Promoting: Don't Ignore Social Media

With a new site popping up every day (or so it seems) trying to keep up with your many social media profiles can feel like a full time job in and of itself.

Building your "platform" is becoming more and more important. It used to only be key
in nonfiction proposals (especially self-help books) where the audience usually didn't buy a book from a name they hadn't heard before, but now more and more agents are expecting debut authors to be working behind the scenes on building up their platform. Now, in this case, platform almost always translates to web presence. This is looking at a very narrow part of the actual meaning of the word platform, but it'll work for today. Plus, it's usually all agents and publishers expect from a non-published author.

From the agent's point of view (according to a recent interview I heard), you can get away with  having a simple, free website with your name, email adress, bio, and a little bit about what you write, but you should still have something with your name on it floating out in cyber space. You can do this very easily through free platforms like Blogger, but you have to be careful about this because people expect a blog to be active. A "dead" blog is usually seen as a bad sign. Also, consider buying the domain name for your name (or pen name) before someone else does. You can set up a Blogger or Wordpress blog to redirect to a custom domain name (which is what I've done on my site). Even if you don't know how to set up the website, the cost is minimal and you'll have it down the road when you need it. But if you don't want to mess around with websites and domain names, try to at least set yourself up on popular social media sites.

I mentioned Robert Brewer's blog My Name Is Not Bob the other day and how much fantastic advice he had on that blog for writers. One of the topics he speaks about is self-promotion and online web presence, especially through social media. A relatively recent post called The Ultimate Guide To Social Media For Writers is a pretty detailed look at, well, social media for writers.

A caveat. While you should definitely make time to set up profiles on multiple sites and visit them all at least once a week, don't let your entire day get eaten by the interweb. Your main job is to write, so that should still be your focus. No matter how popular you are online, you can't get published if you don't have anything to publish!

Domain name sites (a few of them, anyway):
Domain.com
GoDaddy.com
Melbourneit.com


Instructions on setting up your domain name

Happy promoting!

Pictures: As Promised

It took me a while to get some decent shots of the jewelry I've been making, but here is a small selection of the pieces I've recently created. Necklaces and bracelets like the ones pictured here are what you could win by entering my giveaway here!

All designs pictured here were created by Erica Cameon.

Now that you know what you're trying to win, go enter! Good luck!

Stories: Sometimes You Don't Need Words

Before I get into the actual reason for this post, I'm going to gloat for a minute. Somehow I managed to cut out about 4000 words of filler from my novel Sing, Sweet Nightingale yesterday! I'm still not sure how the number managed to get that high, but it needs to happen again today. I have to get the word count down to around 100,000! Not an easy task...

Anywho, a while ago I posted work by a photographer that was also a really vivid story. Stories can actually be told in a million different ways, many of which don't involve words at all. Today I'm going to share two new stories, one a short move with no dialogue and one photographer who is chronicling the childhood of his two girls. [click on the above link to see some of his photos]

I found Jason Lee through a post on BoredPanda.com and it tells the story of photographer Jason Lee and his highly energetic, and very creative, daughters. While the actual photography and technical aspects come from Jason, according to the article a lot of the photo ideas (click here to see the article or here for his personal blog) come from the girls! Each one is its own self-contained story and they're all a lot of fun!

Second, this video is making the rounds on Facebook. I'm not going to say much about it because I don't think it needs explanation. Once you get to the end, I believe it'll be pretty obvious why the director produced the project this way.






Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I'm off to machete my book some more.


EDITED TO ADD:
I just came across this secondary video about the team who made the video above. I found it really interesting, so I thought I'd share.

Today: A Recommendation And A Fangirl Moment

I already talked about the query letter clinic (better known as Fiction Pitch Slam Bootcamp by the people at Writer's Digest). Well, last night I spent a few hours searching the listings of Writer's Market (and may I just say thank heavens for searchable lists!! A few years ago I tried to do this by paper and I may have wanted to throw that huge book out the window on more than one occasion...). This morning I went back to see what else the site has to offer (because they do, you know. Have a lot more to offer). One of the first things I found was a link to the blog of the WD editor who critiqued my query. Robert Lee Brewer not only works at WD, he also hosts a blog called My Name Is Not Bob that is filled with tips, trick, and awesomeness for writers. For example, right now he's in the last few days of the April Platform Challenge designed to help writers spread their presence on the internet in a useful, constructive way. Go check out his blog!

Now for my fangirl moment:

Credit James Minchin. Photo found here.

AFTER TWO YEARS, LINKIN PARK IS FINALLY COMING OUT WITH A NEW CD!

I have, of course, already pre-ordered it, but I thought I would share my sqeelish joy! And, also, their new single! Enjoy!

Random: Google And Cracked

Right now I am experiencing the joy of new love with Google Drive. I've been using Documents to Go for my file synchronization for a few years now, and for most of that time it worked perfectly. Recently, though, we've been having some problems. Then I heard about Google Drive.

Google Drive gives you 5 GB of free storage that will automatically sync to any PC, Mac, or Android based mobile device (iOS coming soon) with the Drive app installed. So far, it works like a dream and has simplified my file sharing system immensely. Speaking of file sharing, Drive also gives you the option to share files, folders, or your entire drive with individual users or the entire interwebs. While I don't plan on making my first drafts public domain at any date in the foreseeable future, this is an amazing tool when collaborating on a novel with another writer who lives on the other side of the country! (I'm staring at you, Lani!!) I'll let you know if I run into any problems that dim my fondness for this program, but right now the desktop applications are nearly perfect and with a couple of upgrades, the mobile apps will be too.

Now, because I'm still low on time, here are some articles I think you might find amusing, all found on Cracked.com. Just a warning, though, these contain foul language to some degree.

7 Commonly Corrected Grammar Errors (That Aren't Mistakes)

18 Images You Won't Believe Aren't Photoshopped

5 Gender Stereotypes That Used To Be The Exact Opposite

The 5 Depressing Lessons We Learned From Highlights Magazine

Life: Never Stop Learning

One of the many reasons I'm crazy busy right now is I've signed up for a Writer's Digest online class called Fiction Pitch Slam where my query letter and pitch gets critiqued by working agents and editors. Between today and Monday I will be listening to lectures by industry experts and submitting my query letter for revisions.

The man giving the first lecture is Chuck Sambuchino, an author and expert who works with Writer's Digest. His blog is a wealth of information on and interviews with agents and I'm hoping this weekend will help me work out the kinks in my pitch which I'm having a hard time simplifying to less than ten sentences. The point? Even though I've been doing this for years now and I've written more than a few query letters already, I never feel as though I know everything. In fact, I still feel like what I know is only a drop on the bucket.

Never think you've learned it all. If you have, what else is there to live for? If you keep learning and discovering, you'll keep finding stories to tell, and that is exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Art: Defying Gravity And Definition

What is art?

Anyone who think there's only one answer to that questions is wrong. There is no right answer because there is no wrong answer. Just ask an artist.

Through Facebook and some friends who are geniuses at finding really cool things online, I found a post on thisiscolossal.com about the work of German artist Cornelia Konrads. Because I'm still drowned in work (and because I actually believe it's better this way), I'm going to let her artwork speak for itself. The only other thing I want to say is, how cool is this?

You can see the original thisiscolossal post here or visit her website here.

Giveaways: Happy (Almost) Birthday To Me!

In honor of my birthday, I'm giving away presents! Seems odd, doesn't it? Oh well! It's fun.

Between midnight tonight and midnight on May 11th, you will be able to enter a contest to win one of two prizes. First prize will be a custom designed necklace made by me. Second place will be a custom designed bracelet. Hopefully sometime before then I'll have enough designs made to set up an etsy or an artfire shop so you'll be able to look at some of the things I've made to get an idea of what you'd like me to create for you should you win. In the meantime, enter away! Most of the entries are one time only, but posting once a day on Facebook and Twitter get you extra entries! Also, because this is a special month and a special contest, the contest will be open internationally!

One of the entries asks for a blog comment, a comment specifically answering the question, if money were no object, what would you want for your birthday this year?

My answer? Four back-to-back cruises on the Holland America line that would take me around the entire world in about a year.

A girl can dream, right? :)

Good luck!!






a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blogging: For The Next Month

Until the middle of May (which, coincidentally, also happens to be the week after my birthday), I will be more than a little swamped with my "real life." In the next few weeks this swamping will include closing an incredibly complicated and detail-heavy issue of the magazine I work for, finishing up classes, dress rehearsals, and recitals for the dance classes I take and teach, working on jewelry creations so I can get enough stock to set up a website, trying to finish the first draft of the story Lani and I are working on, and... I'm sure there's something else I'm forgetting right now. Fitting in a social life of some sort so I don't turn into a complete recluse, maybe?

Anyway, I am going to try not to disappear entirely, but I thought a heads up would be nice. In the meantime, I leave you with a little bit of funny that is also something I swear the artist plucked right out of my head. Gotta love XKCD. :D

XKCD FTW.

Imagination: The Best Part Is It's Limitless

As medical and psychological science has advanced, our species has convinced ourselves that we understand our own bodies and the working of our own minds. This is a huge lie. We understand nothing. We have theories--some of which are almost plausible--but in the end that's all they are. Theories. Creativity, inspiration, and imagination are just a few of the aspects of our thought processes that scientists study without ever understanding.

Take this story, for example. What do you see when you look at a pile of cardboard boxes? Cardboard boxes, right? Maybe the makings of a playhouse or a cheap sled. Do you see an arcade? Probably not. I wouldn't either, but Caine did.

Caine is a little boy who lives in Southern California. He took empty boxes from his dad's auto repair shop and built his own arcade complete with prize wall. For $1 you can get two turns. For $2 you get a Fun Pass with 500 turns. Most people buy the Fun Pass. One visitor to this inventive playland writes:

Caine dreamed of the day he would have lots of customers visit his arcade, and he spent months preparing everything, perfecting the game design, making displays for the prizes, designing elaborate security systems, and hand labeling paper-lunch-gift-bags. However, his dad’s autoparts store (located in an industrial part of East LA) gets almost zero foot traffic, so Caine’s chances of getting a customer were very small, and the few walk in customers that came through were always in too much of a hurry to get their auto part to play Caine’s Arcade. But Caine never gave up.

 I'm showing this off for a few reasons:

A) This kid is so adorable! And what a story! His determination and obvious intelligence has inspired a lot of people and earned him a college scholarship before he's even left elementary school. The world needs more kids like Caine.

B) This is a perfect example of unexpected ideas taking hold and the amazing ways creativity can manifest itself. It also goes to show you that even ideas that seem improbable and outlandish can make for terrific stories. If you ever have one of those ideas for part of your story, hold onto it. Even if it doesn't fit in the project you're working on, it might work somewhere and be exactly what you need.

C) Caine had a dream and he went after it with everything he had. Not only did he reach his goal, he went further than he ever could have imagined. Everyone reaching for the dream of publication can learn from his example. All it takes is finding the right person at the right time to help make your dream come true.

D) Just because. ;)

One of Caine's supporters made this video about his arcade. Watch it and if you have the extra money, donate to Caine's college fund!



Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

Technology: The Publishing World After The DOJ Lawsuit

I have already posted on this subject a couple of times (specifically here and here), but Nathan Bransford (who I've quoted on this blog) posted an update on the lawsuit against several major publishing companies over ebook pricing. Nathan's experience in the industry gives him a good knowledge of the subject and a thorough understanding of the many variables to this equation. So, for anyone who doesn't follow his blog (and if you're a writer or in any way interested in publishing, you really should), here is what Nathan has to say about the digital landscape:

I guess there was some teeny tiny publishing news this week.

Let's get the disclaimer out of the way first: I work for CNET, which is owned by CBS, which is the parent company of Simon & Schuster, one of the companies named in the lawsuit. All opinion here is entirely my own, does not necessarily reflect the opinion of CBS and/or Simon & Schuster and/or CNET, and is based mainly on my time in publishing as a literary agent where I was not privy to the inside discussions at publishers, and it doesn't necessarily reflect the opinion of my old agency Curtis Brown Ltd. either. Cool?

So here's what: The Department of Justice sued five book publishers and Apple for allegedly colluding on e-book prices. Yeah, wow.

How we got here

Here's the elevator pitch summary of what happened:

In the beginning of the e-book era, publishers sold e-books according to the "wholesale" model. Every e-book had a retail price, publisher got roughly half the retail price, bookseller got half, bookseller could sell the e-book for whatever they want. Amazon discounted deeply, taking a loss on some titles, built early market share, made publishers nervous as they were running away with the e-book market.

Along came Apple and the "agency" model: They gave publishers the ability to set their own prices and receive 70%. Publishers jumped at this and raised prices, but actually received less money per copy sold than in the wholesale model. (The difference between agency and wholesale also is the reason behind why some e-books cost more than their print counterparts)

What the DOJ alleges is that some of the publishing executives met around this time and explicitly discussed moving to the agency model and raising prices. This, the DOJ says, amounted to illegal collusion.

Three of the publishers, HarperCollins, S&S, and Hachette, have already settled without admitting wrongdoing, and will allow variable pricing. Macmillan, Penguin Group, and Apple have not settled and apparently will fight the charges in court. The case against Apple in particular, my colleagues Declan McCullaugh and Greg Sandoval write, is unlikely to stick.

For a completely comprehensive look at everything, Shelf Awareness has a great summary (via Curtis Brown). I also summarized the issues in more detail a few weeks back in the post Why the DOJ's Potential Lawsuit Over the Agency Model is a Really Big Deal.

And if you're curious about why e-book prices are so high and why publishers would like to keep them that way, I wrote an article for CNET that goes a bit more in depth.

Were publishers right or wrong?

I blogged about the switch from wholesale to agency in real time in early 2010 and called it The Kindle Missile Crisis, and frankly I'm pretty darn proud of that post because I guessed at the issues that are still at stake now in 2012.

And to be totally honest now that I'm out of the business: I didn't agree with the publishers at the time. I didn't think the agency model was a good move.

But I don't (and didn't) think publishers were crazy either. As the iPad was just about to come out, publishers were fearing that Amazon would build a de facto monopoly in the e-book market. They were hearing from other companies that they couldn't get into the e-book game because they couldn't compete with Amazon on price, and Amazon was busy locking consumers into their proprietary e-book format. Publishers were likely worried Amazon would use their position to tighten the screws on terms and use the low e-book prices to hasten the demise of brick and mortar bookstores, which are hugely important to publishers.

And credit where due, the competition that publishers were seeking did end up taking place. B&N's Nook, Apple's iBooks, Sony, Kobo... there are viable alternatives to the Kindle. E-booksellers have up until now mainly been competing on consumer experience rather than price. High e-book prices have likely slowed the adoption of e-books and preserved the print world a bit longer.

But would that e-book competition have happened anyway without the agency model? Did publishers really have to switch to agency to open up the marketplace?

That is literally the billion dollar question because publishers left a huge amount of money on the table when they switched to the agency model. They actually gave up money to raise prices.

And that's what I always thought was misguided. I believe Apple and B&N would have found ways to viably compete with Amazon even with variable pricing. It's not as if Apple in particular doesn't have the resources to go toe-to-toe with Amazon.

It seemed to me that this had much more to do with trying to keep e-book prices high to hold onto a print world as long as possible. Publishers were compromising their future revenue stream and were risking alienating their most valuable customers and lending a huge opportunity to 99-cent e-book upstarts in order to preserve their diminishing stream as long as possible. Does that ever work?

I love bookstores. I want bookstores to survive and really think they will. But they need to adapt to compete in this world as well rather than relying on publishers to preserve high e-book prices. The future is like a giant perpetual wave. You can either surf it or get washed out to sea.

Though I also recognize that it's much easier said than done. And another thing I know for sure: I'm glad I wasn't the one making these decisions.

So where do things go from here?

The terms of the settlement are confusing. Essentially, publishers can still use the agency model, but they can no longer dictate prices and have to allow a variable pricing model and booksellers can discount, but not more than the 30% publishers are allowed to... yeah, you get the picture. There are actually things called discount pools. Whether publishers continue to stick to agency or try and re-summon the wholesale genie remains to be seen.

But regardless, we're about to enter a very chaotic phase in the e-book marketplace where suddenly price is going to be an important part of our e-book choices when it comes to which apps we use and which devices we buy.

And of course: e-book prices are coming down.

So here are some "ifs" about where things can go from here:

If publishers are able to recapture the revenue per copy that they had in the old e-book wholesale model they might have just bought themselves some valuable time in the past two years to soften the blow from the Borders bankruptcy, to help make Apple and B&N viable contenders in the e-book space, and they'll be happy they took the agency gamble while they could, DOJ lawsuit or no.

If, however, publishers find themselves stuck in a situation where they have the agency model but variable pricing, it could mean the worst of both worlds: less revenue per copy and little ability to hold the line on prices. In that case they may well regret letting Steve Jobs sweet talk them down the agency model rabbit hole.

We'll see. I do know one thing for sure: The e-book world is going to keep on changing fast.

Awards: It's Official!

As of today my name is officially listed as a finalist for the 2012 Marlene Awards hosted by a branch of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) in Washington Called Washington Romance Writers! I entered Sing, Sweet Nightingale in their contest and in a couple of weeks I'll find out if I've won! I really want to win because the prize for first place is getting your manuscript read by Diana Peterfrund, author of Rampant and the Secret Society novels.

I'll post here as soon as I have news! Wish me luck! :)

Writing: See, What I Meant To Say Was...

One danger of publishing a book is that what you meant to say may not be what people hear. Everyone's mind works differently and everyone sees the world through glasses colored by their experiences and inclinations. What seems like an obvious metaphor or allegory to you, may be completely obscure to your readers. This is one of the major benefits of editing and one of the reasons you should listen if more than one person questions you on some aspect of your story. The worst part of misinterpretation is that it can happen even if you're there to tell people, "No, you've got it wrong."

I love the articles on Cracked.com. While they should all be taken with a grain of salt, they're always amusing and usually present ideas or connections that never occurred to me. One article I found recently is called 6 Books Everyone (Including Your English Teacher) Got Wrong.

The authors, S Peter Davis and David Vindiola, take a look at six books everyone who pays attention in Lit class has heard of: Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Machiavelli's The Prince, Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. One of my favorite sections, though, and I think the one that most clearly demonstrates the point I'm trying to make, is contained in the section about Fahrenheit 451.

Bradbury was actually more concerned with TV destroying interest in literature than he was with government censorship and officials running around libraries with lit matches. According to Bradbury, television is useless and compresses important information about the world into little factoids, contributing to society's ever-shrinking attention span. Like "Video Killed the Radio Star," television would kill the, uh, book star (he said same thing about radio too, by the way). An interesting rant from the author, considering that much of Bradbury's fame was a direct result of his stories being portrayed on science fiction shows.

For a science fiction writer who predicted the development of flat-screen TVs you hang on the wall, ATMs and virtual reality, he sure hates new technology. Along with bitching about radio and television, Bradbury also has something against the Internet. He apparently told Yahoo! they could go fuck themselves, and as far as he's concerned, the Internet can go to hell. He doesn't own a computer, needless to say. At least we can say whatever we want about him without getting sued.

What probably pissed Bradbury off more than anything was that people completely disregarded his interpretation of his own book. In fact, when Bradbury was a guest lecturer in a class at UCLA, students flat-out told him to his face that he was mistaken and that his book is really about censorship. He walked out.

How can you combat humanity's natural tendency to think they're right? Be as clear as you possibly can without destroying the prose entirely. Also, don't assume your readers know everything you do. Don't talk down to them, but be careful about references that might not be understood by a majority of your readership.

And, if you're interested at all, I recommend reading the full article on Cracked. It's really interesting (and highly amusing) as are most of the posts on that site. :)

Format: Will Availability Limit Your Readership?

A lot of writers are--usually by necessity or natural inclination--up to date on the latest technology. What you have to be careful to remember, though, is not all readers will be as tech-savvy as you. Depending on your genre, your expected readership may prefer one format over another, or may be split evenly down the middle. Whatever the case may be, it's something to take into consideration, especially if you're considering self-publishing.

Jody Hedlund, who I've quoted a few times on this blog already, recently posted about this very issue. Her personal experience with the question is why I'm posting it here.

the truth is, not everyone is moving at the same technological speed we are.

I’m reminded of this from time to time when I interact with readers. I often get handwritten notes in the mail from readers. And recently I received TWO letters from women who said this:

“It was nice to see your P.O. Box included in your book, as we do not have a computer.”

“I don’t have a computer (not good at it). Let me know if you write any other books—the titles, etc.”

No computer? That may sound archaic to those of us whose fingers are super-glued to a keyboard. But it just shows that not everyone is as bonkers about computers and the internet as we are.


Recently, I was speaking at a library in Bay City, Michigan, to a group of 50-60 people at a lunch program called “Booked for Lunch.” I shared about my writing journey, research process, and had a power point presentation giving some of the background information of my books.

At the end of my talk, I left time for questions and answers. In the course of the conversations, I mentioned that my eBook of The Doctor’s Lady was on sale on Kindle (at that time was a part of Amazon’s ‘What’s the Big Deal’ promotion). I asked for those who had eReaders to raise their hands. And as far as I could tell, NOT ONE person raised his or her hand.

Jody explains this more, breaking it down into three reminders:

1. Know your genre readers and their demographics.

2. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

3. Stay humble and don’t burn bridges. 

 She goes into more detail within each bullet point on the main blog post, but even as simple reminders, they are points all writers should keep in mind. The world, your readership, and the industry are constantly changing. These days, adaptability may be key to long-term success.

Research: Seek And Your Shall Find

Sometimes we have questions, but the answers don't come easily. Or maybe they just bring up more questions. Maybe you're working on a project and it would be so cool if your character could do such-and-such or if they knew everything about whatever. Researching the topic yourself is the best way to get answers, but that research isn't always easy.

One of my novels on a back burner right now involves a girl who is very math-minded. The problem? I am so not a math person. At all. Never have been. In fact, it took me three years just to master multiplication. I wish I was exaggerating.

I haven't worked on this story much yet (partially because the idea of going back and assigning myself math homework was a little scary), but I overheard someone at work talking about an online library of videos, something called The Khan Academy.

There are some ideas and that are so genius you wonder how no one ever done something like this before. Salman Khan began by tutoring his cousins online and eventually posted some of his lessons on YouTube. Other people found them, commented, and soon he was posting more and more lessons, getting hundreds, then thousands of comments from all over the globe. Soon he'd created a library of simple lessons on math and science from basic addition to higher maths like calculus and physics. These videos have been used as tutoring tools, homeschooling lessons, and even in classrooms. Suddenly, because of these lessons, going back and relearning math doesn't seem so scary.

I'm telling this story for two reasons. 1) Don't back away from a story idea just because one element of the story is daunting. You never know when the right tool is going to fall into your lap. And, 2) Salman Khan really is a genius. For a long time I've hoped to homeschool my kids (when/if I ever have any), but teaching math and science wasn't something I looked forward to. I think that the lessons he's creating here will change the face of education not only for parents who don't trust the educational system, but also for the students who are enrolled in public (and even private) schools. The Khan Academy and Salman's hopes for the future of education are best explained in his own words, so I'm going to leave you with this video of his appearance at the TED Talks (another really fascinating library of videos).

Hopefully you'll learn something new. If not, you might at least find it entertaining.

Sales: What's Average And What Should You Expect?

When some people make a publishing deal, they can convince themselves all their worries are over. The publisher will take care of everything and then a royalty check will magically appear in their mailbox. While this is not an impossible scenario, it is an unlikely one. You don't get a royalty check until you earn more than your advance and book sales vary widely, even when looking at the average.

Steve Laube, agent and one-time publishing insider, posted a couple of times about book sales, averages, and what these numbers mean. In this post, he gave some examples from real life authors:

Author 1: novelist – 3 books – avg. sale = 8,300

Author 2: novelist – 12 books – avg. sale = 19,756

Author 3: novelist – 3 books – avg. sale = 7,000

Author 4: novelist – 7 books – avg. sale = 5,300 (Two different publishers)

Author 5: non-fiction devotional – 5 books – avg. sale = 10,900

Author 6: non-fiction – 2 books – avg. sale = 5,300

Author 7: novelist – 4 books – avg. sale = 29,400

Author 8: non-fiction – 3 books – avg. sale = 18,900

Author 9: fiction – 7 books – avg. sale = 12,900

Author 10: non-fiction – 5 books – avg. sale = 6,800 (three different publishers)

As you can see, averages vary between authors, publishers, topics, genre, etc.  In a second post on average book sales, Steve explained in a little more detail.

If a publisher has controlled their costs in production, editorial, and the author contract, they should be profitable if they sell 20,000 copies.

One publisher said the other day that they won’t consider a book unless it can generate $200,000 in net revenue in its first year. I paused for a second and “did the math.” If a paperback book retails for $14.00 and the publisher receives a net of $7.00 per book, then this publisher is saying that they have a threshold of 30,000 copies in projected sales before they consider publishing a book.

That seems high, but for that publisher that is their base…. their average. Every publisher is different in that regard. For others that number is lower.

Some writers find this type of discussion depressing or claim that publishers are unfair. But others find this exhilarating because they now know how high the mountain is. And once you know the nature of the summit you can plan your path and your training accordingly.

Managing your expectations on things like book sales is incredibly important before signing with any publisher or even deciding to self-publish. If you don't have a realistic view of what is likely (instead of what is possible), you'll probably end up disappointed even if you gain what the industry considers moderate success.

Research is key! Don't forget to check out various resources before jumping into any contracts or life altering decisions.

Prejudice: The Power And The Pain Of Hatred

I had planned on writing a post of my own today (really, I had!), but then I found this link on Facebook. I decided sharing this article is much more important than a post about average book sales (which I will post tomorrow or the day after instead).

I grew up in South Florida and attended performing arts schools for middle and high school. While I was aware of racism and bigotry and prejudice, I wasn't raised with or around anything of the sort. It has never made sense to me to hate someone for something they can't help. Hate is poisonous and most of the time, you're only hurting yourself.

I'm posting the article that follows because I'm hoping the more it spreads the more chance there is of someone who needs to see this reading it. If you have a blog of your own, spread the word.

I received the following email today in response to my post I’m Christian, Unless You’re Gay. I had decided a couple months ago that it was time to let the whole thing rest, but this response was so powerful, I couldn’t not share it with you all. It was from a woman who simply called herself, “One proud mom.”

Hello Mr. Pearce,
I am the Christian mother of a 15 year old teenage boy and about a month ago he came home from school with a copy of your article “I’m Christian, unless you’re gay”. The teacher gave his class a homework assignment to read it and write a 500 word essay about “what it meant to them”.

He came home and showed me your article and asked me what I thought about it. I read just the title and became furious at his teacher and at you (even though I know you had nothing to do with her handing out the assignment). Anyway, I confiscated it from him and told him he wasn’t to do anything with it till I had a chance to read it first.

And then I got madder and madder as I read it as I felt like it was a direct attack against our beliefs and our Christian religion and that it was promoting homosexuality, a practice that around here is a huge “sin”.

I gave my son an earful about homosexuality and God and told him that he could tell his teacher that he would not be participating and if she had a problem, she could come talk to me and then I threw the article in the trash. My son didn’t say anything just walked into his room and shut the door.

Long story short, a couple hours later it was supper time and I still hadn’t seen him come out of his room. I didn’t expect it to be that big of a deal to him but I went and knocked and told him to come out, he didn’t answer so I opened his door and he wasn’t there, he had left the house and gone somewhere. Of course I got more mad and tried to call him but he sent it to voicemail. I sent him a text and told him he better get home and he was grounded.

This is the text he sent me in return: “I don’t care. I’m at my friends house writing that essay and I’m not coming home till you read it.”

I think you would have seen steam coming out of my ears if you saw me. I started preparing to go talk to the school the next day. I sent a few angry texts to my son that he didn’t answer. I got the article out of the trash so I could take it into the school and get this teacher fired. My anger got a little out of control and while I was sitting there fuming and planning what to do, I got another text from my son that said “Just emailed it. Love, Jacob.”

My son’s name is not Jacob, and it took me a minute to realize that he was talking about your friend Jacob in your article. And when I realized that I suddenly started shaking in fear and anger at what he might be telling me. I started out of control crying because I couldn’t handle having a gay son and what if that’s what he was trying to tell me? After a long time I finally got the courage to go look at my email and see what he had sent. And this is what he wrote.

I am gay and only my one friend knows so far. My mom doesn’t know yet. My dad doesn’t know yet. You didn’t know it when you gave us this homework. I am only 15 years old and I have never felt so alone. My mom and dad always are being angry about gay people and talking about how they are bad and going to hell and they also always talk about how all the gays should be shipped off to their own private island or something so that the rest of us could live God’s commandments in peace.

I have been so scared of them finding out that I’m gay because I know that they would hate me and would want me out of their life and at the same time I can’t keep this secret anymore because it is not something I asked for, never in a million years would I ask to be gay in a town like this where everybody would hate me. And anyways I can’t keep this secret anymore because I’m about to do something crazy like run away or hurt myself or something. I just want to be dead sometimes.

And then you gave us the assignment to write this essay for our homework and I read it like ten times I even skipped lunch and just kept reading it in the bathroom and by the time I went home I decided that maybe I am only 15 years old but maybe this town will change if I can be honest about who I am and maybe my family will change if I can be honest about who I am with them too. I don’t see why I don’t deserve love just like everyone else. I see some crazy stuff that so many people do and people still love them but for some reason everybody around here thinks its ok to hate gays and stuff. And I don’t know really I think I just realize that I don’t want to be Jacob in ten years and still live my life in secret and scared of being hated.

So I go home and I tell my mom to read this handout you gave us and she got so mad at me and started going crazy about how evil gays are and how all of this was just the devil spreading his work and everything else she said. But this time I just got mad myself and I got so mad because I suddenly realize that this is the woman that my whole life made me go to church where they talk about love just like the writer said but she and every other person I pretty much know just hate so many people especially gay people. So I got madder and madder and madder and then I snuck out and came to my friends house to write this essay because its time to stop letting people’s hate stop me from being happy. I mean should I really have to hate my life and want to die because other people are so hating?

And I don’t know what will happen but I am done playing like I’m something I’m not and if my parents don’t love me anymore because of this then I realize that’s not my problem and it will hurt but not as much as the way I hurt right now. I feel like if my mom and dad would just think about things they’d realize that what they always say and how they always hate gays is not what Jesus would do and maybe there is a chance that they will some day love me like Jesus would. I am their kid afterall.

Tonight I am going to send this to my mom and see what she says I guess. I don’t know what will happen but I know that I deserve to be loved just like everybody else does I just hope she thinks so too.

Obviously you can imagine the emotions and thoughts that were going through my head when I read that…

I started crying and couldn’t stop for the longest time. I don’t know why I was crying exactly, just so many emotions came over me. I didn’t know what to do or how to respond. I finally stopped and went and read your article once more only this time I tried to read it through my son’s eyes and the whole thing was so different than it was a couple hours before. By the time I finished I felt as big as an ant and I realized just how much hatred I have in my heart toward others.

You see, Mr. Pearce, you are right. It’s not about what other people do. It’s about whether or not we are loving them. Nothing else matters at all. And it took all of this for that to finally sink in.

I texted my son back that I loved him and left it at that. He came home that night and didn’t try to talk to me about it, I just told him I loved him at least ten times that night and made sure not to talk about anything else. My love for him was the only thing I wanted him to feel and I knew he’d talk to me about it when he was ready.

That was a month ago and in the last month my son and I (his dad lives three states away and still doesn’t know) have grown much closer than we ever were before. We have both stood up against hate several times when we hear it coming from the people around us. You see, where we live people really do have problems “being Christian unless…” But no longer in this home.

I’ve shared your article now with countless people. I have made my sisters read it. I talked about its message to my parents. I sent it to my friends and neighbors. And I’ve had some people get really upset by it, but a change is starting to happen around here and it’s because one teenage boy finally had the courage to stand against what he felt was wrong. He believed he could make a change. And I’ll tell you right now, it makes me happy to see him so happy. I never knew how unhappy he was until I could finally see how happy he could be.

So thank you. I know this is long, but I thought you’d like to know what your article has done in this little town we live in. And it’s just the beginning.

Sincerely yours, one proud mom.

Whew.

If you think you can’t make a difference, you are wrong. If you think you are too old or too young to make change happen, you are wrong. If you think that somebody else will do it first, you are wrong. I think this letter is proof enough of that.

Take another look at the people in your life. Sometimes you may be unknowingly hurting those you love the most.

Writing: Nothing

Sometimes saying nothing is more important that saying something that means nothing.

Today is one of those days.

Publishing: Publishers And The Path To Success

As an unpublished author, publication is almost always on my mind. This means I usually stop and read articles I stumble across that have anything to do with publishers, successful publication, etc. One post I found recently was written by author Chris Eboch about midlist authors and their departure to the world of self-publishing.

Chris starts off by saying:

They often start with their out-of-print books and then do well enough that they consider self-publishing their new work. The numbers may not be huge yet, but they are growing, and if the publishing business doesn’t change, publishers will lose their midlist – books that don’t make a fortune but sell enough to pay their expenses and help keep everybody in business.

 This is a valid point. I've heard from a few midlist authors who have essentially given up on their publishers because they aren't given the attention, recognition, or marketing backup they deserve. Do their books sell millions of copies? Not usually. But they do sell enough to pay the rent and that position deserves respect. Holly Lisle is one author I know of who has taken her fate into her own hands and is publishing stories the way she wants. JA Konrath is another and he's been doing very well for himself in self-publishing. How can publishers combat this exodus? Chris Eboch had an idea.

These days, you’re probably hearing a lot about “brand building” for authors, the idea that you should stand for something specific. Yet many publishers haven’t embraced the concept themselves.

If you know that a certain publisher always produces well-edited and well-designed books with a specific, narrow focus that matches your interests, you’ll trust them and look for their books. You might even buy directly through their website, which means higher profits for the publisher.

Small publishers can keep a narrow focus more easily (such as a regional focus), but bigger companies could do it as well. Tor, for example, is known for fantasy and science fiction, while Poisoned Pen Press focuses on mystery, as you could probably guess from the name. “Harlequin is Romance” as their tagline says, and specific Harlequin lines follow clear guidelines on subject matter and tone. But who goes out of their way to pick up a book by Simon & Schuster or HarperCollins? What do those names mean?

Big publishers publish too great a variety to brand themselves by genre, but many include imprints with a narrower focus, though few of those are known outside the business. If publishers develop imprint brands with a clear, narrow focus, and promote those, they might build customer loyalty.

And if they promote the brand rather than promoting a few titles each season, that would also be an advantage to mid-list and new authors, who’d benefit by the association even if they get no individual publicity.

 The simple brilliance of the idea is kind of amazing. Why haven't the publishing companies thought of this? Establishing these brands in the public mind would be challenging, but not impossible, and it would definitely be more cost effective than individually promoting a large number of debut and midlist authors.