Amazingly, this blog now has nearly 400 posts and nearly 3000 comments and I get emails every day with questions, so I thought it was time to add some better navigation options. I want this to be a really useful site for all who visit!

So, I have added a new Resources page that has links to my main content. It includes:

Writing - including FAQ like ‘How do I find the time to write?’ as well as creativity ideas, tips on how to write your book if you are just starting out, the psychology of writing and genres.

If you are writing a novel, you might like the page I have done tracking my own progress through my first novel, Pentecost.

Publishing - includes the publishing quadrant of traditional publishing, self-publishing, print-on-demand and digital publishing with ebooks.

Book Marketing and Promotion – includes author branding and platform building, blogging, social networking, podcasting, video, speaking, and other strategies including press releases, TV, radio and more.

Basically, I have found the best posts from the blog including top podcasts and included them on one easy page for reference per topic. I appreciate any comments on other questions you might have that are not answered there, and I will keep adding more info for you.

If you do enjoy the articles and podcasts on this site, please click here to sign up for free updates by email whenever a new post is published.

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This blog is about adventures in publishing, and today we are looking at writing book proposals if you are pursuing the traditional publishing route.

Gary Smailes is the author of several history books for children published by Hachette, and also has a wide experience of the publishing industry working as a freelance writer, historian and researcher. He is part of the team at BubbleCow.co.uk which specialises in helping writers get published through copyediting manuscripts and helping with book proposals.

In this podcast you will learn:

• How BubbleCow is run by writers for writers. Some great lessons for making a living as a writer, start a business editing, helping other authors. The name BubbleCow is a brand that is memorable and is the main entry on Google for the search term. The big licking cow is a familiar sight on Twitter @bubblecow It is important to have a consistent face and image on the internet – being memorable is key in the market.

• The book proposal is basically the industry standard pitch to publishers and agents. You need to do one unless you are self-publishing. It’s the only way you will get noticed.

• The basic proposal consists of a cover letter, a synopsis and an extract – usually first 3 chapters.
• For fiction, finish the book before you pitch as you will be asked for the full manuscript if they like it. For non-fiction, most book proposals are done before writing the book – you pitch an idea.

• A good cover letter is basically a sales letter so don’t waste it. You’re trying to convince the agent /publisher that you understand the marketplace, that you fit in the list, that it is marketable and information about you the author, that you can support and promote the book. Make sure your writing ability and personality shines through as well.

• In the first paragraph, use an elevator pitch – a 1 line blurb that sells your book. Then brief summary of what the book is about.
• Then try to sell your book as it is still a product that has to sell to make money. Publishing is a business so your book needs to make a profit. Give 2/3 representative titles that reflect your book and give them an idea of what it is like.
• Include the word count.

• Talk about you as a writer, your experience and what you will bring to marketing. The industry is looking for new writers but you do need to mention marketing ideas or platform.
• It doesn’t have to be 1 page, but make sure it is to the point and succinct. It is important to have the skill of writing these letters as it is the way to get attention but you still have to have a stunning extract.
• Remember the industry is slow, and they are looking for novels that will come in a year-18 months time, not what is trendy right now.

• Be very careful to target who you send your proposal to, as publishers and agents deal with different genres. You need to convince them that your book fits with what they already publish and sell.

• You are pitching so your extract and your book needs to be as good as possible BEFORE it reaches an agent/publisher. It used to be industry standard to spend time with writers getting them to publishable quality. Now, it is expected that the book is the best it can be before it reaches the agent and publisher.

• The best time to approach a professional editor is when you have done everything you can to improve your book. After you have rewritten yourself and got feedback from first readers/critique groups etc. Professional editing will include a structural edit, a stylistic edit, and a copy edit for grammar and sentence structure. There will also be a proof-reading.

• Gary’s opinion on the changes in the publishing industry. He thinks it makes a difference if you have experienced the iPad as this is a game changer. The internet has changed the self-publishing industry as it can be worthwhile if you have an online platform.

You can find Gary at BubbleCow.co.uk where you can get help with copyediting and book proposals as well as a fantastic blog packed full of information for writers. You can find BubbleCow on Twitter @BubbleCow and also on Facebook/BubbleCow

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This is a guest post from Lisa Kramer Taruschio, a writer, professional translator and author of the historical thriller and passionate love story ‘Verdi’s Dream‘

Many people, writers and readers, have asked me what it’s like to be an ex-pat New Yorker and an English language writer of fiction living permanently in a country like Italy where the mother tongue is not your native tongue. This is an interesting question—and by no means a simple one to answer. A little background is necessary, I think.

I am not of Italian origin, so I guess it all began when I married an Italian whom I met in Perugia on my year of study abroad. We lived in NYC, Milan (where our daughter was born), and Perugia, and after we split, I went back to NY with my daughter and raised her there. Professionally, I graduated Columbia with a double major in Italian and English language and literature, and have been a professional translator, writer and editor for many years. So professionally and personally, Italy has been a major part of my life for longer than half my life.

Lest I sound too facile or glib, I must say that I feel a profound joy to have two cultures, two languages, and two citizenships. Because if it is as someone (F. Scott Fitzgerald, I think) once said–that is, that creativity is being able to hold two opposing points of view contemporaneously and see no conflict–then my bi-cultural, bi-lingual life has been lived at the height of creativity.

Living as a foreigner in a foreign land, or living as “half” a foreigner in one’s own land, is both challenging and liberating. There is a constant urgency to re-examine your own identity and values through contrast with the other, and perhaps more for writers than for other folks these confrontations of identities are essential to understanding ourselves and therefore the characters and realities we create. The challenges are illuminating not only professionally and personally. They also force tolerance and compassion for others and other ways of life upon us. And it’s so endlessly fascinating.

Another great writers’ perk to daily life in a ‘foreign’ language is the imposed awareness of language and the effort to retain and refresh one’s own as it is threatened by the ‘other’. This is an easier struggle today than it used to be. There is satellite TV, original language programming, and myriad online resources from YouTube for verbal and slang and colloquial English to just about every worthwhile (and many not too worthwhile) newspapers and magazines all offering podcasts and ways to stay in touch and updated on the latest written and spoken slang, usage and vocabulary. And I’m no linguistic snob; a fiction writer needs all the English he or she can get. On the other hand, I am often surprised, just when I think I’m getting rusty in English, to be in the deep trance of writing and find a word or expression surfacing that I haven’t thought of consciously and haven’t used in years, and with it comes a slice of life. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I felt that the unborn baby and I shared a truly precious secret. All these years later, living in Italy, my language is my privileged secret. Was it Joyce (who was bi-lingual) who said that having a second language is like having another life? It’s so true—although as a professional translator, I must say that at times the duality of culture and language can make one feel a bit schizophrenic. Thank God I never trained for simultaneous translation. That is the height of nerve wracking.

Lastly, I can thank my linguistic isolation for driving me to self-publication. As a former “insider” in Manhattan—editor, translator and fiction writer—I knew first-hand all about what is essentially the rather random and desperate process of trying to sell a novel to an agent or publishing house. But when I still lived in New York, there was no choice. As an ex-pat and a devout, even obsessive reader, however, I naturally fell immediately and deeply in love with the Internet—in fact, I became an Internet junkie. The net became my English language lifeline for all reading material in English, living as I do in a rather remote part of Italy where such material is quite hard to come by. In no time I was used to reading, translating and editing on the screen and grew more and more disgusted with paper. So eBooks and readers seemed to me to be too good to be true. Miraculous, in fact.

When the Kindle app appeared for PC and then the device became available for Europe, I felt as though I’d died and gone to readers’ Heaven. One thing led to another and soon I was reading about the revolution in publishing, the new Far West of books, the imminent demise of the printed book, yada yada yada. I’m a bit skeptical about all that, but personally it took me all of a week to get my novel up on Kindle. I applied myself as I have to every other new skill I have ever learned:  read, read, and read some more, to learn from others’ experiences and about the process. I try to keep an open mind. Self-publishing is a steep learning curve, but totally involving and satisfying, and here I speak not just as an ex-pat but as a writer. Because to a great extent, you not only give birth to your “babies” but you watch them grow and develop and you send them out into the world. So it’s a fantastic addition to the creativity you put into the book. It is so like the experience of raising a child—the child develops in spite of you, unpredictably, and you nurture and encourage and love it as it grows. So too with self-publishing. You find your own self-publishing style, just as you’ve waited for your own writing style to reveal itself, just as water finds its level. In the process, you find what works for you, you hone your identity. Just like working with language. It’s a thoroughly satisfying experience.
A note about bi-lingualism. I believe it is an accident of birth. Unless a person is raised speaking more than one language virtually from infancy, there is no such thing, in my opinion, as totally bi-lingual. You can become fluent to the point where you count in a second or third language, dream in it, joke in it, make love in it, whatever—but nothing is ever as thoroughly comfortable as one’s own language. When I land at JFK, I am like a starving person, trying to ‘eat up’ all the language I hear around me, and this lasts most of my visit. I can  eavesdrop again and not miss the nuances (love it); talking on the phone is a breeze; making jokes is effortless (I was voted Wittiest in my high school class, so humor is very important to me). Linguistically speaking, in New York this writer is on auto pilot and home again.

Lisa Kramer Taruschio is a writer and professional translator (of the screenplay of Life Is Beautiful for Miramax Books, among other projects) and author of the historical thriller and passionate love story entitled Verdi’s Dream. Set in Milan in 1945, the novel is based on the true story of the secret surrender negotiated by Allen Dulles with SS Gen. Karl Wolff, commander of Nazi troops then occupying the north of Italy.

Links for Verdi’s Dream:

lisa_taruschio@yahoo.com

blog at http://www.verdis-dream.com/

on  Kindle at Amazon.com at

http://shrvl.com/KoVR0

or

Sample or purchase Verdi’s Dream:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14252

Image: Flickr CC AgedSenator

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Print on demand and self-publishing truly changed my life. I went from someone who dreamed of being an author, to seeing my books for sale on the biggest book site in the world, Amazon.com. I also learnt so much from the process that I started this blog which kickstarted a whole new business and career for me, so I am a huge fan of self-publishing (or indie publishing, as we like to call it these days!).

If you are just starting out, and you want to write, publish and sell your own books, these two books will give you a great head start. DON’T waste time with this. Spend a little on information and you will find it returned multiple times in saved time and money for yourself. Believe me, I did it the hard way!

The Complete Guide to Self Publishing – by Marilyn Ross and Sue Collier

This is a HUGE book, and contains pretty much all you need to know about self-publishing from considerations before you write, to book and product development, through all the publishing options and how to market it once it is done. All the basics are here but some of the things I thought were particularly interesting were:

• Establishing your publishing company, operating procedures and managing your business. So many authors seem to forget that they are essentially a small business when they self-publish. You need to know all these practical things, as well as the exciting, fun stuff!

• There are lots of ideas on marketing but also areas I know little about – like marketing to book clubs (which is huge in the US), as well as direct marketing tips, plus advertising options if you have a budget.

• A great self-publishing time-table which is an essential tool for authors. You don’t realise how far in advance you have to do this stuff until the day you have a book in your hands, and no marketing underway! (believe me, I’ve been there!)

The latest version of the book is out in August 2010 – check out the details here. There is also a great blog Self Publishing Resources and you can follow @SueCollier on twitter.

POD for Profit – Aaron Shepard

I have been a fan of Aaron’s for a while and used his “Aiming at Amazon” book to navigate the world of Amazon.com for print books. Print on demand (POD) is also my hobby horse and I love to tell people about it.

Basically, you load digital files to a provider like Lightning Source, then when a customer buys a book on Amazon.com, one copy is printed and shipped. No stock to hold or store or ship, no up-front costs, no waste, no shredding. Brilliant! It truly is a life-changing technology for people who want to get their books out there. No middleman. The market decides whether your book is worth buying.

Aaron’s book guides you through the process of specifically publishing using Lightning Source for print-on-demand. It covers all the nitty gritty details from ISBNs, to formatting, what you need to include in your data, preparing your files and getting your book on Amazon.

Highly recommended if you are serious about getting your book published using POD technology. This book will definitely save you time and money and I will be using it myself as I am switching from Lulu to Lightning Source with my next books.

You can buy the book here on Amazon.com. You can also read more about Aaron at his website

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Dan Poynter with Joanna Penn at NSAA Australia, May 2010

Dan Poynter started his self-publishing career in 1969 as a 1 man company with a book on parachuting and now has more than 120 books in multiple languages published across the world as well as staff, multiple products and an international speaking career. His “Self Publishing Manual” is one of the key books that self-published authors use to navigate the journey, and Dan is a legend in the self-publishing community.

In this podcast, you will learn:

• Why Dan started self-publishing. He had a technical book on parachuting, so he printed it and sold to people in his own industry.He’s seen no reason to change that approach. The main secrets are “Write what you love. Sell to your friends”.

• That rule works for non-fiction but fiction authors can also self-publish, as long as they promote. Focus on a certain area e.g. geographic, industry or sport. Example of fiction novel based on skydiving industry that sold well to that industry. Whatever you do, you have to promote your book.

• There never was a stigma of self-publishing within the book buying public. People don’t buy based on publishers, or even author name a lot of the time. Stop focusing on the publishing industry and focus on the end buyer and how they make a decision.

• Dan talks about the opportunities in digital publishing, including Smashwords where he published the latest version of “Self-Publishing Manual“. The future is online and ebooks, which Dan has been reading for years as a frequent traveller. He also comments on the Amazon Kindle 70% royalty change.  The future publishers are Amazon, Google, Apple - not NY publishing.

• Remember you are a content creator, so put your book into audiobook and ebook format. Reach people where they are consuming. Dan even has an iPhone app here.

• Although many people self-publish, many of them fail to make money. There are 4 steps to publishing: Create the book, Publish it, Distribute it and Promote it. Most people fail on the last step so no one ever knows about their book. Promotion is up to the author, whether they are ‘traditionally’ published or self-published.

• On being an introverted writer and still promoting and marketing. Look at the line of total introversion to total extroversion. Decide where you are and what type of person you are. Give yourself permission to market according to your personality type e.g. don’t do radio or TV if it is not for you, focus on online.

• Dan’s business model as author-entrepreneur. Based on “Write what you love. Sell to your friends”. Create books in multiple versions. Sell other products like digital downloads of special reports and other information. Think globally and sell to everyone in the world digitally.You could also consider speaking as an option if you enjoy that as many people enjoy getting information at seminars and live events. (I met Dan at National Speaker’s Association Australia)

You can find all Dan’s free information, as well as books and digital material at Para Publishing.

You can get the free Information Kits Dan mentioned here. Dan is also on twitter @DanPoynter

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This is a guest post from LA Dale, author “Heart of Glass”.

Let’s face it, Self-Publishing has a bad rep and I can completely understand why.  You only have to look at some of the SP books on offer to see why bookstores are loathe to touch them.

That being said, many people who choose the self-publishing route produce quality material that should be bought, read and loved just as a bookshop book is.   And as an author, that’s really all I want (oh and fame and fortune too).

So here are my tips for avoiding looking like you are a DIY first-timer.

1. Don’t take everything at face value. Some companies who claim to be *self-publishers* are not.  They’ll take your money and do little for you in return.  My first experience with a vanity press came in the form of a ‘we-would-love-t -publish-your-book’ letter.  I was so naïve I didn’t even stop to think when they asked me for a substantial sum of money.  After handing it over I discovered that I had no choice in how the book was produced.  I was stuck with a cover I hated, a poor interior layout  and a quality of paper that could only be used in the toilet but would hurt your bottom.

2. Research. There are two things that should be researched in depth. The first is the information in your story.  If it’s meant to be realistic then it damn well should be. You need to find out everything you should know about your topic.   I spent heaps of time researching drugs, drug use and side effects for my story, (though not in the practical sense) Some people, including my husband, were so convinced by the authenticity they asked me how I knew that stuff.  Had I done it?  If you want to be believed as an author your story has to be believable. So do your research.  And by that, I don’t mean watch a series of CSI Miami.

The second type of research is on the actual publication of your book and this goes back to my first point.  Look carefully into the publication process, decide what you need and don’t need before you commit to any company.  Ask them about the type of paper the use, how thick will the cover be.  Ask for a sample book so that you can see the printers work.  Buy your own ISBN number, you don’t have to pay $125 when you can get your own for $30.

3. Network. If you’re not up with Facebook, Twitter – it’s time to join the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, books don’t sell themselves and a cyber-space presence can do wonders for getting your name out there.  I’ve been active on such sites for a year or so now and have got some great advice from people in the know because of it.  I can directly attribute sales of my eBooks to Twitter and have am already receiving requests for my new story from FB fans.

4. Put yourself out there. I had a number of doors slammed in my face trying to follow the traditional publishing route but now, thanks to the power of putting myself out there I have a book deal for my second book.  I didn’t send a query or an m/s. I didn’t write one sentence synopses. I simply talked to a lot of people, joined sites and asked the question.  A publisher came my way and that was that.

5. Get a good book cover. Don’t think you can do it on your laptop (unless you’re a graphic artist.) I tried this.  I downloaded images, making them into covers.  They looked pretty but, if I’m honest, they weren’t store quality.  So, find someone to do it for you.  Pay them if you have to.

6. Get your book professionally edited and not by Mrs Who-sit next door who teaches English.   If you want your book to stand out from the crowd, it has to look good for the right reasons.  The Writer’s Centres in your state can point you in the right direction and a good editor can polish your story to a level that will make it bookshop worthy.

***

LA Dale is the author of Heart of Glass to be released June 28.

The year was 1979.

An uncool girl in the cool crowd, Bella Stone found herself the girlfriend to footballer, Ben James, the boy everybody wanted to date.

Ben and Bella were destined to be together and yet somehow, life always found a way of keeping them apart.

Now, it’s 1987.

Ben is back but Bella has grown up and moved on. Is it too late?

Heart of Glass is a tale of the fragility of the human heart, a longing that will not be tamed and a promise that no matter what, someone will always love you.

You can connect with LA on

http://www.twitter.com/LA_DALE

http://www.ladale.net

http://www.facebook.com/pages/L-A-Dale/112984772054357

http://www.ladale-writer.blogspot.com/

Top image: Flickr Creative Commons Athena

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Recently, The Creative Penn podcast hit 50 episodes – that’s over 25 hours of free listening for you on Writing, Publishing Options, and Book Marketing from so many experts in their fields. (You can subscribe here on iTunes or check out the backlist here)

If you are confused about podcasting, they are just audio files you can play on an mp3 player like an iPod or play direct on your computer. So you can download them directly, or subscribe for free.

I love doing the podcast because I learn so much and it also helps so many listeners. Here’s a recent tweet from @IronMan1176

“Every writer needs to be following @thecreativepenn. The most instructional and inpsirational podcasts EVER.”

I also love consuming podcasts because it’s a great way to learn while doing other things (chores, cooking, exercise). But I know some people prefer reading so I have now got selected podcasts transcribed so you can read all about key topics.

Click on the links below to get the audio mp3 or the transcript (or both!). All audios are mp3 so you can listen easily on iPods and the transcripts are all PDF that are on Scribd so you can also share them on Facebook or Twitter. Remember, there are loads more free audios in these categories, so check the backlist for your educational pleasure!

On Writing

Mur Lafferty on Writing Novels and Top Tips for NaNoWriMo => Transcript

How to write your first non-fiction book with Joanna Penn => Transcript

Using Writing Software To Organise Your Novel And Being An Author-Entrepreneur with Harriet Smart => Transcript

On Publishing Options

Self-Publishing, Your Questions Answered with Indie Author April Hamilton => Transcript

Ebooks Q&A With Joshua Tallent From EBookArchitects => Transcript

Book Design with Joel Friedlander, from TheBookDesigner.com => Transcript

On Book Promotion and Marketing

How to be a NY Times Bestselling Author with Scott Sigler => Transcript

Joel Williams, the Blog Tech Guy on Blogging Basics for Writers => Transcript

Advanced Blogging Tips For Authors With Blogging Teacher, Paul Cunningham => Transcript

Using Video For Book Promotion With Gideon Shalwick => Transcript

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This is a guest post from Toni Tesori, from the Self-Publishing Team of Duolit.

I’ll never forget my first book cover design presentation. It was for a church directory and, man, I was on my game.

My passionate, detailed explanation of the design decisions made, coupled with reasons for their effectiveness – sprinkled with just the right amount of humor — was persuasive and professional. To this day, I still haven’t topped it.

I finished my presentation, ready to be bathed in the warm glow of “Wow! What incredible work!” and “Amazing! We’re so glad we hired you.”

What I received instead was Myrna and her 11 friends in the design committee staring back at me with varying looks of displeasure and confusion. Gulp.

Cricket. Cricket.

They totally didn’t get it and, therefore, hated it. Total book cover design fail.

I’ve never been so crushed. But, this led me to an important realization:

You’ll work better with some book cover designers than others.

I didn’t speak the language that Myrna and her friends responded to. No matter how good my cover design, I couldn’t convince them to buy into it – leading to an awkward rest of the process.

Even after Myrna and her gang, I’ve worked with clients who I later felt would have been better served by choosing a different designer. Design style, personality, work schedule, communication preferences, experience – all are important factors to consider when making your cover designer choice.

Notice I didn’t say price. That one’s obvious, as everyone’s on a budget. It’s important, however, not to let price be the only determination. After all, if you spend $1500 on a book cover design you’re unhappy with, the next designer in line can’t cut you a price break.

5 Tips to Choose the Perfect Book Cover Designer

All it takes, really, is a bit of communication up front to avoid this awkward (and potentially costly) situation. Next time you’re book cover design “hunting,” follow these tips:

1. Comb the designer’s website or portfolio extensively. Although your book concept is likely to be unique from others in the portfolio, most book cover designers have a “style” you can clearly see linking their work. Whether their style is modern or traditional, think about how and if this style would translate to your book.
2. Examine their writing style and background. A good relationship and rapport is important to any successful project. Read the cover designer’s ‘About’ page to get a feel for who they are and where they came from – and determine if you can relate.
3. Discuss their work schedule and communication preferences. Once you make it to the communication phase with the book designer, discuss when they’ll work and how you’ll communicate. This will avoid any miscues down the road.
4. Be honest about your expectations, both of their work and the process. Whether this is your first time hiring a cover designer or not, this will give both you and the designer a clear idea of what you expect.
5. If you’ve had experiences with book cover design in the past, share them so they know your likes and/or dislikes.

The bottom line here: communication, before you make your designer choice is KEY. If the potential designer isn’t willing to discuss the above before you sign on, that may be a signal to move on.

Toni Tesori is one-half of the Self-Publishing Team of Duolit, helping authors sell more books by providing services and resources for all things related to self-publishing, author branding, book design, and marketing.

Top image: Flickr CC Leo Reynolds

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It’s great to learn from authors who have ‘made it’ in traditional publishing but who have got there through unconventional means.

Scott Sigler is the NY Times best-selling author of ‘Infected‘ and ‘Contagious‘ and his new book ‘Ancestor‘ is out on June 22 with Crown Publishing. Before being published, Scott podcasted his novels for free building up a huge fan base for his writing which attracted an agent and publisher. He still podcasts weekly now.

In this podcast, you will learn:

• How Scott’s writing and publishing career has unfolded. He spent 11-12 years trying to get published the traditional way, getting rejections at first and then publishers didn’t know which genre to put his books in. He discovered podcasting in 2005 and was one of the first people to put out a podcast novel. (Tee Morris also did this at the same time).

• On cross genre writing. Scott writes hard science horror but is also described as a thriller writer/ sci-fi. It is hard for publishers to put books in a genre if it is not obvious, but there is a place for multiple markets these days. Just be aware of author branding.

• Recommendations on becoming a NY Times bestselling author. Write every day, write the best story you can. Edit heavily so you produce the best work. Get your content out online and start building an audience. The days of ‘being discovered’ are gone. You need to build an audience and bring that audience to a publisher.

• Publishers and agents are picking up people with platforms and audiences already. Scott is with an agent who finds people online, he also represents Sh*t my Dad Says.

• How to balance writing and promotion. There is no balance! It is hard work to write and podcast every week but Scott is dedicated to building a fan base who spread the word about his writing. Scott’s writing schedule has been modified to ensure he has material to podcast weekly. When he started podcasting, he was working a full-time job but already had 4 complete novels ready to go. It is a reality that 99% of authors have to work very hard to make a writing career and make their book stand out. You have to be a full time writer AND a full-time marketer now.

• Podcasting is still the most effective method to get your writing out there, but it is also the most work. It establishes your personality and your brand as well as well as your writing. Audio connection is important for story in all cultures. It is extremely powerful and makes for lifelong fans, but it is a tremendous amount of work in terms of recording. You could also blog your book in text format. But you have to get it out there. Example David Wellington Monster Island.

• Self-publishing/podcasting will not compromise your publishing ambitions. The publishing industry is desperate for books that have proven sales so it will help you to get your work out there. (Scott’s book Ancestor was originally small press published and podcast before being picked up by Crown and re-released)

• On piracy vs obscurity. Stop worrying about it and get your work out there! It’s a cost/benefit ratio. Example given is Cory Doctorow who gives his work away for free. Obscurity is the enemy of book sales, not piracy. It’s a way to get fans. You are competing with video games, TV, movies and millions of other books in the entertainment industry. You have to get people trying out your stuff somehow.

• On Scott’s blended publishing model. Crown publishes Scott as a modern day horror/ thriller writer vs his other book The Rookie being “Star Wars meets Any Given Sunday meets The Godfather”. It didn’t fit the brand Crown have for him. So he put The Rookie out as a limited edition, self-published small print run and makes money in 2 different ways – through the trad published novels and the self-publishing. This may well be the model of publishing that people move to as if you have an audience, you can sell straight to them. (Clearly, you have to build an audience first!)

• Ancestor is a blockbuster movie in book format. A biotech company creates a creature that will provide organs to humans for transplantation. But instead of a docile herd animal, they create a 650 pound extraordinarily hungry predator! Ancestor is out in the US on June 22.

• Scott has also created an awesome book trailer that is just like a movie trailer. Trailers are a great way to get attention from readers but also can be a way to attract a movie deal itself. Visual culture and YouTube is so ingrained in culture that a book trailer can convert people who might not go to bookstores into buyers. Trailers are also ‘evergreen’ marketing and get views daily. This is so much better than print advertising so it is worth spending time and effort on.

All the Ancestor information is here, plus you can find out more about Scott as well as listen to some of his podcasts/audiobooks. Scott is also on Twitter @scottsigler

Here is the transcript in PDF format => Transcript Scott Sigler

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Sydney Writer's Festival poster

I am a lover of books in all mediums and I want to be a wealthy, famous, published author (like you do, I presume dear reader!) so it serves me to  be aware of the traditional publishing process as well as new technologies.

I went along to this session at Sydney Writer’s Festival to see what publishers are thinking at a time of great change. It seems that Australian publishing is well behind the US and indie publishing, but it was still interesting to peek behind the curtain.

Here is what I learnt from Hazel Flynn, who spent years as a publishing professional in Australia,  but it would be expected that the process is similar overseas.

• First, you need to get the attention of an agent or a publisher. The slush pile is a bad idea as it may be months or even years before your submission gets read, if at all. It is better to have some kind of relationship with that person so your submission is even looked at. Being recommended by an agent is a good way to do this.

• You need to completely follow submission guidelines. Do exactly what the website of the publisher/agent asks for. Any deviation will get you chucked out immediately. Your first 2 pages must sizzle as they won’t read further than that. Seriously. That’s important.

• It’s good to have a 1 sentence, 1 paragraph and 2 paragraph pitch. Check Nathan Bransford’s post for more info. Brevity is key so focus.

• 

  Sydney Opera House with modern art 'Neuron' in foreground

  If a publisher likes you, they need to champion you at the Acquisitions meeting. For this they need to do a P&L, a profit and loss statement for your book. They also need to do a Publishing proposal. At that meeting, all the books are weighed up against each other and all the different teams get a say e.g. sales and marketing as well as publishers.

• The P&L includes costs such as editing, proof reading, cover design, type setting, page layout, plus extras like embossing, photographs, legal permissions etc. Plus printing costs for the number of books, plus overheads, plus marketing and anything else that will be included. The profit side is represented by book sales which is not straight no of books x price. Firstly, the booksellers take the books at a discount, estimated at 47% generally. Then they include a returns rate of 30% , then the author must be paid as well. (No wonder so few books get published now. It is a very difficult business and the business model needs to change to make it sustainable.)

• The publishing proposal contains the P&L as well as synopsis, target audience and target retailers, sales history of the author and sales of comparable titles, author bio and media experience as well as marketing and publicity ideas. Plus author commitment to direct sales and any other pertinent information that would help the author’s chances against other books.

• Publishing is a business. You as an author are a business. You need to realise that if you are serious about writing for a living.

We briefly moved onto self publishing as an option and Hazel kindly called on me to speak about print on demand and digital publishing. It seemed to get people pretty excited when I told them about print on demand, Createspace, Kindle publishing on Amazon DTP, Smashwords and also Blurb for photobooks. This was a pretty funny way to end a workshop on the traditional publishing process but it does indicate how interested people are in DIY options.

I was also considering The Creative Penn, which I take very seriously as a business in its own right. When I look at my own profit and loss, it is very different to a big publishers. I make income from print book sales and ebook sales, but also from other digital products like online courses as well as speaking and consulting. In terms of my costs,  I have tiny overheads as I work from home, my internet hosting and shopping cart come to around $25 per month and I use print on demand for my publishing so I have no printing costs. My time could be considered opportunity cost as I can make more as an IT contractor. But most of the money I make is profit from sales with a low cost base. This is why independent publishers and authors can now make more money than big publishers selling their books online. You don’t need to sell hundreds of thousands of books to make a decent income as costs are so low. I would still like to get a publishing deal for the kudos and validation it would give me, but I don’t know if it will make me more money.

I wrote this before JA Konrath announced his deal with Amazon Encore, and before the rather nasty response from Publisher’s Weekly. He writes on his blog:

Q: So from now on are you only writing for Kindle?

A: Yes. After I’ve met my current contract obligations with print publishers, I will devote my full time to Kindle and other ebook platforms. I really doubt I’ll ever accept a print deal again.

Basically, Konrath is making more money from self-publishing books on the Kindle than he is from traditional publishing. With the rise and rise of ebooks, it is likely more ‘mainstream’ authors will continue down this route.

In conclusion, it was interesting to hear about how publishing works, but I just can’t see it as a sustainable business model for anybody. Things are changing slowly in Australia, which is why I will be looking for a publisher in US or UK when my novel is ready! What do you think about the traditional publishing process right now? What do you want for your book?

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