There Are No Rules - Saturday, July 11, 2009

I watch Twitter, so you don't have to. Visit each Friday or Saturday for the week's best Tweets. (If I missed a great Tweet, leave it in the Comments, or if you want more of a particular category of Tweet, also comment.)

Best of Best

Do Self-Publishing Services Take Advantage of Writers?
(via @selfpubreview)
@thecreativepenn

10 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs (via @debng)
@Mediabistro

A MUST read blog post about book sales - quality stuff
@BubbleCow

Want to be a working writer? New blog post about the business of staying published
@AnnaDeStefano

Knowing Characters by using the Proust Questionnaire
@Le_Shack

65 Useful Blog Posts for Brand New (and some veteran) Freelance Writers
@FreelanceWJ

Stand Alone

When you don't get your calls returned, that doesn't mean you are unimportant - usually it means the other person is poorly organized or doesn't return calls well. The lesson to be learned: Don't let others shape your view of yourself.
@sanderssays

Writers and Bloggers: Finding the time (to write) is not the issue as much as finding the will to do it. -Dave Barry
@DebraMarrs

At ThrillerFest, had intellectual tussle about next 'big thing' w/agent Miriam Kriss. She says 'steampunk.' If u have any, send it her way.
@KFZuzulo

Getting Published, Agents/Editors

What Agents Want: The Same Thing, Only Different
@debbimack

What *every* author should know about Bookscan!
@Bookgal

Podcast: author @sethharwood on podcasting to print publishing success
@thecreativepenn

Excellent wisdom on writing children's books [from editor at Arthur A. Levine]
@merylkevans

Craft & Technique

How not to start a story (via JA Konrath)
@mariaschneider

10 Tips for Creative Writers by Dennis G. Jerz
@BellaVidaLetty

The Art vs. Craft Gap: a Writer’s Paradox (via @WriteToDone)
@thecreativepenn

A Writer's Number One Mistake
@GodsAngel1

Conflict—start something
@motsjustes

How writing disagreements differs from real-life confrontations by @ElizabethSCraig
@dbschlosser

Snappy, informative post by @VictoriaMixon: all you need to know about writing a novel in 1000 words.
@careyamy

Some ways to figure out the emotional heart of your story
@chavelaque

Editing plastic fake-lip whistles out of your manuscript -- great writing analogy/advice by @ElizabethSCraig
@dbschlosser

Advice on pacing your book's plot
@BubbleCow

A very interesting article on getting your first draft done: First Draft Secrets: Five Simple Steps
@rumberg

Publishing News/Trends & The Future of Publishing

Free is wrong for writers; Freemium might not be
@glecharles

The Book Buying Industry is a Mess
@selfpubreview

A very long, but interesting & thoughtful look at the future of print books
@wordywoman

Marketing/Promotion

Why Every Author Needs a Powerful Online Presence by @MichaelHyatt
@AuthorTech

Three steps to building an author platform: Get around, get connected, get online.
@glecharles

Interesting post offering six methods to help promote your novel
@BubbleCow

Good author resource from Berrett-Koehler on managing and using Amazon
@janetgoldstein

Do's and Don'ts of promotional emails, for authors and publishers--good post from Shelftalker blog
@victoriastrauss

Just posted: Marketing is a service, a breakthrough point of view
@sanderssays

Blogging

8 Blog Tips from Tim Ferriss
@BubbleCow

Self-Publishing

Self publishing is not Print On Demand (via @BubbleCow) BUT POD is a fantastic option for people!
@thecreativepenn

Twitter on Twitter

How I Tweet — FAQ by @chrisbrogan. A really awesome guide for Twitter etiquette.
@Mediabistro

Online & Offline Resources/Tools

Resources for the Beginning Novelist
@alittlesandy

The Writing Life / Philosophical / Inspirational

"Eat, Pray, Love" author muses on creativity. Captivating.
@PowerJourneys

Silencing the Voice That Says You're a Fraud (WSJ --a must read for writers!)
@danyelsmith

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Best of Twitter

Saturday, July 11, 2009 5:38:12 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Twitter: Food for the Muse
Posted by Jane

Today's guest post is from monthly contributor Darrelyn Saloom. Follow Darrelyn on Twitter. (That's her not-naked Twitter profile pic above.)

Are there more writers than social media marketing gurus, naked people, or insatiable sex addicts on Twitter? Well, marketing gurus may have us beat. But, at least, there are a few worth following for interesting tweets. But writers do seem to outnumber the naked, insatiable sex addicts, though I continue to marvel when opening an e-mail, and someone’s nipples stare back at me. So-and-so is now following you on Twitter. Really? Then put on some clothes!

My hometown friends are dressed and interesting and have a variety of careers. But for my friend Deirdre, a boxer, they don’t do cartwheels from the mailbox when the Southern Review or Glimmer Train arrives. Or shiver at news of an author’s interview or book signing. Too much talk of writing and my best girlfriends zone out on me. Even my beloved husband rolls his eyes. (He will accompany me to an out-of-town book event, though I’m usually dropped off, front of the bookstore, side of the street.)

So Twitter has become a refuge of sorts, a place to connect with enthusiastic readers and writers. And professionals who appreciate writers enough to post helpful articles and tips. Every week, Jane Friedman compiles Best Tweets for Writers. Every week! Daily, she and others post valuable advice about the business of writing and publishing, a treasure-trove of information.

Information that (before Twitter) was not available to me. I’m too busy scavenging time for my husband, my aged mother, running a household, caring for grown children and grandchildren, two cats and a dog, collaborating with the boxer, Deirdre Gogarty, on her remarkable life journey, editing a novel for a client, and then (if supper is cooked and the house is clean) squeezing out time for my own writing. So, yes—like you—I’m busy!

But as writers we must find ways to feed The Muse. And other than the boxer (she and I spend hours discussing writers and writing), Twitter cooks up The Muse food I need. So, what do I mean by Muse food? Well, let’s look at a sample menu: Poetry. Reading poetry is one of the best ways to stir inspiration. Read poetry and weep, laugh, marvel—and feed. Narrative Magazine floats by in a tweet. I click, I read, I’m inspired. Always. And there are poets aplenty on Twitter, posting astute lyrical treats (@TheDarkEngine).

Still hungry? Feast on comics artist @elizafrye, illustrator/author @CarinBerger, collaborating authors @deberryandgrant, photographer/filmmaker/physician @DocMacaStat, passionate blogger @CodyDaigle, travel writer @holeinthedonut, or bask in the intellect of @DaveWiner. And so many others who stream by, tweeting works of art, brilliant insights and observations, or posting links to their own inspirations, sated and sharing their food.

On Twitter, I’ve befriended published authors such as Andrea Gillies, a gifted writer, who lives on a remote peninsula in northern Scotland. Her memoir Keeper opened my eyes to the hardships and horrors of caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s. And she did so with such gut-wrenching honesty and beauty (and humor), it forever changed me. Made me hold my loved ones stronger; pet my cats and dog longer, and cease taking for granted my memory.

So, for the naysayers, who would argue that Twitter is too time-consuming; that the time spent reading and posting tweets is wasted; I understand your thinking. It’s what I thought at first. But I’m here to tell you that the opposite has proven true for me; because Twitter cooks up a daily banquet, which feeds The Muse, who lives in that inner world of cravings. For me it’s the world of shivers and cartwheels and tweets.

And like anything else in life, Twitter returns whatever you give. If you are positive and kind, that’s what you’ll find. For the life of me, I don’t understand why so many celebrities (and authors) only follow a few people, who are already their friends. In my opinion, they are missing out on a world of cuisine. After all, things didn’t work out so well for Narcissus who only peered into the pool at his own reflection.

If you’d like to share your Twitter experiences, leave a comment below. I’d love to read what impact Twitter has had on The Muse in you.

Best of Twitter | Guest Post

Friday, July 10, 2009 9:49:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, July 09, 2009

Not All Books Need to Be Well-Written to Sell
Posted by Jane

If you're writing a nonfiction book, the first question you need to ask yourself is whether your book is more about ideas/information or art.

If your book is more about ideas/information, it means:

you need credibility or authority of some kind in your subject area to be taken seriously by publishers and other insiders
you need expertise and/or experience to understand the conversation/community you're entering into and how to present fresh and compelling ideas or information
you need an excellent understanding of your audience and their needs
your platform (or visibility) in a community will be essential to selling and promoting yourself and your book
you don't do the book first to become an expert; you're an expert or credible source first (with a platform) which justifies having a printed book
you write a book proposal because you need to present a business plan for why the market needs your book
your audience doesn't care as much about the quality of expression (artform) as the quality of ideas and information

If your book is more about art, it means:

you need skill at the craft to be taken seriously, which usually means years of practice
you may not need any expertise/experience of any kind if your writing evokes strong emotion, passion, or deep meaning
you often need to write the book first, and write it flawlessly, in order for it to sell (assuming you are not a celebrity or notorious or bizarre person who can garner media attention)
you might write a proposal, but when it comes to art and making meaning, storytelling is much more powerful than statistics and business plans (of course, remember that even a book about ideas/information needs a mythical story behind it or a way to help people find meaning to stand out from the crowd)

If your book is about ideas/information, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be as well written as possible. In fact, the most powerful books about ideas (by people like Malcolm Gladwell) are works of art.

But when you're pitching an agent or publisher, make sure you know whether your book is idea-driven or art-driven. It makes a difference in your perspective and slant.

When it's about the ideas or the information, you're a salesperson armed with information on the market and your authority. You can do the same with your art, but if the art doesn't match your sales hype, you're back to square one.

Photo credit: Sailing: "Footprints Real to Reel"

Agents | Getting Published

Thursday, July 09, 2009 2:58:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, July 08, 2009

That Unquantifiable Factor That Helps You Get Published and Succeed
Posted by Jane

Lately I've come across a refrain of advice that gets truer the longer I'm in the business: the strength of your relationships is essential to getting ahead, which means having a network of people who like you and/or trust you.

A few examples:

I'm reading a yet-to-be-published business book by a woman who was the first female VP of manufacturing at Procter & Gamble. Her entire argument comes down to trust. Are you creating experiences with your colleagues that lead them to trust you, recommend you, and essentially "vote" for you to get the new project, get promoted, or get a new job?

Here's a story of a 14-year-old who got hired at Apple. Years later, he says success is attributable to people liking him. Quote:

Recognize that by being useful and good to others, you will eventually build a very strong team of supporters. They’ll lift you up to new heights and protect you. If you falter they will be there to bring you back up and support you.
I think it’s one of the most overlooked components of business. Simply, we’re always able to say that at the end of the day, all you have is your friends.

Seth Godin speaks in this 1-minute video about social networking done right—how it can be relevant and helpful, or entirely pointless, depending on how you're using it. Are you helping people achieve their goals, reliably and repeatedly? Collecting masses of followers will not help you succeed.

For writers, this is why I advise going to conferences and meeting with people in the industry. Even if you have only a moment to make an impression, if that person likes you or is impressed by you, then it makes your job easier when it comes time to query or submit.

Part of the problem with the cold query or cold contact is that no relationship has been established, and the person on the receiving end doesn't know if you're nice or crazy. That's why referrals are so valuable to writers—because they help agents/editors feel confident and compelled to pay attention if the recommendation comes from someone they trust.

On side note, but related: In my final month of high school, there was a highly unfortunate incident where I unwittingly distributed to the entire school, via e-mail, another student's private and unflattering opinion of an administrator. As a student with a trouble-free record, it was mortifying—and even more mortifying when I got raked over the coals for it. I had to call my mother in front of the head administrator and describe the entire embarrassing incident, then was grounded to my room for a week, except for class time and meals. (It was a residential high school.)

I'll never forget that administrator staring at me squarely and declaring, "I would not say to THIS WALL what I would not say to THE WORLD."

Point being: Your interactions with people—and what you say and do—matter tremendously. When you complain, cast aspersions, or talk negatively about any situation or person, no matter what the setting/environment, always consider the repercussions. Sometimes, even when we think we are confiding privately, it is much more public than we realize. And it can lead to people being wary of us and less trusting.

Think about the kind of person you trust, like, and recommend—they probably make you feel good afterward, not drained. It's like Aunt Josephine said in Anne of Green Gables: "I like people who make me like them. Saves me so much trouble forcing myself to like them."

Photo credit: Sara Lechner

General | Getting Published | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 6:17:58 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

The Secret Weapon Behind Writer's Digest Books
Posted by Jane

Our executive editor of Writer's Digest Books—who has been part of Writer's Digest for longer than I have—is probably the best-kept secret we have around here. That's because she's a little shy, a bit modest, and likes to work behind the scenes.

Starting today, we're gently nudging her into the limelight by launching Kelly's Picks. For those of you who know and fondly recall the Writer's Digest Book Club (which folded last year), Kelly's Picks is meant to offer some of the same personalized recommendations, straight from the person who acquires the 20+ titles per year for our list. Kelly knows writing how-to books better than anyone (plus aspires to get that Great American Novel written).

Kelly works with nearly every author on our list—James Scott Bell, Donald Maass, NM Kelby, and Heather Sellers, just to name a few. She's so endeared to our authors that one of them dedicated her most recent Writer's Digest Book to her:

I hope you'll enjoy this new feature at WritersDigest.com, and both Kelly and I welcome your feedback on what would be helpful to you in selecting the best books to advance your craft and your career.

Follow Kelly on Twitter: @kmnickell

F+W Life | General | New Titles From Writer's Digest

Tuesday, July 07, 2009 11:05:26 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Sunday, July 05, 2009

Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 7/3/09)
Posted by Jane

17 Reasons book manuscripts are rejected
@cassidylewis

Ten Marketing Questions Authors are Asking (excellent) via @chipmacgregor
@thecreativepenn

The media comments on self-published books (via @MoriahJovan) [for everyone who wonders why the self-pub stigma continues]
@thecreativepenn

Publishers will turn into sports teams, trading lists the way teams trade players. Another aspect of verticalization.
@MikeShatzkin

Do family businesses have some advantages over their competitors in our changing industry? I think so.
@MikeShatzkin

13 Lessons Learned Launching an eBook
@problogger

Do Twitter and Blogs Really Drive Book Sales? (via @charabbott )
@thecreativepenn

Stand Alone

Friday self-editing tip: make sure your dialogue is appropriate for characters given educational backgrounds, upbringing & context
@IPublishPress

When agents/editors refer to EDITING, they rarely mean typos & punctuation. Usually it's more content/structure.
@RachelleGardner

When you open your query with a question to which my answer is NO, you've pretty much killed it.
@RachelleGardner

Getting Published, Agents/Editors

Ten things editors look for in non-fiction
(Or....collaborate with a big name!)
@RachelleGardner

Great discussion about agents and eeking out a living as a novelist in the 21st century
@JonathanEvison

More Thoughts on Re-Pitching Agents
@BubbleCow

Authors: 6 Other Things to Do with Your Book Idea (via @TSCB )
@thecreativepenn

Literary agent @ChipMacGregor answers the really “Basic, Basic, Basic Questions” about getting published. Excellent!
@MichaelHyatt

Author's job: come to the agent with a publishable book [get a trusted editor] from @RachelleGardner
@dbschlosser

PSA about vampires (what you should know if your novel has vampires, zombies, faeries, pixies, or Dick Cheney)
@NathanBransford

4 Other Ways to Get a Literary Agent
@ScifiWatch

Craft & Technique

How to Write About Plights Without Falling Prey to “Plight Syndrome”
@collazoprojects

Starting sentences w/participles confusing the actual function of participles
@dbschlosser

THE secret to great writing: Show or tell
@BubbleCow

How music can help your writing
@benwhiting

Ten Things to Help You with Titles
@thecreativepenn

As an author, who should you be writing for? Chances are, your audience.
@GreenleafBookGr

Finding plot and character inspiration from the Bible
@benwhiting

Why Stories are the Writer’s Elemental Tool from @WriteToDone
@TXBirder

Publishing News/Trends & The Future of Publishing

The rise of the e-book first, print book later publisher. The new e-book publishing landscape.
@PublishersWkly

Mike Shatzkin's smart, thoughtful look at the evolving role of literary agents
@twliterary

"'Free' is just a way to destroy your competitor, but it doesn’t make a business sustainable." (writers: read this one)
@glecharles

If you read only one article this week/month, make sure it's this one. [Is scientific publishing about to be disrupted?]
@jwikert

Martha Stewart web initiatives versus Penguin's. There is emerging opportunity but Big 6 will miss it.
@MikeShatzkin

"It was highly edited, full of personality ... Proof that you don’t need to have everything, just the right things."
@glecharles

@realjohngreen's case for lower advances, higher royalties, and more frequent payments to authors
@mitaliperkins

Publishers as judges of best Internet content?
@stefaniecpeters

Agents need to be more flexible on e-rights: Agents must be more flexible when selling
@TheBookseller

Michael Hyatt, the Tweeting CEO [of Thomas Nelson]
@PublishersLunch

Great article if you haven't seen it: Clive Thompson on the future of reading-not publishing-in a digital world.
@GreenleafBookGr

Most newspapers will disappear in the next 5-10 years, along with the vast majority of websites and wannabe writers.
@glecharles

Proliferation of ebook devices, platforms, reader softwares, and retailers making you dizzy? It's GREAT for publishers
@MikeShatzkin

Marketing/Promotion

Developing a Platform For Nonfiction Writers
@tonyeldridge

Need help finding the perfect name for your author website? Here are 6 free tools to help.
@AuthorTech

10 Secrets of the Best Social Media Users
@AlexKaris

7 Ways to Build Your Author Brand Online by @MichaelHyatt
@AuthorTech

Marketing a Book @chrisbrogan starts marketing his
@thecreativepenn

What is the purpose of a book cover? Seth Godin’s answer may surprise you
@MichaelHyatt

19 management chores for your online presence you COULD do every day by @chrisbrogan
@Mediabistro

Blogging

I’m watching Tim Ferris video, “How to Build a High-Traffic Blog Without Killing Yourself.” It’s excellent.
@MichaelHyatt

Blog to Book: An Elegant Execution from The New Yorker
@selfpubreview

6 great lessons to blogging brought to you by Copyblogger & Winnie the Pooh
@flipbooks

Jennifer Fulwiler guest posts on agent @RachelleGardner 's blog: How to Build Traffic on Your Blog.
@GreenleafBookGr

Awesome demonstration of blogging authentically
@pamslim

E-books and e-publishing

How to Write an Ebook that Sells in 2009 by Copyblogger
@JDEbberly

So you want to write an ebook? 30 tips for success
(via @dmscott)
@thecreativepenn

Self-Publishing

Ready to get your book into bookstores? Here are some great tips (via Publishers Weekly)
@Bookgal

Self publishing carnival of great links (Thanks @BryceBeattie )
@thecreativepenn

Twitter on Twitter

Mashable compares 19 different Twitter apps. It includes ratings and the “hit feature” for each
@MichaelHyatt

Twitter directory of industry people you might want to follow [very good and manageable list of agents, editors, publishers]
@susanwrites

Online & Offline Resources/Tools

Just discovered "Smashing Magazine." Check out their "50 Free Resources to Improve Your Writing Skills"
@jwikert

50+ writer uses for twitter
@merylkevans

Authors who share
@motsjustes

Here's something to bookmark on your iPhone: iKnow's 100 Best Reference Tools for your iPhone
@jwikert

Ten Books for Mothers Who Write
@alittlesandy

The Writing Life / Philosophical

11 Types of Bad Writing Advice RT @paperbackjack: Everything you know is wrong
@nicoledenae

The Full-Time Writing Life: If It Doesn't Kill You 1st, It'll Kill You 2nd
@jeffvandermeer

10 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds from Julia Cameron's Writing Diet
@QuipsAndTips

Steve Almond explains why he never says no to ANY writing assignment. No matter what.
@roncharles

Fun

10 Ways to Take a Bad Author Photo
@saltpublishing

Looking for more social networking and updates from Writer's Digest?

Follow us on Twitter: @writersdigest @JaneFriedman @robertleebrewer @alicepope @kmnickell
Become a fan at our Facebook page
On our homepage, sign up for WD's free weekly newsletter with new tips and prompts, plus after signing up, you'll get a free e-book on 70 solutions to common writing problems.

Best of Twitter

Sunday, July 05, 2009 6:03:49 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Friday, July 03, 2009

There Are 2 Types of Writers: Which Are You? (The Other Side of the Slush Pile)
Posted by Jane

Today's guest post is from the insightful Jim Adams (Migdalin.com). I met Jim at the June WD Editors' Intensive. He also contributed this piece about the benefit of hiring a professional editor.

The Fire in Fiction, by Donald Maass, informs us that there are two types of writers:

One type writes in order to write.
The other writes in order to be published, obtain fame, and receive impressively large royalty checks.

As with any dichotomy, this one has its problems, but recently I gained a better understanding of why Mr. Maass would come up with such a dichotomy in the first place.

Recently, I got a chance to sit on the Other Side of the Slush Pile.

Most writers' workshops qualify, in some sense, as slush piles, but the online community Authonomy, run by HarperCollins, takes things one step further. Authonomy lets authors post their books, or significant portions thereof, and then lets them vote for each other's work. Books get rated based on how many votes they have, and books at the top of the ratings get looked at by one or more purchasing editors at HarperCollins.

While you can only vote for five books at a time, you can comment on as many books as you like. Having posted a goodish portion of my own book, I set about providing comments to several individuals who had befriended me or who had suggested a bout of mutual mastication, so long as I went first …

So, I began to read, and I began to critique.

My efforts were unappreciated. I had failed, you see, to follow the prevailing custom, which was to write a critique thusly:

This book was so good, I was tempted to cut off my fingers, because compared to you, I don't deserve to write even a grocery list. Excuse me while I go change my underthings: that's how much your words moved me! I especially liked how you capitalized the first word in every sentence. Masterful!!

Let me reiterate that Authonomy is a slush pile. While I haven't been part of the community for long, the few books I've read and commented on so far are (in my inexpert opinion) not ready for publication, and I don't mean they're in need of a thorough proofreading. The problems I've seen have been fairly major. But, using Mr. Maass's dichotomy, most people on Authonomy appear to be Type 2 writers. They're looking for validation, not criticism. They're looking for publication and a paycheck, not insight into how they might improve their work.

Naturally, it's difficult to accept criticism on a book that took you a year or more to write. And who wants to hear that a book they believe is finished still has significant room for improvement? Move a few commas around? Be happy to! Revise a few sentences for clarity? Well, if you insist. Rewrite the book so it begins on page one, ends at a meaningful destination, and accomplishes something at regular intervals along the way? How dare you!

Of course, tact plays an important part in writing any critique, but having learned my critiquing skills at critters.org, I write tactful critiques as second nature. After all, my book is out there too, and if it's to be savaged, I prefer to have it savaged without unnecessary invective or rancor. But tactful or not, I get the impression that most of the writers on Authonomy aren't interested in meaningful feedback.

To be fair, another part of the equation here is: Who to believe?

Do you believe the fifty people who agree with you that, "Oh my God, this is going to be bigger than Harry Potter," or do you believe the one lone voice of dissent? In all likelihood, the voice of dissent is just a psycho-killer wannabe who fills his time between stalkings by pulling the wings off budding novelists. Your best bet is to quote the immortal Buzz Lightyear ("You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity."), and go on about your business.

Still, whatever the psychology, the end result is the same. Individuals stroke each other and promote books that are half-baked.

It's possible that over-eager writers are outnumbered by those who suffer from the opposite problem: the curse of endless revision. We can't know for sure, but it's worth mentioning. Balance in all things. Sooner or later you have to pull the cake out of the oven, put the icing on it, and let people cut themselves a slice. If someone then tells you the cake could have stayed in the oven just a bit longer, well ... who knows. Maybe they have a point, or maybe next time they don't get invited to tea.

Craft & Technique | Getting Published | Guest Post

Friday, July 03, 2009 10:44:53 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Thursday, July 02, 2009

Who Exactly Are the Middlemen in Publishing? Can They All Disappear?
Posted by Jane

There have been a number of thought-provoking articles lately on:

whether publishers can be eliminated as the "middlemen" between authors and booksellers/readers (read this Fast Company article postulating a future where authors make deals directly with Amazon; and read this TOC post on the future role of publishers)

whether agents can be eliminated as the "middlemen" between authors and publishers (read this Seth Godin post about agents)

whether booksellers can be eliminated as the "middlemen" between authors/publishers and readers (read this about the future of bookselling from an indie bookseller in NYC)

If you take these opinions to their logical extreme, then eventually we'll end up with just the authors and their readers—without any publishers, agents, or booksellers around to interfere or steal away profit.

Do these middlemen interfere? (And/or steal?)

Or do these middlemen provide a service, contribute value, and/or offer quality curation for particular audiences?

Certainly there are many types of middlemen. The question for me is: Which will survive and why? The ones who contribute the most value?

Also consider:

Do booksellers really want to take on the responsibilities of publishers—which involves fielding the needs, wants, and desires of thousands of authors? (And are authors ready to give up relationships with established and talented editors?)
Do authors really want to take on the responsibility of agents, which involves scrutinizing contracts and financial statements from publishers, and knowing the business so well you can smell when something's wrong—and fight like a bulldog for the best outcome?

As far as the role of booksellers, that seems a little more in question. Publishers already have the means and ability to sell direct to readers. So do authors. What qualities do booksellers need to cultivate to remain relevant in their middleman position?

Consider this from the current issue (July-August 2009) of Poets & Writers, where Jofie Ferrari-Adler speaks with Jonathan Galassi, president and publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

Actually, at our sales conference … some of the salesmen were saying that neighborhood bookstores are doing better in the economic crisis because people are more interested in buying locally and supporting small businesses. … It's not just more, more, more. But I think all of the traditional bookstore chains are in trouble. Amazon is very, very effective. But I think Amazon is a potential … frenemy. It's not just interested in being a bookstore. So I think we have to sell our own books to people. … bookstores are the weakest link in the chain. … There are always going to be bookstores, but I don't think that's where the future of bookselling is.

As a final note, read this especially fine and thought-provoking post by my colleague Guy Gonzalez, who discusses ways in which gatekeepers (or curators of great content) will survive alongside the crowds.

What do you think? Post in the comments.

Photo credit: Dreamer 7112

Industry News & Trends

Thursday, July 02, 2009 1:42:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Wednesday, July 01, 2009

The Hardest Part About Developing Platform (Who Are You Anyway?)
Posted by Jane

The hardest part about developing a platform is deciding what you're all about. In business terms, it would be considered your unique selling proposition (USP).

Identifying this USP—or your reason for being!—involves deep self-knowledge, an understanding of what you want out of life, and how that interrelates with what other people need and enjoy.

It boils down to 3 questions:

What are you passionate about?
Who's your audience?
What are your strengths?

Think of it as a Venn diagram.

What are you passionate about?
What's the unique content, authentic experience, or remarkable work you would undertake even if you weren't paid for it? What motivates you to get up in the morning?

Who's your audience?
What are the needs of your audience? How do they want to be approached? What kinds of appeals are they most receptive to? Where can they be found?

What are your strengths?
When are you strongest in interacting and reaching and serving? What formats or mediums are a good fit for you—and match your passion? When is your content/service/product at its best? (Example of bad fit: Your passion for the cave dwelling Luddite movement combined with your Twitter marketing strength.)

What you're looking for is that moment of peak experience, when who you are and what you're passionate about and how it is expressed or manifested all comes together to create a compelling experience that your audience needs and loves.

Think about times when you've experienced peak performance, the times when you felt you were in your absolute element, better than anyone else in the world at what you were doing in that moment. You felt happy, fulfilled, relaxed, joyful. Some people call it "flow."

That's the seed of your platform.

Building Readership | General | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 6:05:26 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Are You Needlessly Worrying About Your Work Getting TOO MUCH Exposure?
Posted by Jane

As writers become more and more comfortable with online media, I receive more and more questions like this:

If I post my work on my own site, will anyone be willing to consider it for print publication?
How much of my novel can I post online before a publisher won't take it any more?
Do I lose rights to my work if it's posted on XYZ site?

Here are key points to remember.

1. First things first: You own the copyright and all rights to your work when you post it online, unless you specifically agree otherwise. It may be easier to steal when it's online, but you still own it.

2. Always check the terms of service when regularly posting content to any site. If you're posting your work on major sites like Authonomy, WeBook, etc., you really have nothing to worry about. In such cases, you're not relinquishing any exclusive or vital rights to your work by posting it. (If someone knows of exceptions, please note in the comments.)

However, there may be an implicit agreement—by very fact of you using a website—that the site owner has nonexclusive right to use the content in a limited (or expansive) way. Such use is usually justified or reasonable, and sometimes it might profit the site owner. You need to decide what you're comfortable with and if the trade-offs are worth it. I have yet to see an agreement that is unethical or not upfront.

For example, here is Amazon's language governing book review content, which you agree to when using their site:

If you do post content or submit material, and unless we indicate otherwise, you grant Amazon a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media. You grant Amazon and sublicensees the right to use the name that you submit in connection with such content, if they choose. You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify Amazon for all claims resulting from content you supply. Amazon has the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any activity or content. Amazon takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third party.

This basically means that while you retain rights to your work, Amazon has the right do whatever it pleases as well. The key is the word "nonexclusive." If Amazon decided to publish a collection of the most kinky book reviews ever written, and used your material, they would not owe you any money or need to ask your permission, though of course it would be considered good practice and common courtesy to notify you.

3. If your work doesn't have a lot of commercial value, who cares? Here is where I have to be completely insensitive and say bluntly: Writers are overly worried about work that is not commercially valuable. Many things that people post online, whether on their own sites or elsewhere, are online precisely because there isn't a commercial value attached. So, when you post your work without compensation, there is an essential value statement made that, right now, you're valuing exposure (or service or community) more than payment. Or that you're marketing and promoting yourself, your brand, or a work that does have commercial value.

4. That said, the value of your work CAN change or be discovered later—which only opens up the commercial value and potential of your work. Remember that online exposure and online media are not the same as print exposure and print media. They are usually written and edited differently, presented differently, marketed differently, and read differently. The online audience is not 100% the same as the print audience (and sometimes not even 10% the same!).

Think of it this way: If you participated in a poetry slam and became wildly successful as a poet-entertainer, with thousands of followers, would that detract from your ability to publish books of your poetry? No, in fact, it would help make the case for print publication. Would a presentation of your poems online, in a way that gathered 10,000 unique visitors every day, detract from the sales of a beautiful physical chapbook? Of course not. It would help.

For the most part, online and print are complimentary—they are not competitive. Any book publisher who refuses to consider a work that has been successfully published digitally or online or in a multimedia format has not caught up with the times. Magazine and newspapers are a little different, but if they become a fan of your online work, most likely they will ask you to produce an original work for print publication.

5. You're always producing more work, right? Don't hold on so tightly to each piece of work that you're not focusing on new production.

Yes, even I hang onto my creative writing from senior year in high school, and have a catalog of all the places my work has appeared over the years (online and in print, often without pay), but even if a third party is profiting off my work online, that work has no commercial value to me anymore. I'm producing better stuff now. Plus the old work serves to offer additional exposure, little guideposts leading people to the more recent work.

Key takeaway: Just because your work is "published" when it appears online doesn't mean you've destroyed its market value. That's a very old-school way of viewing the value of content—a viewpoint that's based on decades of print publication tradition, when whoever had the "first" rights to print publication had the "best" rights, and paid the most.

If you haven't noticed, things have changed.

P.S. ... and a final word on theft: Stop worrying. When writing becomes a lucrative profession and when demand for writing far outstrips supply, then maybe we can discuss. In the meantime, feel flattered that someone thought your work was good enough they wanted to bother taking the time and effort to market, promote, pitch, and/or publish it themselves.

UPDATE: I recently read this post from Stefanie Peters, which makes 2 more important points about posting your work online, especially in forums like Authonomy.

Photo credit: Wetsun

Building Readership | Digitization & New Technology | Getting Published | Marketing & Self-Promotion

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 6:03:15 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)

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