Calling All Aspiring Writers of Nonfiction Books

The Costs of Self-Publishing a Book

2010-12-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

Brrr! Come on in out of the cold wind. This cold spell is busily announcing the first week of December. Order yourself a hot drink and listen to Mary Babic as she continues to educate us on the cost of publishing.

"Book publishing costs arise from three areas and the costs can be substantial in all three whether you traditionally publish or self-publish. Here's the story on each cost area:

"1. Writing—If you publish with an established publisher, they may pay for most of the editorial costs, but you may still be responsible for some. For example, you will still spend money for book proposal coaching if you need it or for someone to write the proposal for you. You may also want to hire your own editor before you send the manuscript to the publisher. You pay any costs associated with permissions and indexing. In addition, if you make too many changes once the book has been designed, you may be asked to shell out more money for some of the corrections.

"2. Publishing—If you publish with an established publisher, you won't incur the costs of production. But if you self-publish, you must consider the expense of book design and layout, book cover design including back cover copy, prepress production, indexing, proofreading, and printing. After books are ready for sale, there are the charges of carrying inventory (unless you use a print-on-demand process), packing, and shipping (although shipping costs are ultimately passed on to the purchasers).

"3. Marketing—Even if you use an established publisher, you will be responsible for most of your own promotions and any travel you do to represent the book. For the vast majority of books, a publisher will allocate a budget of $1,000 or less for marketing the book, and that just isn't enough. The publisher may also do some collaterals—bookmarks, event posters, one-sheet flyers—but generally very few.

Here is a rough estimate of the expenditure to produce a professional-quality soft cover book in which you do most of the writing and you self-publish:

Expected editing costs: $2,000
Self-publishing production, book interior
design, and layout: $2,500
Proofreading: $750
Indexing: $500
Cover design, listings, print prep: $3,000
First Printing: $600
(200 review copies at $3 per book,
high-quality, on-demand)
Collateral materials for book events: $2,000
Small book launch publicity effort:
press releases and follow-up to trade journals
and targeted media, some local speaking
and exhibiting: $3,000 to $5,000

"You can expect to spend $10,000 to $15,000 and up to self-publish a book and do some modest marketing with increased cash outlay for any additional help you need. Of course, you can spend a lot more at each stage of the process if you don't find a high-quality professional to work with the first time and have to redo some of the original work.

"If you have any questions please visit www.awritersassistant.com"

Thank you, Mary. It always helps to understand the bottom line. Counting the cost before we commit to spending the money will take some of the stress out of our decisions.

Next time I want to talk about money coming in, not money going out. Isn't that a pleasant thought?! So keep writing…

What’s Money Got to Do with It? Part 1

2010-11-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

Here I come, tardier than last time I visited. Some days just don't seem long enough at this time of year.

I hope you find a few minutes to join me today. Thanksgiving week starts a season of so many opportunities to celebrate that finding time to sit and think about writing may be difficult. I've asked Mary Babic to share her perspective about the financial costs inherent in getting your work published. (Mary is a professional author's assistant.) So, sit back with a cup of something refreshing and see what Mary has to say.

"Big chain stores and Amazon.com have significantly changed the publishing industry over the past decade. The good news for the consumer: Books are less expensive and more readily available than ever. Amazon.com regularly discounts 30 percent off the retail price of books.

Where does this 30 percent come from? It comes directly from the publisher's profits and ultimately from the author's royalties. Industry statistics estimate that only 10 percent of books published are profitable to both publishers and authors. Because this leaves about 90 percent of books that either break even or lose money, publishers have decreased their costs in order to stay in business. Cost reduction usually takes the form of offering fewer services to authors, especially first-time authors. Unfortunately, they are essential services that formerly helped increase the odds of success. For instance:

Publishers now give surprisingly little editorial guidance. Writers must be able to communicate and organize their ideas in a marketable way, a skill authors must develop, but at a cost. Usually the cost balances between time and money - learning as you go or getting expert help. Your time is valuable, so even something "free" has an "opportunity cost." (An opportunity cost is the money you might have brought in if you had some other work that you know how to do.)
Writers face the significant hurdle of having to market their books. Even if an author writes an outstanding book, without the help of a promotions expert, the book may only sell a few hundred copies. A promotions expert for a modest marketing plan can cost the author $3,000 to $5,000.

Because publishers are no longer able to help bridge the gap between author and reader, the author must be able to invest her time or have the budget to hire the help she needs. Of course, this assumes she can find the right people. The learning curve is so high for a first book that most writers end up frustrated. If they're willing to tough it out, though, they may be more successful with a second book…or they'll never try again."

As many aspiring writers and emerging authors learn, getting a traditional publisher's contract may not mean the cash flows in. Getting a well-written book published and marketed can require more money flowing out than you originally expected. If commercial success is your goal, then be prepared to put money into the machine before you get any results. This can be a risky business with no guarantee of success.

Thank you, Mary. If you want to drop by Mary's web site and check out her services, then go to www.awritersassistant.com. Next time, Mary will look at the self-publishing costs in part two of "What's Money Got to Do with It?"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving Away 3,000 Copies of a Book, Part 2

2010-09-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

Dare I show my face in the coffee shop? It's been over a month since I've come in. Anyone who has spent time in a hospital emergency room, doctors' offices and surgery waiting room will understand when I tell you that I would much rather have spent time with you than in the places I've been frequenting. I'm glad to be back.

Now to catch up.

I want to share with you some of the things I've done in giving away copies of my book. (As of today, I've given away 2,641 copies.)

I keep an eye open for unexpected opportunities. I attended a women's prayer group where I met the director for one of the local National Day of Prayer events. I gave her two cases to give away at the event. When I heard about our local Christian radio station's fund-raiser, I gave them a case to give as thank you gifts for volunteers.
I give a copy to my neighbors. One of my neighbors took twelve for the prayer group at her church.
I offer a copy to the people with whom I do business. The bank teller to whom I gave one copy eventually took 100 for her church. One of the clerks at the drugstore has given away at least 150.
I sent a copy to the people on my Christmas card list. Distant relatives and old friends were happy to get a copy of my book.
I gave away copies through Goodreads.com and LibraryThing.com. These give-away programs resulted in terrific reviews and ratings. Copies have gone to Canada, Malaysia, India, and other countries.
I look for ministries that could use my book. A pastor in Oregon is using twenty copies to teach a Sunday School class. A women's prison ministry in Massachusetts took 100 copies to use in their correspondence class on prayer. A friend took sixty copies to Haiti for teaching English in a private high school.
I ask for help. When I give away one book, I always asked the person to help me give away more. That resulted in my sister's church giving away 150 on Mother's Day. A close friend has given away almost 300 copies.
I give away copies at prayer workshops. Two family members and I hold prayer workshops around the city. I include a free copy of the book for each person who attends.

Conventional wisdom says that giving away my book would devalue it. I have found the opposite to be true. People in whom the prayers strike a spark value it highly and want their friends to have a copy. This ripple effect of a reader sharing the news with others pushes me toward my goal of giving away 3,000 copies of Changing Me, Change the World.

If you want a free copy, send me an email (at lynndaell [at] live [dot] com), with "Coffee House" in the subject line and your name and mailing address in the body of the message.

Giving Away 3,000 Copies of a Book, Part 1

2010-07-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome back!

This season has been busier than I expected. What happened to the lazy days of summer? You may not have all day to spend, here in the coffee shop, but I hope you stay long enough to read about my unexpected marketing plan.

Marketing a book can be expensive.
An emerging author who personally publishes a book has a high barrier to getting out the word.

That sums up everything I knew about marketing when I published Changing Me, Change the World with WestBow Press, last December. Granted, part of the publishing package I purchased contained marketing elements, but the marketing elements were the most basic ones. I received worldwide channel distribution, book representatives working to sell to Christian book buyers, and an ad in their catalog. Because I was one of WestBow Press' first five customers, Changing Me, Change the World was available on Amazon.com in January, but the book was publicized only in WestBow Press' on-line bookstore until their spring catalog was issued. (I won't see any results from that publicity for at least another month.)

When I wrote a proposal for my book in the querying stage, I identified actions that I would take to market Changing Me, Change the World if I could find a publisher:

Schedule book signings at the bookstores in the area
Read book selections in public libraries
Seek opportunities to speak in other churches
Solicit interviews with the local newspaper's religious editor and/or books editor
Exhibit and sell books at the state book festival
Solicit an interview on the local Christian radio station

I intended to use this list as a basic marketing plan when I personally published the book. Then, I sprained my knee – twice in two weeks – and that delayed all my plans. It also gave God time to get my attention.

Through a series of circumstances (as in God providing the money and the opportunity), I was able to purchase 3,000 copies of Changing Me, Change the World. (WestBow Press does not require an author to purchase books, but they give an author the opportunity to buy copies of the book at a graduated discount. The way discount pricing for an author is structured, I had just enough money to buy 3,000 copies, but not fewer.)

So here I sat - an emerging author with no platform, a sprained knee, and 3,000 books.

Before I purchased the books, I knew that I bought them to give away, even though conventional wisdom says that giving away my book would devalue it. (One of my foundational beliefs is that I can't out-give God.) If God wanted me to bless people by giving them copies of Changing Me, Change the World, then giving away 3,000 copies would not devalue the book. Instead it would be the perfect way to promote my book and send out the message He gave me.

My biggest problem is that I don't know 3,000 people! In spite of that, I've given away 2,171 copies of the book in fifteen weeks. Next time, I'll share some of the things I've done to reach that point.

While you're waiting, if you want to help me reach my goal of giving away 3,000 copies, you can ask for one or more copies. Just send me an email (lynndaell [at] live [dot] com), with "Coffee House" in the subject line and your name and mailing address in the body of the message.

And as always, keep writing.

The World of Personal Publishing, Part 2

2010-07-15T07:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome! I'm not surprised to see you here, today. Finding a cool spot to have an icy drink is the only way to ride out this heat wave.

I've asked Kristen Hackett from Offthebookshelf.com to join us, again. Last time, she described the concept and the purpose behind their new business. Today, I've asked her to explain how Offthebookshelf.com makes the connection between the authors who participate in their site and the readers. This is an important part of the picture for writers who want to find an audience for their work. Kristen, you have our attention.

"We developed a two-tiered marketing approach. Since Offthebookshelf.com is a relatively new business, we needed to inform authors of the opportunity to open their own virtual bookstores. Using social media, events and paid advertising with Publisher's Weekly and Writer's Digest, we began building our author base. In the few months that Offthebookshelf.com has been available, over 900 authors have signed up.

The highlight of this marketing program was the Great American Author competition, which just ended. Three winning authors will be announced on Offthebookshelf.com in August. These winners will have their books featured in our first television commercial. The television commercial will officially launch our marketing program to attract the readers to Offthebookshelf.com. We are also switching much of our social media efforts over to attracting readers now that the contest is over. Offthebookshelf.com is becoming the new hot marketplace for writers and readers."

_______________________________

Thank you, Kristen.

Not too long ago, writers had only two options for getting their work published: being accepted by a traditional publishing company or using what has always been called a vanity press. Both options resulted in ink-and-paper books. The synergy of readily available computers, the internet, and publishing visionaries has changed that picture so much that it is hardly recognizable. Jeff Kagan expressed his frustration with the new environment in a comment to a Wall Street Journal article: "…As a successful businessman who is writing a book I find myself swimming in a sea of new ideas, competing claims and confusing choices as I try to understand this changing marketplace. This new world creates unlimited new opportunities, but for authors trying to decide which way to go it can be maddening. jeffKAGAN.com"

The article on which Mr. Kagan commented is entitled 'Vanity' Press Goes Digital. I highly recommend that you read it - carefully. It offers a number of "expert" opinions on the way the whole industry will shake out – some of them contradictory.

The one idea on which all the experts appear to agree is that traditional publishing companies have lost control of the industry. A writer has much more control over their work with this new paradigm, but with control comes the need for business savvy. As Mr. Kagan explained, even a successful executive may have difficulty in finding his way. This is a time for all of us to continue learning as much as we can about the business of publishing while we keep on polishing our writing skills.

We'd love to hear about your recent activity with publishing your book. Please leave a comment.

In the meantime, keep writing.

The World of Personal Publishing, Part 1

2010-07-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

Wow! Half of the year is gone all ready. What happened? Take a look at your writing goals for the year. Sherry, you may get extra inspiration from your copy of Publish Your Nonfiction Book. I drew your name to receive a free copy. (Please contact me at lynndaell[at]live[dot]com so that I can mail it to you.)
The rest of us can sit back with an icy beverage and dare to dream. According to Kristen Hackett, our guest writer for today, all you need is a Word.doc and a dream to publish your book.

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OffTheBookshelf.com is a Personal Publishing site created for authors, BY authors. The site launched earlier this year, but it has been in development for over a year as the founders saw a real need for a place for authors to gather, share stories, and publish their work. We felt the future of publishing would be changing. Had to change. To benefit authors - the very people who create the stories people want to read.

OffTheBookshelf.com is not a vanity press, but a place for Personal Publishing, a place that creates a 360-degree experience in publishing, providing unique value to independent authors, published authors and their readers.

The site offers independent authors the opportunity to create eBooks, audio books and printed books. And control each of those aspects. The site offers the opportunity to connect with like-minded writers and readers. And offers personal service via an array of options to help authors with all aspects of their book: from forums to talk with other authors about ideas and issues, to logistical assistance with printing their books (including copyright filings, editors and proofreaders, an audio book creator, epub conversions, cover art creators and more) to marketing their books. All in one location. All so simple to use. All to help writers fulfill their dream.

OffTheBookshelf.com also offers readers a connection to authors that becomes a personal experience. We feed their sense of discovery with books they may never have found had it not been for OffTheBookshelf.com.
We know there are other sites out there that are similar - but we feel our personal approach sets us apart, as does the fact that we are writers. We have firsthand experience with what writers go through to publish their work. We feel the ease of use of the site is key to writers (we are as easy to use as Facebook!). And we are continuously looking for services that will help writers. We just launched a FREE epub conversion software and an audio book creator. Two more services that give writers what they need.

We are a group of people that love to write. We love to read. And we wanted to create a community where authors and readers could forge a more personal relationship, where authors didn't have to pay to publish, a place that READERS KNOW ABOUT, a place that could enhance the craft of writing in the digital age.

Please look at OffTheBookshelf.com and let us know what you think. We value all the feedback we get and strive to make the site better every day.
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As Kristen's article states, the Internet gives writers multiple options for publishing their works. If you have used OffTheBookshelf.com, Lebrary.com or any independent publishing site, we welcome you to share your opinion about your experience.

In the meantime, keep writing.

Grand Opening: The Emerging Writer Reading Room

2010-06-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that you stopped by for a few minutes. This is a special day. We've already had the ribbon cutting, but pick up a piece of strawberry shortcake before you go in The Emerging Writer Reading Room. On Center Stage, you will see the first book displayed.

I chose Sharlene Martin and Anthony Flacco's book, Publish Your Nonfiction Book, for several reasons. First of all, this book rocks. Every time I pick it up, I find timely and useful information. Second, the book has wide appeal to everyone in our community. Finally, all followers of the blog (as of the end of June) are eligible to have his or her name drawn for a free copy. (Previous book winners in 2010 are not eligible.)

So, pick up a fork and a napkin and go see what you think. I'm open to all suggestions for improvements to the room.
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In case you haven't noticed, the July/August issue of Writer's Digest is on the newsstands. If your nonfiction genre' is memoir, then you really ought to buy a copy and read the feature articles. I'll give you some snippets:
On the market – "Demand for the genre' doesn't seem to be fading, so that means there's still room to break in."
On baiting the hook – "Finding your hook is about presenting your story in a marketable and interesting fashion that best displays your skill and strengths as a writer."
On floating the arc – "Back then I hadn't even heard of an arc. Now I know it's the emotional framework of a memoir.
On the rough water – "To write an effective, authentic, cohesive memoir, you'll likely need to revisit or even relive the pain you'd rather forget."
On legal torpedoes – "Your best defense is to understand – before you publish your work – the legal issues that apply when you're writing about real people: namely defamation and invasion of privacy."

Writer's Workbook in this issue of Writer's Digest has one of the best definitions on dialogue that I've read. In Building Tension to Heighten the Stakes by Jessica Page Morrell, she states, "Dialogue is not conversation. It is conversation's greatest hits." That summarizes beautifully all the tips I've read about dialogue. Much of real world conversation revolves around mundane subjects – the weather, the traffic, a bad-hair-day - all things that can bore our readers.

My final announcement: If you plan to be in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area next month, you might want to attend the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. This three-day conference is scheduled for July 23 – 25, 2010. The Friday night keynote address on writing memoir will be presented by Mary Karr, author of Liar's Club. Who knows, you might see me there.

Until next time, keep writing.

Community Spotlight #8

2010-06-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Come in. Come in! Whether you are escaping from the downpour of heat and humidity or from the rising thunderheads on the horizon, come in. As one forecaster says, "We're in the season for active weather."

Our coffee shop is a haven against the elements – and no newspapers allowed. Like Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, I'll think about all those horrible headlines tomorrow. Unless your writing assignment requires the latest news be part of your focus, put that aside and join us for a few minutes. Pour your favorite beverage and relax. Take this time to meet some new members of our community.

Let me introduce Jennifer Perry. Jennifer doesn't seem to write a blog. I understand the reason for that. Jennifer loves to read blogs about dogs. She follows at least twenty! I would be totally unsurprised to discover that she is writing a book about dogs. So tell us, Jennifer, do you blog about your own dogs?

Newcomer Richard Grayling adds another adjective to our writer descriptive lexicon: struggling – as in Struggling Author, the title of the community blog he co-hosts. (Richard lives in the U.K.) Drop by his site. He just announced a new youTube channel for authors. Welcome, Richard.

Now meet Bobbi Linkemer, book writing coach, ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 14 books. She is also the nonfiction editor for Scribe & Quill, award-winning Internet e-zine. Her blog is The Writing Life where you must go immediately and read her two of her latest articles. The June 3^rd article is on self-publishing lessons learned. The May 18^th subject is a marketing outline that is the best list I've seen. Awesome.

New member, Galen Schroeder, calls himself Dakota Indexing, which is also the name of his web site and business. Having Mr. Schroeder join the community emphasizes another unique facet of this blog. Indexing is not something with which most writers of fiction books need concern themselves. Nonfiction writers, on the other hand, usually write books that gain by having a well-developed index. Welcome to the community, Galen. You'll notice if you look in the column on the right that I have added Dakota Indexing to our recommended sites list.

Here is Mike10613, a young man from England that has an explosion of interests – including all computer related and Internet related technologies - and writing a book. You can find Mike at his Home Page.

Now that we've met the newest members of our community, I have one more item I want to spotlight: Sharlene Martin is presenting a new webinar on 10 Secrets to a Winning Book Proposal. (Remember that I will draw one name at the end of the month for a free copy of Sharlene's new book, PUBLISH YOUR NONFICTION BOOK: Strategies for Learning the Industry, Selling Your Work and Building a Successful Career.) Writers' Digest is hosting this webinar on June 17, 2010. Link here to see the details.

That's all for now. Keep writing…

Lebrary.com Update

2010-06-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome! The weather outside is sizzling, so we’re drinking iced versions of our favorite beverages, today. Find a chair and listen as David Nicholls, CEO of Lebrary.com, gives us the latest news about his on-line bookstore of eBooks.

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Lebrary.com commenced in February this year, I view the last few months with mixed emotions. A sense of pride that an idea, emanating from an ‘I wonder if’ moment, has actually come to fruition and is becoming an integral part of the mix for aspiring writers’ publication options.

Having recently watched a rerun of How the West Was Won, I know this journey of trying to reach the Publishing Promised Land, is full of ups and downs. We have attacks from the natives balanced by friendship and encouragement from friendly travelers.

Most of the criticism has been from my fellow Brits on this side of the pond. Sadly, it is an integral part of the British Psyche to point out that a new venture is either doomed to failure or intended as a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. This skepticism has always been prevalent in our culture, but isn’t very conducive to an entrepreneurial mentality. Thankfully, however, the response from the States and other parts of the world has been amazing. Lebrary.com has 50 authors with 64 books available for purchase.

The last three months have certainly been a learning process, full of hand holding for the writers who have ventured cautiously into this arena. “Can it?” “Will it?” “Will you?” “Why not?” The questions quite rightly come in abundance. The two most common ones however have been;
Am I allowed to publish elsewhere if my book goes on Lebrary.com? Answer: Yes.
Who owns the Copyright? Answer : The author.

The eBook route is easier, quicker, cheaper and more achievable than going the traditional route, but a stand-alone eBook is still quite new. I feel however that we are not too far away from publishing online being the norm.

We have attracted eight known publishing agents to the site so far. To date, three of our authors are now in dialogue with a few of these agents about their work. We have attracted writers (including a US Ambassador) from around the globe. Some of them come with an existing following. Due to their knowledge, patience and tenacity in promoting themselves on the Internet, these authors sell better, as they are able to maximize the free social networking opportunities.

As part of Lebrary’s commitment to promote our authors, we have embraced social networking, which really does drive traffic to the site. Sites we focus on are Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook, where we have started a Lebrary.com Fan Page to promote authors.

We have also developed a Facebook game called Book Pile Up, which shows our authors' book covers and is great fun.

This is only the beginning of a long and interesting journey. I’m sure there will be more arrows fired in our direction, but if you believe the recent AAP report that eBook sales jumped by 252% in the first quarter, then this wagon train is well on the way to the Publishing Promised Land.

Opportunities

2010-06-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

Drum roll, please. It is time to announce the person whose name I drew for copy #1 of Publish Your Nonfiction Book. In my last post, I wrote that I didn't know anything about Doris except that she has a beautiful smile. Well, I guess the smile worked. I drew her name. Congratulations, Doris.

That's not all. Doris is a writer, traveler, and photographer who lives in China at the moment. She keeps an active web page at Doris Gallan . Her latest post on crossing a busy street in China is an adventure in itself. As an armchair traveler, I intend to visit Doris' site often.

Remember that two additional copies of Publish Your Nonfiction Book will be given away to members of this community (e.g. followers of Calling All Aspiring Writers of Nonfiction Books). I will draw a name for the next copy at the end of June. Everyone who has not already won a book this year is eligible.
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While I was exploring various web sites, this past week, I found four opportunities that I want to share with you.

1. Here's a heads-up alert about another nonfiction agent that I've added to our list. The agent's name is Regina Ryan of Regina Ryan Publishing Enterprises. Guide to Literary Agents Blog has an interesting interview with her.
This is her advice on making a positive impact with a proposal:
"1) Say what your book project is right away on one or two sentences, without a big preamble; after that, you can explain it more fully. 2) Do a careful, thoughtful, sharp analysis of the competition. It would be good to include Amazon sales figures with your analysis. Figure out why your book is different and better than each, and articulate that fully. It's a key to selling your proposal and book."
Link to the complete interview, here.

2. Narrative Magazine has a spring contest you might want to explore. The contest is open to nonfiction as well as to fiction. The list of possible entry types is impressive. This is their lead:
"Our spring contest is open to all fiction and nonfiction writers. We're looking for short shorts, short stories, essays, memoirs, photo essays, graphic stories, all forms of literary nonfiction, and excerpts from longer works of both fiction and nonfiction. Entries must be previously unpublished, no longer than 15,000 words, and must not have been previously chosen as a winner, finalist, or honorable mention in another contest."
First prize is $3,250, entry fee is $20, and the submission deadline is midnight PDT on July 31, 2010. To review complete details, link here.

3. Carpe Articulum Literary Review has a June special for their revolving contest. From the Winning Writers Newsletter, comes this information: "Carpe Articulum Will Accept Free Contest Entries During the Month of June! We're looking for short fiction, essays, poetry, novellas, and photography. Email your entries with your contact information and a cover sheet to editor-in-chief@carpearticulum.com. Please include code FREEJUNE1WW on the cover sheet."
Visiting their web site and following the detailed instructions is the best way to enter the contest. Link here. Remember to include FREEJUNE1WW on the cover sheet.

4. The editors of Cup of Comfort books has put out a call for submissions for their newest volume: Cup of Comfort for Christian Women. Their request:
"For this anthology of 40-50 inspirational true stories, we are looking for narrative personal essays (creative-nonfiction short stories) written by and for Christian women that reveal how one's faith has provided (provides) insight, guidance, comfort, and joy in navigating one's life."
Compensation is $50 + one copy of the book for each story published. Submission deadline is August 15, 2010.
For complete submission guidelines, link here.

Next time, look for an update from David Nicholls about Lebrary.com.

Community Spotlight 7

2010-05-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Great news, my surprise is ready. Do you see the drawing of the man reading a big book to the cat on the end of his shoe? That is the door to our own private room, here in the coffee shop. Clicking on it will pop you into The Emerging Writer Reading Room.

I read a blog by John Smolens (director of Northern Michigan University's Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program and acclaimed writer) in which he used the term "emerging writers" about his students. The term is so descriptive of all writers that it caught my eye. We all emerge from the present level to another – aspiring writer to apprentice, apprentice to professional, professional to master of the craft.

The phrase worked well with the idea I was kicking around in my head. I decided to create a place in our community to celebrate the skillful persistence of our members to write and publish a book. It displays the nonfiction work published by the members of our community on a separate blog page.

Here's the way it works. Anyone who follows Calling All Aspiring Writers of Nonfiction Books can copy the template on The Emerging Writer Reading Room, fill it out, and send it (along with a file containing a picture of the front cover) to me at lynndaell[at]live[dot]com. Your book will have center stage for a minimum of one week. After that, the front cover will move to the column on the left. It will stay in the left column as long as the blog is active. So what are you waiting for? Send me your info ASAP!

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Now that I've got my surprise delivered, I want to introduce more new members.

Meet Debra7000. She has a flashy blog space on the internet. With five sons, a grandson and a full-time job, she still finds time to blog occasionally. We're glad you found time to join us, Debra.

Elaine Fields Smith is one of the writers who has taken the self-publishing route. You can learn something about her creative narrative nonfiction book at Ridin' Around. That's also the name of the book. I'll look for an email from you, soon, Elaine so that we can display your book in The Emerging Writer Reading Room.

Let me introduce F. B. Comito. She lives in Nebraska and has two sons. I was unable to learn more about her. Fbcomito, maybe you can tell us more about yourself in a comment.

Phoebe King (aka Bizlady08) is an accomplished freelance writer, editor, and project manager. She works in the greater Chicago area and has a web site named The Grateful Grebe™. Phoebe's passion is keeping up with the latest social media developments, online behavior and trends. Maybe you could write something for our community on the latest social media trends, Phoebe.

The only thing I know about Doris is that she has a beautiful smile. (Her picture is on the top row, second from the left.) Doris, would you please tell us something about yourself in the comments?

The last introduction for the day is Cari from Bismarck, North Dakota. She blogs at Faith's Mom's Blog where you can share her joys and other experiences of raising a special needs daughter. I really enjoyed your spa day account, Cari.

It's time for me to post this article and write up the information on my own book, Changing Me, Change the World.

Keep writing!

Community Spotlight 6

2010-05-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Wow! Look around you and you'll see a wonderful new group of writers who have joined our community. You might also notice that we have our own private room now, here at the coffee shop. So many of you are coming to see what's going on that the proprietor leased the empty shop next door and added it to his place. I've been talking to him about some ways to make our room special. More on that later.

Right now, I want to call your attention to a quote from an article posted on Guide to Literary Agents (you can read the whole summary of the panel discussion using the link):

"WHAT IS THE STATUS OF NONFICTION IN THE CHILDREN'S MARKET?
Ammi-Joan Paquette said it's a challenging market. The book needs to be a compelling, fresh topic that fits into the same categories. You need to find the right project. It has to be a great story, greatly delivered.
Edward Necarsulmer suggested it's easier to get nonfiction published as a first time author because almost everyone is writing fiction. But you still need to have an interesting topic and a new hook."

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Now let me introduce some of the new writers who have joined the community.

First up is Toni. She is a wife, mother, teacher, artist and writer who lives in Veneta, Oregon. Toni's blogging energy amazes me. Always Do Write is her blog on published writing gaffes, but she also has a blog where she posts her artwork, THREE blogs on natural birth, and another blog where she reviews books. Welcome, Toni.

OK, now I know I am out of my league. Meet Michelle Dunn. Michelle is an entrepreneur and writer who lives in Plymouth, New Hampshire. She is anything but an "aspiring" author. She wrote twelve books for the business debt collections niche. Visit her web page, Michelle Dunn Online, to read her personal story. I promise that you will be inspired. Michelle, will you share some of your writing experiences with us?

Now say hello to Duchess O'Blunt. She is married, lives in Ontario, Canada and writes on Hubpages. Duchess is an aspiring writer who hasn't quit her day job – yet. She blogs at A Would Be Writer's Journey. She describes herself as "an avid social butterfly in cyberspace." (I love that description!) Duchess, are you interested in becoming our community social director?

It is a privilege for me to introduce one of my special internet friends, Lynn Mosher. Lynn lives and writes in Louisville, Kentucky. I started reading Lynn's devotional blog, Heading Home, almost a year ago. God speaks to me often through Lynn's essays. She has a second blog that you've just got to visit: The Sweetest Blogs. It's a cupcake shop of blog awards! Thanks, Lynn, for making a way for us to recognize the blogs that speak to us. (I'm adding The Sweetest Blogs to our "Wheels Not Invented Here" list on this page.)

Next, I'd like you to meet Lorie Huston. Lorie is a prolific freelance writer on the subject of keeping pets healthy. She lives and practices as a veterinarian in Providence, Rhode Island. Lorie has a cool dog and cat web site named The Pet Health Care Gazette. Welcome, Lorie!

I've run out of time, so the last introduction for today is Steve Finnell. Steve blogs at Christian With a View about Christian theology. His other interests are football and basketball. Since his profile is short on details, maybe Steve will tell us something about himself in the comments.

Next time, I'll introduce more new members to our community. I hope to have my surprise lined up, too. In the mean time, keep writing.

A Writer’s Voice, Part 2

2010-05-14T08:08:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the coffee shop. I'm glad you stopped by to spend some time with us. If you are new to our group, you may want to read part one of this topic. Last month, I wrote about how developing a voice is important to becoming a skillful, professional writer. Link here to read it.

From the quote in the May/June 2010 issue of the Writer’s Digest magazine, it appears that everyone has a natural voice. Brenda Novak explains that our natural voice contains our core values and worldview. In that same issue, a tribute to J.D. Salinger contains a quote from William Cane’s book, Write Like the Masters.

"…voice refers to the feeling and tone of writing, a certain flavor determined by word choice and phrasing that gives a text dimension and makes it peculiarly human."

Look at an example taken from another book I received from BookSneeze, I Am Hutterite, a memoir by Mary-Ann Kirby. She attended kindergarten in the Hutterite community from age two to age five. This is the way they started their mornings:

"We eagerly clasped our hands and bowed our heads to repeat our German prayers in unison before diving in, scooping generous dollops of jam onto the linen-colored cream and plunging the soft, fresh buns into the decadent dip until there wasn't a white streak left at the bottom of our bowls."

This quote is actually longer than the one from After the Hangover in part one and a Hutterite community is probably just as foreign to most people's experience as a Washington D.C. think tank. However, in this quote, no dictionary is required and the choice of words and phrases paints a vivid picture of the enjoyment of these toddlers eating their breakfast. No one would ever mistake R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.'s voice for that of Mary-Ann Kirby.

Mary-Ann Kirby uses her voice to show the love she had for the people and the land when she was part of a Hutterite community in her early childhood. While she layers the description of her experiences with lyrically rich textures, she is also able to include elements of tension and problems in the same voice. While her voice seems to be her natural one, she obviously worked to make that voice eloquent and clear. I Am Hutterite reminds me of Isak Dinesen's writing in Out of Africa. They both have a hauntingly beautiful voice that captures the essence of a lost time in their lives.

Can both After the Hangover and I Am Hutterite be successful books? Absolutely, but probably not with the same audience. In order to be successful, each book must find the readers who hear the writer's voice as authentic to them. The other half of having a voice is finding an audience to listen to it.

I've learned three things from these examples and quotes:
1. A natural voice comes out of who you are. A bitterly cynical man cannot naturally write in the voice of an innocent child.
2. A writer works hard to polish and clarify her voice. Regardless of the natural voice, eloquence in using it comes from hard work.
3. A voice that seems phony has trouble attracting an audience. Success is more likely to come to a writer who finds readers who like his voice.

Has this topic brought any ideas to your mind? If so, please share them with us.

On Friction – Not Fiction, Part 2

2010-05-07T08:36:00.001-07:00

Ahh, it's Friday. Isn't that a lovely sentence? Time to take a deep breath, sit back in a chair with your favorite beverage and contemplate the change of pace the weekend brings. It's also time to finish a few things and to find surprises. You can start that, here, too.

Today, you can read the rest of Sharlene Martin's essay on the friction in her professional life. (THAT may contain a few surprises in its own right.) However, the official surprise is a gift from our generous guest. She is offering a free copy of Ten Top Tips to Writing a Terrific Book Proposal, an outline to guide the preparation of your proposal. These are the instructions for getting it.
1. Send an email message to Sharlene@MartinLiteraryManagement.com.
2. In the subject line, write "Calling all aspiring writers."
3. In the body of the message, mention that you'd like to get a copy of Ten Top Tips to Writing a Terrific Book Proposal. Please thank her for her essay, as well. (Yes, I'm still taking notes from her comments in part one.)

Ms. Martin, you have our attention:

"As for the editors and publishers, I have been at this for enough years now that I can say from personal observation that publishing house editors who employ sneering condescension tend to be the ones most quickly departed (helpful note: everybody hates jerks). And even a rare publisher who plays fast and loose with the accounting or payment of royalties can no longer hide from today's blogosphere, where a sullied reputation can torpedo an entire publishing imprint.

The narcissism and amorality that have become the hallmarks of contemporary popular culture have bled over from the land of reality TV programming and into the general public. Some of them write to me, just as I am sure that each of you has recent memories of personal encounters with an individual who demanded that which it was yours alone to give, and upon receiving it only resented not getting more; the mindset manifests in my work day in the form of would-be authors , sometimes on the executive side from one who mistakenly believes that a curt attitude and a dismissive tone somehow establish mastery in a relationship. They do so without noticing that their vital business relationships do not last, remaining blind to the fact that colleagues who invest a bit of energy in mutual respect tend to go farther and faster. And yet they think that they are the smart ones. It's only laughable in a rueful sort of way –such behavior simply causes them to dissolve into today's general misconception that the nastier you are, the more "genuine" your response.

But respect is genuine, too. So is honesty and so is the passion to do good work, the best work that you possibly can, while you are in this world. The wonderful men and women whom I am fortunate to call my colleagues are the ones who embody their understanding of that. They are why this line of work is so worthwhile to me and why MLM's motto is and always will be "Considerate Literary Management for the 21^st Century."

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It is reassuring to know that the publishing world, while far from perfect, still maintains a civil atmosphere. Since we are investing our lives to become an integral part of that world, I appreciate knowing in advance what to expect.

Speaking of "becoming an integral part of the publishing world," I want to remind you that everyone who follows this blog is eligible for a drawing to receive a copy of Publish Your Nonfiction Book. To whet your appetite, why not watch Sharlene's book trailer at http://writersdigest.com/article/publish-nonfiction?

Have a great weekend!

On Friction – Not Fiction, Part 1

2010-05-03T08:16:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our table at the coffee shop. If your shoes are still squishy after that wet weekend, then you are part of a very large crowd. I'm ready to think about something other than the weather and since you're here, I trust that you are, too.

A special guest joins us, today. Sharlene Martin is President of Martin Literary Management and a literary agent who specializes in representing nonfiction books. (If you look over at the right hand column, you will see I added Sharlene to our nonfiction agents list (N-F A-List).) She recently published PUBLISH YOUR NONFICTION BOOK: Strategies for Learning the Industry, Selling Your Work and Building a Successful Career with her husband, Anthony Flacco.

This book is a must-read for every aspiring writer of nonfiction books. I am so excited by the high quality and clarity of the information that I found in PUBLISH YOUR NONFICTION BOOK that it will be THE BOOK for our giveaway drawing for the next three months. Everyone who has not already won a book in 2010 and who follows this blog by May 31, 2010 will be eligible to participate in a drawing for the first copy of PUBLISH YOUR NONFICTION BOOK.

I asked Sharlene to share some of the thoughts that are on her mind, right now. She chose to give us insight into the working of an agent's life. Sharlene, you have our attention.

"I love this job. I get up every day looking forward to doing this kind of work. But we know that every line of endeavor has its, shall we say, areas of friction. I find that the literary representation field is sometimes littered with dysfunctional attitudes of self-entitlement on the part of writers who aspire to major publication. I also sometimes see it on the business side in the form of the occasional editor who refuses to employ the rudiments of professional courtesy, or I see it with a publisher who finds reasons to stall timely payments because the total difference in accrued interest for that company is considerable. And still, I love this work. I am therefore thankful every day for the fact such people are the decided minority in the book world. My daily experience confirms that well-considered products of creative minds still command a residue of mutual respect lost to many other parts of social life.

On the writing side of the business, friction comes from a disconcerting number of wanna-be authors who contact me and indicate that since they have finished their book manuscript or have almost finished thinking up an idea for a book they would like to write, they are now ready for me to sign it, sell it, and make them rich, hoping I will do it before the end of the month because they are upside down on their mortgage. When I try to correct that notion, or someone on my staff attempts to explain the factual reality of the publishing marketplace, there is that percentage who react with anger and indignation. They feel compelled to hurl invective, to lob a flame-y email or slip in a hostile phone message. Students of irony earn extra credit for noticing that this manner of departure validates the decision."

I'm taking a lesson from Sharlene's words. As she says in PUBLISH YOUR NONFICTION BOOK, "Never discount anyone you meet." That includes agents who have rejected my book. It will always do us well to remember that good manners opens many doors.

Come back next time to hear about the minority crowd on the other side of the publishing table. I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

A Writer's Voice Part 1

2010-04-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you for taking the time to pop over to Mary DeMuth’s place to read my last post. Mary will be shutting down her blog in a couple of weeks, so be sure to read it soon if you have not yet done so.

A few weeks back, I told you that I would be reviewing books I received free from BookSneeze. Today, I want to talk about After the Hangover by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. Mr. Tyrrell. is editor in chief of The American Spectator, a conservative political and cultural magazine. He writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column on conservative political thinking. In other words, Mr. Tyrrell has a platform. Keep that in mind when you read this excerpt from his latest book, After the Hangover:

“Then again the fractious rivalries among conservatives are debilitating, and there is a tendency for conservatives to promote one issue at the expense of a full agenda: the proponent of military readiness who ignores economics, the supply-sider who is insouciant to culture.” (Let me assure you that the title of the book is the last phrase you will understand clearly without the benefit of the Oxford English Dictionary – unabridged version.)

I chose this quote for two reasons. It contains half of the book’s premise and it is a typical example of his voice.

If you read, as I do, many of the publishing blogs on how to break into the industry, this quote might surprise you. If a manuscript with this sentence hit the slush pile, it probably would not even receive a printed rejection. This book breaks all the rules. The first six sections are rambling diatribes (See, he even has me doing it!) against the current generation of conservatives and maudlin boasts about how much more sincere the past generation of conservatives was. In between, Mr. Tyrrell uses his witty repartee to flay the liberal political pundits.

Here is an example of his humor: “Through the decades, there has only been one Liberal principle that the Liberals have agreed on without fluctuation. That is their solemn belief that it is fundamental to the progress of our nation that the Liberals disturb the peace.” (Read the book to get the rest of this tongue-in-cheek barb.)

So how did Mr. Tyrrell become a New York Times best-selling author? Remember, he has a platform. According to the web site,The American Spectator’s blog has 50,000 subscribers, and then, to get the full reach of his platform, add the readers of his syndicated newspaper column. His audience expects to read a book in which Mr. Tyrrell sounds just like that. They know what they are getting when they buy his books. If he changed his voice, they would feel disappointed and maybe even cheated.

I want to leave you with a quote from an article in the May/June issue of Writer’s Digest. In “Romancing the Publishing Industry,” Brenda Novak says, “Voice contains an author’s core values and worldviews and cannot be duplicated.” In Mr. Tyrrell’s case, I would say that's a good thing. We have only one audience for a voice like his.

I’ll dig into the details of voice in a future post. If you have a question about voice, leave it in a comment and I’ll try to address it.

Self Editing at Mary DeMuth's Place

2010-04-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone. If you've got a few minutes to spare, link over to "So You Wanna Be Published" and read my guest blog on self editing, Write Until We Get It Right.

Community Spotlight 5

2010-04-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to two new members of our community. First up is Maria Morgan. Originally from Michigan, she and her husband migrated to Georgia where they and their daughter are happily serving God and avoiding the deep freeze winters. She blogs at Life Lessons. Maria has had articles published in Christian Womanhood, Up In Cumming and At the Center magazines. Welcome, Maria!

Now meet Jules. She blogs at Big Girl Bombshell where she writes most creatively about her work transitioning from an obsession for food into a healthy lifestyle. Jules, I sense a memoir seed growing in the articles you post. Your creativity is already helping many people see that body size issues are as much about attitude as about the scales.

Jules won our drawing for March. Jules will receive a copy of 24 Hours London from the author, Marsha Moore. (Marsha has a new book, 24 Hours Paris, coming out in mid May.) Congratulations, Jules. Please send me your mailing address so we can send you the book.

Blog stats may not interest anyone else, but I look at the stats for our table at the coffee shop about once every three months. It’s fun seeing a world map with visitors’ stick pins dotted all over the globe. Naturally, most of you come from North America, but some of you - from the United Kingdom, Australia and India - also frequently stop in at the table. Then we have one or two visitors from twenty-two other countries. Thanks to all of you for coming to the coffee shop. It would be no fun at all talking to myself!

As a final note, I want to bring to your attention that we’ve added two new “wheels not invented here” entries. Both of them link to sites offering similar electronic publishing options. The first one Lebrary.com you heard about from David Nicholls in the last post. The other one, Off the Bookshelf.com is located in New York. While both sites offer writers an open venue for publishing their works, the business model for each one is significantly different from the other. Since no one knows what the market may be for these services because they are so new, everyone should read the fine print and ask questions before using them. Having unrealizable expectations can be painful for both the authors and the reputation of the businesses.

Next time, we’ll look at the importance of voice in writing nonfiction. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy a cup of hot green tea, or whatever your favorite beverage happens to be.

The ePublishing Road, Part Two

2010-03-29T12:10:00.001-07:00

Wow! Where did that week go? The appearance of blossoms on the redbud and dogwood trees, the explosion of azalea blooms, and the blizzard of dead leaves from the live oak trees have bemused me. If you're seeing crocuses in the snow, brightly colored tulips and pussy willow buds, then I'm sure you feel the same way. Even with the Easter cold snap looming, I've put away the heavy coats.

The arrival of spring is not the only source of my bemusement. Publishing options have me looking slightly glassy-eyed. Like the sudden switch from winter to spring, the explosion of ways to turn my manuscript into a book seemed to go – overnight – from only a traditionally published ink-and-paper book to a number of open-ended options with multiple solutions.

In order to begin getting a grip on this transition, I asked Mr. David Nicholls to share his story with us. Last time, David explained how the reality check he experienced when he attempted to publish his manuscript led him to start the Aspiring Writers' group on LinkedIn. The explosion of the group (It's closing in on 1300 members.) encouraged him to take another step. I'll let him tell the story.

"With the growth of the Aspiring Writers group on LinkedIn, it occurred to me that, with the emergence of online publishing, I was looking at an opportunity to empower authors to take charge of their own careers. So many writers, worldwide, want to get their work published, but the traditional publishing industry treats aspiring writers as second-class citizens. Unless an aspiring writer is a celebrity chef or has appeared in a soap, traditional publishers rarely take a chance on a new writer.

With these thoughts and a growing group of writers passionate about wanting to get their work published, I came up with the idea of developing an online portal for aspiring writers. Unique? Certainly not. What is unique these days? But learning from the sites that had already been developed, I set about turning my ideas into reality. I wanted to give these passionate writers the opportunity to publish their work, earning money for the time and work they had already invested.

They say that naiveté can be a good thing and in this case, I would certainly go along with that sentiment. I consider myself an entrepreneur not a 'techie' so I started to look for people who could share my vision. With a small team that included a web developer and a creative director, we put together Lebrary.com. We put out initial feelers and the feedback was very good. In February, it was launched – and we held our breath. Within a very short time, we hit our first target of twenty books on the site, with sales of these books already starting. We even attracted a US Ambassador who put his work on the site. Although these are early days, the signs are very promising. We have plans to develop the site with the ability to download on e-readers, including mobile phone Apps.

Some people have said that online publishing is only a temporary success, but I remember someone saying that about the Internet! So if you feel you want to be part of this exciting revolution – then have a look at Lebrary.com – you'll be more than welcome."

In preparation for today's post, I popped over to Lebrary.com. It now has twenty-eight registered authors with thirty-five books for sale. Though the site is in Great Britain, the transactions use US dollars. Authors can sign up for one of two publishing packages. The basic package is free, with books sold for $2 or $4. The link to the "Author Terms and Conditions" can be found at the bottom of every page. If you have used Lebrary.com, please leave your thoughts about the site in our comments.

The ePublishing Road: Part One

2010-03-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends. Daylight savings time has arrived. If you’re like me, having that extra daylight means you can spend more time writing in the evening – or coming here to visit. I’m glad that you chose to spend some of your time at our table in the coffee shop.

A week or so ago, David Nicholls left a comment. He had some interesting things to say, so I asked him to be a guest blogger. I wanted everyone to have a chance to read what he shared. Mr. Nicholls comes from the U.K., which should be obvious from some of the British terms he uses.

Before I let David Nicholls take the stage, I want to announce that Marsha Moore, our resident travel book writer – who also lives in the U.K. – graciously offered a copy of her book 24 Hours London for the winner of our next drawing. Everyone who follows Calling All Aspiring Writers of Nonfiction Books by March 31 is eligible for the drawing. (The exception is Jennifer Ortolano, who won the drawing last month.)

Now let’s find out how Mr. Nicholls got into ePublishing.

“I’ve never considered myself a “career writer.” In fact, up until 9 months ago, I never considered myself a writer at all. Having been in the advertising and marketing industry for more years than I can remember, I became one of the many to fall victim of the economic climate. If the truth were known, my first reaction after getting over the initial trauma of being made redundant was a feeling of relief. A strange reaction I know, but being “pushed off the merry go round that you hated being on, but were too scared to step off of” makes you feel like someone who’s just been released from a long spell in prison. You know you have to face reality eventually, but you do enjoy that euphoria of freedom.

Apart from being tied into a contractual “garden leave” arrangement for a month and knowing I wouldn’t be able to pick up employment immediately, I set about putting down that story we all promise ourselves to write. I knew I had a vivid imagination, but my planning is appalling, so I sat at the computer and let it flow out of me. I realised it would never win a Booker Prize but felt I could tell a good story.

Feeling very proud of myself, I started to research the process of getting my hard work published. I put my head on the pillow at night seeing my book in shop windows and discussing the film rights. However, I soon found out the reality of being a writer. First get an agent, and then get a publisher. We all know how difficult a process this is and for most, impossible. Apart from getting the standard response from agents, the reality is that traditional publishing has been and certainly is now, playing safe. If you’ve been on a reality show, you stand more of a chance of getting work published, even if it’s by a ghost writer, than if you are an extremely talented writer. Of course, people do get their work published, but they are rare.

In a moment of sheer frustration, I started a writers group called Aspiring Writers on LinkedIn, which if you didn’t know, is the leading professional social networking site. My thoughts at the time were to attract a few fellow Brits to the site so we could have a good moan about the state of publishing. To my astonishment within five months, we attracted 1,200 members. The vast majority of the members come from North America, but the group is truly international. The group has attracted a vast array of talent, including professional authors, agents, publishers and of course aspiring writers, all who have the aim of helping and encouraging each other within this very competitive market place.

Am I still cynical about the publishing industry? The simple answer is yes, but the passion that most writers have about their craft doesn’t diminish and I am now flying the flag for online publishing which empowers any aspiring writer in a way that was historically never possible.”

Next time, Mr. Nicholls will explain how he went from LinkedIn to ePublishing. Come back to hear more of his story.

Community Spotlight 4

2010-03-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

Wow. Would you look at all the aspiring writers who have joined us lately? We've added so many new faces to our community that one table is no longer enough. Let's rearrange the tables and chairs so that we can all be together. Today, I want to introduce you to our new members.

Let me introduce you to Inside the Shrink, Dr. Bobbi Craigmyle. She is a licensed psychologist in the state of Missouri who writes three blogs. Psychobabble covers topics related to mental health and to the brain. Her most recent article is about psychopathic personalities. Dr. Bobbi also blogs at Inside the Shrink where she talks about issues affecting her own life. Link to her latest post to read how she overcomes adversity. The third blog is Daily Grace, a short devotional thought for the day. Check out her blogs. One of them might spark an idea for an article.

My introduction to Steve Player will be much less informative, since his name is all I know. Leave a comment, Steve, and tell us more about yourself – and welcome!

Rebecca Ford joins us from La Vergne, Tennesse. Besides nonfiction writing, Rebecca is interested in the future of the publishing business. (Aren't we all?) If you have any opinions on what's going on in the publishing world, Rebecca, please leave a comment and we'll plan on a guest spot for you.

Please greet Lynette Benton. Lynette is a published author who holds a Master's degree in Communications Management. She also teaches classes on writing in Arlington, MA. We'd be interested in hearing what you have to say, too.

Misti is another community member I can only introduce by name. Misti, it appears that you may be new to the blogosphere. We're glad that you chose to join us in the coffee shop. We'd like to know more about you, so please leave a comment.

Please welcome, Mickmas. Mick blogs at – are you ready? – at Mick Blogs. What the name of his blog lacks in imagination, the work on his blog completely makes up. Mick hails from the UK where he takes the most amazing photographs and shares them on his blog. If his photographs don't inspire you, nothing will. Oh, yeah, Mick REALLY likes music, too.

My final introduction of the day is queeninme80. Ms. Queen doesn't blog, but I have a feeling that she has a story to tell. I trust that by joining us at the table, she'll someday find the words to tell it.

I have one last subject for the spotlight, today. If you scroll down the page and look in the right-hand column just above my picture, you'll see a new gadget/link for BookSneeze. Some of the books I discuss on this blog will come from Thomas Nelson who owns BookSneeze. (In the set of articles about memoirs, I received a free copy of Thin Places as part of a blog tour for Mary DeMuth, I bought copies of By Searching and Writing for the Soul, I borrowed Plenty, and Thomas Nelson gave me a free copy of A Century Turns.) If you blog and are interested in reviewing books for Thomas Nelson, you can link through the icon. (No, it is not an affiliate link.)

It's been a pleasure getting to know all the new members of our community. We hope that you will feel comfortable enough to stop in often. We enjoy getting together and there's always room for one more.

Memoir Month #4

2010-03-04T12:11:00.001-08:00

Welcome! It's time for some good news. I have the winner of the drawing for a copy of Mary DeMuth's book,
Thin Places.

Jennifer Ortolano, you are the winner. Congratulations! Please contact me at lynndaell [at] live [dot] com so that I can send it to you.

We've viewed memoir writing from several perspectives. Mary DeMuth gave us information about writing memoirs in general and followed up with the personal issues she faced. Last time, we looked at memoir writing from an agent's prospective via Laney Katz Becker's interview.

Today, I have another blog excerpt. Rachelle Gardner blogged about writing memoirs. Link here to read the whole letter. I want to focus on a few lines:

"Memoir is a demanding genre; it will only sell if the writing is stellar, and the story is crafted in way that is very compelling. It usually needs a unique hook or a fresh spin on a common topic… Selling a memoir is not just about your story. It's about how that story is written. Lots of people have a story similar to yours; only a few will be able to write it in such a way that it could become a bestselling memoir."

Rachelle uses strong words: demanding, stellar, compelling, and unique. She also talks about the agent's perspective of having a best seller: "only a few will be able to write it."

So what's a writer to do?

What else? Write a book!

Write a memoir. Just don't call it a memoir.

No, I'm not talking about some magician's razzle-dazzle. I am asking you to rethink your book. Think about a memoir as a guided trip into someone else's world. How deeply we delve into the author's life determines what type of memoir it is.

When, by opening the book, we read the answer to the question, "Hello, how are you?" the book is primarily about the author's past. Memoirs like,
Thin Places and Isobel Kuhn's book By Searching answer that question by inviting us into the deepest places in their lives and souls. They share memories and experiences that may be painful, but their answers help others who hurt.

Sometimes, the book answers the question, "What do you do?" I've recently read two great examples of this type of memoir. Plenty is an example of the memoir style "A year in the life of…" It's about how a couple lives out the goal of securing locally grown food. It contains strong personal and emotional elements of the couple who wrote it. It makes compelling reading.

Jerry Jenkins' book Writing for the Soul skillfully weaves his personal life into information on how he writes. Because his writing style reflects his lifestyle, the account of his writing life would be hollow without the personal life that sustains it. As co-author of the Left Behind series, Mr. Jenkins has a unique hook.

Another question a memoir can answer is, "So what happened?" Of the three types of memoir, this type is the most objective. I recently read A Century Turns by William J. Bennett. In it, Mr. Bennett wrote about the twenty years of American history beginning in 1988 and skillfully constructed a stained-glass window of national life. Because he was involved in much of the political activity during those twenty years, he adds a personal touch to the account. Much as the thin strips of lead hold a stained-glass window together, his touches of memoir become the slivers of light that give definition and cohesion to the picture he creates.

As you look at your story, think about it in relation to the food you eat or the work you do or the people you know. You will still need all your writing skills. It's just that by turning outward, you might find a larger audience for your story and make your memoir a best-seller.

Memoir Month #3

2010-02-23T15:27:00.000-08:00

If you’ve been coming to the coffee shop regularly, you know that we are focusing on memoirs, this month. With all the nasty weather we’ve experienced, I almost wished that I’d chosen something a little cozier to snuggle up with during these cold, dark nights. As we’ve learned from Mary DeMuth, most memoirs, including her own (the newly released Thin Places) are not “cozy” books to read. Most of them contain experiences so difficult to read that one wonders how the author survived. Yet, the story of the ways God heals our brokenness is endlessly fascinating. So what do agents want in a memoir? What can get the attention of someone who can help sell it?

To provide insight to these questions, I have an excerpt from an interview with an agent. The interview was originally posted on Guide to Literary Agents.

This excerpt features Laney Katz Becker of Markson Thoma Literary Agency. Laney was an agent at Folio Literary Management before she joined Markson Thoma. Prior to becoming an agent, Laney was an advertising copywriter and freelance journalist, as well as an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction.

Guide to Literary Agents (GLA) asks for three tips from Laney Katz Becker (LKB), but she generously gave twice that many.

“GLA: You say you love memoir, and a few of your recent sales - Unsane Childhood and then First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria - are those great books writers love to see – i.e., memoirs written by people who are NOT celebrities or politicians. Give us your top 3 tips on writing memoir and catching your attention.

“LKB: Love this question. Everyone thinks their story is interesting to others, but more and more publishers are worried about “platform,” which is why we see so many (too many!) celebrity books. But even if you’re not famous, you can do yourself a huge favor if you have some following/audience/readership. Whether it’s through Facebook, Twitter, a blog, a regional radio show, a regular column in your local paper …something!

“When it comes to memoir, I’m a sucker for voice. I want it to feel fresh and compelling. I want to like you on the page. I also want a fresh story. I’m not interested in the dysfunctional family memoir, or the abuse (drug, sexual, etc.) memoir. I’m sorry, I truly am, but I feel like I’ve read that story too many times and I just don’t want to invest months of my life working with an author on a proposal if it’s a topic/story that doesn’t wow me. BTW: that’s another thing. I sell memoir by proposal only. And no, it doesn’t mean if you’ve already written the whole book it’s better. Proposal. Only. I also like a memoir that exposes me to a different culture or country. I like stories that allow me to walk in someone else’s shoes. In both fiction and memoir, I like racial stories.”

Information like this is extremely valuable if your writing goal is to publish a memoir. Make yourself a checklist from this excerpt that you can use to critique your own manuscript. Then take a chance and send Laney Katz Becker a proposal. What do you have to lose?

Memoir Month #2

2010-02-16T12:21:00.001-08:00

According to the groundhog, we'll have six more weeks of winter, so I guess we'd better put down the spring seed catalogs, flip open the laptop, and write a few thousand more words. Before we do that, however, we might want to take the time to listen to Mary DeMuth's wise words on writing a memoir. So, sit back, take a sip of your latte, and give her your attention.

"I wrote Thin Places only after I gave myself permission to say it all. (More on that later.)

First, one clarification about memoir: no memoir can be 100% accurate. Every memoirist must recall, to the best of his/her ability what happened in the past. Only God knows what truly happened! And to protect the people listed in a memoir, I've changed names and distinguishing characteristics. That's allowable in a memoir, and is often expected.

To make a memoir work, it must be either:

From someone famous or
A story so strong and surprising, the story carries the book.

I'm of the latter category since I am by no means famous. But my story is raw and redemptive. And a bit out there. Find out more about Thin Places here.

The most important thing for a memoir is that it be memorable and beautifully written. If you don't have a platform, near perfect writing is a must backed up by an intriguing/surprising story. Think of a memoir as a novel with rising action, climax and denouement. Consider writing it as you would a novel, with characters, dialogue and a plot (even if the plot is your life!)

A great example of a memoir that tells an amazing story is Parting the Waters by Jeanne Damoff.

Even though the story is beautifully written, Jeanne shopped the story to every publishing house far and wide through her agent. Though it was a great story, she faced a lot of rejection.

Eventually, after much prayer and seeking wisdom, she decided to self-publish the book through WinePress. It's got a wonderful cover and is selling well.

Another amazing memoir is Startling Beauty by Heather Gemmen. Wow. It's one of the most beautifully written, achingly painful memoirs I've read.

It's not easy to write a memoir. I fear that some people are so afraid to do it because the people involved aren't yet dead. So they work on a fictionalized version. Is that really honest? What is the purpose of telling your true story if you make it fiction? Of course, you can take elements of your struggle and life and place that in fiction, but I've found that tacked on messages seldom make a book.

My best advice: obey God. Write what He tells you to write. If you're too afraid to write a memoir, then don't do it. Prayerfully consider whether your need to get it all out is, instead, a form of catharsis that no reader really needs to see. And if you add some of your story to the memoir, consider that story is the king. The story must support the rest of what you write."

Remember, one member of our community will be chosen in a drawing on February 28^th to get a copy of Mary DeMuth's new book, Thin Places. (Note: Be sure to become a follower of our blog to be eligible for the drawing.)

Memoirs Month #1

2010-02-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone! I hope you are making good use of this pause between winter storms. Coming out to spend some time with us at the coffee shop is the perfect opportunity for you to meet a friend of mine, Mary DeMuth. Mary writes both fiction and nonfiction. This month – today, in fact - her memoir, Thin Places is debuting.

I’ve learned that a good book needs both a premise and a story. The premise of Mary’s book comes from a Celtic belief. To quote Mary’s introduction: “The Celts define a thin place as a place where heaven and the physical world collide, one of those serendipitous territories where eternity and the mundane meet. This describes the membrane between the two worlds, like a piece of vellum; where we see a holy glimpse of the eternal – not in digital clarity, but clear enough to discern what lies beyond.” Mary laces her story into this backdrop.

This is a busy season for Mary, but she generously offered to tell us a few things about memoir writing. In this first installment, Mary talks about the way she tells her story.

“When I started my writing journey toward publication, I thought I’d always be a novelist. My agent at the time suggested I write parenting books, something I balked at for quite some time. I was a storyteller after all. And because of my upbringing, I suffered from deep wells of insecurity in my parenting. And yet, I sold three parenting books. I wrote them from a position of weakness, and I prayed other parents with struggles similar to mine would be encouraged that they’re not alone. One facet strung its way through all my books: story.

I can’t help but tell stories, whether they be fiction or nonfiction. As I brainstormed with my next agent and my editor about who I wanted to be when I grew up, we all came back to story. I am a storyteller. We decided it would be best for me to place my primary focus on novel writing, but keep the storytelling alive in nonfiction.

Two years ago, I sensed the need, urge, and desire to write a memoir. I’d come a long way in my healing journey, enough that I could write it without bitterness, with a view toward God’s intervention. Thankfully, my vision for a memoir fit well within the story idea, and Zondervan took a risk and bought the book.

I wrote the book much like I’d write a novel, with an inciting incident, some flashbacks, a rising action and a late climax. Of course, as memoirs go, I had more freedom to explore and meander through the story, but I kept the book mostly in scenes, written in first person present tense to create intimacy and immediacy with the reader.

It was difficult to create me as the main character, to place the potential reader into my own head, to play it out in a way that would woo the reader to turn the page. In doing that, I learned even more about myself, how I viewed the world (sometimes in a warped way!), and what possible impact my journey might have on fellow strugglers.

Though I knew well the landscape, setting, and characters of my life, it proved difficult to give myself permission to truly delve in deeper, to re-feel my pain, angst, joy, frustration, anticipation, and worry. Once I let myself go there, the memoir progressed. And my editor helped me shape the book more chronologically, something for which I’m deeply thankful.

The end result is story: mine. It’s the story of a little girl who faced sexual abuse, neglect, drug-using parents, fear, death of a parent, and a host of other malevolence. And yet it’s a hope-filled story, where the bright light of God’s climactic redemption outshines the dark places. It’s a story of God’s nearness when I thought I’d nearly lose my mind and will to live. How grateful I am for the beautiful love of Jesus, how dearly He chose frail me to shame the wise. It’s really His story after all.”

Mary DeMuth not only writes, she helps other writers. Check out her blog So You Wanna Be Published .
One member of our community will be chosen in a drawing on February 28th to get a copy of Mary DeMuth’s new book, Thin Places. (Note: Be sure to become a follower of our blog to be eligible for the drawing.)

The Second Book Blues

2010-02-04T12:38:00.001-08:00

Oops, the wind caught the door. Give me a minute to get it completely closed this time. That blast of frigid air will cool the coffee in less than ten seconds!

Congratulations to Wendy Love. She won the (unannounced) prize for being the first member of our community to register with WestBow Press. I've never tried to ship a King Cake to Canada, but if I can do it, she will get one soon.

Marsha Moore joins us again, today. Her second book, 24 Hours Paris will debut in May. I asked her to tell us about her process for writing it. Thanks for stopping by, Marsha…

"Once all the excitement of having your first book published is out of the way and even the thrill of seeing your book in bookshops has faded slightly, it's time to sit back down at the desk and focus on your second challenge: Book Number Two.

You'd think it would be easy. After all, you've already got something out there in the market. You've done it once, now you just need to do it again. That's the challenge – now you have a benchmark to live up to, something to match expectations, if not exceed. If you've been lucky enough to have had your first book well received, then the task becomes even more daunting.

Those thoughts flashed through my mind when I sat down to start writing 24 Hours Paris. Due to be published in May 2010 with distribution in the UK, Europe and Australia (and through Amazon in Canada and the US), the book follows much the same format as 24 Hours London: breaking down the day hour by hour and providing the best of what's on offer at any given time.

Before I sat down to write, I thought through the following:

What did I do well in writing my last book (i.e., what research techniques were useful; what would I use again)?

When you start researching a city as big as London or Paris, it's often difficult to stay on top of all your research. Using an Excel spreadsheet and labeling each column with specific times and activities enabled me to sort the information according to my requirements.

What could be improved (i.e., number of words written each day; fact checking; chapter structures)?

With listings like opening hours, telephone numbers and post codes, fact-checking can become a nightmare. Focusing on one item at a time (for example, checking only post codes) allowed me to ensure the information provided was accurate.

What feedback had I received (i.e., what did people like, and what didn't they)?

Many people commented they liked the information boxes we'd scattered throughout the chapters, so with 24 Hours Paris we made sure to include those again.

What created the best environment in which to write (i.e., timelines, work structure)?

To work efficiently and to meet the deadline, I set myself a target number of listings each day. If I exceeded the listings on a particular day, then I knew I could 'take it easy' the next day. In this way, I was in control of my workflow and I knew exactly how much more I needed to do at any given time.

Once I'd made a note of all of those factors and set up my writing schedule accordingly, I was ready to write the best book I could – and to have fun doing it. All I needed to do was stay focused on the task and not let those annoying subconscious voices question if I (or the book) was good enough.

Second book blues? No way!"

Community Spotlight 3

2010-02-01T08:36:00.001-08:00

Hello, friends! It's Mardi Gras season in New Orleans. That means everyone is eating King Cake – no matter what diet they follow the rest of the year. Since you may not have had the pleasure of trying one of these over-the-top sweets, I brought a large one for us to share. It's my favorite style, filled with cream cheese. Pass these slices around the table until we all have one. You may want to check it before you take a bite. One slice will have a tiny plastic baby inside, so don't break a tooth. Traditionally, whoever finds the baby brings the next King Cake to share.

We are celebrating, today, but not Mardi Gras. We are celebrating the first corporate support for our community blog. Let me introduce WestBow Press.

Michael Marcus has been telling us about self-publishing, one of many options available to writers, today. WestBow Press represents another option, what the industry is calling "indie" (for independent) publishing. For writers who have neither the time nor the energy to become as knowledgeable as Michael or Sunny Carney, another self-publisher who has visited the blog, indie publishing is one alternative.

This option will likely be more expensive for a writer than self-publishing, but having professional help and getting a book published within 90 days may be worth the extra costs. It certainly was for me. (I'll write more about that in a later post.)

You may be familiar with the term "affiliate program." In an affiliate program, a person refers a potential customer to a company. The company pays the person doing the referring a fee for customers who buy something. WestBow Press has an affiliate program where the person who refers others receives $5.00 for each person who links to their web site (and registers on the site) just to check out WestBow Press and $100 if someone who has registered buys one of their publishing packages.

What we have is a modified affiliate program. By linking through the WestBow Press icon on our blog, registering on the site and using the promotion code WBPAW20101 (also shown with the icon), you get the $100 as a discount. That's right. I don't get the money, you do. This discount will apply on top of any other promotions or special offers they have on the web site. No matter how many publishing packages you buy, the discount always applies when you link through our blog, register on the site and use the promotion code. (Note: WestBow Press also offers other services, such as marketing, and the discount does not apply to them.)

For those of you who are unfamiliar with WestBow Press, here are a few basic facts. WestBow Press is a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing. Thomas Nelson is a top-rank traditional publisher in the Christian market. As a part of their business model, they decided that WestBow Press will publish books of all genres – any subject matter – as long as they contain Christian morals, inspirational themes and family values. The company has editorial standards that reflect their Christian worldview. Check them out. WestBow Press may be just what you need.

Disclosure of Material Connection: The WestBow Press icon is an affiliate link. This means if you click on the link to their site and register there, I will receive an affiliate commission of $5.00. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Using Lightning Source

2010-01-28T13:41:00.001-08:00

Well, we're deep into winter. I don't know about you, but visions of daffodils are dancing in my head. OK, maybe not literally, but you know what I mean. To distract us from the dull month of January, let's see what Michael Marcus can tell us about the experience of using Lightning Source to print his books.

Lightning Source serves many major publishers when they don't need to print lots of books, but the company will also work with self-publishers – IF you know what you are doing. They are not set up to provide much hand-holding, and expect to deal with knowledgeable publishers, not just writers.

To do business with them, at a minimum you'll need a credible business name (not Sally's Book Company) and will need to know how to produce (or pay someone to produce) PDF files of your book's cover and interior text. It's not difficult to master the process. I've done it for six books so far, and I'm getting better all the time. There are various programs (some free) for producing PDFs. The most dependable is Adobe Acrobat Pro. New version (#9) costs up to $699 depending on version and discount. With the "education discount" you can pay as little as $159.

Older version #5 is now available on eBay for about $100. Version #8 sells somewhere between the prices for versions #5 and #9. Keep checking for the best deal, and be careful not to buy an upgrade if you need the full version.

You can have someone produce your PDFs but I strongly recommend that you get your own software. It's common to produce several versions of the PDF of your book's interior, and you'll waste a lot of time if you keep having to ask someone else to do the work, and then wait for it.

When you are satisfied that your PDF is ready to become a book, it takes just a few minutes to upload the separate cover and interior files to the Lightning Source website. Before doing this, you must register and become a customer. There are no tough questions to answer.

When you are ready to upload your first book, you will pay $87 plus $12 per year to maintain the files for one book. The fee for a proof shipped for next-day delivery is $30.

Two or three days after you uploaded your files, the man in the brown truck will deliver your first proof. You'll be thrilled and proud to hold the book in your hand and see your name on the cover. Then you'll start flipping through the pages and your mood will quickly change as you are horrified to discover all the stupid errors that you and your editor had missed.

No book is perfect, and first proofs — especially from new self-publishers — are less perfect than others. The bigger the book, the more errors there will be. You should expect to go through from three to six generations of proofs (at $30 each) before you decide you are ready to start selling your books. Even after you start selling, you will discover more errors, but with POD you will not face the horrifying knowledge that there are 5,000 defective books sitting on the shelves of an expensive climate-controlled warehouse. With POD, you can make repairs or updates any time you want.

The cost to print a 300-page paperback book via offset would probably cost about $1.50 - $2.50. With POD from Lightning Source, you'll pay $5.40, but you won't have inventory unless you want it. The price includes the charge to ship a book to a bookseller or to the seller's customer.

Amazon.com will accept a "discount" of 20% off the cover price. If your book has a cover price of $20, Amazon will pay $16 to Lightning Source. A few months later, Lightning will pay you the $16 less the $5.40 cost or printing, or $10.60 per book. Now you are a professional self-publisher.

(Michael N. Marcus is now completing his fifth and sixth self-published books. His "Become a Real Self-Publisher: Don't Be a Victim of a Vanity Press" has been on two Amazon bestseller lists for business books. He recently founded the Independent Self-Publishers Alliance. His blog about writing, editing and publishing is Book Making Blog. His publishing company website is Silver Sands Books.)

Options for Printing My Own Book

2010-01-23T12:15:00.001-08:00

Wow! It's really bustling in the coffee shop, today. Everyone pull your chairs closer to the table so people can get past it a little easier. Now that we're having a break in the frigid weather, we all want to get out of the house while we can enjoy it.

Speaking of enjoying, I brought Michael Marcus with me, again. Michael is breaking our trail through the confusing jungle of rumors, facts, deceptive practices and unknown pitfalls for those of us considering self-publishing. Sit back, sip your café au lait and enjoy Michael's words of experience.

Electronic "eBooks" and the compact readers that store and display them are efficient, exciting and "green." A hundred years from now, paper books ("pBooks") may be as obsolete as parchment scrolls are now. But for the foreseeable future, traditional printed-on-paper books will continue to be the dominant format. Any writer who publishes only with electronic media will miss many potential readers, and substantial potential income.

In self-publishing paper books, there are two printing methods to consider. First, I'll discuss the one that's least important to self-publishers. Most books produced by "traditional" publishers are produced on offset printing presses. These huge machines can rapidly print many thousands of books at low cost.

Offset printing is the right choice if you think you can sell at least 500 books in a year. Price-per-book decreases as printing quantity increases, and it can be tempting to order a large print run to boost the potential profit on each book you sell. Keep in mind, however, that you will have to pay "up-front" to print books that may not generate revenue for a year or longer, you'll pay to ship them and store them, conditions may change that will make your stored books obsolete or inaccurate, and if you don't sell as many books as you plan, the entire venture may be a money-loser. It's much safer to use print-on-demand (POD).

As the term implies, POD books are printed after demand has been demonstrated. They don't exist until the publisher (maybe you) or a bookseller or bookseller's customer places an order. Unless the publisher specifically chooses to do so, there is no inventory of obsolete unsold books that can deteriorate into moldy mouse food because nobody wants to buy them and read them.

A POD printing press is like a giant photocopier. It uses digital technology, and toner rather than ink, to produce a printed book from a digital file at the rate of hundreds of pages per minute.

The vast majority of POD books are printed by Lightning Source, even if you use a pay-to-publish company such as Outskirts Press.

Lightning Source is part of Ingram Books. Ingram is the largest book wholesaler in the United States, and the connection between Lightning and Ingram means that all books printed by Lightning Source are available to bricks-and-mortar booksellers like Barnes & Noble, Borders, and the shrinking number of small, independent stores.

More important for self-publishers, however, is that books produced though Lightning Source are AUTOMATICALLY listed on the websites of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and dozens of other online booksellers worldwide. A self-publisher using Lightning Source doesn't have to do any work to have her book available to millions of potential readers."

Next time, Michael will go into detail on using Lightning Source to print your book.

(Michael N. Marcus is now completing his fifth and sixth self-published books. His Become a Real Self-Publisher: Don't Be a Victim of a Vanity Press has been on two Amazon bestseller lists for business books. Check it out at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0981661742. He recently founded the Independent Self-Publishers Alliance. He blogs about writing, editing and publishing at Book Making Blog and his publishing company is Silver Sands Books.)

Proof Reading or Copyediting?

2010-01-13T15:08:00.001-08:00

Winter is in full swing and even though the days are gradually getting longer, spring seems an endless time away. I am determined to make good use of this too-dark-and-too-cold time of year. Since we are all trying to make progress on learning about the craft of writing, take a sip of your favorite hot drink and follow along with me to learn from our friend Sunny Carney the difference between copyediting and proof reading.

"I was thrilled and terrified when the package from the printer arrived. I opened the box carefully, to avoid damaging the contents. I closed my eyes, almost afraid to look, and slowly pulled out the book. I half-opened one eye. The cover looked good, so I opened the other eye. I pulled it out and skimmed through the interior, and was very satisfied—no, thrilled—with the appearance of the first proof of my first book.

I began with the proofing I knew was necessary from the course I took, first checking the front matter, then confirming that the chapters all started on the pages listed in the contents, and that they started on the right (recto), odd-numbered pages. Then I checked the placement and alignment of the headers and footers, and their consistency and accuracy. I was ready to start a read-through to catch previously missed typos and awkward phrasing that should be corrected.

If the book had been a formal, scholarly work with a bibliography, citations, and end- or footnotes, and an index, I would have checked those as well. Fortunately, my memoir didn't require those steps.

Next came editing. In traditional publishing, there are various levels of editing. Brief definitions are available on the PleasantValleyPress.net Web site on the Services page, with a link to the longer Chicago Manual of Style definitions. What many writers are looking for when hiring an editor is Light (or Mechanical) Editing: punctuation and spelling errors; grammar, syntax, and usage errors; and making sure the author's word choices appropriately convey his or her message.

Moderate (Substantive) Editing includes more remedial actions, such as rephrasing awkward sentences and reorganizing or tightening the writing.

Heavy/Rewrites (Developmental) Editing is more intensive (and expensive), and can include both light and moderate editing, as well as substantial rewriting. If your book needs this level of attention, make sure you request a sample edit of a chapter from your book before signing a contract or paying a high price to someone who could make your book unrecognizable to you.

Proofreading can include light and moderate editing, as well as checking the final details before the manuscript is sent to the printer for publication. While it can include more, it should make sure citations refer to the correct reference in the bibliography or endnotes; verify that pages numbers in the index are where the topic actually appears; and verify the accuracy of everything from figure numbers and captions to the placement of images. If corrections have previously been submitted to the printer, the proofreader verifies that corrections have been made—correctly.

This is a brief, simplified explanation of what can be a long and occasionally contentious process when working with traditional publishers, so it's important to understand the differences, if only to know what stage in the process your book is at. If you self-publish, you need to be able to define exactly what you expect from a freelance editor or proofreader, get a sample before signing a contract, and maintain control over what a total stranger is doing to 'your baby'."

FYI

2010-01-11T13:28:00.001-08:00

Welcome! Welcome! The sun is shining in a sky so blue that I want to swan dive into its depths. A brisk walk over to the coffee shop got my blood flowing and turned my cheeks almost as red as my nose. I'm ready for another cup of that European Sipping Chocolate. (I told you I was addicted.)

I came over, today to share some news. By now, most of you must have learned that the Federal Trade Commission has written new rules for bloggers and people who use other forms of social media to talk about products or services. It amounts to a full disclosure for being sure that the one who reads the information understands whether they are getting an opinion or an infomercial – or both.

I am sure all of you know that complying with FTC rules can be cumbersome. It is, after all, a bureaucracy "looking out for our best interests." Before you could finish reading all the fine print in the rules, someone saw the compliance issue as an opportunity and turned it into a business; an internet business, of course. You can go to CMP.ly to see one way of complying with the requirements of the FTC rules. You may see one of their badges from time to time on our community blog.

Michael Hyatt suggested an alternative to this method on his blog at "Five Ways to Comply with the New FTC Guidelines for Bloggers." He has prepared templates to be used at the end of each posting, or as a footer, depending on the blog provider's capabilities. Most of the time I plan to use Mr. Hyatt's method, here.

Before I leave this subject I want to quote a comment Randy Bosch made to Michael's article: "Well, then, there IS another ramification to consider:
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have or will compensate the United States Treasury and the State of ___ Franchise Tax Board for writing this post since I have received income in the free market system elsewhere. I have a material connection to services provided by same including use or receipt of public safety, infrastructure and various intrusive and intimidating tactics they use to keep me in control. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." It helps to keep a sense of humor about all this, even if it is slightly cynical…

Now on to something I consider more interesting. When I was brainstorming about a blog community for nonfiction writers, I mentioned sharing the information on where our readers live. I use a stats counter that tells me the location of the service providers being used. It's a free service and I delete the contents every three or four months. Here's the data on what I deleted today. People wander into the coffee shop from all over the world. Most of them are from the U.S. (74%) and Canada (12%). We also get a number of visitors from Great Britain (6%) and India (2%). However, people have popped in from the Philippines, Azerbaijan, the Russian Federation, France, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Iran, Germany, Indonesia, the British Virgin Islands, Mexico, Slovakia, Nigeria, Morocco, and Colombia. I think it's cool the way we can share our interests in writing nonfiction books with people all over the world. What a fascinating time to be alive.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Hard Work Begins

2010-01-07T13:49:00.001-08:00

Wow, what a surprise to see you here! Didn't anybody tell you the weather is rotten out there? I know, I know, if it's so bad, then what am I doing here? Well, probably the same thing you are, I'm running away from cabin fever and dirty dishes. Someone pull up a chair for our guest while I order us the latest in hot chocolate drinks, European Sipping Chocolate. The craving for that totally, outrageously sensual chocolate drink is what truly brought me here, today. After only one cup, I'm addicted.

OK, now where was I? Oh, yes. Let me introduce you to Sunny Carney. Sunny is self-publishing her family history. She's here to share some of the things she's learned. If you can tear yourself away from the European Sipping Chocolate, Sunny, tell us what you've learned so far in your adventure.

"To learn about print-on-demand (POD) publishing, and preparing to publish my memoir, I read a great deal about how to write a query or proposal; how to increase and track sales on Amazon; and more.

Most of the books had one thing in common, something I only learned about when every one of them told me about it. I was already on overload at the prospect of having to find an agent, nervous about the slim chance of a publisher finding me, and overwhelmed by the amount of work yet to be done.

Then I got to the chapters about marketing. Traditional and POD publishers do some marketing before and after books are published. They make sure their books are on the lists that librarians, brick-and-mortar and online booksellers, and others read to see what's new. However, none of them continue the marketing for long unless you're a high-profile celebrity or have written THE BOOK of the century!

Initial sales might be strong: family members, friends, and coworkers will probably buy copies. However, don't get too excited about those first sales. A few months or a couple of years down the road, sales may drop off enough that your book is suddenly out of print.

How could that happen? The most obvious answer is that your book simply isn't as great as you've been told (or believe) it is. The people who bought it initially are people who love you and want you to succeed, even if the book is less than a masterpiece. There may be good reasons why all you got from agents and traditional publishers was rejection notices.

Some POD publishers read manuscripts submitted to them. Some simply accept anything a writer submits, if the writers are willing to pay the price. However, if they reject your book too, consider taking writing classes and/or hiring the best editor you can find and afford.

If people stop buying, most publishers will eventually drop your book from their lists: they can't afford to continue to support it if nobody buys it. Bookstores return unsold copies and get their money back.

Here's the hard, cold truth: assuming you've written a really good book, the only way to ensure that sales remain at least steady is to either hire a really good book marketing consultant for a pile of money, or become your own marketing expert.

If you don't market it, promote it, talk about it to everyone you meet... if you don't send out press releases and requests for interviews and book signings... if you don't contact book clubs and ask to do a presentation, no one will do it for you!

Without becoming your own advertising department, your book will stop selling. No sales, no point in spending the time and money required to keep it in print. Once you've finished writing, the hard work begins! Just redirect the determination and creativity that pushed you to finish your book, and use it to keep it in print and selling!"

Community Spotlight 2

2010-01-05T13:49:00.001-08:00

Hello, friends!

I don't know about you, but I am sooo happy to be back in my normal routine. I love having company, preparing for and celebrating holidays with family, and participating in special events. Nevertheless, when January comes and the pace slows down, I heave a big sigh of relief. January is my month to remember. From the week before Thanksgiving until last Sunday night, I was in celebration mode, now I'm ready to sit here with you in the coffee shop and talk about what happened while we were gone. If this runs a little long, today, please bear with me. For once, I'm not in a rush and I have lots to share.

The first order of business is to tell you the name of the winner of Michael N. Marcus' book, Become a Real self-Publisher. Berta Dickerson is the winner of our December 2009 drawing. Congratulations, Berta!

Some of you may remember that when Berta joined our community, I didn't have much to share about her. Since then, I've learned much more. Berta was in an accident that severed her spinal cord at C-4 yet, miraculously, has function at C-5/6 and sensation far below that level. She's independent; which is a good thing since she spends most days alone writing and preparing for her ministries. She's an active pastor's wife, an adult Sunday School teacher, and a Women's Bible Study leader - as well as a Christian speaker and author. Her website is at http://www.bertadickerson.com/. Why don't you drop by and sign her guestbook?

Meet Our New Community Members

What a pleasure it is to see that we've had to pull up three tables so that all of us can sit together. Let me (officially) introduce you to the new members of our community.

Please welcome "Lounge Daddy" (LD has this thing about extraneous quotation marks, so I couldn't resist…) I don't know his real name, but he is a libertarian Catholic with nine children, so I doubt that he has much time to "lounge." :>D (OK, OK, I'll quit.) You can read his thoughts about politics and other things at http://www.withoutadjectives.com/.

I also want to introduce Patty Sherry. Patty hails from New Jersey. She and her partner are co-authoring a self-help book. (They do seminars and personal coaching.) Patty blogs about love and life at http://abcpatty.wordpress.com.

Next, meet CM (Caroline) Pointer. Caroline is a geneologist who lives in Texas. She maintains three blogs about families and family histories. Check out my favorite one at http://yourfamilystory-cmpointer.blogspot.com/. Welcome. Caroline.

Other Personal Notes

Matilda McCloud, (aka Mary Jo Marsh for those who read her articles on this blog) has a revamped blog at http://songofcrocusmoon.blogspot.com. Stop by and congratulate her on winning one of Rachelle Gardner's prizes. I was much amused by her essay about winning.

Also, take a look a J Lopez's new blog at http://jreborn.blogspot.com. He's taking New Year's resolutions to a whole new level. I'm sure that he could use some encouragement along the way.

If anyone else started something new since you were in our community spotlight, please leave a comment so we can celebrate with you.

Last note:

Patty Sherry, you may want to query the latest person to be added to our N-F A-List. Jennifer Lawler joined The Salkind Agency, last year. Her website is at http://www.jenniferlawler.com. She blogs about the writing life at http://www.jenniferlawler.com/wordpress. She is seeking: "Self-Help and How-To books, including books on personal growth, sports, crafts, self-care and home-care. Jennifer also has a lively interest in history and narrative nonfiction, including memoirs."

Now, why don't you share what's up with you or tell us one of your New Year's resolutions. We've got lots of time, today.

Merry Christmas! (and Happy New Year)

2009-12-21T05:44:00.000-08:00

Hello, friends. I just stopped by on my way to the airport to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. As you can see, I got my hot chocolate to go, today.

Did you notice the sign on the door as you came inside? Our fine proprietor is closing the coffee shop for the next two weeks. Let's meet here the first week in January to find out who won the drawing for Become a Real Self-Publisher by Michael N. Marcus and to talk about our plans for 2010.

Gotta run!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Self-Publishing and Paid Marketing

2009-12-05T09:08:00.001-08:00

Hi, everyone! Let me unbundle - that wind is really whipping out there. You can see that I brought company with me, today. Pull up a chair for Mr. Michael Marcus. I invited him to talk to us because he has a unique voice in the on-going discussion about how to get your nonfiction book published. (Link to Writer Beware! Blogs to view a summary of some of the discussion.) Mr. Marcus had books published by both large and small traditional publishers, but was unhappy with the books and the income. As a businessperson, he is skilled at finding solutions to problems so he applied his abilities to finding a more effective way to publish his books. In 2008, he formed Silver Sands Books through which he has published five books to date. His book Become a Real Self-Publisherhas been on two different Amazon bestseller lists for business books. His blog for writers and readers is http://BookMakingBlog.blogspot.com

A Christmas gift to one of our followers will be a copy Become a Real Self-Publisher. The only requirement for being eligible for the drawing is to "follow" and be a member of the community by December 31, 2009. (Sorry Marsha Moore, you won our first drawing, so you're not eligible for the rest of the year. Yes, folks, I'm making up the rules as I go along, so let me know if I get too far out with them.)

Mr. Marcus will pick up where Marsha left off last time with marketing your book. Marsha talked about free services, Michael will tell us about his experience with paid services.

"When your book is ready to go on sale, use a paid-for press release distribution service. I've been quite pleased with PR Newswire and PR Web. Both companies offer various packages with different prices based on distribution and the included photos, audio or video. PR Newswire can even display giant photos in Times Square in Manhattan. The prices at PR Web range from $80 to $360. At PR Newswire, you can spend from $680 to several thousand bucks. If you are only interested in state or regional coverage, you can pay less.

With press release services, as in most things, you get what you pay for. The free press release services are pretty much worthless.

"Late last year I self-published a humorous memoir called I Only Flunk My Brightest Students: stories from school and real life. I chose the top-level $360 package from PR Web and was amazed by the performance. Within an hour of the distribution, Google showed many news websites picking up the story. After a week, there were about TEN THOUSAND links in media all over the world. Some of the links were on my own websites or on the sites of stores selling my book, but the vast majority were the results of my $360 payment to PR Web.

"I started writing -- and promoting -- my Become a Real Self-Publisher back in February. The number of Google links grew gradually by about 10, then 20, then 30 per day. On November 6, I had 971 Google links. My book had an official pub date of October 15, but the final version was not available until about November 10, so that's when I launched my paid PR campaign with a release sent out through PR Web.

"Today, Google shows about 8,300 links! That's a big number and certainly shows the power of PR, but links to a book title are only meaningful if people are searching for that title. I'm more interested in capturing potential book buyers who are searching for a topic that's covered in my book. But a popular title helps that too. A search for part of my title, "real self-publisher," shows four links -- but they're all for my book. A search for "self-publisher" has my book on the first and second Google pages. It changes frequently and has had the top two positions on many days. A search for "self publish" puts my book on the fifth page. That's not page one, but it's better than six, or 14.

"Earlier this year I published a book titled Phone Systems & Phones for Small Business & Home. Its title is well suited for a key word search, and comes up on the first Google page for "small business phone system. It's important to keep in mind that non-fiction books can reach potential purchasers who are not planning to buy books. If you've written a book on do-it-yourself bicycle repair, you might sell a book to someone searching for information on patching a flat bike tire, or someone who wants to buy a headlight or helmet.

"I really don't know how many people use Google to search for books. A study three years ago showed that Google had 91 million searches per day, so now the figure could be 100 million, or more. I'll gladly settle for a tiny percentage of 100 million -- especially since I spend so little to get Google to notice my books."

By using the power of marketing, you can make a significant difference in the number of people who read your book.

This Little Author Went to Market

2009-12-03T12:28:00.001-08:00

Brr! Come in out of that cold wind, Marsha! Let me take your coat. A little pot of tea ought to warm up your insides. Do you have some writing tidbits for us to go along with the Christmas cookies we've been eating? Excuse the crumbs and carry on…

"There's no such thing as isolation nowadays, even for writers. Creating a platform and a web presence, particularly for nonfiction writers, is critical to the success of your book – and even to getting an agent on board. Many agents now admit the first thing they do upon receiving a nonfiction proposal is to Google the author. Do you exist in the cyber-world?

"These days, the most important tools a writer can have in their marketing arsenal are three-fold: a website or blog; Facebook; and Twitter. You don't need to be a technological genius to use any of them, but you do need to put in the time and effort to keep them current. There's nothing worse than going to an author's webpage that hasn't been updated since 1998; it's almost as bad as not having one! The best part of these marketing tactics is they're free. It may take you awhile to get your head around them, but getting on the web can create a ready-made market without spending a cent.

"Blogger and Wordpress are the two most popular templates for bloggers. If you're starting a blog and you want to build up your readership quickly, it's best to pick a topic and not stray too far. For example, if you're a travel writer, you may want to blog about travel destinations. If your expertise is in medicine, you can keep your readers up to date on medical advancements. You can throw in personal tidbits (it is a blog, after all) but stay professional. Keep in mind that potential agents and publishers may read whatever you write, so check your spelling and grammar. Make sure to add links to other relevant websites and put a button for readers to subscribe.

"Starting up a Facebook fan page before you've had anything published might seem a little premature, but you can use it as a way to advertise your expertise, articles or even promote upcoming talks. Share links, photos and build a base for future book buyers.

"Many have derided Twitter as nothing more than frivolous time wasting (and yes, it's good for that, too), but it's a great way to network with other writers, share links, and promote yourself at the same time. Just be careful: plenty of agents and publishing types frequent its pages, so don't say anything you wouldn't want a potential agent to overhear.

"Get into the cyberspace game now and when the next agent Googles you, you'll be everywhere!"

An Open Letter: Guidelines for Choosing

2009-11-30T09:35:00.001-08:00

Hello Lynnda...I read on one of your blog posts that you were taking the Apprentice course through Christian Writers Guild. I am a new writer and wondered about the course. Have you found it helpful? Any other suggestions. God bless your writing ministry. Connie C.

Good morning, Connie;

Congratulations on your decision to become a writer! You are starting out on a marvelous adventure that makes anything Indiana Jones experienced in the movies seem tame by comparison.

Like anything else that is worth doing, becoming a professional writer is not easy; it's not even simple. Becoming a published professional writer in today's world is difficult and complicated. Becoming a Christian writer adds another dimension to this. What you write will reflect on who God is. For that reason, adding professional skills to the talent God gave you is important.

Which brings us to formal training to improve your skills. I have worked through the first seven lessons of fifty in the apprentice program of The Christian Writer's Guild, and so far, I love it. For me, signing up for a formal training program was important. That may not be true for you. Here are some guidelines for deciding if you want to take that path.

1. How much money can you afford to spend? I can afford the $60 a month the apprentice program costs me. From the prices I've seen for independent mentors, this is a bargain. I have personal attention from a seasoned professional for every sentence I write in the lessons. Since the program lasts two years, my mentor will be a major factor in the polishing of my skills. Make sure your budget can allow for the extra expense. No formal course worth doing is without significant cost. Remember though, this is an investment in your career.

2. How much time can you commit to the lessons? This was another easy one for me, since I am physically handicapped and spend 90% of my time at home. Keeping to the schedule of sending in a lesson once every two weeks can eat up large chunks of your time, if you get everything you can from the lessons. Any formal program will demand that you give up something and spend your time studying the craft of writing. Look at what you can give up doing so that you can replace it with learning to write.

3. What other formal education courses are available for you to consider? I researched several other options before I chose distance learning. If you live in a rural area, distance learning may be the best process for you. If you live in or near a city, check out continuing education courses. If you are fortunate enough to live near a university that has a degree program for writers, look into that.

4. Do you have the energy, stamina, and determination to complete the course? Many times, I have started projects I did not complete (like most of my New Year's resolutions!). Learning how to write is work. If you get discouraged by the feedback on your lessons, if you are depressed by the latest rejection letter, if you have family or friends who cannot understand why you study so much, can you persevere and do the work required? Be sure you have the focus and determination to overcome the obstacles that will come your way.

5. What is your goal in improving your writing skills? For me, the answer is that I want to become a Master Writer. Whatever the goal is, it must be your goal. Put it in writing. If you do not know why you want to take the course, how will you know if you're getting out of it what you need?

6. Is God leading you in this direction? While I researched my options, I prayed. Our minds are as malleable as clay. I wanted to be sure that what I was learning molded my mind to honor God more. As I learned about the programs available, I was sensitive to catch that inner snick of certainty that told me I was on the right path. If you get all the other things right but fail to consider God's will for you, it can lead to a catastrophe.

Taking a formal writing course is not the only way to learn the craft of writing. Books on writing abound (look in a library), as do blogs on writing. Conferences have writing classes and local writing organizations primarily exist to help their members learn how to improve their writing.

For everyone, the best advice is to stay alert to make the most of every opportunity and to glean every advantage from your resources as you go on this adventure. Becoming a professional writer requires courage, a love for words, mental toughness, determination, excellent writing skills, and a burning desire to see others read and appreciate the words you've written. Anyone can do it.

Be blessed,

Lynnda

Children’s Books – Who Reads What

2009-11-24T10:51:00.001-08:00

Hi, Mary Jo! It's nice to have you back at the table. I always look forward to the days you come in. Do you have time to drink a cup of café au lait while you're here? That's perfect drink for this blustery day. I know you've come to tell us helpful information for writing children's nonfiction books. Why don't you get started?

"Lynnda asked me to tell you about age levels in children's nonfiction books. I'm also going to touch on the different types of children's books within the age levels.

"Generally, children's book publishers break down age levels in children's books as follows:

"Baby, toddler:
ages 0-3: board books, touch-and-feel books, cloth books, bath books. Because book packagers often produce these books, it isn't an easy area for aspiring writers to break into.

"Preschool: age 18 months to 3 years. Very simple picture books, novelty books, such as lift-the-flap books, board books. Information books for this age might include concept books (colors, counting, size and shape), books about everyday objects (cars and trucks), or animals (farm animals, animal babies).

"Picture Books: Preschool to grade 3. Classic picture books, generally 32 pages long, in which pictures and text are of equal importance. Longer picture books or photo essay-type picture books might be geared to older readers, ages 5-9.

"I've read recently that the publishers have cooled on longer picture books (retellings of fables, folk or fairy tales), but are looking for picture books with spare language for the very young. Multicultural books continue to be popular.

"Nonfiction picture books include: biographies, behind the scenes (how a crayon is made), explaining money (How Much is a Million), historical events (the Oregon Trail), science and the environment, astronomy, pets, animals (polar bears, sharks, whales), holidays (particularly multicultural), dinosaurs, and sports.

"Easy-to-read, easy reader, or leveled readers: Grades 1 and 2. These are the first books that children read to themselves and have controlled vocabulary that increases in difficulty at each level. In a bookstore or library, easy readers are usually shelved separately.

"In nonfiction, easy readers might be about animals, the rainforest, sports, biographies, dinosaurs, easy scientific concepts (why leaves change color), space, etc. Leveled readers are also usually published in series.

"Chapter books:
Grades 2-4: Some publishers no longer use this term, but these are the transitional books between easy readers and thicker middle grade books. Jon Scieszka's Time Warp Trio series and the Captain Underpants books come to mind. Many of these chapter books are also published in series. However, publishers are in search of good books for boys, so it might be worth a try writing a nonfiction chapter book. Many boys get lost in the shuffle at this age and fall behind girls in their reading skills, and boys at this age often prefer reading nonfiction to fiction.

"Middle grade. Grades 3-6. This is the prime reading age for kids. They often have their own topics in which they become experts, and gender difference becomes more apparent in the nonfiction books they choose to read (for example, horses, ballet, or gymnastics for girls, and space or sports for boys). There are two types of nonfiction books for this group--books designed primarily for libraries and schools (unfortunately called the "institutional market") and the fun, lighter fare for recreational reading--nonfiction you might find in bookstores or sold through book clubs.

"The series I co-wrote, the Undersea Encounters series, was designed for school/library market, but we tried to make the books fun and appealing enough to be in bookstores (fun design, amazing photos, etc). Some Undersea Encounters paperbacks were sold to bookstores, but for the most part booksellers don't want to carry books they perceive to be school support books (no matter how lively the design!).

"To get an idea of library-type nonfiction books, look in the children's room of your local library. These types of books about countries, states, biographies etc (for example, the various Children's Press series) are usually shelved separately. Each book in the series will have a similar format and must include the following: table of contents, subject broken in chapters, index, glossary, and bibliography. Generally the books have also been reviewed by experts in the field (either chosen by the publisher or by the author). For the Undersea Encounters series, for example, we asked renowned marine biologists to be our consultants.

"Trade books for this age include ephemeral mass market books (paperbacks about the latest fads, celebrities, etc), and more substantial books such as the DK books, which have spectacular photographs and interesting designs. The DK books cover all sorts of topics of interest to kids.

"Some of the nonfiction topics for middle grade level include: biographies, environmental issues (rainforest, ecology, being green), animals, sports, books about historical events, music, ballet, how things work, geography, horses, science experiments and projects, fun facts book, nature, cookbooks, craft books, holiday books, computers, drawing books, pop culture.

"YA: Ages 12 and up. This area has grown increasingly important in recent years, though I think primarily in fiction, not nonfiction. YA nonfiction books would include school support material (books, for example, about anorexia and drug abuse), or books that speak to the concerns of young adults: pop culture, music, puberty, self-empowerment, stress, cliques, identity, health, and social issues. Some interesting historical nonfiction has been written for this age level. See, for example, Ann Bausum's With Courage and Cloth, about the women's suffrage movement.

"Final thoughts: If you don't have much contact with kids or teens, it's important to read magazines, watch TV shows and movies, talk to kids, and read books for kids to get a handle of what might interest them. If you're writing primarily for the school/library market, look at what's been written on the topic already. Are the books on this subject already out of date? Check, for example, National and State Educational Standards. Perhaps you can think of a topic that might fit perfectly into the school curriculum.

"Also, I recommend joining the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators - scbwi. As a member, you will receive information about SCBWI conferences around the country (where you can meet editors and agents), and you can network with other children's writers. In addition, the SCBWI bulletin has a section called "what editors and librarians are looking for," which often includes nonfiction topics."

Thanks, Mary Jo. I will return to your advice often as I decide what to write for whom when I have an idea for a children's book.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. You are definitely at the top of my list of people for whom I'm thankful.

The Perpetual Researcher

2009-11-16T11:06:00.001-08:00

Hello, Ethel. Welcome back! Sit here at the end of the table, get your thoughts together while I order you something to drink, and tell us more about research. (If you missed her first installment on research, click here.)

OK, you have our complete attention.

"Research is not a thing you do.

"Research is a passion for information and the truth it represents. This passion translates into a frame of mind where every wind that brushes across your cheek whispers secrets, opens doors, dispenses treasures. These all enrich your person and give your project unexpected substance and relevance.

"I recall one day, years ago, fuming because I had to take time out from researching the book I was writing to take my mother-in-law to the doctor. Sitting in the office waiting, I browsed through a magazine in search of diversion. Instead, I found an address that promised to hold important materials for my research.

"In the end that one address led to another which led to another and another… This little discovery proved to be one of my most valuable finds in the whole process for that project. If I hadn't already developed what I've since come to call the mind of a perpetual researcher I might have missed it altogether.

"When you research, you must submerge yourself in your topic. As we used to say, you learn to eat your topic, sleep it, think it, breathe it. It consumes you. No matter whom you meet or talk with, you always have one ear open for the magical words that tell you this person my very well be bursting with some expertise, opinion, or experience you are searching for - or they may know someone else who is.

"Become an expert at steering all kinds of conversations in the direction of your topic. Whether they know it or not, you are interviewing everyone you talk with. You are searching their minds and hearts for fresh nuances and personal connections that will give your work both depth and breadth and make it different from anything else on the market.

"Of course, there's more - TV programs, radio talk shows, books, newspapers, magazines, seminars, guided tours, even junk mail. All these and many more contribute to the flood of information that surrounds us. Each source is a potential gold mine for the writer with antennae tuned to the topic that holds you in its grip.

"In the introduction to one of his biographical novels about Michelangelo, historian/novelist, Sidney Alexander talks about walking through the city of Florence in search of his hero. He called it doing research "through the pores." The passionate researcher opens up himself to it all and lets it invade his mind and his person.

"Ideas fill the air we breathe. So do the sensory observations that bring our writing to life. The whole world is one vast library just waiting to be consulted, but we never know which corner will yield the treasures we are looking for. So, as researchers, we keep the eyes and ears open, the antennae attuned. We never assume that some resource we encounter has no value for us. Rather, we dig it all up, take it apart, question it, give it a chance to make our work great. We become The Perpetual Researcher."

Community Spotlight

2009-11-13T12:27:00.001-08:00

Hi, everyone! Sorry I'm late. Let me squeeze by so I can get to my chair.

Don't you just love it when your favorite relative comes to town? My sister and I get to see each other only a couple of times a year, so her visit was a real treat. Unfortunately, catching up with my writing responsibilities afterwards always take more time than I think it will.

I see the table got bigger while I was gone. I want to welcome Jennifer Ortolano. Jennifer writes Blogging It Out and Through the Eyes of a Bulimic. Check out her blogs, but watch out for her sense of humor. She got me with her video.

Lori Calabrese has also pulled a chair up to our table. Link here for her web page. Lori is an award winning children's writer with lots to offer writers of children's books on her web site. Right now, she has a "Fishing for a Free Book" thing going on that looks like lots of fun.

Berta is the third new member of our community. I'd like to put Berta in the spotlight, too. From the list of blogs she's joined, I'm guessing that she lives and writes in Kentucky, but she has no links for me to connect and share. Berta, would you care to leave a comment and tell us more about yourself?

Do you remember what I wrote about not re-inventing the wheel? (Scroll down and read Day 7 if you don't know what I'm talking about.) While I was researching publishers, I found two more places of interest for our community: Funds for Writers , which is full of leads to paying jobs, contests, and grants for writers.

The second one is Selling Books. Don't let the title fool you. Along with marketing savvy, the site calls itself the "guide to writing, publishing and marketing books and ebooks" and it's not an empty boast. While I was exploring the web page, I took the opportunity to participate in their "blog carnival." That was new to me, too. Link here then scroll down until you find the paragraph about Ethel Herr's research article on our community blog. Look for me to use this again for other posts.

I also have a new nonfiction agent for our list (aka "The N-F A-List"). Loren Grossman represents a wide array of nonfiction book topics. To quote the news article, "The Paul S. Levine Agency is pleased to announce that Ms. Loren R. Grossman has joined the Agency. She will primarily handle non-fiction books in the areas of Archeology, Art/Photography/Architecture, Child Guidance/Parenting, Coffee Table Books, Education, Gardening, Health/Medicine/Science, Memoirs, and Sociology." So if you have a book idea in one of those categories, think about querying Ms. Grossman.

Links to Funds for Writers, Selling Books, and Ms. Grossman have been added in the column on the right for future reference.

That's it for today. Sorry I can't stay longer, but I still haven't caught up with everything. See you soon.

And the winner is...

2009-11-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody!

I'm in a hurry this morning, so I can only stay a minute. I wanted to let you know that Marsha Moore won Ethel Herr's book, An Introduction to Christian Writing.

Be back again soon.

'Bye!

The Trip to Travel Writer

2009-10-25T15:12:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful Sunday afternoon! The weather is so crisp and the sky is that actinic blue color that I love to see this time of year. I feel so good that I strolled over to the coffee shop for a change. When I got here, I saw that the Sunday morning crowd had already come and gone leaving pieces of their Sunday papers strewn about on the tables for others to share. At the top of the stack on our table is the travel section. I love to kick back in my easy chair and pretend to visit the exotic places featured in the travel section of a Sunday paper.

The next best thing to going to an exotic place is to read a travel book written by someone who lives there. To spark your imagination for writing about the exotic place where you live, we are beginning a series of posts by Marsha Moore. Be sure to enter her contest.

Confessions of a Travel Writer

I must make a confession, here and now: when I started my whole writing journey, I was dead-set on fiction. In fact, I almost turned down a publisher because I was so sure fiction was what I wanted to do. Not for me, this writing about reality lark. No, I wanted to create, to fashion story lines from the depths of my mind, to make what's inside my head come alive.

I still do want my fiction to be published. I've got four novels waiting for my attention, ready to be polished and submitted. But right now, despite my oh-so-clear plan of action, I'm really enjoying writing non-fiction. Or, to put it more accurately, travel writing.

Ever since I was young, I've loved to travel. My parents were both teachers and were keen to show my brother and me the world. We journeyed all across Canada (my home country), the States, and even to Europe. My mum collected items along the way and encouraged us to make scrapbooks, writing little vignettes. I think that's where it all started. By the age of nine, I'd already written one travelogue -- the dramatically named 'Disasters in Florida' -- where our week-long trip was catalogued in agonizing detail.

Years later, when I moved to Poland to teach English (a quarter-life crisis), I rediscovered how much I loved to write about the different smells, sights, and ways of living. And when I settled in London, it only seemed natural that when it came time to pitch a publisher, it would be travel related.

My new book (launching 4 November 2009) is a London guidebook, 24 Hours London. While it's quite daunting to compete with biggies like Lonely Planet or Fodor's, I like to think it's a guide book with a difference: all the listings are organised hour by hour, from 5 a.m. to midnight and back again. All you need to do is flip to the hour you're free, then take your pick! It was loads of fun to write and research, and it completely rekindled my London love affair (not that it had ever really ended -- after five years, I'm still enamoured with the city).

If you want to win a copy of the book (and a lovely T-shirt), please head over to my blog at Write On!. All you need to do is write about 24 hours in your location, (Read this for complete details: 24 Hours In Your Neck of the Woods.) then post it on your blog or send it to me in an email: marsha@24hourslondon.com.

My thanks to Lynnda for starting this space and I look forward to trading thoughts with you!

p.s. If you want to have YOUR 24 Hours In Your Neck of the Woods posted on this blog, send it to lynndaell[at]live[dot]com before November 4, 2009.

What Idea Do I Research?

2009-10-21T14:32:00.001-07:00

Last week, Ethel Herr wrote a great article on researching. I definitely wanted to look up something – anything – to discover new facts. Then I ground to a halt; what should I research?

Today, Mary Jo Rhodes, who successfully published a series of nonfiction children's books, describes how she chose sea animals for her subject. You can see her books at http://www.maryjorhodes.com/. Thank you, Mary Jo for taking the time to tell us your story. Maybe this article will give me some ideas for my research…

*Lynnda kindly asked me to write a few guest posts about my experiences writing the Seahorses and Sea Dragons and the other books in the Undersea Encounters> series for Children's Press/Scholastic. Her first question was:

Why did I choose to write nonfiction books for children about sea creatures?

Writing about sea creatures wasn't an obvious choice for me. I'm not a marine biologist, teacher, or scientist. Both sons, however, loved science and animals. My younger son was obsessed with sharks. We visited lots of aquariums and science museums. I became fascinated with the amazing variety of undersea creatures. One family trip was especially memorable: we watched a sea turtle lay her eggs at night on a beach in Florida. Over the years, we've also gone snorkeling and on whale watching trips.

One day in the gym, I was wearing my seahorse t-shirt from the San Elijo, California, campground. It was an old and ragged t-shirt, but I was sentimentally attached to it because I got it on one of the last trips I took with my mother before she passed away. A friend noticed the shirt and mentioned he loved seahorses. I rattled off some interesting facts about them—seahorse fathers give birth to the babies, not seahorse mothers; seahorses are the only fish that swim upright; seahorses have prehensile tails like monkeys. Later I went home and Googled seahorses. I found an interesting site called Project Seahorses devoted to protecting seahorses, and I continued to research and learn about them.

A couple of weeks later (coincidentally), my husband suggested we go to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, where there was a major seahorse exhibit. Of course, I said yes, and in fact, I had already decided to write about seahorses even before we got to Baltimore. It all clicked into place.

So how does this relate to you? I would suggest when you look for ideas you don't necessarily gravitate to the obvious choice for you (you love music so your book has to be about music). Sometimes those topics we're personally obsessed with might not be that interesting to other people. Be open to receiving new ideas. Think about what fascinates you and what you'd love to learn more about—and what might make an appealing topic for others.

I've been to college and graduate school, but I'm a big believer in self-education. I spent three or four years in my forties learning about octopuses, whales, kelp forests, and so on, yet I was an English major in college. All I needed was a library card and a decent library system where I could order books via interlibrary loan.

I also think firsthand experiences are so important for gathering ideas. Supplement your book learning with "field trips." For example, this past summer, we went on a tour of a 17^th century-house in Massachusetts. The tour guide knew all kinds of fascinating details about the house and the people who lived there, the kind of tidbits you might not find in a book, or that you might skip if you were reading a book. You don't have to travel to exotic countries. I imagine there are historic sites near where you live that you've never been to. (I grew up on Long Island, an hour from New York City, but I didn't go up the Empire State Building until I was 23!).

Keep files of interesting ideas that you might want to pursue. Not every idea will pan out. But one of these ideas might lead to something that you'll want to research and write about.

Who knew that wearing my seahorse t-shirt to the gym would eventually lead to a published book!*

Break Out to Discovery

2009-10-16T08:44:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our table this fine Friday morning. We have a special guest. I am so excited that Ethel Herr, author of An Introduction to Christian Writing has agreed to write a few essays on the thrill of researching. (Remember, anyone joining our group before midnight on Oct. 31, 2009 is eligible to be in a drawing for Mrs. Herr's book.)

Mrs. Herr, you have our complete attention.

Hi!
Lynnda has asked me to write to you about a subject that can get me pretty excited. I love research so much it can threaten to keep me from ever getting my writing done. Some folks hate it and drag their feet or never make room for it. But their writing suffers when they fail to gather the authentication that everyone's writing needs in today's information-saturated world.

So, where do we begin?

You have a compelling idea for a powerful book. Unique, practical, earth-shaking. If you pull it off, it could encourage thousands of struggling souls out there. It might become a bestseller. It could even change the world.

One problem: Have you done enough research to make it crackle with authenticity? To grab your readers with sensory details, word pictures and believable stories? To corroborate your theories and observations with strong, memorable quotes?

Research puts a key in your hands that can unlock the doors to your readers' hearts.

But the piles of information and materials available on even the smallest topic are enormous. How shall you tackle the challenge? Where shall you look?

Experience has taught me that research is discovery and discovery demands at least four kinds of skills:

The skills of an archeologist—the ability to dig through dust and hard packed dirt with patience, persistence and a refusal to stop till you reach the bottom. Never stop telling yourself, "There's a diamond in here somewhere. I will find it."
The abandon of an adventurer—an obsession with going to all the places where the little jewels you need may be lodging. Some likely, some absurd, all (to you) unknown frontiers where you can submerge yourself in the journey. Don't be afraid to tackle unexpected and sometimes dangerous obstacles, to meet people and ask questions and be flexible enough to learn new ways of thinking and doing and experiencing things related to your topic.
The calculating mindset of a detective. Never stop asking "Who would know the information I am seeking?" "Why would they know it?" "Who would they divulge it to?" "Where would they hide it?" "How can I get my hands on it?" "How can I be sure it is authentic?" "What further information does it lead me to?"
The addictive paradigm of a curiosity seeker. Ask questions without end. What is it? Why did he do that? Where did it happen or where is it going? When was it or will it be? Who said this before? What does it mean? How does it feel? What is the mood? Why does it matter? What does it do to my senses—taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing, movement? What are all the theories about this? How might this turn out? Has it been tried before? With what results? Is it a viable suggestion? How will it change my life? My community? My world?...

Research is

a discovery

a fresh wind sighing into the soul

a surprise morsel to chew and savor

a rich full resonance

a hushing spell

an epiphany

creating insatiable appetite for

MORE!

See you next month!

Ethel Herr

Day 7: Not Reinventing the Wheel

2009-10-13T13:48:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody, sorry I'm late. A traffic jam at the one major intersection between my house and the coffee shop held me up. Being late is better than not arriving, though. That was the result for one driver. She was killed and so was the mail carrier who was sorting mail at the back of his mail truck when one of the cars plowed into him. Please drive carefully. We all want to be here to celebrate the holidays that are just around the corner.

OK, that was not the most cheerful way to start my post, so let's talk about something else. Today, I want to welcome two new writers to our table. The first is Wendy Love. Wendy maintains two blogs, but she is actively writing only on Dipsy Doodling Around Depression . She and her husband live in Ontario, Canada. Welcome, Wendy!

The newest member at our table is Lindsey Martin. Lindsey blogs at Keep Your Eyes on the Son . She is in college in the beautiful state of Arkansas. Welcome, Lindsey! Both Wendy and Lindsey are eligible for the drawing for the second edition of An Introduction to Christian Writing.

Part of brainstorming is to decide what NOT to do in our community. If this blog works only as a place to explore other resources for writers of nonfiction books, then I will consider it a success. Thanks to a suggestion Wendy made, I have an entry for a new category of links: Wheels Not Invented Here. In the business world, some companies find it difficult to use ideas that do not originate inside their own company. See the Wikipedia explanation: Not Invented Here. Our community, on the other hand, wants to find the best the Internet has to offer to writers of nonfiction books and provide links to them.

Wendy pointed me in the direction of ProBlogger.(Thanks, Wendy!) This site is for serious bloggers, but beginners can find information of value, too. If you join the forums ($1.95/month) you can ask questions and receive plenty of answers. Blogging is an important tool in building a platform and in practicing your writing skills. Doing it well increases the potential for delivering your words to a satisfied audience of readers.

After I set up the category, I immediately thought of several other sites I wanted to add: Rachelle Gardner's blog Rants and Ramblings for all things about agents and publishing etiquette, Writer Beware Blogs! for wary writers who want to keep a whole skin and protect their wallet and Terry Whalin's Right-Writing for interesting reading on many nonfiction writing topics.

Finally, I am adding a site inappropriate for nonfiction writers, the NaNoWriMo link. In case you are unfamiliar with this site – as I was until Wendy got me interested – NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. This is the tenth year where writers try to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November. While the focus is fiction, no one reads what you write. No prizes are given; you could even write the same word 50,000 times and no one would be the wiser. This led me to the idea to write 50,000 nonfiction words on a book I have outlined. I would follow all the rules, which are few, and enjoy the challenge. What do you think? Could you write around 1,700 words a day for a month? Check it out and get back to me.

Introduction to Writing School

2009-10-07T17:26:00.001-07:00

My preparation for school began in December 2008. I was ready to become a professional writer, instead of writing as a hobby. I spent the next nine months learning everything I could find about the craft of writing and about the business of publishing over the Internet and through books. My perceptions changed; even though I learned as fast as I could absorb the information, I began to see that my writing skills had as many holes as a washed out street. I discovered that one problem with trying to educate myself was that I didn't know what I didn't know.

About the time I discovered my problem, The Christian Writers Guild had a half-price special on their Guild Critique Service. I had a children's story in the best shape that I could make it, so I sent it to them. Six weeks later, I got back a cover letter and four pages of in-depth review. What a value for the price!

The cover letter prepared me for a critique that would be difficult to read – setting my expectations that my story would be trashed. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised; the tone of the review was positive even when the message being delivered was negative. Believe me, that tone can make all the difference in how easy it is to hear criticism.

The review was divided into six sections: purpose, planning & pacing, persuasive content, proper language usage & general presentation, personalization and potential.

This is what I learned from the critique:
Purpose: They missed the whole purpose I had in writing the story. Either I was too subtle in the way I wrote it or I don't understand the definition of purpose in writing.
Planning & Pacing: The lack of passive verbs was good; so was asking questions. The plot was too straightforward; I needed to add some twists.
Persuasive Content: My story had clichés - both the figure of speech kind and clichés of scene and character. I used too many exclamation marks. (Just for reference, don't used eight in the first three paragraphs; that's enough for a whole book!) :>)
Proper Language Usage & General Presentation: They thought I did well here, since my manuscript was formatted right, (Check out The Chicago Manual of Style.) and was correct in spelling, word usage and grammar. I had the usual problem with "telling" instead of "showing."
Personalization: This was my weakest point. I did not create a way for the reader to make an emotional tie to my main character. What was worse was that I have no idea how to do that.
Potential: The reviewers complimented me on my solid start and good voice. They also told me to strive for clarity and remove anything that could be confusing.

Some of their comments were easy to implement; some were impossible simply because I didn't know what they were talking about. It was at that point I made the decision to learn the skills I need in the most systematic and efficient manner possible, by going back to school. After spending a week studying the review and praying about it, I signed up for the Apprentice program that The Christian Writers Guild offers. Next month, I'll tell you about my first two lessons.

Day 6: Walking In Sunshine

2009-10-06T09:46:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful day, here in the world of our virtual coffee shop. October is definitely one of the best months to feel alive right down to your fingertips. The sky has turned that shade of blue that proclaims "No more muggy days!" The trees and bushes are putting on their annual fashion show in a burst of energy that will fade all too soon. I will cherish every minute of this exhilarating season.

My days in the community blog have gotten more exciting, too. I have some cool news to share with you.

First, I want to welcome Juan Lopez to the group at our table. Juan blogs at A Pen Itching to Bleed Onto Paper. He lives in northern California, is a youth pastor and works at a crisis center. Juan writes from a desire to share what God is doing in his life. Welcome, Juan!

Which moves me right into the next news: Juan, Marsha, and Jennifer are eligible for a drawing at the end of October. The winner of the drawing will received an autographed copy of An Introduction to Christian Writing, second edition, by Ethel Herr. The front cover rightly announces that this book is "an in-depth companion to the complete writing experience." If you want to be eligible for the drawing, join us at the table by following the blog before midnight on October 31^st. I will announce the winner the following week.

Moving right along with the good news, Ethel Herr has agreed to write a few pieces on doing research for our blog. Her book has a great chapter, Lesson 7, Part 2, that should jump-start anyone on researching. She has not picked a date, yet, for the pieces to be posted, so stay tuned.

Finally, I wanted to alert you to an opportunity to be published. Barbour Publishing is currently seeking writers for a new publishing project: Heavenly Humor for the Cat Lover's Soul. Click through to see the Guidelines(73KB). They need 75 entries, 500 words each, for this book. If you can write humorous cat stories—drawing some inspirational Christian thought from each, they welcome you to submit entries for possible publication. You will be paid a small fee and receive some free books if they select your work to include in the book.

Come back tomorrow. I will begin a series on my experience as a student of writing.

Happy writing and walk in the sunshine.

Day 5: A Fist Full of Firsts

2009-09-29T13:12:00.001-07:00

Welcome!

You may have noticed that another writer has joined our table. Meet Marsha Moore; she lives in London, England and blogs at Write On!. Today, we are helping Marsh celebrate. The mayor of London endorsed her book, 24 Hours: London. [Clink of wine glasses…] Congratulations, Marsha! Link to her blog to read the story.

We are also celebrating another first for Calling All Aspiring Writers with Marsha. She has agreed to write a monthly piece for our site. Beginning on October 15^th, Marsha will write on travel books. Her travel book about London is coming out in October and she working on one about Paris. Marsha is our first 897 Regular.

Another "first" for our community is a featured conference. The column on the right shows a fall writers' conference. Escape to Create is a non-profit organization that hosts a January artist-in-residence program in Seaside, Florida. This year, they have expanded their mission to host their first annual writers' conference to be held Oct. 14-16, 2009. This is a boutique conference that accommodates a maximum of 40 people. The award-winning visiting authors will have sessions on memoir writing, the profession of writing, and non-fiction writing that could be of interest to non-fiction writers.

The sessions are small and held in a private residence, so many opportunities exist for one-on-one time with the presenters. Please note that if you are unable to climb stairs, this would not be the conference for you. The sessions are held on the second floor of the home. If you are interested you can contact Mrs. Melayne DeMars at escapetocreate@gmail.com.

Finally, I have posted the first links to organizations that educate writers. The Christian Writers' Guild works toward the goal of giving students the tools necessary to keep them from the many missteps and pitfalls that can stall a writer's career. It is the one with which I am most familiar. I have just started their two-year apprentice program. I will start blogging about that next month.

The second one is The Creative Nonfiction Foundation. Quoting from their web site, the Creative Nonfiction Foundation "pursues educational and publishing initiatives in the genre of literary nonfiction. Its objectives are to provide a venue, the journal Creative Nonfiction, for high quality nonfiction prose (memoir, literary journalism, personal essay); to serve as the singular strongest voice of the genre, defining the ethics and parameters of the field; and to broaden the genre's impact in the literary arena by providing an array of educational services and publishing activities." They have contests that may also be of interest.

That's our fist full of firsts for our blog. Let me know if you find them useful.

Day 4: All It Takes Is Time

2009-09-22T14:38:00.001-07:00

It is raining here. People come into the coffee shop, loosely close their umbrella, shake off the water and hang it on the hat rack in the corner. The clatter of spoons in cups and murmur of conversation drop into the background in the almost constant rumble of thunder. The room has a very cozy feel. This is a mint tea kind of day, so I sit here with a hot cup of tea in my favorite chair.

Today is another day of firsts for our non-fiction community blog. Sitting at the table with me is Jennifer - trumpets, please! – the first non-fiction writer to join me at the table. Jennifer blogs at Blogging It Out. She is new to the blogging world, so take the time to check out her page and tell her hello. Welcome, Jennifer!

What a pleasure to add another chair to the table just for Jennifer. With a little help from other people who have an interest in writing non-fiction books, our community can grow. If you will help by joining us at the table and telling others you know about the community, we can build some momentum. Jennifer has gotten the ball rolling. Now all it takes is time and enough people who care.

Day 3: The Who

2009-09-15T13:40:00.001-07:00

You might have noticed that my blog ended rather abruptly, yesterday. I spilled lemonade on my laptop. Yeah, bummer, huh? Fortunately, it was not terminal – for the laptop, I mean, but it almost gave me a heart attack.

I had another crazy brainstorming idea while I was gone. All aspiring writers have rejection letters. Those one or two sentences can be very painful, but they are universally dull – at least in my experience. They range from the extreme of "no comment," after waiting three months to hear SOMETHING, through "the project is not right for us," to "you need a huge platform to sell this." It might be fun to collect rejection letters. Twice a year we could vote on the most creative one and award the winning agency/publisher an
"R" (a rejection letter) – pun intended. If we have no creative rejection letters submitted to the community, then we could hold a creative rejection letter-writing contest instead.

A community blog takes a lot of teamwork. The volunteers who commit to writing regularly on a topic in which they are skilled will be part of The 897 Regulars. Some of the talents the community will need: writers in these (and other) genres, cookbooks, travel, academic, devotional, narrative, memoire, biography/autobiography, journalistic, humor, (Please, help me, here! Add some non-fictional genres to the comments.) and experts in building platforms, writing queries, researching, interviewing, marketing, creating blogs and building a following, designing and using web sites, staying motivated to write, editing and self-editing, language usage, and publishing/self-publishing.

Other members of The 897 Regulars will be the volunteers who keep facebook, twitter, and other social network communities updated with the community blog news and those who manage the sidebar extras that we create for the right-hand column of the blog.

Today marks the first time any 897 Community content goes up on the blog. Two agencies who specialize in representing non-fiction work, Daniel Literary Group and Martin Literary Management become the first two members of the N-F A-List. If you know of any agencies that specialize in non-fiction representation and you have researched them thoroughly enough to recommend them to others, please either email me at lynndaell[at]live[dot]com or leave a comment.

Day 2: Brainstorming

2009-09-09T10:50:00.001-07:00

This coffee shop is nice. The location is good, the tables are generously sized and the food and drink taste as good as they look.

I sit in the chair I have claimed for my own, back to the wall, ready to welcome those who come my way. Did I mention that the shop has Wi-Fi? I found that out yesterday, so I brought my lap-top, today. While I wait for you to find the coffee shop, I want to drink my lemonade and do a little brainstorming.

In case you've never been in a brainstorming session, the idea is to let the imagination fly, record every thought - no matter how harebrained, and see how well the creative juices can flow. So, here is a list of questions I am asking myself – and you, too, if you want to join me.

Who would be invited to join?
Anyone in the world who is interested in creating and publishing non-fiction books and who can speak English
Would like a diverse group that works in all the genres of non-fiction
Must be willing to share what they know best and generously support other aspiring writers

What should be in the posts?
Anything and everything related to creating and publishing non-fiction books including
Platforms – when you need them and when you don't
Identifying genre – difference between biography and memoire, journalistic and narrative, etc
Research techniques – the web, the experts, libraries, etc
Tips and ideas for writing in a specific genre of non-fiction

What reoccurring topics could be used?
Monthly:
site statistics - how many visitors, countries, etc;
each genre have a focused blog posting once a month;
the student's view of taking a writing course: college/correspondence;
Quarterly:
Birthday party for non-fiction books published since the last party;
seminars and conferences of special interest to non-fiction writers (and why);
blog parties to introduce all the new blogs to everyone;
funny story Friday night;
Fording the River, how my manuscript got published (by a person who follows the blog)

What else should be on the site?
Contests -(#1: choosing a better name for the blog!),
corporate sponsors (all related to publishing),
a list of agents specializing in non-fiction books and what they are looking for,
list of blogs and web sites of interest to non-fiction writers,
opportunities for visitors to vote on blog content and other issues,
a non-fiction award for web sites/blogs that are most helpful to non-fiction writers (award created here, sites nominated and voted on by the readers),
blogger award for the most informative blog posted on this blog the previous month (top three chosen by number of comments, winner by reader votes)

Day 1: Sitting Here Alone

2009-09-04T17:01:00.001-07:00

Here I am sitting at the table in the corner with my back to the wall, ready to smile and wave a welcome to anyone who heads my way. On the table in front of me is a lined tablet and a fat mechanical pencil just waiting to capture my thoughts, as I sit here waiting to see if anyone else will show up. I have a fresh Dr. Pepper and plenty of time, so come on over and talk.

What am I doing here? That's a good question. Let me tell you how this got started.

Almost a year ago, my hobby of writing got kicked up a notch to the aspiring writer category. I began browsing the web to learn something about the business of publishing and the craft of writing. I've linked up with some great folks and learned a ton of new information. All of that came with much frustration, however. What I discovered – not the first to learn it, I'm sure – is that most bloggers, web sites, and all things publishing focus primarily on fiction.

Now don't get me wrong. I love fiction. Most of the books I read are fiction and 90% of the ones I buy are fiction. But the one I am writing is non-fiction. I have spent hours looking for a web site devoted to non-fiction ideas, issues, and conversation without success. Well, I saw the movie, too; "If you build it, they will come." So here I am.

If this blog is to be a success, I need your help. If you write non-fiction and are willing to contribute posts on this blog, e-mail me at lynndaell[at]live.com. (You know the drill, replace [at] with@.) Let's discuss your participation. Meanwhile, I'll just sit here, drink my Dr. Pepper, and write.

Oh, yes, if you've discovered any web sites devoted to non-fiction writing, leave a comment and I'll start a link list.