God Moments In Publishing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

I've been in publishing for decades and captured some of my experiences in these entries. While not all of the books and articles that I write are for Christian publications, many of them are for the Christian marketplace. 

It is impossible in these short articles to cover every characteristic of a Christian writer, there are several which I want to include here. One of them is a commitment to excellence. My calling as a Christian writer is to excellence in the writing area but also to faithfully follow God's direction in my life. Some people call this type of inspiration and direction, a “God Moment.” These moments often occur in my own life when I call someone who I've not connected with for a long time—and when we speak, they say they were just thinking about me that day. As a Christian who wants to follow God's direction, as I listen to the still small voice in my life (from the Holy Spirit, then take action, then God can be involved and direct my steps.

 

I want to tell you about a new book from one of my long-term friends in publishing, Les Stobbe. At age 91, Les has published God Moments in My Publishing Life, The Making of a Writer and Publisher. At an age when many people are slowing down, Les is living an active and vibrant life. From reading his book, I understand why. We've been roommates at different writers' conferences and known each other many years. I believe the first time I heard Les was when he was the president of Here's Life Publishers and introduced his authors at a bookseller breakfast at the Christian Bookseller Association meetings. His involvement in publishing started years before this time period.

 

God Moments in My Publishing Life, The Making of a Writer and Publisher is an Action Handbook for Every Christian Writer. Thousands of Christians want to have a successful career in publishing. At 91, Les Stobbe shows us the well-worn path. The stories and action items in this book show his faithful life of listening to God’s direction and then taking action to seize the God opportunity of the moment. From his early days in Canada to writing for Christian magazines to writing for general market publications to interviewing and building relationships, every Christian author can use these stories as a roadmap for their own publishing life.

 

This book is packed with stories about God encounters with lasting effects on Christian publishing. Here’s one short example: “We were hanging on to the straps in a full commuter train out to the Lutzers’ suburb when Dr. Lutzer asked me, “Stobbe, what should I preach on for our next book?” Instantly the Lord gave me the topic, “Managing Your Emotions.” His quick response was, “I’ll do it.” That book became a perennial seller, partially because the local Christian television station had Dr. Lutzer deliver a series of messages on the topic.” (Page 60) [Dr. Erwin Lutzer was pastor of the Moody Bible Church for 35 years with a frequent radio and conference speaking schedule—just one of the many people tucked into the pages of this book.]

 

In the final chapters, Les gives an overview of his many years observing Christian publishing and a series of insights for every writer who wants to be a good communicator. I found these insights invaluable and I’m sure will be a wealth of instruction. As you read, God Moments in My Publishing Life, The Making of a Writer and Publisher you will be inspired and also encouraged. I highly recommend a careful reading of this book.

From reading this book, I know God Moments is just a hint at all of the ways God has worked through Les' life. Just like the Gospel says it does not have all of the stories about Jesus (John 21:25)—God Moments did not capture all of the stories and ways God has used Les Stobbe.  

Do you have God moments in your life as a Christian writer, let me know in the comments below.

 

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How to Fight Publishing Ignorance

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

Last week I turned in my judging sheets for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. I've been judging this contest once a year for at least five years. The good news is the overall quality of the books I've been seeing are improved. The bad news is that I still receive terrible entries that show publishing ignorance. In many ways I wonder how these books even got produced because they are poor on many different levels. The covers are poor. The interiors are strange. The title of the book does nothing to draw me into the book. The writing is average. The layouts are odd. Yet someone believed in the concept enough to publish it in the first place and then enter it into an awards contest. Each year the judging experience makes me do a bit of head shaking about the publishing ignorance.

 

Successful publishing is not simple. While I've been in this business for many years, I understand it has many twists and turns. Each book and author has to find their own audience and readers. Yes there are some best practices in the process. As you learn and execute these practices, you give your book the best opportunity to succeed and sell in the marketplace. I continue to learn new aspects.

 

Here are some ways to fight publishing ignorance:

 

1. Have high standards for your writing. Excellent writing is the foundation of every book—whether you self-publish or traditional publish. If you can't put it together with excellence yourself, then get some training or hire an outside editor or ghostwriter. If the writing is poor or even starts poorly, it will affect how your book will sell in the marketplace.

 

2. Use an interesting title. The author is the best person to title their book so put some energy toward this aspect. I've titled many of my books which have been traditionally published. If the title is boring, it will not draw readers.

 

3. Have a well-done cover. You've be shocked at the poor book covers I saw in this group of books. We judge books all the time by their covers. It's an important aspect of the publishing process.

 

4. Write an interesting back cover. Several of these books had no back cover (zero). It's a huge mistake because even if you self-publish and speak at an event. People will read the back cover to see what the book is about and make a buying decision. Do you have endorsements from someone well-known. It is work to get these endorsements but anyone can get them with the right efforts.

 

5. The production details matter. Do you have a logo for the publisher on the spine of the book (at the bottom)? Look at the books on your shelf from Random House or Simon and Schuster or HarperCollins—and follow every detail. Many of the barcodes in this batch of books did not have the price of the book built into the barcode. Even if you self-publish, these details matter.

 

6. Keep learning and reading how-to books then applying them to your book. Whether you get these books from your library or buy them used or buy them new or borrow them from a friend, read these books and apply it to your own publishing journey.

 

7. Get to a writers conference and meet professionals. Often it is who you know as much as what you know that will make the tipping point with your publishing. Yes many events have moved to online or been rescheduled but they are still going to happen and are terrific resources.

 

I have probably missed something in this list but it gives you an idea of some solid steps to take to fight publishing ignorance. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

 

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Are You A Rule Breaker?

Some writers intentionally want to rebel and break the rules to produce something different which stands out in the market. I understand this feeling but to break the rules, you have to know and understand them in the first place.

From my many years in publishing, I've worked hard to continually grow and learn about the market—and give the reader (and the editor or agent), what they want. Every magazine and publishing company has expectations and a target market. For example, last night a publishing colleague introduced me to a published author who has written his first novel. I learned this novel is edited and completed yet I haven't seen it yet (but I did request that the author to send it to me). From the beginning I spotted something outside of the lines. The novel is 134,000 words—and our fiction guidelines say we have a 100,000 word limit. Until I see the novel and speak with the author, I have no idea if it will be a fit or not. 

Maybe our publishing team will love the concept and publish a little larger novel. Or possibly the author will know how he can cut it to the 100,000 limit. Anything and everything is possible in the publishing process but first things first, the author has to send me his material.

Last week another author sent me her nonfiction book manuscript. She told me the bulk of this book had been sitting on her computer for three years and she finally got it out to someone. I'm honored with these submissions and will be exploring if it is the right book for Morgan James to publish. So how do you learn the rules and where to send your material? In this article, I want to give you several methods of learning these rules.

First, get the guidelines for the magazine or the book publisher—and carefully study these instructions. if you follow these guidelines, you will gain a “reading” or “hearing” from the editor or literary agent. It increases the possibilities if you follow these rules.

A second way to learn the rules is through studying how-to-write books. For years I've read and studied a how-to-write book every month (often more than one per month). Last week I finished reading Write With Excellence 201, A lighthearted guide to the serious matter of writing well—for Christian authors, editors and students by Joyce K. Ellis. For many years I've known Joyce as a magazine editor. Originally we met through our involvement in the Evangelical Press Association. What I didn't know about Joyce is that she has written a column about grammar for years for The Christian Communicator magazine and she has a passion for excellent writing. Write With Excellence 201 is a detailed examination of grammar rules.

How do you write strong engaging sentences? Some of that comes from experience but also understanding the difference between active and passive tense. Write With Excellence is a clarion call for writers to learn the rules then use them to improve their writing. Ellis engages her readers with vivid examples and insights. The chapters are short and each ends with a quiz to help you absorb the details on adverbs or the use of hyphens or italics versus quotation marks. The book has three main sections: Grammar and Related Matters, Punctuation and Related Matters, and Style, Usage and Other Considerations.

As Ellis writes, “Writers have a responsibility to communicate clearly. And excellent Christian writers strive for clarity, especially in the spiritual realm. We enrich the reader's takeaway value—if we vigilantly guard against being jargonauts.” (Page 246–-the chapter cautioning about use of jargon). Write With Excellence 201 is realistic and doesn't pull punches: “Yes, all this is a lot of work. No one said it was easy (How many times have I written that in this book?) But if you take the time to “sweat” your titles and subheads, you'll show editors you're a professional, right from the start.” (Page 264)  I've given you a small sample of the wisdom packed into these pages. I highly recommend this book.

Are you learning the rules before you break them? Let me know in the comments below.

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Willing to Change

Change is hard for everyone. We resist it and don't want to do it—unless we are forced to do it. I've moved several times in the last few years and every time I move, there are many changes that I'm forced to make—some I like and others I dislike but change happens. It is a constant in our lives and our writing life.

Right now are you writing something? A book? A magazine article? Are you telling an interesting story that others want to read with a beginning, middle and an end? We sit at our computers and create words. And after they are created, we wonder if they are the right words and if our audience will want to read the words. Will the audience enjoy, like, change or ??? from reading our words?

One of the keys is to create it in the first place and create an excellent work. The next step is to test your words and get feedback. Some writers gather a group of first readers who will give feedback about their writing. Other writers have a trusted friend who reads their work and gives honest insights. Yet others belong to a writer's critique group. If you are not in a critique group and want to form one or find one, read this article to learn more details. The key is to write something that is excellent and others want to read. You will not know if you don't check with the audience—before you send it to an editor or literary agent. Just using this process will help you gain an edge over the other submissions—because you are striving for excellence.

In the journey of going for excellence, you will have to consider any changes that you learn about in this critique process. Some suggestions are excellent and you take while others aren't right and you ignore. You are the only person who can make these decisions about the reactions to your work.

Finally you have your work ready to send to an editor or agent. Congratulations. When you send that work, are you willing to change and follow the suggestions of the editor? Your attitude and willingness will be critical in this process of finding someone to publish your work.

I've been writing for years and I still go through this process. 

Every other month, I write a column about book proposal creation for Southern Writers Magazine. I've been writing for them since their first issue. In the last few days, I completed my November/ December article and sent it to them on their requested deadline. Each time I send my article, I tell the editor that if something doesn't make sense or needs to be changed let me know. If I'm honest, I'm not eager to make those changes and I wonder if the editor will find something to fix. 

Why do I express my willingness to change? Because ultimately the editor is in charge of their publication. They could decide not to publish my words.  I'm always mindful of who is in charge and has that ultimate power over what is published and what is not. Sometimes as an editor, I hold that power but normally it is in the hands of others.

To my relief, I heard from my editor. He loved my article and sent me the version already laid out for their magazine. I reviewed it and everything looks great. It is wonderful to have another article in this publication—but I never take it for granted—nor should you. The professional attitude is to work with the editor or whoever to produce an excellent result.

Are you willing to change for a better result?

 

Excellent Editorial Insight for Every Author

In a world with traditional publishers cutting back on editors and editing combined with the explosion of self-publishing, where "anyone" can write a book and get it into the market, Stacy Ennis has written a timely book for every writer which touts a missing detail in many books: every book needs an editor. 

In the second chapter, Ennis explains why every writer needs to read THE EDITOR'S EYE saying, "The relationship you have with an editor can be the most important element of your book-writing experience. In our ever-disconnected (or virtually over-connected) society, "relationship" seems to be the overused catchphrase plastered across billboards, websites, buses, and television commercials. But in the craft of writing and the business of publishing, the word is a perfect description for the connection between writers and editors. This relationship is the cornerstone of the writing and editing process….With that in mind, here's my formula for success: compelling and relevant story + skilled editor + good author-editor relationship = great book. It's that simple." (Page 20)

After writing more than 60 books for traditional publishers and working with hundreds of authors on their books for publishers, the wisdom of her words leaps out of every page of this book. She details the entire editorial process. And Ennis helps writers understand the importance of each type of editing--developmental, substantive (content), copyediting and proofreading. Her tips and insights into the editorial process are excellent and will help many people. For example in Chapter Five on Hiring and Working with an Editor, Ennis covers three reasons for why: 1) An editor can sharpen your writing and ideas. 2) An editor can save you time and money. 3) An editor can help you do your book right the first time.

In addition to her own insights, Ennis includes interviews with other publishing professionals in the final pages of each chapter. Finally the appendix includes several valuable forms: Manuscript Review Form, Editing Checklist, Sample Letter of Agreement and Sample Style Guide. These resources are free for the reader to download and use repeatedly as a valuable resource.

From my review, I hope it is clear that I love this book and believe it is a valuable addition to the publishing community. So why did I give it four stars and not five stars?


THE EDITOR'S EYE has a strange, ugly and unprofessional cover. Throughout my reading I wondered why take such a wonderful book and wrap it in such an unattractive package. Cover design is a key element and sells many books. The copyright page (which most people don't read) gave me the answer when it said, "Cover Design by Stacy Ennis." How ironic in a book which encourages writers to be excellent and hire outside help to produce excellence--the author designed her own cover. Thankfully most books are spine out on our bookshelves so you don't have to see it. 

I applaud Ennis and her excellent work on crafting THE EDITOR'S EYE. I believe it will be a valuable resource for many writers in the publishing world and hope it will become a classic. I recommend this book.

The Constant Hunt for Excellent Writing

The view from  Lake Washington

Last weekend I was in beautiful Seattle at the Northwest Writers Association Conference. I've been privileged to speak at this conference several times over the years. I always find it invigorating to get away from my computer and phone for a bit to meet face to face with writers and talk about books and publishing.

In today's connected world, we seem to rarely get away from our computer and phone but at least we can grab the face to face time. Several years ago at this conference, I met retired surgeon Lloyd Johnson. In recent years, Lloyd has been writing fiction. We've kept in touch and when I joined Morgan James, I reached out to him to him and discovered he had a great novel called Living Stones. I championed his novel to my colleagues at Koehler Books, the fiction imprint of Morgan James. If you click this link, you can read a sample of the book and see the attractive book cover.

Lloyd's passion is about telling stories about the Middle East and he has taken that passion into his storytelling and novel. Lloyd and I had dinner at beautiful Lake Washington (see my photo) and talked about book publishing. He is excited about the forthcoming publication of his first book and has connections to some great nonprofit organizations in this part of the world. I was encouraging him to include in his launch plans some ideas to sell his books large numbers.

Most writers are thinking of selling books one book at a time. What if you could sell boxes of books with one connection? It can happen with the right mindset and planning. To learn more listen to this free teleseminar. It's an interview that I hosted with Ted Rogers and Vickie Mullins (use this link). Lloyd has an excellent novel and now needs to reach as many people as possible with his new book. If you have a book, I encourage you to spend some time in strategic thinking about how to reach new audiences.

All day Friday, the Seattle conference had a series of group pitching sessions. Each one had five or six or seven writers. Often these conferences have individual meetings so it was different to hear the pitches in a group. I am actively looking for excellent writing. Morgan James publishes nonfiction, fiction and even children's books (a challenging area for any new writer these days).

In this group setting, I focused on one writer at a time and heard their pitch. Yet everyone else in the group also heard the pitch and could learn from what worked or didn't work. It was a different dynamic than one on one pitching but the participants seemed to enjoy the interaction and learning experience. 

Since meeting these new people, I've been writing emails and encouraging these writers to send me their material. Morgan James receives about 5,000 submissions a year and only publishes about 150 books. Yet you can't have your material considered if you don't send it. During the conference, I participated in a panel discussion with all of the faculty (several other editors and literary agents). We agreed that often we encourage writers to submit their material. It was confirmed that many times, we ask for the submission at a conference and the writer never sends it. Talk about a missed opportunity! Yes no one likes to be rejected—but you can't get into the consideration process if you never submit it.

As editors and agents, we are on a constant hunt for excellent writing. Yes we are looking for authors who are connected to the marketplace. Yet good writing is always important. Are you a good communicator? How do you become a good communicator? Practice. Good writing will result in more good writing.

Several weeks ago, I attended an excellent workshop at the American Society of Journalists and Author Conference in New York City called Book Publishing: Making It in the New Frontier. Unfortunately this session was not recorded. The panelists included Jon Fine, the director of Author & Publisher Relations at Amazon.com, Amy Grace Loyd, the executive editor of Byliner, and Jofie Ferrari-Adler, a Senior Editor at Simon and Schuster. Moderator John Rosengren organized this excellent event.

While this workshop had a lot of information about the future of publishing, at one point, each of the experienced panelists talked about the importance of excellent writing. Whether you are writing for Byliner or magazines or books, your storytelling and writing has to be excellent.

How do you learn to be an excellent writer? I believe it comes from constant practice and working in the publishing industry. So many authors want to publish a book so they work for hours and hours on a long 40,000 to 100,000 piece of writing—yet they ignore the magazine market. It is much better to learn to write with shorter articles than to “practice” with a longer work like a book. You are better to start a blog and begin writing short articles or to learn to write query letters to magazines and then write the articles than to work years on a longer book which finds limited readers. Thousands of people will read your magazine work so don't ignore those possibilities.

I continue to write for magazines on a regular basis—and have done so for over 20 years. It's where I can practice my storytelling craft on a regular basis—and you can do the same.

I'm speaking at a number of places in the coming months. I hope to see you on the road and we can talk about your book ideas face to face. I'm on the continual search for excellent writing.

Strive for Excellence

This weekend, I was in Tucson, Arizona for the Tucson Festival of Books. There were over 400 authors at this event which had crowds estimated at 80,000 to 100,000 people. In the middle of this event, it is easy to get lost as an author. I enjoyed meeting other authors and learning about their books. In general, I was looking for ways to help others and learn from them instead of focused on hard selling. The event was mostly about exposure and networking.

When you attend such a large gathering, one of the keys is to manage your expectations about what will happen or not happen at such an event. Some authors expect to sell stacks of books at such an event. I did not. Instead, I focused on building some relationships with authors and readers—which is a much more reasonable expectation to actually accomplish.

As I sat in the author room at the Festival, I struck up a conversation with the woman beside me. She had a new beautiful book and pulled it out of her bag to show it to me. I read the title and admired the photo (which she took). Then I noticed the words “Forward by ____” on her cover. I pointed out the misspelling. Foreword is one of the most misspelled words in publishing and because of my experience, it jumped out at me.

I pointed it out to her and she responded, “My editor was supposed to catch such things.” I was unsure what to say because the misspelling was on a printed book or a little late to change without reprinting.

Then I opened the book and the inside pages were set in Courier New typeface. I didn't mention the typeface to her since she was already a bit stressed about the misspelling. How many books do you have on your shelf with Courier New typeface?

I would take a guess and the answer is zero. There are millions of books being produced in many different formats and methods. If you decide to use one of the alternative methods, that's terrific—but make sure your book fits the standards of traditional books. Different is not always good.

When someone reads your book, you want them to focus on the message in your book—not to spin off on a tangent wondering why your book was produced in such a “different” fashion. Ultimately it is the author's responsibility to maintain this high standard.

This week I checked the inside pages of one of Intermedia's books that is about ready to go to the printer. My day job is working as a publisher at Intermedia Publishing Group. If you want to know the details of our publishing program click this link and get a free teleseminar with the details.

I have a number of books in various stages of production. I looked at the Foreword and the word was spelled right but it was only one sentence. One sentence is inadequate for a Foreword. The majority of Forewords in books are about 1,000 to 1,500 words or like a short magazine article. The Foreword needs to have substance and length to fit the standard for books. When I saw this one sentence Foreword, I wrote my author and we made some changes. No one is going to see this one sentence Foreword in the final book.

As authors, it is important to strive for excellence. Will mistakes slip through our fingers and land in the printed books? Yes, you can easily find typos and mistakes in every published book. The good news is these errors can be fixed when the book is reprinted. I encourage my authors to take a book and mark it “corrections” so they can process and keep track of reader feedback. If the feedback makes sense, then let's correct it on a subsequent printing.

Each of us need to push ourselves and our books toward excellence. Our readers deserve our best effort.