Roll With The Punches

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Our lives are filled with changes. These events happen in our lives whether we plan for them or not. From these articles about the writing life, it’s easy to see that I’m someone who loves routine. The publishing world and other parts of our world are in constant motion and change. When you get an unexpected punch (as in the above photo), do you roll with it?

Last week I traveled to Asheville, North Carolina for The Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. It’s a large event and throughout the time, I had interesting conversations with people. These days I don’t travel as much as in the past. From my home in Southern California, it was a long haul to attend and involved changing planes in Chicago. On schedule I arrived and got to the conference and settled into my room.

Throughout the event, I met remarkable writers. Each one had a story which was tied to their writing. The event contained many “God moments.” Like each of these events, the final day arrived. I packed my suitcases and headed to the airport. On the way home, I was changing planes at the Dallas airport. My plane from Asheville to Dallas had a mechanical issue which delayed our arrival.  After landing as my airplane was landing and going to our gate, I would see my connecting flight in a different terminal was beginning to board. 

Several passengers on my first flight graciously let me off to hurry toward my connecting flight. I moved as rapidly as I could to reach my gate. When I arrived at my gate, the plane was still there but the airline had closed the door and no one was around to assist me. In the face of this situation, I rolled with the punches. I needed to go to the airline help desk to rebook my flight which was located several gates ahead. 

When I spoke with the help desk airline person, I learned my bags were on the flight that I missed. They booked me into a local hotel then I was on the first Saturday flight to Orange County. I found the hotel airport shuttle, registered for my room and grabbed a few hours sleep before returning to the airport. I could have been upset (a choice) but instead I rolled with it.

Writers have to face changes with flexibility. For example, in these articles, I’ve written about the price of paper for books has increased 70 to 80% since 2020. This small detail is affecting the retail price of books as well as the length of novels. During the conference, I met a number of fiction writers with manuscripts which were 90,000 to 100,000 words. Because of the increased price of paper, our preferred word length is closer to 80,000 words. Are you flexible and willing to do the editorial trimming to get your story in alignment with the expectations of the marketplace? I hope so. Your flexibility and willingness to adapt to curent market conditions is an important skill for every writer.

What actions are you taking to handle a sudden change? Let me know in the comments how you've learned to roll with the punches. 

Tweetable:

Change is a constant part of our lives in publishing. This prolific author and editor gives the details of how he had to roll with the punches and encourages us to do likewise. Get the details here.  (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: 

Dalene Bickel (@DaleneBickel) and I had an eye-opening conversation about the traditional publishing world on the Ink & Impact for Christian Writers Podcast. Listen at: https://bit.ly/43aCgPM 

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 into 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses.

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Why Novelists Need Book Proposals That Sell

This past week I did another teleseminar about book proposals. If you follow this link, you can download the full teleseminar but also make sure you read the comment from Krista Phillips in that section. She asks a question that I have heard often over the last few years, "I have seen your book Book Proposals That Sell referenced several places on the Internet, and seen great reviews posted for it. Most of the reviews note that it is a great reference for non-fiction proposals, however I am primarily a fiction novelist. Is the book still a good reference for us fiction writers out there?"

While Book Proposals That Sell has over 75 Five Star reviews on Amazon, there have been a few critics (follow this link if you doubt me) who don't feel like novelists need this book. In this entry on teleseminar about book proposals, I want to tackle this question and give you three reasons that you need this book if you are a novelist. These reasons will also apply to the professional and experienced writer. I've heard many writers resist purchasing this book because they have other book proposal books or felt like the book was only for beginners. These objections are also false in my view because many professional and long-term experienced writers (fiction and nonfiction) have gained insight from the pages this book.

First, let me point out this endorsement from Brandilyn Collins, a bestselling novelist who has read the book and says, "With years of experience as an author and an editor, Terry Whalin has written a book that can help any writer. Book Proposals That Sell offers great advice on building the nonfiction proposal and also explains the inner workings of the editor's and publication board's role in acquiring a new book. Novelists, too, will find this background information very helpful. All authors need to understand the uphill battle they face in selling a book before they can be fully prepared to submit their absolute best proposal or manuscript. Whalin's book lays out what they'll face--and then shows them how to win the battle." OK, I marked in bold the final portion of this quote for emphasis.

Now to my three reasons novelists need to read this book:

1. Understand the Rarity of This Information

For over twenty years, I've read a how-to-write book each month. I've got shelves of these books and periodically I have to clear them out. It is rare to find any editor who writes about the process of book acquisitions. In fact, I've heard a number of my editor colleagues say that they don't like to write. If you travel the writer's conference circuit as I have for many years, you will find that many of these editors don't teach workshops because they don't like to teach or have any inclination in this area. The key decision makers haven't written books (or even magazine articles) about how and why they make decisions about which books to publish and why.

I wrote Book Proposals That Sell from the perspective of the acquisitions editor or the person reviewing your submissions--whether a novel or a nonfiction book. I've read many how-to-write fiction books yet the bulk of my writing for years has been nonfiction. Why? Because I want to constantly improve my storytelling for nonfiction and have gained a great deal of insight from these writers.

2. Understand The Pressure and Mindset of the Editor

Every novelist needs to understand the mindset of the publishing executive to succeed in their desire to receive a book contract. Whether you are trying to write for a particular magazine or publisher or just get published in general, the first step is to understand your reader. That first reader is the editor who is actively reading to locate quality material for their publishing house. You can gain a lot of insight into the editor through reading Book Proposals That Sell.

3. Understand A Great Story Is Assumed and You Need Something More

If your novel is published, it must be a compelling story. The editor or literary agents who champions your novel will need this foundation. Every novelist (and nonfiction writer) should be working on learning their craft. In Book Proposals That Sell, I help novelists understand that in today's market they need something more than a good story. Platform is critical in the nonfiction area but it's the way to rejection-proof your story in the fiction area. Can you take the secrets in this book and turn it toward your novel submission? I know many novelists who have done it successfully. Will you follow the path that they have blazed?

As Sally E. Stuart, the author of The Christian Writers' Market Guide, wrote, "Selling a book may be one of the most intimidating challenges you will ever face. However, an intimate knowledge of the process helps make it easier. Terry Whalin offers his broad knowledge of this business--from both sides of the editor's desk--make him the perfect resource for helping you develop a proposal that sells."

Some readers for this post will probably add some additional reasons. In this post, I've attempted to dispel some of the doubters.