Listen, then Make Adjustments

 

 By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Throughout my day as an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, I receive a wide variety of email. As an author, I also get another set of emails. Also I’m speaking with authors on the phone and listening to their responses. 

Sometimes in this process, I learn some elements of my online presence which need adjustment. Recently one author introduced me to another author. In her email response, the new author mentioned she followed the link to my bio from my email and signed up for my newsletter. When I read this line, I asked myself, “Which newsletter?” 

During the last year, my newsletter has gone through many changes and adjustments. For over 20 years, I used a shopping cart for my newsletter which closed and involved a detailed behind-the-scene change to my online presence. 

Because of her comment, I took another look at this bio and in particular where this person could sign up for my newsletter. I saw she was using the wrong form and the wrong newsletter. Through many emails to new authors, I often refer to this link but it had been years since I made adjustments to that page. With this new insight, I made the effort and eliminated the wrong form and replaced it with the right one. My change came because of one person’s short feedback. If you haven’t subscribed to my weekly A Publishing Insight newsletter, I encourage you to follow this link and subscribe or forward it on to other writers. 

Throughout your day, are you listening to the feedback and making adjustments? It’s part of how we grow and improve as writers and communicators.

Here’s another recent example, I looked at this author’s blog post and encouraged him to use this article as the start of a personal experience story for a print magazine. Many authors don’t consider how to get more exposure and mileage from their writing. One of the easy ways for every writer is creating a personal experience article which many different publications are using. This author liked my idea and mentioned he was going to submit to two different publications. 

Because of my magazine writing experience, I knew these two publications each had large circulations. If a publication has a large circulation, they receive many submissions and overall it is more difficult for a new writer to grab attention and get published in them. You are entering a large competition for the editor’s attention and go ahead. 

I reached to my bookshelf and pulled out the 2026 Christian Writers Market Guide. It is important to have the latest edition of this guide because much of the information changes from year to year. When you pitch a magazine editor, you want to make sure you are following their current guidelines and use the current editor’s name. The guide has a topical index for magazines. The personal experience section listed 46 publications looking for these types of articles. The magazines with large circulation are in this section. I suggested the author select a couple of other publications with strong circulations (over 100,000 readers) yet lesser submissions and competition. 

Here’s several other actions before you submit to these publications:

--read their writer’s guidelines (which can normally be found online and will tell you the specific needs of the publication. If you pitch toward one of these needs, you will have a greater chance ot attention and possible success.

--read some of the publication’s articles online. Who are their readers and notice their audience. If you want target this audience with your pitch and article, you once again have a higher chance of publication.

--look for a theme list. In some cases, the editor has created a theme list for different issues in a year. From my magazine editor experience, I know how rare it is to receive a pitch tied to the theme list. In fact, I’ve had to call and email authors to gather enough submissions for a particular theme issue.

--tell the editor that you are submitting simultaneously. Some publications take a long time to respond. Other times the editor will say he doesn’t need a 1,200 word article but would love to have one which is 750 words. Then I submit the 750 word article.

With each pitch to a publication, you are building your relationship and credential with that editor. If you are a book author, I encourage you to use your personal experience stories in your book (or that you have in your life) then turn those into magazine articles. You will likely reach more readers through your print articles than any book will reach (thousands). At the end of your article, you can include a once sentence statement like: Terry Whalin is the author of 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed In general these magazine bios are short and may or may not include a website link to your book. Every author needs the repeated exposure to readers about their book. We’ve learned readers need to hear about your book as many as two dozen times before they buy your book. Every author has to create many different ways to tell readers about your books. 

I told these stories to highlight our need as authors to listen to feedback from others and make adjustments. What steps are you taking? These actions are not difficult and can be learned but are skills you can use over and over with your writing life. Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

As a writer, you need to listen to feedback from others then make adjustments. In this article, this prolific author and editor gives the specifics for you. (ClickToTweet)

Through my years in publishing, I’ve written for over 50 publications and more than 60 books with traditional publishers. Several of my books have sold 60,000 to 100,000 copies. I’ve also written different types of books such as biography, children’s books, how to/ self-help, co-authored and devotional books. From speaking with different authors about 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

When You Hear Crickets

  

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It happens to every writer. We pitch oaur books to editors and agents. We work for hours on creating a thorough and complete book proposal. We craft a query for a book publisher or a magazine editor. Select any of these active steps you are taking as a writer. 

After this action, what happens? No response or crickets. What do you do next? First, my encouragement for one action not to take: quit. Here’s a second one not to take: stall and work on your piece and not submit or do anything. 

From my years in publishing, I understand the challenges in the work but also I understand the opportunities. There are abundant opportunities for your work to be published and your words to enter the marketplace. In this article I want to present some ideas and encourage you to move forward.

While your desire to write and tell stories is a good one, publishing is a business and each of us (including me) need the help of others to find the right fit. Are you connected to other writers? Do you belong to a local writer’s group? If so, when does it meet and are you making the time to attend these sessions? Every writer needs these connections. Read this article for more reasons. 

Another important writer activity is to join a critique group. Whether you do it face to face (ideal) or online (also possible), these groups are a free method to get insight and help for your storytelling. Whether it is a writer's group or a writer’s critique group, it will take some effort on your part to find the right connection. Don’t be surprised if you have to try several groups before you make the right connection. This trial and error is part of the journey that each of us have to make as writers.

For example, I’ve been in some incredible critique groups which helped me month after month for years. I've also been in some critique groups that I attended a couple of times, then dropped out of them. The critical element is to find the right one for you and your writing journey. It is different for each of us.

If you are not getting responses to your writing, I encourage you to try a different type of writing. Read the first free chapter of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams (follow this link).  Maybe you want to write a book which is a good goal in my view as a book editor. But your first step should be to write some magazine articles. The 2026 Christian Writers Market Guide includes over 150 magazines where your writing could be published. The information changes from year to year so make sure you are using the latest guide. Articles are shorter than a 50,000 to 80,000 word book. As a writer, when you craft these articles you are learning some important skills about headlines, beginning paragraphs, writing to a single takeaway point and many other details. Use these links to learn more about magazine writing. 

Another wise action when you are not getting any response is to attend a writer’s conference. There are large and small writers conferences with a variety of emphasis, cost and connections. The majority of us as writers are introverts but during these events,we have to push ourselves to interact with others, ask good questions and make new connections. At these events, I’ve made life-long friends who I can call or email when I'm stuck or need help. You can attend these events and take in the information yet not make new friends or connections. Bring plenty of business cards during these conferences and exchange with everyone you meet. 

Recently I called a local writer friend. We had not spoken in years but during our conversation, she recalled the details of a conversation from over 20 years ago. The event where we met no longer exists but the details from our conversation has stood the test of time for this writer. You can have the same sort of impact with your writing and your conversations. More than reading about writing or listening to teaching about writing or thinking about it, getting your writing into the world takes consistent action. Every writer needs to spend time sitting at their keyboard and writing. You can make it happen through your continued actions.

When you hear crickets for your writing, what actions do you take? I look forward to your comments.

Tweetable:

Sometimes when we submit our writing, the response is silence or crickets. This prolific author and editor encourages a series of actions in this article.  (ClickToTweet)

Editor’s note. For some reason, I could not get ClickToTweet to work. I’m including it below so you can easily cut and paste it on to others with my gratitude: 

Sometimes when we submit our writing, the response is silence or crickets. This prolific author and editor Terry Whalin (@terrywhalin) encourages a series of actions in this article: https://bit.ly/3QYoXze #writinglife #pubtip

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Not every podcast host tells me about the launch of our recording. I found a couple more podcasts last week and here are those recordings: 

Cameron Cowan (@cameroncowan) and I spoke about the publishing industry and much more on the Cameron Journal Podcast at: https://bit.ly/4uFDdLH 

Christian Brim (@christian_brim) and I spoke about navigating the myths and realities of the publishing world on The Profitable Creative Podcast at: https://bit.ly/42VXW1R

As I’ve worked in the publishing world for years, I’ve spoken with many authors about their expectations and dreams for their books. I’ve found many of these authors have  unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. Many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help and take actions no matter what the publisher does for your book. 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

When You Feel Behind...

  

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It’s a common feeling but rarely discussed--feeling like you are behind and can’t get caught up. I often have this concern and in this article I want to give you some ideas and action steps for your writing. 

I encourage you to recognize that each of us have overwhelming days when there is more to be done like:

• More email to answer. 
• More editors to pitch. 
• More places to speak and podcasts to pitch. 
• More books to read and write reviews. 
• More articles to write for magazines.
• More conferences to attend.
• More new connections to make and explore.
• More follow-up calls and emails to send.
• More social media posts. 

You get the idea: everyone feels like there is more to be done.

I encourage you to realize everyone (including me) feels like this from time to time. Each of us have the same amount of time in a day and limitations on what we can do. Every day we are making choices how we spend our time. Here’s some ideas for actions each of us can take.

Take a hard look at what you are doing. 

Can you ask someone for help or hire someone to help you? Can you say “no thank you” to an opportunity? Recently a long-term writing friend asked me to endorse or blurb her forthcoming book. She offered to write it for me and gave a short deadline for when she needed it. Also she followed up reminding me of her deadline. I didn’t want someone else to write my endorsement and I passed on the opportunity. I recognize the choice and each of us make them every day.

Write shorter emails.

I want to be a good communicator and answer my emails from authors and others. My actions in this area are a simple way to stand out from other editors who ghost writers and do not respond. I can’t answer all of my emails so some of them do not get response. Also I can write shorter emails and responses. These actions can help me to answer more emails.

Repurpose Your Writing. 

Each month I have a series of deadlines for guest blog posts and articles. I understand the value of these articles because others read them and follow my links and advice. One option to complete these deadlines is to repurpose or use writing that I’ve done in other places. For example, I’ve written several how-to-write books. I can take a portion of this writing and repurpose it into a guest blog post with only a little revision. If you have written a nonfiction book or a devotional or a Christian living book which contains your stories, you can take these stories and submit them to magazines. When you get them published, they will likely reach more readers than your books and could lead readers to know (and hopefully buy) your books. You can be wise about how you repurpose and use your writing but you have to be thinking about these aspects.

Take a break during the day.

It’s easy for me to sit long hours at my keyboard and work on different aspects of my writing life. Also throughout my day, I need to take care of myself as a writer in this process. Maybe I need to drink more water or walk around the block and get outside. When I take these breaks, I am taking care of physical self but also often return to my keyboard with an increased enthusiasm for my work.

Revise your writing goals.

This week a writer asked me how long it would take to write her book. It's a common question that I hear and answer in an unexpected way. I do not give a word count or page count for the author because each of us are different. I may write a complete book in a few weeks where another author will take all year to write that same amount of material. Each of us have to carve out the writing time, select a word count goal that works for us then do it over and over. If you aren’t meeting your writing goals, then you need to revise them. It's that straightforward.

To wrap up this article about feeling behind, I want to recall the fable of the race between the rabbit and the turtle. Who won that race? The rabbit raced ahead and took a nap but the turtle keep moving forward, passed the sleeping rabbit and won the race.

I encourage you to take the long view of your writing. It is not a sprint but a marathon. Keep chipping away and moving ahead with the work and eventually you will succeed. The only way to stop the progress is to quit.

What actions do you take when you feel like you are falling behind? Let me know in the comments. I look forward to reading them.

Tweetable:

As a writer, do you feel like you are behind? This prolific writer and editor also feels behind. In this article, he gives a series of insights: https://bit.ly/477aerc #writinglife #pubtip  (ClickToTweet)

From my years in publishing, I find many authors have unrealistic expectations about publishing. It doesn’t matter what type of book they are writing—fiction, nonfiction, a children’s book or a coffee table book. Each type of book contains its own challenges and complexity. No matter how you publish, 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. 

 $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 1,700 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

Honest Writing Feedback

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

From my experience in publishing, it’s hard to find honest feedback about your writing. If we ask our family about our writing, they love our words and will be reluctant to give their honest feedback. In general, it’s the same with our friends who don't want to hurt our feelings. In this article, I want to give some ideas and resources so you can get honest feedback to make improvement in your writing before you send it out to an editor or a literary agent.

At a writers’ conference, they will often provide a way to get critiques from professionals. Sometimes these sessions are a part of the event and other times you can pay extra for detailed feedback. Because I’ve often been on the giving side of the critique process, I know to give honest feedback is somewhat tricky. The editor or professional wants to be honest yet also encouraging to the conferee who has paid to be at the event.

Occasionally at a conference, you will find an editor to give you the straight story about your book. Years ago I interviewed a couple who started a successful marriage ministry. I’m always fascinated with storytelling. The husband told me about the duality in his public appearance as a leader and pastor yet behind the scenes having a combative relationship with his wife. One day the tension in this couple grew extreme. Their television antenna on their roof needed adjustment. In the rain, this man climbed on his roof and when lightening struck he was shocked into changing his relationship and behavior. I called the article Shocked Into Service and crafted a magazine article and a query letter.

As I pitched this story, I could not find anyone to publish it. I found the story and the marriage ministry worth telling but I could not understand the rejection. At a conference in a one on one meeting with a top magazine journalist, he looked at me and said, “It’s the conflict and duality in this story. Even if true, no one wants to know their pastor is bickering with their wife on the way to church then showing a completely different side of their personality in public. The shocked story is the reason for your rejection.”

I was open to the honest feedback and suddenly I understood my rejection. I took my article and stopped sending it out and trying to find a place to publish it. 

Another place to get honest insight about your writing is through a writer’s critique group. I've been in groups which function well and I’ve been in some others which do not provide this honest feedback. As with a publisher, the writer has to search for the right group. It is a solid option and use the links to find out more details.

Other writers will hire a developmental editor or a writing coach to give this feedback. Another option is to have another writer as an accountability partner where you exchange writing and commit to giving each other honest insight for improvement of your writing. There are many different choices and options. I’ve only scratched the surface of possibilities.

When You Get Honest Feedback

While it is a challenge to find this feedback, the writer has another choice in this process. They can discount the feedback and not make any changes. Or they can lean into the insight and improve their work. Bestselling novelist James Scott Bell recently wrote an excedllent article about Taking Criticism (follow the link to get his teachng and insights). Notice how he reacted to criticism, putting it away for several days before he mustered the courage to read the information and apply it to his writing. It’s a process that I’ve often done when someone criticized my work.

The process of producing excellent storytelling is not easy but a journey that each of us as writers are on. We need the honest feedback and insights to improve our storytelling. What steps do you take to get honest feedback and improvement in your work? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

As a writer, it’s often hard to find honest feedback about your writing. In this article, this prolific author and editor gives some stories and possible options.  (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

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

Greg Danielson (@simplisatisfied) and I spoke about Unveiling the Myths of Publishing on the Simply Satisfied Podcast. Listen at: https://bit.ly/3IvErX6    

Publishing is a complex business and much of the process is outside of anything an author can control—no matter how they publish. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors realistic expectations  and 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 1,700 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 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. 

Tweetable:

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. 

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

Elements of Effective Pitching

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Many writers love to crank out words into their computer. They dream of a literary agent or editor reaching out to them with a writing project. From my decades in this business that sort of event rarely happens. That editor phone call or email you’ve imagined coming is a fantasy. If you want to publish a book, you need to effectively pitch a literary agent or an editor. 

 

From my experience in publishing, one of the foundational skills to develop is an effective pitch. Whether you want to write a magazine article or a book or teach at a conference or appear on a radio program or podcast or almost any other activity, it all comes down to your skilled pitch. In this article, I want to give you some of the critical elements in this process so you can be much more effective in this critical process.

 

To write for magazines, you need to learn to write a query letter. I’ve written for more than 50 publications and have written a detailed article about this process (follow the link but also study the contents then apply them to your own writing life). Like with a book proposal, there are different variations on how you do the tool but the key is to send something that the editor or agent wants. How do you learn what they want? You study their guidelines about what they publish or their specialty. It is different for each publication, agent or publisher but they will tell you what they are looking for—and they expect you to do this research before you clog their email box with your pitch. 

 

If you are writing a book, then you need a book proposal or business plan. I undrstand that writing a proposal is a great deal of work but even if you self-publish you need to know the various parts of a proposal. Every author whatever they are writing (nonfiction, fiction, children’s books, etc) will gain value through writing a book proposal.

 

The process of creating a book proposal will teach you about the current marketplace for your book. For example, the majority of publishers are looking for fiction which is 100,000 words or less. Last week I was looking at the submissions for a service to writers. One of the novelists was pitching a 250,000 word novel. Immediately I rejected this author and didn’t approach the author to submit to Morgan James Publishing.

Why? Recently I have had negative reactions when I tell an author they need to divide their story into several parts so they can get to a lower word limit. If the novelist is in tune with the marketplace, they have learned this information before completing their novel and pitching it to possible publishers.

 

Another element in effective pitching is developing your relationship with the literary agent or editor. At the end of the day, you are looking for the right fit. This search will take skill (to learn how to craft a proposal and/or query) combined with persistence and consistency.

 

What are the elements to effective pitching? If I am missing something, please let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

What do you want to do in publishing? Whether it’s a magazine article, a book, or a radio program or podcast, it will involve effective pitching. This prolific editor and author gives the details here. (ClickToTweet)

Many writers have unrealistic ideas and expectations about publishing. Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

A Writer's Reality Check

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

In my recent writing life, I’ve been calling and emailing editors and others with little or no response. This sort of response is common and happens in seasons. Sometimes the responses are often and other times, you hear crickets—nothing.

Today I want to write about several realities of the freelance life. First, there is a basic principle: always be pitching. Without pitching or proposing or telling others about your idea, nothing happens. If you want to get more speaking opportunities, then you need to be pitching your speaking topics to different leaders and organizations. If you want to write more magazine articles, then you need to be pitching these article ideas. Or maybe you want to be on more podcasts as a guest, then you carefully target these podcasts. As you target your pitches, the podcast hosts know you understand their audience and why you have valuable information for their audience. 

If your calendar is not full of activity such as writing projects and speaking opportunities, then you need to take action and pitch more speaking or other types of activities.

I like what one of my bestselling writer friends, Bodie Thoene, told me about writing novels—and it applies to every other aspect of publishing:  “No little elves come out of my closet to write 650 manuscript pages. Some mornings I don’t feel like writing, but I do it out of obedience to God.”  In some cases, you can hire a publicist with connections to pitch you on radio shows or television or podcasts. Or you can do it yourself, but you must take action.

I’ve been in publishing for decades. If my phone isn’t ringing off the hook with opportunities, I expect yours is not either. Always be expanding your network of connections. Who you know is often as important as what you know. Be reaching out to these people, checking in, learning what new projects they are working on and is there something they need that you can help them with? This innocent question can turn up opportunities for you, but you have to raise or ask the question in the first place.

Also you have to follow-up. Recently I was at an event in Colorado Springs. I had dozens of conversations with people and we exchanged business cards. I need to follow-up on those conversations and connections. It is because of follow-up that ideas turn into reality and projects. Sadly, many people never follow-up and they miss out on these opportunities.

Another reality: a lot of the work is repetitive and, in some ways, boring. I’m writing these words in an airplane on the way to another conference. I’m grateful live events have returned. But to prepare for this live event, I scheduled the majority of my social media posts for the entire week. Yes, it took some planning and effort, but my audience is expecting my posts and they will be happening even if I’m away from my computer.

At Morgan James Publishing, we are publishing new books every week. This process doesn’t happen randomly but involves a chain of events. As an Acquisitions Editor, I’m working on the front end of this process. An author reaches out to me with an idea about their book or maybe it is a query letter or maybe they send a proposal or a full manuscript or part of a manuscript. The key action is they have something they would like to publish. I respond and get their material into our internal system for processing and things start to move forward. The author has to make the initial pitch in this process. Sometimes an editor will have an idea of something they want written—but that is extremely rare from my decades in this business. The more typical path is for the writer to create and pitch their idea.

Over the years I’ve read thousands of submissions (no exaggeration) and out of my frustration as an editor, I wrote Book Proposals That Sell in 2004  to help writer understand the publishing process and also (selfishly) so I could receive better submissions. My original book helped many writers and has over 130 Five Star reviews. But publishing has changed over the years.

Last year the revised edition of Book Proposal That Sell released. One of my original 21 secrets was to always include an SASE (self-addressed-stamped envelope) because in the pre-internet days there were no electronic submissions. To receive a response from a publisher—even a printed rejection letter—you needed to send them the return postage. 

Today submissions are electronic, but editors and agents are leery of clicking on attachments from people they don’t know. You need to approach the editor or agent via email then get their permission to send your material as an attachment. It’s a completely different process and one every writer needs to understand to get into the submission process. It is simply another reality of our lives as a writer.

As an author another reality is consistent promotion of your book. You bear the greatest passion and responsibility for telling others about your book. There are many different ways to be effective in this process but if you stop promoting, then your book sales will tank (in general). My advice is not to stop but weave appropriate promotion into your life every day. If you follow my social media feeds on Twitter or LinkedIn, you will notice that I promote several of my books every day with different images and different messages yet continually pointing toward my book. Someone has to hear about your book at least a dozen times before they will purchase your book. You can be actively involved in getting these various messages out into the market. It’s another reality of our life as writers.

I see the world as full of opportunity. For me the glass is half full rather than half empty but you have to move for something to transpire. 

When you face discouragement and rejection (as we all do—including me), understand it is not personal, but you are looking for the “right” opportunity and the “right” fit. That search will take some time and effort on your part. Nothing happens without effort—another reality check for the writing life. What resonates with your writing life? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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The publishing world can be challenging. This prolific writer and editor gives a writer's reality check.  Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

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Put Your Spin On Your Writing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Within the writing world, there are countless stories to be told in many different formats such as blog posts, magazine articles and books. As a writer, I enjoy helping other people shape and write these stories. It gives me a chance to put my own spin on these stories and get them out into the world. Each of us have an endless supply of such stories and personal experiences. One of the keys is to get your fingers on the keyboard and create them in the first place, then do the work to get them out into the world so other people can read them. Without pitching and making that right connection to an editor or agent, it remains something in your mind but not into the world.

 

Like the picture of the the spinning top in this article, the toy does not spin without someone taking action. Action is what we do as writers—day in and day out—especially if we want our words to get into the world. In this article I want to give you a couple of examples of how I put my own spin on my writing.

 

Social Media Posts

 

Through the years I've posted thousands of times on social media. In these articles, I've told about using tools like Hootsuite and ClickToTweet in this process. These tools help me be consistent and ClickToTweet gives others an easy way to pass on the article. In my social media plans, I will highlight articles and other writings from others. Each time I post, I make sure to include an image (since this image often draws people to read the words with the post). If the article I am highlighting has an image, I will use that image or if not, I will quickly find one to use with it.

 

For my social media posts, behind the scenes I've created my own “standard” and it's something I encouorage you to do as well. In addition to a photo with each post, I attempt to include the name of who wrote the article along with their Twitter handle (not everyone has a Twitter name but I search for it and try to add it each time). If the person has a tool to pass on the article, I use that as a starting point, then I add the name, shorten the link and if not there (add a couple of relevant hashtags). It does not take a lot of time to meet this standard but it brings consistency to my various social media posts—and yes I put some effort into these posts—something I encourage you to do as well.

 

Most of the time, I hear little from my social media posts (12–15 times a day) but then someone will comment or share or indicate some way they have read the post. Sometimes these posts are new and other times they have been out there for a long time. The interaction shows me that people read this material—whether they say anything or not. Don't be surprised if you don't get a lot of response. The key is go keep on going and be consistent.

 

Book Reviews

 

I've been writing book reviews for a long time with over 1,100 on Amazon and over 700 on Goodreads (follow this link if you want to see some of them). My reviews are my own spin or perspective on a particular book. Often I will quote part of the book (especially on print and not so much on audiobooks) which shows the reader that I've actually read the book and found a relevant quote to include in my review.  Throughout any week, I receive many more books that I can possibly read—much less write about—but I continue doing some of them on a regular basis (even though no one pays me for these reviews). If you read a book or listen to it, I encourage you to take a few minutes and write a review. It will be a way to support the author and also good for your writing life.

 

How are you putting your spin on your writing? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

As a writer, you put your own spin on your writing. Get some examples and ideas from this prolific writer and editor. Read the details here. (ClickToTweet)

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