Chip MacGregor .com

Ask An Agent - Part Three

This week we're doing a quick run-through of questions authors have of literary agents...

I'm a beginning author, have written a novel, and want to start submitting query letters. What advice would you have for me?

First, make sure your novel is well done. Have some other writers read it, get feedback from some experienced writers, and if possible talk with an editor about your work. The #1 reason projects get rejected is because the book isn't really done -- it might be a good idea, but it's basically 70% completed. Second, do some research on literary agents. Don't do a mass sending to a bunch of agents -- find out who represents the type of book you write, who among that list is taking new clients, then try to get some sort of introduction. Publishing, like all businesses in this country, is a relationship business. If you can meet and talk to an agent (perhaps at a conference, or simply through an introduction from a mutual friend), you'll be much further down the path in the submission process. Third, research what makes a good query letter. I sometimes laugh when I see an author has spent two years writing a book, and two minutes banging out a query letter. 

I'm interested in getting an agent. How do you know which agent will work hard for you? For that matter, how can an author know which agents the publishers view as legit?

If you want to know about an agent, you can always start by asking around. Ask publishers and editors in confidence what they think. Go onto the agency website and check the agent out. Check with "Predators & Editors" and "Writer Beware" to see which agents are not considered legit. Look into "Agent Query" and the other agency-ranking organizations. Pick up a copy of Chuck Sambuccino's Guide to Literary Agents so you can do some research into the agent. In my opinion, you should look for an agent that's a member of the Association of Author Representatives (AAR), the professional organization for literary agents. To see if the agent will work hard for you, all you have to do is to see which authors are happy and which agents are doing deals -- you can find information on the number of deals done by an agent in the "Dealmakers" section of Publishers Marketplace (um... sorry to brag, but that would be the place that currently has me listed as the #1 agent for all of 2009). A lot of people will just tell you to "talk with authors," but I find that less than helpful. First, most people don't want to say bad things about an agent, or worry that saying something honest will lead to a lawsuit. Second, many authors don't often know a good agent from a bad one -- if their agent got them a deal, they're happy. I know some authors who have a lousy literary agent, but they're completely satisfied because they don't have anything to judge it against. 

What word count should I shoot for with a light romance? I heard one agent say if a novel gets over 115,000 words, she gets nervous. Are some of the long bestselling novels (Redeeming Love, DaVinci Code, etc) exceptions? 

The genre romance houses are basically asking for 55,000 words for contemporary novels, and 75,000 words for historical novels. If you move away from a genre house and begin talking to more of a general lines publisher, you'll find this lousy economy demands more from writers -- so novels are often in the 90,000 to 100,000 word range. But yes, I am VERY reluctant to take on someone who has written 120,000 words. The investment by the publisher is huge, it takes extra work, the production costs are higher, and the final price point will be higher... so publishers find it easier to reject a book like that. They have to fall in love with a longer novel to contract it. (Pointing to mega-bestsellers like Redeeming Love and DaVinci Code is an exercise in futility. Better to look at the norms, not the exceptions.) 

I recently won a writing contest, then saw how many "winners" there were... It felt like I had "bought" the win with my entry fee. How do agents and publishers feel about writing contest winners? 

I realize the people managing contests want to have happy customers, so they name a lot of "winners." But in my experience, agents and publishers still like to see authors who can tell them they won a national writing contest. There's still a prestige associated with that. 

I have published a novel, but now want to do a nonfiction book. What advice would you have for me? 

A nonfiction book is a completely different animal than a novel. A novel basically offers entertainment -- a nonfiction book offers a solution to a problem or an answer to a question. It requires a different writing style. You'll need to think about scope and sequence, strong principles with clear solutions, and good, illustrative stories. Don't expect your fiction readers will cross the aisle and read your nonfiction book -- they won't. If you're just trying your hand at NF, my best advice would be to study the basics of writing again. It's not easy to slide from fic to NF. 

I have a work that has promise, but needs a good, literary editor. Are there any grants or programs available to help Christian authors fine-tune a work? 

I am not aware of any grants, however joining an online writing group or a critique group might prove helpful. It gets your writing in front of other eyes, so that you gain from the perspectives of others. 

It seems like the information about "platforms" is always geared to nonfiction authors. What steps would you suggest for a fiction writer to start building a platform? 

That will depend on your novel, of course. The core of marketing is to figure out where the readers who would be interested in your story are gathering, then go stand in front of them. So if you're writing Amish fiction, it would be good to figure out where people who love Amish gather -- what sites do they visit, what 'zines to they read, what programs do they follow. You want to figure out how to get in front of those folks. I've said this before, but think of "platform" as a number -- the number of people you can say read your words and have some sort of investment in you, so they're strong possibilities to buy your book. If you have a blog, do articles in your local newspaper, write things in your church or denominational newsletter, contribute to an online e'zine, speak to groups, teach classes, and appear in the media, all of those activities have a number of potential readers associated with them. You build your platform by participating in those activities, getting your words in front of people, and making sure they know the words are from you. You do your best to capture that audience, so you can approach them with your novel when it releases. 

I hope you're finding this helpful. Happy to answer your lingering questions on the last of the ASK AN AGENT segments...

What is a platform?

I've had a couple people write to ask, "What is a platform?"

The simplest way to view this is to say that a platform is a NUMBER... the number of people who have contact with you and your writing. Let's say that you speak at conferences -- how many? in what venues? to how many people? All those folks who hear you speak over the course of the year add up to a number. 

Next, let's assume you have a column in a newspaper, or maybe you do occasional feature articles. All those folks read your words, so the readership of that paper is another number. 

If you are regularly on a radio show, or perhaps host the occasional program on local radio or TV, the listenership or viewership has a number. 

Perhaps you've got a popular blog, or you post online articles on e-zines. That readership can easily be quantified. OR you're heavily involved with social media, so that you spend a lot of time Facebooking or Twittering, checking in with LinkedIn or ShoutLife friends. All of those folks who have regular contact with you and your words via the web -- another number. 

And yes, your previous books have a readership, and perhaps you've captured names and email addresses so that you can more easily re-connect with them. That's another number. 

If you're well-connected to an association, or you're a member or leader of an organization, those folks all have contact with you. So your church, your city's arts council, the college alumni association that interviewed you for their newsletter -- all of those types of connections present a number of readers who are familiar to you.

That's a how a platform is built. You make friends and build an awareness of yourself and your writing. You don't think of it as "selling a product" but as "sharing your gift." Then you add up all those numbers, and you let your publisher know. You present a comprehensive view of the number of people to whom you can say you have some sort of connection. The bigger the number, the happier your publisher will be. 

Two additional thoughts: First, while the concept of building your platform may scare you (especially if you're a quiet writer type, rather than a public speaking/media type), keep in mind that everything I listed above is based on WORDS. Sometimes they are spoken (from a dais or over the airwaves), but more often they are written. So you get to use your best gift to build your platform. Second, your publisher is going to count on you helping to sell your book. A big platform can help you accomplish that.

Now, the next thing people want to know is, "Does a novelist need to have a platform?"

You'd like to think that a novelist can create a career based on nothing more than great characters, snappy dialogue, and a page-turning plot. And that sometimes happens. But in a tough publishing market, publishers are looking for every edge they can get. So yes, they'll take into account an author's platform. Hey -- these are business people. They want to know an author can help them sell books. So by all means include your platform information in your bio when you send in your proposal. 

Getting ready for the next Fiction Marketing Seminar, coming to Indianapolis this Friday and Saturday. There's still room to join -- find out more at www.themasterseminars.com

Interested in Marketing Your Fiction?

[Get ready. I'm going to offer a commercial. At the end, I might even offer you a Ginsu knife. You've been warned.] 

I've long been bugged by the fact that most marketing books you read about in publishing are focused on non-fiction. They tell authors to create websites that give away content, or to go on a speaking circuit and talk about your topic, but most of the ideas are really best for non-fiction. What do you do if you're a novelist? 

I've been talking about that a lot in recent months -- how novelists can create a readership, build a following, establish a presence as a novelist. Several of my recent blog posts have been focused on things like social media, and establishing an author brand, and the importance of social media. So, working with longtime marketing specialist Jim Rubart, we've put together a two-day seminar on marketing your fiction. This is aimed at writers who have a book coming out sometime in the next year, and want to be able to create their own marketing plan. In fact, the goal of this seminar is to make sure, at the end of our weekend together, each novelist walks away with a unique marketing plan for their upcoming book.

Okay, so we're not going to include a bunch of hype, or motivational you-can-do-it speeches, and there won't be any pie-in-the-sky, "maybe this could work" type of ideas. We're not going to sell you any products. Instead, here are a few things we're going to cover:

• What a novelist’s brand is, how to, discover it, and how to establish it

Five things you can do to become your publisher’s favorite author (and get extra help because of it.)

What you should expect from your publisher, and what you shouldn’t

 How get the maximum impact out of social media, your Web site, and your blog.

The seven keys to great ad copy, and how you can use those keys to get free (or nearly free) advertising

How to find new, untapped markets for your books

Three strategies for working successfully with an outside publicist

Most importantly, we'll show you how to create and implement your own, personalized marketing paln to make your novel stand out in a crowded marketplace. And we'll cover the philosophy behind WHY to do certain things. We'll get you thinking like a marketer. 

Jim and I have already beta-tested this material, and found it to be really helpful to authors. We are going to do this next month -- November 20-21, in Dallas. Then we're going to repeat it December 4-5 in Indianapolis. We'll be meeting at a hotel conference room close to the airport, so you can either stay at the hotel, or drive in if you're local. (We plan to do this again next spring in Nashville and Chicago.) We're going to keep these small, so that there will be lots of one-on-one time for each author, and it'll be very hands-on. You'll be creating the plan, not just talking about it. 

Okay, so the cost is normally $499. We decided to charge $399 for these first two, just as an inducement to get people involved. But then I had a bunch of readers of this blog ask about participating, so... tell you what. If you go to the website (www.themasterseminars.com) and mention this blog, you can come for $300. And yeah, space is limited. There's just two of us, and we can only work with a small group. 

Can this sort of focused marketing really work with fiction? Well, I've been working with novelists for years now, and have a good track record of helping them move forward in their careers. So if you really want to figure out what to do in order to market your fiction effectively, plan to come join us. I'd love to meet you there. Thanks for letting me offer you a commercial. 

(Yes, I should have worked for Ronco -- "And, if you order before midnight tonight, we'll send you this lovely set of cheese straightners for FREE!") 

Today's Publishing Environment

Frank wrote to say, "Why don't you take fewer questions and do them more often?"

A good point. I've thought about that... I'll try to answer more questions, and do so more frequently. But first, a note on the self-publishing posts of the other day. I had an author named Nicole write and say, "A note on using iUniverse to self pub. I had a fine experience -- it wasn't expensive (about $300), they actually read my manuscript and gave me feedback, which I used to revise, and the production values, while not lavish, were fine. I've got a paperback original that is sold as a POD, but looks fine on a bookshelf. So if you've got a family memoir or personal story that you want to have produced for a small group of readers, self-pub is the way to go. It's when you combine outside commercial expectations with self-publishing that you run into trouble." 

Well said. Thanks for taking the time to write about your experience. As I noted, I have self-pubbed a few books (both paperback and hardcover), did it myself, and had a good experience. BUT I hired a professional editor to review the manuscript, used a copyeditor I trusted, reviewed the interior and cover designs carefully, and, most importantly, I knew how to sell the book. If you don't know how to sell the book, you're making a mistake if you have commercial expectations. Appreciate you writing to say that, Nicole. 

Abigail asked, "As you look at today's publishing market, what's the most important development you see happening?"

I tough call to pick out one thing, Abigail. First is probably the news that Walmart and Amazon are having a price war, with both saying they'll sell their top books for less than ten bucks (even hardcover books). Yikes. Take a look at what David Young, the CEO of Hachette Book Group USA and my former boss, had to say in the Wall Street Journal and on Publishers Marketplace. He is quoted saying, "It worries me from the perspective of the independent bookseller community that is so vital when it comes to launching new careers." He's absolutely on target with that, coupled with Amazon's desire to make e-books cheaper than $10, there's not much money to stay in business. The implication is that booksellers will price each other out of business, publishers won't be making anything, and that leaves almost nothing for the author. Tough times. 

Second is no doubt the growth of the e-book audience -- today Barnes & Noble introduced the Nook, which is their proprietary e-reader. It includes some of the best of the Kindle features (cell phone technology, the ability to highlight text) with some cool enhancements (a color screen for covers, will get newspapers and magazines, can hold 1500 books, and allows you to move Word docs and PDFs as well as book text to your computer or to a friend's device). They sell for $259, and can be ordered starting today. The price will drop eventually, but this is the big battle brewing on the retail front. 

Chuck wrote this: "You seem to spend a lot of time talking about marketing on this blog. Can't a writer just focus on writing these days?"

Thanks, Chuck. Actually, I'd love it if a writer could just focus on writing. But this is a blog about publishing AND writing, and the reality these days is that a writer is being called to be his or her own marketing director. I don't really enjoy saying that -- I'm just calling it the way I see it as a longtime agent in the industry (as well as a former associate publisher for Time-Warner, senior editor for Harvest House, and author of a couple dozen books). I do think it's possible for a writer of literary fiction to just be a great writer, and choose not to get involved much with marketing... but I think that writer will always struggle in the marketplace (unless he or she hits the lottery and gets a ton of attention somehow -- something that is happening far less frequently than it used to). What we're seeing these days is literary novelists choosing to be involved in some way with the marketing plan -- whether that is doing a blog tour, or a booksigning and speaking tour, or a bunch of interviews and articles in print and web-based 'zines. So the idea of a writer doing his or her own marketing isn't something I'm pushing so much as it's the direction I see the industry has gone. 

I just had a conversation with an author I represent. She's a literary writer, and she's never going to turn into a full-time marketer. That's fair -- I wanted to represent her because I believe in her WRITING, not because I think she's going to be a world famous marketing expert. And I know it's a struggle for an introverted, solitude-loving writer to suddenly be called upon to talk to people, press the flesh, and make herself available to groups. So maybe a writer like that just trusts in her talent, and does as much as she feels comfortable doing, and lives with the results in a competitive book market. I can live with that, so long as the author understands the sales projections will probably be much more modest than if she threw herself into marketing. Again, I'm not trying to be The Marketing Evangelist. I'm just trying to help today's writers understand how the world has changed, and try to be as well-equpped as possible to face the new reality and find some success.

Remember, I sell as much literary fiction as anyone. So if you're a literary writer, I understand your struggle. And I long for the day when you'll be appreciated for your voice and talent, not for your ability to go onto a TV show and pitch your book in 30-second soundbites. Until we get there (IF we get there), I figure my job is to help authors know how to best spend their time trying to be successful. 

Chip 

Links and Notes in Publishing Today

I am regularly asked if the questions on this blog actually come from people writing in, or if I make them up. When I first began the blog three years ago, I culled some questions from writing conferences I was at. Since then, every question I've answered has come from somebody sending me a note. (And yes, I've got a backlog. So sue me.)

One follow-up to the last couple of blogs on Thomas Nelson's new "WestBow" initiative... A couple folks wrote to ask, "Does this mean Thomas Nelson is destitute?" Nope. It just means they're a business, and they see an avenue where they can make some money. The world of publishing is changing rapidly, and I think we're going to see publishers try all sorts of new ideas. Look how newspapers have changed (they've gone online, given away content for free... then gone out of business), or how magazines have changed (they've gone online, cut costs, moved their income base from subscribers to advertisers, and focused on niches). Book publishers are trying to navigate those same changes. They're trying to figure out how to make money with digital books, how to improve the bottom line, how to trim costs, and how to increase income. 

A happy note in the world of publishing... This week Barnes and Noble is expected to reveal their own e-reader. It has a color screen (actually a two-part screen -- color to see covers at the bottom, but a black-and-white reading area at the top), uses cell phone technology to deliver books, allows hyperlinks in the text, has full browsing cabability, and uses a Google operating system. Early reports say it allows both Word and PDF documents, so it'll be useful for people in the industry. Expect some serious competition for the Kindle. 

And another note: it looks like the government might end up canceling the Google rights deal. They consider it too much of a reach (putting all out of print books into the hands of Google), so it looks like they're going to break it up. We're still moving toward a digitalized future for all oop books, but probably not the one you did all that paperwork for. Sorry!

The folks at Novel Journey continue to interview some of the most fascinating writers. I loved the video from Brad Meltzer, an author who was panned by Kirkus, PW, and everyone else before he hit the big time (check out his great video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fubceELexE

And if you're really into marketing, you have GOT to read a wonderful piece in the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/10/19/091019sh_shouts_weiner

Several folks have asked if we're planning to do the Fiction Marketing Seminar as a webinar, or if we're going to make the materials available somehow. Maybe one day in the future. But the GOAL of the seminar (which we're doing in Dallas Nov 20-21 and Indianapolis Dec 4-5) is for every participant to walk out of the weekend with a workable marketing plan for his or her novel. That requires some hands-on work (I'm teaching this with Jim Rubart, a longtime marketing consultant), so it's not the sort of thing you can stick into a workbook and sell for $19.99. If you're a novelist interested in finding out how you can market your fiction, check us out at: www.themasterseminars.com

Some folks have asked if Christian Manuscript Submissions (www.christianmanuscriptsubmissions.com ) is legit. Yeah, they are. That's a system that was set up by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. They charge a fee to have you submit your book proposal and sample chapters, so that they can stick it into an electronic slushpile and make it available to publishers. Can it turn into a deal? Theoretically. But practically speaking, the odds are VERY long. For all the people who have submitted in recent years, there have only been a couple of projects that were actually picked up by publishers. So there's two ways to view it... (1) If you take the perspective that an author needs to try every avenue in a quest to get published, then I suppose this is one other way to try. (2) Most editors already get a ton of legit proposals from agents, so what's the motivation for checking an electronic slushpile? If you really want to be seen by an editor, hook up with a good agent. 

Okay, so a couple moments of bragging... Jon Acuff has one of the world's most popular religious blogs (Stuff Christians Like), and he's coming out with a book of his musings at Zondervan next year. Seven months out, the book is in pre-orders on Amazon, and it's already the most popular book combining religion and humor. Wow. Seven months out? Have I ever purchased a book seven months before it released? AND I read two novels recently that knocked my socks off... Susan Meissner is famous for last year's The Shape of Mercy, which was widely regarded as the best religious novel published last year. But if you haven't seen her new one, White Picket Fences, you're missing out. It's really good. And I know I've been guilty of raving about Lisa Samson's novels in the past (Tiger Lillie and Quaker Summer were great reads), but by all means take a look at her new one, The Passion of Mary Margaret. Man. Fabulous. Oh, and if you like thrillers, Irene Hannon's debut, Against All Odds spent three months on the bestseller lists. Her new one, An Eye for An Eye, is just as good (and doubtless headed back to the bestseller lists). I know I can't rave about every book I represent, but these three are all good. 

I have been asked by several people to point them toward writers who are really good, but who don't get the attention they deserve. Without a doubt I can give you two names: Ginger Garrett and Kimberly Stuart. No question. Both great writers, and both staying under the radar. There are doubtless a bunch of others, but those are the first two names that come to mind. 

For some reason, I keep having font and spacing issues in the new Typepad blogs. Don't know what's up, or why some of these paragraphs are larger than others, but I'm working on it. Back to more questions -- and if you've got a question about writing and publishng, feel free to send it along. 

Precisely why I don't blog much ...

... because I should be working on getting proposals out and answering phone calls and emails. But, here I am instead. Wondering why on earth I threw my opinions out there in there in the first place.

First, let me say I realize we need to change our blog setup so people realize when it's me, SANDRA writing. I'll work on that.  For now, you get to read my words in orange.

Regarding yesterday's blog, I began posting comment replies but they got too long, so consider this a group reply.

I want to clarify that expressing whether or not I approve of TN's decision was not the intention of my post yesterday.  Who really cares whether I approve or not? I certainly wasn't trying to shake my finger at Michael Hyatt. Frankly, I don't know the man, but I do respect his position, and I'm smart enough to know (and humble enough to admit) that he's someone with a lot of influence who has the capacity to make or break careers. Or at least bend them.

My pointing out "what's behind the curtain" had more to do with my frustration about the whole farm team analogy. It just didn't fly for me.

Thomas Nelson's decision to add self publishing to their product line was their choice to make. It's a business model which is different from what's always been done. Does the fact that Nelson and other traditional publishers are stepping into this ring threaten the status quo? Absolutely. Do I respect their courage to at least step out and try something new? Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Am I jumping up and down in excitement about it? Uh, no.

I'm sure this decision wasn't considered lightly. Business ideas are sometimes conceived in a vacuum, but rarely carried out in one. My guess is that the seed of this idea started with a simple question like "how can we continue to move forward and mitigate risk?" For Nelson, this was their answer. Is it the right answer? That's the million dollar question, isn't it?

I realize from Thomas Nelson's perspective, this new division simply offers authors a new choice to make in regard to how they pursue publication. It's a service in exchange for a fee. And it's not like TN is going to go out and hang authors upside down to shake spare change from their pockets. Whether authors choose to buy this service is their choice.

Still, it's needs to be said that good authors work and sacrifice long and hard on their product before presenting it for consideration and this move doesn't make the road to publishing shorter or easier for them. It makes it steeper, bumpier, and harder to navigate.

For most authors, traditional publishing is still the end goal. In CBA, Thomas Nelson has long been considered the brass ring. The stamp of approval. Validation and evidence that an author has earned their way to the top and is deserving of respect as a Christian author. And I believe that respect is something which should be earned. Not available for purchase.

Face it, there is the potential for folks to let their desire to see their name on the spine of a Thomas Nelson book override their motivation to do the work. And, conversely, there is also the potential for TN to let their desire to make money override their motivation to hold to their standards. I'm not accusing. I'm just saying this looks like it has the potential to be a slippery slope and this concerns me.

Obviously I wasn't asked for my opinion on any of this. And as I was talking with another agent this morning, we agreed that it's easy to criticize and point fingers at other people's solutions without offering suggestions or alternatives, so here's mine:

Want a farm team? Go for it. I think it's a great idea. Start a new non-advance, higher royalty division - and perhaps use the Westbow imprint for just such a thing. This would still raise the commitment required from authors without lowering the bar. Help authors who are willing to commit to making the product a success, then spend the money that would have gone into an advance to help the author with marketing. I've done a couple deals this way with other publishers recently, and I have to say, I feel fine about it. There was nothing in it for me upfront as an agent, but in both cases, they are projects I believe have the capacity to not only make money down the road, but also make a difference in the long run.

Just an idea. Conceived in bit of a vacuum, I'll admit. Feel free to discuss. I've got work to do.

Sandra

Questions about Marketing

I've got a backlog of publishing questions that have been sent in (currently more than a hundred -- yikes!), so I'm going to try and squeeze a bunch in this month. Today is a batch of marketing questions...

Diane wrote and asked, "In publishing, which comes first -- the chicken or the egg? Do we need to have a book published before we start building a platform? Or do we start building a platform before we have a book to push?"

If the platform is the chicken, it's definitely the chicken that comes first. Look, if I walk into a publisher's office with your nonfiction book, the FIRST question he or she will ask is, "What's her platform?" I can sell good writing and a good idea from an author with a great platform. But it's tough to sell even great nonfiction writing that comes from an author with no platform. So that's easy -- start building your platform NOW. 

Irene wants to know, "In laymen's terms, can you tell me what a marketing platform is?"

Sure. Your platform is a number. In simplest terms, your platform is the number of people you can influence to buy your book -- and these days your publisher is going to expect the author to be responsible for about half the overall number of copies sold of your nonfiction book. So add up the people you can influence -- the number of people you speak to at conferences, the number who read your blog, the number who get your newspaper column, the number of people in your organization, the number who listen to you on the radio or watch you on TV. All those media contacts you have can be turned into a number -- and that's the number the publisher will look to when they think about selling your book. If it's a smaller house, they might be hoping to sell four-to-eight-thousand books. (That means you'd have to sell between two-and-four-thousand copies -- which is a lot of books.) If it's a medium sized publisher, they're looking to sell twelve-to-twenty. If it's a large publisher, they may only be interested in titles that will sell twenty-five-thousand copies. But you've got to sell half... and that means your marketing platform needs a big number. 

Jill wrote to say this: "I've been asked to speak at a couple places, but it's the same month my book comes out. Should I say 'yes,' and use that as an opportunity to promote my book? Or should I say 'no,' and spend my time doing other marketing? I don't want to jump at every speaking engagement that comes up."

If it were me, I'd probably say "yes." When your book is releasing, you want as many promotional opportunities as you can get. Say yes to everything. Go speak. Write for people. Get out there and be seen. Work yourself hard, because you'll soon be working on another book, and that means sitting by yourself, in a room, with your keyboard... and no crowds to clap for you and tell you what a great job you're doing. Given a chance to promote a book, an author usually has a limited window. Do everything you can to maximize that window. 

John noted, "I have a popular blog, and I'm curious what you think about having links on it. Do they help? Should I include them?"

Yeah, you should. They'll bring in traffic, and they're part of what makes the blogosphere a social network. I happen to think Mike Hyatt's blog is great, Jenny B Jones' blog is a riot, and Rachelle Gardner's blog is insightful. So I include links so others can visit them. Maybe they return the favor (maybe not -- doesn't matter to me), but it gets people visiting other sites and that brings readers to my own site. That's the essence of social marketing. 

I had four people ask this: "Will you be doing the 'fiction marketing' seminar in the Pacific Northwest? And will you be putting any of them onto DVD's?"

Okay, prepare yourself for a mini-commercial... I'm working with Jim Rubart, a longtime marketing guru from Seattle, and together we're putting on a two-day seminar called "Marketing Your Fiction." The goal is that novelists who attend will walk away with an actual marketing plan for their upcoming novel. Rather than waiting for the publisher, they'll take charge of their own fiction marketing. We're planning to do it Nov 20-21 in Dallas, then again Dec 4-5 in Indianapolis. If those go well, we're planning to do it a couple more times next year. Should be fun -- and as far as I know, there's nothing else like it. You can read all about it at this link:

www.themasterseminars.com . Look into it and see if you might find it helpful. 

Last question is from Jerry:  "I've heard some publishers are requiring their authors to include not just Amazon but the B&N.com sales button on their website. Is that true? Why would publishers do that?"

It's true, and it's troublesome. Publishers are putting the squeeze on authors to include B&N.com on their websites, even though B&N doesn't pay an author to link to them (Amazon does). It's no doubt happening because someone at B&N is suggesting to publishers that they're more apt to carry the books of authors who include them on author websites. Maybe that's just business, but it's worrisome any time you have retailers trying to control author content. (Think of when Amazon forced social networking site LibraryThing to remove buttons and links to other booksellers. The argument at the time was, "If you're going to use our materials, you can't list any of our competitors.") You know where this will lead? Borders won't carry your books unless you have a Borders link on your site. B&N will be checking author websites for their link. Amazon will insist everybody keep an Amazon link on their site. As I said... troublesome. What if a retailer announces that they don't like your cover, and won't stock your book unless the publisher changes it? Of they don't like your title and demand a change? Hmmm...

Questions about Platform and Publishing

Back to questions from readers...

Kara asked, "Is doing book reviews considered part of an author's platform-building efforts?"

I think any sort of writing you do that gets read adds to an author's platform. And if it doesn't immediately draw readers to your work, it keeps you writing for publication, which is certainly better than doing writing that nobody will ever see. So doing book reviews, movie reviews, restaurant reviews, local newspaper columns, and a blog may not garner you thousands of readers, but it gets you in front of more people than those who aren't doing it. 

On a related note, Debbie wrote, "I review books on my blog for some large CBA publishers, but today I received a request to review a book from Xulon (a self-publishing company). I'm wondering if a review of something like that will hurt my credibility."

I doubt it. A reviewer writes responses to books -- so make it an honest, helpful review for the readers, Debbie. (And be warned... I've had some self-pubbed projects sent to me recently that were incredibly bad. If the book you received is similar, you'll have to figure out if you want to toast the author, or just ignore it and review something else.) 

Devin wants to know, "Realistically, what hope is there for my novels to be published in the US while I'm living in South Africa? My writing tone is a bit different than US writers, and my settings are all in South Africa. Do I have a chance of being picked up?"

Realistically you face an uphill climb, Devin. American audiences generally like American settings and American language, and American publishers want to know you're going to be here to help them sell the book. That's not to say a fabulous writer from another country can't have great success here -- it certainly happens. But it's rare, and it's basically writers who have had incredible success in their home countries. 

(Speaking of which, a friend recently sent me a note from Stuart McAllister, a pastor and speaker from Scotland. In a recent radio address, he said, "When the Gospel came to Britain, it was embraced with great enthusiasm by the four great tribes of people. The English warmly embraced the Gospel because it was something they could build a culture from. The Welsh embraced the Gospel because it was something they could sing about. The Irish embraced the Gospel because it was something they could fight over. And we Scots embraced it because it was free!")

And keeping you up on new trends, Simon & Schuster has just starting marketing a "vook." (A video-enhanced-book.) It's a combination of text and images (basically video clips -- think "the newspapers in the Harry Potter movies"), and they're aimed at the iPhone market. The two novels releasing are from Richard Doetsch and Jude Devereaux, so they're relying on proven authors, and the low price-point ($6.99) means they're trying to build enthusiasm for the product. It's an interesting concept. 

Also on the horizon is a new e-book reader from Barnes & Noble, which they're hoping to get into stores later this month, in time for your Christmas shopping. Rumors say it will have a color screen and use cell phone technology (relying on AT&T) so you'll download books the way you receive text messages. Having a the country's biggest book retailer push an e-reader will surely give Sony and Amazon some serious competition. Some people think this is why Amazon just cut the price of the Kindle another hundred bucks (it's now $259). You may not own an e-reader yet, but you will... just like a cell phone, a TV remote, an answering machine, a GPS, and an iPod, an e-reader will become part of your electronic life. 

We've already had people sign up for our Fiction Marketing Seminar. In case you haven't heard, I'm working with JIm Rubart, a twenty-year marketing veteran, to do a two-day seminar in Dallas (Nov 20-21) and Indianapolis (Dec 4-5) that will focus solely on helping novelists determine a fiction marketing plan for their books. For too long publishers have relied on marketing plans that were developed for nonfiction books, with the expected result of leaving novelists less than satisfied. So we're going to take a small group of novelists in each city, and help them create marketing plans that are unique for their titles. You can find out all about it at  www.themasterseminars.com. Would love to have you join us. 

-Chip

Marketing and Fiction

I've had more than a dozen budding novelists write to ask about marketing their fiction. The question usually sounds something like this: I've got a novel coming out soon... What sort of marketing should I be doing? 

Again, the answer has several parts. First, understand that your publisher will do some marketing of your book. It may not be much, but anything they do is a help, so send them a thank-you note. Second, spend some time getting to know the basics of marketing. (I did several recent posts on that topic, so look back over the past few weeks of this blog.) Third, the core of all marketing is the same: figure out where the potential readers are, then try to get in front of them. And you're going to need to personalize your marketing plan -- in other words, you can't rely on one basic plan that will work for every book. 

I mention that because it seems like both publishers and authors have a tendency to think that there are one or two marketing ideas that will help any book succeed. That's not true. A marketing plan is unique for each book, since every title has a unique audience. If you read something on a writers' blog about how giving away parrots made a pirate novel work, you can't expect that "the secret to selling fiction is to give away parrots." (Though... now that I think of it, parrots do sell  books...)

Anyway, my point is that you're going to have to come up with a unique plan that is suited for YOUR book. And that leads to think of a couple things...

First, an author I represent, Kit Wilkinson, just had her debut novel release with Harlequin. Kit created a big release party, got everybody she knows involved, and sold 141 books at her signing! (If you're not aware, most of us have gone through signings where we had five people show up, sold two books to Aunt Marge, and ended up spending most of our time talking to bookstore staff and giving customers directions to the ladies' room.) Kit grasped the notion of becoming a big deal locally, making her debut an event, and grabbing some attention. It got noticed in the local newspaper, she's been invited to numerous groups to talk about herself and her writing, and she's doing all she can to keep her momentum going forward. That's the sort of unique marketing that can help an author get off to a strong start. 

Second, I want to tell you about a seminar I'm doing on marketing your fiction. I was having a conversation with Jim Rubart, a writer whose first novel releases with B&H soon. Jim has spent his entire adult life in marketing, and when we began chatting about the sort of things he wanted to do with his novel, I realized here was a kindred spirit -- a guy who understood that he needed to create a unique plan to capture an audience for his book. The more we chatted, the more I realized we thought alike, and we had some information I thought novelists would like. So we decided to put together a Fiction Marketing Seminar, where we'd invite a small group of ten novelists to get together and help them create a unique marketing plan for their books. 

Now we've got it on the calendar. We're going to do this November 20-21 in Dallas, and December 4-5 in Indianapolis. This is a two-day seminar, aimed at novelists who have a book coming out in the next year, and who want to learn how to create their own marketing plan. No motivational speeches. No warmed-over ideas from five years ago. No selling dopey products. Instead, we're just going to focus on some important topics:

• How to establishing an author brand
• What to expect from your publisher
• How to maximize social media
• The keys to great ad copy
• How to get free publicity for your novel
• Finding untapped markets for your novel
• How to become a favorite author at your publishing house
• How you can effectively work with an outside publicist

I think you'll find it helpful. We're trying to keep the costs low, so all you have is a one-night hotel stay and the seminar fee. No hidden stuff, and we won't try and shove a bunch of extra products down your throat. I'm really excited about this, and I think novelists will find it helpful. (In fact, we did a beta test of this seminar recently with four author friends, and they raved about it.) 

We're working with Tiffany at Command Performance Speakers Bureau to get everything arranged, so it'll all be handled professionally. If you want to know more, check out our website: 

www.themasterseminars.com

We're trying to create something that will turn you into a MASTER marketer. So stop by the site, read all the details, and feel free to ask me questions. Would love to have you join us!

Okay - tomorrow, it's back to your questions.

-Chip

Marketing and Publishing Questions

I moved recently, and that's put me behind in my blogging. Sorry! The good news: I'm now in my new place on the Oregon coast, trying to get my office organized, and I'm back to your questions about writing and publishing. We've got a backlog, so let me get cracking...

Darlene asked in a comment on a recent post, "In marketing my books, what's the most effective use of my time and money? I'm planning to market my work, but... I'm not sure what to do first."

The answer is going to be different for each author, of course. However, keep in mind that the basics of marketing your book are simple: Figure out who your readers out, find out where they're going, then try to get in front of them. Researching those basic questions will probably help you figure out what to do next. The internet has made marketing MUCH more accessible for every novelist. You can blog, write articles, participate in a discussion, and become an expert in an area without leaving the comfort of your writing space. So I think many novelists need to think through how they can use the web to get their name and their book titles in front of readers. That's the first place I'd explore, Darlene. 

Dan said, "I want to be able to show my novel to production companies, but my publisher says I have to pay them $500 to get a PDF file with the edited, formatted version of my own book. Is that fair? Is there anything I can do?"

Charging authors for a PDF file or Word doc of their edited manuscript is something that's come up in the past few years. Authors want the file in case the book goes our of print, so they've got an edited version on their hard drive. But publishers are wary of giving it to the author, for fear it will get distributed and they'll lose sales. The solution? Ask for this in your contract negotiations, and explain to the publisher that you will not be selling the digital version of your book while it's still in print with the publisher. (An alternative: If your publisher creates a digital version of your book, simply purchase a copy for your Kindle or Sony reader.  Then you've got the finished version in an e-file.) 

Jason wrote to say, "I really want to be published, and friends of mine suggested I try self-publishing. One suggested publishing a mediocre work, just to get my name associated with published material. I was thinking I'd be better off submitting to literary journals and commercial magazines to establish some legitimate publishing credits. Your thoughts?"

I'm glad you wrote, Jason, since you are clearly hanging around with idiots. Publishing a mediocre work that doesn't sell is a great way to kill your career, since it lets everyone know you can't write. (Your idea of submitting to literary and commercial sources is a much better plan.) You could also start submitting to online 'zines and publishing online articles -- both have the potential to garner you some readers. Self-publishing is only good for one type of author -- the one who can sell a bunch of copies. So if you're doing seminars where you can do book sales in the back-of-the-room, it's a fine option. But if you're writing literary works and are hoping to get noticed as a novelist, it's usually a terrible choice. Nobody notices it. Nobody read is. So it's only good for leaving out on the counter, in hopes that your friends will notice when they come over for dinner ("Set your coffee cup right on the...oh, excuse me, let me move MY BOOK!"). 

My buddy James Scott Bell had some good things to say about fiction marketing on a recent blog. Check out his thoughts at:

http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2009/08/writer-this-is-your-job.html

Got a question about writing and publishing? Send it in and we'll get you an answer. -Chip