Writers Retreats USA in 2012

One of the main benefits of attending a writers retreat or conference is the opportunity to meet editors, agents, publishers and other writers.  Widening your circle of connections in the literary world can help you mark your own presence in that world, learn about the publishing industry, and how to get your book published.  Just a few of the many retreat offers:

Jackson Hole, WY, June 28 – 30, 2012

http://jacksonholewritersconference.com

Program Description
Three manuscript critiques with authors & editors. Tracks for fiction, creative nonfiction, magazine, young adult, and poetry; workshops, talks & craft sessions.
Program Length 3 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio 4:1
Program Focus:  Children’s, Fiction, Journalism, Marketing, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Travel, Young Adult
Costs:   Early bird $365

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Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, July 26 – 28, 2012

http://www.mcwc.org

Program Description
5 morning workshops with same presenter each day; large forum readings and discussions with editors, agents, & newly published authors; afternoon lecture sessions on craft.
Program Length 3 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio workshops 15:1
Program Focus:  Autobiography/Memoir, Children’s, Fiction, Journalism, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Screenwriting, Young Adult
Faculty 13+ presenters. Includes authors, editors & literary agents.
Costs:   Earlybird $525. $60/consultation. Lodging $55-$250 & camping; hostel-like farmhouse $18-$25/night.

Squaw Valley, California  July, August 2012

http://www.squawvalleywriters.org

Program Description
Morning workshops, afternoon panel discussions, individual conferences, craft lectures, staff readings
Program Length 7 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio 20-124
Program Focus:  Autobiography/Memoir, Fiction, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Poetry and Screenwriting
Faculty 28 instructors for the Fiction Workshop, 5 for the Poetry Workshop, 8 for the Screenwriting Workshop.
Costs:   $840 includes 6 dinners. Shared (single) lodging in local houses & condos arranged for $350 ($550)/week; inexpensive bunk bed available.
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Purchase, NY   June 25 – 29, 2012

http://www.mville.edu/writersweek

Program Description
Five 3-hour morning workshops in a particular genre (Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry,Writing for Young Readers, Graphic Novel). Afternoons include special workshops, readings, session with editors & agents, and individual manuscript consultation.
Program Length 4-1/2 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio 80-100
Program Focus:  Autobiography/Memoir, Children’s, Fiction, Marketing, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Screenwriting, Young Adult
Costs:   $725 for the week. 2 graduate credits are also available for graduate tuition (extra fee).
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Edmonds, WA, September 30 – October 2, 2011

http://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/ArtsCommission/wots.stm

Program Description
Focus is on the craft of writing. 4 sessions/day & a choice of 4 workshops/session; Saturday keynote, pre-conference workshops on Friday.
Program Length 2-1/2 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio Max 200
Program Focus:  Autobiography/Memoir, Business/Technical, Children’s, Fiction, Horror, Humor, Journalism, Marketing, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Travel, Young Adult
Faculty:  30 additional presenters speaking on a variety of topics.
Costs:   $139/2 days ($116 early bird), $72/1 day. Pre-conference workshops $68, writing contest entry $10, manuscript critique $25, Keynote (open to the public) $16 adult/$10 student.

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Santa Barbara, CA, June 9 – 14, 2012

http://www.sbwritersconference.com

Program Description
Daily AM & PM concurrent workshops & plenary sessions, evening speakers, panels, Advance
Submission with agents & editors, late-night pirate workshops.
Program Length 6 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio 200
Program Focus:  Autobiography/Memoir, Fiction, Humor, Journalism, Marketing, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Playwriting, Poetry, Publishing, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Screen-writing, Travel,
Faculty: 30 daily faculty plus evening speakers
Costs   $625 includes barbecue, cocktail reception, awards banquet.

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Corte Madera, CA, August 9 – 12, 2012

http://bookpassage.com/travel-food-photography-conference

(Just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco)
Conference Coordinator: Kathryn Petrocelli
Phone: (800) 999-7909 ext 239
bpconferences@bookpassage.com

Geared to Food & Travel writers and photographers this Conference has an extraordinary, international reputation among publishers, editors, and writers. This four-day Conference offers an array of writing and photography workshops in the morning, a full afternoon of panels and discussions, and evening faculty presentations.
The faculty includes publishers, magazine editors, photographers, travel essayists, food writers, guidebook writers and more.

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Key West, FL, every January

http://www.kwls.org

Program Description
4-day seminar includes readings, conversations, lectures, panel discussions. 4-day writers’ workshops feature AM writing sessions (limit 8-12/instructor) and PM individual consultations, talks, open readings.
Program Length Seminar: 4 days / Workshops: 4 days each
Group Size or S:T Ratio Seminar: 350-400 / Workshops: 12:1
Program Focus
Autobiography/Memoir, Children’s, Fiction, Humor, Journalism, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Playwriting, Poetry, Publishing, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Screenwriting, Travel, Young Adult
Costs   Seminar $495; Workshops $450.
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For a full list of writers retreats in the USA go to:  http://writing.shawguides.com

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Marketing Tips for Your New e-Book

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How can you introduce your fantastic new book to the world?
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There are lots of possibilities to let everyone know about your book, here are just a few. Browsing through this extensive blog, you will find hundreds more!  Most important is to have a solid amount of friends and followers on Goodreads, FB, Twitter and Google+ and long list of opt-in email addresses to send out invitations for your book launch.
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Announce books on these book reader’s blogs and websites:

http://www.ebooksjustpublished.com/about

http://jcphelps.blogspot.com/p/submit-content.html

http://www.markswriterbloc.com

http://spaldings-racket.blogspot.com

http://www.manicreaders.com/index.cfm?disp=authors

http://www.Goodreads.com

http://books.google.com/googlebooks/tour/

Google writes:  “Once you send Google your titles (or upload them as PDF files), we’ll add them to our index for free. By matching the content in your books with user searches, Google Books connects your books with the users who are most interested in buying them. Each Google Books result will display the book’s title and author, a short excerpt containing the highlighted search terms, and other public data about the book.”

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Get as many book reviews as possible:

Just some samples of many. To find reviewers is so much easier if you are well-established in Goodreads communities and other writer / book forums. Start a book giveaway on Goodreads at least a month before your book will be printed (create “dummies” with the help of a digital copy/print company or through “espresso book machines”. When giving out these early copies, try to solicit as many reviews as possible. Use the best reviews for blurbs on your final book cover.

http://www.GoodReads.com

http://www.Wattpad.com

http://bookreviewclub.blogspot.ca/

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=47

http://www.amazon.com/tag/kindle/forum

If you have an Amazon account, you could visit the Amazon Kindle forum, where Kindle users share their experiences with the Kindle reader, and also talk about books available for the Kindle. Many authors also post about their new books and join the conversations. When you introduce yourself, consider telling folks there about your book.  Be polite and conversational in tone, and be sure to provide direct hyperlinks to your book page.
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Start early! If you’re waiting until the book is finished to start marketing, you’re already behind the curve. As an author, you should devote a portion of every day to get your name out there and to build relationships with prospective readers, partners and friends.
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All books live or die based on word of mouth!
If you try to build your network after you release your book, you’ll face a more difficult challenge. If you build a large social network before you release your book, your marketing efforts will be much more successful.
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Help is on the way:
If you have a full-time job and / or other commitments and not at least an hour per day left to build your platform and network with potential readers, let us do a good part of your book PR, and at the same time teach you how it can be done on a very low budget – all for only a dollar / day.  Read more about the extensive package we offer for 3 months-promotion of your book.

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Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

 

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Pingates

 

10 Commands of Social Networking

Twitter, Facebook, Blogs… 

1. Social Media is instant communication.  Managing time for  requests, connections, and comments is important.
2. Be upfront and honest.
3. Don’t try to do everything at once. Take it one Social Network at a time. Don’t start blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin all at the same time.
4. Treat connections with respect. People are so important.
5. Did you know you have a great reach across the internet? People want to connect with people.
6. It’s not about the most connections when it comes to Social Networking, It’s about having relevant connections.
7. Be comfortable in the network(s).  Be able to be your authentic self.
8. Don’t feel like you have to do something just because someone else is. Does it make sense for you?
9. Ask questions and share, share, share. Everyone has questions, some have answers. Get a dialog going…. After all, Social Media is about sharing.
10. Start thinking about Social Media as a conversation not a transaction. You will get REALLY frustrated if you think it’s an immediate fix.Set-up your bio(s) for optimization.   Use key words that will attract the type of people that you want to connect with.

Let Connections grow like a Mayflower

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Foreign book rights

When a foreign publisher makes an offer to acquire rights to your book for its country, the game is on. Negotiating a deal that is good and fair for both of you is your agent’s job.

Most agents charge 20% (or sometimes even 25%) on foreign sales (including British and translations).
This 20% rate is justified because normally two agents are involved (the second one being in the foreign country), and they end up splitting the commission.

You should never agree to be paying over 25% commissions for any type of sale.
Note that your foreign sales will likely be subject to a local withholding tax (10% is common), and that all of that tax burden will be borne by you (that is, the agent will take his or her commission off the pre-tax gross).

If you are not represented already, why not try to find agents or even publishers yourself in other countries, especially if you speak more than one language?
I just found a blog post from a successful writer, who did just that: searched the internet, found contact addresses of agents in other countries and contacted them. He wrote:

“How does one sell rights in the international marketplace?
My first foreign rights sales occurred as a result of Book Expo America, where for a small fee my book was displayed in a co-op booth.  Although the book didn’t take Book Expo by storm — as I somehow thought it would — it received interest from and I sold translation rights to publishers in Mexico, Poland and Nigeria.  If publishers in such diverse countries and cultures wanted the book, I was sure publishers in other countries would also want it.”

Read the whole article here:
http://axiomawards.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/selling-foreign-rights-around-the-world/

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How successful is your blog?

How successful is your blog?

You created your blog, and write post after post… Eventually the amount of visitors and followers grows.  Other bloggers are linking to you and you get comments. Your blog lifts off – but how much?  How do you measure your blog’s performance? How do you keep track of it?

Why measure your web search results?
Having a blog is great, but unless you can measure its effectiveness, you may not get its full benefits.
Get Server Statistics:

Traffic Analysis Firewall Log Analysis Software for Bandwidth & Traffic Monitoring
http://www.fwanalyzer.com

In-Depth Website Reports Gain instant marketing insight with performance dashboards
http://www.omniture.com

Increase Website Traffic
http://www.prweb.com

VisiStat Website Tracking
http://www.visistat.com

Web Traffic Analysis
http://www.sawmill.net

Basic Traffic Analysis
http://www.statcounter.com

Free Google Analytics
http://www.google.com/analytics

Web search results:

Web Marketing Strategico
http://www.webmarketingstrategico.com/strategia_MKTG.html

Webmaster resources and Information
http://www.klickonusa.com/links/webmasterresources.html

IP-Country mapping Database 2010.02
http://www.justdownloadsite.com/12621/details-ip-country-mapping-database.html

By tapping into the many (often free) services you can verify your efforts of reaching the desired audience, not only for your blog, but also your entire web presence.

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Coffee-table books in digital format

Are coffee-table books now available on e-Readers?

Apple’s latest version of its iBooks app, which allows e-books to have a pictorial layout similar to printed books and supports full page illustrations, has been hailed by one publisher as being “the beginning of a phenomenally exciting phase in picture book publishing”.

The new version of the online store means all publishers signed up to Apple’s terms on the iBookstore, including the “Big Five” (publishers), will be able to release fully illustrated e-books.

Pan Macmillan digital director Sara Lloyd said: “We are delighted with this first step towards expanding our e-book program to cover our color integrated books.”

AA Publishing in Great Britain today released its first illustrated books on the iBook store, “Landscape Photographer of the Year” and “British Wildlife Photography Awards 2010”.

For sure, this new iBooks update will open doors to fully illustrated publishing.

 

e-Book Trendspotting

e-Book Trends & Surveys

Several surveys of consumer attitudes towards e-books, e-readers and devices have been released, that revealed trends for the future of digital publishing, helping to support common (sense?) e-predictions.

Respondents who said they prefer to read e-books on e-Readers e.g. Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes & Noble’s Nook, only 27% are buying fewer paperback titles, and only 25% are buying fewer hardcovers, despite almost 40% increasing their purchases of e-books.

This suggests that people will continue to buy multiple formats, despite using an e-reading device.  4% of dedicated e-reader users have bought more hardcovers since they started buying e-books and 2% have bought an increasing number of paperbacks. It turns out that content in multiple formats actually increases book purchasing across the board.

Similarly, of all the US e-Reader owners surveyed by New York-based Verso Advertising’s, over 90% said that they would continue to purchase printed books. The majority (70.1%) said they would purchase over six printed books next year and a quarter (25.8%) said they would buy 13 or more print books.  The context is that e-Reader early adopters would be keener readers.

Are digital growth predictions too optimistic?

No question, digital is increasing, and publishers need to meet their customers demand. Market researcher Mintel’s report, Books and E-Books, February 2011, notes that judging the true size of the market is difficult because of the scant hard data on e-book sales, yet adds: “Regardless of the paucity of data on the subject, there is little doubt from comments made by publishers and retailers that the e-books market is growing rapidly.” The report then suggests that in the US, e-book sales in 2010 were up by 164%, and now account for almost 10% of the market; and that in the UK, e-books are estimated to account for anything between 1% and 3% of the total market.

 

Price issues
E-book readers suggested they should pay less for an e-book than for a hardback, the vast majority is expecting to pay 40%–70% less for an e-book.  Just 19% said they expected to pay the same price for the printed equivalent. The report also states that “e-book readers are most likely to buy books online because it is cheaper (49%), suggesting that, as e-books increase their share of the market, there is going to be even more pressure on prices than there is at present.”

Similarly, BISG’s survey finds “affordability” ranks highest in importance for consumers when deciding whether to buy e-books instead of print books, with just over 70% stating that the price of the title being within an “acceptable range” is a key factor. The ease of acquisition of titles is not far behind, however, with just under 70% suggesting that the ease of downloading or streaming an e-book is very important.

Price slips down a few notches in importance when it comes to the devices themselves. BISG found that when it comes to customer satisfaction with devices, portability (just under 80%) and the ability to carry multiple e-books on a single device (just over 70%), are more important than the actual cost of e-books (just over 60%).

Verso has found that customers’ satisfaction with their devices also seems to be leading to some acceptance of higher prices for e-Readers.
See the whole Verso Survey as power-point-presentation  http://www.versoadvertising.com/dbwsurvey/

 

Writers Retreats and Workshops

Writers retreats and workshops are a wonderful opportunity to load the batteries, make new friends, learn a lot about writing and book marketing and overcome writers block. Not to speak about the recreational aspect…

Here is a short excerpt of what’s offered for authors in 2011 in Canada:

BANFF Alberta, Canada

Writing With Style (Fall) Program dates: September 11, 2011 – September 17, 2011
Application deadline: June 15, 2011

More:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/programs/program.aspx?id=1081

SALT SPRING ISLAND, BC, Canada

Program Length 8 weeks, several times a year
Group Ratio 1-5
Program Focus Autobiography/Memoir, Fiction Novelist Pearl Luke, MA, 21 years writing/teaching/ editing experience; winner 2001

Commonwealth Prize for Best First Novel in Canada/Caribbean; nominee for the 2008 IMPAC Dublin International Literary Award.

More:
http://www.be-a-better-writer.com

TATAMAGOUCHE, NS, Canada

Program Focus Fiction, Non-fiction Independent Writing Retreat 2011
July 24, 2011 7:00 P.M. –  29, 2011 1:00 P.M
Gwen Davies is a writer, creative writing teacher, and the founder of Nova Scotia’s summer writing retreat Community of Writers. Her short stories have appeared in literary magazines including The Antigonish Review and Pottersfield Portfolio, and in The Blue Jean Collection from Thistledown Press. She won the Javier de Mier Literary Contest in Madrid, Spain (in translation) in 2002. Gwen has also worked across Nova Scotia as a journalist for the Globe and Mail, CBC Radio, Atlantic Insight Magazine and others. She graduated with a BA Hons from Wilfrid Laurier and a BJ from King’s, and is an active member of the writing community of Nova Scotia. http://www.writers.ns.ca/Writers/D/daviesgwen.html

More:
http://www.tatacentre.ca

Hunts Point Nova Scotia

FREDERICTON, NB, Canada
Program Focus Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Children’s: July 4-8, 2011
Time: One-day workshops run from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Evening workshops run from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Getting Started Non-Fiction Writing for Fun and Profit
Workshop in Creative Short Fiction
The Thrill and Romance of Popular Fiction
Write in Nature Murder and Mayhem
Mystery Writing Pitching the Publisher
Life Lines: Writing the Stories of Your Life
Going Whole Blog: Writing for the blogosphere

More:
http://www.unb.ca/cel/programs/creative/maritime-writers/index.html

TORONTO, ON, Canada
The Humber School for Writers
July 9 – July 15, 2011
Program Description AM classes, PM lectures, readings, one-on-one meeting with instructor
Program Length 7 days Group Size or S:T Ratio 80
Program Focus Fiction, Poetry
Faculty 2011: Richard Bausch, David Bezmozgis, Wayson Choy, Bruce Jay Friedman, Julia Glass, Isabel Huggan, Alistair MacLeod, John Metcalf, Kim Moritsugu, Nino Ricci, Olive Senior, Guy Vanderhaeghe,
Erika de Vasconcelos, Frieda Wishinsky

More:
http://creativeandperformingarts.humber.ca/writers/index.html

More on Writer’s Retreats in the USA will follow.

 

 

How important are Book Covers?

 

 

How important are covers in terms of selling a book?

A book cover has less than 8 seconds to catch a reader’s attention. Maybe store placement also matters, but book covers are extremely important to sell both: printed and ebooks.

Three aspects of a book make the greatest first impression on potential readers.

• Cover
• Title
• Opening sentences

If the cover art does its job well, it will portray the tone and genre of the book accurately—and help it stand out from its competition on the bookshelf.

Practical considerations:

Key elements must be present in your book’s cover for it to be properly distributed

• ISBN number
• EAN bar code,
• Title
• Author name
• Publisher logo
• Blurbs

• Select a working title and a subtitle.
• Use ‘sans serif’ font for display headers.
• It is important for your book cover design to inform readers of your book’s subject.
• NEVER USE WHITE as background color. Your book would be almost invisible on Amazon’s website (and many others) especially at their thumbnail size book images.  Color sets the mood and background colors should match the topic. Purple doesn’t fit on a business book and pink not on a DIY book.

Covers are a marketing tool.
They target major buyers as much as end-readers. It’s a fact that buyers for the chain stores will order more copies of a book they find visually appealing, so their opinion counts, even to the extent that publishers will entirely change a book’s cover if an influential buyer doesn’t like it.

An interesting and compelling cover often means an interesting and compelling read.

You only have 8 seconds to capture your audience and generate interest in your published book. Don’t waste your time. Create that “BUY NOW” emotion.

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e-Book Royalties

Publishers need authors, but authors need publishers … not necessarily anymore…

The 17.5% e-book royalty his publishers were offering, looked less and less attractive for US writer Barry Eisler, compared to the 70% he can now make on his own.”

Barry Eisler who walked away from a US$500,000 two-book deal from St Martin’s Press is not the first author to self-publish e-books although he may be the first to turn down such a lucrative contract. But it is happening to hundreds of authors all round the world who are doing the same. So how many more authors need to go it on their own before publishers realise that the deal they are offering at the moment, 25% of net proceeds, is just not enough if they are to hang on to some authors and their e-book rights?

Authors are pretty savvy today and they know what’s being offered by Amazon and other online retailers and they can compare these with the rates offered by publishers. The situation with publishers has gone so bad that they refuse to negotiate rates even with bestselling authors and have instead threaten not to offer to publish if the author is not prepared to agree to their fixed rate.

e-Book Revolution

The world is changing fast and sadly, not in the right direction for the publishing industry, which means less books will be sold through the traditional bookshops.  Writers and publishers are already finding that e-books sales are beginning to be a significant part of their business. The e-book revolution has already started and in the next decade, there will be a whole generation of young readers who will think nothing of reading a book electronically.

What the e-book revolution has done is to enable anyone to get their own books published online bypassing a publisher. If publishers no longer have control over the rights available, what kind of business will they have for the future?  Publishers therefore must be eager to secure book rights and this they can easily done by offering a fair rate to authors for their e-book rights.

The nightmare scenario for publishers is when a truly major brand author: a Dan Brown, a …. realises that they can likely earn twice as much from half the sales if they publish their own e-books.  These authors always can go to one of the also respected mid size publishers if they want paper books additionally.

e-Book Readers

Less costly

Creating ebooks (including the editing, layout, cover design and converting of the manuscript into the actual e-book) costs less as there are

– no paper, print, production costs
– no distribution costs in a time of ever-increasing fuel prices
– no need for inventory cost and control
– fast cash / secure credit card payments
and most important: no return of books!!!

Even at a 50% share with the author, the margins are greater than those they can make from traditional bookselling.

The move away from print to e-book was happening faster than people imagined, and publishers are likely to lose out if they do not adapt by offering an e-book royalty more in keeping with the split of development and production costs.

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Twitter

Involvement in social media is essential for writers at    
all stages of their careers, as we need to be actively
involved in our PR and marketing these days.

Face Book gets most of the attention, but for many Twitter is more relevant, because it allows to really connect with people.  Engaging with like-minded people is the whole point of social media. You can only interact properly if you are genuinely interested, have fun with and if you like writing and books and like talking to people about it.

There are plenty of Twitter accounts which exist purely to push products, services or people, and they are easy to spot. Ultimately this can led to a book deal, in the same way as talking to an editor at a convention might.

Social media works, but it’s important to remember that in order for social media to be effective, it is vital to keep the emphasis on the social aspect.  Don’t just use it to push your latest book or service – no-one likes being spammed.

In publishing – as in all other businesses – people prefer to do business with people they like.

 

Google Deal Denied

 

Judge throws out revised Google Book Settlement

In court documents filed on March 22, New York Judge Denny Chin said: “While the digitization of books and the creation of a universal digital library would benefit many, the ASA would simply go too far. It would permit this class action–which was brought against defendant Google Inc. to challenge its scanning of books and display of ‘snippets’ for on-line searching–to implement a forward-looking business arrangement that would grant Google significant rights to exploit entire books, without permission of the copyright owners.

Indeed, the ASA (Amended Settle Agreement) would give Google a significant advantage over competitors, rewarding it for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission, while releasing claims well beyond those presented in the case.”

ASA deals with two issues:
The first is the settlement of Google’s past conduct and copyright infringement.  The second is an arrangement to permit Google’s proposed much broader future sale and exploitation of the works.

The judge concluded that “this second part of the ASA contemplates an arrangement that exceeds what the court may permit”.  Chin added: “In the end, I conclude that the ASA is not fair, adequate, and reasonable.  As the United States and other objectors have noted, many of the concerns raised in the objections would be ameliorated if the ASA were converted from an “opt-out” settlement to an “opt-in” settlement. I urge the parties to consider revising the ASA accordingly.  The motion for final approval of the ASA is denied, without prejudice to renewal in the event the parties negotiate a revised settlement agreement.”

Some are claiming this as a victory: but though the Settlement had its flaws its major achievement was to bring Google’s scanning under some kind of legal framework, and establish a way for all parties to move forward.  The ruling breaks that bond, and throws everything in the air once more.

 

How Agents work and How to work with Agents

LITERARY AGENTS

Is it really necessary to use the services of a publishing agent?

Except for those publishing houses which deal exclusively with agents, authors don’t really need an agent to submit their work for publication consideration. In Canada, just to name one country, very few book deals are done by agents, only under five percent.  An author can do everything an agent does, though an agent might have better knowledge of the market and what the publishing houses are buying.

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For those writers who might think they need an agent have a look at the do’s and don’ts of both sides:

• Reputable agents will not charge you a fee up front to represent your book. They earn their living by selling your book to a publisher and gaining a commission. That commission is a percentage of the proceeds your book earns. For one thing, this gives the agent an incentive to actually market your book around to various publishers likely to buy it for publication. This is another reason why many agents pick submissions carefully. They know what publishers are looking for and they will not accept anything which isn’t ready for submission or close enough that a few days of editing will make the difference.

• Most agents these days charge 15% commission on domestic sales (USA & Canada). Never under any circumstances should you pay expenses or any fees up front: the agent only receives money by deducting his or her 15% commission from your eventual earnings.  An agent telling new writers that she/he was charging 15% commission plus expenses — that’s a rip-off; don’t agree to it. The Association of Authors Representatives (professional organization of literary agents) also forbids the charging of “reading fees.” If an agent asks you to pay a fee for his or her “evaluation” of your manuscript, refuse!
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• Agents have differing commission rates though you will not have the option of shopping around as much as you might like. Most important, the agent has to be willing to represent your work.  Once an agent offers representation, the author better takes the offer. After having established a great reputation as a novelist, one can shop around for a better deal – if it is to be found.

• If a manuscript is truly marketable in the agent’s opinion but needs editing, most agents will tell so but not recommend a particular editing service.  A good agent might name some without recommending any editing service in particular.  Some agents have even been known to go above and beyond the call of duty in assisting with the editing themselves when they feel they have a sure winner to represent.

• But authors should have ensured that a manuscript was edited prior to submitting it to any agent or publisher. Remember that the editors of a publishing house are not there to edit out any mistakes, they are the decision-making managers.

• The agent is also the money manager besides being the one responsible for getting the best deal for the author with any publishing house. When the manuscript sells to a publisher, the agent is the one who receives the money. The agent subtracts the appropriate commission and pays the remainder to the author.

• An inquiry letter is not a submission. Use an inquiry letter when contacting publishers who deal by invitation only.  If your inquiry letter gains the publisher’s interest, the publisher will then request to see the manuscript.
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Market instability or other factors make agents reluctant to take on any new writers, especially not first-time authors, no matter how well the writer writes. However, if you feel you must have an agent, then you must sell both your manuscript and yourself / your platform to the agent. A good query letter is the key to pitch your book.

• Do not send manuscripts to agents unless the agent’s guidelines expressly state that those are acceptable within initial correspondence.
• Email messages should be kept to a length of one or two pages unless explicitly invited to send a manuscript or sample chapters.

• Go to the agent’s sites and follow their submission guidelines to the letter.
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Find Addresses of Agents in these Books:

• 2015 Writer’s Market  the best Resource for Authors
• Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market
• Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market
• Poet’s Market, Writer’s Market
• Publish Your Non-fiction Book
• Guide to Literary Agents
• Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers
• Writer’s Digest
• Editors, Literary Agents
• The Canadian Writer’s Market
• The Canadian Writer’s Guide for Canadian agents
• Literary Marketplace
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Since the US is the largest market with the most potential for sales you should seriously consider getting an agent there, before you commit to anything in Canada or the UK.  However Canadian Publishers don’t require always agents, while American Publishers are almost always insisting on it.  Important for success is not only perfect writing skills and an enticing story, but also to have more than just one book, and also to show a great Social Media author platform with thousands of potential readers. 

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Helpful websites for blogging authors

Blogging is not only fun, but helps you to connect with your book readers and fellow writers. Take advantage of the helpful tips and websites I gathered (see below) and use them to improve your book marketing.  Every author should have a blog as a shopping window for the world.

Do this:

• Read lots of other blogs – and give positive comments     
• Write enthusiastically
• Conduct interviews
• Focus on your audience and the blog theme
• Link. Link. Link…
• Keep posts short if possible
• Use CAPTCHA to avoid spam

Don’t : Pitch sales or products

Where to blog

http://www.Blogger.com
http://www.LiveType.com
http://www.TypePad.com
http://www.WordPress.com
http://www.b2evolution.com

http://www.twitter.com (micro-blog) and
http://www.YouTube.com (video logging)

Blog Search Engines to submit blogs:

Submit only! your site’s highest quality and funniest posts to:

Digg  http://about.digg.com/about  
Reddit!  http://www.reddit.com/
Technorati  http:/www.technorati.com
BlogExplosion  http://www.blogexplosion.com
BlogCarnival  http://blogcarnival.com/bc/

You can also host your Blog directly on your primary web domain.
If you have a website, host your blog within that domain if possible. The addition of your blog to your website will attract links, publicity, and search rankings — not to mention trust in your brand.

 

 

e-Book Millionaire

E-book selling has taken out the entire distribution and book-return process as writers find easy, simple ways to publish their books and place them straight into e-book stores.

Current prices large publishers charge for e-books (anywhere from US $ 9.99 to US $ 16.99) will have to be reduced if they want to compete.  There are too many good and/or popular books that are selling for much lower prices.  “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” sells for US $ 5.00 on Sony’s ebook store, for example. Stephen King, and Dean Koontz also have e-books on the market for under US $ 10.00, or even under  US $ 5.00 for some of their titles.

 

e-Readers

The eBook Poster Girl
Twenty-six year old Amanda Hocking has quickly become an e-book bestseller with her nine self-published paranormal novels about trolls, vampires, and zombies.  Amazing is that she only began publishing ebooks in March 2010.  By the end of that year she’d sold 164,000 copies of her e-books priced from $.99 to $2.99.  This January she sold over 450,000 copies, (99% of them e-books).

She attributes her success to aggressive marketing on twitter, Facebook, and her blogs.   And: she’s outselling big name authors. How is a large publisher going to compete with the wave of independently published books that lots of people are buying?

In the future, distribution won’t be the main reason a book sells.  It will be price and content. Hocking is not the only new and unknown author who is selling well.  Following the Amazon / Kindle forums, you’ll quickly realize that a growing percentage of unknown writers are selling thousands of copies of their books, and when a print book sells 500 copies these days, that is already considered good.