First vs. third person narrative


I recommend that writers stick to writing in third person during the early part of their careers. In general, only experienced novelists can write effectively in first person, because with a prodigious amount of writing under their belts, they understand the clear distinction that must be made between a fictional narrator and the author himself.

For example, in Cervantes’ Don Quixote, which I consider to be the first modern novel, the narrator is introduced to us from the beginning as someone who has a point of view distinct from the author’s. He debates the spelling of Quixote’s name, but remarks that it is ultimately unimportant to his story, “…providing that in the telling of it we do not depart one iota from the truth.”

First person storytelling only works if the storyteller is himself clearly fictional. The storyteller must be a character in the book, explicitly or implicitly, with his own clearly defined point of view. It must be obvious to the reader that this is not the author doing the talking. This is trickier than it may sound. New writers often struggle with the nuances of “voice” in their novels. This is one technique that’s better left for a later phase of your career.







Buy How to Publish Your Novel on Amazon.

"Just as we all like love tales because there is an instinct of sex, we all like astonishing tales because they touch the nerve of the ancient instinct of astonishment."

G.K. Chesterton

[via John Robert Marlow]


Something Ehren Kruger (Transformers, etc.) told me in an interview, which I thought I'd pass along...


I try my best to have a thick skin. Everyone at every opportunity will have a reason to not
make your script, to not believe in your story. They'll gladly tell you why it's not quite
good enough, or it feels a little familiar, or they're just not making that genre right now.
It's easy to beat yourself up and go crazy about that, which a lot of writers do. I just try to
shrug it off.

I've sold six scripts that I've written on spec, and not once did I have multiple financiers
wanting to buy the script. It was always one place making an offer, and fourteen other
places saying, "No, it's not good enough," or "It's not right for us," "Not interested," or
what-have-you.

"You can look at that and say, "Wow, one out of fifteen places thought my script was
worth investing in; that's pretty bad." Or you can be realistic about the business and say,
"One is all I need."

I think most working writers who are not terribly embittered share the philosophy that "I
believe these stories are worth telling, and I believe I'll find people who agree with me.
I'm going to hear "No" most of the time, but that's okay—because every now and then,
I'm going to hear "Yes.""

More Tales From The Script


For all who are considering the screenwriting career, I highly recommend “Tales from the Script,” featuring interviews with favorite screenwriters Dennis Palumbo, Paul Schrader, Ron Shelton, Shane Black, Ron Shusett, Frank Darabont, William Goldman, Larry Cohen, Stephen Susco, John Carpenter, Guinevere Turner…. “Amadeus” took 46 drafts! There’s no end to better. Respect for the process. John Carpenter: “Stop bitching—stop whining—and move on.” “A career is broken only if the artist allows it to be broken.” All agree that, “Right now it’s the strangest it’s ever been”—and it’s even stranger now in the “Post-content era.” I would call this well done doc a “reality pill” for sure.

Definition of a Producer


I was watching “Tales from the Script” (highly recommended for anyone who even dares to think of being a screenwriter) and heard from a writer whose name escapes me: “A producer is someone who lies long enough and well enough that the lie becomes the truth.”

I’ve always said the difference between a con man and a visionary in Hollywood is success. Using the word “lie,” of course, puts it in a negative framework. Belief and vision and faith are the positive terms for practical visualization, where you not only see the picture but you do and say everything you can to make others see the picture until, one day, the picture is.

The producer is the one who dares to walk the tightrope between dream and reality, like the rope between the Two Towers. What makes a great producer is that he never gives up, even when the writer does, even when the studio does, even when everyone else does.

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Most Common Weaknesses of Screenplays Submitted for Representation

1) The format is NOT professional (which is a sign of rank amateurism, since professional format is easily ascertainable from any available script—and the Internet is full of sites that offer them free).

2) The writer hasn’t bothered to proofread his work. It’s filled with spelling errors, typos, and repetitions.

3) The protagonist isn’t clear after the first five pages. You still don’t know whose story you’re reading.

4) Even if you know the protagonist, by page 10 you still don’t know what his dramatic problem is—or you aren’t “involved” with him. You don’t know why you’re reading his or her story.

5) By the end of the script you neither know what the dramatic problem was nor how it’s solved by the story.

6) The obstacles to the hero’s mission aren’t strong enough, clear enough, or interesting enough.

7) The Point of View is unclear throughout the screenplay, or is “all over the place.”

8) The protagonist and antagonist aren’t written with stars in mind. Once we love the story, Hollywood wants to know: What great actor or actress will desperately want to play this role?

9) The story lacks credibility—characters don’t behave the way people like they’re supposed to be would behave in the situation you’ve created.

10) The script is filled with clichés, or with on the nose expository dialogue and narrative.

11) The script isn’t 100% visual, filled with stage directions that aren’t “visual.”

12) The protagonist doesn’t grow from the beginning of the story to the end.

13) His or her antagonist isn’t clearly defined or singular enough to make a castable and saleable drama.

14) The climax and conclusion of the script aren’t strong enough, positive enough, and/or satisfying enough to warrant the investment of the reader/audience’s time.

Inspiration


Jonathan Livingston Seagull
will never make it as a paperback.—James Galton, refusing to bid on paperback rights (Avon books sold nearly 10 million copies).

Tips For Writers

KNOW YOUR MARKET: what we're looking for, right now, and what we're not looking for.

Tips For Screenwriters

The Query Letter: Don't try to sell us. Try to give us what we're looking for.

BOOK WRITERS: WHAT’S A GOOD AGENT OR REPRESENTATIVE?

“What's a good agent?" is a difficult question to answer.

Authors’ representatives work strictly on commission and are, as a result, mainly interested in highly commercial "properties." Authors’ representatives often help new writers, but most deal only with writers they regard as solid commercial prospects or extraordinary literary talents. Most representatives nowadays ask writers to query before sending the manuscript. This doesn't mean they won't read your work; it means they don't want to read subject matter that doesn’t fit in with their own marketing. Since they work on speculation and commission, they have to deal with several (or many) writers at a time, and are more inclined to devote their energies to promoting a potential best-seller.

They're usually interested in working with an author who produces continuously. Someone who writes two short stories a year will not be worth taking on. Authors’ representatives may urge new writers to handle their own submissions of short stories, poetry, and children’s books. And authors’ representatives may or may not help you sell articles.


Some reputable agents now charge reading fees, deductible from future commission (Story Merchant does not). Authors’ representatives receive a commission on everything they sell for you, ranging from 10 to 15 percent, and will nearly always negotiate a contract that will more than justify their commission.

A literary manager like Story Merchant performs the same marketing functions as an agent, but also serves as a producer when your work is filmed.

Other tips about authors’ representatives:
  • Where the representative lives is not important. How often the representative goes to New York, and how many New York publishers the representative deals with, is important. It’s difficult to be an effective authors’ representative without regular personal contact with the New York publishing scene. Don’t be afraid to call the publishers direct for a reference to the representative you’re considering—or to ask a prospective rep to give you editing and publishing references you can call.
  • Independent representatives may be more open to new clients than large agencies or management companies, and may work harder for them.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask a representative for credentials and track record. The best criteria for choosing a representative are the representative’s previous sales. If a candidate won’t share his or her list of clients, don’t deal with that representative.
If you decide to let someone represent you, it's a good idea to trust your representative with the marketing for six months. Then ask how it's going. A representative's knowledge of market can be invaluable. But keep in mind that if you have a good book, getting a representative won't be difficult and you won't need a representative to work miracles. Calling your representative more than once a month will quickly put you on his or her “life is too short list.”

Although it’s not as true today as it once was, many new writers were published for the first time through their own marketing efforts, not through a representative's. Finding someone who believes in your work as much as you do-enough to go out there and sell it-is rare indeed.
Many writers swear by their reps. Many swear only at them.

Few agree about them. If you don't feel the need for someone to stand between you and the publisher, you don't need an agent or manager. If you decide to use an attorney, make sure the attorney has had direct experience with publishing contracts. A literary attorney can negotiate the contract for you as well as an agent or manager.

One way of getting a representative is to make the sale yourself, then call the manager or agent to represent you in the contract negotiation. Few reps will turn down this opportunity, even at a reduced commission, and you've automatically become "represented." Agents or literary managers are especially useful for working out package deals which include screenplays, TV
scripts, and foreign rights. Large publishers often prefer to deal through reps (though a few still deal directly with the authors), and most major U.S. publishers will deal only through reps. Jeff Herman’s The Writer’s Guide to Agents & Publishers offers extended discussion of authors’ representatives and rights.



[excerpt from A Writer’s Time, Chapter 6, “Publishing in Time”]

© Kenneth Atchity 1986, 1995, 1999

How To Find An Agent



BOOK WRITERS

HOW TO FIND AN AGENT
OR REPRESENTATIVE






….The first step in finding an authors’ representative is to write something that will interest the representative. The writing must be good or the subject-matter important before anyone will represent you. But, basically, you find a representative exactly as you find a publisher:
  1. Write a one-page query, making clear what your book is about in one or two sentences. Be professional.
  2. Write a five- to ten-page synopsis, outlining your book chapter by chapter or event by event. Some editors don't like synopses with novels, but almost every representative and many editors will request one.
  3. Book titles should be clear and immediately intriguing but generally not based on catchy phrases or puns. A book may go through several title changes before its final title is established.
  4. If you have significant publishing credits, cover your publishing background in your letter. (If you don’t, your letter should be brief.) Whatever you do, don’t emphasize your lack of track record.
  5. Send the query, synopsis, and letter with the first chapter of your book to an agent or manager by name. A list of authors’ representatives can be found in Jeff Herman’s Writer’s Guide to Book Editor, Publishers and Literary Agents, as well as in LMP (Literary Market Place). [click here to purchase]
  6. You can send your presentation (query, synopsis, and letter) to as many authors’ representatives as you like. Agents and literary managers will understand that this is only a query that doesn’t oblige either of you. Mail—or email, depending on the representative’s preference--ten to fifteen presentations at a time, as you can afford it.
  7. Plan several mailings in advance in order to avoid rejection syndrome. If a representative expresses interest, call the representative and ask how this particular representative can help you.
[excerpt from A Writer’s Time, Chapter 6, “Publishing in Time”]

© Kenneth Atchity 1986, 1995, 1999

On Writer's Block

Writer’s block goes away forever if you follow the simple rule: Never sit down to write until you know what you’re going to write when you sit down.

It’s worth waiting for the inspiration and the vision. When you allow it to crystallize in your mind, writing it down becomes “automatic writing.”

William Saroyan

When William Saroyan was asked if it was true that he wrote The Human Comedy “in three days above a drugstore, he responded:

“I typed it out in three days,” he said. “It took me my whole life to write it.”

PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success: Part 5


Continued from part 4



Now that you have finished your book, and it is ready to be shopped around to publishers (or has already been bought by a publisher!) it’s time to think about what you can do to help promote your book.






Read Rick Frishman's 50 page resource directory:
Author 101™ Million-Dollar Rolodex


MISC. ADVICE

Top 10 Telephone Tips to Make Your Radio Talk Show Pay Off

by Joe Sabah

1. Have a glass of water handy (room temperature). When your throat is lubricated it's easier to talk. Plus the water serves as a "cough button" if needed.

2. Stand while speaking. Pretend you're presenting a seminar. Your voice will carry further. And you'll sound more animated.

3. Have a copy of their state map on your wall. Refer to cities in the radio station's surrounding area. This helps make you feel like you are "one of them." I once made the mistake of referring to South Bend as "South Bend, Indiana." The host reminded me that I was talking on a radio station in South Bend, Wisconsin. Oops!

4. Listen to their weather and traffic report. This allows you to personalize your presentation.
For example: When I was being interviewed on WHIO in Dayton, Ohio I noticed during the breaks they were referring to their metro area as "the Miami Valley." So it became a natural for me to say "I believe we can help some folks in "the Miami Valley" get their perfect job this afternoon." What a difference the right words make.

5. Get your listeners involved. For example, before the last commercial break I ask them to get pencil and paper to write down the three tips I guarantee will turn every job interview into a job offer. Then they have pencil and paper ready when I later give out my 800 number.

6. For those who are driving around without writing tools handy, ask your host if the listeners can call the station for the 800 number. As soon as you're off the air, you call the station's receptionist and give her or him your 800 number plus the title of your book.

7. Give the host some quotes from your book to use as segues. I offer quotes like: "Are You Singing The Song You Came To Sing?" And "If You Do What You've Always Done, You'll Get What You've Always Gotten. Is That Enough?"

8. After the host uses these Inspirational Postcard Quotes on the air, I also offer them to listeners who order my book. Another bonus to increase orders.

9. Always thank both the host and the producer for the good job they are doing. After the show, also send each of them a handwritten note of thanks and an offer "Let's do it again."

10. You may also want to record your show by using a device available at most phone center stores, that will record both sides of the interview. Then listen to your show to see how you can improve the next one. Keep on learning.

Read PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success from the beginning.


Click here to buy How to Publish Your Novel by Ken Atchity, Andrea McKeown, Julie Mooney, & Margaret O'Connor on Amazon

PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success: Part 4


Continued from part 3



Now that you have finished your book, and it is ready to be shopped around to publishers (or has already been bought by a publisher!) it’s time to think about what you can do to help promote your book.


Sell More Books!
by Jennifer Minar-Jaynes

Do you want to sell books? Lots of books? If so, you have to become a tireless self-promoter. Not good at self-promotion? Not a problem. You can learn.

The first thing to realize is that there are no guarantees a book is going to sell just because it's well-written. But it is guaranteed to sell if it's marketed well. A tireless promoter consistently contributes to the progress or growth of whatever he's promoting and is constantly coming up with more ways for getting his products in front of potential customers.

As an author you're promoting books. As a tireless promoter, you're always finding ways to get your books noticed. Be your best salesperson. And remember, no one's going to care more about your books than you.

"But my publisher will do this for me," you may say. "I'm an author, not a salesperson or marketer." True, a good publisher will take care of some promotion, but if you're not Grisham or Steele, or any other household name, the person ultimately responsible for selling books is you. If you're the author and publisher, the ball is mostly in your court.

A tactic is a plan for attaining a particular goal. Below are some conventional and guerrilla, or not so commonly used, tactics for marketing your books on- and offline.

Conventional Tactics

Stay Educated & Connected. Educate yourself about the industry. Read books and articles; attend conferences. Learn what is working for other authors and use this information when developing your own marketing campaign.

Visit writing-related web sites and read as many articles as you can. Talk to other writers, join trade and social associations, attend conferences, book fairs, and writer's groups.
Network, network, network.

Not only can other writers become part of a support group for critiques and bouncing ideas off of, knowing them can open many doors. For instance, you can find writers who might be interested in co-publishing a newsletter or who would be interested in developing co-op ads and cross-promoting. Find writers who share your interests and keep in touch often.

Gather testimonials. Compile testimonials you receive from readers and experts. Use them in newsletters, in ads, on your web site, and in media kits. Testimonials are powerful. They can give a potential customer the extra confidence he needs to buy your books and will encourage retail buyers to take a second look.

Launch a Press Release Campaign. Find an angle and write a short press release. In fact, write many. A well-written press release about a powerful story will raise reporters' eyebrows. Distribute the release to local media and through one of the wires. It doesn't cost much and the results can be amazing.

A few to research:
http://www.enewsrelease.com/
http://www.pressreleasenetwork.com/
http://www.prweb.com/

Get Reviewed. Constantly seek out reviews. Reviews and testimonials can be invaluable. Moira Allen provides tips on getting your book reviewed at WritingWorld.com.

Keep in Touch with Decision-Makers. Retail buyers and potential customers are decision-makers. 1001 Ways to Market Your Books (Open Horizons, 1998) author John Kremer suggests that authors start a promotional newsletter that can be sent to this audience. Send it to wholesalers, retail buyers, past customers and prospects.

Write Free Articles. We've published several articles on WWW.WritersBreak.com about the advantages of submitting your articles to other web sites and publications that offer a generous byline. In the byline, you'll want to include your site URL and information on your books. "But why should I give my articles away?" you may ask. Two words: free exposure. Exposure leads to awareness. Awareness sells books.

Create a Web Site. Though it can be a time-consuming venture, a web site is a great way to give readers and people in the industry the opportunity to get to know you and your work better. A good web site can open many doors. Not only can you sell more books with a web site, you can swap ads and barter space.

Do Interviews. Accept interview requests no matter the size of the publication. Not only will you get better at giving interviews, your books will receive more exposure. Again, exposure leads to awareness. Awareness sells books.

Guerrilla Tactics

A guerrilla, by definition, is one who carries on, or assists in carrying on, irregular warfare. The below can be considered guerrilla tactics because in this business, they're seldom used.
Sell Books in Person. Selling books in person can be very lucrative. In his book, Kremer gives the example of how author/publisher Gary Provost began selling his book, The Dorchester Gas Tank. He'd work a busy Boston corner every day and peddle his books, selling 20 to 25 books a day--more than most books sell in a single day.

Kremer also mentions another author who managed to sell 70,000 copies within ten months by loading her van and visiting grocery stores, gift shops, and health clubs.
Remember, though, when face-to-face with your audience, to convey professionalism and passion for your book. If you do, your prospect will be more likely to buy.

Create an Affiliate Program. Affiliate programs give web site and ezine owners the incentive to help you sell more books.

Have Magnets Made. Do you commute long distances? If so, you may want to get automobile magnets that read "Visit www.yourwebsiteaddress.com" or "Check out MY BOOK'S NAME at Amazon!" How many drivers see your bumper every day? If you're like me, thousands. Talk about some cheap exposure! Plus, if you're commuting during the same hours each day, the same people are seeing your ad over and over again. At some point, these people will become curious enough to visit your site or Amazon's.

Leave Review Copies. Leave copies of your books in doctor's waiting rooms, in libraries, at tanning salons, hair salons, the county tax office. You never know who will pick it up and begin talking about it. Also, give copies to clerks at bookstores. If they read it and like it, they could create a buzz with their higher ups.

Use Promotional Tools in Untraditional Ways. Have bookmarks, flyers, and business cards made. Stick bookmarks or business cards in with your monthly bills. Leave them with tips at restaurants. These tools are low-cost items, and you never know whose interest you'll generate. Have your friends and family do this, too. Again, the idea is exposure.

Leave Bookmarks in Best-Sellers. I recently read a thread about this on one of my online writer's news groups. Approach the manager at a local bookstore and ask if you can stick a bookmark in each of the store's bestsellers. If the manager is amenable, you may want to find out if you can also stick them into books of your genre. You already know a few things about the person on the other end. He buys books, and in the latter case, he buys the types of books you write. Visit local entrepreneurs. Ask if you can leave an attractive bowl somewhere in their store and place a handful of free bookmarks in it. Everyone's a potential customer or knows potential customers.

These are just a few tactics for selling more books. Some may be good options for you, some may not. Try a few. Good luck! And here's to selling more books!

Jennifer Minar
Editor-In-Chief
www.WritersBreak.com
Named a 'Best Web Site for Writers'
by Writer's Digest magazine, 2005-2007
www.MySpace.com/jenniferminar

Read part five

Read PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success from the beginning.



Click here to buy How to Publish Your Novel by Ken Atchity, Andrea McKeown, Julie Mooney, & Margaret O'Connor on Amazon

ALTERNATIVE PUBLISHING GROWS WHILE TRADITIONAL MARKET CONTINUES TO CONTRACT



Against All Odds, Small Presses Prosper
Indies find ways to work through a tough economy
By Lynn Andriani and Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly,

Despite brutal economic conditions, several independent publishers managed to find ways to grow both their sales and profits in 2008. How did they do it? They are not afraid to be frugal—forgoing advances in favor of offering higher royalties, for example; and they practice innovation—“mining data” for new audio prospects, in the case of Tantor, or teaching authors how to self-promote, as Morgan James does. These 11 presses have adopted a combination of strategies that have helped them not only survive in the recession, but prosper.

Ever since Todd Bottorff acquired Turner Publishing in 2002, his goal has been to convert the Nashville publisher from a company focused on specialty books and calendars to one firmly based in the trade market. Bottorff began the makeover in earnest in 2006 by adding more trade-oriented titles, and accelerated the process in 2007 when he closed the calendar operation and reduced the specialty business. The result has been a 321% increase in trade sales between 2006 and 2008.

Turner's list blends nonfiction with fiction titles (under the Iroquois imprint) as well as works with books of strong regional appeal and others that have a national audience. One of his big books in 2008 was The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York. A series devoted to historical photos has also sold well and Bottorff is betting that the addition of more series will spur growth in the future. One new line is “21 Things” that will kick-off in May with the release of Bottorff's own 21 Things to Create a Better Life, which the publisher says features pragmatic tips for easing stress. Six other titles are signed, and Bottorff is building a twentyonethings.com Web site to promote the line. A number of merchandise items set around 21 Things is also in the works. Bottorff also hopes to grow his fiction line over the next few years and is keeping an eye out for acquisitions. In early February, Bottorff added depth to his list by acquiring the inventory and option rights for 432 titles published by Cumberland House. Turner handles its own distribution and has seen good gains with selected bookstore chains and the warehouse clubs.

Efficient production is at the root of Tantor Media's explosive growth over the past two years. CEO Kevin Colebank says that an improved recording process has helped the company produce more audiobooks at a lower cost than most of its competitors are paying. The Connecticut company—which was PW's fastest-growing publisher in 2007—brought its production from 145 titles in 2006 to 387 in 2008. An audiobook recording software program that it developed in-house has been key to efficient production, says Colebank.

Increased output has also influenced how Tantor selects which audiobooks to publish. The company has developed what Colebank calls title selector software, which helps it “data mine,” i.e., search thousands of records and pull together pertinent information for Tantor that helps Colebank and his colleagues make decisions about which titles—out of the tens of thousands published every week—it should produce in audio format.

As Tantor reported last year, quick turnaround has continued to boost development. One recent last-minute addition that turned into a hit was A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (and Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media by Bernard Goldberg, which Tantor took from licensing to bookstores in less than two weeks. Tantor's library sales force launched a direct library sales campaign in 2007, and Colebank says the company now has six reps out in the field talking to libraries directly. A “Hotlist” e-mail goes out weekly to national accounts, library customers, industry publications and Tantor's narrators and has “really helped sales,” says Colebank.

Six years after its founding, Morgan James Publishing is making its first appearance on PW's fast-growing small press list. The “entrepreneurial publisher” operates under a model that's becoming increasingly common: no advances and high royalties. Yet Morgan James makes an extraordinary effort to help its authors to grow their own business—whether an author is a self-help guru or a financial advisor—through promoting their books (the house specializes in business, self-help, inspirational and health books).

Founder David Hancock, a former mortgage banker, says the company helps its authors sell books by hosting educational events. “Our book sales are up 52% over last year, and that's because we try to teach authors how to market their books. It's had a significant impact on book sales.” Advertising and marketing are generally the authors' responsibility; Morgan James markets to bookstores and an e-mail list it has. But ultimately, publicity and promotion is up to the authors, “and we teach them how to do it,” Hancock says. Plus, if authors use a public relations firm that Morgan James approves of, the publisher will pay a percentage of the cost.

When Morgan James launched, it required its authors to pay for book design, and did some custom publishing as well. “But we've since moved from that,” says Hancock—although the house has a self-publishing imprint, Persona Publishing, which Hancock says will positively affect the house's bottom line for this year. The company partners with Author Solutions for Persona titles.

“I'm a miserly CEO,” says Clint Greenleaf, chairman and CEO of Greenleaf Book Group. “We're very careful with our money. We save our reserves and don't spend where we don't have to. We've been profitable since '02.”

Greenleaf began in 1997 as a distributor and began developing a publishing program in 2000. In 2006, it started trimming the number of publishers it represented while taking on more publishing projects. It upped its output from 45 titles published and distributed in 2006 to 85 titles in 2008—and out of those, about 10 titles were distributed. Greenleaf's net sales climbed from $4.64 million in 2006 to $8.12 million in 2008.

Of course, in order for Greenleaf to save its reserves, it must first build them up. One of the key contributors to that reserve last year was a bestseller, Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths That Are Destroying Your Prosperity by Garrett B. Gunderson. The book makes some bold suggestions—e.g., “don't contribute to your 401(k)”—that caught on with the media: Gunderson got on CNBC, Fox Business and other major news networks, and sold about 60,000 copies of the book. “When we get a big book like that, I throw all that money into our reserve accounts, which helps us get through times like today,” says Greenleaf.

Another factor in Greenleaf's success: its 28-person staff is in Austin, Tex., which is “a lot less expensive than being in New York,” says Greenleaf. The house also skips advances in lieu of a higher-than-average royalty rate.

Brooklyn art publisher powerHouse Books had a good year, with net sales up 45% from 2006 to 2008. CEO Daniel Power says the house has managed to grow in a weak economy by taking its “production expense budget bull by the horn.” That means carefully negotiating and preparing lower print runs but keeping the same high quality, which resulted in lower overall budgets. Additionally, Power says, the house doesn't “front load” its advances with the trade, so release figures matched up with the company's 18 month- to two-year inventory targets.

Additionally, powerHouse has reduced some PR expenses, like blanket review copy mailings. It also completely cut out book trade convention expenses, including booth spaces at London, Frankfurt and BEA. “They were nominally effective at best as long ago as four years ago, and over the last few completely worthless,” Power says.

PowerHouse's biggest hit last year was Yes We Can: Barack Obama's History-Making Presidential Campaign by Scout Tufankjian; it has shipped 80,000 units, and the publisher is currently out of stock. The book includes more than 200 color photographs by Tufankjian, the only independent photographer to cover Obama's entire campaign from before he announced his run through the Election Night celebration in Chicago's Grant Park.

Peace Hill Press, founded in 2001, is split between Virginia (editorial) and Seattle (business). The eight-person, family-run educational press has tapped an underserved group of customers: parents who are either home schooling or supplementing their child's education—and who are doing so for academic rather than religious reasons. Vice-president Susan Wise Bauer says that increasingly, even home educators with deep religious convictions are turning away from the traditional, conservative Christian materials that have been home school standards, and are looking toward nonsectarian books aimed at home education—which Peace Hill publishes. And parents who teach one or two subjects at home after school are seeking these books out, too.

Peace Hill's distribution through W.W. Norton (where Bauer and her mother published a book on classical home education in 1999) has been a boon to sales. Many of the publisher's competitors sell only through specialty catalogues and Web sites, or through attendance at home school conferences, so the Norton deal gives Peace Hill increased visibility. Bauer says the home education and home tutoring markets are proving to be recession-resistant. The house's 2008 bestsellers included four books that make up the Story of the World series, a chronological world history narrative, with each book increasing slightly in difficulty; and First Language Lessons, a beginning grammar and writing text.

Square One Publishers, a regular on PW's fast-growing small publisher list, is now in its ninth year of business. As he did last year, publisher Rudy Shur points to special sales as a major reason for the company's success, but other factors include a drop in returns and a boost in foreign rights sales.

Square One's gross trade sales for 2008 equaled those of 2007, but there was an unexpected 25% drop in returns, which resulted in “a reasonable net growth,” says Shur. Also, the nonfiction publisher saw its foreign rights sales more than triple over the past year. Shur says it took time for the press to solidify relationships with foreign publishers, but at Frankfurt last year, it became clear that “we hit a critical mass with the number of people who'd been noticing our titles.” Shur credits Taking Woodstock by Elliot Tiber with Tom Monte, published in 2007, with helping put Square One on the map for international publishers; Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee will direct an adaptation of the book, about a Catskills hotel manager and interior designer who helped make the Woodstock festival a reality.

Square One remains dependent on special sales to boost its bottom line; it will partner with Macy's for an April title, Macy's: The Store. The Star. The Story. by Robert M. Grippo. It also recently published The New Art of Negotiating, a revised edition of a book that has already sold more than a million copies.

How does environmentally minded Vermont press Chelsea Green Publishing handle the recession? A few things are going its way, not the least of which is its editorial focus on books that help people become more self-sufficient and survive hard times. Sales are up 21% from 2006 to 2008, and net sales with its Green Partner stores are up more than 100% compared to an equivalent prior period.

A national bestseller (Naomi Wolf's The End of America) helped land Chelsea Green on last year's fast-growing list, and this year Obama's Challenge: America's Economic Crisis and the Power of a Transformative Presidency by Robert Kuttner did the same. Chelsea Green crashed the book in time for the Democratic National Convention last August, and—in a move that angered independents—made the book available early on Amazon.

Chelsea Green has “pretty much jettisoned printed galleys” in favor of e-galleys, says president and publisher Margo Baldwin. It may do the same with its catalogues, starting this fall. CG is not going to BEA this year, says Baldwin. She prefers to attend green consumer shows like Bioneers and the Green Festivals. However, CG will attend ALA in July, where it will unveil a new library program. It is also ramping up its academic marketing in view of sustainability commitments and interest in green issues demonstrated on college campuses. Other initiatives include a new Web site, with a blog and video component.

Fox Chapel Publishing's diversity has helped the company through the recession. Its book business continues to drive growth, but two magazines—Woodcarving Illustrated and Scroll Saw Woodworking and Crafts—as well as a distribution deal for woodworking and craft titles from other publishers, help provide cash flow, market research, access to future authors and a connection to a targeted community of crafters. That, in turn, leads to direct sales.

Paul McGahren, v-p of sales and marketing, says Fox Chapel operates under a fiscally conservative model: all book costs are covered within 90 days of a book's publication date—“or we don't publish the book,” he says. That approach has ensured that the company has cash on hand to acquire content and assets during lean times. One recent acquisition was more than 36,000 pages of Time Life material covering the crafts and hobbies of woodworking, home improvement, fiber arts, boating and collectibles.

Publishing partnerships have also helped the house's success. Relationships with the Smithsonian, Winterthur Museum, New Track Media/American Woodworker and Center for Furniture Craftsmanship have helped Fox Chapel reach larger, targeted audiences. Fox Chapel also looks beyond its core focus for some titles; for instance, it realized tattoo enthusiasts were purchasing its pattern books featuring dragons and Celtic images—so it bound its existing content and published The Great Book of Tattoo Designs, which has sold 20,000 copies.

After solid gains in 2007 Red Wheel Weiser Conari managed to consolidate that increase in what was a difficult 2008. The lifestyle and body-mind-spirit publisher has also held steady in its staffing, maintaining a 20-person staff. President Michael Kerber says the Newburyport, Mass., house has been able to maintain stable sales by concentrating on its core publishing categories of new age, self-help/recovery and alternative health. It released two fewer titles in 2008 than it did in 2007, and even a small change like that helped improve Red Wheel's bottom line.

Last year's lead titles—Serpent of Light: Beyond 2012 by Drunvalo Melchizedek and Essential Laws of Fearless Living


Skyhorse: Small and Fast

Skyhorse Publishing's first titles came off press in March 2007, so the house is too young to qualify for PW's list of fast-growing small publishers. Yet its growth over nearly two years is impressive; 2007 net sales were $2.7 million, with 120 titles published, and in 2008, those figures climbed to $4.7 million and 140 titles. Publisher Tony Lyons says one of Skyhorse's key strengths is its size—with 12 employees, “we can move very quickly,” he says.

The New York City house has excelled with titles in the areas of sports, narrative nonfiction, history and military history, nature and conservation, reference, house and home, gambling, hobbies, rural living and business. In the past 12 months, Skyhorse has done exceptionally well with quickly published books targeted toward the economic crisis. A junior editor came up with the idea for No Job? No Prob! How to Pay Your Bills, Feed Your Mind, and Have a Blast When You're Out of Work by Nicholas Nigro, and Skyhorse published the book in about a month, releasing it last October. Another book that came together quickly was 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget by the Writers of Wise Bread, which the house will publish in May. Skyhorse also made a speedy decision to bring back a long out-of-print title, Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition, edited by Abigail R. Gehring, last year. It sold about 50,000 copies in hardcover. Lyons says operating with a small staff makes it “easy to have a meeting and change the way you're doing things.”

Skyhorse has also published a number of titles recently at lower price points. “If we were a bigger company, we'd probably worry about the margins not being as good,” Lyons says, “Whereas at a small company, we were able to recognize that if the book isn't going to sell it doesn't matter how good the margin is.”—Lynn Andriani

PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success Part Three

Continued from part two




Now that you have finished your book, and it is ready to be shopped around to publishers (or has already been bought by a publisher!) it’s time to think about what you can do to help promote your book.

Exploit the Internet!

The Internet is chockfull of opportunities to get attention to your new book—and you can do it from the comfort of your desk. But start at least six months before your book comes out. Contact websites like:
www.bookmarket.com/
www.dearreader.com --“the Oprah of the Internet”
www.artistopia.com
www.awarenessmagazine.com
www.avid-readers.com
www.nsaspeaker.org
www.awpwriter.org
www.authorinterviews.com
www.book-remark.com
www.chud.com
www.imdb.com (especially if you want to get film attention)
www.levybooks.com
www.nerve.com
www.nerve.com
www.parlezentertainment.com
www.peoplewholovegoodbooks.com
www.pennyterk.com – sign up for your own web page!
www.promoteabook.com
www.publishersmarketplace.com
www.UrbanReviews.com

Here’s a service that’s very promising, FSB Associates:

Thank you for your inquiry to FSB Associates! Attached is a brochure of our services which outlines basic costs of our web publicity campaigns as well as ball park costs for our website development program. To summarize, our typical, and most popular campaign, runs for 2 months at a cost of $5,000. There is an additional cost of $250. for the shipment of 50 books to various reviewers. However, we provide a wide array of services at a variety of lengths ranging from $5,000 - $10,000. The difference in cost depends on the amount of time you wish your campaign to run.

All of our campaigns include book reviews, blog outreach, Podcasts, excerpt placements, content syndication, and forum postings with the possibility of interviews, features and online chats. You can read some additional information on placements in the brochure. Before moving forward, we would like to take a look at the title you wish for us to work on. Please send us a copy to the address in my signature. Thank you again for taking the time to contact us! If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.


Teach a class at the Learning Annex, Story Merchant Client!

Does your nonfiction book have something educational to share? The Learning Annex is always looking for new teachers. This avenue is a great way to share your knowledge and contribute to the world. There are Learning Annex locations in many cities across the U.S., and their bi-monthly catalog (a good place for ads!) reaches 2 million people. But please note, only the serious need apply. If you are scheduled to teach a class and do not show up, that’s it. All ties with you and this association will be severed. This policy is strictly enforced.
What we need to make this happen:

(a) You study the most recent Learning Annex catalog (call us if you can’t find one on your own); and
(b) Construct a 1-page “catalog copy” proposal that can be forwarded to Learning Annex program directors. Note that the title of all successful classes is 90% of their success. It must be crystal clear, focused on what the student will get out of the course, and practical.

Go after Corporations!

Corporations have deep pockets, and it’s easier to make sales to them than you might imagine! They’re always looking for ways of endorsing or sponsoring worthy messages—and multiple copies of an innovative new book often fill that bill.

Keep Us in the Loop!

Please make sure that you, and your publicist, copy us on all email and news about your book (drk@storymerchant.com and bl@aeionline.com). We will, for starters, post the latest developments on our sites, and link our sites to yours—but we will also look for synergies that can advance the cause of sales.

Other Suggestions!
  • Writers’ Conferences—Get yourself invited, and they will automatically order your book to sell at the conference bookstore.
  • Place products in your book and make a deal with the company that makes them to cross-promote your book (see attached story, “Product Placement Deals Make Leap from Film to Books”). See How Stuff Works for great detail.
  • Make personalized postage using your book cover, and ask all your friends to use them as stamps (available at stamps.com among other places on the Internet).
  • Make decals for your car—and all your friends’ cars--of your book jacket. Available at McKeown Signs (via The Writer’s Lifeline).
  • Put ads on buses and subways in cities where you think your book has its most likely audience.
  • Buy billboard space.
  • Print up fancy bookmarks and send 50 to every bookstore you can get the address for.
Outside the Box!

Greenleaf book group is a consulting firm and distributor for small and independent publishers. They distribute books to bookstores and libraries nationwide through wholesalers, online, direct to retailers, and direct to consumers. They help authors and publishers produce, distribute, and market top-quality products-while making the publishing venture profitable and enjoyable. With their knowledge, contacts and experience, they level the playing field and make it possible for small and independent presses to compete with the larger, more established publishing houses. One of their innovative ideas is an animation spam for your book, that they will send out to email lists. Ask The Story Merchant for a referral to them!

Online Promotion

Free Publicity Sites

BookCatcher.com is a website offering free book publicity for book writers and book publishers.

Discussion forum: This is a forum- good place to post re: WL etc.

The Open Press, Inc. is not just another free press release portal. We have done our homework and market research and have spoken with journalists and industry professionals to get their feedback. We exact industry standards for press releases and we will NOT allow unprofessional press releases to be submitted through our services. All free press releases must comply with our press release guidelines.

PR LEAP is a free press release distribution service to major search engines, web sites and newswires, since 2003.

PR.com press-releases is a revolutionary Free Press Release Distribution Service where each business also has a full company profile to promote everything about its business. Submit news and press releases via our global online news and press release distribution service with powerful distribution points such as NBCi News, AskJeeves News, Lycos News, Excite News, Topix News, MSN News,

24-7 PressRelease.com is a free press release distribution service with the small to medium size Company in mind. 24-7 PressRelease.com has recognized the need for affordable press release distribution. That is why 24-7PressRelease.com offers a free news release submission service, with the option to contribute funds for higher recognition and placement. 24-7 Press Release Newswire is a leading provider of both paid and free press release distribution services.

Publicity Sites with Fees (fees quoted here may have changed)

EzineTrendz Services. We are an established business with expertise in Ezine Publication, specializing in Business Article Submission Service. This service is World Renowned and the Leading Source for Article Submission of Business and Marketing related Articles. We are a professional service that provides you with a broad spectrum of needs that is required of any business operating online.

Per Article: $50
Price is based on a random per article service rate. No monthly payment involved.

Twice a Month Submission:
$30 per article
One article every other week will be submitted as per the service agreement. You will be billed once a month for this service at a per article rate of $30, which concludes to a $60 monthly billing cycle.

Once a Week Submission:
$20 per article
One article per week will be submitted as per the service agreement. You will be billed once a month for this service at a per article rate of $20, which concludes to a $80 monthly billing cycle.

Internet News Bureau (INB) is a conduit for the distribution of press releases and is not a news wire service.
  • $275 for Primary Press Release Distribution (for the 1st media list, all additional media lists are $80 each--fees may have changed)
  • Your Press Release is emailed to journalists as early as the next Business Day.
  • Releases are distributed by Internet News Bureau (a Jupitermedia Corporation site)
  • We post your Press Release to the INB website for additional exposure
  • In addition to Journalists, your Press Release is included in the Internet News Bureau Newsletter which reaches 6,000+ business professionals
  • Additional Benefits
Contact Information:
If you are a Non-Profit Organization, PR Agency or Reseller and you are purchasing any of our services for the first time, please contact the INB team at 1-800-887-2702 (US only) or 1-203-662-2868.

Expert Click.com is the Yearbook of Experts online
America's Favorite Newsroom Resource in print, on the web and via LexisNexis® since 1984."

Here's how you benefit from an annual membership with the Yearbook of Experts, Authorities & Spokespersons®:
1. Be profiled and listed in the printed Yearbook of Experts®.
2. Control your profile at ExpertClick.com (24/7) and include up to 1000 words, graphics and a link to your Web site.
3. Send new releases free at NewsReleaseWire.com -- indexed at Google News and LexisNexis -- optimized for search engines.
4. Contact top journalists with The Power Media BlueBook and CD-ROM, and on-line access to the opt-in database.
5. Receive the complete Welcome Kit and Member Handbook, sent by Priority Mail.

PRWeb distributes press releases for many Fortune 500 companies and is the largest Newswire catering to small- and medium-sized companies and organizations. PRWeb. currently stands as one of the largest overall online press release newswires anywhere. To the right, we display a random sampling of distribution points.

Send2Press delivers affordable, proven press release services for both private and public companies including targeted news distribution, news writing, media monitoring, and media coaching. As a professional media relations company since 1983, we have the expertise and experience to "get the word out" to the media and major wire services. Our news is read by media professionals worldwide, appears in News.Google™ and goes to The Associated Press (AP). Plus, we're the only newswire which has offered press release optimization solutions for search engines since 1996. We're the "real deal" in affordable expert PR services!

Xpress Press can distribute your press release to A-list media sources quickly, accurately and affordably.



Read Author 101. Million-Dollar Rolodex by Rick Frishman
Planned TV Arts 1110 2nd Avenue, NY, NY 10022
Ph 212-593-5845
frishmanr@plannedtvarts.com


To be continued.

Read part four

Read PUBLICIZING YOUR BOOK Suggestions for Success from the beginning.


Click here to buy How to Publish Your Novel by Ken Atchity, Andrea McKeown, Julie Mooney, & Margaret O'Connor on Amazon