Writers On The Move

Get Your Fantasy Story Published: Insider Manuscript Submission Tips From an Editor

I was recently contacted by a rep at Writer's Digest Books & Magazine. If you are not familiar with this awesome writer's resource, be sure to check it out after reading this guest post written by Scott Francis, a Content Editor. Then go to my website and check out the page they sent me about writing YA Fantasy.

Ask anyone. The biggest question when you're a writer is likely "how do you get published?" Some writers start thinking about it way before they should—before they've focused their attention on improving their craft and writing a good story. In my opinion that should always come first and if you're serious about getting published, well, then that's your first step, isn't it? Make sure your writing is good and write something worth reading.

That said, when you are ready to get published, what do you do? There's plenty of advice on how to get published out there—volumes and volumes written on the subject. But within all that wealth of information that's available, how do you know which advice is right for you, especially if you write within a specific genre like fantasy (or an even more specialized niche like fantasy YA or say paranormal YA romance)? The key (aside from having a really great manuscript) is in being detail oriented and communicating well. Sounds easy enough, but if you've been writing for any length of time at all, then you know it can be tricky. Here are a few tips that I hope will help you in your search for publication.

Do Your Research

Before you approach a book publisher with your novel submission make sure you research the kinds of books they publish—you don’t want to send your futuristic cyberpunk novel to publisher looking for dragons and swordplay.

Obviously you should know the subject matter they deal with (and you can often find this out easily enough from their website or a market listing). But beyond that, I recommend dipping into a few of their books. See what the voice of the writers they tend to publish is like. What tone do their books have? It may sound obvious, but if you like what you are reading, then it's more likely that your book will be a good fit. If something about the books turn you off then maybe your writing isn't a good match for what the publisher is looking for. It doesn't mean your writing is bad—only that you're not compatible. As with dating, maybe it's best to just be friends.

This applies to short fiction as well. Before shopping your short story around make sure to read the publications you intend to submit to. Reading other stuff out there will help you zero in on the right publications to target your stuff to, and chances are it will also help your writing. After all, to write well you should read a lot.

Read the Fine Print

I can't stress enough the importance of carefully reading the submission guidelines. Everything you need to know about the way a publisher (or publication) wants to see material submitted will be outlined there. If you don't read them, you're setting yourself up for failure. It's like showing up for a test in school without having studied. Sure, you might skate through somehow, but the odds are definitely not in your favor. Guidelines exist for a reason. Read them. Follow them.

Query Letters

The query letter is your admission ticket. This gets you through the gate, so it's important to do it right. The best way to do that is to keep it short and to the point. The agent or editor who reads your letter wants to know in the fewest words possible what your book is about. Period. My advice is this:

address the agent or editor by name
deliver a short sentence or two that tells them who the main character is and explains the crux of the plot
offer any relevant details about yourself (this should be short and only be included if it seems like something that might be helpful in selling the book)
and finally ask them to contact you if they are interested in seeing a submission package

For short fiction you can ignore this last point since for most short stories you'll be submitting the piece itself along with a cover letter. (All of the above info works just as well for a cover letter as it does a query.)

Submission Package

Your submission package is what you send when you get a positive response from your query, asking to see more material. This may vary from publisher to publisher (which is why it's important to read the submission guidelines). Some publishers may want to see a synopsis (a short summary of the entire book's plot), some may want sample chapters, some may want the first 50 pages or so, and some may want the entire manuscript. Their response (or their submission guidelines!) should outline what they'd like to see. Follow those directions as closely as possible.

Submitting Fantasy Stories

So, what is different about submitting a fantasy, science fiction, or paranormal story?

The real answer is “not much.” The process is the same. The kinds of materials, the types of correspondence, the attention to detail—all of these things are pretty much the same no matter what genre you write in.

However, one important thing about fantasy stories is that there is often a great deal of information that needs to be conveyed in order for the story to make sense. After all, in many instances you've built an entire world that is different from our own, or you've invented a system of magic that has an intricate set of rules, or maybe you've created an entire culture or belief system. Such large concepts can be difficult to convey concisely, but that's exactly what you have to do. You need to boil down your fantasy world's setting or the natural rules that govern your characters' supernatural powers to a simple description.

Agents and editors have short attention spans (they have to do a ton of reading). Your fantastic planet filled with seven different warring races that are unlike anything known to mankind may sound amazing to you, but to an agent or editor it can sound like the other 10 projects that crossed their desk just this morning. What makes yours special? What the essential thing about your story that makes you want to tell it? If you can answer that question, then you have what you need to put in your query letter (hint: it usually comes down to your main character and his or her internal or external conflict). The other details are secondary and you should explain them in a way that is short and to the point, leaving out anything that might confuse matters or bog down your pitch.

………………….

Scott Francis is the editor of Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, the premiere resource dedicated to helping writers get published and find a literary agent. He is an editor for Writers Digest's writing books where he works to develop resources to help writers advance their writing careers in numerous ways including: improving writing skills and writing techniques, getting published, building an author platform, and learning to be a better writer. He is also the author of Monster Spotter's Guide to North America and co-author of The Writer's Book of Matches.

You Need What King, Grisham and Roberts Have!

If your name isn't Stephen King or John Grisham or Nora Roberts you've probably already figured out that you need a publicist. That publicist can be you or someone else, but somebody's got to do it if you want your book to sell. Your publisher won't spend much, if any, time or money on your publicity (except in the above three cases, of course!)

I have a publicist friend who is also an author. He rightfully claims that he could never find a PR person who would do the same kind of job he does, including the time he spends on his own PR. How could anyone argue with that? We all are our own best publicists, even if we hire someone else.

But what if we don't have the time or expertise?

We can learn to do it ourselves. After all, we are writers. We should be able to grasp the knack of how to write a release.

But the best way to do it is to learn a lot about the marketing of books and then partner with expert publicists or people who can help you with specific projects like online book tour specialists. (I suggest resources for these specialists in The Frugal Book Promoter.) If you decide to do that here are some starter recommendations:

1. Join an organization for publishers and authors. That could be Small Publishers Association of North America or IBPA. Yes, even if you are not self-published or subsidy published. Attend their seminars—online and off. You'll learn more about promotion and your own industry than you can possibly imagine. Not only that, but you'll get over your natural reticence to promote yourself and your book. After all, if you don't believe enough in yourself and your book to do a good job of it, who will?

2. Subscribe to my favorite publicity guru's newsletter. Her name is Joan Stewart; her letter is called The Publicity Hound. She does a print version and a free web version. Contact her at jstewart@publicityhound.com or go to her site: publicityhound.com. Tell her I sent you.

3. Take a class in Public Relations. The only way I know how to avoid drastic mistakes in choosing a class is to patronize your local college.

But what if you decide to hire a publicist? You should know that even if you hire one, you’ll need to know some of this stuff to partner well with her.

Here is the one most important rule for finding a good one:

When you hire a publicist, you are buying her Rolodex; and I'm not talking about a list she gleaned from a directory. You could get that at the library from Barron's Directory for less than what it costs to hire a publicist for one month

What I'm talking about is a Rolodex of personal, working relationships with editors, hosts, etc. Those relationships must be—to a great extent—contacts who might have an interest in a project like yours. A book publicist who has had mostly experience with mystery writers, deals mostly with books stores that dedicate themselves to stories about crime, and has a huge file of names of reviewers interested in psycho/thrillers probably won't be able to do you much good if you write literary novels. And if you write mysteries, well! The people she will put you in contact with will be a Trojan horse for you well into an entire career of writing.

Am I speaking from experience? You betcha. And lukewarm results were not the fault of my publicist. She did a great job with what she had. She just didn't have what I needed!

You may wonder why I selected her. The price was right and I thought that with my PR background and a reasonable amount of time at my disposal (until I figured out the plot for my next novel) that I could supplement her efforts effectively. It didn't work out that way. First of all, I didn't have a lot of effective contacts in the book world (it was my first book) and the same rules apply to me, as an author cum PR partner. You gotta know some people.

If you're considering hiring a pro this is one way to go about finding Mr. or Ms. Right:

1. Join a list-serve of authors who write in your genre. Pick their brains.

2. Do a Google search on "book publicists + lists." Keep varying those search keywords until you find something that seems to fit your needs.

3. Then check out what you find with your new friends at the list-serv or organization you just joined. Or your social network. Or your critique partners. Or your writing teachers.

Contacts, contacts, contacts. Contacts can't be warmed up overnight; it takes lots of sincere tact, warmth, and effort. But it’s a skill you will use long after you’ve published your book and after you’ve hired a publicist.

To hire or not to hire is not an easy decision. It isn't an easy process to find the right publicist if you decide to go that route. Warning! Steep learning curve ahead! But the ride will be fun.

Report from the Mass Poetry Festival

Recently I attended the Mass Poetry Festival. Back when the event was in the planning stages, I got an email about a reading of poetry from their books by Massachusetts authors who had published a book of poetry in 2011. I hesitated -- "Lifelines" was written by six of us, and I was "sure" they're reject me -- but sent in my information anyway. They said yes, illustrating yet again my father's maxim, "nothing ventured, nothing gained." I hope I remember this: not to assume I will be rejected simply because something is a reach or is out of my comfort zone.

I was part of the Sequential Poetry Reading for poets with new books of poetry that appeared in 2011. The reading started at Noon on Saturday and lasted until 2:40. We were told that we each would have eight minutes to read, but we had a couple of no-shows, so we each had ten minutes.

The reading went well. The audience included us poets and about an equal number of what I expect were friends or family. It was a real treat to be be able to listen to the poets reading from their own work. A good many (most) of them simply read from a copy of their book. I might have done the same except for Michele's excellent advice to print out what I wanted to read in LARGE, DARK type, and to practice. I did both, and I was very glad I did. Michele also suggested alternating dark and light poems. I doubt that, left to my own devices, I'd have thought of this either.

There were a long list of workshops taking place all three days of the festival, and we were encouraged to sign up in advance. I did sign up for several things, but as it turned out, simply walking into the workshop was generally good enough. I suspect the pre-sign-up thing was to figure out expected attendance at the workshop in order to facilitate room assignments, number of handouts, and the like. Next year, I will attempt to sign up for what interests me, but I won't be a slave to the schedule.

The workshops themselves were tremendous fun. I arrived Saturday morning, signed in, got a copy of the workshops and a map, and by that time it was a bit too late for me to get to much in the way of workshops, so I ended up going to a couple of the art activity things that had been set up with kids in mind. I *love* art activities -- my mother was an artist who specialized in portraits. I was hugely energized by the art projects, and ended up spending several hours Saturday evening after I returned home playing with MS paint.

I didn't get much sleep Saturday night -- MS paint is hugely addicting, and I was pretty pumped up from the festival -- so I considered skipping Sunday. In the end, I decided that I would just main line coffee and go for it. Good decision. The first workshop I attended was given by someone I know. He's a kick-ass teacher, and I had signed up for the workshop. Not only was the workshop very good, but the attendees, as is often the case with Tom's workshops, were equally interesting. Several of us exchanged email addresses, and I hope we will keep in touch.

There was also a lit mag and small press event, and I bought several journals and a book of poetry, collected flyers from some of the lit magazines. I'm reluctant to order off the internet for magazines I've never had a chance to look over in person, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to pick up some of the ones I was interested in. The poetry book is a book with poetry in French on one side and a translation by Marilyn Hacker on the other. I find reading modern poetry in French a challenge, so I welcome the opportunity to, first, cover up Marilyn's translation and simply read the poems in French, and eventually, to read her translation as well. I didn't stay for the Saturday night headliners -- they started at 7:30 -- but the Sunday headliners started at 2:15, so I did go to that. The readers were Frank Bidart, Martha Collins, and Stephen Dunn.

Stephen Dunn is one of my favorite poets. I knew two of the poems he read. What engages me as a reader and writer of poetry is conciseness and precision in language, the sound of the words themselves, their cadence. Freshness of imagery. A sense of humor. A poem that forces me to take another look at the familiar, evocation of emotion. Here is one of the poems he read -- one of the two I recognized:

What Goes On
by Stephen Dunn



After the affair and the moving out, after the destructive revivifying passion, we watched her life quiet into a new one, her lover more and more on its periphery. She spent many nights alone, happy for the narcosis of the television. When she got cancer she kept it to herself until she couldn't keep it from anyone. The chemo debilitated and saved her, and one day her husband asked her to come back — his wife, who after all had only fallen in love as anyone might who hadn't been in love in a while — and he held her, so different now, so thin, her hair just partially grown back. He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it love because precision didn't matter anymore. And we who'd been part of it, often rejoicing with one and consoling the other, we who had seen her truly alive and then merely alive, what could we do but revise our phone book, our hearts, offer a little toast to what goes on.

You can find Margaret Fieland on the web at
http://www.margaretfieland.com/
or
http://poetic-muselings.net/

AUTHORS: IT MAY BE TIME TO GIVE MORE BOOKS AWAY!

DO YOU KNOW THE PHRASE, "IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE MONEY?" This is surely true for new authors unless you are already a celebrity.

Give your book away to as many people as you can–particularly people of influence. Not everyone likes the idea of parting with their books for free, but the majority of consumers buy books based on recommendations from media, peers, friends and family. Giving books away is a great way to launch a word-of-mouth marketing campaign.

Spend time on Google searching for key contacts (or hire a smart virtual assistant to do this for you). Find contact information for reporters who cover topics related to your book as well as radio and t.v. shows that report on similar topics. Do the same with bloggers and internet radio programs.

Send an e-mail first. This gives me a chance to establish a rapport, which can go a long way when it’s time to follow-up. It also ensures that I’m not sending out copies that end up in the recycle bin.

to save some money use a service like Smashwords, you can give away ebook editions (create a coupon for 100% off).

Not every review copy will result in publicity, but the ones that do can make up for all the rest. A feature article in a major media outlet or a recommendation on a popular blog can propel a book to all kinds of success.m not suggesting that you give books to everyone you meet, because not everyone has influence. But you should give them to media professionals including reporters, editors, and producers. You should also give them to bloggers – these folks have more influence than ever before. Bloggers with a loyal audience can have tremendous influence when recommending a book.

As a freelance writer and ghostwriter, Kathy Stemke has published over one hundred articles in directories, magazines and on websites. She is a reviewer for Sylvan Dell Publishing and a former editor for The National Writing for Children Center. As a retired teacher, Kathy has several activities published with Gryphon House Publishing. Stemke is also part of the team at DKV Writing 4 U, a writing services company that includes ghostwriting, copywriting, editing, proofreading, critiquing, and resumes. http://www.dkvwriting4u.com

Award winning author, Kathy Stemke’s first children’s picture book, Moving Through All Seven Days, was published on Lulu. Her next two picture books, Sh, Sh, Sh Let the Baby Sleep, and Trouble on Earth Day were released in 2011. Both of these books have been awarded the Children’s Literary Classics Seal of Approval.

AUTHORS, IT MAY BE TIME TO GIVE MORE BOOKS AWAY

YOU KNOW THE PHRASE, "IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE MONEY?" It is certainly true with new authors that are not celebratiers already.

I strongly recommend that you give your book away to as many people as you can–particularly people of influence.

Not everyone likes the idea of parting with their books for free, but the majority of consumers buy books based on recommendations from media, peers, friends and family. Giving books away is a great way to launch a word-of-mouth marketing campaign.

Please don't give a book to everyone you meet, because not everyone has influence. But you should give them to media professionals including reporters, editors, and producers. You should also give them to bloggers – these folks have more influence than ever before. Bloggers with a loyal audience can have tremendous influence when recommending a book. For children's booksI recommend mom blogger sites.

To reach the right influencers, spend time on Google searching for key contacts (or hire a smart virtual assistant to do this for you). Find contact information for reporters who cover topics related to your book as well as radio and t.v. shows that report on similar topics.

It's wise to send an e-mail first. This gives me a chance to establish a rapport, which can go a long way when it’s time to follow-up. It also ensures that I’m not sending out copies that end up in the recycle bin.

Using a service like Smashwords, you can give away ebook editions by creating a coupon for 100% off.

Not every review copy will result in publicity, but the ones that do can make up for all the rest. A feature article in a major media outlet or a recommendation on a popular blog can propel a book to all kinds of success.

6 Steps to Article Content Properly Formatted and Search Engine Optimized

As the founder and manager of a marketing group that utilizes article marketing, I've noticed that some writers don't know the proper formatting of an article. Along with this, there are even more who don't know how to use keywords and tags for search engine optimization.

It's important for any writer writing articles to increase visibility, expert status, and readership to know how to use their content effectively. That's where this article comes in.

Creating article content is an essential marketing strategy. It establishes you as an authority in your niche or on a particular topic, increases your visibility and readership, and brings traffic to your site. It also broadens your marketing reach, which helps bring more traffic to your site.

Bringing traffic to your site to sign up for your mailing list is the real goal to any marketing strategy, even more so than selling a product. The reason for this is that a person on your mailing list gives you the opportunity to build a relationship and promote various products and services – it provides the basis for multiple sales. A non-subscriber, a one-time visitor/buyer is just that: a one-time deal.

In fact, Jeff Herring (Article Marketing Guy) says, “Article Marketing, when done correctly, is one of the most powerful forces online.”

If you notice, Herring says, “when done correctly.” Part of doing it ‘correctly’ is to have your article content properly formatted.

If you’re taking the time to use article marketing, whether posting to your blog, guest blogging, or submitting to article directories, you should create quality content and have it formatted properly. Any content you publish or share is a reflection of your writing skills – make those skills shine.

Six Steps to Properly Format Your Article Content and Have it SEO Ready
1. Article Titles and Subtitles

According to EzineArticles.com, “Better Titles = Additional Article Views = More Resource Box Clicks = Higher Website Traffic.”

Your title should be reflective of the article content and the first letter of each word should be capitalized.

Not Effective or Correct: Article marketing: formatting your content

Effective and Correct: Article Marketing With Properly Formatted Content

The normal rule for words such as “a,” “an,” “to,” and “the” is it’s not necessary to capitalize them. And, if at all possible leave out punctuation that can break-up the article’s url. Notice above that the ‘effective title’ eliminated the ‘colon.’

Titles should also be keyword effective. Try to include the keyword at the beginning of the title, not at the end. EzineArticles also notes that “longer titles maximize your ability to attract readers with a specific promise that is highly relevant to your niche.”

The same rules hold true for your subtitle.

2. Include Keywords in the Body of Your Article

Unless you don’t care if the search engines pick up your article, or if it gets more distribution in the article directories, you need to include keywords throughout your article. But, don’t overdo it. It’s important for your keyword to be in your topic headings (if applicable), the first and last paragraphs, and in a couple of other paragraphs.

3. Spacing Your Article Content

Every paragraph in your article should have an extra line between it and the next one. If the formatting calls for it, the beginning of each paragraph should be indented.

You should also keep your paragraphs relatively short. Readers like plenty of ‘white space.” This ‘white space’ allows for easier and quicker reading.

Notice my formatting in this article.

In addition, it’s necessary to use proper grammar and punctuation.

4. Include Your Bio

You’d think every writer would make sure they receive credit for their article content, but if you read some blogs, even those with multiple contributing authors, there are some with no byline. Even if it’s your own blog, at least end the post with your name.

For article directories, each service has its own resource box instructions. For guest blogging you don’t want your byline to be too long – make it short and effective. You can include your name with a couple of sentences letting the reader know why he should click on your link.

5. Article Content Marketing Tags

Including keywords or tags where allowed is essential to article marketing and its SEO effectiveness. Most hosting services and article directories provide specific areas at the bottom of the article for keywords or tags. Take advantage of this SEO tool.

These tags should be relevant to the content and will allow the search engines to categorize and index your content. This in turn will allow your article to be found by people searching for your topic.

So far, five article content formatting and SEO ready tips to get your articles doing what they should be doing: getting read, going viral, and bringing traffic to your site.

6. Link to More Article Content

This step is simple. In any article you publish on your own blog or submit for a guest post link to other articles or a landing page on your site. You can do this within your article content, just hyperlink a relevant word or phrase to a relevant article on your site.

You can also include a “Related Articles” section at the end of your article and list a couple of titles with hyperlinks to the actual articles on your site. Or, after a bit of information within the article add, “For more information on this check out” and add the link.

This allows you to get even more ‘juice’ out of your articles. You may not be able to do this with article directories, but for your blog posts, it will keep visitors on your own site longer and draw them further into your pages, and will bring visitors to your guest posts back to your site. Search engines like this marketing technique.

One final tip: Don’t forget to proof and edit your article content before you submit or publish it.

Happy Article Marketing!

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Related Articles:

Video for Promotion with Maggie Ball
Creating Content: 10 Online Repurposing Formats
How to Create an Ebook – 5 Simple Steps

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Until next time,

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer

Find Karen’s eBooks on writing and marketing at:
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com

Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing
http://KarenCioffiFreelanceWriter.com
http://KarenCioffi.com (children’s author site)

The Real Profit in Poetry

Common wisdom holds that there's no money in writing. And let's be honest, what little there might be for most of us—assuming we're not Stephen King or the celebrity of the day—rarely if ever finds its way into the hands of poets.

Consider the image of the starving poet, huddled in his lonely garret, warming his fingers over a stubby candle so he can scratch out a few more inspired lines by that same meager light. With each word, he leaves another bit of his soul on the page.

Romantic, isn’t it?

Only if you’re inspired by your own suffering. I prefer to take my cues from outside influences.

The natural world is rich in inspiring imagery, from the humble resting place of a slowly melting snowflake to the panoramic reach of the Rocky Mountains. No detail is too small to warrant your attention. And nothing is too large to be captured with a few carefully chosen words.

Strangers are another fine source of ideas. The less you know about them the better. Simply graft your imagination onto their physical attributes, and you’re well on your way to creating something unique.

With its brevity of form, poetry excels at capturing a moment in exquisite detail. And somehow, magically, poetry sees past even the ugliest façade to the beauty within.

While poetry probably won’t pay the bills, it will most certainly enrich your life.

Betty Dobson is an award-winning writer of short fiction, essays and poetry. She also writes newspaper and magazine articles but is still waiting for those awards to materialize. In the meantime, she continues to run InkSpotter Publishing, which has three new books available and several more in the works for 2012.