How to Fight Publishing Ignorance

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

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

 

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

 

Here are some ways to fight publishing ignorance:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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Take Action After a Conference

Last weekend I attended a one day, local writers conference. It was a sold-out event and many writers attended this event throughout Colorado and came from 12 other states. 

During this event, I met a number of people and had a number of opportunities—-which I know will disappear without my follow-up actions. In this article, I want to give y0u some ideas about what I learned and will be doing from this one day event. Whatever your experience level in publishing, you can seize many opportunities—but only if you are prepared ahead fo the event.

Whenever you attend a conference, it's important to bring plenty of business cards and exchange them with everyone you meet. Make sure you don't just give them a card—but you ask (and receive) a card from them. This stack of business cards will be an important part of your follow-up process. 

After I meet someone, I will often make a little note on the business card of some follow-up action that I need to later. These events are intense contact with person after person and you can miss a critical idea if you don't write down something to remind you later. The day included many interactions with a variety of writers and I'm capturing a few of them in this article.

Here's some of the people I met at this one day local event:

1. I spoke with several brand new writers. One in particular was trying to figure out where to begin the writing process. As you know from reading these articles, I encouraged her to write magazine articles. She did not have a business card to easily give me her contact information (something common with new writers). I took down her information and promised to send her some information.

2. I found a possible local media contact. In the back of a workshop before it began, I exchanged business cards with someone—and read they were a local radio talk show host. I'll be following up to see if I can get booked on this program later this year.

3. I found some possible new authors for Morgan James. Throughout the day, I met several new writers and listened to their pitches and took their proposals. I will be following up with them to see if they are a good fit for Morgan James Publishing.

4. I saw a long-time literary agent friend. When I attended her workshop, she told about publishing her first book in April. We spoke privately afterwards and I told her about Goodreads. She mentioned that she had not done much with Goodreads and I offered to send a handout on Goodreads. I have this handout online and knew where it was so shortly after our conversation I sent the material in an email on the spot (so I did not have to remember to do it later). She got it while at the conference and thanked me for it. It's another way to handle these types of matters—often the sooner the better.

5. Learn from the different giveaways at the event. One of the keynote speakers gave away a free download. I wrote down the website, downloaded it and have printed it to read it carefully. Another exhibitor gave away a flash drive which has “writing resources.”  I gave them my name and email address to get the flashdrive (which is a wise marketing strategy to capture email addresses). I will be checking out this flash drive and learning from it. This type of learning is one of the actions I consistently take after a conference. Some people will sign up for the flashdrive (give their email like I did) then take it home and never put it into their computer to use the resources. I recommend when you go to these events, you learn from every possible source.

Are you scheduled to attend a conference in the next few months? Follow this link to get some of my recommendations for conferences. Also you can follow this link to see where I will be speaking and attend.

From my experience, many people attend these events, take notes in the workshops and never do anything with it to move their own writing life forward. I've listed a few of my actions from this event. It is a critical part of the process. If you don't take action then things slip through the cracks and never happen.

What actions do you take after a conference? Let me know in the comments below.

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Seven Critical Steps for Every Author

Over 80% of Americans plan to publish a book at some point in their lifetime. Over 4,500 new books are published every day. Yet repeatedly I hear from authors wondering how to sell their books and what steps they should be taking in this process.

Let me tell you right from the start, when it comes to book publishing and in particular selling books, there is no magic formula. If there were such a formula every book would be a bestseller. Yet there are proven essentials that every author can do—and that's what I'm writing about in this article. These steps are not in any particular order but it's important to tackle each of them.

1. Know your target audience (readers). The more information you have about this reader, the better you can focus your efforts to reach them. No matter how much we want it, not everyone will read your book but your target audience will.

2. Be active or visible with your audience. It is different for every author but if you know your target. Where are they? Listening to their radios? Then you need to be on radio programs. On Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn, then you need to become more visible in these places. To help you, I have a free ebook, Platform building Ideas for Every Author.

3. Start and actively use an email list. If you don't have any idea what I'm talking about then I recommend you explore these two links for My List Building Tycoon at: http://bit.ly/t2W1zy or on Kindle: http://amzn.to/wU6Fzb. The essence of it is you create an ebook or audio or something valuable for your audience. Then give that ethical bribe away to your audience in exchange for them giving you their email address. Only you control your email list (not some other platform like Twitter or Facebook). Then you build your list as you use the list to continue to give your audience value. 

4. Take responsibility for your own marketing. Each of us have excuses. We are introverted. We don't like it. We want to just write. We want someone else to do it—why we get a publisher. Listen to yourself and then stop the excuses and take action. Every day when I speak to authors I tell them that they bear 80% of the responsibility for selling their book.. They say, “yes” but then balk at taking action. You will be exceptional if you do take your own responsibility.

5. Get to a writer's conference. Conferences are a key part of my own growth and people I know in publishing. You will learn a great deal and also make friendships with editors and agents. Over the next few months, I'm speaking at different conferences and would love to meet you in person. Follow this link to my schedule. I especially recommend Author 101 University.

6. Have the Right attitude. You should always be growing, trying new things and experimenting to find your path. It is different for each book and each author so you have to be moving forward. Remember you are not selling your book or yourself. Instead you are helping as many people as you can help. In the process, stress the benefits and advantages of your book and how it will help others. Much more attractive to people than “selling” and as an author you will be more comfortable doing it.

7. Create a simple system to become active with your readers. It is different for every author. Maybe your path is blogging or social media or radio interviews. As you speak or write, focus on helping others but also leading them to your products where to spend money to get additional help. An example of this process would be my free teleseminar about book proposals. When you take this teleseminar, I lead you to my Write A Book Proposal membership course. 

Opportunities are around you—but to take advantage of these opportunities, you have to seize them and take action. Don't count on anyone else or you will certainly be disappointed (publisher, bookstore, Amazon—no one). If I can help you, reach out to me. 

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The Power of Consistency

If you want to get your writing published, are you consistently working at that goal? From interviewing more than 150 bestselling author, many authors set a specific word count they want to produce in a day or a week. With this goal firmly in place, they sit in their chair and put their fingers on the keyboard and crank out words toward their goal. There is immense power in working toward a goal on a consistent basis.

If you want to write a novel, then you need to be writing ___ words a day consistently for __ days to achieve this goal. 

If you want to be published in magazines, then you need to be writing query letters to editors and pitching your ideas on a regular basis. Then when an editor gives you the assignment, you consistently write excellent material and return it on their deadline.


If you want to write a nonfiction book, then you need to create a riveting proposal which captures the attention of literary agents or editors. A good proposal isn't created in a single session but takes time and energy to craft one.


If you want to build your social media presence in the marketplace, then you need to consistently work at growing your Facebook friends or increasing your twitter followers. I've written about my methods to do this in the past. It is one of the reasons that in the past few days I've gone over 100,ooo twitter followers. I've worked at this goal on a regular basis.


Besides working to increase my numbers, I'm also delivering good content to my twitter followers and my Facebook friends and my LinkedIn connections.


At a recent writers conference, I met with a writer who thanked me for the good content that I put on my twitter feed. She had noticed that it was consistently worth reading. I appreciated this feedback. It is true that I do not spend a great deal of time on what I post on twitter—but I am consistent. It's why I've tweeted almost 18,000 times since the summer of 2008. There is power in consistency.


If you want to be selling your book to people and having them talk about it, then you need to be consistently working to build a larger audience and get in front of people and the media. Whatever your goal, I encourage you to follow what Jack Canfield calls The Rule of Five. In this short video (less than two minutes), Jack explains the rule and how it will help you tap into the power of consistency to accomplish your goals and dreams.



Consistency doesn't have to take a lot of time but the results will add up for you. Eventually you will achieve your goals if you take regular and consistent action.

You Must Be There To Win

I watch the stories with great interest—the current Power Ball frenzy. The numbers are really high and someone is going to win that prize. Yet you must have a ticket to get into the game—and I've not bought a ticket.

I have an opportunity where you can win but the odds are a lot better than any lottery or powerball. Next Tuesday, September 10th, I will be interviewing the publisher at Morgan James Publishing, Rick Frishman.

Rick has an outstanding background in publishing and has worked with many bestselling authors on their publicity campaigns to promote their books. For the last 12 years, Rick has led Author 101 University twice a year. In March it is held in Los Angeles and in October the event is in Las Vegas. Next month, Author 101 will have another outstanding list of speakers and a wealth of bookselling information.

Next Tuesday you can ask Rick a question and if you are on the call (the action you have to take) you can be one of the winners of a free registration to Author 101. 

Yes during the call, Rick will be giving away several free registrations for the event. You will have to be listening to be one of the winners. 

From my experience of attending a number of Author 101 events, I know it can be life changing. I hope you will be one of the people on the live call listening to Rick, who is a wealth of practical publishing information.

Just for signing up for the Tuesday call, you will receive a free copy of Rick’s new Ebook, Agents and the Publishing Industry. Even if you don’t have a question, register and say “no question” when asked for a question.
You do not want to miss this live teleseminar because you could win a free registration to Author 101 Las Vegas.

Hope to see you on the call.

The Power of Teaching

While it was many years ago, to me, I can remember it as though it was yesterday. I was a sophomore in high school, my English teacher Mr. Smith suggested that I might like to join the high school newspaper. He noticed something in my writing and recommended this extracurricular activity.

I took action and became a sports writer on the paper. This sports position was the only one available. I wasn’t active in sports so had to learn everything such as the terminology and the most basic of writing skills. Yet I loved it. I enjoyed observing the games and interviewing the players and the coach and getting quotations then putting that information into the article.

That sports writing experience introduced me to writing stories and headlines and learning how to pull the reader into my story. This introduction to journalism took my life in a focused direction. I ended up being the editor of my high school newspaper, then studying journalism at one of the top schools in the nation, Indiana University. Each step has built a lot into my life and writing life. 

Stop for a minute and think about an influential teacher or mentor in your own life. Who is this person? Can you reach out to them and express your appreciation?

Years ago I tried to reach out to Mr. Smith. I called my old high school to see how I could find him. It turns out he passed away a couple of years earlier. I was too late in my expression of gratitude. 

Don’t wait too long to express this gratitude to others. Do it today and you will bless the people who have guided your life decisions. I encourage you to watch this 2.5 minute video on the power of gratitude (just follow the link).

This past week I received a review copy of a children’s book from a new author. I met this author seven years earlier when I was teaching at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference near Asheville, North Carolina. In the cover letter, she thanked me for my words of encouragement years ago. I’ve forgotten the specifics of what I said. I’m out at a conference about once a month. You can see my schedule here. I encourage you to look it over and plan to come to an event where we can meet and talk about your writing.

Today take action. Pull out a card and write a note to someone expressing appreciation. Then do it again and again. The power of gratitude can be life changing.

The Last Minute Substitute

Yesterday I received an email with a startling subject line:

“Help” It got my attention and I opened it and responded right away. A writer's conference director had a problem. One of his faculty members was ill and could not teach at this conference toward the center of the U.S. and it started on Friday. He wondered if I was available.


I wasn't real keen to get on a plane tomorrow but I checked my schedule and yes, I could substitute. Then we began to check the airfare prices. For such a last-minute ticket, the cost was going to be high. The director appreciated my availability but asked me to hold off on booking the ticket.


For several hours, I was going through my mental checklist of what I would need to clear off my to-do list in order to travel this weekend. I thought with the high cost, the director would be searching for a cheaper replacement.


Then I received the brief email that a closer replacement had been located. Whew. I was off the hook to become a last minute substitute. Several points about this experience:


1. I've been speaking at conferences for many years and I was grateful this director felt comfortable to call on me at the last minute. I've got the depth of experience where I can jump into a situation like this at the last minute without feeling anxious or worried.


2. While I could have traveled this weekend, I'm relieved not to be teaching for hours at this conference. As an acquisitions editor at Morgan James, I have a number of other things that are pulling for my attention. Now I will be able to focus on those matters and not be standing in front of a group of people teaching about writing.


I am excited about the various places where I will be speaking this year and next year. You can always keep up on these events at this page. As additions come into my schedule, I change this page to reflect the new events.


As a writer, what are you doing to open more opportunities to speak? You have developed a certain area of expertise with your writing. What is that area? How can you ask or open up possibilities for more speaking engagements?

Yesterday, my friend Sandra Beckwith held an hour long teleseminar where she gave over 60 FREE ways for every author to promote the book. I loved the information in this session. While the live event has passed, you can gain immediate access to the information for only $19. The ideas and resources Sandy gave were incredible.

You can take one or two of these free ideas and sell many books. Here's the key: you must take action on the ideas. Training is excellent and I listened to Sandy's teaching yesterday. The key for my book (and the key for your book) is to actually execute these excellent ideas.

Another Travel Adventure

It is a solitary task to write. I find tremendous value in getting to a writer's conference and interacting with writers and other professionals about the business.

With this sort of anticipation, I went to the Florida Christian Writers Conference. I had not attended this particular event in many years and was unfamiliar with the location. As instructed, I flew into Orlando. What I didn't understand is the conference is located almost two hours away from the airport. 

I live in Southern California and scheduled an afternoon flight, changing planes in Houston then going on to Orlando. I knew I would arrive in the evening but also knew with the time change it would be OK. You can't predict what will happen when you travel. I faced the unusual on this trip.

When we boarded the plane, I noticed a passenger who reeked of alcohol and I wasn't even near him. He struggled to find his seat on the plane. Everyone boarded and they pushed back from the gate. Yet before they left, the plane returned to the gate and they took off the drunk passenger.

The delay meant we left a few minutes late but they made up the time in the air and we arrived in Houston on time. My connection to Orlando was only 30 minutes and I made it to my gate and the flight. Yet none of the six people who went from Southern California to Houston to Orlando had our luggage. The suitcases were still in Houston and would not come until the next day. 

The airline gave me a little survival kit which contained a toothbrush, some toothpaste, a comb, some deodorant, a razor and some shaving cream. I met my driver to the conference and arrived in my room about 1 a.m. EST.

Off and on throughout the next day I was checking with the airlines about my bags. They arrived in Orlando and were not delivered to the conference until about 6 p.m. I learned a few things through the experience:

Pack some essentials in my carry-on bag. For example, I didn't include any business cards in my carry-on bag and at a conference, business cards are critical. Besides cards, I needed a few key items from my suitcase. Next time I can tuck them into my carry-on bag and be more prepared.

Finally my bags arrived and I had what I needed for the event. Also I relearned the old lesson that anxiety doesn't help you one bit. There was nothing I could do to speed up the delivery of my bags or my missing material. Instead I made light of it and carried on with the business of meeting and helping writers at the event. 

I taught a single workshop at the conference which was well-received. Through my attendance at this event, I met more passionate writers with great material to get into print. I look forward to the days ahead to see how I can help them. The roots of our relationship often begin at a conference.

Despite the adventures of travel, I continue to have high expectations about my forthcoming speaking events. Thursday will begin my time at Author 101 University which is in its eleventh year. Because of where I live this year, I don't have to get on an airplane to reach this event but only make a short drive. I look forward to seeing some of you readers on the road in the days ahead.