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 Friday, June 13, 2008
Quick & Deep (and Life-Changing) Writing Advice
Posted by Jane
I keep several Moleskine journals, and one is devoted specifically to the philosophy of great writers (or great writing). Today, a glimpse into the most recent entries: The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings—words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out.
—Stephen King
In every work of genius, we recognized our own rejected thoughts: They come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.—Emerson
To poets, silence is an acceptable response, even a flattering one.—Colette Before the play [by Harold Pinter], I thought words were just vessels of meaning. After it I saw them as weapons of defense. Before, I thought theatre was about the spoken; after, I understood the eloquence of the unspoken. It offered no explanations, no theories, no truths, no through line, no certainties of any kind.—John Lahr
Something has to be alive inside the story, giving it a pulse … What is it that's going to be whispering in your ear? Mostly it'll be what was there to start with—the unending swirl of memories, start-ups, hang-ups, and preoccupations. Write what you know goes the cliche. I'm not so sure you have a choice.
—Danny Leigh If there is a single pressure that has brought me to writing, it is regret. That is like rocket fuel for this kind of art.—DBC Pierre
Craft & Technique | General
6/13/2008 2:59:38 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  Trackback
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Thursday, June 12, 2008
Weekly Roundup of Great WD Blog Posts
Posted by Jane
The latest and greatest information from WD editors: Three acts of bad blogging (Writer's Perspective)
The editor of Writer's Digest magazine offers excellent and simple tips
that will improve your blog overnight. Be sure to check out helpful
comments from readers, too. How I met one of the 20 worst agents (Guide to Literary Agents blog)
An entertaining story about a bad agent. Help them help you (Living With the M-Word)
Our senior marketing manager talks about the harsh reality of how a publisher will (or won't) be supporting your book. How do people read and buy books? (Alice's CWIM blog)A Market Books editor points to a recent article with interesting statistics about people's book-buying habits. What should you charge to ghostwrite a book? (Questions & Quandaries)If you're thinking about writing a book for someone else, what's a fair rate?
Agents | Craft & Technique | Getting Published | Industry News & Trends | Marketing & Self-Promotion
6/12/2008 5:55:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Where Is Publishing Headed? A Few Innovative Ventures From F+W
Posted by Jane
For three days this week, I am participating in an F+W Publications innovation summit that brings together dozens of employees (mainly at an executive level) to discuss some of our cutting-edge products and ideas—and of course how to find and implement more innovative ideas, or take them to the next level. If you want to see the future of publishing, here are several examples from this morning: Coin Chat Radio (and others) Some of our best-known guides/brands at Krause (a division of F+W) have recently launched online radio shows, which has generated brand-new advertising revenue. MyCraftivityA social networking site for crafters, just launched in February 2008. Crafts is an enormously profitable book and magazine publishing category for F+W (with publications coming from North Light, Krause, Adams, and David & Charles). Artist's Network TVArt instruction demos—a collaboration between F+W's magazine and book division. Log Homes Network
This site from Krause offers a free print guide (free content!) for visitors that in turn helps us provide valuable leads to our
marketing partners and advertisers.
Impact Books
One of the most successful new book lines at our company, launched in 2004.
Digitization & New Technology | F+W Life | Industry News & Trends
6/10/2008 1:08:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Monday, June 09, 2008
Don't Go to BEA to Pitch Your Book
Posted by Jane
In an earlier post related to BEA, I mentioned that the show had provided us with a valuable author interaction that eventually led to one of our bestselling backlist titles. That might lead some aspiring writers to think: Well, if I could only get on the BEA show floor, I could sell my book directly to a publisher! Not so fast. In the example above we (Writer's Digest) were in pursuit of a particular author. This author did not solicit us on the show floor with a book or a pitch. There's a big (big!) difference. Aspiring writers (or self-published authors) who go from booth to booth at BEA, trying to find a "distributor" for their book (yeah, right, we all know you're a self-published author looking for a traditional publisher), are universally reviled by exhibiting publishers. Why? Several reasons. - BEA booths are staffed primarily by sales and marketing staff, not editorial staff. Sales and marketing people do not want to hear your pitch.
- When editorial staff are present, they are busy (like everyone else) with the their existing authors, with events at the booth, and with other professionals they've made appointments with.
- But what about networking, you ask? Isn't it better to make a contact at the show, then follow up later? Well, it depends. I've been pitched countless times at BEA by people I don't know, and my only reaction is irritation, and it doesn't increase my favorability toward that author later, when I'm in the office. I simply think, "Oh that's the person who interrupted me at BEA."
Of course, I don't mind being pitched at BEA by people I already know, or by people who make appointments with me. But drive-by pitches? Don't do it. Update (6.10.08)One of our authors, Anastasia Suen, wrote to add: Great post about networking at BEA! I wrote one last week (with a
picture of the pitch slam) saying to pitch your books at the WD
conference and to use the BEA exhibits to look at the books to find a match.
http://asuen.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/bea-buzz-networking/
Conferences/Events | Getting Published
6/9/2008 8:38:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Friday, June 06, 2008
The Most Charming Book We've Published This Season That's Not a Book
Posted by Jane
It's been a balmy 95 degrees here in Cincinnati. I'm loving every moment, but most everyone else is bitterly complaining. Those people need a cartoon to cheer up.  This cartoon comes from Kawaii Not by Meghan Murphy. When one of our editors discovered Meghan's wonderful Web site and artwork, we asked her if she'd be interested in turning the material into a book, which we released in March (from HOW Books). But it's not really a book in the traditional sense. It's like a spiralbound notebook with perforated pages; you can tear out any cartoon, like little greetings. (Plus there are stickers in the back!) I've posted various cartoons from Kawaii Not in my apartment (there are some great naughty ones for the bathroom and the kitchen in particular).  Visit the Amazon page.
Fun
6/6/2008 1:39:35 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Which 30-Day Novel Writing Plan Is Best? (WD Backlist Smackdown!)
Posted by Jane
  Our staff just recently discovered a comprehensive online review that compares two books from our backlist, First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Wiesner and Book in a Month by Victoria Schmidt. A brief snippet: It’s a tough call on the better book here. From evaluating nothing but the methods and books themselves, I’d personally go with First Draft in 30 Days (because of the career planning chapter, nice list of writer’s block solutions, and the ability to tailor the project for new or existing projects easily).
However, if you’re a more visual person, or you like the extra nudges of probing questions to help you think and re-focus, Book in a Month will probably serve your needs better. I bought both, and don’t regret either purchase. There’s no reason I would suggest that you not consider one or the other, if this kind of project interests you.
Read the full review at All Book Marketing.Thanks to author Karen Wiesner and editor Kelly Nickell (who worked on both of these book projects!) for passing along the link.
Craft & Technique
6/6/2008 11:05:24 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Thursday, June 05, 2008
E-Books & Digitization: Can It Be Less Work & More Simple?
Posted by Jane
(Warning: This post takes a while to get to the point. Scroll through quickly if so inclined.) At my company, there has been an explosion of Web-based applications and tools for administrative tasks. It all started with an HR site that helps employees request/track our time off, benefits, and pay. Now we have separate sites (and separate logins and passwords) for the following: - IT helpdesk
- Salaried employee timesheets
- Hourly employee timesheets
- Expense reports and travel booking
- Back end for web site management
- Back end for blog management
- Remote e-mail access
- F+W intranet
… not to mention separate logins/processes for our desktop computers, internal servers/databases, and internal wireless network. Eventually (one hopes), all of these separate little sites will become part of a larger F+W intranet. There will be a seamless, integrated, and efficient system, with one access point. I've seen such systems in action with much larger corporations (like hospitals and telecomms). In my personal life (which is closely connected to my professional life, it must be said), I've been looking for ways to integrate-streamline all my media-notes-stuff in a way that makes it accessible to me wherever I am, no matter what device/platform I'm using, with the least amount of fuss, and least likelihood of catastrophic loss. For instance, I recently lost my cell phone, and with it, every single phone number I've recorded in the past couple years. (The phone was not synced with any of my other devices. Ouch.) One thing that's helped me is Google; their services tend to be intuitive, free, and exactly what I need. Right now, I'm actively using iGoogle, Google News, Google Reader, Google Notebook, Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Alerts, Google Web History, and Google Calendar. (Note: If you use Google Reader, you can become my "friend" and start following all the articles that I like to read.) I can envision one day storing all of my documents, e-mails, music, photos, notes, etc. right on Google servers, to create that seamless experience, one access point to my life. And of course that's exactly Google's goal for me too. Which leads to the larger point I want to make about publishing.
In the past month, I've read dozens (if not hundreds!) of articles and postings about e-books and the digitization of content. (I will be posting links/summaries in the next few days.) Even for someone in the business, someone who's paying attention, it's impossible to keep it all straight … … all the different formats
… all the different devices
… all the different models
… all the different services
… all the different strategies
… all the different technologies
Exhausting. I can hardly understand it myself, much less explain it to an outsider. Who is going to simplify this? Who is going to capture the view from 50,000 feet, understand what an ordinary person wants, then deliver it? Whatever happens, I can guarantee this: - a successful solution or product will make things easier, not harder
- a successful solution or product will take the experience to the next level (in terms of usefulness or entertainment)
- a successful solution or product will help people integrate reading/content/information/media into their lives, and streamline all that media, without extra expense and hassle
To bring this to a practical, here's-an-example level: Do I want a Kindle? Yes. Do I want another device to lose, lug around, or upgrade/update when a new version releases? No. Life needs to get simpler and more organized, not more complex. What can publishers (authors) (content providers) offer to readers that don't make them try extra hard? That fits seamlessly into everyday life? That actually makes reading or finding content easier or more pleasurable and entertaining than ever before? What would delight? Today, e-books/digitization feels like work. Hard work. (Should it?) Can we envision, then create, solutions/products that make sense to readers—and create a good experience rather than a confusing or frustrating one? Just initial ramblings; more to come soon.
Digitization & New Technology | F+W Life | Industry News & Trends
6/5/2008 5:25:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Bookmark These Sites! Great Progressive Thinkers in Book Publishing
Posted by Jane
To assist a colleague, I compiled a list of helpful sites that often discuss e-books. As I compiled it, I realized that it's also a wonderful list for writers who want to read some of the most progressive and up-to-date thinking in the book publishing industry. This is obviously not an exhaustive list, just my favorites, so please throw in your own suggestions in the comments area. Great Publishing Blogs by Progressive ThinkersJoe Wikert's Publishing 2020 Blog
By Joe Wikert, VP and Executive Publisher at Wiley
PersonaNonData
By Michael Cairns at Information Media Partners
(former president of R.R. Bowker)
Print Is Dead
By author Jeff Gomez
O'Reilly Radar Publishing blog
A group blog by O'Reilly folks, including Tim O'Reilly
Digitization & New Technology | General | Industry News & Trends
6/4/2008 2:41:36 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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The Other Jane Friedman Speaks Out on BEA's Purpose
Posted by Jane
 In a Bookseller magazine blog by Gayle Feldman, Harper CEO Jane Friedman is quoted on her opinion of BEA: "The fact that we've not been able to define what this fair is about
after such a long time means we may be coming to the time when
definition becomes absolutely essential."
Read the full posting, "Living and Dying in LA."
Conferences/Events | Industry News & Trends
6/4/2008 12:34:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Good Advice on How to Pitch
Posted by Jane
The reviews on the BEA/WDB conference are still trickling in … The latest is from an attendee who has excellent advice on how to approach a pitch slam. A snippet: I think the most successful people were able to boil their book down to these three things:
Genre: I have a middle grade novel about eleven-year-old Billy
Cool factor: who starts an "anti-bully" business with Smacker, the monster under his bed.
Closing: Smacker disappears and darker creatures arrive under Billy's bed, threatening to destroy the town, Billy's friends, and Smacker, unless Billy can give them what they want--a chance to be on American Idol.
Read the full entry at the blog Wits and Pieces.
Agents | Conferences/Events | Getting Published
6/4/2008 9:37:58 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Tuesday, June 03, 2008
The Big Problem With BEA That Everyone Knows—And Is Starting to Talk About
Posted by Jane
 This year's BookExpo America in Los Angeles was my fifth year in attendance. Every year, I return home exhausted, no matter how long I stay or what agenda I follow. For me, it's an intense concentration of people and experiences—the most intense of the year. Take all the important (and beloved) people you know, along with a bunch of important people you don't know, then shake and stir (e.g., stand in line for 45 minutes for a Starbucks beverage, after standing on your feet for 4-8 hours without sustenance, followed by an end-of-the-day line for shuttle, taxi, dinner, etc). But I digress. (Note: For anyone who doesn't yet know the basic texture of BEA, I recommend reading a piece I did for Identity Theory in 2007.) My company, F+W Publications, has a booth presence at BEA, and I was there on Friday to lend support to my authors who were
signing books, as well as meet with a variety of agents and prospective authors (and marketing partners). Unfortunately, in the five years I have been attending BEA, I have yet
to see any correlation between a great BEA book signing (or promotion) and
great book sales. I wish I could say otherwise, given how much of our
staff's energy, talent, and creativity are on display.
If there's a bright side to this, industry-wide people are starting to
notice that BEA is a significant expense that looks more and more like
a party where we (the publishers—or authors) are the only ones who show up. Take
for instance this snippet from AP coverage of the event:
"I think when this is over, we're going to do some soul
searching," said CEO David Shanks of Penguin Group (USA). "There are
people in this hall who have spent way more than a million dollars at a
time when we all should be pinching pennies."
Also, Michael Cader at PublishersLunch reported:
Publishing executives who used to gamely tell us how nice
to was to see everyone gathered together and be part of the community
even if they couldn't measure the return on investment were talking
more this time about the "waste of money" the show has come to
represent. One ceo, admitting that "you have to be here," nonetheless
said to us, "I don't know what the solution is. People are going to
have to take a hard look" at the show and its relevance and value. In
the days leading up to this year's BEA, everyone within the F+W book division
was asked to evaluate our participation going forward, considering the
expense of attending this show. It appears that, next year, F+W will have
a reduced presence at the show, in terms of booth space, staff
attendance, author attendance, and other marketing & promotions. It's
hard to argue against such a move when our efforts don't translate into
definitive sales. Our marketing dollars would likely be more effective in direct-to-consumer events or promotions.
That said, from an editorial perspective, the face time that editors
have with authors and agents at BEA has been invaluable for acquisitions. One of my colleagues, Writer's Digest Books executive editor Kelly Nickell, met
author James Scott Bell in 2003 on the show floor of BEA. That
interaction resulted in a book that has been our No. 1 bestseller for
Writer's Digest Books for several years (with sales increasing year on year).
Would this project have happened without BEA? I'd argue probably not.
One would think this kind of interaction wouldn't be necessary in a
world where it's so easy to connect online in seconds, but in fact, I
think the reverse has become true. Making time to meet someone
face-to-face has become even more treasured and valued. People pay
attention when you make that kind of effort.
Conferences/Events | General | Industry News & Trends
6/3/2008 1:22:59 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Monday, June 02, 2008
Recap + Photos: 2008 BEA/WDB Writers Conference
Posted by Jane
Now that I'm back in the office, I have a few more things to share from last week's conference in Los Angeles. FIRST, A FEW PHOTOSThese shots were taken primarily during the break after lunch, during the book signing.  Robert Brewer, editor of Writer's Market (the guy sitting behind the table), holds down the fort. Attendees take a breather to study the agent bios, refine their afternoon pitches, make a few calls, send a few e-mails. Here I am (on the right) answering questions at the bookstore. A view of downtown Los Angeles from the convention center.Thanks to attendee Dave Malone for sharing these. If anyone else has photos of the conference to share (and you'd like to see them posted here), please e-mail them to wdbooks@fwpubs.com.
WHAT OTHERS HAD TO SAY"Oh, my God! This was incredible. As someone who teaches writing, it
was both inspirational and affirming to be in the student's seat. Some
of what these writers taught, I practice and, in turn, teach to my
students and clients. (Yay for me.) And then there's the stuff I
didn't know or hadn't thought of or hadn't been exposed to. We're
always learning, no matter what our craft." —Dawn, an attendee, from her blog Write Well Me
"As the line in front of me got shorter, I kept repeating my pitch, but
it kept changing. Should I approach it this way or that way? I had only
decided to do this around 2:45pm. At about 3:12 it was my turn. I
pitched. It came out lame (I thought), courtesy of my “deer in the
headlights” brain freeze, but I brazened it out and went on through it
to the end. The assistant and I talked over a couple of points and
while I think I can guess why he liked it, I’m still not sure. He liked
something about it though, because I was given contact information and
told to send him the first 2 chapters." —an attendee, from her blog My Very Own Blogetary
"The conference went very well. Nay, it went
awesome. Attendance was good and the LA Convention Center was very
nice. It was more hectic than last year, and I can recall three times
during the day when I was in a flat sprint trying to do something."
—GLA editor Chuck Sambuchino, from his GLA blog
"The writers conference in Los Angeles went really well. I'm so glad to
have met some of my blog readers there (thanks for introducing
yourselves!). The event was successful again for all involved—with
happy writers, editors, agents, and even the event organizers, who are
notoriously hard to please." —Writer's Market editor Robert Brewer, from his Poetic Asides blog
"An audience member said that she had read/been advised that her book
proposal should include a mention of any personal finances the author
planned to use to promote her book, but only if that dollar figure
topped $10,000. Her question was: Is this true? The question
caught me off guard—mainly because I've never heard this before. While
it's definitely smart to provide any information about your
self-promotional plans, it doesn't seem wise to place a dollar figure
on what you're willing to spend of your own money to promote your work.
And it certainly doesn't make sense (to me) to put it in writing." —WD mag online managing editor, Brian Klems, from his blog Questions & Quandaries
"All I've gotten out of Brian so far is a link to
this (admittedly hilarious, delightfully short) You Tube video, Book
Launch 2.0. Check it out. And let's hope that Brian at least brings us
back T-shirts." —WD mag editor Maria Schneider, from her blog The Writer's Perspective
AND MY COMMENTSI am unbelievably grateful to editors Chuck Sambuchino ( Guide to Literary Agents), Robert Brewer ( Writer's Market), and Lauren Mosko ( Writer's Digest Books) for their invaluable contributions in organizing this event. And editor Brian Klems ( Writer's Digest magazine) provided much-needed assistance throughout the day and during the pitch slam. Instrumental F+W staff included Joanne Widmer (mistress of the bookstore), Laura Smith (registration savior), Suzanne Lucas and Kimberly Bolen (register goddesses), Justin Combs and Scott Francis (our muscle men), and last, but certainly not least, Greg Hatfield, my continuing partner in crime. And of course the conference would not exist were it not for the enthusiastic support and industrious efforts of Mark Dressler, at Reed/BEA. Finally, I appreciate the generous donation of time and energy from the agents and editors who participated in our pitch slam. Without them, such a successful event would not be possible. If you attended the conference and would like to voice your compliments or criticisms, feel free to do so here, in the comments field, or send them privately to wdbooks@fwpubs.com Mark your calendars for next year's conference in New York City, on May 27!
Conferences/Events
6/2/2008 4:06:25 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Saturday, May 31, 2008
Mysterious Beautiful Women Read Writer's Digest Books
Posted by Jane
Fun
5/31/2008 10:25:05 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Thursday, May 29, 2008
A Successful BEA/WDB Writers Conference 2008
Posted by Jane
Yesterday Writer's Digest Books hosted its annual writing conference in conjunction with BEA. Even though our freight (books & supplies) were late in arriving, we all had a fabulous day. Pictures soon to follow, along with my commentary. For now, take a look at one attendee's perspective/review of the event, at the 1,000 Cranes Blog. A small snippet: The day started with some frank discussions by panelists regarding what literary agents want and how to set yourself apart. One woman was brutally honest (which I loved) and said "if you are pitching a memoir, really take a hard look at yourself and determine, is this something that a great number of people would want to read? You can't be a narcissist about this!"
Many thanks to Naomi Takeuchi for taking the time to comment on our event.
Conferences/Events
5/29/2008 12:00:03 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
What Is BEA, Anyway?
Posted by Jane
Trying to describe BEA (BookExpo America) to someone outside of the publishing industry can be difficult. Fortunately, there are brilliant people like Michael Cader (of Publishers Lunch) to provide exactly the right commentary and sharp insight. In today's issue of Lunch, he gives this digested version of the BEA experience, using snippets from the past three years of his Lunch report. 2007I Feel Bad About My BEA: and Other Thoughts on Publishing and Convention[s]"For four days, I've covered, convened and contemplated, looking for the elusive BEA story that's never there. The simple truth I've come to is that BEA is like holding a mirror up to our business. It can bring you serendipity, get you drunk, put you in the company of amazing people and, as on Friday, leave you covered in sweat. It can exhilarate, exhaust, excite and ultimately exasperate. "We overwhelm our markets and customers with individual choices -- that's the essential impression of the floor -- and offer precious little guidance and merchandising of ourselves and our lines to help people navigate among those choices. By outward appearances we treat every visitor the same -- booksellers, librarians, wholesalers, media people, and rights buyers are all expected to figure out the booth and the staff personnel on their own, quickly as they glide by. We wait for people to come to us, hoping they will discover the right things when we haven't helped the discovery." 2006"In 265,000 square feet of abundance, standing out, or becoming memorable, is extremely hard -- particularly if your message is basically the same as everyone else's, and if your both is the same as everyone else's (and the same as your's was last year, only the sky-rise banner or lightbox pictures are new)." 2005
The Not Really Show"Everyone seems to be more easily able to identify whom the show is "not really... " for than whom it is for. Much as BEA has done to boost the numbers of retailers, it's not really a bookselling show (and a lot of people have bought fall already); it's not really for big publishers, though their square footage seems to keep creeping up; it's not really for small publishers, though many are present, helping to fill the square footage; it's not really a rights selling show and it's not really for international publishers, even as those numbers rise; it's not really for librarians, yet ever more they come in larger numbers; it's not really about 'big books' anymore, but it's not really about small books either; and on the list goes."
Conferences/Events | Industry News & Trends
5/27/2008 7:40:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Overused Fantasy Cliches
Posted by Jane
As I prepare to leave for Los Angeles, I'll leave you with some entertaining (and useful) reading on someone else's blog. There's a site called Dragon Writing Prompts that has a delightful post for fantasy writers, The Not-So-Grand List of Overused Fantasy Cliches. A few of my favorite bits: Evil doers with multi uber awesome powers always
come unstuck when a newbie hero/heroine turns up with one super lame
attack all powered by (you guessed it) LOVE! (Known as the Pretty Sammy effect.)
The evil wizard is played by either Jack Palance or Christopher Lee.
Scantily-clad and hatless heroes and heroines are able to walk for
miles outdoors under a blazing sun without even the slightest hint of a
sunburn or skin damage afterwards.
Many thanks to Pam Wissman, editorial director at North Light & Impact Books, for sharing this link with me.
Fun | Craft & Technique
5/27/2008 11:14:11 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Friday, May 23, 2008
The Transformation of the Book Club Model (that is, Change or Die)
Posted by Jane
Earlier this week, The Economist published an article on book clubs, "The Final Chapter?" The opening graph says, "Bertelsmann is selling its American clubs and has put the rest under strategic review. Book clubs are in for a radical overhaul at the very least—and some people think they are headed for extinction." People don't think they're headed for extinction … they know they are headed for extinction, at least as far as negative-option (where consumers are required accept or decline a main selection from a monthly bulletin). The Economist article has a distinctly international slant (of course) and talks about some of Bertelsmann's strategies to keep the club business alive, but what they're attempting in Europe will not work in the States. (We don't exactly have "less developed" markets here.) However, there is a bright spot, as the article points out: book clubs with a specialized audience, such as Bertelsmann's Black Expressions (in the U.S.) for black women, and Mosaico for Spanish language. The article says: For specialist titles, bookstores cannot compete for range with a book club, and the internet lacks the personal touch of a trusted team of editors. Roger Cooper, formerly editorial director of Bertelsmann's American book clubs, is involved in a new niche club, the Progressive Book Club, targeted at liberals. “I don't hold much hope for the future of mainstream book clubs,” he says.
As you may know, my company, F+W Publications, has a number of book clubs (e.g., Writer's Digest Book Club) that have long been a cornerstone of our business model. While this direct-to-consumer business (and knowing our consumer) is part of why we're successful, if we don't re-engineer it, we'll stop being competitive (stop meeting the needs of our consumers) and soon become irrelevant. And so I think you'll see a transformation on its way—very soon.
F+W Life | Industry News & Trends
5/23/2008 5:07:14 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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My Workshop Picks: The BEA/WDB Writers Conference
Posted by Jane
 Next week (May 28) is the BEA/WDB Writers Conference! I fly into Los Angeles on Tuesday evening, so I can be at the conference registration table bright and early to start welcoming our attendees, authors, agents, and speakers. As a key editor behind the conference programming, here's an overview of my top picks if you'll be attending. (And for those still debating it, you can register on-site the morning of the conference.)
For Novelists Still Revising- Fire in Fiction (literary agent Donald Maass)
- Plotting a Novel They Can't Put Down (author James Scott Bell)
- Revising a Novel They Can't Put Down (author James Scott Bell)
For Novelists Ready to Pitch- Get Known While You Sleep—A Platform Primer (author Christina Katz)
- Effective Use of the Internet for Authors (author Bill O’Hanlon)
- Panel: Ask the Literary Agents (moderated by GLA's Chuck Sambuchino)
OR Practice Your Pitch with Lauren Mosko
For Nonfiction Writers- Finding a Home for Your Personal Essay (author Victoria Zackheim)
- Panel: Creating and Contributing to Anthologies
- The Times They Are A-Changin’: Being a Successful Author Amidst
Transformational Change in Book Publishing (Jane Friedman, that's me, not the HarperCollins Jane)
For Scriptwriters- Getting Started in Writing for Television (Richard Hatem)
- Panel: Meet the Script Agents and Managers
- Panel: From Book to Film/TV: How Your Work Comes Alive
Of course there are many more wonderful sessions, including a pitch slam with about 40-45 agents participating. You can download a portion of the conference program here (PDF).
Conferences/Events
5/23/2008 2:33:25 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Essential Elements of a Writer's Online Presence
Posted by Jane
A faithful reader of this blog recently sent the following question: I believe that some writers are unsure of the exactness of their Web presence. What I mean is, sure, to have a personal Web site is a must.
But what other aspects of a Web presence should one pursue? Places like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, blogging (blogspot, blogger.com, wordpress?)—which should writers pursue, any online items/sites writers should avoid?
And with blogging, what about streaming the blog right onto your Web site, as opposed to it sitting on the blogger host site?
And what have I not thought of?
There is a practical answer, and there is a big-picture answer. First, the big-picture answer, from 50,000 feet. - Do only what's meaningful to spreading news about your work, cultivating a readership (or interacting with a readership), and establishing your position or brand.
- Do only what's meaningful to your readership.
- Do what adds value (avoid distractions). (For example, Twitter may ultimately be a distraction. But I want to try it out, see what it's about, for the same reasons that Michael Hyatt does. I need to understand it so I can innovate, in the right ways, in my job.)
- Do establish a clear identity online, or multiple identities online, depending on the facets of your career or expertise.
These should be the principles that guide you. Now for the practical answer. For Aspiring Writers/Unpublished Writers- Try to buy a domain name that's a close match to your name (www.yourname.com). You don't need to build or create a Web site right away, but reserve that real estate for when you do need it. It's inexpensive and easy to do.
- If you don't yet have a use for a personal Web site (www.yourname.com), establish a modest profile or blog through a site like Facebook, Wordpress, Blogger—something clean and easy to use. This profile/blog/page can serve as either a public or private place for you to get comfortable interacting in an online community if you're new to it.
- For unpublished writers who are already comfortable in online environments/communities, think about what your unique identity is or could be in an online environment, and how can you begin to position yourself and your work. Become known to your target audience if possible by participating in blogs, online communities, groups, etc.
Minimum Requirements for Active/Published Writers- Yes, you must have a professional Web site with a URL that matches your name as closely as possible, or conveys your tag/handle (e.g., www.ChiefHappinessOfficer.com). It should include info on your publications, your events/engagements, your bio, and your contact info. This site can remain fairly static, but should always offer up-to-date information about your work or your events.
- On your site, have a prominent spot for people to sign up for your e-newsletter, even if you don't really have one. (Start building a mailing list or fan list! Invaluable.)
- You should also have a dedicated Web site for each book or major project underway, something that's separate from your name-based site. Such sites should use the title of the work as the URL address.
Recommended, But Not Essential1. A general blog. Think carefully before starting one. Maintaining a strong and beneficial blog for readers takes time away from your writing. However, the trade-off is usually worth it—it helps spread the word about who you are and should grow your platform. Strong blogs give people a reason to visit regularly—a benefit or feature of some kind, or a unique position/slant. If you're just blogging about the minutiae of daily life ("My golden retriever vomited on the floor again"), no one will care or return. In my experience, it doesn't matter if your general blog is part of your main site or hosted elsewhere, though the blog should have its own distinct URL. Here's what your set up might look like, using my name as an example: My Main Site
www.JaneFriedman.com
My General Blog
blog.JaneFriedman.com
My Book's Site (which may involve a 2nd blog related to the book!)
www.GreatAmericanNovel.com
Seth Godin (a very prolific author and blogger) juggles multiple blogs and products; look at his sites and see how seamlessly they all work together, how his sites are like a family, and it's easy to move from one to the next. 2. A social networking presence. I have yet to see any author sell a boatload of books because they had a million billion friends on Facebook or MySpace. However, the connections or network you build in such communities can be helpful in the long run. And, as with any online community, it's all about the time you put into it. Just setting up a profile and adding a link to your book isn't much better than no profile. Plus, there's not much benefit in pushing your book through these broad social networking sites if that's not where most of your audience hangs out. Again, always think about the habits of your target audience and how they prefer to be contacted. If it's through a MySpace bulletin, then by all means pursue that. (It worked for musicians.) For book authors, a more targeted approach is more likely to pay off when it comes to book sales. Blogging SoftwareI recommend using services through Google (Blogger) or Wordpress, but there are far more educated people than me on this topic. Just be sure that the service you choose fits your skill level (or whatever Web presence you have already established). Do keep it simple and avoid paying for it. LinkedInThis is worthwhile as a job-hunting and professional networking site; it's also just a cool way to observe or keep tabs on how people become linked throughout a profession. I've heard it dubbed "MySpace for businesspeople," but I disagree. As far as I can tell, it's wonderful for job search, not really a place to hang out, and definitely not a place to promote a book or product. This has been a long post, but I've just scratched the surface. I encourage your comments—please share your experiences of what's worked and what you now avoid. (And, what have we not thought to address?)
Building Readership | Digitization & New Technology | Marketing & Self-Promotion
5/22/2008 5:50:45 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) Trackback
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