Sometimes You Just Have to Barry Your Soul!

These are two of my favorite people in the whole wide world - my sister Cindy flanking me on (your) left and my bosom-buddy-since-we-got-bosoms in the sixth grade, Jan, on (your) right.

Would you believe we're this cheerful in the nosebleeds at a Barry Manilow concert?

Yup. I'm a fanilow. Don't you dare smirk. What's not to like about mushy love songs? Or a 68-year-old heartthrob hobbling around the stage after a hip replacement?

Although he looked a bit like he was wearing a Barry Manilow mask from 20 years ago, he sang like he was 30. It was a magical night. The power of words and melody carried me right back to my youth when daydreams of dashing men on white horses sweeping me off my oxfords seemed incredibly possible. I found myself smiling inanely through many of the songs and singing along at the top of my lungs with the rest.

Don't know that I would've spent that much on a ticket if Jan hadn't twisted my arm, though.

But my point here is the amazing power of words to transcend reality, time, place, space, even earth suits to transport us somewhere we just can't get to any other way. As a musician (piano teacher for 20 years), I believe that melody certainly adds a depth and dimension to lyrics that is quite unique to the medium of music.

But books work in much the same way to stir emotion, jumpstart motivation, and soothe ruffled feathers. Words without melody are no less transcending.

So now my blood is perculating with excitement to make some magic that touches someone's heart through my writing. Can't wait to get started.

What motivates you to place derriere in chair and poise fingers over keyboard?

Clearing up Publishing Confusion

This is some excellent information I learned from Lynn Price of Behler Publications at the Florida Writing Conference in Orlando on 19/22/10. I've added some of my own editorial comments.

Publishing terms defined:

Digital printing: Sometimes mistaken for Print on Demand; digital printing is used by all publishers to create low print runs of less than 100 units. Even Trade publishers who use large print runs (see definition below) use digital printing for ARCS (Advanced Reader Copies) and backlist titles.

Print on Demand (POD): Books are printed only when ordered (usually low order runs) to avoid warehouses overflowing with unsold books; prices may be slightly higer than average. POD is often offered by small presses. The publisher pays up-front production fees but offers no distribution services. In other words, books are not usually on store shelves because they can't be returned and bookstores only carry copies they can return if they don't sell. Many POD presses provide assistance with editing and cover art. Most POD books are available online through Amazon or other Ingram and Baker & Taylor dealers such aas Target.com or Barnesandnoble.com.

Vanity/Subsidy: The author pays all printing costs or the fees may be subsidized by the publisher (who pays partial fees). The author has little say in production or retail price, which is usually higher than average. The publisher offers various package fees and often charges extra for editing, cover design, and a host of other things that in my humble opinion should be considered basics. BEWARE of hidden fees that can add up fast.

Trade publishing: also called independent trade or commercial publihers. These are "real" publishing companies who provide their own editors, cover designers, distribution systems to bookstores, libraries and outlets, print ARCs for reviewers, and have standard return policies. They have distribution teams and sales teams who actually get out and pitch their titles to vendors. They have a vested interest in your book because their success depends on your success.

Self-publishing: The author is the publisher and provides his own editing, marketing, distribution, design and layout. He directs and funds the entire publishing process. He is responsible for purchasing his own ISBN number and with sufficient funds, may hire professionals to pitch his book to vendors. Some highly successful authors with readerships already in place choose to self-publish so that they may be in control of every detail of the publishing process.

Preserving the Dinosaurs

Just read that Nielsen says the average book published in the US sells fewer than 250 copies a year and fewer than 3,000 overall.

Yikes!

I've also read that self-published books sell an average of 75 copies.

Double yikes!

No wonder the printed word is in peril! I don't believe print books are dinosaurs (yet) - just look around at all the people reading them in airports, on beaches and hey, if authors could open up shop in doctor's waiting rooms and on cruise ships, we could sell a gazillion.

Advance Celebration

What fun to receive a nice juicy advance check this week for my book Too Stressed to Stay Stressed! It's like a big hug from Papa God - affirmation of my calling to write and acknowledgement of the hard work and supernatural grace to get to this point.

Ephesians 3:20 throbs in my brain: "To Him who is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY BEYOND all athat we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to HIM be the glory... forever and ever. Amen."

I'll take this opportunity to clear up a few misconceptions I've heard from aspiring writers about advances and royalties.

First of all, there is no free money in the publishing biz. You're expected to earn every penny you make from book sales. Royalties are the percentage you're contracted to make when each book sells (e.g. 10% royalty on a $10 book nets you $1). The advance is simply the publisher issuing you the royalties they anticipate from your first few months of sales in advance (hence the name).

If by some chance you don't earn out your advance (for instance they pay you $5k and your sales only bring in $3k), some contracts require you to repay the remainder. Others don't. Be sure you read the fine print before signing.

Advances are a rather prestigious thing within the industry - 5 and 6-digit advances demonstrate that in the eyes of the biz, you've really made it. Of course agents like large advances because they make a tidy little bundle up front. If I had my druthers as an ignorant author, I'd prefer low or even no advance, so I don't have to worry about earning it out. But that's just me and I don't say it out loud to avoid being stoned.

Publishers aren't stupid, so they rarely offer new or not-thoroughly-proven authors more than 3-5k advance (although there are exceptions), which means the book needs to sell at least 10k copies to earn out the advance and start collecting royalties. Some books never quite get to this point, making it unlikely the author will be offered a contract from that particular publisher again any time soon.

Most authors who have been there & done that warn newbies NOT to go out spending the advance in rampant jubilant celebration. I found this to be good advice with my first few books - I socked the entire check away and then was able to splurge on book-related purchases that really count for my literary future: a new printer, decent office furniture so I don't fling out of my swivel chair any more and most importantly, book promotion.

Yep, dear friend, book promotion takes $$$: Travel to book and speaking events, TV interviews, motels at times (sometimes these are covered by the host and sometimes they're not), decent clothes to attempt to look succesful, giving out free copies to important sources after the promo copies have run out, and most importantly, hiring a publicist or PR team to create the biggest book splash possible.

So put that Mediterranean cruise on hold when you receive your first advance. There will always time to sail after your 5th (or 50th) successful book!

Reaching the Purple Mailbox: The Importance of Goals

About 8/10 of the way through this morning's run, I wanted to stop. I mean I really wanted to stop. My legs felt exhausted, my heaving lungs were throbbing and my muscles burned like little condos afire.

Everything about me screamed, "Stop! Just quit right now and this misery will end!"

But I didn't. I pressed on through even more exhaustion, throbbing and burning. Know why? One word: goals.

A month ago, after losing my second consecutive tennis match by running out of gas in the third set, I decided if winning in my chosen sport was important to me, I must do something to increase my potential to do just that: win. So improving my endurance to sail through three sets became my long term goal.

In order to achieve that long term goal, I set short term goals of: 1) Running 4 days per week, and 2) Start with half my neighborhood loop (about 3/4 mile) and add another block each week. I measure my distance by mailboxes as in, "I can't stop today until I get to the Smith's purple mailbox."

Sounds logical and achievable in theory, right? But when sweat starts to flow and muscles begin seizing in protest, the only thing that keeps me going is eyeing that purple mailbox in the distance and not allowing myself to cave - despite every atom in my body desperately trying to convince me otherwise - before I cross that self-imposed finish line.

My long term goal would end up as a dandilion in the summer breeze without those all-important short-term goals.

Such is the deal in our writing careers. Many of us have the long term goal of publishing a book, or X amount of articles, or just seeming our names in print. But have we spent sufficient time developing realistic short term goals to achieve that end? Goals such as writing 500 words a day, 5 days a week, or submitting one article each month, or attending two writing workshops this year to sharpen my skills so I get fewer rejections.

Reaching those purple mailboxes actually gives us a high. A sense of accomplishment. A boost in the ole self-esteem. We begin to think, "I can achieve this short term goal, and the next one tomorrow, too. And before I know it, that long-term goal that appears so far away today will be just an arm's length away. "

And once that long term goal is in the bank, it's time to set another. When I first started writing seven years ago, my long term goal was to see published during my lifetime one book of fiction and one non-fiction, and 20 articles. To my utter astonishment, that goal was achieved within two years, so I adjusted my goals to double that. Since my 11th book and 90th article just came out last month, it's time to tweak my goals again.

So that as a writer, I can, like you, keep running for those purple mailboxes.

In the Beginning, There Was No Prologue

Our writers group a few nights ago engaged in a lively discussion about prologues. It seems many beginning writers - including myself - depend on prologues to drop a healthy dose of backstory into the reader's lap before officially beginning the story in chapter one.

My personal experience has been finally deleting every precious word of the sweated-over prologue for my first historical novel, The Distant Shore, based on the advice of a publisher who, although he rejected the manuscript, kindly took the time to give me a few helpful suggestions.

The book was eventually accepted for publication - sans prologue - and I must admit that it's a much smoother read.

Just this morning, I ran across the same topic in the March/April issue of Writer's Digest. The following is an excerpt from the article, "Lessons Learned From an Author Turned Agent" by Jennifer Lawler:

"While reading the umpteenth slow-starting novel manuscript that crossed my desk one afternoon, I found myself practically screaming, 'Throw away the prologue! Just throw it away! I never want to see another prologue in this lifetime!'

In fact, in all the submissions I've looked at, I have yet to read a prologue that has improved a manuscript. Good stories should start where they start, and not before or after. You need to work the backstory into the story, and not just shove it into a prologue.

Only after I'd had that reaction did I realize that one of my own novels - in progress at that very moment - started witha prologue. The prologue was there because it was the image that popped into my head when I first started wiritng. As I neared the end of the book, I knew the prologue no longer served any purpose, but I loved it! I thought maybe no one would notice it didn't really work.

Now I realize that someone would notice. I was so attached to it that it physically hurt to chop it out, but you know what? Getting rid of the prologue did improve the book. Immensely."