Authors Need to be Realistic

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Over the years, I’ve met many passionate writers. One brand new writer told me, “My book is going to be a bestseller.” This confident boast intrigued me and I wanted to know more details such as the focus of the book and the publisher. 

When the author said, “Balboa Press” I knew this author was headed for a rude awakening. Balboa Press is a self-publishing company and a part of Author Solutions. From my years in publishing, I knew this company was going to publish close to 50,000 titles this year. For this author to break out with a bestseller would be nearly impossible. To become a bestseller, the book needs broad distribution to online plus brick-and-mortar bookstores who report their sales to a bestseller list. Balboa Press is online, and their books are not sold in brick and mortar bookstores. Also with the large volume of titles each year, it is common publishing knowledge that the bulk of Author Solutions (and Balboa Press) employees are in the Philippines. I’ve seen a number of books from these publishers and their covers are poor (And good covers sell books) and the overall production is not good quality. I hoped this author didn’t spend a lot of money to produce her book. I’ve met authors who have a garage full of books from these companies and have spent $20,000 to produce them (no exaggeration). It is heart breaking to witness such scams and authors need to be careful. 

Here’s three steps to avoid the wrong publisher:

Use Google to see what is online. Type: Publisher name + complaint then read a page or two of the entries. Are the complaints new or old? Are there many entries or a few? 

1. A reality of the internet is every publisher has complaints and anyone can write anything about anyone with it online forever. 

2. Speak with some of the publishers’ authors and ask about their experiences.

3. Read and get professional help on the contract. Make sure you understand it.

These actions will help you avoid many publishing pitfalls. The publisher you select has a lot to do with getting your book into the right places online and in physical bookstores. Some authors believe they can make money if their book is on Amazon. While Amazon is a large part of the book selling market, there are many ways and places that people buy books: bookstores, airports, grocery stores and much more. You want your book to be in the broadest possible number of places to succeed, sell and make money. The publisher controls much of this distribution. 

Because many of these financial details are outside of your control as an author, what steps can you take? From my 30+ years in publishing, it does not happen without the author taking action. No matter whether a major publisher releases our book, or you self-publish, as the author you will bear the bulk of the responsibility to market your book. If they are honest, every author would like to delegate this book marketing responsibility to someone else. 

One of my favorite books is The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I’ve read this book several times and I’ve also listened to this entire book on audio. Canfield has spent a lifetime studying the principles that people follow to be successful, and I want you to be successful as an author. The first principle in the book says, “Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life.” 

This principle applies to the constant wish for every author to have someone else market your book. Are you reaching out to your target audience? Have you identified your target audience for your book? Where are they and how are you reaching out to touch them on a consistent basis? It does not have to be daily but it does have to be regular. Give them great content on your topic and in that process point them to more information inside your book.

One of the best ways for you to take responsibility is to create your own marketing plans. Whether you self-publish or have a traditional publisher to get your book into the bookstore, these plans are important. Whether your book is launching soon or has been out for a while, you need to be creating and executing your own marketing plans. Every author needs a dose of realism combined with consistent action to reach readers.

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Authors need to be realistic and combine this realism with consistent action. Get insights from this prolific writer and editor. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

I Fought This Writing Responsibility

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It was a life-changing moment and a revelation to my writing life. In 2007, I was a literary agent with, the Whalin Literary Agency, a small Arizona-based agency. Mark Victor Hansen, co-author for Chicken Soup for the Soul, invited me to Mega-Book Marketing University in Los Angeles. About 400 people attended this event with well-known speakers over several days. At that point in my writing life, I had written over 50 books for traditional publishers. Two of my book proposals received six-figure advances and publishers made beautiful books and got them into bookstores. Yet my books were not selling and I had the negative royalty statements from my publishers to prove it. 

Throughout the conference, I listened carefully and took notes. One of the speakers was Jack Canfield who had just published The Success Principles. For years he has studied what it takes to be successful and I certainly wanted to be successful as an author. The first of his 64 principles is: “Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life.”

I didn’t want to take 100% responsibility.  I wanted to write the books and then have my publisher sell the books. Wasn’t marketing their responsibility? Didn’t they sell the books into the bookstore? I was writing excellent books and delivering them on deadline and working through each editorial process. But I was doing very little to market the books. I had a single website with my name but no email list, no social media, no blog or other type of writer’s platform. 

At Mega-Book Marketing University, I learned publishers make books and distribute them to bookstores. Here’s what I was missing and I learned: the author drives readers into the bookstore (brick and mortar or online) to buy those books.

Ultimately, the author sells the books to the readers.

Like many writers that I meet, my expectations were unrealistic and I was not taking my responsibility as a writer. I made a decision to change. I started to blog and today my blog has over 1,600 searchable entries in it. In January, I found this article which says of the over 600 million blogs, I was one of The Top 27 Content Writers. I began an email list (which continues to be a unique way to reach my readers).  Also I’m active on social media with over 180,000 Twitter followers and over 19,400 LinkedIn connections. For years, I post on these platforms 12-15 times a day.

If I’m honest, I don’t want 100% responsibility for my own success as a writer. Yet from my decades in publishing, I’ve watched many things go wrong in the publishing process. Good books don’t get marketed and go out of print. Editors change while you are working with a publisher. Those situations are just two of a myriad of things which can push your book off the rails in the wrong direction. I can’t control my publisher, my editor, my agent, my marketing person or ____. But I can control myself and my own efforts.

My acceptance of this responsibility means I have to continually grow and learn as a writer. It means I often take courses or read books and I’m always looking for new ways to build my audience and reach more people.  Thankfully as writers we are not alone. Others have shown us how they have achieved success. This path may work for me or it may not. 

There is no success formula used for every book to make it sell into the hands of readers. Instead there are basic principles others are using to build their audience and find readers. I have one certainty: it will not fly if you don’t try. I continue to take action—and encourage you to do the same. It’s the writer’s journey.

Tweetable:

Are you looking for someone else to sell your books? This prolific writer and editor has taken an unusual responsibility. Learn the details here. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in

Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.