Marketing expert and blogger Paul Steinbrueck is giving away three copies of A Path to Publishing. Check out his review and his special offer to readers. He has opened up the comments to reader questions about publishing and will include them when he interviews me this week.
If you drop by his blog, be sure to stick around and to have a look at some of the great posts he has been sharing on marketing, writing, and blogging.
In celebration of my latest book, A Path to Publishing: What I Learned by Publishing a Nonfiction Book, I will be posting a series on what you need to know about self-publishing. I chose to self-publish A Path to Publishing and in the process discovered an enormous amount of material online, but some of it was dated. Over the coming weeks I will provide an updated guide to self-publishing today based on my latest experiences.
When self-publishing it’s up to you to develop your ideas, to organize them, and to make them clear and complete for readers. This is far more difficult to do than you may think.
For my first book, Coffeehouse Theology, I developed my ideas over a series of several years and still needed significant input from my literary agent and development editor at my publisher before the book was ready for publication. In the case of A Path to Publishing I created a detailed outline of the material several years earlier, which was relatively easy since publishing follows a series of steps that must remain in their order.
Even so, I gave several presentations on my material over the course of several years and returned to my outline to refine it, to move details around, and to fill in gaps where those in attendance had questions. In a sense, my workshops acted as my editorial development time. Without those trial runs I would have left several gaping holes in my book or left several disorganized points.
If you’re self-publishing, make sure you’re very familiar with your material and able to sort through the details and the proper order. This process will take longer than you’d expect, and unless you hire an editor to help you with the organization and development, which is something far more involved than proof-reading for clarity, your book may not connect with readers.
Looking for a bit more about publishing right now? Check out A Path to Publishing. It’s available for $10 as an ebook and for $15 as a paperback.
Spirituality expert, comedian, and writer extraordinaire Lisa Delay kicks off the blog tour for A Path to Publishing today with her interview of me. She asks some great questions that should give publishing hopefuls some helpful ideas and a good idea of what they’ll find in the book.
Do you have your own publishing question? Drop by Lisa’s blog and post it in the comments. Between the two of us we’ll try to answer it.
Over the following week other bloggers will be posting on the book, conducting interviews, and possibly even hosting a giveaway or two.
My thanks to Lisa for her help in spreading the word. Make sure you check out her various endeavors:
http://lisadelay.com
http://lisadelay.blogspot.com
http://LifeAsPrayer.wordpress.com
When rejection letters come, and they will, you’ll need to figure out why your piece was rejected. Sometimes an editor will tell you point blank. Other times you’ll wait for months and never receive a reply.
Either way, it’s important to evaluate the reasons for a rejected query. If an editor has filled you in on the reasons, then you’re well on your way. If not, you’ll need to review the magazine and its guidelines as you ask some of the following questions:
Do you have the experience necessary?
Perhaps you’re overreaching into a topic or a field in which you need more experience or research before you can submit an effective query.
Have you learned the craft of writing? Are you well-read?
Some writers will need to spend more time reading up on the basic techniques of nonfiction writing, style, and grammar. I took a workshop with the former editor of Vermont Life Magazine and he just about blew my mind with his various diagrams for structuring a magazine story. Books such as On Writing Well and The Elements of Style are bestsellers for a reason!
Do you know your competition?
Did you query an editor regarding an article or book on a topic that has already been addressed by many other writers? Have you failed to address a fresh angle or to offer a unique perspective?
Do you know your audience?
Even if you have a great idea, sufficient experience, and a unique perspective, you may still fall short of writing directly to the magazine or publisher’s audience. I have run into this on many occasions in the field of religion when I took angles that were a bit too liberal, charismatic, or conservative depending on the editor’s taste. In addition, some magazines are more academic or scholarly, while others aim for general readership.
Do you know your potential publishers or agents?
Many magazine editors, publishers, and literary agents who receive queries from writers state their preferences on their web sites, list previous publications, and sometimes even share a theme or genre list. Did you miss any of that crucial information before sending in your query?
Keep Trying
Even if you’ve been rejected or ignored, keep working on your queries, articles, and book ideas. It’s a tough business, but you never know when the right situation will fall into your lap. Unless you’re trying, that will never happen to you.
I know this sounds a bit pathetic or possibly even demeaning. Can I possibly mean that you should actually thank an editor for rejecting your piece?
Well, sort of. Don’t thank them for rejecting it. Thank the editor for reading your submission and for taking the time to e-mail you back even though he/she is probably overworked and underpaid.
If you received a reply within a few hours or days of sending your query, then treat the editor like a god.
Personal Rejections
If you didn’t get a form letter, that’s a good sign! Read what the editor tells you, take it to heart, and save that message so you can refer back to it every time you query that magazine or one like it.
Suck It Up
Writers need to develop thick skin and get used to rejection. You will never write for any sustained period of time if you don’t know how to take a textual punch. They come fast and often some days.
Saying thank you has a way of keeping yourself positive and showing the editor that you aren’t fazed by the rejection—which you shouldn’t. The next time you send a query to this editor you’ll start on much better terms than if you’d pouted or offered a rebuttal to his/her rejection.
Even if you think the editor is out to lunch, you need to move on. Whether or not you ever query this editor again, you can’t argue your way into convincing an editor to accept your work. I know, I was awesome at convincing my mom to buy me legos and ice cream, but really, it doesn’t work on editors.
Transition
You can be grateful that this rejection is not the end, but just the closing of one of many paths. There are other magazines where you can send your query or article, so get moving.
I’ve spoken to rooms full of writers and have looked into the eyes of many who fear the very real possibility of receiving a rejection letter for their novels or nonfiction works. Writing is an emotional business in which people invest heavily in very personal and meaningful ideas and characters.
Rejection is just about the worst thing a writer can imagine besides publishing a book that is hated by readers and critics. Both possibilities sound pretty terrible, but rejection is the one thing that every writer who hopes to publish a book or article has to face from the start.
Even well-known authors with a history of successful books have to sometimes face rejection. Legendary Christian writer Frederick Buechner has published shelves worth of fiction and nonfiction, but even his latest book, The Yellow Leaves, was rejected by his life-long publisher. He had to take it elsewhere before landing a book deal.
Rejection is a real issue that every writer has to deal with in one way or another.
I had intended to write this series last week, but a few other projects and a persistent head cold pushed it back to this week. Tune in tomorrow, and I’ll discuss the nature of rejection in the business of writing.
I had every intention of wrapping up this series last week. However, we traveled to visit some family on Friday and I forgot to share my final post in this series.
In my last post I shared the down side of writing, but don’t worry. There are plenty of perks and good days as well.
A Flexible Schedule
Many writers will say they enjoy the flexible schedule of writing. Though they’ll have plenty of deadlines to meet, they can organize their schedules as they see fit. This requires planning, discipline, and boundaries (lest writing overtake one’s personal life), but it can pay off when articles can written on a beach or at a lake house. Travel or unexpected visits need not throw a project off course since writers can move their schedules in order to capitalize on opportunities.
Fellow Writers and Publishing Professionals
Fellow writers not only provide invaluable help, they also prove to be friends and colleagues who share your struggles and frustrations. They can generously help with marketing ideas and promotions, as well as with expert advice and feedback. Publishing professionals you meet along the way may connect you with key editors or opportunities. In addition, once you’ve experienced a little success, it’s always a joy to help fellow writers, who are passionate about their work, succeed.
The Creative Rush
Some morning the words fall into place, shaping excellent ideas, apt metaphors, and thrilling scenes. There is a rush that sweeps over writers when everything clicks. While hard times will come, there is nothing like nailing a story, knowing you’ve succeeded in crafting a unique piece of writing.
Helping Reading
While negative reviews and feedback will come, more often than not readers will only contact you to share how you’ve helped, inspired, or entertained them. Creating another world or clearly sharing a fresh idea that helps another person makes writing incredibly rewarding. I keep positive feedback in mind when I set out on new projects because I hope to continue helping readers with each new project.
Next Week’s Series: Why It’s OK for Writers to Fail
Interested in learning more about book publishing?
Check out my new book A Path to Publishing: What I Learned by Publishing a Nonfiction Book.
Like any other work, writing has its drawbacks and bad days. I don’t mention these aspect of the profession by way of bad-mouthing it, complaining, or fishing for sympathy. I’m much more interested in helping new writers approach this line of work with eyes wide open and to let fellow writers know they are not alone with their struggles.
Speaking of which, let’s start with the bad news about writing and publishing. Tomorrow we’ll talk about the good parts of writing, but for now, we’ll look at some of the drawbacks:
Excessive Loneliness and Introspection
Depending on your personality type, the solitude of writing can become a bit much if you don’t have enough interaction with other people. While time alone is the daily bread most writers need, they also need the feedback of others and interaction with fellow writers and some non-writers. Writing is a lonely task that can become difficult unless appropriate attention is paid to this aspect of the work.
Rejection and Critique
There are so many reasons why a submission or proposal may be rejected, but even so, writing often means not only the disappointment of rejection, but the lost investment of time in an article or book that may never be published. Even if a piece is accepted, publication is not guaranteed. Even if it is published, editors will surely critique it and may even suggest changes you may not want to make. These are typical for the profession and cannot be avoided, so prepare for it and over time you’ll learn to work with it.
Low to Zero Pay
If you’ve ever looked through Craig’s List for work as a writer, the payment offered sometimes can be insulting. In all seriousness some postings ask for hours of work and offer only $10 or $20 for the whole project. Writers at this point in time have, generally speaking, an under-valued skill set. With the exception of niche web sites such as technology and politics, there isn’t all that much money, if any, to be had with online publishing either (though there are exceptions of course).
In addition, many magazines looking to scrape by have had to drop their payments to writers, while book publishers are also under pressure to lower their advances. This means that writers need to think like entrepreneurs who cannot survive unless they also branch into more lucrative aspects of writing such as copywriting, technical writing, or advertising. Others have specialized in social media seminars, speaking on their book topics, and other business ventures to help pay the bills. Very few writers these days are able to earn a full-time living from their writing books and magazine articles.
The Difficulties of Building a Good Platform
And speaking of speaking, many writers looking to publish a nonfiction book will first need a large enough platform to guarantee book sales. Some agents say that this may soon apply to fiction writers as well. There are some easy ways to build a platform, but the most meaningful way to build a platform requires the hard work of seeking out speaking engagements, book events, and other media appearances.
If you think a rejection letter is tough to take, try calling a few libraries to ask if you can speak about your book. While some libraries have been receptive, others have acted as if I was an axe murderer asking to lop off the heads of a few kids during story hour. I understand that most organizations have limited space and capacity, and as such they cannot accommodate every writer who calls looking for an event.
However, writers need to prepare themselves for something worse than the word “No” when they call around looking for speaking events. You will sometimes be eyed with suspicion, doubt, and even annoyance. You will sometimes be told by book store owners that you’re not popular enough, that not enough people are interested in your topic, and that no one gives a damn about you or your book. That is FAR worse than reading, “I’m sorry we can’t accept your book at this time.”
I’m not bitter about these experiences, but I think writers need to speak frankly about the difficulties that come with building a good platform that reaches a lot of readers. While I love speaking to groups about my works, getting to that point will include some difficult and deflating conversations.
Doubt
Doubts haunt every writer, even those who are successful. I recently read an interview with Gregory MacGuire, the author of Wicked and several other bestselling books, and he shared that he is plagued by doubts and the fear of failure at the start of every new book project. Writers tend to fear their current work isn’t good enough, regardless of past success.
It’s Not All Bad
While some of these aspects of the writing life may sound quite bad, take heart. There is a up side to writing. We’ll discuss that tomorrow.
Writing is a tough business with tremendous rewards. It is one of the few professions in which a person can share something intensely personal, expose it to public criticism, and receive rejection over and over again.
There are enormous costs and challenges to writing, and yet many continue to dream about publishing a book some day because the rewards seem to outweigh the costs. In my own experience the rewards and goals can be difficult to quantify at times, and the challenges are sometimes larger and more complex than I could have imagined.
While it is wonderful to read the responses of readers who have been positively influenced by my writing, there are plenty of rejection letters and critiques that come along the way. That strikes me as the norm for most writers, and so it becomes a matter of managing the ups and downs of the writing life.
In addition, writing is a profession in which we can expect to make mistakes. There is a very real learning curve, and some will figure it out faster than others.
This week I want to speak frankly about my good and the bad experiences in the writing and publishing world. I hope that this series will provide a little guidance to those new to publishing, while also letting other writers know they’re not the only ones who have received crushing e-mails and plunged into the seeming depths of despair.
Tomorrow I’ll start with a post discussing the bad parts of writing and publishing.
Over the past few weeks I’ve hit a couple highs and lows, which are to be expected when writing. However, I wonder how many would-be writers or writing hopefuls know what exactly they’re in for when they seek to be published?
Next week I’m turning off the sarcasm control and speaking straight up about my experiences as a writer and what I really think. I hope to share what to expect, how to prepare a little better for the tough times, and why a writer such as myself keeps plugging away.
Without falling into ranting or complaining, I think there is a lot to be said about the lot of writers in today’s economy. In addition, for those envisioning their writing as a kind of vocation or ministry, we’ll touch on that a bit.
See you on Monday.
Ed Cyzewski: Author // Contemplative 