How Serious Are You About Your Writing?
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 31st, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Becoming a writer is more than just calling yourself one, and much more than simply attending writer meetings and an occasional workshop. Writing takes discipline and hard work. Authors have told me that the best way to improve writing is to write, and to do it every day. Regardless of the amount of time you spend, the fact is that you need to write something every day as part of your daily routine, and something that you make a priority.
Over the past few months as I have had the wonderful opportunity of speaking to many writing groups, workshops, college classes, and library patrons about the subject of publishing. When I consider my conversations with many attendees I am convinced that less than 10% are serious about their writing. The definition of serious would be someone hard at work writing on a daily basis.
Everyone wants to get his or her manuscript published, and that is certainly understandable. However, writing and completing a book should be the goal, not getting it published. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself: Why am I writing? Is it because I enjoy the work, the challenge? Or am I only interested in getting published? Not everything you write, and even complete, may be worthy of ending up in print, is that reason enough to stop?
If your concentration is improving your writing, and you focus on finishing a task that you started, then perhaps you will get to the point where your work warrants publication. Every completed manuscript does not deserve to be published. And being published should not be your primary motivation. Being a good writer takes talent, unfortunately everyone is not blessed with such ability. I’m a perfect example! That doesn’t stop me from trying, and I don’t have hopes of ending up on anyone’s bestseller list.
My writing is done to convey information that I think is important to writers. It is crude and often times grammatically challenged, however I am hopeful it sends the right message. Ask yourself the question: Why am I writing? Your answer may surprise you.
How Important Is The Truth?
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 27th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Finally, a respected member of the media has stepped up to express outrage over the fabrications in the book A MILLION LITTLE PIECES by James Frey. Published as a Memoir by a division of Random House, the largest publisher in the world, the author has admitted lying about the facts in the book. Oprah’s guests on her show Wednesday included the author, publisher, and columnists who had been critical of the talk show host for defending the book.
At the beginning of the show Ms. Winfrey apologized for her remarks during a call to the Larry King Show where the author was being grilled for embellishing parts of his bestselling book. During that call the television host stood behind the author and his book. It turns out Ms. Winfrey was wrong, and she admitted that, she said her comments at that time made it appear as though truth didn’t matter and in her words, “it does!”
What is most astonishing to me is that the publisher made the statement, that during their vetting of the book; they decided there was “no liability” on their part. This means they weren’t looking for the truth, only covering their behinds in case of a lawsuit. Not once did the publisher denounce the fact that the author lied to his readers. In fact, the publisher defended the book saying “the facts as written were the author’s recollection of events” surrounding his recovery from drugs and alcohol.
From someone who spent most of his entire adult life in publishing: shame on the publisher Doubleday and their parent Random House, and shame on the author James Frey. As usual, the publisher made their money on the publication of lies, the author got rich, and all those readers who bought the book thinking they were buying a TRUE story were actually buying a novel. It’s a sad day when publishers will go to this length to sell books. Writers beware!
Write In Your Own Voice
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 24th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Hardly a week goes by that I do not get both of the following questions sent to me in an email: “Should I write under my own name?” And, “What category should my book be?” The answers, from a strictly marketing and sales perspective, is that authors should write under their own name and never, ever worry about the category you give your book.
If you are a woman writing what is perceived to be strictly a man’s genre, it is possible questions will be asked about why a woman is writing this type of book? If the writing and story are good enough, and the timing is right, then it’s possible that instead of using Anne Smith, the publisher will go with A. Smith. The same holds true for a man writing in what is perceived as a woman’s genre, if there is sufficient concern with the publisher about the acceptance of either book in the marketplace, initials can work as well as your name.
When writing your story, leave the categorization up to the publisher. They will make certain your book gets the correct category designation to maximize the potential in the marketplace. Regardless of the category you give your own book, your editor and in-house staff will make any necessary changes they feel a book needs to make the numbers.
Finally, and most importantly, never write to fit what you feel will sell, OR never write a certain way because that is the way some best-selling author writes, OR never write the way someone else recommends you write. WRITE IN YOUR OWN VOICE! Each of you is unique, and your story is unique because you are the one writing that story. If you try to imitate another writer or style, then your story will become a bad copy of someone else’s writing. Your success depends on your writing, the way you write, telling your story in your own voice. Never change that.
Please Share Information With Other Writers
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 20th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
One of my more famous author friends once told me writers, authors, creative people as a group, in her experience, tended to be passive in nature. They would not be the first to step to the front of the line or volunteer, but when asked, they would be the first to offer help. Since starting this web site and speaking to writers groups and college classes, I would have to agree with her assessment.
Based on that, I am going to make a plea to everyone reading this blog: Please share your writing, publishing, or relevant experience with other writers. Practically every week I am asked for the names of editors, printers, production professionals, book jacket designers, and so on. Please share with me so I can share with other writers, the names of people or companies you would recommend.
It is interesting to note that when something goes wrong, or someone has a bad experience, they do not hesitate to share the problem, however when a project turns into a success, it’s as though people want to hold onto the information as if it is a secret only for themselves. I have a list of names that privately, I would not share, but I need to know who you would recommend to other writers who need help in getting their manuscripts to print.
Whether you are self-published or under contract with a publisher, I want to use your experience as a resource for other writers. We have all been in need at one time or another of information that will help to research a particular subject. We are always appreciative of a tip that saves time and money. Be willing to share that tip with others and in the end, everyone will benefit. Thank you.
Response From A Publisher
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 17th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
There was a blog that I wrote in December entitled, “Are Publishers Lazy?” Click LINK to review. I received a response from a publisher that I thought was important and wanted to share. It was written by Bill Fessler, CEO of Primer Publishers, click LINK to visit their web site.
Here is what Bill wrote: “I just read your comments about “lazy” publishers, and I want to add my two cents. First, it’s interesting to read your thoughts and apply them to a publisher like myself. I’m wondering if there’s a misperception about marketing and authors are confusing it with advertising. In reality, marketing is very hard and time consuming, but “grassroots campaigning” (is) the only way small publishers can afford to create interest in our books. Buying a TV, radio, or print ad is not marketing.”
“Second, I hope you can emphasize to authors that they not only need to understand the publishing side of the business, but they must enter the arena as an active participant. The best written book will not be sold unless the author does his or her share of promoting it. Great examples are all the college professors who are mandated by the school to write books but never do anything after the manuscript is submitted. A university press might publish 500 books a year, but about 490 of them will sell less than 100 copies. I’m not wanting to use these numbers to point blame, but rather take a look at the 10 books that succeeded. While the university press spends time working on each and every book, realize that means that only 1/500th of their time can be spent on a single title. It’s the authors effort that makes a book rise above the rest. At small, independent presses, the effort might be divided by 2 or 10 or 20 new titles, but the backlist needs our attention as much as the new books and becomes a factor. (Jerry, you can better explain the motivation behind the big publishers, but the fact is that effort is divided among all titles in the “repertoire”). An author is focused on their one, solitary “tree” and needs to recognize that the publisher is managing an entire “forest” – and when a tree falls in a forest, if the author isn’t standing nearby, it doesn’t make a sound.”
Bill Fessler, Primer Publishers
Controversy In Publishing
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 14th, 2006 | 3 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
There has been some recent media coverage about a book entitled, A MILLION LITTLE PIECES by James Frey, most notable an Oprah Book Club pick. A well-known web site, has questioned “the veracity of key moments,” in the purported retelling of the author’s past drug abuse and rehabilitation.
During a Larry King interview with the author this week, Oprah called the show to defend Mr. Frey, who is accused of exaggeration. The popular talk show host said, “It is incumbent upon publishers to more accurately market their books.” The publisher, Doubleday, an imprint of the largest publisher in the world, Random House, has not commented.
Oprah is absolutely correct! However her statements did not go far enough! Anytime an author writes anything that is marketed as Non-fiction, Biography, or any other category that suggests the writing is Fact and not Fiction, it is the responsibility of the publisher to make certain that every fact is true and not “exaggerated.”
Publishers used to go to great lengths to make sure a book was totally “vetted” for accuracy. If any statement could not be independently verified then it was removed from the text. My former company published a book by the infamous Kitty Kelley and it took months of research to make certain the facts we published were true.
Obviously the publisher for this “book” felt they had done enough research to market as an autobiography, when in fact a small web site has clearly discovered they did not. The author has since admitted to the “embellishment” of certain incidents but claims the overall facts are true. That clearly pushes the truth to the limits of publishing integrity.
To my friends and former colleagues at Random House: Has the market become so competitive that you have to resort to these kinds of tactics to sell books? Shame on Random House, and shame on an industry whose leaders will not step forward to denounce this hypocrisy. Writers and authors, BEWARE!
Focus on Small Markets
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 10th, 2006 | 3 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
When publishers make decisions on where to spend advertising dollars in support of their seasonal titles, they typically concentrate on the largest media markets. This is why small publishers and especially self-published authors should completely ignore those media cities when marketing their book(s). If you are interested in which cities comprise the largest media markets, click this LINK for a list of the top 210 television markets as of September 2005.
Publishers buy large chunks of advertising, in newspapers, on television, and radio from the big media owners, which make up the majority of the largest media markets in the United States. The competition for this advertising creates a demand that pushes the rates beyond the reach of small publishers and certainly self-published authors. The largest trade publishers can buy large blocks of ad space and time, which makes their cost most effective for promoting a list of seasonal titles.
If you are an author or small publisher and making decisions on where to spend your ad budget, concentrate on media markets beyond the top twenty or thirty. Even though you will still encounter mediums owned by some of the largest conglomerates, large trade publishers do typically not cover these market areas. The reasons are varied but the most common is that publishers are more concentrated on advertising, promotion, and publicity in only the largest markets, regardless of the author or title.
Be smart about where you spend your limited dollars, focus on smaller media markets and leave the largest to the bigger publishers. Your money will go farther and you will have much more of an impact if you concentrate your efforts on areas not typically within the range of the large trade publishers.
Three January Reminders
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 4th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
FIRST — Publishers and retailers are examining the final December sales numbers, retailers are deep discounting those big hype books that failed to sell during the holidays, and the remainder of their bloated inventory is being returned. If you are an author and your book was published in the past two months, it would be a good idea to touch base with your editor, and anyone you have a relationship with in the sales department to get some hard facts about your books performance because in another thirty days it will be difficult to get your hands on those numbers.
SECOND — This is the time of year that publishers tend to be overly aggressive with the reforecast of their budgets and if your book is on the pub schedule anytime during the next twelve months, you must look closely for any changes being made that can have a negative impact on your book. An increase in a budget of anywhere above 10% should be closely scrutinized and you should demand answers before it’s too late. Once those budgets are increased it is extremely unlikely they will ever be reduced.
THIRD — If you have questions for your publisher that does not require an immediate answer let the post-holiday blues settle over the company. Give them a chance to get back into a routine before you make your call. Give the in-house folks time to reenergize themselves for the task at hand before you ask for assistance. January is the time when everything has to be done today and everyone is stressed. Publishers are always concerned because it is a new year and the pressure to exceed last year started the first day back from the holiday break.
