The Craft of Storytelling

   

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

How does any writer learn the craft of telling a good story? Let me say right off the bat, there is not one path but it’s a journey with many different paths and possibilities. In this article I want to give some ideas and direction to you if you want to write and publish stories.

1. Read many stories. Writers are readers. Whatever it is you want to publish, you should be reading this material--to be aware of others who are writing in your area, to form relationships with these people and many other reasons. If you want to publish stories, you need to be reading short stories in magazines and online venues. 

2. Write short stories or magazine articles. It's the first place I recommend you write if you want to get published. Print publications have a much higher standard than online publications. It’s better to write a 1200 word magazine article than a 80,000 word nonfiction book or novel. It’s easier to learn and practice on the short format plus you learn how to write for a particular audience, how to have a great beginning, middle and end. How to hook the editor with your title and other critical skills. Follow some of my links if you don’t write for magazines. 

3. Learn from other writers about the craft. I encourage you to subscribe and read newsletters from other writers. Also read their books about the storytelling craft and take their online courses.

After interviewing more than 150 bestselling authors including many novelists, I learned that the majority never published their first novel or their second novel. In fact, most of these authors wrote several books before the story was worth publishing and having others read it. My experience of talking with authors was validated as I read the book, My First Novel and What Became of It. The Novelist of ChiLibris, a Christian group of novelists, have pulled together 47 authors—and a number of them bestselling authors like Colleen Coble, Jerry B. Jenkins, Angela Hunt and DiAnn Mills. In this slim volume, they tell their personal story about their first novel and entrance into the fiction marketplace. 

In order to contribute to this book, the novelist must be a member of ChiLibris Writers. An invitation must be extended to join and the author must have three traditionally published novels before receiving an invitation. 

As you read My First Novel, it becomes a terrific learning experience for every would-be novelist. I encourage you to study these stories and learn from these seasoned novelists.

For example, Colleen Coble, bestselling novelist of 75 books and leader of the American Christian Fiction Writers wrote, “I had no advice when I was writing my first so let me tell you what I suggest for any aspiring writer, if that first book doesn’t sell right away, put it aside. You learn to write by writing. You can circle back to that book later after you learn more. Don’t be obsessed getting that first novel published like I was. It will delay your progress.” (Page 29)

Many of these novelists include a tip or lesson learned for others. For example, award-winning novelist Tamera Alexander wrote, “Through all of this, the Lord taught me a lesson I’ll never forget ... Every “No” along the way is really part of God’s final “Yes!” when his perfect timing is reached.” (Page 9)

Whether you skip around and read a few chapters or each one as I did, this book is a goldmine of insight for every novelist. 

What is your method to learn the craft of storytelling? Let me know in the comments below. 

My Articles in Other Places:

In these entries, I encourage you to write in other locations. I’ve not included this section for a few months--but here’s the truth: I have continued publishing on other blogs and other places. Here’s some of my latest articles:

How to Hire the “Right” Publicist Once a month, I guest blog on the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference blog. In this article, I give some specifics including a cautionary tale of wasting a great deal of money. I include some specific steps when you want to hire a publicist to promote your book. 

What Is More Valuable Than Fame  I guest blog once a month at Writers on the Move. In this article, I explain connecting your readers to your book is more valuable than becoming well-known or famous. I encourage you to learn more reading this article.

How to Get High Profile Endorsements Each month I guest blog about book proposal creation for the Almost An Author website. Does it sound like a huge exaggeration for a beginning author to get high profile endorsements? It’s not if you take the steps explained in this article then incorporate it into your submission. 

I included these articles to help you to take action and improve the results of your writing life.

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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.

Right Fit: The Search Within Publishing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

For over seven years, I've been acquiring books for Morgan 
James Publishing. As an acquisitions editor, I have a lot of interesting exchanges wtih authors, editors and literary agents about books. In this article, I'm going to tell you a few stories related to a constant search within publishing: finding the right fit.

If you can't find the right fit for you. You can always self-publish. Last year over 1.6 million new books took this route of self-publishing. One of my writer friends self-published and told me how he spent over $10,000 in the process of creation, editing and launching his book. When I spoke with him, he was wondering if he made the right choice for his book. As an editor, I've heard this story many times from various authors. For many houses if you self published, they will not consider taking it into their publshing house—unless you have huge sales like 100,000 copies. The good news is occasionally at Morgan James we take a self-published book and move it into our books. It does not happen often but it is possible and something to explore if you have gone this route with your book.

I regularly read a number of blogs and online articles. While reading a recent article, I learned a detail buried in the article. This author (also a book editor) was looking for a publishers for her historical novel. Because Morgan James publishes some fiction, I used her website to reached out and suggested she submit to Morgan James. We are looking for clean fiction (no profanity) and 100,000 words or less. This author responded that her story was gritty and over this word count. It was not the right publishing fit for this author.

Recently a Christian author with an unusual proposal approached me. While over the years I've reviewed thousands of submissions, I had never seen a book with this particular topic. From my understanding of the publishing world, I believe it will be a challenge for this author to find the right publishing fit but I liked the concept and wanted to help. As an editor, I went ahead and processed his submission and moved it forward through the process. My colleagues agreed with me that it would be a fit for Morgan James (doesn't always happen—yes my pitches get rejected at times) and we offered this author a contract. He responded that he's looking for a literary agent and a different type of fit. Will he find it? I don't know. He has an opportunity with Morgan James but like several other authors that I've spoken with, he is looking for the right fit.  

This search for the right fit is not just something writers are doing. Literary agents are looking for the right fit. They do not represent every type of book but search in specific categories and types of books they want to represent and place with publishers. Publishers are looking for the right fit. In fact, every person in the process is looking for this right fit. In many ways it is one of the constant factors in the publishing search.

One of the best actions any writer can take to find the right fit is to make sure they have a solid pitch or proposal to send to the editor or literary agent. Often these pitches are missing a critical element. Years ago as a frustrated acquisitions editor, I was not getting the right pitches from writers to be able to convince my colleagues to give them a book contract. I wrote Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success. 

This book has over 110 Five Star reviews—and I have all of the remaining print copies—and I've discounted the book from $15 to $8. No matter what you write, you will find valuable information in these pages and be able to use it to improve your pitch and search to find the right fit in the publishing community.

What steps are you taking to find the right fit for your book? Let me know in the comments below.

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The Ministry of Your Book

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

There are many reasons to write books. Some people write to make money. Others write for a business card to lead to more business and speaking engagements. Others write to teach others and get their message into the market. Each of these reasons is a valid one but not the focus of this article.

First I want to mention a great resource. From my years in publishing, every author needs to read and learn from experts who know publishing intimately and learn from their insights. This type of wisdom fills the pages of MISTAKES AUTHORS MAKE.  Authors Rick Frishman, Bret Ridgway and Bryan Hane have worked with thousands of authors on marketing, promoting and selling books. Their combined experience is poured into the contents of MISTAKES AUTHORS MAKE.  Here’s one brief example of the information packed into this book: “Your book is a door opener. It’s an introduction to you and your message. It’s a marketing weapoin in your arsenal as you look ato build your platform and increase your reach to the world. If you happen to make some money on the direct sales side of your book that is wonderful. You should consider that a bonus. The smart book marketer recognizes that the real money is in what the book can do for you in terms of opening doors and making opportunities available.” (Page 8-9)

In this article I want to help you see how your book can have a broad ministry and touch readers in unexpected ways. Next month, one of my Morgan James Publishing fiction authors, L.K. Simonds will launch her novel All In. The story is about Cami Taylor, a blackjack dealer, bestselling author and a fraud. I was the acquisitions editor for this novel and have been watching and reading about Simonds marketing activity. 


I watched this four-minute video where Simonds tells about learning about Bookmates4Inmates.com and how she has ministered in prison and knows about life in that world. After corresponding with the director, she decided to donate half of the books which she had at the time—130 books. It turns out they have over 400 women that have requested books and did not have books for 127 of them—or funds to get the books. Simonds' donation was an answer to a need and their prayers. To receive the books, the reader is required to write an honest review. In the video, Simonds reads some of these reviews and the feedback about her book. The way these books are touching and influencing lives is incredible and moving.

Can your novel or nonfiction book have an unexpected ministry? What steps are you taking today to open these doors of opportunity? It doesn't just happen naturally but as an author you have to be seeding the market and knocking on doors to see which ones will open for your book. I hope this story gives you some ideas and encouragement. Let me know in the comments  below.

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Are Your Book Chapters Like Pringles?

For many years, I've admired and read the books from New York Times bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg. We follow each other on Twitter and have exchanged emails. I've reviewed and promoted his books but never met face to face. His parents live nearby and attend Calvary Chapel South Denver. When Joel's father retired after four decades as an architect, they created Ministry Architecture. I learned about their annual fund raiser at their church, bought a ticket and attended the event. As a writer, be aware of these types of events (which may be in your city) then make plans and attend them. In my local Denver Post newspaper, the Tattered Cover announces author events each week in the Sunday newspaper. Attending these types of events can give you some unique opportunities—if you are aware and seize them.

His first novel was The Last Jihad (Forge Books) published in 2003. This political thriller was a page turner with an opening that I still recall 15 years after reading it (yes that good and memorable). The book caught on and reached the New York Times bestseller list. A committed Christian, Rosenberg moved this book and his future books to Tyndale House Publishers.He has written several nonfiction books but the majority of his books are fast-paced political thrillers.

Rosenberg spoke to a packed crowd for over two hours. The majority of his talk was about flash points and current geo-political events where he has first hand knowledge. I found it educational and fascinating. Woven into his speaking were several keys for writers that I want to emphasize in this article.

1. Joel C. Rosenberg is a brilliant storyteller and writer. I suspect some of it is his natural ability but other skills he learned and perfected. Every writer needs to learn how to spin a solid story whether in print or orally.

2. As a writer, Joel Rosenberg is plugged into the world geo-politics, traveling and meeting with world leaders. He mentioned meeting with the President of Egypt, the U.S. Secretary of State and other officials—and these meetings were recent with a current and fresh perspective. Formerly he lived in Washington, D.C. and now he lives in Israel. His lifestyle plays into his writing. If you want to know more details and keep up on Rosenberg's insights, one of the ways he suggested was subscribing to his blog updates (follow this link).

3. He pours his personal insights about the world into his novels. He talked about writing chapters that were like eating Pringles. He dares his readers to just read one chapter without continuing to the next chapter. The ongoing action and short chapters compel readers to keep going. Rosenberg told about getting regular emails from readers who have stayed up all night reading his novels. Now that is amazing storytelling and something each of us should aspire with our writing. Are you making your book chapters to be consumed like Pringles?

Each of us can be learning and growing from our world around us. I encourage you to take action in this area in the days ahead.

When a bestselling author comes near you, do you attend the event and what do you learn or gain? Let me know in the comments below.

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My Overflowing Bookshelves Remind Me About Realistic Expectations

Throughout my years in publishing, almost daily books pour into my home. I love books and enjoy seeing the various books that I've acquired for Morgan James Publishing. Our team is making some remarkable books and getting them into the brick and mortar and online bookstores. One of the books I acquired hit several bestseller lists last week including the USA Today bestseller list. These lists measure books that are selling inside bookstores and it was a thrill to have one of my authors on the bestseller list.

Reading books is also something I do in my free time and for fun. No one is paying me to read their book and write a review but if I read the book, I take a few minutes and write an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads. It is a consistent pattern that I follow and I've written over 900 reviews on Amazon and hundreds of reviews on Goodreads. 

I love books and it is fun to receive Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) of books. Most of my reading is nonfiction but I do sprinkle a few novels into my limited time for reading. I love the storytelling of Brad Meltzer and have read most of his novels. In fact, last year, Meltzer made a personal apperance at my local library. I would have been there except he came at a date when I was speaking at a conference in another state. Meltzer has a book releasing in January, The First Conspiracy, The Secret Plot Against George Washington and the Birth of American Counterintelligence (Flatiron Books, January 2019). Last week (mid-August), I pulled an uncorrected ARC of this book out of my mail. I'm eager to begin reading it soon.

Periodically I have this problem: the bookshelves in my office are full. Then I begin to stack the books on the top of a bookcase. Eventually these books gather into about three stacks with at least a dozen books in each stack. Yes too many books have poured into my office and I need to purge through my bookshelves and remove books.

When I go through this process of sorting it reminds me of several truths:

* There are way more books that I'd like to read than I can actually read

* Thousands of new books enter the market every day and I need to continue to look for ways to promote and market my own books

* Often I have unrealistic expectations about what I can actually read with my limited time

As I sort through my book shelves, I will attempt to be more realistic and narrow the books that I will actually be able to read. Eventually, the overflow stack of books will be eliminated and my books will again be contained in their bookshelves. When completed, I will have several additional boxes of books which I donate to my local library or other places.

Each of us have limits on our time—even for something we love like reading. Do you go through this purging and sorting process at your house? Tell me about it in the comments below.

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What's Your Nonfiction Hook?

Every writer (book author or not; fiction or nonfiction author) needs a nonfiction hook--the enticement you use for media and readers. You need to carefully consider your hook because it is what you will use to build your platform, gather your tribe, get interest and interviews from the media and much more. 

I have seen many fiction novelists struggling with this area and it's partially why I'm writing this article. These writers have crafted a great page-turning novel and gotten a publisher. Each of these steps are terrific and to be applauded. Yet when you get your book published, you are only part of the way in the publishing journey. The next step is to attract readers and media and sell your book (marketing). It's where many fiction authors struggle.  No journalist in the media cares that you've written a brand new novel. You have to take the nonfiction hook in your novel and use that expertise to attract readers and media and generate excitement for your book. 

To catch a fish, every fisherman uses some type of bait on their hook. It's the same process with writers. You need to think about your bait that you use with your hook to catch the attention of readers and media. As a novelist, in the process of writing your book, you have focused on a particular nonfiction topic or subject. What is that topic? Write it down because this topic is your nonfiction hook to interest readers and media. Because you have completed a novel, you have become an expert in this area. Now use this expertise to build your platform, attract readers and media. Each novelist will have a different and unique area of expertise.

For example, Rabbi Marc Rubenstein has completed a new novel from Morgan James Publishing called Weddings By The Glass. The novel releases in February 2018 but follow this link and you can order an advanced copy from Rabbi Rubenstein. I love the beautiful cover on this book. Rabbi Marc has conducted over 3,000 Jewish weddings and is an expert in this area. Also he lives in wine country of Temecula, California and has trademarked the term “kosher wine.” Each of these areas of expertise are hooks for readers and the media. His novel is excellent (and yes I was the acquisitions editor for this novel so I'm a bit bias in my endorsement).

As a novelist, you have poured great creativity into writing your story through making unique characters and plot twists. Now that your book is completed and published, I encourage you to pour some of this creative energy toward determining then exploiting your nonfiction hook. It will help you build your audience and get attention from the media so you can tell others about your novel.

If you like this article and want to learn more, I encourage you to get my free Ebook, Platform-Building Ideas for Every Author. Just use this link and you will get immediate access.

In the comments, let me know if this article was helpful and what sort of action you are taking with your nonfiction hook. 

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The Value of Consistent Book Marketing

From my years in publishing, I find many writers expect to have instant success. While they may not say it verbally, they show this expectation in other ways. It makes sense since we live in a fast-moving, instant message world. One of the ways I see this expectation is in contract negotiations with new authors. In the details of the contract sometimes writers try and narrow the length of the contract to two or three years. I understand their desire but I often end up explaining that books sometimes take several years to take off and reach the public. At Morgan James Publishing, we've had a number of books with modest sales in the beginning, but the author consistently works at marketing and spreading the word about their book. These authors try multiple approaches to reach their audience. Then almost without explanation, their book begins to consistently sell in large numbers—month after month.

It is one of the truths in publishing that consistent regular action is the path to success. Whether it is trying to write a 100,000 word novel or a 60,000 word nonfiction book or a book proposal or sell a magazine article. The process of taking consistent action will eventually pay off.  You will complete the novel. You will finish writing the nonfiction book or book proposal. You will find an editor who wants to publish your magazine article.

Marketing a book is not a sprint but more of a marathon where slow and steady rules the day. Penny Sansevieri is a marketing expert who runs a book marketing company. 5-MINUTE BOOK MARKETING FOR AUTHORS is filled with practical, easy to apply information. Sansevieri gives the straight scoop in the opening page, “With more than 4500 books published every day, unless you’re a big name, you can’t afford to set it and forget it. It’s true that the success of a book doesn’t happen overnight; the biggest constant in the publishing industry is that consistent, regular exposure of your books is the best way to reach your book marketing goals.”

Each chapter of this book is designed to encourage authors to take action. As Sansevieri writes, “You only fail if you fail to try! So dig in with me, and learn some great marketing efforts that you can begin in around five minutes!” (Page 11). There is a wide range of action in this book from Goodreads to Amazon to ebook pricing to website to newsletters to social media (Facebook, twitter and Pinterest). Whether you are a brand new author or an experienced author, you can gain valuable insights from 5-MINUTE BOOK MARKETING FOR AUTHORS.

Author insights are embedded into each chapter. For example, the chapter on how to get the best Amazon reviews begins, “Reviews can really help to drive the sale of a book. In fact, several marketing survey companies have cited that 61% of online purchases were made after reading a review.” (Page 45)

Sansevieri is an author but also works with authors all the time. She designed this book with short chapters and each one concludes with a “5-Minute Marketing Action Item” For example, “Join a Giveaway Group (on Goodreads).  Groups are quick and easy to join. You can see what members are excited about and get them excited about your title. The more you engage with potential fans, especially in your genre, the better!” (page 21)

Why are a variety of actions and strategies included? Sansevieri explains, “It’s important for you to remember that there’s no one marketing strategy that will help attract and retain fans. Instead, marketing is a series of actions and consistent engagement over time that will help you to grow your following and keep them engaged.” (Page 88).

As a long-time member of the publishing community as an author and editor, I learned a great deal from reading 5-MINUTE BOOK MARKETING FOR AUTHORS. I highly recommend every author get this book then start applying it to their own book marketing.

I want to return to where I started this article: consistent, steady action will pay off. Remember the parable of the race between the tortoise and the hare. It was the slow and steady tortoise that beat the hare. From my experience, it is the same in publishing. Too many writers quit too soon and never get their work published or achieve the book sales that they dream about. It is critical to keep going and not give up. 

Have you had this experience ? If so, tell me in the comment section.

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My Once-A-Year Indulgence

Do you have something that you do once a year as a special experience?  I never used to have such an indulgence but it started a few years ago and carries on this year.

For me, it is reading a new book from Daniel Silva. The bestselling thriller writer produces one book a year which releases about this time each year. The former journalist at CNN has written 18 novels. I discovered his books several years ago and slowly read all of them through my public library.

From learning about his books, I became a follower of Daniel Silva’s work. I joined his newsletter list and began to notice his writing and hear his media interviews. While I was living in Arizona, I had the opportunity to meet Silva at the Poisoned Pen which is a well-known independent bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona.  It was not far from where I was living at the time.  In addition to hearing Silva speak about his work at the bookstore, I purchased a copy of his latest novel at that time, The Rembrandt Affair and he autographed it to me. I was converting from a follower into a fan.

Each year when his new novel releases, Silva travels on a national book tour.  The cities and the bookstores for this tour are not random. Each one records the book sales to the New York Times. Following each book tour, I have watched these new novels climb to the top of the bestseller lists.

I moved away from Arizona but Silva has offered his fans the ability to purchase an autographed copy of his novel during the release week at the same retail price. This service was arranged through Barnes & Noble.com.  For the last couple of years, I’ve ordered this autographed book several months in advance then watched for the release date and the shipping of my book. Yes I’m definitely a devoted fan.  Recently, Silva has expanded from Barnes & Noble and has a list of of places to get signed copies on his website through various independent bookstores.

The autographed book is not personalized to me but the autographed page is the first page of the book. I suspect Silva signs a certain number of these pages in advance from his publisher and in the production process the autographed page is bound into the book. Stickers on the hardcover jacket are added that the book is a “signed first edition.”

The English Spy released last Monday, June 29th and as usual, Silva began his national book tour on the Today Show.  His wife, Jamie Gangel, was a long-time Today Show correspondent (left last year) yet someone else on the show interviews him. This year it was Willie Geist.  My book shipped this past week and arrived on Thursday. I began reading it right away.  Most of the time I do this pleasure reading in the evening but Friday was a “holiday” so I took several hours and read during the day.  I finished my reading late last night.  As I mentioned in this article, I quickly wrote my review for Amazon and Goodreads.

To read a Daniel Silva book is a pure delight for me. His characters are engaging and his storytelling makes for a page-turning experience.  Yes it is a weighty novel, but the hours pass quickly as I’m glued to the pages. Almost as soon as I’ve finished the novel, I’m eager for the publisher to release his next one. The experience is my once-a-year indulgence.

Notice my gradual transformation from follower to fan. It did not happen overnight.  What are you doing with your own writing to convert people from followers to fans? Do you have an electronic newsletter and a regular way to communicate with your audience? Are you engaging with them on a regular basis to encourage them to move from followers to fans?

It is rare to become a bestselling novelist like Daniel Silva. Yet every writer can learn from his example and make daily strides with our writing to build a following and turn them into fans.  If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to get my free ebook, Platform-Building Ideas for Every Author.

Do you have a once-a-year indulgence like my reading of Daniel Silva’s novel? I look forward to hearing about it.

A Tale of Two Book Signings

As a long-time publishing professional, I love a good story. Over the next few days, I'm reading Daniel Silva's The English Girl. I'm a long-term fan of Daniel Silva's writing and have read all of his other books. Former President Bill Clinton has called Gabriel Allon (the lead character of Silva's books) one of his favorite fictional characters. 

Daniel Silva is one of the authors where I'm subscribed to his newsletter and follow his posts on Facebook. He writes one riveting, page-turning thriller a year. Last week he was on the Today Show talking about his new book and other books that he's recommending. His wife, Jamie Gangel, is a Today Show correspondent. 

Several weeks ago I was interested to see Sara Nelson, Editorial Director for Books at Amazon.com on CBS This Morning talking about the must-read books for the summer and the first book that she recommended was The English Girl.

About three years ago, I met Silva at a book signing at the Poison Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona. Like a true fan, I attended his talk about his latest novel and then stood in line to get my book signed.

I've been watching for The English Girl. Daniel Silva goes on tour with his book each time it releases. He goes to specific bookstores where the sales register on the New York Times bestseller list. I expect his book to be near the top of the hardcover fiction bestseller list next week (as it has in past years).

Because I read his newsletter, I noticed in late April or early May when Daniel offered his readers to purchase a signed copy of the forthcoming book. Since I knew I would not be near one of the bookstores on his forthcoming tour, I pre-ordered my book from Barnes and Noble over two months before the release date. Books like Daniel Silva's novels are embargoed—which means the bookseller has strict instructions from the publisher not to release the book prior to the actual street release date.

I was excited to receive my signed copy last week and The English Girl is another page-turner with excellent storytelling. I want to point out the difference in the two signed copies of Daniel Silva's books.

The first signature is personalized to me because I was standing right in front of Daniel at the Poison Pen. It's also on an inside page of the book. Here's that signature:

My second signature came last week in The English Girl. Notice there is no personalization with my name and that instead of an inside page, the signature is bound to the first page of the book. It is a real signature because I can see the pen marks slightly on the back of the page. I'm unsure how they did it but my suspicion is that Daniel Silva signed a number of these pages, then shipped the signed stack back to the printer who “tipped” them into the book for these books. Here's how this signature appears:

Each version of these signings are special to me and I'm a delighted reader of Daniel Silva's books. I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time completing my reading of The English Girl. Because his normal pattern is to write one book a year, I will have months to wait until the next one.

It Makes No Sense To Me

Recently a fiction author sent an email query to my literary agency about his work. He had a Christian contemporary novel and expressed his frustration about the lack of response and attention from editors and agents. In fact, that attitude seemed to ooze out of his pitch letter (which should have been a bit of an indicator to me).

If you read these entries, you know that as an author, former book acquisitions editor and now a literary agent, I want to help writers understand the marketplace and become more successful with their pitches. Most writers have no understanding of the sheer volume of submissions which editors and agents receive. Dan Poynter in The Self-Publishing Manual estimates there are millions of proposals, manuscripts and queries which are circulating around the country. I have a small portion in my office so it doesn't take much for me to believe that number.

For this novelist, I told him that nonfiction out sells fiction and that there are more people trying to write fiction than nonfiction--but if he still wanted to send me his proposal and sample chapters, then I would have a look and get back to him.

Even with my caveats, this author sent me his material. Late one night recently I pulled his submission out of the envelop to have a quick look at it. His synopsis was OK then I flipped to his sample chapters--which started at Chapter Two then also threw in Chapter Eleven. Yes, the sample chapters were two and eleven!

I've read hundreds of these submissions and I still see authors select random chapters from a novel to send to the possible agent or editor. It makes no sense to me. When I pick up a printed book in a bookstore, I don't start reading in the middle. I turn to the opening pages and see if I like it. If I like the opening, then maybe the rest of the book is worth purchasing. The opening chapter lays the groundwork for the whole novel. It introduces the characters and the setting and the difficulty or problem for the entire book.

It's also true for a nonfiction book proposal and sample chapters. The first chapter is critical because like in the novel, it lays the groundwork for the subsequent chapters. It's almost impossible to evaluate a work from looking at the middle of it.

Let me close this entry with six steps to stand out in your submission:

1. Use my tips in Straight Talk From The Editor -- the free Ebook.

2. Send a complete proposal and the initial chapters of your writing and only send compelling writing.

3. How do you know if your novel or nonfiction is compelling? Check it out with a colleague. Join a critique group. Write and rewrite it and please don't fire it off without some serious thinking about how it will come across.

4. Check and double-check the name you are sending. Even this past week, a writer queried me at my submission email address for the agency which began, "Dear Ms. Wagner..." When I wrote the author asking about it, she apologized and her second attempt began, "Dear Mr. Whalen..." These exchanges happened rapid fire and within a 20 minute period. If you didn't notice, she misspelled my last name. I fired back with a form rejection. I don't need to work with such sloppy submissions. Yes she made an impression but not a good one.

5. Continue to learn what factors in a proposal or submission make an editor sit up, notice and get excited about it. One of the best tools that you can easily use is the session I did with eight different top editors and literary agents called Secrets About Proposals. Go over there and access this information, download the audio, listen to it. Then download the written study guide material, print it, read it and study it.

6. If you are looking for an agent, make sure you get my free list of agents and also that you look at this short two-minute clip from David Henry Sterry about the easily overlooked art of agent research which on the Media Bistro site. It's common sense but few writers actually take these wise steps.

These actions will dramatically increase your possibilities for having your idea seriously considered. It's all any writer can ask from an editor--that their idea be seriously considered. Like I've mentioned before in these entries, your search as an author (and my search as an agent for my clients) is to send the right idea at the right time to the right place to the right editor. Yes, I understand there are many "rights" in the previous sentence. You are looking for a match.

You Can Make A Difference

In these days of unreturned phone calls and unanswered emails (yes it happens to me too), at times, it's easy to wonder if you are making a difference. If so, where are you making that difference in the lives of others? From my experience, it will take a conscious effort on your part.

Are you learning something new? It seems like every time I turn around I'm gaining some new bit of information. What are you doing to be a good steward of that information and pass it on to others?

For example, in my agency, someone contacted me with a 190K novel--which is over the top too long. Go to this entry and follow the links if you want to know more about the expected length of novel. Why is this important? Because if you have a mass of material coming your direction as an editor or agent (and we all do), then one of the quickest ways to sort things into the rejection pile is based on word count. A huge manuscript is going to take a tremendous amount of editorial work to get it to the right length if it is too long. Several months ago, I rejected a novel on the basis of word length. Today this novelist came back and said she had managed to trim her 190K novel into 120K would I now take a look? I was flattered that she had taken the time and energy to cut her story and maintain plot lines and other things (according to her note). Yet it was still too long in my view to capture my interest. From my experience anything over 110,000 words is going to struggle to find it's place of publication in the marketplace. So it's not a good use of my time as an agent--and I told her so.Thank you but still no thank you.

Then I got another submission addressed to my personal mailbox, and misspelling Literary in the name of my agency. Yet on the inside the submission began, "To Whom It May Concern" and also did not include a title for their proposed novel. I could have just returned my standard rejection letter but I made a point to call it to her attention so she could change it in the future.

I recently wrote about Mark Levine's book on the Fine Art of Self-Publishing. I have personal connections to two of the Print On Demand publishers in the "Publishers To Avoid" section of the book. I could have ignored it but I didn't.

Instead I brought the information to leaders in each of these two publishers. One publisher had moved from the recommended category to the avoid category and when I told her about it she said, "Why whatever it is, we will fix it." The other publisher made the opposite choice with the information saying, "We weren't fairly treated and this book doesn't know what they are talking about."

Many years ago I learned that when you bring information to someone they have two choices. They can either resist and contend that you do not have the full picture, then make some excuse. Or they can make an effort to grow and learn from the situation. I try to take that latter road and grow as much as possible.

I continue to grow and improve. Recently I held a free teleseminar about book proposals at Askterrywhalin.com. After the teleseminar, I changed the material into the replay mode--but the date remained on the front page (which is not supposed to happen). It could have thrown me off and stopped me from holding additional teleseminars. It hasn't. The date was also on the teleseminar I did with Andy McGuire (see the illustration).

I'm still going to be conducting more of these worldwide events. How do I know they are worldwide? The other night one of the callers on the phone was from Italy--a long ways from Scottsdale, Arizona. Note this teleseminar is now on replay mode. If you would like to hear it for free, simply fill out your first name and email address and write "no question" in the box and you will reach the replay page where you can download the full hour for your computer or iPod plus pick up the 90-page Ebook about book proposals.

As you can see from this second illustration, my date problem has been resolved. Apparently I was missing a line of computer code some place and now my various teleseminars which are in replay are working.

My encouragement is for you to pass along the lessons that you are learning to others. You can make a difference in the lives of the people around you.