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By: Adrienne Crezo,
on 10/30/2014
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BY WILL LITTLE
The starting gun is set to go off for the race to 50,000 words. At an average of 1,667 words a day, NaNoWriMo participants don’t have time to waste if they’re to reach the finish line. Yet many writers do just that—waste time, and plenty of it. Distraction derails so many NaNoWriMo writers that blogging about their failure has turned into an act of mass distraction—just another activity that writers would rather do than actually write their novels.
Of course, distraction has always been the curse of the writer. The fear of filling the empty space with words that matter is enough to put even the most talented off their food. Even disciplinarian Ernest Hemingway defrosted the freezer to delay the inevitable pain of putting pen to paper. But we should especially pity contemporary writers because the 21st century has put distraction everywhere they lay their keyboards.
Our study of 1,500 writers across the U.S.—conducted anonymously to keep people honest—backs this up. Just about anything can get in the way of writing, from the Internet to pets to DVD box sets and even ice cream in November! While the need to distract may be caused by putting off the pain of creating quality work, there comes a point when the excuses have to end and the writing must begin. To begin with the best odds of writing 50,000 of your own words by November 30th, consider these survey results and tips:
Step away from the browser.
Our survey found that 52% of writers claimed to have not finished their masterpieces because they spent too much time browsing the Internet. Watching videos of parkour gone wrong or reading the daily headlines is preferable to creating beautiful prose … at least in the short term. Consider buying or renting an old-fashioned typewriter for a month and nailing shut the office door with the computer and Internet router on the other side. Alternatively, disconnect the internet with software, such as Stop Procrastinating, to write just like Hemingway. But make sure you defrost the freezer first.
The November/December Writer’s Digest magazine
is filled with advice for keeping the words coming.
If you’re looking to increase your productivity or planning for NaNoWriMo,
check out a preview in the Writer’s Digest Shop, or download it instantly.
Don’t feed the animals!
Or they’ll distract you. 7% of respondents claimed pets posed a risk to undermining their writing, with cats jumping on laps being the chief culprits. Consider hiring a petsitter for part of the month if your cat is especially fond of sitting on your keyboard.
Food, glorious food.
17% of writers surveyed said they’d eaten their word-count reward before they’d reached their day’s writing goal “at least once” during the month. That’s fine a time or two, but the habit of rewarding yourself for a goal you haven’t yet met can quickly spiral into marathon snacking sessions and very little writing. If you’re going to reward yourself with treats, here are some best practices for ensuring you stick to the goal: Put your treat into a container locked with a timer so you can’t access until you’ve worked your time. Enlist a friend or family member to withhold your goodies until you’ve completed the day’s work. Or consider that the real reward is reaching your daily writing goal—nothing more, nothing less will really satisfy you.
Honey, I’m home!
Partners, wives and husbands distracted 14% of respondents from laying down the lines. Netflix binges and leisurely cups of coffee were suggested as “creativity breaks”—a fancier term for “distractions.” If this sounds like something your significant other would do, there are solutions: Lock the door. Be clear about your goals. Set boundaries. And if those things fail, put a guard dog outside your writing room or have your partner sign a contract stating that he won’t disturb you while you’re writing—with a hefty fine to be paid if the contract is broken. Be creative about the fine; it doesn’t have to be financial. A massage every day for life would do nicely.
Work, party, work, party, work party …
22% of writers said they couldn’t summon up the creative muse because they were too tired from work or socializing. Try abstaining from partying for the month of November when possible (yes, we know it’s Thanksgiving) and look forward to celebrating with the mother of all parties on December 1st. If you’re tired from work, trying doing a half hour of exercise: it clears the mind and gives you energy to push through. Remember, it’s only for 30 days and it might just be worth it. You’re worth it!
Will Little is a writer and the creator of Stop Procrastinating, the app made by writers for writers to help beat procrastination. He also manages to write when his cat Moy isn’t sitting on his keyboard. Follow Will on Twitter at @stopprocras.
BY DAVID WOLMAN
Bad news first. That page on your website so lovingly curated and carefully updated with links to your published work? No one reads it. OK, maybe your Mom and an editor who wants to see samples of previous work, but no one else. That doesn’t mean you aren’t a great writer and it certainly doesn’t mean humanity has lost interest in riveting tales or important topics like education, healthcare, and cat shampoo. It only means that you live and write in an age when the battle for attention is beyond ferocious. I, for one, am quite interested in your writing. Really. The thing is, I’m running to catch a plane. After that I’m facing a tough deadline, hurrying to get the kids from daycare, and—I’ll be honest—cuing up another episode of “Top of the Lake.” I could read some of your stuff later tonight, true, but at night I don’t care much for websites and scrolling to eternity. I want a book or an e-book.
The good news? With today’s digital publishing tools, you can easily transform your archive of work into an e-book. You not only can, you should. Articles, short stories, poems, books—your stuff is gathering e-dust in forgotten corners of the Web. Go find those favorites and (if you retain rights), breathe new life into them to create a unified and elegant product. Then—and here’s the radical bit—sell it. Your writing is a professional-caliber product, is it not? Then treat it like one, for heaven’s sake.
Now, you could produce your collection merely by cutting and pasting text files and clicking “enter,” but that would be unwise. Readers will detect haste and a lack of attention to their experience with the prose and digital page. There is also the matter of value. Pulling disparate works into one place and format provides some value, but you can do better. The real added value in an e-anthology are the ingredients that make it new and different. The meat is previously published works, yes, but with footnotes, postscripts, photos, videos, and links, the selections become something more. Got a funny anecdote about the writing process that you share at cocktail parties? Include it! Is there a substantial update to some political or scientific idea addressed in a story from 5 years ago? Let’s hear it.
Just so there’s zero confusion on this point: Your Digital Age collected works will not make you rich. There’s long tail potential, though. A few years from now, when you publish your latest terrific magazine story, someone, possibly even a handful of someones, will wonder what else you’ve written. Maybe they will jump online and buy a book you’ve published. If you don’t have any books and haven’t put together a compendium, they might make their way to your website, but that will be the end of it. (See above re: harsh reality of your mostly ignored website.) Yet what if those readers instead found this aesthetically produced collection of stories available for a fraction of what they paid for Mother’s Day flowers? They might just buy it.
Irrespective of potential sales, you will also have this wonderful thing: a product to share with friends and family who’ve been nagging you for years to tell them when and where to read your stuff. (Don’t worry, Mom doesn’t have to pay; you can gift the collection or send a password-protected version.) Besides, you may find, as I did, that the experience of assembling, rereading, and remastering some of the work you’re most proud of will provide a rare opportunity to reflect on your career, not as a constellation of unrelated assignments, but as a body of writing that rather resembles an accomplishment.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
David Wolman is an author and a contributing editor at Wired. His new collection, FIRSTHAND, is out this month. He used Creatavist to produce it, but the book is also available for Kindle and other e-readers. He lives in Oregon with his wife and two children. You can follow him on Twitter @davidwolman.
By: Adrienne Crezo,
on 4/16/2014
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BY EVE BRIDBURG, Executive Director of GrubStreet
The first time I heard the term “publishing agnostic” was in November of 2011 at the Park Plaza hotel in Boston. Barry Eisler used it during a talk he gave to the GrubStreet community as part of our NEA-funded Publish it Forward series. He had shocked the publishing world by turning down a very lucrative book contract from St. Martins arguing that he could do better on his own. But by November he had decided to publish with Amazon instead.
Some fellow writers and pundits criticized this move to Amazon. “What gives? “ They asked. “We thought you had defected to the self-publishing club.” It was by way of explaining his move from St. Martins to self-publishing to Amazon that Barry described himself as agnostic.
As one definition goes, an agnostic is someone who holds neither of two opposing positions. I think that’s how Barry was using the term. He was making the point that his decision to self-publish in the first place wasn’t about his endorsement or love of self-publishing, but rather about choosing the best way to reach his goals. When a new pathway emerged which better served those goals, he felt no conflict about changing tactics.
But Barry, whether he realized it or not, in using a term with deeply religious connotations, was also asking us – a room full of believers – to be doubters. He was asking us to question our blind faith in what almost every serious writer we’d worked with up until that point had ever wanted: a book deal with a traditional publisher. The bigger the publishing house, the better.
And it wasn’t just our writers. It was us, the teachers at and leaders of a major independent writing center. Having existed in the margins in our early years, we were understandably hungry for a track record, for evidence that our work mattered. And so we celebrated hugely when one of our flock got a story in the Atlantic Monthly or a book deal with Simon and Schuster. In 2003, we launched our first Muse and Marketplace Conference and soon began inviting literary agents and publishers to Boston to meet our writers. Many book deals followed.
After Barry’s talk, I started to wonder what being publishing agnostic might mean to us as an organization, and to writers everywhere. When the world is changing fast under your feet, you need to find your footing before you can decide where to go. We therefore started articulating our values and principles.
Here’s where we landed:
- Writing excellence is paramount because it is “good” writing that transforms lives and the world and entertains at the highest level. We can debate what “good” means, but for us it’s about the search for truth, hard work, and dedication to the craft no matter the genre.
- We are grown-ups. It’s up to each of us as writers and as the professionals supporting writers to understand and own the entire publishing process. It’s incumbent on each of us to engage in honest self-assessment to determine goals and objectives, strengths and weaknesses.
- Community is the glue. Writing is a lonely, difficult pursuit. Finding your people and being as generous as possible with them is key.
- Success in this space isn’t just measured monetarily. Money is nice of course when it means book sales for authors and the ability of a place like GrubStreet to provide more jobs, scholarships and free programming, but it’s not the only or most important measure.
- Choice is good, especially choice which respects the central role of writers and places control and financial equity in their hands.
These are the things we think about now when evaluating what kinds of programs to offer or who to invite to our Muse and Marketplace conference. This year, we’ll be welcoming A-list literary agents, editors from Random House and Penguin, along side e-publishers like Vook and Amazon. We’ll have an editor from Ploughshares and another from Electric Literature. As we always do, we’ll have a bookseller on hand selling the books of our visiting authors, but we’ll also be running an independent author shop for any participant or small press attending the conference. In short, we’ll be hosting a hybrid conference, inclusive of the many choices and pathways available to authors today.
Most of our writers seem to want the traditional path and that’s great, but it’s our responsibility as a professional development organization for writers to educate them about all pathways, especially since the industry is changing before our eyes. In our own work and what we bring to writers we now preach agnosticism and save our blind faith for the power and necessity of words.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Eve Bridburg is the founder and Executive Director of GrubStreet, one the country’s leading creative writing centers. A former literary agent, Eve developed, edited and sold a wide variety of books to major publishers before returning four years ago to GrubStreet to oversee an expansion in programming designed to better equip writers to thrive in the digital age. She has presented widely about publishing at conferences and writes a monthly blog post called Publish it Forward which can be found at Grubdaily.org
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By: Phil Sexton,
on 7/20/2012
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By Rob Eagar
Life is about success, not perfection…and so is marketing. Case in point: A few weeks ago, I sent out my weekly newsletter that wound up having a couple of typos in it. Obviously, I didn’t think twice about the issue. But, several people emailed me right away to point out my so-called “mistakes.” That kind of over-reaction is unnecessary and reveals a misguided understanding of what marketing (and life) are really about. As imperfect human beings, we can never achieve perfection. But, we can achieve success, even in the midst of being fallible.
Success in marketing is about making people curious, wooing them to your ideas, and challenging their misconceptions. You don’t have to write typo-free material to achieve this goal. The more you self-edit out of the desire to be perfect, the more you slow yourself down from reaching your goal.
Management consultant, Alan Weiss, says, “When you are 80% done, then move forward. The final 20% is dysfunctional.” Too many authors impede their own marketing progress by overanalyzing, obsessively self-editing, or worrying over other people’s potential reactions. Their own self-analysis creates promotional paralysis. Nothing gets accomplished. For example, some authors never finish a newsletter article, press release, or book chapter, because they’re scared it’s not perfect. Other authors won’t dip their toes into the social media pool, because they’re afraid to be themselves and show vulnerability.
The pursuit of success is admirable, but the pursuit of perfection is impossible and will only drive you mad. To get off the treadmill of promotional perfection, try this exercise: Challenge yourself to write a cohesive 300-word article or press release as fast as you can without doing any self-edits. Then, ask yourself if anyone would really notice the difference if you went back and edited the material. You may just find that the speed of your momentum squashes your fear of perfection and shoots you to your goal.
(By the way, I wrote this article in less than 20 minutes in one pass with no self-editing. Can you do the same?)
Reminder:
Rob Eagar’s new book from Writer’s Digest, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, is now available in print and e-book formats. This is the bible of book marketing for authors and publishers. Get 288 pages packed with advanced information, real-life examples, and tips to start selling more books immediately. There are specific chapters on social media, word-of-mouth tools, Amazon, and a chapter dedicated to best practices for marketing fiction. In addition, get over 30 pages of free bonus updates online. Get your copy today at:
http://www.writersdigestshop.com/sell-your-book-like-wildfire or http://www.BookWildfire.com
About the author:
Rob Eagar is the founder of WildFire Marketing, a consulting practice that helps authors and publishers sell more books and spread their message like wildfire. He has assisted numerous New York Times bestselling authors and is author of the new book, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire. Find out more about Rob’s advice, products, and coaching services for authors at: www.startawildfire.com
By: Phil Sexton,
on 7/6/2012
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By Rob Eagar
Logos, brands, taglines, slogans…what’s the difference? Some authors think that having a logo means they have a brand. But, these are separate entities. Your brand is a phrase that communicates the value of your books. You could also call it a tagline or slogan. In contrast, a logo is artwork that you use to make your name and brand look aesthetically-pleasing in public. Do you need both? Not necessarily. It’s more important that readers know your value than seeing fancy graphics that look nice. Thus, a brand is essential while a logo is optional.
However, the image that you present to the world greatly affects your credibility and appeal. If your marketing materials look homemade, some people will question your reputation and bypass your books. It’s okay to be homemade as long as you don’t look homemade.
If you want a nice-looking logo to complement your brand, hire a professional graphic artist to do it right. By shopping around, you can usually find a qualified designer to fit any budget. Just be sure to review their portfolio, contact a few references, and verify the quality of their work.
When you choose a graphic artist, explain your brand and the results that you create for your readers. Tell the designer that you want the artwork to integrate the value of your brand. List the various tools where your logo will appear, such as business cards, website headers, newsletters, bookmarks, postcards, book covers, etc.
Ask your graphic artist to design a logo and use text fonts that communicate your value in a positive manner and matches your personality. The end result should be artwork that looks appealing, boosts your credibility, and creates a seamless connection when used with all of your marketing materials. A logo is not a brand. But, a brand can be enhanced with a professional logo.
** If you’re struggling to create a powerful author brand, read Chapter 3 in my new book, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire.
Reminder:
Rob Eagar’s new book from Writer’s Digest, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, is now available in print and e-book formats. This is the bible of book marketing for authors and publishers. Get 288 pages packed with advanced information, real-life examples, and tips to start selling more books immediately. There are specific chapters on social media, word-of-mouth tools, Amazon, and a chapter dedicated to best practices for marketing fiction. In addition, get over 30 pages of free bonus updates online. Get your copy today at:
http://www.writersdigestshop.com/sell-your-book-like-wildfire or http://www.BookWildfire.com
About the Author
Rob Eagar is the founder of WildFire Marketing, a consulting practice that helps authors and publishers sell more books and spread their message like wildfire. He has assisted numerous New York Times bestselling authors and is author of the new book, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire. Find out more about Rob’s advice, products, and coaching services for authors at: www.startawildfire.com
By: Phil Sexton,
on 5/16/2012
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by Rob Eagar
I am one of the few original self-publishing success stories. And, I did it way before the advent of e-books, Amazon, and social media. Over 10 years ago, I left corporate America as a sales executive to pursue what seemed like a ridiculous dream to write a book. I had no publishing contacts, no name recognition, and no desire to wait two years to get published. So, I chose the D-I-Y “do-it-yourself” approach. I worked tirelessly on my manuscript for a year. Then, I hired my own editor, page layout designer, graphic artist, and printing company. Long story short, I put my sales background to work and wound up selling over 13,000 copies, spoke to more than 35,000 people, generated a consistent six-figure income, and eventually signed a nice contract with a reputable publisher. Ten years later, that book is still selling in bookstores acrossAmerica.
What was the key to my self-publishing success? I took great pains to avoid appearing self-published. That’s right, I did everything I could to make people think that I had been traditionally-published. My manuscript was continually edited until my wife, the VP of Quality Control, deemed it “a real book.” My book cover looked amazing and received great feedback. My book was printed on high-quality paper. My first website was created by an experienced professional. My marketing materials all featured the same brand. I succeeded because didn’t let a D-I-Y mentality give me excuses to cut corners on quality.
Today, I see too many self-published authors sacrificing quality to get a book done quickly and cheaply. Maybe that explains why the average self-published books only sells 150 copies…total. That’s a lot of hard work flushed down the drain.
Anyone can be a maverick and write their own book. But, not everyone can be successful. I’m all for the entrepreneurial spirit, saving money, and enjoying the fruits of your labor. However, unless you’re gifted in every area of publishing, spend the extra money to utilize professional freelance editors, graphic artists, and web designers. Don’t D-Y-I (Do-Yourself-In) with a D-I-Y mentality. If you choose to self-publish, do it right from the beginning and create a book that becomes your own success story.
About the Author
Rob Eagar is the founder of WildFire Marketing, a consulting practice that helps authors and publishers sell more books and spread their message like wildfire. He has assisted numerous New York Times bestselling authors and his new book, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, will be published by Writer’s Digest in June, 2012. Find out more about Rob’s advice, products, and coaching services for authors at: www.startawildfire.com
By: Phil Sexton,
on 4/5/2012
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By Rob Eagar, author of Sell Your Book Like Wildfire
Did you know that Amazon lets authors see who is highlighting notes in their books and tweeting content to friends? When someone reads a book using a Kindle device or app, Amazon stores the information they highlight. Plus, Amazon displays who used Twitter to spread word of mouth to their friends. How does it work?
1. Go to: https://kindle.amazon.com
2. Type in the title of your book in the “Search” box at the top right-hand corner.
3. Click on your title when it appears in the search listing.
4. You will see a picture of your book cover, a list that says “Posts from this book,” and a section called “Highlights,” which shows content that people notated while reading your book on their Kindle.
It may seem a little creepy that Amazon tracks all of this reader information. But, keep in mind that Amazon only displays information that readers agree to make public. There’s no blatant invasion of privacy. Kindle readers can turn off this sharing feature if they desire.
Amazon’s slogan for their Kindle service is “Read. Review. Remember.” I like that tagline, and I think their new service offers some innovative promotional opportunities for authors. Here’s why:
1. Authors get an unprecedented opportunity to peek into the minds of their readers. You can see what parts of a book resonate with readers the most, because you can literally see the passages that people highlighted. This ability allows the author to focus future blog posts, free resources, interview topics, or social media conversations on content that they know people already find intriguing.
2. Authors can identify and thank readers who share word of mouth via Twitter. By seeing who tweets your material, you can leave a message at that individual’s Twitter account to show your appreciation for telling their friends. How cool is that?
3. If your book doesn’t have many highlighted portions or shared posts, it could indicate that your book isn’t being discovered or the content isn’t capturing reader interest. Knowing that information can serve as a wake-up call to improve your marketing or strengthen the manuscript for your next book.
Even though this service from Amazon is unique, I would urge you to take it with a grain of salt. Don’t base your book’s marketing plan or primary promotional activities on the comments you see posted or the passages highlighted. Those comments listed only represent a small fraction of your total reader base. Instead, stay focused on marketing your book based on its overall value. Use the benefit of this service to gauge what kind of conversation is happening around your books.
I’m excited to see Amazon offer another ground-breaking service that brings readers and authors closer together. At times, they seem like one of the few organizations dedicated to helping authors break the down the walls of publishing.
About the Author
Rob Eagar is the founder of WildFire Marketing, a consulting practice that helps authors and publishers sell more books and spread their message like wildfire. He has assisted numerous New York Times bestselling authors and his new book, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, will be published by Writer’s Digest in June, 2012. Find out more about Rob’s advice, products, and coaching services for authors at: www.startawildfire.com
Today I’m talking with Jesse Potash, the founder of PUBSLUSH (www.pubslush.com), which presents a unique new model for getting published. Because it’s so unusual – and because they’re a non-profit – I … Read more
(The following is a guest post by Rob Eagar) During the recent housing crash that devastated our economy, a lot of builders built homes based on speculation called “spec homes.” In these … Read more
Guest blog by Rob Eagar Most authors want to build a larger platform and sell more books. But, how do you track the success of your marketing and platform-growth efforts? There are … Read more
Guest post by Rob Eagar. The publishing industry is going through an incredible amount of chaos and transformation. Some of this change is good, such as new technology, lower prices, and easier … Read more
Guest Post by Rob Eagar I enjoy watching the television show, The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan on the National Geographic channel. I don’t own a pet, but the show is appealing … Read more
We’ve just announced initial details for the Writer’s Digest Conference 2012 and couldn’t be more excited about how the speaker line up is taking shape. One of our presenters is none other … Read more
