Viewing time: 4 mins. 

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #129, which discusses how to find an agent. The post first ran on Feb. 21/20.

Transcript: 

Have you ever wondered about how to find an agent? That’s the topic I’m addressing today in The Write Question. I’m Daphne Gray-Grant, the Publication Coach. 

I have a question from Diane Olson, a writer based in Eugene, Oregon. Here’s what she asked by email…. 

“I have a great idea for a story. How do I find an agent?” 

Thanks for your question, Diane. The first thing I need to tell you is that great ideas are a dime a dozen. Or, as Stephen King puts it, “talent is cheaper than table salt.” 

The quality of your idea is not what will make you a successful author. And it won’t get you an agent either. You need to make sure the quality of your writing is on par with the quality of your idea. 

The first thing to understand is that — if you’re talking fiction — and I assume you are, you can’t sell an idea. You can only sell a book. 

So, you’ll need to write that entire book before you even go looking for an agent. And you might want to hire an editor to do some work on it too. 

On the other hand, if your book is non-fiction, you’ll only have to write a couple of sample chapters and a table of contents before you go agent shopping. 

Still, consider hiring an editor for those sample chapters as well. Anything that goes to an agent should be as perfect as you can make it. 

But whatever your genre, don’t send agents an entire manuscript or even the sample chapters without a query letter first. 

A query letter is like a first date. You don’t know what this person is going to be like yet. And they don’t know you either — so don’t go proposing marriage. Take things slowly! I’m attaching a link to an excellent Jane Friedman post on how to write a query letter, below. 

Let me sketch out a few other points you should know: 

• You don’t hire an agent; you come to an agreement with one. 
• Agents get paid only when they sell your work and they receive a 15 percent commission on everything you’re paid. Steer clear of any agent who tries to charge you any fees beyond the standard 15%. 
• Not every book needs an agent. For example, if your title is going to a small or mid-sized publisher, you may be able to negotiate the deal yourself.
• Agents often specialize in genre or at least represent a few of them. So, if you’re writing romance novels, you won’t be looking at the same agents who represent literary fiction, or non-fiction. 

One trick you can use to find suitable agents is go to a library or bookstore and look for books in the same category as the one you want to write. Then, scan the acknowledgements section of those books. Most authors will thank their agent in there and, voila, you will have a name to pursue. 

Just be aware that you will not be represented by Margaret Atwood’s agent — even if you’re writing dystopian fiction — no matter how good your idea may be. You just don’t have the experience yet. 

One of my clients met his agent at a writing workshop, so you could try that tactic as well. 

Or there are some websites and services, some of which charge monthly fees you can try. These include: WritersMarket.com, AgentQuery.com and QueryTracker.net. Links below.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from Groucho Marx. 

“I wish to be cremated. One tenth of my ashes shall be given to my agent, as written in our contract.”     

When you have a good idea, Diane, I know it kind of lights a fire under you. But use that spark to spur your writing process. Writing a book will probably take you at least a year, maybe more. Do that before you go looking for an agent. 

*

If you’d like to learn how to make writing a happier, more fulfilling process for yourself, please look at my latest book, Your Happy First Draft. I don’t sell it in bookstores or via Amazon. The only place to buy it is on my website, link below.  

Links 

Jane Friedman’s complete guide to query letters 

WritersMarket.com

AgentQuery.com

QueryTracker.net 

Your Happy First Draft 

Viewing time: 4 mins. 52 secs.

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #99, which addresses how to evaluate a publishing contract. The post first ran on July 12/19.

Transcript:

 Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant and my topic today is how to evaluate a publishing contract. 

I have a question from Lisa Rumple — a writer based in Vancouver. Here’s what she’s asked: 

“I’m considering signing a contract with a publishing company and I don’t know how to evaluate what they are offering. Can you give me any advice?” 

Thanks for your question, Lisa. As you know, after receiving your email, I contacted you and asked to see a copy of the contract. It represents a new trend in book publishing and I’d like to warn all authors about it. 

The nature of book publishing has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Three issues have driven this change:

1. The existence of the Internet
2. The rise of Amazon.com, and
3. Print-on-demand publishing

Of course, you’ll be familiar with the first two points, but you may not have thought of the third. Print-on-demand publishing allows printers to do very small pressruns – somewhere between five and 10 copies.

In previous generations, the cost of setting up the presses was so extreme that you had to print at least a thousand books before the costs made any sense. Now, however, printers can do exceptionally small press-runs and this means that authors or publishing companies don’t have to make a big investment up front. Amazon.com also acts as a publisher and its books are mostly printed on demand, which is what makes their entire system feasible. 

So, as a result of these major behind the scenes changes, another type of publishing empire has sprung up. Sometimes, this empire is called hybrid publishing. But other terms are also used and these include partnership-publishing, author-assisted publishing and entrepreneurial-publishing. I’m including a link below to an article from writer’s digest that summarizes many aspects of the hybrid publishing model. 

Basically, this model calls on you to pay some of the costs associated with publishing. In your case Lisa, I can see they want you to pay $6,000. The concern I have is that your contract doesn’t really make it clear what kind of royalty you’re going to be paid. Basically, royalties for traditional publishing are in the less-than-10% range. If you’re paying for part of the publishing upfront, your “partner” should be paying you more than 10% and your contract needs to specify exactly how much more that royalty is going to be. 

I’ve also noticed in your contract that the services they ARE offering you seem very limited. They say they will give you structural or substantive editing — which is good — but the specify they will NOT provide copy editing, which is bad. 

They say they are going to provide you with layout services and a cover design but they don’t mention how tailored this will be to your book. Finally, they say they will offer marketing support, but what they are suggesting looks very generic to me – they’ll offer CRITIQUES of whatever it is YOU are going to do. 

Lisa, part of the reason I don’t like hybrid publishing is that you, the author, lose control over who does the work for you and yet you get almost none of the benefits of a traditional publishing arrangement. 

As a self-published author myself, I hire my own editor and cover designer and layout artist. The total of that will probably cost me more than $6,000 but not much more and I have total control. I also make 100% of what I sell, not a royalty. 

If you have some smarts and some determination and $6,000 to spend on publishing, then spend it yourself. You don’t need a hybrid publisher to help you. 

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from the great American writer Anne Lamott, author of Bird by Bird, link below: “Publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises…. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.”   

Lisa, many people seem to believe that they will become writers only by being published. That is not true. You are a writer when you write. If you want to become published, there are several ways to achieve that end. I encourage you to think beyond hybrid publishing. 

Links 

What is Hybrid Publishing?

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Viewing time:  4 mins. 41 secs. 

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #84,  which describes how to know what your book mindmap is ready. The post first ran on Feb. 8/19.

Transcript: 

Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant and my topic today is about how to know when your book mindmap is ready.

I have a question from Caty Ribas, a post doc student based in Madrid, Spain.  Here’s what’s she’s asked.

 “When do you know that your mindmap for a book is ready? In the videos, you explain that mindmapping can be inspirational (so there’s no need to finish it if you feel ready to start writing) or organizational (and then you can create the table of contents). But in terms of the organizational mindmap, how will I know when I’m happy with the order and the content of the chapters? Some chapters are quite logical and easy, but some others are more tricky. Should I start writing as soon as I have a so-so mindmap or should I keep working on it until my ideas are clear and I have a better mindmap?”

Thanks for your interesting questions, Caty. Because some viewers might not be familiar with mindmapping, I’m providing two links below. One describes how to do the regular inspirational mindmap. And the other addresses the topic of organizational mindmaps for books.

The approach I recommend for mindmapping is similar to the one I suggest for writing. Don’t worry about being perfect while you’re doing it. Getting perfection — or as close to it as we can — is the job of editing, not creating.

And yes, this editing will be hard, time-consuming work. I estimate that editing books takes at least TWICE as long as writing them.

But having a better or prettier or more perfect mindmap is not likely to reduce your editing time or make is substantially easier. Why? Because as you become more familiar with your topic and more deeply immersed in your manuscript, you’ll continue to have new ideas and you’ll have to figure out ways to incorporate them. Sometimes, this will be hard!

As I was researching my answer for you, I came across a wonderful three-minute video on perfectionism, prepared by the London School of Life. I suggest you watch it and I provide a link below.

Here’s some of what the video says:

Perfectionism is the unreasonable and self-defeating ambition of getting something absolutely right, which makes us difficult to be around and punishing to live within…

High standards only become a problem when we think something might and should be substantially easier than it turns out to be. And when we read our struggles as marks of our own ineptitude rather than as an inevitable part of a legitimately lengthy journey. Perfectionism is only a problem because we have under-budgeted for difficulty – not because we are aiming high.

I think it’s worth acknowledging to yourself that writing a book is a challenging, time-consuming job. It’s work that requires a great deal of time, energy and commitment. I just shipped my next book off to my copy editor and I can tell you it was way more onerous than I expected. And I’m a professional writer who’s written a book before. There is nothing easy about the process.

Let me also share a story about my own book that you might find instructive. I had to move one of my chapters to an entirely different spot from the one I’d planned originally. Long after I’d done my mindmap, I had a sudden vision for the overall organization of the book. It was different from the first vision I’d had. And it was better.

Could I have come up with this new idea with more careful mindmapping? I doubt it. I think it was a product of the amount of time I’d spent thinking about the manuscript and the many hours of writing and editing I’d logged.

Mindmapping is a great tool. But it’s not a Swiss Army knife; it can’t do everything. The ultimate secret to really good writing and to an excellent book is rigorous editing.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy: “If you look for perfection, you will never be content.”  

Thanks for the question, Caty! I encourage you to keep on mindmapping. But don’t expect your mindmaps to be perfect. Instead, expect them to have flaws and oversights and imperfections. Just like us!

Links:

How to create an [inspirational] mindmap (video)

How can I mindmap my book? (video)

The problem with perfectionism (School of Life video) 

Viewing time: 5 mins. 4 secs.

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #77, with advice on when to start new chapters in your book. The post first ran on Dec. 14/18.

Transcript: 

Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant and my topic today is when to start a new chapter.

I have a question from Laura White from Edmonton, Alberta. Here’s what’s she’s asked.

 “How do you  know when to start writing a new chapter for my novel?”

Thanks for your short and succinct question, Laura. First, I want to point out that I’m a non-fiction writer, not a novelist, so you might want to take my advice with a grain of salt. But that said, I’m a really serious reader — I read at least 52 books each year — and I have strong opinions that reflect about 47 years of voracious reading.

If you look at other books, you may have noticed that some writers and/or publishers seem to have loosened the reins a bit. For example, I recently read the book The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy (link below) and she didn’t seem to have conventional chapters. Instead, she just had chunks of extra space to divide different portions of the book.

Now, I was reading her book on a Kindle, so I have no idea how the printed version looked. It might have been a bit different. I mention this example only to remind you that you don’t need to provide conventionally numbered chapters. Some writers use space, asterisks or other symbolic ‘divisions’ to show they want to reader to see the next bit of text a little bit differently.

On the other hand, if you’re committed to conventional chapters, here’s what I suggest. If your book is going to be 80,000 words, which is considered the ‘average’ for a first novel, you probably want somewhere between 18 and 25 chapters. You don’t need to set them up when you’re writing. Instead, earmark a symbol — it could be a hashtag or an asterisk or even a bunch of XXXXXs— and, as you’re writing, insert it wherever you think you MIGHT be a natural spot for a chapter break.

Then, when you’re editing, you can search for that symbol and decide whether it’s in a good spot and if you want to keep the chapter break there. Be aware that there is no “right” or “wrong” with respect to making chapters. It’s an artistic decision.

So, your next question is probably going to be, when MIGHT be a good spot for a chapter break?

The answer to that kind of depends on the type of book you’re writing. If you’re working on a thriller or mystery, for example, you might want to pick spots of great excitement and end a chapter there.

I’m sure you’ve seen this technique used on television. The final show in a season often has something really exciting happen — a cliff-hanger — and the idea is to keep people so intrigued they’ll be sure to come back next season. Shows like Gray’s Anatomy, Breaking Bad and Mad Men all did this.

But there’s also a literary tradition to cliffhangers. Charles Dickens made the practice popular way back in the mid-nineteenth century when his book The Old Curiosity Shop was published in installments in magazines. He made sure to end each installment with a cliff-hanger. Apparently, in 1841, his fans rioted on the dock of New York Harbor, as they waited for a British ship carrying the next installment. “Is little Nell dead?” they screamed.

Of course, you won’t want to end EVERY chapter this way. But for the right type of book, it can be a very effective technique.

One other method for identifying chapter breaks is to look for changes of place, time or point of view. If, for example, you go from a scene in New York City, to one in Los Angeles, for example, you might want to mark that shift by starting a new chapter.

Similarly, if you’re wanting to present more than one voice, as Barbara Kingsolver does in her book The Poisonwood Bible, you can end a chapter whenever you want to the voice to change. In Kingsolver’s book, link below, the mother narrates the introductory chapter and the narrative then alternates among the four daughters.

Again, let me repeat that making chapters is more of an art than a science so be prepared to experiment, make changes and, most of all, make mistakes.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from British-born Canadian writer Matt Hughes: “Many first-time novelists end up rewriting their first two or three chapters, trying to get them ‘just right.’ But the point of the first draft is not to get it right; it’s to get it written — so that you’ll have something to work with.”

Thanks for the question, Laura. Just remember that the objective of your first draft is to get your story on the page. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have the freedom to change the placement of chapters however you like.

Links: 

The Rules Do Not Apply by Arial Levy

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Viewing time: 5 min. 10 sec.

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #70, with advice on how to protect your book’s confidentiality. The post first ran on Oct. 19/18.

Transcript: 

Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant and my topic is how to protect confidential information in your book.

Today, I have a question from Darlene Haber, a writer living in Portland, Maine. Here’s what she’s asked.

“The co-author of my book is concerned about the confidentiality of his part of the manuscript, which is on a topic that some might regard as controversial. We’ve discussed getting a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) from anyone we have proofread the piece for accuracy and understandability. Do you have any other suggestions?”

Thanks for your question, Darlene. An NDA, also known as a confidentiality agreement, is a legal contract between two parties who wish to share information between each other that they don’t want disclosed to third parties. I frequently sign NDAs myself, when I’m working for corporations who need me to see sensitive information, but who want to be sure I’m not going to share it with anyone else. I am never shocked to be presented with one of these and I sign them quickly.

You can get NDAs on the internet for free and I provide a link to one below. But let me say that legal advice is worth what you pay for it. So, you might want to get your NDA from a lawyer or a notary public. I’m a big believer in Plain English writing and whenever I’ve had to draw up legal documents with my clients, I’ve insisted that the lawyer write it in as Plain English as possible. Or, I’ve rewritten it myself and then asked the lawyer to review it to make sure it was legally okay.

But before you go to too much trouble with your NDAs, let me say that writers are often more concerned about confidentiality than they need to be. Your book is going to feel very important to you but — unless it’s on a wildly popular topic, such as Beyonce or Ben Shaprio— it will be of much more modest interest to most people.

Of course, there are some exceptions. I just finished reading Bob Woodward’s 448-page book Fear: Trump in the White House, providing an insider’s look at the President. So you can bet that Woodward’s publisher had multiple NDAs with proofreaders, sales people, book designers etc. to make sure that none of the details leaked out before they wanted them to.

But that book is on a sensational topic with huge national — even international — interest. And it was written by a famous reporter, at the apex of his career. In its first seven days, the book sold more than 1.1 million copies! The vast majority of books just don’t fall into that category. In fact, most first books are lucky to get a pressrun of 2,000 to 5,000.

On the other hand, there are times when casual conversations are overheard in places like restaurants and coffee shops. In September 2017, for example, some of Donald Trump’s lawyers happened to be discussing business at a Washington DC restaurant. They were seated at a table next to one of the New York Times’ most skillful investigative reporters. I’ve provided a link to the fascinating story he wrote, in the show-notes below.

But, to be honest, the people most at risk of making gaffes like this are you and your coauthor! Think about it:

• You’ve done the research, and now you’re doing the writing. You know far more than anyone else about the information in your book and — unlike your proofreaders or copy editors — you know it off the top of your head, which makes you more likely to talk about it.
• You care about the material in your book. In the case of the US president many other people care, too, but I’m guessing that in terms of your topic, the number of people who care in a deep or profound way is relatively small.

So, sure, get your copy editor and proofreader to sign NDAs. Most of them will have done this before and I don’t think they’d be the least bit shocked or reluctant. But the best thing you can do to protect the confidentiality of your book is to keep your own lips zipped, being extra careful about what you say in public places like restaurants and coffee shops.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from the late American productivity expert Stephen Covey: “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”

Thanks for the question on confidentiality, Darlene. I think perhaps the most valuable reason for getting NDAs is to give your coauthor some peace of mind. But in terms of real risk, the issue mainly comes down to how you two approach your communications with each other.

Links:

NDA form

Trump layers clash over how much to cooperate with Russia inquiry 

Viewing time: 5 min. 50 sec.

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #68, with advice on staying committed to your book. The post first ran on Oct. 5/18.

Transcript: 

Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant and my topic is how to stay committed to your book.

I have a question from Nancy Holmes, a writer who lives in New York City. Here’s what she’s asked.

“I’m wondering if you can suggest how I can stay committed to my book. I’m in the middle of it right now and I’m starting to get a bit discouraged.”

Thanks for your question, Nancy. There’s no doubt that the “middle” is the toughest point for most projects. Why? Well, think about the feelings surrounding the beginning of anything. We’re excited. We haven’t yet encountered any of the problems. We’re only beginning to start the hard slogging work.

And now, consider the end. Sure, there are many long hours and maybe the odd crisis or two to deal with, but — yay! — the finish line is in sight! That positive feeling keeps us knuckled down and motivated. Who isn’t willing to work a few late nights when we know the project is just about done?

But the middle? That’s the point that really sucks. We’ve encountered many of the problems. In fact, the middle is the precise point when the problems seem most intractable! We’ve worked long and hard. And we still haven’t seen any of the payoffs. We feel exhausted and discouraged and broken down.

Is it really worth the effort? we might ask ourselves. And it might seem that the answer is no.

But having navigated a number of big projects myself I can tell you that it usually IS worth the effort. To help get yourself through the messy middle, you’re going to need some endurance and some organization.

I was speaking with a colleague this week who has written 200,000 words for her 80,000 word book. Yes, those numbers are correct. She’s written way more than she needs.

But she’s actually in the middle right now because she’s decided that only 60,000 of those 200,000 words are going to be able to stay. That means she still needs to write 20,000 more words and then edit the whole thing into a similar tone or voice. She’s tired and worn out, although I know she’s going to do it because she has excellent endurance and she knows how to manage her time.

When you’re in the messy middle, the issue comes down to how well you can pace yourself. Think of marathoners. It’s well known that at the 18-mile mark, runners hit a “wall.” That’s the point where their bodies tell them it’s just not possible to run any further.

What gets them past that? Partly, it’s physical conditioning. But only partly. It’s also mental conditioning. Here are five tips I’ve adapted for book writers from a blog post I just read on marathoning [link below]:

1) Get your language right.  Be positive with yourself and focus on your strengths. Don’t say, “I hope I have enough energy to finish this tiresome book.” Instead, say, “I’m good at finishing projects. I’m smart enough to work a little bit every day.”

2) Rehearse coping with the bad bits as well as the desirable ones. Don’t just focus on the wonderful goal of holding your printed book in your hand. Instead, visualize yourself at your computer editing a particularly difficult passage. And see yourself and succeeding at it. How great does that make you feel?

3) Rename your emotions. Fear — the racing heart, the sweaty palms — can become excitement. Frustration can be anger, which leads to determination. Boredom can become the chance to let your mind wander and come up with new ideas. If you can see these negative emotions in a more positive way, they’ll be easier to bear.

4) Set super small goals. A lot of people will write 30,000 words and think, “oh my God, I still have 50,000 more words to write.” That’s overwhelming. Instead, set a small goal — perhaps one chapter — and then work to achieve it. Then set the next one. You can coach yourself through the entire project simply by focusing on one small step at a time.

5) Remember that writing is as much about the process, as the outcome. Winners don’t actually think about winning, they think about putting in a winning performance. Writing a book will not only give you a book at the end of it, it will also make you a person who is capable of writing books. Give yourself the time you need to do this remarkable, inspiring, worthwhile job.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from famed Danish novelist Isak Dinesen, author of the book Out of Africa:

“When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a little, suddenly the work will finish itself.”

Thanks for the question about how to stay committed to your book, Nancy. Stick out the messy middle and before you know it, you’ll arrive at the excellent end.

Links: 

Run a marathon in your mind

Viewing time: 3 min. 54 sec.

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #65, with advice on how to make a business case for books. The post first ran on Sept. 14/18.

Transcript: 

Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant. Today I’m talking about how to make a business case for books.

I have a question from reader Pranav Bhatnagar, who is based in New Delhi, India. Here’s what he’s asked.

 “I have just finished writing a memoir and am now preparing a book proposal for it. Could you please give me some pointers on how I can build a compelling business case for the book?”

Thanks for the question, Pranav. You are wise to approach the concept of a business case for your book very carefully. It’s extremely hard to get a publishing deal these days and if you don’t have an outstanding book proposal, you’ll never get anywhere.

Keep in mind that memoirs are kind of a special category in themselves. Agents and publishers will be looking for outstanding writing and an unusual story. But, most of all, they’ll want to know that you have the start of a platform, which is to say, plenty of potential readers for your book.

So here’s where it gets interesting, and perhaps a little counterintuitive. Your business case should focus less on how many people might be interested in reading your book and more on how many people are already reading you. Here are some questions you should address as part of your business case:

•     Do you have a blog? How many unique visitors do you get each month? (Google analytics can tell you that number, by the way.)
•     Do you ever do guest posts on other blogs? How often? How well known are those blogs?
•     Do you have a large Facebook following? How often do you post?
•     Do you have a large number of Twitter followers? How many tweets do you post every day?
•     How big is your LinkedIn network?
•     Do you ever speak at conferences or workshops? If so, how many people typically attend?

Do you see the issue here? Many new authors typically try to pitch how many readers are interested in their subject area. For example, someone writing a book about cycling might want to say that bicycle sales are currently increasing the US and have gone from 51 million riders in 2012 to more than 66 million in 2017.

But no publisher is going to imagine that they could sell even a small fraction of books to that audience. Unless of course the author is Stephen King.

You need to understand that the vast majority of books don’t make a penny for the publisher. Instead, publishers are kept alive by the small handful of bestselling writers in their stables. The Stephen Kings. The Margaret Atwoods. The J.K. Rowlings. But publishers also need to take a chance on a small number of people in the hopes of finding another bestselling author. Remember that that number is small. And to be one of those people, you need to have a solid readership elsewhere, whether through blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn or any other form of public recognition. THAT is your business case.

If this requirement is too discouraging for you, Pranav, you might want to consider self-publishing, and I include a link below to a video I’ve done on that topic.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from ultra- successful author Seth Godin: “The future of publishing is about having connections to readers and the knowledge of what those readers want.”

Thanks for the question, Pranav. It is hard to get publishing deals these days and to do it you need a compelling business case.

Links: 

Which is better? Regular or self-publishing? 

Viewing time: 4 min. 48 sec.

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #62, with advice about how to promote a book without social media. The post first ran on July 27/18.

Transcript:

Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant. Today I’m talking about how to promote a book without social media.

Today, I have a question from American reader Nancy Larson. Here’s what she’s asked.

“Writing was relatively easy. It’s all the revision, creating a web site, hiring an editor, working with the publisher, that’s the big challenge. I’m about to have my book published, and didn’t want to have a Facebook page, even before the Cambridge Analytica controversy. As a writer, what do you suggest in terms of promoting books? ”

Thanks for the question, Nancy. You are certainly correct that WRITING a book often ends up being the easiest stage of the entire process. Many people are daunted by the idea of getting 80,000 words down on paper and they fail to realize that the REAL work comes well after the writing job has been completed.

In fact, if you had contacted me sooner, I would have suggested getting your website up and running a whole lot earlier because the #1 item that a writer needs is an enthusiastic audience.

I’ve had my own website for more than 12 years now and I still see myself as a relative newcomer. If you want to be a book writer — especially an author who doesn’t pursue social media —  you’ll need to depend on your website for reaching your audience.

Make sure your site includes a blog because that’s how you can share your ideas and promote your own writing. I blog five times per week but you don’t need to start that way. Even once every two weeks might be enough, but if I were you I’d try to blog at a minimum of once a week.

And, once you start doing this, be aware that you need to drive readers to your blog. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to guest post on other sites. Don’t expect money for guest posting. But the effort will pay off if you get new readers. When I was starting out I remember guest posting for one particular site and every time my column appeared I would get 200 new subscribers. That was a terrific value for me.

Consider providing your readers — or some of your readers — with swag.  I sometimes give my readers bookmarks but other ideas are postcards, stickers, book plates, buttons and pens. It will cost you a little bit of money, but not much and it will get your name — and the name of your book  — out there in reader land.

Another idea to think about is public speaking. Can you meet with a book club or writing group or can you give a speech to a service club such as Rotary or Kiwanis. If you take this route, one of my readers suggests requiring a minimum (wholesale) purchase of books that they can resell to members or give away as door prizes. You’ll have to speak for free of course, but you can make the job more financially attractive by insisting on a purchase of your books, first.

And don’t forget about online forums. Sites such as Quara (I’ve provided a link below) give you a place to connect with others interested in your subject matter or in fiction if your book is a novel. Just be sure your answers include links back to your own website — in as natural and non-sales-y a way as possible.

You might also want to consider podcasts. Don’t go to the work of starting your own podcast, but see if you can offer yourself as a guest for others. I suggest this because we’re all different and some people really respond to the audio format. You want to reach those potential readers, too.

Selling and marking a book is a huge undertaking, Nancy, and it’s one that writers often wrongly assume the publisher will handle for them. Only big-name writers, like Stephen King and Margaret Atwood get significant marketing. Otherwise, the job is left up to the author. Don’t let your distaste for social media put you at a disadvantage. Just resolve to find another way to reach those readers.  It’s worth the effort because you will be rewarded with increased sales.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from American writer Joanne Kraft, “Not all marketing people are writers, but all writers must learn to be marketers.”

Promoting a book is hard, time-consuming work. But it also gives you highly measurable results and there’s a huge reward to that. You may never know whether the book you’ve written is “excellent” but you will always know exactly how many copies you’ve sold.

Links:

Quara

Viewing time: 3 min. 48 sec.

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #61, with advice about how to create a book launch team. The post first ran on July 20/18.

Transcript:

Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant. Today I’m talking about how to assemble a launch team for a book.

I have a question from reader Christine Currie who is based in east Missouri. Here’s what she’s asked.

“Have you ever addressed the issue of how to put together a launch team for a new book? I’m in the middle of editing my crappy first draft and I want to be better prepared for the book’s eventual release.”

Thanks for the question, Christine. I’m glad you’ve asked me this right now because I’m getting close to completing the editing of my own next book and I need to be thinking about a launch team as well.

First, let me give some definitions for those who are unfamiliar with the terminology. A launch team is a group of 50 to 100 volunteers who agree to share your book with their own networks and help you promote it.

Sounds simple, right? Before you start, there are some things you should keep in mind. Don’t start forming this team too early. Otherwise, people are likely to lose their enthusiasm. If you are just  in the first edit of your crappy first draft, it’s too soon to start contacting these people. Sure, think about your launch team. Make plans for it. But don’t do any talking about until you are four to six weeks before your release date.

Here are some of the plans you might want to consider:

Create a list of names. This might start with family and friends but it should also include the names of  people who’ve bought previous books from you. Or it might even be a subscriber list if you have a website that collects emails. To get 50 to 100 readers you probably need to invite five to 10 times that many people so you should be looking for a list with a minimum of 250 to 1,000 names. That’s a lot, I know!

On the other hand, if you do have a really big email list, consider ways of winnowing down the numbers. You might want to ask applicants a bunch of questions to try to figure out the best matches for you. Or, alternatively, you could make it a random draw.

By the way, you might want to send your invitation as a video, if you have the means to produce one affordably. I’m including a link on making videos in the description below.

Next, create an ongoing way of communicating with your team. You could use a Facebook group if you like or set up your communications via an Autoresponder, if you have one. (I use Aweber.) Or just make it an email list.

The main item you need to give your team is an  advance copy of your book. Make it electronic if you like but if you’re able to send them a print copy, be sure to write their name on it and sign it.

It might also help your team to have an  exclusive webinar or group call with you and VIP access to your book launch party, if you’re having one. The team will also need some concrete suggestions from you about how to promote, ideas for tweets and where to send reviews.

Also, be sure to keep in regular touch with your team so they know how you’re doing and they stay motivated.

Creating a launch team is a fair bit of work, Christine, but it’s worth the effort because it’s going to reward you with increased sales.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from American writer Emlyn Chand: “I’ve said it before and by gosh I’ll say it again, don’t be afraid to toot your own horn”

As authors, we’re sometimes shy about the necessity of self-promotion. But if we don’t have any readers, what is the point of our writing? Get some help in rounding up more readers, Christine, by calling upon your own custom-designed launch team.

Links: 

Making video for your website

Viewing time: 4 min. 40 sec.

The Write Question is a weekly video podcast about writing that I started in 2017 and that ran, more or less weekly, until April 2022. This is a republication of issue #56, with advice on how to capture your family history. The post first ran on May 11/18.

Transcript:

Welcome to The Write Question, I’m Daphne Gray-Grant. Today I’m giving advice on how to write a family history.

Here’s a question from Beth Johnson who is based in Marietta, Georgia. Here’s what she asked via email: 

“Our grandchildren have asked my husband and me to send them “chapters,” so they can gather pictures for a memoir. I am inclined to try to help them after seeing what a magnificent job they did with their other grandparents’ information. Now, here is the catch. We have so much to tell; how can we decide on the really important stuff? Our lives stem from two cultures (Canada and the USA), and before that there were four—going all the way back into the expulsion of landowner Jews from Russia. I know it’s best to start with the mind-mapping, but even that has to have a goal. What should be my goal?”

Thanks for the question, Beth. You have some very lucky grandchildren! My own mother wrote a four-page history of her life growing up and I treasure that document, only wishing she’d written more.

Let me give you some advice about how to approach the interesting task of setting down some family history.

Keep the genealogy separate. It’s valuable work, and it’s interesting to genealogists, but it’s not so fascinating to anyone else. I can tell you that my husband likes genealogy quite a bit but he has not been able to engage me. Despite trying all sort of tricks to catch my interest, like finding previously unseen photos of my great grandparents, he hasn’t been able to raise my interest in genealogy.

What your family is going to be interested in is the STORIES. Human beings are hard-wired to respond to stories and that’s the unique gift you have to offer your grandchildren: your own experiences and the memories your parents or grandparents shared with you.

For example, I remember my mother telling me an unforgettable story about her mother, whom I never met because she died before I was born. My grandmother was a talented musician who played both piano and violin and — amazingly, for a woman in those days — became a conductor in the early 1900s.

She had been born in Joggins, Nova Scotia and went to university at Mount St Alison in Sackville, New Brunswick. While she was attending university, her own mother, my great-grandmother, was dying of cancer. So, my grandmother rode a horse and carriage home every weekend. Her carriage was on a sled in the winter.

In 2005, in the months following my own mother’s death, my family and I made that trip, from Joggins to Sackville by modern car and it took us 40 minutes. It astonished us that my grandmother had done it every weekend on a sled. It gave us something to think about and really made me feel well connected to my own family history.

That’s the kind of story your children and your grandchildren will find interesting. I’ve included several links below to blog posts I’ve written on the value of stories. Check them out and mine your own life for stories that your family will find interesting.  

Story telling is the oldest of all the arts. Before the printed word, people had to remember stories. Good stories don’t just recount facts. They capture emotions and feelings. That’s what makes them interesting.

When you do your first mindmap, here’s the question I suggest you write in the middle of the page: “What are the stories I most want my grandchildren to know?” As you explore this question, all sorts of incidents, memories and ideas should surface.

And, as you work to round up this material for your grandchildren, Beth, don’t let the facts get in the way of the stories. Story telling is how we make sense of human existence. It forces us to identify a beginning, a middle and an end and it helps link us with the generations that went before us.

Finally, let me wrap up with a quote from English novelist Philip Pullman: “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

Thanks for your question, Beth. If you can focus on stories you’ll not only write something your grandchildren will really enjoy, you’ll also have a lot of fun doing it.

Links: 

More proof of the power of stories

How to find stories for your writing

Why your stories are significant