it. This stance became a red flag warning that he was not coachable and would likely be a “difficult” author. Despite the large promotion money, my colleagues decided to pass on publishing this book.

 

I'm telling you this story for several reasons. Publishers are looking for authors but the right authors and publishers also have experience about what sells and doesn't sell in the marketplace. As a writer, you show them something through your response. In this case the author revealed his lack of flexibility and willingness to learn from the publisher. The publisher made their decision from this interaction.

 

Because there are many details that can be seen and unseen outside of your control as a writer, how can you have perfect timing? 

 

1. Be active pitching your ideas and book proposals. Whether it is a guest blog post or podcast or radio show interview or speaking at an event or publishing a book, the author (or their representative) has to be pitching them. You have to be actively pursuing these opportunities because in general they will not come to you through passive activity.

 

2. Be consistently meeting new people. As writers we need to be constantly expanding our network and connections. As I've often written in these entries, who you know is as important as what you know.  It's one of the reasons I continue to expand my connections on LinkedIN. Last week I spoke with an experienced editor who called me and was referred from another friend. I spoke with this editor and also we connected on LinkedIN.  This editor was looking for either a full-time position or freelance work. I noticed his small number of connections on LinkedIN and encouraged him to expand them.

 

3. Seize and follow-up, when an opportunity comes across your desk (for anything). You must actively do something.  Your activity and consistency is one of the critical elements for finding and having opportunity.

 

4.  Learn new aspects and continue to experiment. You must apply what you are learning to your writing life. There are many different paths to success. You can learn from many different sources such as live events, reading books, reading online, taking courses and much more. Be committed to continually learning.

 

You can't control anyone other than yourself. Take your own responsibility and get out there. Like the author Paul Little said, “God can't steer a parked car.” The timing for many parts of publishing is simply outside of our control. Your consistent action and perserverance will be the difference maker. Many others will give up and yet you continue. Then some day your timing will be perfect.

 

I'd like to have perfect timing and the only way I've found achieve it is to take consistent action. What insights have you found to have perfect timing? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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Does your fiction or nonfiction book have a business plan? Every type of book needs a proposal—even if you self-publish. Get this resource. 

Do the Hard Work

Ideas like an anvil can be hard to execute

I understand my work in publishing is not easy or simple.  It is not. There are a number of things which I don't do easily—but I still do it and that is my encouragement to you.

For example, I'm not crazy about making phone calls yet yesterday I spent several hours on the phone making calls. The majority of the time I left little upbeat messages to authors. Why? Because from my years in publishing I know how rare it is to get a phone call from an editor at a publishing house. My intention is to stand out and be the exception. I understand this business has a lot of rejection—people saying no thank you and passing on your project.

Our model at Morgan James is different from others (something I spend a lot of time talking with authors and agents about). You may not like all the details of Morgan James, but we are providing opportunity for authors and making incredible books in the marketplace. Do all of these books succeed? No because we can make books but can't make them sell. In the process, I try and manage expectations for authors and tell them that 80% of the work is up to them. Yes Morgan James can sell the book into the brick and mortar bookstores—but it is the author who promotes and drives readers into the bookstore to actually buy that book (through many different ways such as social media, radio, magazine articles, public speaking and much more).

A number of the authors that I called yesterday have not returned my calls or answered me via email. In a number of cases, I've called them multiple times over the last few months and left these messages.  Each of the people I called have received a contract from Morgan James—but for whatever reason they have not signed or negotiated this contract. Maybe they are looking for an agent or a better offer or haven't finished their book or ??? (multiple reasons). The main purpose of my call was to let them know that I still believed in their book and wanted to help them get it published and into the world.

Let me tell you about two authors I worked with this past week. One author I met at least five years ago and haven't heard from in a long time. She reached out to me and asked if our contract had changed in the last four years. Her book has not been published. Four years ago the timing wasn't right but now she is ready to move forward. I checked with my colleagues and a new contract was issued and sent to this author. Will she sign and move forward and get her book into the bookstores? I don't know but she now has a new opportunity.

Also this week I spoke with another author who has a literary agent. A year and a half ago, I had lunch with this agent and he told me the author wasn't a good fit to publish with Morgan James. I listened and accepted this decision and moved on working with other authors. Then a few weeks ago, this author reached out to me. She has the same agent but the book hasn't been published and she wanted to explore Morgan James. I spoke with her and have now moved this book into the process where my colleagues look at the author and the book to see if they will issue a contract for this novel. I have no idea if Morgan James will publish this book or not but again I am providing the opportunity.

What is hard work for you? Are you doing it? Maybe you don't like social media or marketing or creating an email list or any number of other tasks. Are you doing these hard tasks? My encouragement is for you to keep moving forward every day. Your steps may be small but continue to move forward and eventually you will get it done. Keep growing in your craft and reading and learning more about new aspects. Keep broadening your connections and network and keep looking for new opportunities.

I understand that some of the process is not easy but you can do it. If I can help you in the journey, let me know. My work contact information is on the bottom of the second page of this link. My encouragement is for you to keep moving forward and that you can do it.

Let me know in the comments below, what actions you are taking to tackle the hard work.

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Every Writer Can Get Publishing Connections

Within the publishing community, who you know is almost as important as what you know. Yes, it is important to pitch an excellent book proposal or manuscript to the right publisher. As an editor and an author, I also understand people buy (books or manuscripts) from people they know, like and trust. How can you know more publishing people? From my years in publishing, one of the challenges is keeping track of the moving people. 

Years ago, one of my six-figure book deals was cancelled because my New York editor had changed companies. My book was orphaned or without an editor directly responsible for my project. It taught me the importance of having a champion within the publishing house for each book.

How does a new author with no connections, begin to get connected to publishing people? Everyone can use a social network which has over 562 million users: LinkedIn. This network is primarily business related and publishing is a business. 

To get connected, you need to take several actions:

1. Rework your LinkedIn profile to show your activity in publishing. Do you write for magazines? Have you published books? Or possibly you have some other explicit publishing role such as leading a local writer’s group. If you have these types of qualifications, then add them to your LinkedIn profile.

2. Begin to send connection requests to different people in publishing. These people could be book editors, literary agents, magazine editors, authors and many other roles. In some cases you will want to send them a little personalized message with your invitation. In other cases, you simply send out the generic invitation that you want to connect with the person.

For many years, I received LinkedIn invitations and ignored them. I had very few connections on LinkedIn and was not connected. Then I began to look at the background of the person and for most people, I accepted their invitation to connect. My number of connections increased and my public profile says the common “over 500 connections.” The real number of my LinkedIn connections, as of this writing, is over 7,900. These connections are varied with many different roles (mostly within publishing) Here’s the critical reason you want to be connected: when I need to reach someone that I’ve not emailed or called in a long-time, I check their LinkedIn contact information.

While there is a lot of movement within the publishing community, when they change positions or companies or physical location, everyone takes their LinkedIn account with them. This account belongs to the individual and is a way to consistently keep up and reach them.

LinkedIn has a lot of other functions as well but being connected and maintaining those connections is one of the basics and best reasons to consistently use this network. Are we connected on LinkedIn? If not, send me an invitation and let's get connected.

How are you using LinkedIn? Let me know in the comments below.

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My Oscar Surprise

The Oscars aired last Sunday night. While the audience has been slipping for this event and they often highlight “different” films (ones we never see), I still watch it. This year, I could not watch it live because my wife and I were traveling home from Kentucky where a few days before my mother celebrated her 90th birthday. Prior to leaving, I set my DVR to record the program and we've been watching it this week.

Over the years, I've watched hours of this event and never seen a single person that I've personally met—until this year. Imagine my surprise when they called out the winner in the Short Film category and called Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant. Here's the eight-minute clip:

Many years ago I wrote a story about Glen and Linda Keane which was published in Marriage Partnership magazine (which no longer is publishing). Glen worked at Disney animation for many years and was the lead animator of The Little Mermaid, Beast from Beauty and the Beast and many other films. You can follow this link to read my article from 1992. It has been years since I thought about Glen and his work on some children's books. It made me wonder what happened to those books and reach out to Glen to see if I can reconnect with him. It has not happened at this writing but I'm hopeful.

Last week, literary agent Bob Hostetler wrote a terrific article: It's Not What You Know But Who You Know. Yes it is important to have skill in writing and storytelling but I agree with Bob, that who you know is a key part of the process.

How do you kindle or rekindle the various relationships you have in the writing world? Sometimes it is from an occasional phone call or an email. Or maybe you are both on each other's newsletter list or read each other's blogs. There are many different ways to establish and reestablish these connections. Part of my regular practice as a writer and editor is to reach out to new people—but also to reconnect with old friends. Last week I made a number of these phone calls and emails to others. In some cases, I get zero response from it but in others, it reconnects me to these people and we are able to work together again.

As you read this story, who comes into your mind that you need to reconnect or reach out to them? Make some concrete plans to do so and tell me about it in the comments below.

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Even Watching the Oscars Can Lead to Valuable Ideas. Find out more here. (ClickToTweet)
 

Every Writer Needs the Right Connections

According to Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point, there are three basic types of people: Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. I believe each of us have characteristics of each of these types. If you don't have these characteristics, then you can learn and acquire them as a writer. In this article, I want to emphasize the importance of connections and talk about how you get connections in the first place.

For writers to succeed and get published, they need to send the right material at the right time to the right place and the right person.  You are searching for a champion to communicate with you and guide you to that right place. Admittedly you have to take action to find this place and experience some mis-steps and rejection in the process. The persistent search for the right connection is a key part of the writing life.

Whether you've been in publishing for many years or are just getting started you have connections. For each relationship, you need to collect information and preserve this information in a format which you can use. For example, I have an email list and for each email, it includes my mailing address and phone along with my email address. The information makes me easy to reach. A week ago, when I spoke at a writer's group, I brought business cards and made sure each person who attended, got one of my cards to reach me if needed.

As a writer you want to exchange information with others and carefully put this information where you can easily access it. I put much of it into my iPhone because the contact information is backed up automatically and preserved. I also collect it through my email account and online address book. I do not use the information carelessly—i.e. calling people and wasting time chatting on the phone.  I call or email when important to reach the other person—admittedly a judgement call on your part.

Last weekend, one of the websites that I use went down for the first time. The website is a critical piece in a teleseminar event. This particular site collects the questions from the participants in a teleseminar. I've been using this site for years and it has never gone down—until this weekend. I tried sending email messages for help to their support address and anything else that I could think of to reach the site. The bill that I get each month had a phone number attached to it—so I called that phone number—yet it was no longer a valid number.I was stuck. My event was stalled because of this missing piece. No one could register for the event because the site was down. What else could I do? As typical, this situation happened on the weekend and not during the week.

I recalled that the owner of this site was good friends with another one of my contacts. For this particular contact, I had his cell number in my phone. I sent a short text to this friend about the situation and asked if he knew how to reach the owner. It turns out this friend was in North Carolina in a mastermind meeting with the owner of the downed website. 

Since they were in a face to face meeting, they were away fro m their email and computers. Because I reached them, the owner immediately looked into his down website and in a short amount of time it was back up and running. My event can go forward since everything is working now.In fact, if you want to hear the event (which is now on replay), you can have immediate access to it—just follow this link.

I'm certain there were many others who were stuck with this down website. Yet through my contacts, I was able to creatively reach the right person and get it resolved. There are several action points from this story:

1. Always be working on increasing your connections with different types of people.

2. Keep their information in a format that you can easily access—on your phone or on your computer. I'm using tools which are internet based and can be accessed any place. If it only on a printed business card, then that information doesn't help you away from your office. You want the information in a format you can access any many different situations.

Last week I met with one of my new authors at Morgan James Publishing. He was in Colorado since his son was in a hockey tournament. Even though on the weekend, I drove up to his hotel and we spent some time together, talked and exchanged business cards.  As a writer, you always need to be working on your connections and relationships. You never know when a particular relationship will be important to you.
  
Tweetable:

Writers Need Connections. Here's Tips on How to Get Them & Keep Them. (ClickToTweet)
 

Why I "Fish" Every Day

It takes great practiced skill to fish successfully. While some people fish for a hobby, the seasoned fisherman knows he has to fish many times to gain skill and also to catch fish.

To be honest, it has been years since I've been fishing but I “fish” every day. A fisherman puts his line into the water and is positioned to catch a fish. I put quotations around the word “fish” in the headline since I'm using fish for the word networking or connections. You have to be in the market talking and connecting with others every day to make a difference with your writing. Yes you need to craft an excellent book and good storytelling. I always encourage writers to learn that skill but you need something more than good writing. You need the right connection.

Much of publishing (and any business) is a matter of making the right connection with the right person at the right time at the right place. You can't make that connection working alone in your office at your computer or curled up with your legal pad writing your story.

What steps are you taking today to “fish” or network with others? It begins with your goals for your writing. Do you want to sell more books? Do you want a traditional publishing deal or are you going to self-publish? Do you want to build your platform or group of readers? Do you want more people to know who you are and what you ar doing? Then you have to make a conscious effort every day to reach out and touch other people.

Some of us reach out to others through Twitter. I've mentioned how I follow 800 new people every day—people within my target market of publishing. It does not consume lots of time but the consistent effort is important to my constant expansion of this tool.

Also I dig into my network of friends and connections. I pick up the phone and call people leaving little messages or connecting with them for a few minutes. Yesterday I spoke with several literary agent friends. Why? Because these agents represent numerous authors who they want to get published.  Those agents need to be reminded that I'm constantly looking for great authors to publish through Morgan James. Our publishing program will not be right for every one of their authors. Yet it will be perfect for some of them. I'm looking for the right author—every day.

I have authors who have submitted their manuscripts and I'm scheduling calls with them to see if Morgan James is the right fit for these authors. I spend a great deal of time on the phone and answering my email but it's part of my daily work. Your daily work will be different but are you working every day at expanding your connections? I hope so.

I think about activity in the past which has been productive for me. For example, I've made terrific connections speaking at conferences. I'd like to do more speaking next year. It will not happen if I don't take any action. Instead, I'm making a list of conferences where I'd like to speak and conscious of who runs these conferences. Can I fill a need for this event with a workshop or keynote? There are numerous conferences and events where I can help others—but I have to be proactive to get on their radar.

I'm eager to continue to promote my Billy Graham and Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams books (as well as other books that I've written or been involved with). Can I book a radio show or podcast or do a guest blog post or some other event to get in front of a new audience? The answer is yes but from my experience it does not happen without my initiative (sometimes but rarely). Most of the time these opportunities come through proactive pitching and follow-up work. Are you building this type of fishing into your daily schedule?

Throughout today I will be emailing and calling people. You have to have a line in the water to catch fish. What steps are you taking?