Write Brain Notes: New Models in Publishing, What the Writers Say

There will be no [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday today. Instead, I bring you the second part of the three-part New Models in Publishing notes.

Last week, I posted ten notable comments from bookseller Natalie Johnson, owner of Black Cat Books in Manitou Springs. However, those comments were only a portion of the Write Brain workshop I attended. This is the second part of that workshop, and will detail my notes from Deb Courtney (Courtney Literary) and Robert Spiller (author). DeAnna Knippling's contribution will be passed along next Monday.

Deb Courtney, who now represents Robert Spiller, after he left the publishing company that put out the first three books in his Bonnie Pinkwater series, spoke about key points in publishing these days. Her new business, Courtney Literary, is not a publishing house, nor is she an agent. Instead, her goal is to help self-published authors make marketing plans and book-selling strategies. Basically, her job is to assist self-published authors and to do some of the legwork for them.

Deb pointed out that the things you need to insure are taken care of in self-publishing are the quality of your book, the editing and the graphics. As she said (and I'm not sure of the exact quote), it's worse to put out a bad product than no product at all. If you cannot properly edit your own words, pay someone else to do it or do an exchange with another author, where you each edit the other's work. As far as cover art, it is there to catch the eye and draw buyers in, whether on a physical book or the photo representing an e-book. This is something you should either be very good at, or that you should pay for. Expect to pay between $200 and $1000 for a good cover.

She reminded us to do our homework on format (Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, etc.) and to explore different product lines and revenue streams (audio book, short stories that are associated with your novel/series, and all distribution types). She recommends that you not limit yourself to just one type of format (such as just putting it out for the Kindle, but not the Nook).

One service Deb Courtney provides that Robert Spiller is pleased with is a marketing plan. She says you must have one. Set specific goals. How will you get yourself out there? Who will you contact? What is your time frame? She and Robert had made a list that filled several pages, just on places to contact. Consider author interviews on blogs and in newspapers/other media, get reviews, get your book placed in bookstores, do giveaways and guest posts, and get your book on Good Reads. If you absolutely can't find anyone willing to review your book, there are respected places that will charge you to do a review, such as Kirkus (costs around $500 or so). They don't guarantee a good review, though.

Deb Courtney has just launched her business, and Robert Spiller is her first client. At this time, they both seem very happy with the arrangement. In fact, Robert Spiller said he is having much more fun with this, his fourth Bonnie Pinkwater novel, than with the other three. They have great communication between them, and she works closely with him throughout the process.

Some resources she passed along are:

http://allindiepublishing.com
http://selfpublishingresources.com
http://barryeisler.blogspot.com
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com
Huffington Post

Any advice to add?

May you find your Muse.

Social Media for Writers

I've questioned various forms of social media since starting this blog: why should we use them, what good are they, how do they help, are they just time wasters? I signed up for Twitter after a lot of recommendations on my Twitter post during last year's A-to-Z challenge, because I was told it was valuable for writers. I was already on Facebook, and MySpace was obsolete to me before I joined Facebook. As far as LinkedIn, I only joined because I kept getting requests from people. But what should I be doing with them?

For Twitter, I've followed publishing houses and such, and some have even found me first, which I imagine is for their advertizing purposes, but it works for me, either way. So far, it has not had major use yet, but I imagine its day will come. Also, I would have to spend more time on there to give it a real chance before I complain. I can see how it would be a good source for finding publishers, learning about agents, and hearing about contests, though. And when the day comes that I've got something to advertize, I'm sure it will be helpful there, too. I know that I have valued it when someone has "retweeted" or "RT'd" something I've put on there, and I wonder if some of my readers haven't been discovered that way.

I'm still trying to figure out some of the logistics of Twitter. When someone "tags" me with a "FF" tag, for instance, am I supposed to respond in some way? I don't right now, because I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Help? I don't respond every time someone thanks me for following them on there, for various reasons. Am I supposed to always respond? Am I supposed to tag everyone who follows me with a thank you message? Do people prefer that, or are they happy without it?

Facebook has a bunch of uses, so while I can see how it can be valuable, I'm not sure how to get a Facebook page out there where everyone knows it's there. For instance, I created one for the Pen Women, but how do I get people to follow it? Of course, I have one for this blog, too, but I figure for right now just having the button on the side of my blog referring people to it is good enough. If someone wants to "like" the Facebook page, they can find it on here. As of right now, though, it is mostly used to notify people of new posts on here. I tried starting conversations on there a few times that were related to what I had posted, but it didn't work. Maybe in the future when I have five trillion followers/readers?

One that I never bothered much with until recently was LinkedIn. Like I said above, I added it because I kept getting requests. I mostly had a couple friends on there and that was that. However, I started getting requests from fellow writers who had found me on here, and then I got recommendations for others to add, and I've started doing a teeny bit more that way, but that was really it. Then, maybe about a week or so ago, I got a nice little form message recommending some groups I could join. I had no idea there were groups! I clicked on the groups and checked them out, and there were some neat groups of writers, so I went ahead and joined.

Lo and behold, a few days ago someone posts in one of the groups that their anthology deadline has been extended. I click on that discussion, it sounds interesting, and I go to the site. Their prompt instantly sparked something, and I immediately wrote a personal essay to submit. I've never submitted an essay for publication (I've hardly submitted anything for publication...), so I have no idea if it's good, but I'm delighted to have done it. In case you're interested, the anthology is Sofas I've Slept on. I believe they're taking submissions until March 20, 2012.

Image courtesy of OCAL at CLKER.com

I'm learning that I maybe shouldn't be so skeptical of social media, and that it has value. The problem is learning how to use it to my advantage without allowing it to suck me in and become a time waster. That's true for every single bit of social media I take part in. Other than the lure of CastleVille, I'm getting better at brief, pertinent visits most of the time.

Quickly, I'd like to mention the Pikes Peak Writer's Write Brain, occurring tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17, 6:30-8:30 at Celebration Place in the Citadel Mall. It sounds like a great program. I'll likely write it up if I get good notes, and share it with everyone, but if you're able to attend, I'm sure personal attendance would be far more valuable than my write up. This Write Brain will be run by Deb Courtney, Robert Spiller and DeAnna Knippling, and concerns New Models in Publishing. Each of these people has been involved with both traditional and self-publishing. For more information, click HERE.

What forms of social media do you use? What do you find most valuable? How do you insure you aren't wasting time?

May you find your Muse.