Beginning Writers Can Get Published

 

Over the last 30 years Greg Stielstra, author of Pyromarketing, marketed hundreds of Christian books including The Purpose Driven Life. During that time, he noticed a disturbing trend. Some Christian authors sought fame because they believed only celebrities could influence culture. What’s more, they thought to sell lots of book required hiding their Christian content. In a sort of publishing bait and switch, some authors thought they must achieve a platform with secular books—or at least books that minimized faith content before they could use their platform for good. The formula was, “First become famous and then make a difference.”

Greg saw things differently. He saw authors like Lee Strobel achieve tremendous success by writing books with clear biblical content that helped people. The formula was reversed; first make a difference and then the platform will follow. “Aim at Heaven,” C.S. Lewis correctly noted, “and you get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you’ll get neither.”

It's a myth that beginning writers do not get published. Because it happened years ago, many people forget about a brand-new fantasy writer who was looking for an agent named J. K. Rowling. There is a little discussed story about Harry Potter that I read originally in this article in The Observer.

Almost everyone knows that J. K. Rowling was an unpublished children’s writer and single mother who wrote Harry Potter in a coffee shop and dreamed of getting published. How was the book discovered and brought into the publishing world?

J. K. Rowling overcame incredible hurdles to secure that initial book contract. Some of those hurdles she passed through with sheer good luck. There is no other way to categorize it. Rowling’s experience definitely fell outside the normal way of publishing.

Here’s the two key paragraphs (in my view) from this article: “The agency, run in ‘cramped’ and ‘near-Dickensian’ offices in Fulham, south-west London, was cash-strapped until touched by Potter’s magic wand. Literary folklore has it that Rowling, then a penniless 29-year-old single mother, walked into a public library in Edinburgh, looked up a list of literary agents and settled on the name Christopher Little because it sounded like a character from a children’s book.”

“Bryony Evens, the office manager at the time, has said that it went straight into the reject basket because ‘Christopher felt that children’s books did not make money’. But its unusual black binding caught her eye, prompting her to read the synopsis and show it to Little. He recalled: ‘I wrote back to JK Rowling within four days of receiving the manuscript. I thought there was something really special there, although we could never have guessed what would happen to it.’ He managed to sell it to Bloomsbury for £2,500, but later it reaped huge rewards from international rights and he has won a reputation as a brilliant deal-maker who puts Rowling first.”

With the current exchange rates, £2,500 is just a bit over $3,100. Also, this article mentions the agent has received an estimated commission of over $100 million. Not a bad return for pulling a manuscript with an unusual manuscript with black binding from the reject basket.

Don’t assume your material can go into this “other” category for how it becomes published. I’d encourage you to work through the normal channels as much as possible but be aware that sometimes a project will jump to the front of the line. 

Why Every Book Needs a Proposal (Even Self-Published)

No matter what method you choose in the publishing world, I encourage you to create a book proposal. Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, you need to create this document because it is your business plan for your book. Years ago, as a frustrated acquisitions editor, I wrote Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success. This book has over 150 Five Star reviews and many people have used it to get published. Also I have a free book proposal checklist and a free teleseminar about proposals. 

I’ve read thousands of book proposals as an acquisitions editor and a former literary agent. I continually teach on the topic because I believe many writers don’t understand the critical nature of this specialized document called a book proposal.

On the traditional side of publishing, editors and agents read proposals. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve written nonfiction or fiction because this document includes information which never appears in your manuscript yet is critical in the decision-making process. 

Many authors have not written a book proposal because have written a full manuscript. From my perspective of working in book publishing for over 30 years, every author should create a book proposal for their book—whether eventually they publish the book with a company where they pay to get it published (subsidy or self-publishing) or whether they find a traditional book publisher. In the proposal creation process, the author learns critical elements about their book concept plus they are better positioned in the marketplace.

Here are four of the many benefits of proposal creation:

1. You Define Your Target Market. Many authors believe their book will hit a broad target—everyone. No successful book is for everyone. Each book has a primary target audience, and the proposal creation process helps you define, pinpoint and write about this audience. It is important in nonfiction but it is also important in fiction. For example, romance is the largest fiction genre yet there are many divisions within the romance genre. The proposal helps to define this division and helps the publisher understand who will be creating the sales.

Every proposal needs a target which is defined—yet large enough to generate volume sales. You learn and achieve this balance when you create a page-turning book proposal.

2. You Understand Your Competition. Book proposals force writers to take a hard look at what is already on the market, and what if anything they bring to the conversation.  Many new authors believe they are writing something unique with no competition. It’s not true. Every book competes in the marketplace, and you will be a better equipped author if you understand your competition.

3. You Create A Personal Plan For Marketing. As you create a book proposal, you will include practical, specific and measurable ideas that can executed when your book enters the market. The proposal will be a valuable reference tool for you because you’ve done this important evaluation process.

4. You Possess A Valuable Tool To Pitch Agents and Editors at Traditional Houses. Literary agents and editors do not read manuscripts. They read book proposals. Even novelists need a book proposal for their initial pitch to an editor or agent. And if you self-publish and are successful with selling your book, because you own everything, if you receive an attractive offer from a traditional house, then you can move the book. Without a proposal you can’t properly pitch the concept and you’ve eliminated this possibility. 

Throughout my years in publishing, I have made multiple trips to New York City and met with some of the top literary agents and editors. Almost each time, I am asked, “Where is the next Prayer of Jabez or Purpose Driven Life or Left Behind or ______ (name the bestselling book)?” Each of these books sold millions of copies. The Left Behind books continue to sell over 100,000 copies a year—and they were originally published over 30 years ago. These professionals are actively looking every day for the next bestseller. Yes, they may be telling you their agency is full and they have no room on their list for your book—but the reality is something different. 

I encourage you to keep looking for the right fit for your manuscript. It’s part of the editorial search that every writer undergoes to discover the right place for their book to be published.

Tweetable:

It’s a publishing myth that beginning writers do not get published. This bestselling author and editor shows that every publishing professional is actively looking for the right author and book. Learn the details here. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. Get Terry’s newsletter and a 87-page FREE ebook packed with writing insights. Just follow this link to subscribe. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an associate publisher 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. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

How to Write a Children’s Book Description

 

Contributed by Morgan Lee Clasper 

Writing a description for your children’s book means tackling a unique problem.

When an adult buys a novel, the reader and the buyer are typically the same person. But for children’s books, they couldn’t be more different.
Your story may be for kids, but the person who’s searching Amazon or browsing a bookstore is likely a parent, grandparent, teacher, or librarian. For this reason, your book description needs to make your story sound appealing to kids, while also convincing adults to buy.

To help you do this, here are a few tips to keep in mind when you write your children’s book description so that it speaks to all ages.

Sell your story (even if it’s low stakes)

One particular difficulty that leaves many children’s authors stuck is that, according to conventional wisdom, you need to pack your book description with tension, conflict, and constant escalation.
The problem is that most children’s stories have low stakes, and so authors may struggle to write a description where nothing really “bad” ever happens.

However, even a low-stakes story can create the right sense of tension. To achieve this, ask yourself two questions: What does my protagonist want? And what makes achieving their goal interesting to read about?

Your children’s story might not have world-ending stakes or a race against time, but tension doesn’t need to depend on a sense of impending doom. 

Consider these examples:
•    A nervous child wants to make friends on her first day of school
•    A little rabbit learns about the value of teamwork and sharing
•    A pufferfish discovers how to express his emotions constructively

A cozy and comforting picture book about friendship, bedtime, or overcoming a fear can still have a compelling description, provided you frame your protagonist’s desire in a way that makes it interesting to read about.

Remember who’s buying your book

As we’ve seen, your book description should appeal to both parents and kids, but for different reasons. Parents may care about things like age appropriateness and educational value. Children, meanwhile, are more interested in the promise of funny characters, colorful illustrations, or an exciting story.

A good children’s book description focuses on both. It identifies what adults are searching for, while also sounding like a story that kids will love.

One simple technique you can use is to divide your description into two parts. The opening can focus on the story itself, while the second half communicates the details that parents want to know.

Don’t forget to give parents practical details

Because children’s books focus on a range of topics and themes, it’s helpful to provide parents with additional details and context to help them figure out if your book is right for their child.

One powerful way to do this is to use a bullet list to communicate your book’s unique selling points. This could include your target age range, whether it makes for a good gift, if it features a rhyming narrative, and so on. 

For example:
•    A rhyming bedtime story for children ages 4-8 
•    Features colourful illustrations on every page 
•    Shares a gentle story about courage and belonging 
•    Makes a thoughtful gift to inspire young readers

Notice how each bullet doesn’t read like a table of contents. Every point communicates something important about the book, setting the story apart from other titles while giving parents useful details to inform their buying decisions.

Make your description match the feel of your story

A good children’s book description is filled with emotion and wonder. It should feel as lively to read as your story itself! Before you start writing, imagine that you’re describing your book to a parent without explaining the plot.

Is your book playful, silly, and energetic? Is it a warm and gentle bedtime story? Or is it magical and whimsical? These words can act as a guide when choosing the language for your description.

These words can infuse your description with life. Instead of saying simply, “This book contains illustrations,” consider something like “features illustrations that leap from every page.” This subtly communicates how your book will feel to read, while also giving parents a better sense of what they're buying.

Remember that parents are looking for a fun story for their kids, so your book description shouldn’t sound dry or lifeless!

Conclusion

Writing a good children’s book description means balancing your two audiences. Kids need a story that sounds appealing, while adults are the ones making the decision whether to buy.
The best descriptions have something for both. They capture the emotional heart of your story, give a window into the reading experience, and provide the practical details that parents are looking for.

Bio
Morgan Lee Clasper is a copywriter, book sales strategist, and author of The Blurb Puzzle. With over seven years of experience in the publishing industry, he’s worked with New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling authors, writing 4,000 blurbs and counting. Morgan is also the author of the YA fantasy series The Frostwing Quadrilogy and The Chronicles of Alcabaza. To read The Blurb Puzzle, visit https://morganclasperauthor.com/

Every Book Needs a Target

By Terry Whalin (@terrywhalin)

For decades, I’ve been an editor meeting with authors and reading their book submissions. Many of these submissions are missing a foundational element: a specific target audience. I’ve read numerous submissions which proclaim, “My book is for everyone.”

While I’ve written and published many books for traditional publishers, I’d love to write a book for “everyone.” Yet that has never happened. If I am honest, no book is for everyone. Yes, some books reach a broad segment of the reading public, yet every successful writer has a specific target audience. There is an old saying, “If you aim at nothing, you will be sure to hit it.”

Recently I received an excellent, well-crafted proposal from a business writer.  She knew her target reader and was reaching this reader through her on-going marketing efforts (online and in print). While her concept and presentation was fresh and interesting, this author also knew how to test her audience and get feedback. From this testing data, she knew the concepts and stories in her book would meet a reader need.  A proposal where the writer has identified a primary, secondary and tertiary audience is including this foundational material that will attract attention from literary agents and publishers.

In contrast, I’ve also read a proposal from a children’s book author who picked a large age group for their target audience (3 to 12). From the target, I knew this writer had no concept of a particular reader, and it showed throughout the pitch. Children’s books are a segmented market with the words and illustrations targeted to a specific audience. Just walk into any brick-and-mortar bookstore and take the time to study the children’s section. The sections and divisions are clearly marked and are segments every bookstore and library use to divide these books. While your book may eventually reach more than one target, the pitch needs to be aimed at and written to one audience. While literary agents and editors are looking for writers with a target, they also are looking for authors with the ability to reach their target audience. You can reach your target through social media but also an email list, magazine articles, regular speaking, and many other methods.

Your connection to the audience is often called a platform, and every writer (fiction or nonfiction) needs to be actively building their audience.  I have a free ebook, Platform-Building Ideas for Every Author at: http://terrylinks.com/pb The identification of your audience is the foundation of every book proposal. 

Imagine an archery target. You will have a primary audience (the bullseye) but you will have secondary readers as well (the other circles).  The aim and focus of your proposal need to be your target reader.  Follow this foundational proposal principle to make your submission standout.

Do you have a specific target audience? Does this target audience fit into a bookstore category? Thoughtful answers to these questions will help you refine your pitch to an editor or literary agent and get your book published. Let me know your actions in the comments below.

Tweetable:

If you believe your book is for everyone, this bestselling author and editor gives the details so you can refine your target audience and sell more books. #pubtip #thewritinglife (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. Get Terry’s newsletter and a 87-page FREE ebook packed with writing insights. Just follow this link to subscribe. 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. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Tips on Writing Middle Grade

 

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Ghostwriter, Editor, and Coach

 In a webinar I attended, Literary agent Andrea Somberg discussed the basics of writing middle grade (MG).

The agent first made it clear that while MG was popular over the last decade, it’s now slowing down. Publishers are much more picky about these manuscripts now. It seems that graphic MG is picking up. In fact, it’s becoming one of the fastest-growing genres in the industry.

The reason is probably the same as when kids would read comic books years ago. With fewer words because of the heavy illustrations, it’s an easy read for the reluctant reader.

MG Age Range

Interestingly, I recently had a conversation with a client about the range for the middle grade genre.

He wanted an MG with the protagonist starting at thirteen. And he wanted the protagonist to grow into manhood.

I had to explain that the age range for MG is 9 to12. It could go as high as thirteen for upper MG, but definitely not high school ages.

We ended up turning the time frame from 13 to18, making it a young adult.
Okay, back to the MG.

While the age range is 9 to12, there is also a younger MG for the 8-10 reader. And there’s the upper MG for the 12- to 13-year-old reader.

The Protagonist’s Age

It’s important to keep in mind that young readers read up. So, having an 8-year-old protagonist won’t work because an 8-year-old reader will want to read about a 10-year-old protagonist, or at least a 9-year-old.

Along with this, the 14-year-old reader is too old. A 14-year-old will want to read about a 15 or 16-year-old, and that’s beyond the scope of the middle grade.

A key point for the protagonist is that they must have strong feelings about their surroundings.

It’s a good idea for them to be opinionated at the beginning of the book, then grow and change their views based on their experience in the book.

While they should be opinionated, they shouldn’t be introspective. That’s more of a young adult thing.

Structure and Prose

•    As with all fiction writing, it’s about keeping the story moving forward using character actions and interactions. You should also include the world around them.
•    Descriptive paragraphs and long sentences should be avoided, as well as adjectives and adverbs.
•    Write active sentences rather than passive ones, and avoid big words. Don’t make the reader scan over a passage because he doesn’t know what a word is.
•    It’s also a good idea to have the chapters end in some type of cliffhanger; it doesn’t have to be a life-or-death scenario. You want the reader to be motivated enough to turn to the next chapter to find out what happens.
•    And don’t have ambiguous endings.

I have another client writing a series who wants to end each book with a full-out cliffhanger. Before I attended this webinar, I knew this wasn’t a good idea. Kids like things neatly tied up. They want a satisfying ending. Each book in an MG series should ends the story satisfyingly and tie up all loose ends.

I explained to the client that the story’s merit and the reader’s involvement with the characters will make him want to read another story about those characters.

The Story’s Voice

Unless you’re privy to ‘real’ conversations of the age group of the protagonist, it will be challenging to pull the voice off.

A way to overcome this is to read a lot of traditionally published MG. You can also watch YouTube videos for the age group. If you can interact with the desired reader age group, do so. It will give your book authenticity. Being aware of the modulation and inflection is also a good idea.

Along with how MG kids talk, you’ll need to capture their unique pressures of today. I’m sure a 12-year-old today can’t imagine life without a cell phone or tablet. I know this is true because my older grandsons are 12 and 14. It’s a different world than it was even 10 years ago. Your characters’ pressures, daily life, and lifestyles should reflect this.

Another tip: avoid trending words. You want your story to be timeless. Editors want contemporary books unless you’re writing historical fiction, fantasy, or sci-fi.

The Storyline

Publishers are looking for bestsellers.

Your book should be unique, even if it’s a story that’s been told before. It needs to be intriguing. And it needs a clear sense of the stakes.
For this age group, it doesn’t have to be life or death, but it could be a move, the loss of a friend, or circumstances that would evoke strong feelings in a child/tween.

That’s it for the story writing part. The next post will deal with querying agents (and publishers).

You can check out Andrea Somberg’s website here: https://andreasomberg.com/aslitagent/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

 

 

 Karen Cioffi is a children’s author, ghostwriter, editor, and self-publishing consultant. If you’d like to learn more about writing for children or need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi. 

You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

And you can connect with Karen on SOCIAL MEDIA. 

Beef Up Your Proposal Marketing Section

By Terry Whalin (@terrywhalin)

When writers take personality tests, the majority are introverts. They prefer to write more articles or books instead of spending the time to market their books. Yet the marketing section of your book proposal can be the difference between rejection and acceptance. Every writer has to learn these marketing skills.

PT Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens. Nothing.” Publishers create well-designed and well-edited books that they distribute to bookstores. These companies make large investments in the production of these books. Yet the sale of these books or moving them from the booktore into the hands of readers is largely up to the author.

If you self-publish, then you have all of this responsibility. Even if you self-publish, you still need to craft a book proposal (nonfiction or fiction). This proposal is your business plan of how you are going to put together your book. From my years in publishing, I know the critical nature of this document and in particular the marketing section.

As an author, you have to show your passion through action. Successful authors will continue to market and promote their book long after others have given up. For example, I’m still promoting and marketing radio interviews about  my Billy Graham biography even though it released in November 2014.  I continue to market this book every day.

Here’s several ideas for the marketing section of your proposal:

--Create practical plans which you can execute on your own timetable. From my book, I pulled 10 Facts about Billy Graham into an info-graphic. These facts became a bookmark on one side and the other side includes the book cover and a brief endorsement. Can you create this type of practical tool for your book then distribute the bookmark to bookstores for bag stuffers?  

--Read book marketing books like 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer or The Book Marketing Coach by Brent Sampson or then apply what you are learning to the marketing section of your proposal.

--Every publisher is going to want to see how many readers you can directly reach. Social media numbers are good but do you have an email list? How large is that email list? The larger the number for your email list you can include  the better. 

--Commit to tell others about your book every week. Most authors do nothing so if you are actively talking about your book, your efforts will pay off. As marketing expert Sarah Bolem says, “Consumers generally need to be exposed to a new product seven to twelve times before they will purchase it.” 

--Who can you get to write the foreword for your book? Do you know people who can endorse the book (in your target market). Include this information in the marketing section of your proposal. The right endorsement for your target reader will help you sell books and the attention of a publisher.

If you build these types of marketing plans into your proposal, it will standout to editors and agents. Which method are you going to add into your proposal or author activity? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

Editors and literary agents are looking for authors who will market their books. This bestselling author explains how to beef up the marketing section of your proposal. #pubtip #thewritinglife (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. Get Terry’s newsletter and a 87-page FREE ebook packed with writing insights. Just follow this link to subscribe. 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. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Make A Lasting First Impression

 

By Terry Whalin (@terrywhalin)

In the rush to show a literary agent or editor your idea, many writers forget a simple yet important truth: You only get one chance to make a good first impression. As an editor and former literary agent, I’ve read thousands of written proposals and pitches. For over 35 years, I’ve taught at writer’s conferences and had short 15 minute sessions with writers who show their ideas. When an editor asks for your proposal or manuscript, are you sending it? If you follow through with an excellent submission, you will be among the few who do so. It may be surprising to you, but many people do not submit their requested materials.  No wonder they don’t get published because they do not get into the process,

Let’s begin with some good news. I’ve been with some of the top publishers and literary agencies in New York City. Without exception, every single agent and editor is actively reading and speaking with writers. They are searching for the next bestseller. Whether you write a novel or nonfiction, every writer needs a book proposal or pitch. Why? Imagine receiving over 100 pitches a day (not uncommon for a well-connected literary agent). The title and first few sentences are critical to catch their enthusiasm. 

There are a number of keys to making a great proposal. 

1. Create a memorable book title. Many writers are worried that someone else will take their title. Instead you need to try it out on others and test it and make sure it pulls in your reader.

2. Read and re-read your opening paragraphs. Have a trusted writer friend read it and give feedback. If an oral pitch, then practice it. You’d be surprised at the difference it will make.

3. Write to a well-defined target audience. No book is for everyone.

4. Detail your competition. Every book competes in the marketplace—no matter what you believe about the uniqueness of your idea. You need to include four or five specific competitive titles to your book.

5. Present a realistic marketing plan of what you will do to partner with the publisher to sell books into the market. Your plans need to be practical and clearly defined.

Your writing and story is unique and I know you have something unique and  special to give to the marketplace. As an editor, I’ve met authors who have created a negative first impression. At a large writers conference, I was in an indepth conversation with an author. Suddenly another author interrupted and thrust his poorly designed, self-published children’s book into my hands, then turned and left to find another editor or literary agent. I do not remember what I did with that book or author but I never spoke with him again. His first impression made a lasting negative impact. What type of first impression will you make today?

Here’s three resources to learn more detail: 

1. Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success which I wrote as a frustrated acquisitions editor and has 150 Five Star Amazon reviews. You can also download a free copy of the full book at this website: https://bookproposals.ws. 

2. Get my free Ebook, Some Book Proposal Insights and teleseminar at: www.AskAboutProposals.com 

3. Consider taking my online Write A Book Proposal course where I have step-by-step teaching how to make your best impression.

If you use these resources, then you will make the right type of lasting first impression. As I said at the beginning of this article, we only have one opportunity for a good first impression. Which one will you make? Let me know in your comments.

Tweetable:

As writers, we have one chance to make a good first impression. This bestselling author gives resources and details for your writing life. #pubtip #thewritinglife (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. Get Terry’s newsletter and a 87-page FREE ebook packed with writing insights. Just follow this link to subscribe. 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. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Your Author Website's Landing Page

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer and Self-Publisher

 The internet is teeming with information on everything you can possibly think of. This includes information on your business platform. But with all this information available, there are still many who aren’t aware of the basics, the dos and don’ts of an author online platform.

I recently came across a website on ‘article submissions.’ Finding it on Twitter and being interested, I clicked on the link.

It brought me to a site with articles on unrelated topics. There wasn’t an About page or any information on what the site was about. And there wasn’t a Contact or Services page.

This marketer/business owner was leading people back to his site, apparently to sell something, but the site was completely ineffective. It was one of the most puzzling sites I’ve ever seen.

So, the question is: If someone lands on your website by accident, through a search, or via a social link, is it effective? Is it visitor optimized?

To answer these questions, you first need to know the fundamentals of a business website. And a business website can be an author’s site, a freelance writing site, a home business site, or a small business site. The basics are the same for all websites that sell something, whether it be books, services, or a product.

To guide you in the right direction to creating a visitor-optimized website, let’s go over the very basics.

Online marketing 101 is to create a website that works, a website that converts visitors into clients, customers, or subscribers.

This is the foundation of your online empire, and an effective website needs to immediately answer these four basic questions:

1. Who are you?
2. What are you offering?
3. Why is what you’re offering worthy of the visitor’s time, money, or email address?
4. Is the path to what you’re offering, the path to the YES, simple? (The YES is the potential customer’s positive action, whether it’s opting into your mailing list or buying what you’re offering, or other call-to-action)

Let’s go over each element:

1. Who You Are
Make sure your website has an About Me page. In addition, your landing page should clearly identify who you are. Don’t let the visitor have to hunt you down – don’t let her have to search through your site just to find some information on you.

Tip: Keep the About Me content conversational, like you’re talking to a friend.

2. What You Have to Offer
Your landing page needs to quickly convey what you have to offer. To do this, you can use an image with content or a video. Video is highly effective—it has been proven to increase conversion rates. 

Tip: Keep the ‘key’ information above the fold. This means it must be visible upon landing on the page. The visitor shouldn’t have to scroll down the page to find it.

3. Why What You’re Offering is Worthy of the Visitor’s Time/Money/Email
Let the visitor know the value of what you have to offer. Show how it will benefit her. And, if possible, make it seem exclusive. Figure out a way to make the visitor think he can’t get what you’re offering anywhere else.

Tip: The visitor must perceive the value of your offer as higher than its cost.

4. Is the Path to What You’re Offering (the Path to the YES) Simple?
Marketers use the acronym KISS (Keep it Simple Silly) to emphasize the importance of simplicity. Your website should be easy to navigate, focused and clear, have a simple design, and have an easy path to saying YES.

Tip: To keep it simple, have only one or two steps for opting in or to taking another call to action. 

To further cement the ‘tell it all and tell it quickly’ website strategy, the new timeline is only 3-5 seconds to get the job done. That’s the length of time you have to grab the visitor, let him know who you are, what you have to offer, and how it can benefit him. Longer than that and the visitor will bounce back to his search results.  
    
Ready, set, go!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is a working children’s writer and self-publisher. If you need help with ghostwriting, rewriting, editing, coaching, or publishing, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi. 

You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

Connect with Karen on social media. 

 

What To Do When You Can’t Find The Right Word

 When Words Disappear…

 

 

                  And How Some Authors Can Fight What They Can’t Change

 

 

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, 
author of  the HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers

Including the soon to be released Word by Word: A Vocabulary for Success 

 

 

Words disappear all the time. They disappear from dictionaries because the English language is full of words lexicographers have determined we don’t use any more--or don’t use enough to warrant a place in current dictionaries. We have so many because humans value the ability to easily communicate. Furthermore we love them so much we borrow them other language and make up new ones at will when the ones we have don’t do the job at hand well enough or for the joy of being creative. Our needs sometimes change and we discard them or we misuse them often enough we come to dislike them. We forget them when we’re young and from disease as we age.  When they disappear--for whatever reason, we tend to miss them, so we replace them with something else. But there are a few in the world who love them so much they keep records that have grown so there are too many for a single dictionary--or even a whole library large enough to handle them all--or large enough to make a claim that we haven’t missed a few as time passed. We have found the internet a good, but not perfect keeper of words for us.

 

That doesn’t mean authors might not need one of those forgotten, those discarded. 

 When a word can’t be found (or verified) we might just give up.

 

And when that happens our writing suffers because as authors we have special needs that the general population might not.

 

We need these words to put into the mouths of characters. Maybe characters who live in another English-speaking country or dialect-speaking region. Maybe characters were bring to life from another century, another era, another class. When we reach such an impasse, here are a few ways to conquer the problem: 

 

~Ask your wife or even the person sitting next to you at Starbucks trying to get some writing done.

~Using keywords, look books published in past decades on Amazon’s New and used feature.

~I have a couple books of slang that I’ve stashed in my own real-life bookshelves.  Some are out of print, but I’m keeping them safe. 

~Ask people you know who are lots older—or younger—and see what they come up with.

~Makeup a word of your own. A poem called Jabberwocky made such words perfectly legitimate.

~Visit charity shops and buy old paperbacks for a dime. Start with Thesauri but anything including lists of words for specific purposes will do like one published only a few decades ago called The Describer’s Dictionary. 

~Put marginalia in all your book and don’t go giving them to charity or anyone else. 

~Build more bookshelves so you won’t feel obligated to clean house.

~And alphabetize your books in ways that will be meaningful to you decades from now.  Or adopt librarians’ methods of categorizing them.  

 

 

 

MORE ABOUT YOUR #WRITERSONTHEMOVE CONTRIBUTOR

 

 

The triptych that Amazon provides the authors of series
published by their KDP unit. It feels like bonus. 

 

Once a month Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares something writer-related she hopes might save some author from embarrassment (or make the task of writing more fun or creative.) The third edition of The Frugal Editor from Modern History Press includes contact list magic. It is the second multi award-winning book in her multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers. Find it on Amazon’s new buy-page for series where the e-book is offered with one click in online’s version of a set of books. (The availability—free—of that new page for authors with book series that appear on KDP’s pages is another of her #FrugalBookPromoterTips.) The Frugal Editor has been fully updated including a chapter on how backmatter can be extended to help readers and nudge book sales. And watch for her new book on—you guessed it—word lists! 

 

Persist For the Right Fit

 

By Terry Whalin (@terrywhalin)

Change is the only constant in the publishing world. It’s like playing the childhood game of musical chairs. The players are constantly in motion and change positions and roles. It’s one of the reasons for writers reading the trade publications which report significant personnel changes. Editors become literary agents. Literary agents change and work for a publisher or they become a freelance editor. These examples are just a couple of the continually shifting landscape. 

As a writer, you have a dream and a desire to publish your words. It takes a lot of perseverance and persistence to find the right publisher for your work. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series is one of the bestselling series in the English language. Most people have forgotten their challenging beginning. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected 140 times before they located a publisher. That is a lot of rejections in the search to find the right fit.

There is only one way your book doesn’t get published or your story doesn’t appear in print or your book stops selling. It’s when you as a writer give up on your dream and stop. 

* You stop meeting new editors at a conference or on LinkedIN or through an online group.

* You stop reading about new publishing houses and new publications. Change can mean opportunity for your book and your writing--if you don’t stop.

* You stop pitching your writing or your book to literary agents and editors

* You stop writing a book proposal and query letter. If you haven’t read my Book Proposals That Sell (The Revised Edition), I encourage you to download the free Ebook then read it and take action on the information. 

I don’t encourage anyone reading these words to stop but instead to choose to keep going until you find the right fit for your writing. 

I heard a published author with an agent talk about her devotional going out to numerous publishers (40 is the number I recall) and getting rejected. The agent and author could not find the right place to publish this idea. Then one of the editors moved to a different publishing house. This editor remembered the author’s pitch and asked for the proposal. It was published along with three additional books. Her persistence paid off with four published devotional books. 

Also, recently I met a new magazine editor. One of my friends had written an original story for that magazine and never received a response. Her experience was a common one. When I asked this editor about another editor who attended last year. I learned he was no longer with the magazine. I asked if my friend could resend her article to the publication. The editor said this friend should send it directly to her and use my name with the submission. Will it get published? I don’t know if it will happen but now my friend has another opportunity. As with the book author, it takes persistence to find the right fit.

Many writers are following the “Field of Dreams” action plan. I’m referring to the movie where they build a baseball field then players and people come to it--even in an Iowa cornfield. Writers believe if they pitch to the right literary agent, their book will get traditional published. They believe if they build a great website, people will come. Or writers have many other fantasy ideas which are not based on reality. You must actively be looking for the right connection and the right fit through your email, phone calls and much more. When you locate a possibility, act and explore it. For example, several months ago I spent a chunk of time reaching out to the writers I met at a conference. One of those people emailed me back saying she pulled my email out of her spam or junk folder. What is sitting in your spam folder that could be an opportunity?

If you seize the moment, change can provide a fresh opportunity. How have you learned that it takes persistence to find the right fit? Let me know in your comments.

Tweetable:

There is only one way your work doesn’t get published: you give up. This prolific writer and editor give the details why it takes persistence to find the right fit.  #pubtip #thewritinglife (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. Get Terry’s newsletter and a 87-page FREE ebook packed with writing insights. Just follow this link to subscribe. 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. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Don't Sacrifice Quality When Writing for Kids

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer

 A while ago, I started a new children’s ghostwriting project, and the client recommended that I read a book she wanted her book to be based on.

The client raved about the picture book.

So, I bought the Kindle version and read it. 

I’ll start with the positives of the book:

1. The illustrations were colorful and fun. 

Now onto the negatives:

1. Children’s writers have a responsibility.

While the book was written to help children overcome emotional issues, it was very misleading. The character was miraculously healed in one day.

I’ve written for enough child psychologists and therapists to know that overcoming emotional issues takes time and work. It’s essential that the child and parents are aware of this.

How it should basically work: There’s a struggle. The child moves forward, then there are setbacks. The child moves further along with more setbacks, then there is forward movement, possibly with more minor setbacks, until he is finally able to handle his symptoms.

It’s not wise or professional to give children and parents false expectations.

2. There were grammatical errors, including missing periods at the end of sentences and missing quotation marks. And there were some poor word choices used.

3. The book is described as ‘lightly rhyming’. 

I’ve never heard that phrase before, and I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean.

The book was mainly rhymed, though some of the rhymes felt forced. And notice I said, “mainly rhyme.” A couple of paragraphs weren’t rhymed. I’m guessing the author couldn’t come up with a rhyme for those paragraphs, so they were simply left as they were.

Important tip: Either you rhyme right, or you shouldn’t rhyme.

4. There was a lot of telling.

Telling is when the author 'tells' the reader what's going on rather than showing it through action, dialogue, senses, and details. 

5. The formatting was off.

In a couple of spots, I had to reread the page a couple of times to make sense of it and figure out who was speaking. And page-wise, it was much shorter than a standard picture book.

There are industry standards for a reason—children’s writers should adhere to them.

6. The back cover copy wasn’t professionally written, and the sales page author info wasn’t professionally written.

SUMMING IT UP

This isn’t about 'putting down' an author’s book; it’s just that it was too easy to quickly know that this was self-published... and it was unprofessional.

That’s never a good thing. It’s these types of books that perpetuate the stigma of self-publishing.

While it’s easy to send a book out into the world, the quality of the book should never be sacrificed for the sake of speed in publication or the cost of having it professionally edited and formatted.

What I find especially disappointing is that this author, a professional in her field, has a series of children’s books.

While many authors may slack off on quality, we shouldn't let that happen when writing for children. As children’s authors, we should set the standard high… and keep it there.

The takeaway of this article is that if you’re going to self-publish a book, please take the time to do it right. Put in the time and effort, and spend the money to, at the very least, pay to have it professionally edited and properly formatted.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, ghostwriter, editor, and self-publisher. If you’d like to learn more about writing for children or  need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi. 

You can check out Karen’s books HERE. 

Connect with Karen on SOCIAL MEDIA. 

More About Getting Your Book Into Libraries

 

By Terry Whalin (@terrywhalin)

Last month, I gave you some details about how to get your book into your library (here’s the link to that article). In this article, I have some different actions along with a resource to give you much more detail about success with libraries.

As an author with a book in the library, you have to earn your spot for others to check out your book. I want to give you some ideas about the action steps you need to take.

I reached out to my local collection librarian. I asked what sort of check out activity does a book need to remain in the collection.  While this standard may be different for every library, here's what I learned: “We are a demand-driven collection, so everything on our shelves earns it’s spot! Our nonfiction collection has an average turnover of five checkouts per year per book, so circulation needs to be close to that to either stay on our shelves, or if the book is damaged, then the library will need to repurchase.”

From my exchange with this librarian,  I’ve created a plan to regularly plan to market my own books which are inside my local library. In the past, I’ve done nothing to encourage local people in the library to use my books. Now I'm going to regularly encourage my local writer’s group and others to check out and use my books from the library bookshelf. Through my own marketing efforts, I want to help my books stay in the collection.  My encouragement for others to check out my books from the library doesn’t have to be sophisticated or fancy—but it does have to happen on a regular and consistent basis. I take on this additional activity which stems from my marketing philosophy of taking 100% responsibility for my own success.

A second way to earn your right to be read is to learn the craft of storytelling. It is a developed skill to tell interesting stories. Some of it you can pick up through extensive reading, but it is also a skill which can be taught as you learn how a mixture of dialogue and narration detail can make for page turning writing. As you tell interesting stories about your books in the library to your local writer friends, it encourages them to check out your books.

A third way to earn your spot is to incorporate the checking out of your book into different types of writing such as your blog, your social media posts and even your podcasts.

A fourth way to earn your spot is to try different promotion methods with your library. For example, can you work with the local librarian to create a simple bookmark which they will give out at your library (and promote your book)? Some of your ideas will be rejected or failed. The difference between those who succeed and those who don’t. The ones who succeed keep going forward even when they are rejected. Our world is full of opportunity. As a writer, you must seize the day, keep your fingers on the keys and keep moving forward. 

The fifth and final way to learn about selling your book to libraries is to get my special offer of my printed book, 10 Publishing Myths. This special offer comes with over $200 of free bonuses but one of these bonus audios is important to selling your book into libraries. I interviewed a self-published author who sold thousands of his books to public libraries. If you want to get your book into libraries, you have to follow a well-worn path of success. For the first step, find someone who knows the path and learn from them. Next, get the details such as which libraries and which librarian along with crafting your pitch. After you get the order, create an invoice, mailing the books and if necessary follow-up. After perfecting this process, you repeat it with librarian after librarian. It will take work and effort to sell your books. Each of you can sell your book into libraries—but only if you do the work.

In my office, I have a series of writing craft how-to books which contain numerous insights. If I don’t read them then take action, they do nothing for me. If you want to see your book in libraries, take the first step, get this audio recording, follow the well-worn path and do consistent work. Let me know your plans in the comments. 

Tweetable:

Authors need to take specific actions to get your bookinto libraries inside this  article from editor and author Terry Whalin. (Click-To-Tweet)   

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. Get Terry’s newsletter and a 87-page FREE ebook packed with writing insights. Just follow this link to subscribe. 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. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.