Why You Should Join Major Writing Organizations

I get it. Writers all feel like they are introverts. I also understand that so many of you feel you can get all you need by asking Alexa to give us an answer. While much of this might be true, you as an author may be missing out by not being part of a true professional writing organization.

Let me just say, I have nothing against your local writing group that meets at the library or some restaurant so you can "workshop" your stories. This is fine for some small craft ideas. But when it comes to getting real information and connecting with the true professionals, you need to join the major writing organizations.

Look at what you get. It is through these major organizations:

• that you get the major updates from the publishers.
• that you get outstanding conferences where they can afford to fly in those major editors
• that you get resources and networks for your genre all in one place.
• that you get connections with other writers who are on the same path as you.

Now, you may have been part of one in the past and quit for various reasons. You may have walked away, because of politics. Many did this with the Romance Writers of America and honestly, I have seen their careers on a serious downhill trajectory. What is scary is that many walked away, not knowing what the politics was truly about and they just followed people blindly like lemmings over a cliff. BIG MISTAKE

Some of you may have quit because you felt you were not getting anything from your yearly dues. The question for you is simple. Did you do anything to get those resources or did you just sit back and passively do nothing.

Being a professional means you have to act like a professional. You join professional organizations to network and improve your craft.

Maybe, just maybe, it is time for you to change your approach and join an organization today.

And don't forget to sign up for the monthly newsletter. Send your email to newsletter@greyhausagency.com and we can get you signed up.

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It Takes Time - Don't Rush The Process

For those of you who were fortunate enough to attend the Romance Writers of America conference in Toronto in July this year, you were lucky enough to listen to the fabulous Jane Porter speak! Not only was she inspirational, but she also gave some advice that I wanted to share to all of you out there. I mentioned this on my TikTok channel as well, but for those of you not out there, let me share it here. 

So many writers lately seem to be obsessed about being published immediately. You keep hearing everyone talk about being published and just keep rushing the process. Maybe it is because you also hear so many people in self-publishing pushing another angle. They scream, "those traditional people rejected my story so I just went into self-publishing. These authors often wrote one or two books, got frustrated, blamed the system and moved on. 

Now, let me share some things that Jane spoke of and I am going to give you one big number.

Got it? 

By the time she had sold her first book, she had written 17 novels. Of those 17, she had written them, submitted them numerous times, been rejected far too many times to be counted, rewritten them even more times, cried over them even more times, probably screamed over them even more... but it wasn't until...

...that she was published. And that took time. 

I talked to a lot of authors over those four days in Toronto and I told a lot of them the same thing. Not only does writing take time, it takes education and learning the process. If you think about any career out there, you go to school to learn how to do things. You don't just get up one morning and say you are going to be a brain surgeon, lawyer or airplane pilot, right? You got to school. You train from experts. You read books. You attend classes. You practice. You fail and succeed. 

And there is absolutely no difference between those careers and writing professionally. This IS a career. This IS a job. 

So don't rush it. Train and learn. I promise you. You will be much happier in the long run.

The Realities Of Being A Professional Writer

I was talking to one of my authors last week about an opportunity she has this coming week. She will be speaking with a college creative writing class. As we talked, we started discussing some of the things we have seen with a lot of new authors, as well as many authors coming out of college creative writing programs and MFA programs. There is an unrealistic perception of what it is to be a writer in the professional world.  In fact, for so many of these writers, when they do hear what is expected of them that passion for writing disappears and all that they had fought for goes out the window. They simply quit. 

I do not want to see that happen. 

Instead, I just want all of you to think about what will be expected of you and to know that it IS possible to do because so many author out there ARE doing writing professionally daily, while at the same time, juggling their daily lives. 

Let's start first with what that world looks like in those creative writing classes, or even in those writing groups so many writers start out with in their local communities. You write and share your work. You "workshop" the latest pages you did. If it was for a class, yes there were grades and the deadline was just for the grade, but in the end, that was the only deadline you had to meet. Any pressure you had was self-imposed as you struggled with a tough phrase or a single scene. Instructors in the MFA programs, not wanting to read extensive amount of pages limited your writing to small page counts (remember, they had other classes, committee work and their own writing and researching commitments). Essentially, this writing life was pretty idyllic.

Now, let's switch gears a bit and look at that wonderful world of professional writing. We now have a little thing such as contract on the line. This is not simply about writing for pleasure and self-gratification, but now it is about selling a product. This is a business and your story is product. The reader is a consumer. Your career is based on sales and numbers. 

That's right! Thank you Jerry McGuire!

Here is what you will now be doing.

You still get to write what you want to, but within the guidelines of what is going to sell. You, your agent and your editor will figure out how to make that story something that is going to be marketable. I know that there are authors out there who will claim you lose your voice, but that is wrong. You do get a lot of say in your stories. Our job is just to shepherd it along the way. 

But now, you have a deadline. That story has to get done by a set day. You might be expected to have a proposal in earlier of a synopsis and first three chapters just to make sure it is going to be heading in the right direction. That deadline is crucial because the editors need to have their hands on it to developmentally edit it and get it back to you quickly to make those revisions. 

When you get those back, you will have about two weeks to fix those and the edits back. Hopefully with no more back and forth. Any delay here makes things difficult down the line. No one wants that. If those edits are not quite right, they get sent back to you for another round and you get to do more changes with likely less time to make those changes. Remember, the clock is still ticking.

And here is why...

When the developmental edits are done, the manuscript is then off to the copy editors and line editors and the marketing department and business departments and art departments.

Oh, and the book does come back to you again for one more round of edits known as AA's to check it again as final proof.

But wait, there is more. 

After you have sent that book out to the editor when you typed THE END, you are not just sitting by the pool have a mimosa. You are getting ready to go to work on the next book. You see, in the middle of writing that last book, you have likely had a book being outlined on the side. There will not be time to take 3 months AFTER you have gone though this entire process of that first book to contemplate the next book!

Now here is where it gets really fun!

At a certain point you will be Writing one, Editing Another, Outlining Another, and Marketing all of these books all at the same time. Each book having their own deadline. 

I do also want to warn you. If you are planning to being a self-published author, you get to add in finding a cover artist on your own, finding the editors on your own, finding the printer on your own and all of that other stuff. 

But please know, it is possible. 

I have an author who is a full time professor and moonlights 2 additional classes, serves on 3 committees at her college and is part of a local service group and still produces 4 books a year. Another author produces 3 books a year with a job and 2 kids who are 10 and 6. Another who is pursuing a Masters degree and is putting two kids through college and also does 3-4 books a year.

It can be done.

It is all about time management. 

 

Professional Writing - Ya Just Gotta Love Doing It

I was getting ready to meet with my financial planner a couple of days ago and started thinking about money and publishing. Ok, maybe it was just thinking about the cruise I wanted to take and the lack of funds due to my daughter heading off to college next year that was on my mind, but it did pop into my brain for a second. I thought back to an author who I mentioned recently here on the blog who expected nothing less than a mid 6-figure deal for his debut novel. I have heard other authors tell me that their goal is to quit their day job with their first book and write full time next to their pool like they see authors doing all of the time on TV.

Ummm, not gonna happen. 

Ok, let me just say, before some of you will start listing off names of authors who did make that kind of jump so why can't it happen to them? Yes, there are some who do it. But then we have to talk about that chapter in your statistics class on "Probability vs. Possibility."

The reality is that writing as a profession is not going to be as lucrative for the general public as they would like it to me. This is ever more of a reality for newer authors who have just signed that first contract. If you are taking the self-published approach, this money making venture just got even harder.

Your income for your books is based on a lot of variables that are way out of your control. Sure, you might negotiate a great advance. You might get some great royalty percentages, but in the end, it is all based on whether or not people out there read your book. Consider this at a very basic level.

• Book sells for $15.00 (I am keeping things VERY basic). 
• That is retail
• Your publisher is going to take a cut of that
• Remember they have to make money too
• Remember they have to pay the art department for that snazzy cover
• Remember they have to pay for shipping your book to the book seller
• Remember they have to pay the editors
• You get the idea
• Let's assume you had an agent who negotiated that deal for you (This is 15% of the advance and/or royalties)
• And edited the book for free until it sold
• And listened to you cry over chapter 6
• And... you get the idea
• Remember also your royalties are ONLY after you have "sold through" on your advance. 
• Once that happens you are talking about a percentage of the sales.

I think you see where this is going. And that is just one book. You are also competing against all of those other authors out there fighting for the same readers. 

This is a tough job.

As I said, if you are self-publishing, all of those costs that come out of selling that $15.00 book are coming out of your profits directly. Note: This is why I always warn people to take with a grain of salt the dollar figures self-published authors are proclaiming. In many cases, they are quoting GROSS sales and not NET sales. 

So, why do I bring up the money here? Writing is one of those few professions where you can take a hobby and turn it into a career. You got into writing because you loved doing it. You spent countless sleepless nights worrying over a story that was simply being written for fun. You didn't do this for money. I always equate writing with teaching. Those of us who teach did not enter this job for the "big bucks"! We did it because we loved the area we teach and we love teaching. 

The same thing goes for writing. You have to do this because you love it. Once you start looking at just the money and not the story, you have lost your edge. Your stories will not be as strong as you wanted them to be. Why? Because you weren't putting your passion into the story, you put your passion into reading (and often complaining to your friends on social media) of how your book was totally getting screwed over. 

Write because you love it!

Even With An Agent, You Still Have Work To Do

I think a lot of people believe that when they get an agent, they can turn all of their attention back to simply writing. "I'm going to let my agent take care of things for me," they say. 

Ahhh, so sorry young Jedi. There is still much work to be done. 

The agent's role is to act as a liaison between you and the publishers. We work WITH you as you develop your manuscripts. We discuss new project ideas WITH you. 

We research new locations for your manuscripts and market your manuscripts, but YOU also can do this work. 

The important thing to remember is that you have to be a participant in this business relationship. We can't write the books for you. 

I remember talking to a friend who had an agent at a pretty great agency. He had been signed with this manuscript at least 5 years before. He hadn't done anything since that time but knew that "if something came up with that manuscript, he would be totally excited." Excuse me? He has been out of contact with the agent for 5+ years? That agent has written this guy off. If he were to even send a new project in to the agent, the odds are the agent would pass on the project. Why? The author has done nothing.

It is 100% up to the author to keep the agent apprised of everything they are working on. New project idea? Let the agent know. Going to a conference and want to meet with someone? Let them know. New project you are working on? Send it to them so they can read it. 

I have to say, it is always frustrating as an agent when you have someone who you believed in. They had some great ideas or wanted to do some different things, and then the AUTHOR does not follow through. I have had several authors I worked with who wanted to do some great things with projects I knew would work. I would contact them and say, "Send it! I talked to an editor and he/she was excited about it." 

And then crickets. 

You need to understand that the authors out there doing great things are being PROACTIVE! They are staying on their editor's and agent's radars. They are doing their research. They are shifting when they see the market shift. 

The question is, what are YOU doing?

 

What Is The Market Buying? Should You Adapt?

Market research is one of the top skills business people work on. They find what is selling and adapt to those trends. The know where in the world their products are selling and adjust their sales to that market. Honestly, companies who just say they are going to stick to to what they are doing and only sell to where they want, despite what market analysis tells them will fail. 

Publishers are no different. They watch sales of the books they put out. They watch what covers sell and what covers do not sell. The survey their readers to see their likes and dislikes. They watch what seems to be a hot topic or trend in other areas and work to adapt their sales to those trends. 

The reality is that market research is all a huge game of strategy, similar to Chess and other similar games. In most cases, you can make a pretty good estimate. It is not a 100% science, but it is pretty dang accurate.

So, why do I bring this up? Authors, who want to be writing as a profession and as a business seem to think the idea of market research does not apply to them. Authors just sit there and write "what they want to write" or "write where their passion is currently at" even though it is product doomed to fail. 

I don't know how many times I meet authors at conferences who tell me of these great stories they are working on, and yet, are puzzled as to why editors and agents are not interested? "This is a great story!" they proclaim, and yet never look to see that NOBODY is buying that style of writing. 

Authors also get pretty upset when, after all of their dedication and commitment to the publisher, they are told that they are no longer going to publish her books. The company has decided that it is time to cut the author loose. These authors then scream and rant to their friends and on social media of how the publisher is just being unfair. How dare they do this???

Many of these authors often make another mistake. Instead of adjusting their strategies, they essentially "flip off" the publishing world proclaiming the writing community just doesn't know, and they continue with what they are writing. Unfortunately success is often not around the corner. Instead, this move destroys their career. 

If you think adaptation is a joke and to be successful, you just need to "stick to what you know" consider the following. 

Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Starship (Starship), John Cougar Mellencamp (w/ or w/o the Cougar) all learned to stay successful, it requires adaptation. And yet, they all kept their own voice. 

Look, if your genre and style is selling well and is current with the market, you have no need to change. Keep going.

HOWEVER...

If the market is changing and your writing is not keeping up with the trend, it might be time to adjust!

There Are No Shortcuts

Over the weekend, I had a ton of submissions from authors who were clearly looking for the easy way to getting published. These authors were doing things such as adding links to their Google Drives, telling me to "visit their website" or, more often than not, just mass mailed a submission to every editor or agent they had a on a list. 

I also received several invites to participate in a Twitter Pitch or Online Pitch session where authors would simply put a blurb out there and think that editors and agents will come running to them. 

In all of these cases, the odds are none of these authors will get what they want in terms of their writing career. It all comes down to their desire to really work to be a quality published author.

I recently signed an author who has shown me that she is willing to do the work. When I "made the call" to her, she demonstrated everything she was doing. She knew she had to learn the business and she was working toward that. She knew she would have to take the time to really learn how to be a great writer. She knew just slapping together a story would not get her what she wanted. 

To truly be a great author takes more than just a story with a catchy premise. It takes a desire to put in the time, put in the hard work and not look for short cuts. Your path to being a published author will be a long and arduous road that will take you over a lot of rough terrain. But, I can promise you that when you get there, the view from that vista will be well worth it!

If It Is Not Your Best - Don't Publish It Just Because You Can

So, let's talk about self-publishing for a quick second. I hear a lot of writers who, after being rejected over and over again for their manuscript. And yet, they still seem to believe that the publishing world is full of "you know what" and clearly "those editors and agents couldn't find their way out of a hole." So, what do they do? They scream "screw it" and self-publish that story. They know their story is the next greatest thing.

But is it?

If you are getting that many rejections, it might be time to consider what you are doing? If those editors and agents are telling you something about your writing, then the odds are, this is not your best story.

And yet you still are determined to put that project out there to the public.

Several years ago, I heard an author at a workshop openly admit, during a workshop they were leading, that "even bad publicity is good publicity." Really? 

Let's think about this. Do you really want readers to see your first piece of writing, or any for that matter, as something that is representative of you? 

I get it. All of you want to have your writing published. You want to be able to go to a conference saying you are a published author. The reality is that you are nothing more than a "printed" author. 

I get that you loved that story. I get that you put your heart and soul into that story. I get that your CP thinks it is better than that bottle of Chardonnay you had at the last writing group. But honestly, if you talk to successful published authors out there, they will openly admit they have stories that should "never see the light of day." These might of been one of their first stories. Still, they were smart enough NOT to publish it. 

Maybe you should consider doing the same thing! 

10 Steps Writers Can Take To "Get The Call"

Writers hear time and time again of authors who "got the call." Their drive and desire to become a true professional writer has come true! They got a call from an editor or a publisher saying they are ready to move forward. They loved their story. They believe in the author.

And the rest of the authors sit back and wonder what they did wrong? Are they missing something? 

The reality is that there are a lot of things you can do to increase your chances to moving to the professional side of your writing. Please note that I did state "increase your chances." I stress this because this business is ALWAYS changing and if anyone ever tells you they have a guaranteed method, they probably also have a bridge in NY to sell you. 

Here is the list:

1. Have a thick skin I am just going to start with this one. Things are not always going to go your way. This is a business where everything is subjective. Every book is not for everyone. Some will like your writing and some will hate it. Be prepared for people to say no. Be prepared for reviews that do not go your way. Be prepared for people outside of your family to pass on your writing. If you can't handle criticism, then stop now.
2. Learn writing as a craft If you have been on this blog, you know I have said this as well. Writing, like every other profession out there requires learning how to do it properly. Let me say that being really good at any job out there does involve some inherent skills that some of us have and some of us don't have. Still, we can learn. Remember that doctors don't start doing surgeries. They go to school. Writing is no different. You have to learn how to write. You have to learn why you do the things you do in your story. You have to learn how to read other author's writing and figure out what he or she really did to make the story work or not work. This WILL TAKE TIME
3. Learn and understand the publishing business If you don't understand how a piece of writing becomes a book, then you have a lot to learn. You need to understand the realities of making money in this business. You need to learn about the roles of all those who guide your book to that book shelf. This is not stuff you learn from talking to your BFFs on social media. It means learning the business. Learn from the professionals. 
4. Join a professional writing organization I am really stressing professional here. You might be part of a writing group that meets at a library or church basement. You might be part of a group that hangs out once a month (or weekly) to have wine and talk about your writing. That is a good start, but the professional organizations are the way to go. These organizations help you find the legitimate editors and agents. These organizations help you network. I want to also add to this one that there are many of you who ditched on your professional organization because of social pressure from other authors. It might be time to go back and rejoin. I have talked to a lot of writing groups who all "left that organization" and are now realizing they are lost. They stayed together on social media, but now are finding their connections to editors and agents are gone. They are now finding the successes they saw are no longer there. So what is the take-away? Join the organization. 
5. Surround yourself with successful writers This does connect back to the previous thought, but if you are learning from people who are in the same situation as you, then this might not be the group for you. If the person reading your story doesn't know how to sell his or her own story, then you are learning from the blind. Go take a look at all of the successful people out there in every other business. It is always interesting to note, they all hang out with the other successful people. We often try to associate it to the fact that they all have the money to hang out together, but that is just a side effect of that success. Think about in school. The A students hang out together because they work together. Hmmmmmm? Kind of freaky, isn't it?
6. Be willing t continue learning I have always been frustrated to find people in writing, who, after they sell that first book, seem to be "too good" to attend a workshop and learn something. I have been teaching since I was 12 years old. I started teaching leadership workshops to adults through the Scouting program. The one thing I noted every time is that you should walk away from a workshop learning at least one new thing. Successful writers are always learning something about their craft. If you can't keep learning, then it is time to quit. 
7. Research what editors and agents want beyond genres Quit sending your story out to EVERYONE. This is not just throwing darts and hoping something sticks. This is all about market research. There are a lot of people out there representing romance and women's fiction like I do. But guess what? We all like different things. You need to take the time to learn the specifics of what that editor or agent likes about your genre. Do they like specific types of characters? Do they hate certain plots? Do they like or hate things as simple as first or third person? Dig deep!
8. Take the time to follow editors and agents to learn Just because you think you figure out what the editors and agents want, don't rush it. Follow those people on social media. See what they are doing. Read what they are editing. Start looking at your writing and determine if it really fits. 
9. Write a query and synopsis that "sells you and your writing" You query and synopsis is nothing more than your cover letter and resume you send out to potential employers. You need to think about this query and synopsis like someone who is reading it for the first time. Based on what you just wrote, would you really want to read more, or would you pass on this project? Think not as a writer but someone on the outside. Are you selling your writing and you as a package that someone will want to invest in?
10. Always moving forward Successful writers are not just about the one book they are writing. Successful writers see a future. No, they are not looking at quitting their day job. They are thinking about their next book. They are thinking about how to advance their career. Right now, if you are just looking at the current book, then you are not ready.

I am leaving you with a couple of additional thoughts. FIRST, as I said earlier, there are no promises. SECONDLY, this is not going to be easy. Be prepared to work. FINALLY, this is going to take time. Quit rushing things. 

Do Professional Degrees Lead To Better Novels?

Let me first say that I do believe, the more a writer can learn about the craft of writing, or the publishing process, it does help a lot. But the question becomes, does paying for these services really make you a better writer, or increase your chances of even being published.

I was thinking about this over the 4th of July weekend for several reasons. The first is that I have two different clients that are in the process of working with their latest WIP. One was thinking about getting a professional critique service that would target her writing and look for the things she has been missing. The other had paid for someone to "edit" a previous project. The second is that, outside of my work here at Greyhaus, I do teach courses for the UCLA Extension program in Developmental Editing and also Marketing and PR. But we still have to come back to the questions of: Is it worth it? and will this make my book sell any faster.

Let's take the second question first. Will this make my book be better or sell faster? The answer to this is probably no. Like any other skill out there, it takes time to learn how to do the craft well. I have been teaching for 30 years and even though I came out of two fantastic teacher training programs, I did not walk into the classroom being an expert. The same goes for writing. Ask any author out there who has been doing this for a while, and they will say the same thing. It has taken a lot of growth to get them to where they are now. 

But will those editors and agents sign my book faster knowing I paid for all of these elite programs? Again, the answer is no. We are looking at the book being quality and the marketability of that book. We are looking at your professionalism and whether or not it is worth it to invest in you and your product.

Now, what about that first question, Is it worth it? Honestly, it depends on what you know coming into the business of writing and your inherent ability. 

I want to talk here about those MFA programs out there. Don't get me wrong. These are programs that have great curriculum and instructors. However, with that said, too often, these programs are guiding authors in "textbook" style learning and may not be providing them with "real-world" experience. I remember teaching a creative writing class and the textbook I was given talked to such a theoretical level that the products the students created were not good at all. Yes, they contained those elements of literary devices found in Chapter 4 of the book, but the execution of the writing was not there. 

As a part of the UCLA program, I did work as a guest speaker with one of these groups, and the students in the course were shocked at the things I talked about in the real world of publishing. Was it really true that publishers didn't give new authors 7 figure deals? Do you mean a publisher is not interested in my 400,000 word novella? But there are not books with Alien Vampire Bunnies out there so there is a definite need for my screenplay! 

So, what am I getting to on this? Look, if you don't know anything about grammar, you better learn it. If you don't know about the writing process, you better learn it. But if you want to become a great professional author and sell your books faster, learn the business and think. 

Extra Work For New Authors

New authors really have a tough challenge. Along with trying to land that first deal, once you do get that deal, you have even more challenges before you. I would also add that many of the things you would love to see in that first contract are simply not going to be available to you.

First of all, that first book of yours needs to be beyond amazing. I know you read stories by established authors and sometimes question why they were able to get that book published. You sometimes wonder what it is about their book that is so amazing. You might even scream, "Why do they get to do that and I get yelled at for it in rejection letters or contests!" The deal is, they are established.

Publishers know that when they drop a book to the public by established authors, they already have a built in audience. You know exactly what I am talking about. How often do you get excited about an upcoming book by your favorite author! You are already looking to pre-order it. And you do, regardless of the quality of it. 

Publishers also know that the competition level is high right now so the stories that they buy have to be beyond amazing! That's challenge number 1!

What about those contracts. Why is it that you can't demand higher royalties, bigger advances or other sub-rights. Again, it comes down to whether or not you have proven yourself. Do you have sales numbers that are through the roof? Do you have a following? Have you met deadlines religiously? Are you someone who doesn't complain? All of these factors play into getting those additional benefits. 

I want to go back to a statement I have made over and over again. Being successful in publishing takes time! It is not just a matter of you saying you have written a lot. It is all about proving that you are successful.

It's Time To Let Go

One of the things we push for all writers to have is persistence. In this business, it is just too easy to give up and walk away. We get rejections. We get writer's block. We lose contests. Life gets in the way. There 
are just too many easy ways out. For authors, this is also an easy way to just blame the lack of writing on something else. 

Persistence is truly an important skill to have in your arsenal as a writer. HOWEVER (and this is a bit HOWEVER), persistence can also be a big problem with writers when it turns into blind stubbornness. This occurs with not only new writers but also with authors who have been "around the block for a while. 

Let me explain...

Let's say you are working on your manuscript and have sent it out to a couple of critique partners. They have all given you mixed opinions on the story, so you are off to make ALL of those changes. Then, it is back to the critique partners and it now feels like you are going backwards again. Suddenly those first changes don't work and you are now heading in a different direction with your story. Now, we have a couple of things here. It might simply be that you are with the wrong critique partners. But, it might also be a situation when the story is not going to work out at all. You can make all of the changes you want with the story but it is simply the wrong story. It might be the way your are thinking it, the wrong time or simply a bad idea. 

Keeping on with this story is a situation of stubbornness and not persistence. 

Here is another one.

You have sent your manuscript out to editors and agents you have clearly researched. And yet, the infamous rejection letters start rolling in. Every one of the letters is saying the same thing. No, this is not a time to just start sending it out to other editors and agents. Look at those comments. It might simply be that this is not the right story at all. Going back, re-writing and then resubmitting it may simply be a complete waste of your time. That is time where you can learn from those comments, and build a new story with those comments in your mind as you craft the next story. 

Here is another situation. Yes, editors and agents say there is no problem submitting new projects to them after they have rejected the first or second one. Sometimes it is timing. Sometimes it is a situation where you were just growing as an author. BUT... here comes the stubbornness. You have submitted 5 projects to the editor or agent and every time, they have rejected you. There is a pretty good bet that this is not the place for you. Writing ANOTHER story and submitting it ONE MORE TIME is not going to fix the problem.

Last situation... and this one is for you published authors. I have heard this from several writers who have been in this same situation. You send your story out to get some great reviews and it doesn't matter what you send to this one particular reviewer, it always comes back as a 3 out of 5 stars or just a "meh" story. You don't get it! Everyone else loves it. Why not this person. And yet, what do you do? You send another project and get another "meh" review. What does this tell you? This is not the right place to send your stories. You simply will not win.

I am always reminded of our wonderful friend Dory from FINDING NEMO. As they are hanging there in the whale, she tells Marlin that he has to let go. But then, she goes on to say that it is going to be OK. I get that you love that story, but sometimes, that story, or that editor, or that agent is not going to work. Move on. It will be OK. 

Being Proactive About Your Writing Career

One of the hardest things a lot of "hobby" writers struggle with when they decide they want to turn this into a career is making a shift from passive to proactive. Being proactive is truly the thing that has made so many writers successful out there. Please understand, before I go any further, that I am not talking about randomly taking risks or just throwing your writing to the wind. I am talking about an honest, thoughtful and carefully planned proactive approach with your writing. Let's talk about a few examples.

One of my clients is doing really well with her career. Things are going as planned, but something recently came up that would likely increase her sales. We all like increasing sales, right? Now, she could have just sat back and waited for her editors to come to her with the idea, but she was proactive. She took the time over the weekend to put the proposal together and SHE took it to the the editors. She knew what she wanted and she went for it.

Another author I worked with did the same thing at a conference. I have talked about her in the past. She was at a conference and took the initiative to put a proposal forward to a book buyer (not a publisher). She could have skipped that opportunity since a book buyer is not in a position of moving her career forward, it would have been easy enough to "pooh pooh" it and wait. She didn't and that book buyer took it straight to an editor and her career was launched.

Another writer was pitching a project at a conference to an editor. First of all, because she is a plotter, she had some idea as to future books but these were far from fully developed concepts. When the editor showed interest in that first book, SHE was proactive and put forth the ideas for the follow-up stories. Thinking fast on her feet, she pitched those barely developed concepts, and with that, she had a 3-book deal and her career was launched. She could have easily said she would come back and put together something when she sent in the proposal for that first book, but the proactive approach showed confidence and professionalism.

Now, if you are someone who just throws your writing out there on your website, or you just toss your name into a twitter pitch session and are "hoping for something to happen" you are far from being proactive. If you want something, you have to go after it!

When Your Career Zigs When You Zagged

The publishing world is really a tough business. Editors and agents say this all of the time. We wish we had a way to see into the future. I mean, really? Wouldn't it be great? To know what genres will be hot, which ones are declining. What our readers like? Will they buy the books? Will the new gamble on marketing work?

But we don't know. And yes, there will be a lot of times when you think things are going to go your way and then...

So, what do you do?

First of all, it is OK to scream, yell and throw things. Don't do it publicly because you never know who is watching or listening.

Now that you got that out of your system, examine the situation.

Was this something you could control? If not, you are good!
Was this something even your editor or agent could not control? Still good.
Did you and everyone do everything they could to make it work. If so, your team is still on board.

Now examine what is next.

If this was just a bump in the road, then stick to the course.
If this was a major shift, start making plans and redirecting. No, you don't need a complete over-haul. This might simply be a situation where a couple of tweaks will get things rolling again.

The thing to remember is this business is ALWAYS changing. You are just one author among many. But also remember, this problem you just hit is probably something affecting other authors.

So take a deep breath and move on.

Things Take Time

We all hate to wait. I get it! I am someone who goes to a 3:00 pm meeting and expect it to start at 3:00 pm. I am also someone who does like to keep things moving and get as frustrated as all of you. When I am ready to move on to the next step in a project, I don't like to wait.

But wait we must!

For many authors, it is hard to fathom why things take so much time. We met our deadlines. We wrote that novel in record speed. We are able to read our critique partner's entire manuscript AND provide feedback in 48 hours.

So why can't everyone else?

Because those editors and agents are not just focused on those one or two projects. They have A LOT more.

I was just following up on a project with a great editor I work with on a project that has been out for a while (it was her email that inspired this). The project is with one of the senior editors who "also has a several other proposals she is looking at." Woops! I needed that reminder. It isn't just about my project.

Consider what an editor goes through:

• Reading proposals from CURRENT clients (NOTE: They don't just have 1 CURRENT client but A LOT of CURRENT clients)
• Reading rough drafts from CURRENT clients for general feedback
• Reading and providing editorial work for CURRENT clients
• Writing revision letters for CURRENT clients (consider a good 30-60 minutes for each depending on the notes they took during the read
• Meeting with art departments for CURRENT clients
• Meeting with marketing departments for CURRENT clients
• Discussing new directions for their department with other editors
• Providing a "second look" for the other editors on their team

and now...

• Reading new submissions from agents
• Reading new submissions from requested projects
• Reading new submissions from the massive amount they receive in the "slush pile"
• Responding to all of these submissions (give yourself a good 5 minutes for each project 
• Reading contest entries that they volunteered to help out with for YOUR local writing chapters.
• Taking off Thursday night to attend a weekend conference for YOUR local writing group

 Now, let's assume your project does get into that mix. If you have a story you submitted to your editor, it has to funnel through all of those channels and EVERY editor is pushing for THEIR authors to get through first.

Now do you see what it takes time?

Being A Great Writer IS NOT Just About Sales

Writers are obsessed with money. OK, I am sure everyone is. But when you think about it, the publishing world is really all about sales. Major "Lists" record how many books an author sold. When royalty statements come out, author obsess over how much money each of their books made. Sites like Publisher's Marketplace proclaim new sales highlighting how much the contract was for.

But is this really what makes a great author?

Now, don't get me wrong. Great writers DO make money. The problem, however, is that many new writers are obsessed about the sales more than focusing on what really makes a great writer.

And it is the writing.

We are, unfortunately, living in a world where it is all about the immediate gratification. We want the money, we want the sales, and we want it now. What we have forgotten, as we look back to the authors we admire, is that these authors learned how to write.

I have mentioned this before, but even writing conferences focus more on the marketing and sales than on the craft. In simple terms, writers just are lacking the skills and education on HOW to write in today's market. Writers today sit down, write a story that their friends and family call amazing, and immediately start firing it off to publishers and agents... and they get rejected... a lot.

Their immediate answer is that the publishing industry is just limited. These editors and agents just don't know what a great story looks like. Hey, all of their friends said it was great. Their writing chapter loved that book. Obviously the professionals just don't get it.

So the next move is "Fine, I'll self publish. I'll create my on publishing line and prove to the world I was right."

But the sales are not there. In this case, it is the monster of Jeff Bezos and Amazon, or clearly the major publisher "pushing the small writers" out of the market.

And while this conspiracy theory sounds legitimate, the reality is, the author is just not writing that great novel.

Authors today just string together words and phrases until they get to a full length novel. They insert plot devices, character tropes, and phrases that someone has said "always sell" and think the story is great. What they are missing is understanding how, when, and why these techniques work.

To be a great writer requires "education." It requires study and time to understand the craft. It doesn't matter how you plan on "selling" your book, the actual book has to be quality for anyone, whether it is an agent, editor or reader, to want to buy your book. And yes, this is time consuming.

But what do you really want? Do you want to be a great writer? Or do you want to be someone who maybe does make a sale or two, but in the end, just become one of those many authors who go nowhere with their career? I would hope it is the first option.

4 Key Strategies For Long Term Success In Publishing

I was discussing this with one of my authors a couple of days ago. Her particular publisher is going through some "growing pains" and of course many of the other writers she works with at the same publisher completely stressing out, getting on social media, creating more of a crisis, and developing conspiracy theories that are near science fiction level. As we talked about this, she noted that some of these writers knew that they would be "next on the chopping block."

But as I talked to my author, I noted that there were essentially 4 things that would keep her safe.

1. Continue to write amazing books. Look, the reality of the situation is that publishers will not eliminate people who are producing and producing well written books. OK, if the entire company goes bankrupt that is a different story, but when the company is doing fine, those who write well will get to stay. Along the same lines, those who continually write well will get those added perks such as: top billing on duel releases, the better art directors creating your covers, the better placements for books during the year, etc. Always strive to make sure each book you write is the best. I would also add here, meeting those deadlines and not being the person who always has a "reason" for needing more time on a book. Meet deadlines and, if at all possible, get those deadlines in early.
   
2. Show growth in your writing and take advice well. Publishers are not looking for someone who just does the same thing over and over again. If you are a "one trick pony" don't expect those perks. Show that with each book, you try something new, you push yourself, you move forward using current trends, and you shift with the market. I always think of those in the music industry: The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Madonna, etc. Think of how long they have lasted? The other element is taking advice. If your editor says to go left and you were certain going right was the better approach, stop and think. Discuss the situation. The editor probably has some data that says her direction is probably right.
   
   
   
3. Stay out of the politics. This is important. You might think you are "just putting in your two-cents worth" but the reality is, if you are getting involved with these discussions that are toxic, you would be connected with those that are really toxic. I am not saying to disassociate yourself from the rest of the world. You can listen. Just keep your mouth shut. It is also important to remember I am not just talking about social media here either. If you are at a conference, know there are other people in the room. People listen. People remember.
   
4. Play nice. This one is pretty simple. If someone gets a contract and you didn't. Compliment them. If someone gets a great review and, even if you hated the book, be nice. Remember the speech from ROADHOUSE by Patrick Swayze? Dalton says, “If somebody gets in your face and calls you a (expletive deleted), I want you to be nice. Ask him to walk. Be nice. If he won’t walk, walk him. But be nice. If you can’t walk him, one of the others will help you, and you'll both be nice." You do the same thing. 

This has nothing to do with sales. This has nothing to do with covers or writing strategies. It is about being professional. 

It'll Cost You To Play In Publishing

One word of warning authors hear over and over again is to never pay to have someone edit or consider your work. Please understand, I am not talking about someone who is a paid book doctor. I am referring to those people who say, "Send me $50.00 and I will determine if I want to represent you."

This is not good.

But, over the years, I get authors who ask me how they go about getting their books published or getting their books to the readers on a limited budget.

And frankly, there is no easy way around this. Publishing is going to cost you in a lot of different ways. Your approach to publishing and how far you will want to take your career will determine the amount you are going to need to spend.

Let's consider some pretty common expenses:

Conferences This is a big one and a very necessary expense. Going to conferences, and I am talking about the bigger conferences is important in a lot of ways. First of all, you will be getting great information from the experts. Your big gun editors and agents will be there and giving out a lot of advice. Workshops at those larger conferences tend to be a bit higher in quality, again, because the big guns are there. So, expect the following expenses:

• Conference fees
• Transportation
• Hotel
• Materials
• Food

Yes, you could be looking at a good $1000+ for a conference such as this.

Marketing Depending on how you are published will determine how much you spend here. If you take the traditional approach, your publisher may do a lot, but please understand, the publisher WILL NOT do everything. If you are self-published, this will be 100% on your shoulders. What are we looking at here? Professional websites, advertisements in major print publishing, books to reviewers, books for "goody bags" to be given away for free, contests, mailings, bookmarks and other swags. You cannot make marketing material that looks cheap. You might think you can do it all on your own using Open Source Software, but remember, you get what you pay for.

Technology Yes, you will need a great computer and a quality word processing program. Don't skimp on this. This means quality Internet service, quality computer, quality printer and an email service that is going to help you out. I fully get a lot of you "live off of your phone" but understand, submitting manuscripts on you iPhone is not going to cut it. When I get a submission that says, "submitted from my iPhone" 99% of the time I know this is going to be a project that is complete garbage and the person really has no idea what he or she is doing.

Editorial Services This is for those of you who are planning on doing all of this on your own. Unless you are an English major with a huge background in grammar, you will probably need to find someone and pay that person to do the editing for you. Traditional publishers do have an editorial team there to serve you, self-publishers or Print On Demand programs do not. Time to fork out some big bucks here.

Legal Fees Again, this is for those of you who are going to do this on your own. If you don't know how to read contracts and work through that legal language, or you don't know how to apply for an ISBN and Copyright, it is time to pay some big bucks here. Please be aware, you will need to find someone who knows contract law, and more importantly, publishing contracts.


The issue here is that it will cost money. How much you put into it will be up to you. Just remember, that there are no short cuts.

Being A Writer IS A Full Time Job

Writing is one of those unique activities we can do. For most writers, we start out as a hobbyist. We write when we are inspired. We have great scenes or characters we craft. And for most, we never finish those books. However, when writers come to be to pitch projects, either face to fact in pitch sessions, or via the query letter, these authors have to be ready to change their thinking. And, unfortunately, for many of these writers, they are not ready to do so.

Writing is a full time job. It is not a part time activity. It is a job that you will be doing a 40 hour work week, just like any other full time job!

I started thinking about this yesterday when I read a post from one of the Harlequin authors. She said in her post, "I really was not in the mood to write today." But she was then motivated when she saw her daughter and the computer writing. This was not a guilt trip, but a motivation to remind her that writing is something that you will need to do often.

I hear a lot of writers who submit projects to me and when I request to see more, I start hearing phrases such as "You now, my other job has some demands so I will get this to you as soon as I can." Translation? These writers are not ready to make the jump.

Your writing cannot take a second place in your life if you want to be successful as a published author. You have to make time daily for that writing.

Yes, I get that the other job is the money earner for now (but more likely the rest of your career). but this does not mean you ignore your craft.

I also understand that other things will get in the way. Spouses, Kids, Family, Housework and so forth. There may be days when getting a full amount of writing will not be possible, but you have to make some time to get that work in. It may be research, editing, reviewing or marketing, but you have to find that time.

When I tell editors I have a great project from one of my authors (who told me they are working on something new) and that editor loves the idea, we cannot just sit around and wait until the moment is right for that person to finish that story. We make it a priority and get that story to the editor.

So, on this Monday, I want you to ask yourself, where is your writing fitting in your life? Is it truthfully a priority, or simply wishful thinking? If you keep saying, "It is Scott, but..." then it is not there yet. And let me just say, that is OK. You just aren't ready yet. Give it some time. Work on a schedule in your life. You will get there soon!

The Problem With Going Digital In Publishing

When we first started shifting over to digital publishing, I, along with a lot of other people had some serious doubts. Was this a good move? Will this improve the publishing industry, or would it create some problems (or a lot of problems). Now that we are well into this "go all digital" movement, I am personally seeing a lot of problems that A) we should have seen coming; and B) we better find a solution for.

I was recently talking to one of my authors about her marketing for her latest book. She, like I am sure many other authors are finding, is that getting the news out there about her book was tough. She spends a lot of time promoting each of her books, with, I should add, a lot of support from her publisher. But here is the problem. Since all of her marketing now has to be done digitally, it means that ONLY those people who already now about her writing and her novels, will get those marketing announcements.

If you think about it, how are people to "find you" as you post things on social media or your blogs. It all has to be 100% word of mouth, and, in reality, this is a closed system. It will still only be your friends who hear about you.

In the past, when we had bookstores, we "discovered" new authors as we wandered the bookstore. The managers of the story would pile up new releases on tables. As you browsed the shelves for "your author" you find other titles and other authors who you had never heard of.

Sure, Amazon and the other online bookstores will post "here is what other people bought" but these algorithms are still only looking at a limited amount of data, and most of that is still only looking at your personal preferences.

Try this some time. Get on Amazon and go to your favorite genre. I would recommend looking for "Kindle Editions" for your genre. Now, sort those from Lowest to Highest in price and start scanning. I have done this in the past and frankly, I can find over 300+ books, all free and never find anything. There are that many authors out there flooding the market. Each of those people might have a marketing plan, but have you even heard of these people? Probably not.

Now, here is the next huge issue. Authors who dive into digital only releases often find the same trend. When their book is released and the publishers flood their market with the campaign, there is a spike in sales. After that, the next round rolls in and you now disappear from the public view. Your sales decline UNLESS you have another book that immediately hits the market and your name appears again.

When we had books that were in print, those books would still be there on the shelf. These books would circulate. Sure, the books might end up in a used bookstore where we all still shop, and sure, you as an author might not make money off of that sale, but we found your book.

We can't say that about digital books.

As an agent, when I am working with my clients, I often encourage them to avoid the 100% digital only market. We want to insure that those books can also come in print. Remember that not everyone has access to digital reading, and, more importantly, not everyone likes to read digitally. You lose close to 50% of your readership when you take this approach.

I do think there needs to be a huge "rethink" moment for all of those in publishing. Sure, digital might be cheaper for the publishers. Schools seem to think that as they dump textbooks and race to Open Source Software, but they too are finding huge issues. Students without WiFi at home, Limited note-taking ability, and the infamous (my computer/iPad is not charged).

Digital is fine, but it is just one approach. There are other approaches and we have to find a way to embrace all of those approaches.