♦ Another author just got a 2-book deal. That’s two less spots for me.

♦ An agent just announced a new client. There goes my shot.

♦ Look how many self-pub authors are making six figures. There’s not enough room for me.

♦ I’m supposed to write my books PLUS do all this social media and marketing? There’s not enough time!

♦ There are too many books out there. How will readers find mine?

This kind of thinking has saturated the writing community to such an extent that we hardly recognize it anymore. Author Lynne Twist writes:

The first prevailing myth of scarcity is that there’s not enough. There’s not enough to go around. Everyone can’t make it. Somebody’s going to be left out. There are way too many people. There’s not enough food. There’s not enough water. There’s not enough air. There’s not enough time. There’s not enough money.

There’s not enough becomes the reason we do work that brings us down or the reason we do things to each other that we’re not proud of. There’s not enough generates a fear that drives us to make sure that we’re not the person, or our loved ones aren’t the people, who get crushed, marginalized, or left out. [The Soul of Money, p. 49]

I believe that in publishing, “there’s not enough” is an insidious myth. There are a LOT of readers and book buyers out there. Do you realize the total U.S. trade book industry reported revenues in 2012 of over $7 billion? Yes, seven billion dollars. There is enough to go around. Even for you.

But the scarcity mentality is fueled by our sense of comparison and competition with one another. We instinctively believe that if one person gets ahead, that leaves us behind. It causes us to be fearful of others’ success.

What do you think fuels the massive “us vs. them” mentality in the traditional-vs.-self-publishing  conversation? A scarcity mentality. We simply can’t believe or accept that both camps can be successful, both can be good and right for those who choose it. Instead, we let our fear of “not enough” lead us to denigrate the other side.

We allow our fear of “not enough” to make us depressed about our chances of getting published; depressed about our chances of finding readers and finding fulfillment and finding financial success.

So what should we do?

Author Brené Brown writes:

The counterapproach to living in scarcity is not about abundance. In fact, I think abundance and scarcity are two sides of the same coin. The opposite of “never enough” isn’t abundance or “more than you could ever imagine.” The opposite of scarcity is enough [emphasis added]. [Daring Greatly, p. 29]

I think we each need to be confident that we are enough. Each of us, innately, is enough. We are exactly what we are supposed to be.

And beyond that, we have enough. We have enough time, we have enough talent, we have enough energy. And if we don’t, we have enough intelligence to go find it.

There are enough readers for all of us. There are enough dollars to go around. We each have to find our own ways of getting what we need. If we don’t, it won’t be because there is not enough. There is enough.

What is your experience of the scarcity versus “enough” mentality? Do you think scarcity is real, or a mindset that we convince ourselves is real?

TWEETABLES

Has scarcity thinking saturated your publishing journey? Click to Tweet.

“There are too many books out there. How will readers find mine?” Scarcity thinking: Click to Tweet.

The “us vs. them” mentality in publishing is fueled by scarcity mentality. Click to Tweet.

The post Letting Go of Scarcity Thinking appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

How do we make the decision about whether to read our reviews or not? Maybe we should ask what we are looking for when we read our reviews. Validation? Constructive criticism? A simple acknowledgment that someone read our book?

Let’s face it, writers work alone and get precious little feedback on the results of their labor. Of course we want to see what people think of what we wrote! But we have to be ready to encounter opinions we don’t necessarily like.

Worse, we may end up facing not just opinions but unbelievable cruelty. These days, the Internet has become a place where people can lob the harshest insults in the most disgusting language and never have to face any consequences for their bullying. The trolls and the mean people have made it difficult for authors to feel safe reading their online reviews at sites like Amazon and Goodreads.

Another thing bothers me about reading reader reviews, and it’s basic human nature. People will tend to read their positive reviews and take them in stride, but one negative (or cruel) review can ruin the whole day or the whole week — even if there are 50 good reviews for every bad one! So if we are not going to allow ourselves to fully enjoy the positive things people say about our work, and we’re going to obsess about the negative things, does it make sense to read our reviews at all?

You tell me:

What are the pros and cons of reading your online reader reviews?

If you’re a published author, what is your experience and what is your policy on reading reviews?

TWEETABLES

People take positive reviews in stride, but a negative review can ruin the week. Click to Tweet.

If we read our reviews, we may face not just opinions but unbelievable cruelty. Click to Tweet.

What do you think — should authors read their own reader reviews? Click to Tweet.

The post Should Authors Read Their Own Reviews? appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

Today I’m announcing the winner. But first, I have to share some honorable mentions:

Best joke for Word Nerds… from Jenni Wiltz:

This one’s in honor of Mother’s Day: A pregnant woman hobbles into the emergency room, one hand on her back. A nurse asks her what’s wrong, and the pregnant woman screams, “Shouldn’t! Wouldn’t! Didn’t!” The nurse shakes her head and says, “I’m sorry…I don’t understand.” The pregnant woman’s face contorts in pain as she shouts, “Can’t! Won’t! Don’t!” The nurse, bewildered, turns to a doctor. “Admit her,” the doctor said. “She’s having contractions.”

* * *

Most likely to make you groan… from Madeline Mora-Summonte:

Q: How many lawyers does it take to shingle a roof?

A: It depends on how thin you slice them.

* * *

Easiest for me to guess the sender… from Doc Richard Mabry:

A doctor’s phone rings at 2 AM. “Doc, my wife is hurting something terrible. I think it’s her appendix.”

“I took out your wife’s appendix two years ago. Go back to sleep.”

Five minutes later, the phone rings. “Doc, I’m sure it’s her appendix.”

“Did you ever hear of anyone having a second appendix?”

Two minutes later, the phone rings. “Did you ever hear of anyone having a second wife?”

* * *

Best unintentional kid-humor… from Crystal:

This isn’t so much a joke, but it’s kinda funny. During Children’s church recently (all the kiddos go up in front of the whole church for a short message from children’s minister)…it went something like this:

Children’s Minister: How do we get to Heaven?

5-year-old girl: You die.

* * *

Heard it a hundred times but it still makes me laugh… from Sharon Gagnon:

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the e-mail.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband’s funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack.

The widow decided to check her e-mail expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted.

The widow’s son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife

Subject: I’ve Arrived

Date: July 19, 2010

I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I’ve just arrived and have been checked in.

I’ve seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P. S. Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!

* * *

Because you just have to laugh about getting older… from Sara Davison:

Two elderly couples had just finished having dinner. The women headed off to the kitchen to clean up. The one gentleman turned to the other, patted his stomach, and said, “that was a delicious meal.”

The other man replied, “if you thought that was good, you should have seen the meal we had at this fabulous restaurant last week.”

“What was the restaurant called?”

The second man wrinkled his forehead. “What do you call that flower that women like to get, the one with the thorns?”

“A rose?”

“That’s it.” The second man tipped back his head and hollered, “Rose, what was the name of that restaurant we went to last week?”

* * *

And my favorite of all the jokes submitted… from Martha Reynolds:

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail. With his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him…..

A super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Martha, please contact me and let me know which prize you choose!

Again, thanks to everyone who entered. These jokes kept me laughing for days!

To read my post today on the Books & Such blog, click here:

Will Your First Book Be Published? 4 Reasons to Write Several Books Before Seeking Publication

The post Winner of the Joke Contest appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

* * *

Dear Hopeful,

I get several query letters each month that begin with some variation of: “For years, all my friends have been telling me I should write a book.” Maybe it’s because of an amazing incident or an inspiring life journey. Maybe you’re funny or have a way with words. Whatever it is… it causes otherwise totally rational people to begin chanting “You should write a book!”

Even though most people don’t know anything about publishing, it sure is flattering when they say, “You should write a book!” We tend to want to believe them. If we hear it often enough, we start to take it seriously.

The way I see it, the whole “you should write a book” thing makes about as much sense as watching your friend shoot hoops in the driveway, seeing them sink five in a row, and exclaiming, “You should play for the NBA!” In reality, you know nothing about what it takes to play in the NBA. And five baskets does not a Kobe Bryant make.

Since most people have no idea what they’re talking about when saying you should write a book, you’ve come to the right place for information. You asked me for help, so I’m going to tell you exactly what I think you should do. Forgive me if you’ve already taken any of these steps, but here is what I believe you should be doing:

1. Do not pursue publishing. Completely put the idea of “getting published” out of your mind. For now, that’s not your goal. Instead, your goal is to TELL YOUR STORY.

2. Seriously, don’t pursue publishing. This means that for the time being you shouldn’t read books, blogs or websites about getting published. You don’t need to contact industry professionals about getting published, because that’s not your goal — your goal is to tell your story.

3. Read my posts about writing memoir. Here they are: Posts about Memoir.

4. Begin immediately writing down your story. Don’t try to start at the beginning. Simply write down what comes to you, perhaps in “episodes” as you remember them. Try to write something every single day. Write down the stories from your life.

5. Meanwhile, create a reading plan for yourself. Set a goal for the next year or so of reading at least 20 good memoirs and 5 books about writing memoir. I have a blog post in which I said exactly that, and also gave plenty of recommendations for books to read. The post is a couple of years old, so you’ll be able to find many books that are more recent. But here’s the post: Resources for Writing Memoir.

6. Begin to craft your book. After you’ve spent months (or years) writing down the stories of your life and learning about the craft of memoir, you’ll be ready to start putting those stories together and creating a cohesive manuscript — your memoir. That may take many more months. You’ll want to get feedback on it from some readers, perhaps join a critique group, and do as many revisions as necessary to make your memoir shine.

7. NOW think about publishing! When you feel you have a complete and compelling memoir, then begin the process of pursuing publication, which you can learn about from hundreds of books and blogs. Here’s my post that gives a good overview: How to Get Published.

If this sounds like a lot of work and a lot of years — you’re right, it is. If that’s not what you had in mind, then just tell all those people who are saying you should write a book: “Thanks for the idea, but I’ve decided I’d rather keep LIVING my life rather than spending a bunch of time writing about it.”

Hope that helps!

All best,
Rachelle

* * *

Have you ever wanted to write a memoir?

Are you a writer partly because others told you that you should be?

COMMENT: Click to leave a comment!

Watch for the results of last Friday’s joke contest this THURSDAY. And if you need a really good laugh: CLICK HERE. Click to read the jokes that were submitted!

TWEETABLES:

Writing a memoir? DO NOT pursue publishing! (Yet.) Click to Tweet.

What to do when friends are telling you, “You should write a book!” Click to Tweet.

Are you going to bite the bullet and write your memoir? Here are the steps. Click to Tweet.

The post Telling Your Personal Story appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

And how about a PRIZE for my favorite joke?

Here’s what we’ll do:

You share a good joke (not dirty) in the comments. Everyone will read them and laugh, getting some much-needed humor into our weekend. The deadline for entering jokes is Saturday night at 11:59 pm eastern daylight time. I will choose my favorite joke, announce it on the blog next week, and award the coveted prize.

YES, like all of publishing, this is a completely subjective endeavor! I get to choose my favorite, which will probably be the joke that makes me laugh the most. Clients of Books & Such are welcome to submit jokes but are not eligible to win.

So what’s the coveted prize?

A 30-minute phone call with me, in which I give you feedback on a query, proposal or manuscript (I will review up to 10 pages);

OR

A $25 Amazon gift card.

* * *

To kick things off, I thought I’d share the results of a joke contest we had here on the blog a couple of years ago. At that time I asked:

How many agents does it take to screw in a light bulb?

And here are some of the best answers. Enjoy!

From Nancy Kimball:

None. If the agent is having to change the lightbulbs, I need to be querying someone else.

From Julie Nilson:

The agent doesn’t *change* it. She gently suggests revisions to the light bulb.

From Kathryn Elliott:

Did you fire the interns?

From Marion:

None.The lightbulb got rejected.(At least it didn’t get screwed.)

From Michael Seese:

Only one. The problem is, the publisher asks her to change it again. And again. And again…

From Amanda Jeanette:

Just one.
But it can take her months with all the different lightbulbs people dump on her desk on a daily basis: the incandescents she likes but lack a crucial component, the fluorescents that are usually good but almost never the right fit, and the black lights she keeps asking people never to send her. Even when her office (and home… and lunch break…) is well lit already, with a perfect fit for every lamp, and she has some reliable manufacturers, they keep on coming and she keeps on digging through them. She’d love an excuse to buy a new lamp, she just needs to love a lightbulb first.

From T.W. Wombat:

None. Changes are an editor’s job.

From Sparkling:

1 assistant to check if it’s really out.
1 agent to to check again and confirm it’s out and then discuss with an editor that will agree that the said light bulb is out.
Said lightbulb is replaced in approximately 2 years time.

From Erastes:

Dear Ms In Darkness,

I am sorry that I have had to reject your request to screw in your lightbulb, and although I do not usually supply feedback, I felt in this case it was merited.

Firstly, you sent the wrong type of lightbulb for the socket–it was clearly stated on the submission instructions that the lightbulb needed was a screw in type, but you sent a bayonet.

Secondly, despite clear instructions that the power must be off for me to be able to screw in the bulb (had I been able to) you had left the power ON.

These problems, combined with a lack of footstool means that I am unable to accede to your request. I am sure there are agent out there who would be willing to do what you wish but I’m afraid that you and I would be a bad fit.

I am unable to return your bulb, as you have not provided a SSAE, and I wish you luck with your electrical problem in the future.

Yours sincerely,

A N Agent

From Madeline Mora-Summonte

It’s impossible to say. The whole industry is moving toward ebulbs now.

From Arthur Smith:

Three. One to research which changing method is trending now, one to prepare a proposal on why the light bulb needs to be changed, and one to tweet about it.

From agent Steve Laube:

Without a platform you can’t reach the lightbulb.

From Sue:

Agent? Who needs an agent? All you need is a little glass and some wires to do it yourself, right? How hard can it be?

Time to enter those jokes in the comments! Have a great weekend.

The post Go Ahead, Make Me Laugh appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

I’m a literary agent.

I advocate for authors.

That’s my job, it’s what I choose to do, and I enjoy doing it. Every day I’m grateful for my partnership with so many talented writers. I consider it my privilege to assist them in reaching their publishing goals. I work hard to understand their needs, priorities, and dreams so that I can serve them well.

Part of my job as a literary agent is also to have a deep understanding of publishers. The better I understand their goals and concerns, the better I can find the right authors for them, and negotiate contracts that are win-win for both author and publisher. The more I do that, the more both authors and publishers appreciate working with an agent, and have a positive publishing experience.

On Monday I wrote a post in which I attempted to explain the publishers’ concerns in this new age of hybrid authors who are both traditionally- and self-published.

But I messed up royally.

In my effort to illuminate the publisher’s perspective on things, I inadvertently came across as completely defending the publishers’ viewpoints, and somehow being on the side of “Big Pub” (as some commenters put it) rather than being an advocate for authors. That was my mistake. I badly miscommunicated, and I regret it because it led to so much misunderstanding.

Here are a few points I’d like to clarify:

→ I am the author’s advocate, and I take that role seriously, as I know most agents do.

→ In order to properly represent authors, it’s crucial for me to understand publishers — and it’s also necessary to maintain a win/win philosophy in all negotiations. It’s in all authors’ best interest that publishers respect agents and want to work with them. So the agent/publisher relationship is not combative, it’s not “us versus them.” There is a spirit of working together to get good books published. This is why my post didn’t try to “take sides” against publishers. It’s better to simply understand where they’re coming from, so we have a foundation from which to begin negotiations.

→ Every author’s situation is unique. They each have their priorities, goals, and preferences. Like most agents, I approach each publishing contract with that individual author in mind, and I work hard to protect their interests, paying attention to their specific needs. No two scenarios are the same, and therefore no two contract negotiations are the same.

→ The title of Monday’s post was badly worded — mea culpa! I was trying to find a colloquial way of referring to the fact that publishing contracts allow and disallow certain things, on both the author’s and publisher’s side. By saying “Will my publisher LET me self-publish?” many people felt I was treating authors like third-graders and putting the publisher in the position of the Great and Powerful Dictator. That wasn’t my intent and I take full responsibility for my poor communication.

→ I assumed that most readers would accept my post in context of my other posts and other things they already know about me. Bad assumption! Not everyone knows that our agency is working hard to help our clients become hybrid authors if they want to. Not everyone knows that I’ve written positively about self-publishing many times. Not everyone knows that I myself am a self-published author, so I clearly have nothing against it. Not everyone knows how seriously I take my responsibility to be the writer’s advocate. My post needed to stand on its own without context, and failed.

→ Like most agents, I always work hard on the stickier contract clauses, such as non-competes and options (“first right of refusal”). My goal is to protect the author’s rights and get them a fair contract. Many comments on Monday’s post seemed to assume I was saying I would “just accept” publisher non-competes. I’d be an extremely poor author representative if I did that! I meant to convey that I understand the goals of a non-compete, and this understanding helps me to speak to publishers intelligently and work with them to come to a win-win solution.

→ Agented authors depend on their agents’ ability to be strong advocates, fighters if necessary, while maintaining the ability to sell books to those publishers. It’s in everyone’s best interest to avoid “us versus them” thinking. It is NOT authors-vs.-publishers. It is NOT self-vs.-traditional publishing. We are all in this together.

→ As agents, we represent authors. We’re committed to representing writers’ interests, and to do that, we must have strong working relationships with publishers. Don’t assume, because we understand and can explain the publisher’s side of things, that we’re confused about our loyalties. We know for whom we work.

We work for authors.

Why do you think these publishing issues lend themselves so readily to an us-versus-them viewpoint? What is making all of us respond so passionately? I’m interested in hearing your perspective.

TWEETABLES

To properly represent authors, it’s crucial for agents to understand publishers.  Click to Tweet.

When an agent’s post is misunderstood, all hell breaks loose. Click to Tweet.

A “mea culpa” for Monday’s post from @RachelleGardner. Click to Tweet.

The post Agents Represent Authors appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

I am not sure what makes people think “the time is now” as if we are in some kind of awesome bubble that is going to burst soon. We’re not.

We are in a long, slow transition period of our industry, in which people are experimenting with different ways of doing business. Some will work, some won’t. More importantly, different things will work for different people.

More does not always equal better. More books in the marketplace might mean more money in your pocket, but it also means less time available to pay attention to high quality writing, and less time available for giving each book the full weight of your marketing efforts.

If you are contracted with a traditional publisher, you may have restrictions on your ability to self-publish “on the side.” And this is not because publishers are overly possessive, or “dinosaurs,” or “just don’t get it.” It’s because they have an investment to protect, and it’s their responsibility to ensure nothing you do will interfere with the saleability of the brand they’re building (you).

Here are just a few considerations, from the publisher’s perspective:

1. Branding issues.

The publisher is working hard to position you in the market a certain way, and to maintain a level of quality for which they want you (and themselves) to be known. If you self-publish, they lose their ability to have input into the quality of your work, or the branding. This  can not only reflect negatively on them, it can create confusion in the reader (who sees different kinds of books with your name on them) which can lead to lower sales.

2. Quality issues.

Publishers spend considerable money on several rounds of editing, copyediting, and typesetting. They also have expensive, experienced designers for your cover as well as the interior design of the book. It’s risky for them when an author self-publishes and leaves the publisher without the ability to ensure a certain level of quality. If the quality of the self-published effort is lacking in any way, it can reflect poorly on the publisher and it can lead to lost readers, not just on the self-pub books but also on the trad-pub ones.

3. Time issues.

When a publisher contracts with you, they’re not only buying the rights to your books, they’re expecting you to devote the proper amount of time to the whole endeavor. This includes taking the time to write the best book you can, and it also means spending some time on the marketing of your book. Publishers are rightfully concerned that your efforts in self-publishing will take away from your ability to give your best to the books you’ve contracted with them.

4. Promotional issues.

Publishers don’t want your promotional efforts on your self-published books to eclipse their promotions on your contracted books. If they allow you to self-publish, they may lose their right to set boundaries on what you’re allowed to do promotionally, and this can be disastrous. What if you are working with a self-pub company who wants to put two of your books on a special “free” promotion… the same week your publisher is doing a big launch for your latest front-list release? Readers may be exposed to both promotions and choose the “free” books over your new release. You have just undercut your own sales.

All of this adds up to competition, i.e. situations in which your self-pub books are competing with your traditional-pub books for the reader’s attention. That’s why the paragraph in the contract that covers this is called the non-compete clause. The publisher has a right to protect themselves from their contracted authors competing with the publisher, thereby potentially harming the publisher’s sales of your book(s).

What if you’re self-publishing as a way to help promote your traditionally published books?

This can definitely work. If you are only publishing once a year, maybe getting a novella or some ancillary materials out there “in between” can help keep you in your readers’ minds, and whet their appetite for your next “big” book. It has to be done right, in such a way that it doesn’t compete but enhances sales, and usually will need to be done with your publisher’s permission. Sometimes the publisher will even want to be involved. If they see you’re capable of increasing your productivity, they may want to contract you for those extra “in between” books rather than have you do them on your own.

As I said up above, we are in an age of experimentation. Publishers have a lot to lose in terms of investment, so it behooves them to move cautiously when trying new things. But take heart—most of them are trying new things!

Have you thought about trying to become a “hybrid” author? What are your thoughts now that you have a glimpse of the publisher’s side?

Update: This post unleashed a storm in the comments from those who found it offensive and angering. I wrote a follow-up to clarify what I was trying to say. Click here:

Agents Represent Authors.

TWEETABLES

A publisher has to protect their investment in the brand they’re building—you. Click to Tweet.

Will your publisher let you self-publish too? @RachelleGardner tackles the thorny question. Click to Tweet.

Publishing isn’t in a bubble that may burst—we’re in a period of transition. Click to Tweet.

The post Will My Publisher Let Me Self-Publish Too? appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

One of the most uncomfortable realities of being a writer is asking for blurbs (a.k.a. endorsements). On the enjoyability meter, it ranks somewhere between Irritable Bowel Syndrome and having bamboo spikes driven under your toenails.

Before my last novel The Telling released, I determined to aim high for endorsers. Nothing but “big names.” I contacted a dozen high-profile authors, most of whom I’d had personal contact with, about blurbing the book. When the publication deadline was reached, I had approximately…

ZERO ENDORSEMENTS.

Needless to say, the process was quite a let-down.

For whatever reason, I am now in the weird position of having authors ask me for blurbs. Which kind of sucks. Don’t get me wrong, it is flattering that one’s name would be considered a positive commodity. Furthermore, it’s good form to throw writerly love around, whether it’s in asking for or giving endorsements. Bottom line: Being asked to endorse another writer’s book is an awesome problem to have.

The sucky part of this deal is being caught between wanting to be a “blurb whore,” endorsing everything, and only wanting to endorse books and authors I can genuinely get behind.

There’s a downside to both these extremes:

• The author who endorses everything loses credibility, especially when books they endorse turn out to be not-so-good.
• The author who only endorses books they genuinely like looks like a snobby elitist who lets taste interfere with friendship.

So I had to contact a couple of author friends recently and tell them I couldn’t endorse their books. I felt like a total schmuck. I couldn’t offer an endorsement not because I didn’t like their books, but because I didn’t read them. I was too swamped with my own projects. Perhaps I need to rethink my standards for endorsement. Do I really need to read a book in its entirety and enjoy it before I can attach my name to the title? Why not just endorse the book and stop being a jerk?

Anyway, I felt like a piece of garbage.

When it comes to blurbing etiquette, maybe that’s the first piece of advice I’d give:

When you ask an author for an endorsement, you are potentially putting them in a place to feel like a schmuck.

Respect that. They probably don’t like saying “no” to you. You’re not the only one whose career, reputation, and time is in the balance here.

When seeking endorsements to simply be polite. Use terms like, “Would you consider endorsing my latest novel…” or “If time allows…” Don’t act like a blurb is pending. Or even worse, like your author friend owes it to you. And by all means, do not keep score. By that I mean, “So-and-so never gave me an endorsement so I’m never buying another one of their books.” Dude, don’t take it personally.

When the potential endorser says they’re unable to endorse your book at this time, please — please — don’t pout. This is the time when bridges can be strengthened and industry relationships are built.

Perhaps your response to NOT getting an endorsement may pave the way for future endorsements.

When said author says they can’t blurb you, write them back and thank them for considering. Don’t go sulking into the shadows. Don’t hang up and leave static. Tell them you appreciate their time, you understand how busy everyone is, and wish them luck on their current projects. The worst thing you can do after an author informs you they can’t supply a blurb is to start sniping at them. “Why not? You recently blurbed so-and-so’s book and theirs isn’t half as good as mine.”

Fail. A thousand times over—fail.

Be gracious and thankful for the blurbs you receive, and if you haven’t received any yet, “Keep asking. Keep knocking. And keep seeking.” When an author approaches you for an endorsement, you’ll have a richer appreciation for this ugly affair.

All that to say, those authors who were unable to endorse my last book can be expecting another email for my next book. I am not too shy to keep asking. You shouldn’t be either.

As an author, do you have any experience with endorsements—either asking for them, or being asked? As a reader, how much do you pay attention to the blurbs on books?

* * *

Mike Duran is a monthly contributor to Novel Rocket, and blogs regularly about faith and culture. Mike’s novels include The Telling, The Resurrection, an ebook novella, Winterland, and his newly released short story anthology Subterranea You can visit his website at www.mikeduran.com.

TWEETABLES

“Being asked to endorse another writer’s book is an awesome problem to have.” Click to Tweet.

“The author who endorses everything loses credibility.” Click to Tweet.

What do you think about book blurbs? Click to Tweet.

The post Blurb Etiquette appeared first on Rachelle Gardner.

Just…pffft. Gone.

All of his hard work. All his moments of epiphany, his late nights and early mornings, his flashes of brilliance and the hours spent rewriting the not-so-brilliant. Each little God-given nugget of wisdom, each carefully-placed word and sentence and comma. All of it just gone.

He sent his computer off to an expensive service, who made no promises but committed to extracting as many X’s and O’s from his hard drive as possible, to see if there was any semblance of a book left there. Weeks went by. Meanwhile, the writer was heartsick and grieving. He cycled through the stages of grief (repeatedly): denial, anger, bargaining, depression… although I’m not sure he ever really got to #5, acceptance.

I empathized through all of this. Who hasn’t had a computer crash? I worked with the publisher to come up with alternate plans, in case the manuscript wasn’t recovered. I stayed quiet, not wanting to rub salt in the wound.

Finally, a miraculous happy ending. The document was largely recovered—albeit a messy, unformatted and incomplete version. And very expensive. But it was there. Phew! We worked out a new delivery date with the publisher. And the author could finally get on with life.

Except for the question he knew I would ask: Do you mind if I blog about this?

He graciously agreed, because he doesn’t want anyone, ever, to have to go through what he went through. And here’s the truth:

Nobody, EVER, has to lose any of their work, ever again.

The technology available at our fingertips is so easy to use, so inexpensive, so foolproof that there is NO EXCUSE to lose work to a computer problem, a virus, or an unfortunate airplane crash landing. (I had a client whose laptop ended up in the bottom of the Hudson when his pilot—Sully Sullenberger—landed the flight on that river in 2009).

Everybody knows this. You’re smart! You know you should have a foolproof backup plan.

But do you?

And if you do, have you checked it lately to make sure it’s working right?

Do not spend one more day writing anything at all until you’ve made sure you’ve taken steps to protect it. If you are with a publisher, do you realize you may be contractually obligated to protect your manuscript? You could endure not only the heartbreak and devastation of losing a manuscript, you could be in breach of contract because of it.

So how do you protect your work?

Forget about doing anything manually. Ditch the external hard drive. You need everything saved automatically and remotely—in the cloud—and I recommend a redundant system (i.e. two backup systems) which is how I do it.

Get a remote backup.

First, sign up for a remote backup such as Carbonite or Mozy. It is SO QUICK AND EASY. Do it now! You can have your entire computer backed up twice a day (or more) for an entire year for only about $60. Sixty bucks! Is your peace of mind worth sixty dollars a year? Go to the website, sign up, spend about 15 minutes getting it all set up, then sit back breathe a sigh of relief. Your computer will never go more than a few hours without being backed up in a remote location, so that your house could burn down and you would still not lose your work.

Save everything to the cloud.

Second, and even more important, set up a system in which all your documents are automatically saved in the cloud. This is real-time — it doesn’t depend on a backup every few hours. You want your document files to exist in the cloud rather than on your computer. There are several ways to do this, and I’ll recommend two.

If you’re a Mac person and all your devices are Apple, get set up with iCloud. When you do, all your documents, photos, music, calendars and contacts are automatically saved remotely and available from any device. You can make the final edit on your manuscript, then that very second, stomp on your MacBook. No problem! Pull the document up on your iPad and it’s all up to date. You get the picture.

For those who are on Windows computers (and even those on Macs), you can use Dropbox. It is FREE. Download Dropbox, then follow the instructions to configure it on your computer. I have mine set up so that all my Documents Folders are no longer saved to my computer, they’re automatically saved to Dropbox, which means I can access them from any device, anywhere.

I like having a redundant system because it gives me peace of mind that I’m protecting all of my business data. I use Mozy to backup my entire computer twice daily. I use Dropbox to hold my Documents (not everything else on my computer). My computer could crash, and as long as I can get access to another computer somewhere, I can still get access to all my files — perfectly updated!

You never again need to lose a single word of your work. Set up your systems immediately!

What is your system for protecting your files? Be honest!

TWEETABLES

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Not everyone wants or needs an agent. Your job is to assess your situation and decide if it is the kind of partnership that would serve you. Here I offer you an overview of the ways the right literary agent can enhance your writing career.

What kind of publisher do you want?

You only need to consider an agent if you’re interested in pursuing traditional, full-service, advance-and-royalty paying publishers. If you’re 100% committed to some kind of self-pub or subsidy publishing, you can probably do that on your own, although many agents today offer publishing services.

Preparing Your Manuscript

An agent can help you prepare and polish your proposal and manuscript before they’re submitted to publishers. Agents know what’s sellable in the current market, and they can help make sure your materials are top-notch before submission. They can help with everything from revisions on your manuscript to showcasing your platform in the most impressive way possible.

Submitting to Publishers

When your proposal is ready for submission, an agent has a big-picture view of all the possibilities, and they have information and experience that tells them which houses might be best for you. They have relationships with editors and an awareness of the editors’ preferences and current needs. The agent knows exactly how to submit your project to publishers so that it gets the proper attention. Often the agent has multiple conversations with publishers at the submission stage—answering questions, providing further information.

Offers from Publishers

When offers come in, the agent knows how to respond and how to negotiate the initial offer (at the Deal Memo stage). This is typically the time when the amount of the advance and the royalty rates are discussed, along with other key terms that may include the rights being sold, whether the publisher wants an option on the author’s next book, and the author buy-back discount. If there are offers from multiple publishers, the agent sets up a formal auction to decide the publisher.

But What if You’ve Already Secured a Publisher?

All the the functions listed above assume that you need a publisher. But sometimes an author is already working with a publisher when they begin considering an agent. In this case you’re asking, “Does the agent serve any function beyond the initial submissions and sale to a publisher?”

The answer is yes—read on below. But also, consider that even if you already have a book deal, signing with an agent will mean that your agent can help you with all the above functions—on your next book. By then they will have been working with you for some time, they’ll know you, and be in an even better position to help you take the next steps.

Negotiating the Contract

Most publishing contracts are 15 to 25 pages of legalese spelling out what rights the publisher is buying, and what rights you retain. The contract details how much money you’ll make on each format of your book and on every different kind of sale the publisher might make. It details how much it will cost you to buy your book from the publisher, whether the publisher wants an option on your next book, when you are eligible to get your rights back from the publisher, and whether your right to publish other materials is restricted. A typical boilerplate publisher contract that hasn’t been looked at by an agent usually doesn’t contain the most favorable terms an author could get if they tried (and I am not just referring to money). And most attorneys do not understand the implications of much of the language, unless they specialize in intellectual property.

Your agent understands the contract, and their job is to make sure your rights are protected and you are getting a fair deal with the best terms possible in your situation. They know which terms are most important to negotiate given your own goals and publishing scenario. Most importantly, they won’t allow you to sign a “bad” contract that would probably come back to bite you in the long run.

Interacting with Your Publisher

Once the contract is signed, you are on a long road with your publisher in which you’ll go through the process of:

• writing your book,
• dealing with several rounds of editing
• having your book cover designed
• possibly having your title changed
• promoting your book in cooperation with the publisher’s marketing department
• launching your book

Throughout this journey, you will have many questions, and your agent will have the answers. Whenever you have an issue (for example, if you think you may not meet your deadline) your agent will handle it with the publisher. Whenever there is a conflict, such as a cover design you hate, your agent knows how to go back to the publisher and facilitate a satisfactory resolution.

It is this day-to-day partnership that is most valuable to many authors. An agented author is never alone on this publishing journey.

An Agent is Your Royalty Statement Watchdog

When your royalty statement comes, it will probably be confusing and hard to read. You may have no way of knowing if it contains mistakes or if you’ve been paid the proper amount. Part of an agent’s service is that they analyze your royalty statements to be sure your sales are being properly accounted for.

Constant Input and Education

Your agent can be a great source of knowledge about the industry. They can offer you a wider perspective whenever you have a question or concern. When you hear industry rumors, your agent usually knows what’s true and what’s not. Many agencies also offer concrete help and education for their clients, on topics that concern authors such as how to use social media to market books, or how to make the most of a writers’ conference. Some agencies have regular webinars for their clients, some have retreats, and many offer an online forum in which their clients can communicate and support each others’ careers.

Strategic Career Management

One of the best values an agent can offer is brainstorming with you about your “next book” and the entire direction of your career. They can take into account your personal goals and the state of the publishing marketplace to help you determine your next steps. If you have three different book ideas on the table, your agent would offer guidance as to which would probably be your best bet. They are keeping your brand in mind and will want to help you maximize your sales potential over the long term.

Ancillary Services

These days, literary agencies are doing more than just representing books to traditional publishers. They’re offering their clients multiple ways to be published, whether it’s traditional publishing, self-publishing, or a hybrid method. They’re always on the lookout for new opportunities for their clients.

Still, Not Everyone Needs an Agent

It’s up to you to determine whether a partnership approach to publishing would be right for you. I’m not trying to convince you to get an agent! But for those who’ve asked, I wanted to point out the benefits.

If you have an agent, how would you describe the benefits?

Tweetables

Do I need an agent? If I had one, how would they help me? Get the answers. Click to Tweet.

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Guest blogger: Erin MacPherson

We’ve been talking about Pinterest as a marketing tool for authors (here and here) and today I want to get your creative juices flowing by telling you about some innovative approaches to Pinterest marketing. There are many more, so please share your ideas in the comments and we can turn this post into a great Pinterest resource for writers. Here are my favorite ideas:

1. Recruit a Guest Pinner

I’ve used this strategy to great success for about six months now and it’s not only helped me to build my Pinterest boards up, but it’s also allowed me to have new, fresh content to share on my Facebook page each week. I love it. And it’s so easy! Invite another author/blogger/writer to pin on one of your existing boards (or a secret board if you want to do a big one-time roll out) by clicking “edit board” and then “invite other pinners.” From there, allow your guest pinner to add pins to your board. It’s a win for you because you’ll get fresh content on your Pinterest boards that you don’t have to work for, new pins for social media and some Pinterest collaboration with another author. And it’s a win for your guest pinners because they get a whole new audience with whom to share their content.

2. Pinterest Wars

Authors Katie Ganshert and Becky Wade host a weekly Pinterest war where they face off to try a new recipe, activity, craft or style. They both post pictures on their blogs and then have their readers vote to see who did it best. This is a brilliant idea because it not only helps both authors to drive traffic to their blogs (who doesn’t love to vote?) but it also helps them to create a relatable and fun voice with their audiences.

3. Pinterest Challenges

I’ve seen several authors and bloggers challenge their readers to make a certain recipe or craft each week and then post the results on Facebook or on a new Pinterest board. Try challenging your audience to make a superhealthy smoothie or a fun spring craft and then submit photos which you can subsequently post on Pinterest for all to see.

4. Pin-It Party

The bloggers at Creative Geekery host a weekly Pin-It party where they invite their readers to pin their favorite pins. Those pins are then shared across social media by a series of bloggers as well as a “hall of fame” of pins is posted on the blog each week. What a great way to aggregate content from other writers as well as drive traffic to both a blog and a Pinterest board.

5. Use Photos from Fans

A few months ago, I noticed that a lot of people were posting (on Facebook) photos of huge messes made by their kids. So, I quickly created an app (and related contest) where people could submit their biggest Mom-Tastrophe photos to me. Once submitted, I use PicMonkey to add a title to each photo as well as my blog title and then I save them all to a Mom-Tastrophes Pinterest Board. This board has quickly become my most repinned board on Pinterest.

How have you used Pinterest as a marketing tool — or what are some good ideas you’ve heard about?

Erin MacPherson is an Austin, Texas mom by day and writer by night. She works as a staff writer for Dun & Bradstreet where she writes social media and marketing copy for companies like Disney, Nissan, LeapFrog and Discover Card. Her new series of books, The Christian Mama’s Guide series, released this month from Thomas Nelson. Drop by to say hello on Facebook, on Pinterest or at christianmamasguide.com.

TWEETABLES

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The elements of a successful book are:

1. A compelling topic (a great idea).

2. Excellent execution (strong writing and organization).

3. An audience (also known as a platform).

These three essentials work together to determine the strength of your book. You need all three, but sometimes if you’re weak in one area, you might make up for it with exceptional strength in the other two areas.

In fiction: the idea and execution are primary; the author platform is still important but not nearly as important as the writing.

In non-fiction: the author platform is of primary importance; the idea comes next, and the execution (the writing itself) becomes the third consideration.

If an unpublished writer comes to me with a medium platform, then in order to consider them, I need a really killer book idea. It can’t be just another “good” idea. But if the platform is enormous and I know the book will sell partly based simply on the strength of the author, then the idea just has to be “good enough.” It’s a sliding scale, with each element contributing its strength and hopefully there is enough “oomph” between the three elements to push the book over the tipping point into “sellable.”

There’s no formula. It’s an art, not a science, and a subjective one at that. What one person thinks is a great idea, another may find “ho hum.” Even so, every agent, every publisher, and every self-publisher should be looking for each book to have a winning combination of these essentials.

Let’s drill down a bit:

1. A compelling topic

The concept itself must turn heads. In one sentence it’s obvious that you have a fresh idea. It sparks interest, it compels people to want to hear more, and it might even make some people mad.

Take a look at your idea, and how you’re phrasing it. Does it sound fresh and exciting—or like a hundred other books already out there?

2. Excellent execution

This is all about the writing. Plenty of people can string a few words together. But when you put your words on a page, do they sing? The craft of writing is exactly that—a craft. Like any craft, it requires learning, practice, apprenticeship, dedication. Have you done what it takes to make your writing worthy of public exposure prior to submitting it for publication?

In the fiction queries I receive, average or poor writing is the biggest reason for rejection. Some people have terrific ideas for stories that sound like they’re going to knock my socks off. But when I start to read, I realize they haven’t taken the time to develop their craft prior to submission. (This can be quite disappointing to me, because often the ideas are really good.)

In a non-fiction book, the ideas need to be well-organized and the prose needs to shine. It’s easy for a non-fiction book to become boring and lose the reader’s interest. The writing matters.

3. An audience.

You probably already know that you need a platform, which refers to the means by which you’ll help sell your book by your presence in the media, social media, and/or the public sphere.

The key to platform is your target audience and what you are doing to reach them. It’s smart to begin building your platform well before you hope to be published—years, even. Are you already blogging, building a Facebook community, writing articles, or out on the speaking circuit?

Evaluate Yourself

Look critically at your proposal and manuscript—better yet, have someone else do it for you—and make an honest evaluation as to how you’re faring on the three tiers: Topic, Execution, and Audience. Whatever is lacking, set out to improve it. And don’t worry about how much time it will take. It is better to do it right than to do it fast.

Of course, having these three elements doesn’t guarantee you’ll have a successful book. These are the bare bones—the minimum needed to find success in publishing. The rest is, as you know, timing, luck, and a sprinkling of fairy dust.

In which area — topic, execution, audience — are you strongest? Which do you find most difficult? What are you doing to strengthen your weaker areas?

TWEETABLES:

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What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

It’s a good question, meant to inspire us to dream beyond our boundaries, to “think big,” to pursue our goals. But I think we tend to hear it and then brush it off, not really spending time with it.

Maybe we think we’re not afraid of much. Or the opposite — thinking about our fears overwhelms us. Maybe we don’t have time for such silly exercises.

I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the point of the question. And I found myself getting defensive, if only in my mind. I’m doing the best I can. Why must I feel bad for not doing MORE?

But then I decided to honestly consider the question. What would I do if I weren’t afraid?

Maybe I would speak up more honestly on my blog… if I weren’t afraid of how I’d be perceived.

Maybe I would take a week at a spa all by myself…if I weren’t afraid of upsetting my family and falling behind on client work.

Maybe I would write my memoir… if I weren’t afraid of how much work it would be and the time it would take.

Maybe I would stop all social media—no blogging, Twitter, Facebook, anything… if I weren’t afraid of the results of being invisible.

By going through this process, I realized the point of the question is to discover our hidden lurking goals, dreams and desires—the ones that are down so deep, we might not even realize they are there. And in this discovery, we might find a way to begin pursuing those desires in a way that circumvents the fears.

I doubt I’ll take a spa week by myself. But simply allowing that desire to surface showed me that perhaps I am weary and have a deep need for rest. Is there a way I can find rest in a non-scary way?

Every time we answer the question, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” we come into contact with important information about ourselves. We can look beneath our answers to find our deepest truths. We can also confront our fears, and assess whether they are worth heeding, or if we should charge ahead right through the fear.

♦ If you weren’t afraid of rejection, would you be sending out more queries to agents?

♦ If you weren’t afraid of being vulnerable, would you write your novels more truthfully?

♦ If you weren’t afraid of technological challenges, would you have self-published that book already?

Tell us:

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

And what can you learn about yourself by answering the question?

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NOT.

Awhile back I blogged about making a living as a writer (Part 1 and Part 2), so today we’re going to talk about the unfortunate side effect of getting paid for your writing. Yup, it’s….

Taxes.

Disclaimer: I’m not going to thoroughly cover the topic of taxes for writers. I’m not a CPA and I’ve never worked for the IRS so I’m not even going to try to tell you “all about taxes.” I am, however, going to give you a few tips regarding MONEY in general as it relates to your career as a writer.

So here are a few hints for you:

1. Treat your writing like a business.

This is the most important thing I want to impress upon you about handling the financial aspect of your writing career.  It means budgeting for your writing expenses before they happen, and tracking them throughout the year. Even if you’re not making money yet, you need to do this, to establish in your mind that this is a business, and to prepare you for the day you are making money. How much will you spend on writing conferences, books, memberships, and office supplies? Even if you’re not yet to the point where you can write off expenses, keep track of them.

2. Set aside money for taxes from every check you receive.

When you make income as a writer, the taxes will not be taken from those checks before you get them. It’s up to you to pay the tax. And you may not have the money when April 15th rolls around if you don’t set it aside (plus the IRS will assess penalties if you wait that long). You should probably file estimated taxes on a quarterly basis.

Each time you receive a check, set aside about 20% for taxes (adjust as necessary depending on your tax bracket). The best strategy is to send the tax to the IRS the moment your advance check clears the bank. Get the correct address and procedure from the IRS website or call their information line. If you choose to wait, you still need to pay the taxes by the due dates for estimated tax payments, which are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15. If you made money in that quarter, you should pay your estimated taxes in that quarter. This will lessen the sticker shock come April 15.

WARNING: You will want to ignore this advice! You will agree it’s a good idea but you probably won’t do it. Trust me, if you don’t follow this advice, you will be sorry! I get my share of woe-is-me phone calls and emails from writers at tax time. Don’t be one of them!

3. Spring for a professional tax accountant.

When you first start making income as a writer, I recommend you pay a good tax accountant to do your taxes for at least the first couple of years, preferably someone who has handled freelancers and/or people with small home businesses. After that, if you want to start doing it yourself or paying one of those discount tax-preparation services, at least you’ll have those professionally prepared tax forms from previous years as a guide to keep you on track. (But my personal recommendation is that if you’re making money as an independent contractor, and writing off expenses including a portion of your household bills, you should probably hire a professional.)

4. Don’t spend your advance checks the moment you get them.

I recommend you try not to use your advances to pay bills or immediately purchase something large, even if it’s something you’ve been dreaming about. I think you should put your advance money away for three to six months, somewhere it’s not easily accessible, while you take your time deciding what to do with it. Pay your taxes, and let the rest sit.

5. But DO commemorate your success!

I DO recommend either buying something small and special to commemorate getting that check, or doing something celebratory that you wouldn’t normally do – a nice dinner out or a night in a hotel. You want to be wise, but you also want to take time to celebrate your achievement!

I’m not going to go over specific things like what the IRS allows as write-offs, when to file as an LLC or an “S” corporation, or how to avoid an audit. There are plenty of resources to help you with details. The most important thing for me to convey is that you need to be proactive about taking care of your finances. If you hope to make money from writing someday, now is the time to prepare. Get educated. Make a budget. Track your expenses. In other words, be a professional.

Any further thoughts on financial management for writers?

TWEETABLES:

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