Tip O'Day #459 - Just Say "No"

Guest blogger Karin Kaufman on “Jumping the Publishing Curve.”

In early 2011, I sent a query letter to a literary agent. One of those “if you don’t receive a reply, it’s a no” agents who haven’t the time, energy, or inclination to send even a one-line rejection via email.

I thought, OK, fine. I can deal with no reply. I’ve spent hours on the synopsis and query — properly formatting the latter to avoid being disqualified from the get-go by an assistant whose job it is to scour queries for obedience to format — and I’ve jumped through numerous hoops, some justified, some silly, but big deal. If I don’t hear from the agent, I’ll move on. I’d been told it could take years to land an agent, and after all, this was only my first query letter. I had many dues to pay.

Two months later, realizing that, indeed, I’d scored a big red no on my query, I turned to the next agent on my list. This one wanted the following: (1) a query letter of three (no more, no less) paragraphs, (2) a short synopsis, (3) a long synopsis, (4) a jacket blurb, (5) a tag line for my novel, and (6) a marketing plan.

In other words, he wanted me to do his job for him. With very little chance that my work would pay off. I calculated how many hours it would take for me to jump his gates like a good little pony and laid down my own big red no.

No, I will not start down this path. No, I will not make sure my email subject line is just right so that your automated system doesn’t kick it out. No, I will not spend the next three years sending queries by the score in hopes one agent will deign to respond. No, I will not sign with an agent only to find he can’t market my book and has decided to retire to North Carolina. No, I will not take a $3,000 advance (if I’m lucky) and be consigned to the back shelves (if I’m lucky) of a dying bookstore chain. No, I will not accept a 7.5 percent royalty rate when I’m the one supplying the content. No, I will not confine myself to one genre. No.

I’m lucky. It took me one query letter and a brief, wavering moment as I considered writing the next to decide to go Indie. That moment happened to coincide with the explosion in Indie publishing. Other writers have spent years searching for an agent—and years more waiting for a publisher to come along.

In July 2011, I published my first novel, The Witch Tree, on Amazon. So began the Anna Denning mystery series. In 2012, I uploaded the second book in the series, and last year I published All Souls, a speculative thriller that, had I been beholden to an agent and publisher, never would have been written.

God bless agents, with their hoops and gates, for pointing me toward Indie publishing. If you’re considering going Indie, I encourage you to give it a try. These days you have nothing to lose. After all, agents are beginning to call Amazon the “new slush pile.”

You have to laugh.

Karin Kaufman is author of the Anna Denning cozy mystery series and the Gatehouse Thriller series (under the name K.T. Kaufman). Her first novel, The Witch Tree, was a 2011 Grace Award finalist. When she’s not causing mayhem in the lives of her characters, she enjoys reading, drinking far too much coffee and tea, and taking walks in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies with her two rescue dogs, Sophie and Cooper. The Amazon Kindle link to All Souls is http://goo.gl/pbuKqx.

Tip O'Day #457 - For Sale: Pure Unadulterated Crap

Guest blogger Robert N. Stephenson on “The Difficulty with Editing.”

In this fast-paced age of publishing and self-publishing, the first and most important aspect of writing seems to have vanished from the whole publishing process - editing, and I mean real editing, not the formatting you do yourself before you post the files to Createspace and Amazon.

The down side of almost all self-published books is that they are poorly edited. They often validate the impression that all self-published books are cheap and a waste of money.

Sometimes authors pays substantial fees to editors for their suggestions, but them ignore or argue against those comments. Yes, you are the author. You have all the rights in the world regarding how your book is presented, rightly or wrongly. It is true that you can reject all advice, based on what you determine to be art, or your artistic voice.

But, and this is a major but, if an expert suggests a change to make the story better, or to fix a flaw in the plot, maybe it’s best to follow some, if not all of that advice. After all, you are trying to sell your work to readers who expect value for their money. If you disappoint readers with shoddy editing and a poor story, they will not read more of your work and will often tell others not to bother. What's more, they will spread the view that ALL self-published books are rubbish. I will be quick to add that traditional publishing sometimes delivers stinkers because writers ignore editorial advice and stick to their artistic guns. However, the hit-and-miss rate of legacy publishers is quite a bit lower than among self-publishers - which is currently about 80% rubbish.

Why so high? As indicated, there has been next to no editing involved in the creation of these books (both fiction and nonfiction). For some strange reason, new writers often think they are the next JK Rowling and know everything there is to know about being famous. Yet they know absolutely nothing about being a professional writer and working damn hard to tell not only a good story, but a story that will move someone to say, “Yes, I was glad I purchased that.” It has been said in many forums that places like Amazon are overflowing with poorly edited crap.

Yep, pure unadulterated crap.

What is the cure? Dig into your pockets and pay an editor to get your book to a state of professional quality. The reason traditional publishers actually sell books is because they invest in the books they publish. If you believe in your work, surely you too can invest in yourself. After all, you are asking readers to invest in buying your book.

Robert N. Stephenson’s latest book is Uttuku, available at Kindle here. His work has appeared in many languages and he has received honors such as the Black Dog Award for nonfiction and the Aurealis Award for short science fiction. He teaches writing at several Australia colleges.

Tip O'Day #413 - Three Bits of Advice

Guest blogger Lesley Ann Sharrock says you need to “be yourself, find your own voice, and write for yourself.”

What does it take to be published? Damned if I know, even though I have achieved that honor.

It seems to me that it’s a bit of a lottery.

When I finished my first novel, The Seventh Magpie, I tried going down the traditional route of finding an agent. No luck there, lots of “it’s not for us but another agent may feel differently.” They didn’t. We all know that the large publishers will only look at work that is submitted to them via an agent, so that door was firmly slammed in my face. I finally went directly to a smaller publishing house and they accepted it. Phew!

I have just finished my second novel, Truth Lies Buried, and am back on the old agent hunt because I feel that this one is far more commercial than the first as I have now shifted genres to crime thrillers. I may well be wrong, but only time will tell.

The advice I would give all writers is to be yourself, find your own voice, and write for yourself.

Not everyone will like your work, not even your nearest and dearest. Don’t be deterred. There will be lots of people out there who are just like you and who will tune in to your story, given half a chance. Have your final manuscript edited by a professional, experienced editor before submitting it. This is essential, no matter what route you decide to take, be it the traditional one of finding an agent for your work, submitting directly to small publishers or self-publishing. Make it as perfect as it can be.

You can view the book trailer for The Seventh Magpie here. Check out this author's website at http://lesleyannsharrock.com.

Tip O'Day #406 - A Changed World

Guest blogger K. Anne Raines on “The Confessions of a Book Junkie.”

I read a lot – like over 120 books per year a lot.

Once upon a time, book lovers – including me – flocked to bookstores everywhere. Some preferred large chains such as Barnes and Noble, others sought out used stores, while those like me enjoyed unusual little shops in quaint little towns. I could spend hours getting lost in all of the books. The hidden treasure inside each binding was a faraway world not yet discovered to me. And I was there to find it.

One day a new gadget changed my life. My Kindle paved a whole new road for finding new books. The once infinite worlds of a bookstore were now finite. Countless authors that would have never been able to share their stories before found their way to publishing through the e-book world. And, I just have to say, it is awesome! Yes, because it’s so easy now to publish, there is a chance you’ll find a book that’s less than stellar; however, I’ve read books published traditionally where they left me scratching my head wondering how they ever made it to a bookshelf.

With the dawning of the Kindle age, finding what to read next has changed drastically. I hate to say it, but I absolutely 100 percent judge a book by its cover, especially if it’s self-published. Why? Well, to me it’s easy. You can tell how serious authors are about the product they’re producing by their cover. Authors, both self and traditionally published, hope to gain a profit from their heart-pouring efforts, and it’s a business venture. The old adage that “you have to spend money to make money” is true, and they should invest wisely in the cover.

Social networking sites to find great books such as Goodreads are all the rage. There’s also Facebook book groups. My favorite books of all time have come from recommendations on these sites. The word-of-mouth on social sites is invaluable to both a reader and an established or emerging author. On social networking sites you’re not limited to what a bookstore offers. The book possibilities are endless.

I’m a book junkie, a true bibliophile, and always will be. Whether the stories are in a quaint shop or waiting to be purchased on Amazon, it doesn’t matter, I will find them.

Tip O'Day #397 - Grafton vs Indies

Guest blogger Simon Alexander Collier on “Busking Outside Carnegie Hall.”

American novelist Sue Grafton brought a wave of criticism on herself through a number of disparaging remarks about those, like me, who choose to self-publish their fiction. Like these critics, I think she is mistaken, but since she has subsequently apologized and expressed a desire to learn more about changes in the publishing world, I won’t add my droplet to that wave. I too occasionally err, as my wife kindly points out.

Ms Grafton’s original comments did raise a couple of points that are worth considering, even if she herself has since rowed back. The first is the idea that self-publishing is a “short-cut,” a way of avoiding the hard work required to become a published author in the orthodox fashion. As many indie writers who responded to Ms Grafton correctly pointed out, there is an enormous amount of work required to get your own work out there and publicize it. Self-publishing isn’t about avoiding work as much as substituting productive work – publishing and marketing your story – for the unproductive task of spending months or years in a (likely) futile attempt to find an orthodox publisher.

Another issue raised was that self-published authors have an inflated sense of self-worth, acting like “a student managing to conquer Five Easy Pieces on the piano and then wondering if s/he's ready to be booked into Carnegie Hall.” Well, an element of ego is probably involved in any public display of artistic output, but it is difficult to see why any more is involved in self-publishing. It would also be easy to highlight many conventionally published authors whose mastery of their craft is well short of the average concert pianist’s. Ultimately, this line of reasoning rings of “know your place,” a location of which I have long remained proudly ignorant.

Since the musical analogy has been introduced, it may be worth recalling the spirit of the punk movement of the 1970s. A reaction to the corporatisation and blandness of much of the music of that era, this promoted the idea that anyone could be in a band and gave us groups such as the Sex Pistols and the Clash, whose music stands up pretty well these days. Democratization of the creative process should surely be welcomed, and while there may be some semi-literates producing fourth-rate bodice rippers who are not exactly the Johnny Rottens de nos jours, it is likely that self-publishing will lead to some works of merit seeing the light of day that otherwise would not have done so.

Fundamentally, it is a mistake to see publishing as a moral issue. There is no ethical requirement for hard work – that is unavoidable in one form or another anyhow – or for only the “deserving” (whoever they might be) to have a chance of an audience when so much rubbish gets put out by conventional publishers. I make no apologies for saying that I would love to find a short-cut or any cut at all to the literary equivalent of stadium filling. Frankly, however, at the moment I’m playing a couple of tunes I wrote to a few friends and the odd passerby at open mic night in my local boozer. The closest I get to Carnegie Hall is busking outside. But greatly enjoying it.

Dixon says: If I understand it right, busking is a British term for street music or performance, what’s sometimes called guerilla theatre. A pretty cool word, don’t you think? I plan to use it frequently (and probably incorrectly).

Simon is the author of Milligan and the Samurai Rebels. If you’d like to learn more about this writer, check out his busking good website.

Tip O'Day #396 - Ads in eBooks

You’ve probably heard of today's guest blogger, bestseller Scott Nicholson – my Kindle is full of his books – who provided the following update of an article he wrote in December 2010. He says, “Amazingly, I finally made a prediction that came close to the mark… I’ve gotten out of the ‘writer babble’ business for two reasons: (1) I don’t know as much as I thought I did, and (2) it’s all changing so fast that even the boldest predictions of digital evolution quickly become laughable.”

I don’t even use traditional publishing as a reference point anymore, because that is so far removed from most writers’ realities that it may as well be Shangri-la or Hollywood. The indie vs. trad debate is now only meaningful for a small group of people, and they are all making way more money than you or me.

So you are in it, and if you are lucky, you made a nice little nest egg back when everyone was standing on the sidelines deciding whether indie was the way to go. Hopefully, you shook off the intellectual shackles that chained us to the agent speed-dating sessions at writing conferences and were hammered and locked into place by “publishing experts” with 20-year writing careers in the old system. You know the mantras: “Get an agent,” “Only hacks self-publish,” and “You can’t produce and distribute a book without the advice of publishing experts.” Basically, ego affirmation. Of course the experts didn’t want to lose their position of authority (and in the agents’ case, the intermediary status of being the first in line to get checks.)

But the gate was left open and the horses all got out of the barn, or something like that (come up with your own gatekeeper metaphor; I am writing this for free!). So now we have a market where the 99-cent eBook had a year’s run, and the pool was finally beginning to find stratification (crappy books sinking, good books nailing stable plateaus) when Amazon unleashed the latest version of indie roulette — the free eBook.

I'm on record as predicting the flat-text eBook era has an outside range of five years, at least for fiction — specialized non-fiction and manuals will continue to be valuable for their content alone. I believe eBook sales will continue, but certainly not with expanding profits for all involved. Now that there are thousands of free Kindle books available every single day, how long before readers come to expect and even demand free books exclusively?

That’s not even considering the impact of lending libraries, public libraries, and subscription services, which will soon create a Netflix type of system for most eBooks. Under such a scenario, it’s difficult to see the average book being worth more than a nickel a download.

Freebie roulette. Great for readers. Good for Amazon (maybe in the short term, but it is hard to figure the long term). Terrible for authors. At least for those authors who aren’t prepared for the future and the cataclysmic changes that will inevitably unfold.

The market is diverse enough to support many different price tiers, but writers who want to survive in 2015 will need to make money from free books, or they will soon quit writing.

I only see one outcome: ad-supported or sponsored books. At first blush, you'd think NY has an advantage, since Madison Avenue is right there. But can corporations, with their large structures, be able to compete when indie or smaller entities can react more quickly to present conditions instead of protecting some imagined status quo?

J.K. Rowling can inspire a Pottermore built around her brand, and James Patterson, Tom Clancy, and Clive Cussler have already built factories around their names (and, yes, V.C. Andrews, you can roll over in your grave two or three more times for all I care, because this is all your fault). But most of us are not factories or we wouldn’t have to indie publish.

This points out the new era of the branded writer. And not just "writer," but "content creator" and even mere "idea marketer." A personality is more suited to building brand identification and audience than a publisher is. I say "James Patterson" and you get an image. I say "Random House" and what do you get? Randomness. We've seen it here locally: "Ray's Weather" is where you check the weather and "Todd's Calendar" is where you click to find what's happening in the region — and both are ad supported. You can get the free content elsewhere but you don't get the human personality attached.

I'm already experimenting with the ad model because I believe it is viable. I am counting on Idea Marketing being one of my foundational pillars. I am not quite sure what it all looks like right now, but I look at it this way — you don't need NY in order to give away tons of free eBooks or to spread an idea or to build a social platform. You are the idea you want to spread.

Other authors will say “I’ll never sell out.” (Ironically, those are usually the authors who have given most of their incomes to agents and publishers…) I don't blame people for sticking with what worked in the past. It all goes to how invested you are in a certain system and how the alternative looks, and, of course, the turf where you’ve staked out your ego. Publishing-industry talk on eBooks uses phrases like "managing risk" and "cautious adaptation." That is why those of us in the trenches knew Barnes & Noble was in serious trouble when most in the “publishing industry” only realized it recently when BN’s horrifyingly bad third-quarter reports came in. They are working off of old data while I work off the data I got an hour ago.

And my data says this may be the very peak of the Golden Age of digital publishing. The $9.99 novel may be dead this year, since three-quarters of the current bestsellers are low-priced indie books. As fast as major publishers yank their name-brand authors out of digital libraries, ten new indies cram into that virtual shelf space. Maybe forever. James Patterson’s factory can’t run on $2.99 eBooks, but mine can.

But what happens when the $2.99 and 99 cents drop to permanently free? Where’s your sponsor? Are you willing to go there? It's not going to be as clumsy as an image of a refreshing Bud Lite popping up when the main character enters a bar (though it's not unthinkable at some point). Can you see Jack Reacher with a favorite brand of soft drink, or Bella Swan wearing only Calvin Klein? At what point is your willing suspension of disbelief shattered? At what point do you realize the ad is the only reason the book can exist at all?

My informal polling on ad-supported eBooks yields statements like: "I'll quit reading before I put up with that." I also remember saying I'd never carry a cell phone, or be on Facebook, or give up my vinyl albums, or start thinking that maybe nuclear energy is the best short-range answer to our energy addiction. Or that I’d ever read an entire book on a screen. And it really doesn’t matter what our individual opinions are. Free books are here, and Amazon is already using sponsorships to lower Kindle prices. The future has already arrived and we just don’t recognize it yet.

I don’t know the answer, but I am deeply invested in the question. So, ads in eBooks. As readers and writers, what is your opinion?

Scott Nicholson says he’s the bestselling author of “a bunch of books” and also released The Indie Journey: Secrets to Writing Success, found here, because some people still think you can buy the secret instead of be the secret. Follow him on Facebook, his blog, Twitter, his website, or Scott's newsletter.

Tip O'Day #394 - Publishing, the new Wild West

Guest blogger John Scherber on publishing without New York.

You’re ready to publish your great novel, the one that took you eight years of agony to write, but no one’s interested. You even have an agent. Signing with her made you feel you were really on your way, but now she rarely returns your calls, and you don’t know exactly what she’s doing with your manuscript. You looked briefly at self-publishing options, but when you scanned the lists of self-published books on Amazon, your stomach became all fluttery, and you knew you could never be part of that pathetic loser crowd. Your book is different.

Every day you get up and you’re a day older, but that’s the only thing in your life that’s truly in motion. When you attended an expensive writer’s conference in a western city, you found that most of the other attendees were much like you, only their book was probably not as good, or in most cases not even finished. You felt superior to most of them because you already had a completed book and an agent.

The reality is this: it’s been a great run, but the old-line New York publishers are not what they were. Through bankruptcy and merger, their ranks have thinned. Although they position themselves as the gatekeepers of great writing, working to exclude the unworthy, they are mainly focused on a shrinking bottom line. They sense that the business model is changing, and next year will be even tougher than this one. Who’s next to go down? They are correct, because publishing technology has taken a left turn, while they continued in a straight line. After all, it worked so well in the past, why mess with success? Their favorite obscenity is Amazon Kindle. Reading this blog is now giving you a headache.

Let’s look at their product. The top two or three percent of the books they put out are excellent, top-quality work. The level below that, say about fifteen to twenty percent, are solid, workmanlike books that, although they may not be inspired, still deserve to find an audience.

The seventy-five percent or so below that is of little interest, and often a waste of the paper it’s printed on. Writers who have produced great books in the past are allowed to write drivel unchallenged. Others who sell well put their names on books they didn’t write, even when they’re dead. Look for the real author’s name in small print at the bottom of the cover. The old-line publishers are no longer serving either the reading public or the writers who seek to inspire it. Trying to get through this no man’s land is like navigating a logjam in a birch bark canoe––a chancy situation.

Worse, the alternative is chaos––the self-publishing world, where 96% of the output is worthless. It’s a place not different in kind, only in degree.

Yet there are similarities. In both places you will do all your own promotion. That’s right, all of it. The old–line publishers spend their entire promotional budget on their top five or six best sellers. Get ready to spend 70% of your time promoting. The reality about writing is that the actual placement of words on the page is less than half of the required effort. There is no barrier here to publishing trash, but in self-publishing, at least you’re sure to get it published, if you can pay the modest price.

Indie publishing, as it’s called, is like the Wild West. It’s a free-for-all, but one that is at least vigorous and exciting. It’s young, and things are happening in this wild place! You will need to stop worrying that being with all these other writers makes you look bad, and do what every writer needs to do––set yourself apart. Find a platform of people who might want to hear what you have to say, who share your interests. Anything goes now, and I like that. The old-line publishers have for too long masqueraded as the bastion of quality. Now the reader will make the choice again of what succeeds, and because there are so many inexpensive options for ebooks, with some even free, it’s possible that more people will be reading, since it's much more affordable now. When did the price of anything ever go down before?

No one will miss the old style bookstore more than I will, but the business model is changing, and they’re no longer competitive.

Here’s what to do: learn the indie publishing business. The Internet is full of sites that will tell you the detail. Decide whether you need a subsidy publisher. This is what most “self-publishing” companies really are. They will get your book in print for you for a fee in the low hundreds to the low thousands of dollars, depending on how elaborately you want it done. Most of them will then take a cut of every single book sale you make.

If you have only one book, and it’s not likely to sell well, this may make sense for you. You can be a published author, sell a few books to friends, and get on with your bucket list. If, however, you’re a serious author, whether you have only one book, or a series that could sell, you’re better off learning the nuts and bolts and doing it all yourself. Because once the pain of mastering the detail of putting out your book is over, you will own your book and control it forever. You will give no one else a cut.

That is the route I took. At first I found the process opaque, and I spent eight months mastering the publishing part. My wife learned the software, so she could design and format our interiors for print editions. Now she uses it to help others get into print. I’ve published thirteen of my own books so far, and I have three more coming out in the next year. My process now is to become more sophisticated about promotion, which has layers of nuance. With time, it yields to your effort.

The message is that it can be done, and done well. You don’t need all the New York people; they don’t want you anyway. Self-publishing requires the same things that other businesses require: determination and hard work. The information on how to approach it is easily available online.

Two years have passed since I started this venture. Please check my website and see how I did. I’d like to hear from you –– your comments will help me to improve it.

John’s website is www.sanmiguelallendebooks.com

Tip O'Day #383 - Compare & Contrast

Guest blogger Doris Meredith looks at two different authors.

The following is absolutely true. No gender is bias intended as I know stay-at-home writer dads who share Writer Two's schedule. The names are changed to prevent my being sued by Writer One. Writer Two is yours truly.

The writing lives of individual writers differ depending on circumstances, but some circumstances are better than others. I decided to use that old high school English class device that made students break out in a sweat: Compare and contrast two writers' daily schedules.

Writer One rises from his bed at 7:00 after a night of restful, uninterrupted sleep, eats a light breakfast with wife, and retires to his paneled, book-lined office. From 8:00-9:30, he edits the previous day's work. At 9:30 his wife brings him hot coffee.

Writer Two rises from her bed at 7:00 a.m. after giving her son his asthma medicine at 2:00 a.m., and soothing her daughter after his nightmare. At 7:30 she fixes breakfast for her husband and children; at 8:00 takes the children to school. At 8:30 returns to school because children forgot their lunches. At 9:00 Writer Two cleans the kitchen, puts first load of clothes in washer, empties the trash, writes checks for overdue bills, and finally takes a phone call from the school nurse (“Your daughter has a headache and can we have permission to give an aspirin?”). From 9:30-10:00 she edits the previous day's work. At 10:30 she picks up her daughter after another call from the school nurse. After giving her daughter a ginger ale and the TV remote, she reheats a cup of coffee and takes two aspirin.

Writer One works on latest book from 9:45-11:45 a.m., when he calls his agent to discuss an upcoming book tour and his need for a publisher-funded car and driver. At 12:00 noon, he eats a leisurely lunch with his wife, reminds her to gather tax records for accountant, returns to his office and works until 3:30 p.m., feeling very relaxed because he’s well ahead of deadline. From 3:30-4:00, he speaks to his agent and arranges for the car and driver to pick him up at the airport. At 4:00 his wife brings him a glass of wine, after which he calls his agent again. From 4:30-6:00 he works on his book. At 6:00 he eats dinner with his wife and reminds her to pick up his cleaning and pack his bags for his tour. At 10:30 he retires for another night of uninterrupted sleep.

Writer Two works on her latest book from 11:00-12:30 when she feeds her daughter a bowl of chicken soup, decides it's too soon to take another aspirin, phones her agent to learn he is on vacation in Paris. She works on her book until 3:30 p.m., then picks up her son and takes him karate class. At 4:00 she calls to ask if the publisher will buy her a plane ticket to her book signing, learns he went home early with a headache. She takes two more aspirins, picks up her son from karate class, fixes dinner and collects tax records for the accountant. She works on her book from 7:00-8:00 when it is bath time and story time for the children. At 9:00 p.m., she checks her credit card balance to see if she can afford to charge a bus ticket to her book signing. From 10:00 to 12:30 she works on her book, at which time she realizes the character she identified in her synopsis as the murderer couldn't have done it. She'll have to tell her editor she's changing the plot. At 12:45 she takes two aspirin and goes to bed, then suddenly remembers the washer full of wet clothes. She says to hell with it and falls into an exhausted sleep.

Conclusion: Every writer needs a good wife.

Learn more about D.R. Meredith (Doris to her friends) here.

Tip O'Day #379 - Who Do You Write For?

Guest blogger Lauren Carr on “The Ailment of Writers with High Standards.”

Several years ago, I was speaking at a school after the release of my second book, A Reunion to Die For. When it came time for questions, a student asked, “What do you do for writer’s block?” To this, I laughed and said, “I don’t know. I’ve never had writers block.”

Well, now I have had writers block. For a year, between 2008-2009, I stared at my laptop without knowing what to do. So, I packed up my laptop and announced to my family that I quit. I was no longer going to be a writer.

A month later, I was back at the laptop working away. Once again, I made an announcement to my family. “Okay, I’m going to write, but then I’ll publish my next book independently. If it sells, fine. If not, so what? From here on out, I’m writing for myself.” It’s Murder, My Son and subsequent books have been my most successful books and I have not had writer’s block since.

How did I get rid of my writer’s block? The secret is in this advice offered by American poet William Stafford: "There is no such thing as writer's block for writers whose standards are low enough."

What? I'm supposed to write junk? Can you be serious?

In order to understand the meaning behind Stafford’s advice, let me explain the circumstances surrounding my writer’s block.

A Reunion to Die For was published by a commercial publisher. It was a $26 hardback. My thrill of being published in hardback was quickly extinguished when I discovered how hard it is to sell a $26 hardback when you’re an unknown.

My next book (It’s Murder, My Son) had to come out in paperback. My traditional publisher didn’t handle paperbacks. In October, 2008, I went to a mystery conference, where I discovered that the new word count that publishers were looking for was below 90,000. At this time It’s Murder, My Son was 94,000. So, I had to do a rewrite to trim what I considered a perfectly good book in order to find a new publisher. A few days after I arrived home from the conference, my father-in-law, for whom I was primary caregiver, passed away.

For a year I stared at the laptop not knowing what to do. Then, I decided to “lower my standards” and write for myself. Since I made the decision to stop writing for literary agents or publishers or anyone but me, I have never run into a problem of deciding what to write.

No, Stafford is not encouraging writers to produce garbage. He is suggesting, however, that it's easy to take yourself too seriously in trying to please agents or publishers or reviewers. As a result, you end up staring at your laptop, thinking how inadequate your writing is and cursing God for giving you the love of writing. Yes, I did a rewrite of It’s Murder, My Son, but I did it for myself. I quit sweating over a turn of phrase for fear that a literary agent would disapprove. I didn’t think about if this plot line is “hot right now” or not. I wrote with the intention of pleasing myself. If readers and reviewers happen to like what I have written—then that’s the icing on the cake.

Since I independently published It’s Murder, My Son and the other installments in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, (Old Loves Die Hard and Shades of Murder) I have been on a sugar high.

If you want to be a writer, you need to forget about the judgment of others. Write what you want to write, write what you love, write for yourself.

Besides being an author, Lauren is owner of Acorn Book Services, serving as publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for Indie authors. The ABS website is here. Also check out her Literary Wealth blog.

Tip O'Day #365 - Accept Only the Best

Guest blogger Robert Medak asks whether quality writing has become outdated? (Appeared in his blog on March 16, 2012 – repeated with permission.)

Recently I’ve read posts about quality writing in today’s publishing environment. Another point mentioned is the greed of publishers for the lower quality writing published today. Is the problem self-publishing, vanity publishing, or print on demand (POD)?

The ones I blame are writers and readers. I will tell you why.

I’ve reviewed over 100 books from various publishers, mostly Outskirts, Lulu, Xlibris, and personal publishing by authors. This is because publishing houses can’t handle the amount of books submitted, including manuscripts that are not what publishing house print.

Now on to the books I’ve read, many of which break some fundamental rules of grammar, punctuation, spelling and word choice. There are two quotes by Mark Twain that bring this home for everything I write, they are, “The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say.” And also, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." These two quotes speak volumes to me as a writer, as they should every writer.

It’s my position, no matter what, that writers should always write their best to get the words down, then edit the work or have someone they trust edit it for them, be they professional or not. Only with honest feedback can writers improve. Writers need to write to improve their art as Mary Heaton Vorse said, “The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair.”

Readers should never accept less than excellent writing from authors.

There might be a problem created in the printing or formatting of the book or eBook. It is up to the author to look at a finished copy of their book and ask for any errors corrected before it is ready for public consumption.

Learn more about Robert (a freelance writer/editor/reviewer) on his writing blog.

Tip O'Day #343 - "Road Rules"

Guest blogger Laura Solomon on the writing life.

The writer treads a treacherous road.

The publishing industry is a fickle and capricious beast. Who knows when and why doors will mysteriously open or mysteriously close. The writer does his or her best - writes part-time and works full or part-time. They exhaust themselves for years, getting nowhere, and then suddenly, inexplicably, gets somewhere.

Katoshi, or death from overwork, could be a potential risk. Many writers suffer breakdowns and spend time in mental institutions or hospitals for one reason or another. As Maggie Gee would say, it’s feast or famine.

The dream can become a nightmare – the nightmare, a dream. There are dark sides to the industry, which is, as A.L.Kennedy would say, full of opportunities for the unscrupulous to exploit you. Not many writers that I know would fancy ending up as tabloid fodder, a literary Middleton. Sudden success can bring unexpected side effects. Many a young artist has found too much fame too quickly and wound up a drug and booze addled wreck.

Yes, there are pitfalls galore. The publishing industry is probably after young, beautiful men and women whom it can exploit, but what does the writer want? Writers are shot at, spat at, verbally abused, threatened with rape and death – especially, funnily enough, the female ones.

In reality, as you get older, you realize that, as with any industry, an apprenticeship is served, a ladder is climbed and it is the people above you in the hierarchy who make decisions about when to let you in or shut you out. To be fair to antipodeans, it is more difficult for them to understand the social rules of the British Upper Classes and to fit in within that society than somebody who was born into that class, just as it would be difficult for a British Upper Class person to fit in if placed in a Kiwi Freezing Works – unless of course they could successfully master the Kiwi twang and be willing to don the appropriate overalls.

A young writer plays on the jungle gym, minds the P’s and Q’s and hopes to one day be allowed into the big kids’ playground. Unless, of course, being a guppy, the writer is happy in the fish bowl and don’t want to go into the shark pit for fear of being eaten alive.

Personality, of course, must also be taken into consideration. Person X might love the limelight and relish media attention. Person Y might hate the spotlight and choose to live a quiet small town life, tinkering on their books and making few, if any, public appearances. Who wants what and from whom? Who is a giver, who a taker? At any given moment in time, friends could become enemies, or enemies, friends. Innocence lost turns to bitter cynicism.

A young writer might have a lot of talent, but be lacking in the diplomacy and social skills that come with a bit more life experience. Person A might have been exploited by Publisher A and therefore be reluctant to deal with Publisher B. There are the J.D. Salingers, who have one hit and then become recluses, there are the Atwoods, who don’t seem to mind the limelight, and the in-betweens, who do some but not a lot of publicity.

It’s a difficult but exciting road – full of risks and rewards, highs and lows. A journey that some of us feel compelled to undertake.

Dixon says: Thanks to Laura Solomon for her thought-provoking comments on the writing journey. As part of my journey, I've got a big birthday celebration this week, and my Kindle THE ASSASSINS CLUB will be free this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at http://tinyurl.com/7fav44l - come celebrate with me!

Tip O'Day #296 - Publicity, Indie vs Legacy

Guest blogger Holly Robinson on “The Good, the Bad and the Mysterious about Your Publicity Campaign.”

Now that I've got feet in both camps, I have a unique perspective on the good, the bad and the mysterious truths about book marketing. My memoir, The Gerbil Farmer's Daughter, was published by Random House. I leaped into the indie world when I self-published my first novel, Sleeping Tigers, a couple of months ago. My second novel, The Wishing Hill, will be published by Penguin in spring 2013. These experiences have taught me a lot about book publicity, but I'm still learning new things every day. There are some differences in how traditional and indie books are publicized, but those differences are shrinking by the nanosecond. The truest thing I can tell you is that, no matter how your book makes it into the world, you'll need to take an active part in the publicity. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Mine the Free Resources. The Internet is a wonderful tutor. There are more free resources out there about marketing your book than you'll ever have time to read. Google anything from “picking a book cover” to “social media for authors,” and you'll get enough hits to last through a few thermoses of coffee. Make good use of these resources. Two of my favorites are Novel Publicity's “Free Advice Blog” and CreateSpace's “Free Publishing Resources.”

Prepare Your Platform. No matter who you talk to in publishing — agent, editor, publicist, or sales team — they'll tell you that their ideal is a good book written by an author with a “solid platform.” Basically, that means that they want you to be famous before you even give them a manuscript — or they want some hook, like you chewed off your arm during a battle with a grizzly bear. (Even then, they hope you've been blogging about it.) One easy way to start building your platform is by crafting a virtual identity. Social media tools are free and easy to use. Start a blog, create an author Facebook page, get a Twitter account, and set up a Goodreads page. Give people useful information — don't just pimp your book. If you know how to do something — anything from fly fishing to quilting — blog about that, guest post on other people's blogs, and people will start following you. Yes, it's time consuming, but it's also incredibly fun to connect with people. If you're trying traditional publishing avenues, it will help your editor sell your book to the publisher if she can prove that you have an active presence online. Indie or traditional, you're cultivating a loyal readership.

Learn more about Holly at her website. Tomorrow, she returns with comments on book launches and giveaways.

Tip O'Day #269 - Traditional Publishing

Guest blogger Jonnie Comet (from a Q&A pamphlet prepared when his novel Deirdre, the Wanderer was being marketed).

The current model of publishing, espoused by all the major publishers, retailers and, unfortunately, most authors is to have an expensive, premier agent in Manhattan approve your book, send it to a large, famous and well-established publisher as well as to his friends at the New York Times, have Ingrams distribute it to Barnes and Noble, and then sit back and wait for the Today show to schedule your TV interviews and the filmmakers to call. Though a precious few do find success this way, what I call the ‘B&N model’ is inherently flawed in numerous ways.

Conspicuously, it gives voice to only a very elite few. If the agent has never heard of you, he will regard your voice as unimportant to the market and unlikely to earn him any money, since if you were any good he would have heard of you. Notice that, besides being circular logic, this attitude cements the agent(s) as the chief arbiter between what gets said by whom to whom, the gatekeeper of free speech in a free market.

And just because something is not out in the market now doesn’t mean it wouldn’t do well in the market if some industrious marketer got off his bottom and set to work. To me, the very fact that it’s not there suggests an opportunity. A marketer should want to be the first and only one to discover new talent and to reap the benefits. But to the average publisher or agent, the fact that it’s not there, for whatever reason, suggests that it has no right to be. He’d rather take an easy 15% from a sure thing.

This model of publishing has existed since at least the 1920s and remains the default which many people think is the only sensible way to publish and market books. It’s flawed ethically and economically. I’ve tried for years to figure out why it persists; and I can only imagine that it’s centred in ego or establishmentism, something more having to do with the personalities in question than with logic, common sense or marketing savvy.

You can learn more about this author at Jonnie’s blog.

Tip O'Day #248 - "Don't Give Up"

Guest blogger Kathy Bertone on traditional publishing.

I am going to swim against today’s tide and tell you yet-to-be-published authors, not to give up on traditional publishers. I have heard too many writers say that they can’t, no one hears them, it’s too hard, the odds are stacked against them, etc. That is not necessarily the case. Don’t be discouraged - be bold.

I wrote a one-page query for my book, The Art of the Visit which I emailed to those literary agents that I researched, knew would be interested in non-fiction, and would accept an electronic query. Of course I got rejections, but I did not give up. Finally, in my inbox, there were the words I longed to hear, “Hi Kathy, yes, I have an interest in your idea. Would love to see your manuscript…”

Don’t get me wrong – self-publishing can be a good thing for those who know how to do it. But if you have a good idea and can write, don’t give up, don’t have fear, and don’t be discouraged. You never know what might happen until you go for it. But do your research first. There are ‘rules’ that you must adhere to. And it may be worth your time and effort.

For more info about Kathy, check out her website: www.theartofthevisit.com

Thanks for all the guest bloggers, both published and unpublished, who have shared their knowledge and opinions this year. Dixon's first published novel, The Assassins Club, will be available as e-book on both Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook later today, or possibly Christmas Day.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve.

Tip O'Day #236 - Watch Those Bad Words!

Guest blogger Deb Peters wonders why Self-Publishing is a bad word.

First, big-name publishing companies do not consider writers published unless they got in print through the traditional route. Secondly, some companies who help authors self-publish do not even read the books they print; traditional publishers know that. Because of these two facts, all self-publishing companies get a bad rep.

There are two firms that I know of that read every word in your manuscript, no matter how long it is. I also know that there are self-published authors (like myself) who hire editors to help make their manuscript into the best book possible.

Another thing that traditional publishing presses do not take into consideration is that many famous authors were first self-published. If anyone wants a list, go to this site: http://www.simonteakettle.com/famousauthors.htm

Tip O'Day #234 - Self-Pub Next Time?

Guest blogger Marta Moran-Bishop on plans for her next book.

Having gone the route of traditional publishing with my last book Wee Three: A Mother's Love in Verse, and gave up so much control of what I would like to do, I am seriously considering self-publishing my newest book.

Tip O'Day #233 - Seize Every Chance

Guest blogger Marlene Samuels on getting published through a fluke.

Until recently, my writing has been academic and this type of book, especially PhD dissertations, have an easier time finding publication, however usually very limited runs with an academic press. Self-publishing has become a more realistic option for writers who aren’t always able to secure an agent. The success of self-published books has been advanced by increased access to internet-based public relations. The up-side: buzz is easier to obtain and more accessible. The bad news: each day, that medium is becoming more competitive.

My first non-academic book, The Seamstress: A Memoir of Survival, was published first by a conventional press. That was a fluke and done without an agent, a perfect example of meeting someone, who knows someone, who knows someone at a publisher. So you can and should tell anyone who will listen that you've written a book – only if you really have finished it or are almost finished. You should follow up with anyone who tells you they "know someone at a publisher" or has a friend whose uncle works at a literary agency, etc. I almost let my opportunity drop since I didn’t want to 1) seem like a pest, 2) waste my time with possible frauds, and 3) risk having someone read and then hate my work.

To learn more about Marlene, check out her blog at www.marlenesamuels.blogspot.com

Tip O'Day #228 - Keep 70%...For What?

Guest blogger Sue Owen on self-publishing versus traditional publishing.

It used to be that a publisher did everything from cover to back page including all advertising and setting up personal appearances, etc. Now, they are too busy reading and publishing books and don’t have time for all that, so it is up to authors to promote their own materials. For that you are paying up to 70% commission. So take that 70% and publish it yourself for a 3% commission. Why waste time, energy and funds to do something yourself, that you end up doing yourself anyway. To learn more about Sue, check out her blog at bySueOwen.blogspot.com

I receive and share comments on both sides of the “e-book vs tree-book” debate, and "self-pub vs big pub." Anne Patrick had strong arguments in favor of traditional publishing last week. In today’s post, Sue Owen doesn’t buy that viewpoint.

What’s your opinion?

Tip O'Day #223 - Thanks for Evolution

Guest blogger Anne Patrick on getting published.

I think with the evolution of e-books, it's becoming easier to get published, but you still need to carefully research the publishers you submit to. Indie authors are having some success. Personally, I prefer the traditional route. I'm currently published with small independent publishers and have been very happy with them. I have good editors, awesome cover artists, and the royalties aren't too shabby. If a person does go the indie route, investing in a good professional editor is a must.

The most important thing...don't give up. Believe in yourself, stick with it, and it'll happen.

To learn more about Anne Patrick, check out http://www.annepatrick.weebly.com/