Posts Tagged ‘Books’
What to Buy Writers for Christmas
You could pick up your writer friend a gift card to Barnes and Noble or Amazon, but what if you could pick up your friend something that will almost certainly help him/her take a step forward toward publishing? What if you could give someone a useful tool for his/her writing career?
I’ve been thinking for the past few days about putting together a list of a few services and books that I use a lot as a writer, but then I thought it may be a bit more useful as a gift-giving guide. If you want to know what I use for invoices, advertising, etc., check out the end of this post. For now I give you my gift guide for writers…
Creating Fiction
How much would you pay to attend the top MFA writing workshops in America? Would you be interested in learning the best advice from each professor? This handy textbook is an incredible resource that provides just that. It’s an amazing book with tips on everything from characters to plot construction. If you want to publish fiction, you need the advice in this book. It blows my mind pretty consistently.
Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Go
This may be one of the most entertaining books I’ve read on writing, aside from Bird by Bird. Filled with practical advice and great examples, this book makes starting a novel easy and accessible.
A Moleskine Lined Journal
My writing thrives on giving focused attention to my ideas, and an old-fashioned journal is the perfect tool for writing down ideas and developing them without the distractions of my computer. These journals are relatively affordable, sturdy, and fun to use. Almost everything I write begins as a few ideas in my Moleskine.
A Nook Touch
You may be suspicious that I’ve included a big ticket item in my list, or you may question why I’ve chosen the touch and not a Kindle Fire. I have my reasons. For starters, every writer needs an e-reader because publishers are constantly throwing free and cheap books at us. At the start of NanoWriMo, I was able to download 6 excellent books on writing for free. Marketing companies send me free e-books all of the time about managing my website and social media accounts. There’s so much out there, you need something that you can use to read it all.
I endorse the Nook Touch in particular because it’s first of all a dedicated e-reader. There’s no temptation to check e-mail. Just read. Focus on one thing. I love that about my Nook. In addition, I like Barnes and Noble because it at least supports physical book stores where real human beings can get together, look at books, and interact about ideas. I use Amazon for some online shopping, but I shudder at the thought of Amazon closing down every book store in the country.
When it comes to technical end of things, the Nook Touch has been the darling of online technology sites with its easy to use interface that makes the previous Kindle model look like the ugly duckling.
A Path to Publishing: What I Learned by Publishing a Nonfiction Book
This is perhaps my most self-serving item on the list, but hear me out. There are great books out there on how to write a proposal, how to market a book, and how to prepare for publishing. I’m not as experienced as all of those other writers, but I do have one advantage on them: I published a book fairly recently and I wrote this book right after my book’s first year. I have yet to find another book that pays so much attention to the process of becoming a nonfiction author from start to finish.
I wrote this book as a first step, an introduction to publishing that teaches readers how to plan for the future, how to write a proposal, how to write a draft of a book, how to work with an editor, and how to promote it. The reviews have all been positive, and the endorsements quite strong. I wouldn’t include this book here if I many readers hadn’t told me how the book helped them.
That does it for gift ideas. However, if you want to know what else I recommend for freelance writers, there are 3 services that I recommend using.
PayPal
I try to get checks from customers when possible, but PayPal makes it possible to receive payments from international clients and from customers who prefer the convenience of online billing.
Thumbtack.com
I apply for very few jobs. Rather, I post my services on Thumbtack and set up an auto-post of my advertisement to Craig’s List every three days. I have found all of my clients through Thumbtack. Even better, Thumbtack notifies you when someone has posted a project in my field of expertise! It makes advertising so incredibly easy, I can’t imagine freelancing without it.
Freshbooks
I hate paperwork and spreadsheets, and Freshbooks makes all of that go away. By simply tracking my time throughout the week in Freshbooks, I can send out invoices to my clients and track whether they are late for payments or whether their accounts are up to date. Freshbooks allows you to manage 3 clients for free, which makes it practical for a small operation like mine, while allowing me room to grow in the future. Once again, I would hate freelancing if it wasn’t for Freshbooks.
How to Know if Your Book Idea Works
I have had publishing hopefuls ask me whether their book ideas were good, and I have to admit it’s a tough question to answer. There are many factors to consider when setting out to publish a book.
It’s most important in my experience to summarize the book succinctly, to have a solid title in mind, and to know exactly what you need to say in order to evaluate its merit. The details of each chapter may be fuzzy, but at least the main idea, controlling metaphors, and outline should be pretty clear before evaluating whether or not a book could work.
Some sample chapters will help you sort through how substantive your ideas are and if you can carry on for an entire book. Many good book ideas work better as magazine articles.
There are several factors you’ll need to consider when evaluating whether your book idea works. I’ll give you a hint right now, it won’t be enough for the idea to be good. I’ve seen my own good ideas and the good ideas of others fail the editor test.
They need to be better than good, and that’s what I’ll discuss in my next post.
Two Things that Sell a Lot of Books: #2 A Trusted Name with an Extensive Platform
Whether you have a popular web site, a radio show, an informative newsletter, or professional credentials, selling a book requires a personal connection. Selling a lot of books requires this level of personal trust on a large scale.
While reviews, social media, and web sites are all part of extending a marketing platform, these pieces should not be confused with making very personal connections with readers. Twitter and blogs are great, but they have their limits.
The Kind of Connections Authors Need
From what I can tell, my greatest success in selling books has come from personally talking with readers whether through personal conversations, events, e-mail, or interaction on web sites.
When I have a chance to share my passion for my book, I have a much greater chance of convincing readers to spend their hard-earned money on it. However, reaching potential readers with your personal message and creating enough trust for them to spend money on your book requires a fairly significant number of connections with readers.
I personally would not endorse every method used by authors out there to sell books and some will be more difficult for new authors to use effectively, especially radio and television, but there are lots of ideas out there about building a platform that will help you speak directly with readers and develop a level of trust for you and your book from a monthly newsletter with valuable information to a niche-focused public event.
How to Connect with Readers
Building a platform begins with the question, “How can I effectively connect with readers interested in my topic?” Keep in mind, this isn’t the same as advertising, and posting to a web site is probably the least personal way to do this, making it generally less effective.
I’m building my e-mail newsletter, working on some videos, leading workshops with local community and arts organizations, and connecting with various podcasts, but the possibilities are endless. I’ve been encouraged to hear from a respected author and friend that he finds my newsletter very valuable, and many of those who attend my workshops give me positive feedback. It’s good to know I’m doing a few things right, even if there’s always a lot more to do.
The hardest part about building these connections with readers is starting small. You may begin with twenty newsletter subscribers and workshops with only five attendees. However, if you continue to make connections, to help people with your material, and to build on those relationships, you should be able to connect with enough readers who will not only trust you enough to buy your book, they may also recommend it to others.
Previously in this Series:
Two Things That Sell a Lot of Books: #1
Also in this series: Five Great Things That Don’t Sell a Lot of Books
Amazon Associates Now Integrates with Twitter
Amazon has added a great new feature for Associates that integrates an associates ID with links to books on Twitter. Users can now post links to books right from the Amazon home page, much like posting from a news site.
This is a great way to utilize Twitter in both making book recommendations and providing an extra revenue stream. This will not be for everyone, but for those engaged in recommending books, products, or in sharing expertise in a particular field, I see some potential for growth.
After using Amazon Associates for a good two to three years on my blog and e-mail newsletter, I personally haven’t seen too much of a need for it in those mediums. For the most part this is tied to my blog’s topic (Christian theology), the number of readers I draw, and the income generated per sale doesn’t make it worth the effort to embed my associates ID with every book.
To make it worth my while I would need a wider audience and more marketable products to sell. An economic recovery wouldn’t hurt either. If I blogged on politics, technology, marketing, or online commerce, I could very well see the value in generating revenue from an associates account on book and other product purchases.
Nevertheless, from time to time I recommend books, mark some for my wish list, or save others in my del.icio.us bookmarks. Using this Twitter feature is yet another way to share content with friends. The potential to earn even a quarter adds a little incentive to do something I would consider doing without the promise of revenue.
The e-mail notice I received from Amazon said the following:
By clicking on the Share on Twitter button in the Site Stripe, a new window will open and an Amazon-generated message is pre populated in the ‘What are you doing?’ text area of your Twitter account (you may be asked to log in to your Twitter account). That message will include a shortened URL that already includes your Associates ID. You’ll have the option to edit this message or simply hit the ‘Update’ button to post to your Twitter account. When Twitter users click on the link in your post and make a qualifying sale, you’ll earn referral fees.
With the immediacy, large number of potential readers, and ability to share that Twitter provides, I think this is a great idea. Though I’ve given up on using Amazon Associates on my web site, I think I’ll give this Share on Twitter feature a shot.
The Books We Should Write
With book sales slumping and publishers cutting back on their acquisitions, authors need to take a long, hard look at the kinds of books they write. No one wants to sell ideas that no one will either acquire or few will purchase. In addition, I would hope that writers want to write works that are enduring and helpful far beyond a mere moment in time.
My college had a quote by John Ruskin engraved on the library walls that read, “All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time.” Writing a book for all time is a tall order that many writers will not be able to fill, but this strikes me as a noble goal. Can we write books that are relevant and practical for today that still touch on themes and ideas that can still transcend the moment?
These books for all time are the ones we want to buy because we’ll reread them. They have a powerful message, a compelling story, or a way of dealing with life that connects with readers.
Many books are written to address the matters we face here and now, and that can be a very good thing at times. However, I wonder if our book ideas are too limited to the short term. Have we focused on the present and the needs of a current niche so completely that we’re losing our ability to write works with enduring content?
When I think of my own field of religion, I’m often reminded of Dietrich Bonheoffer’s classic The Cost of Discipleship. He unmistakably speaks to the issues of his day and the state of the church in Germany. However, his message can be easily carried into other contexts, offering substantive concepts that require reading and rereading.
Bonheoffer’s work challenges readers well over sixty years after his death, offering weighty material that has endured the test of time. When I think of a book worth purchasing, I want something that will last, that demands rereading, and offers a story or message that leaves readers in deep consideration.
As for the ideas grounded in the present or more limited in scope, we still have a place for them. These could thrive in ebooks, blogs, magazines, and newspapers. While some of them may sell as traditionally published books, will the tremendous time and costs of the publishing process justify the ends when they could have a much wider distribution and hourly compensation as magazine or web stories?
Many nonfiction books could be broken into profitable articles that could very well gain a wider readership and build a platform, putting an author in to a better marketing position when writing a more enduring book.
There will always be books of the moment. However, before authors invest significant time into publishing a book that may bring in meager profits and attract a relatively small audience, they should consider options beyond publishing a book and books that may bring more long-term value.
When Does Self-Promotion on Social Media Go Too Far?
As a writer I’ve been regularly confronting the concept of self-promotion for a solid three years now. With online applications such as Twitter and Facebook many worry that we are not only falling into a nasty pattern of narcissism, but some businesses and sole-proprietor businesses will abuse their networks of family, friends, and acquaintances to make a buck.
I’d like to tackle this from the perspective of a writer. Writers face the tricky matter of essentially “selling” ourselves and our talents of weaving words together. Readers and publishers look for someone with name recognition, and so writers must think of ways they can “make a name for themselves.” If you’re familiar with the biblical story of the tower of Babel, you may recall that the attempt of humanity to do such a thing resulted in their language being garbled by God.
Such a prospect is not necessarily encouraging for writers—especially a Christian writer.
The only way I can see handling this delicate matter of self-promotion in a way that avoids the exploitation of friends, family, and acquaintances is the following:
- Only promote what may help them. If I’m hoping they’ll buy my book and I send updates and links their way to that end, then the book I write should be of value to them.
- Don’t bombard anyone. I try to only send a manageable number of updates about myself and my work via twitter and facebook. I don’t want anyone to become tired of my endless stream of self-promotion. Everyone has a different limit here, so be cautious.
- It’s not all business. Part of keeping in touch with friends and family is adding some color from your own life, sharing pictures and stories that may be funny, interesting, or unusual. Don’t stick to mere work concerns in social media.
I can’t say for sure if I’ve done this perfectly, but as a writer who has to walk this fine line, I find that friends and family generally want to know what I’m up to. Therefore, it’s my job to keep them in the loop without wearing them out with my updates.
Lessons from the Past Six Months on Writing
By the time Coffeehouse Theology was released in September 2008, I was well on my way with my next book project—writing stories, searching for articles, and testing out ideas. I had one foot in marketing and the other in a new project on evangelicals: Saving Evangelicals from Themselves: Where We’ve Gone Wrong and Why We Have Hope. Without the head start seminary afforded on Coffeehouse Theology, I learned a few lessons in the course of writing a first draft for a book completely from scratch.
Using del.icio.us to not only tag and organize links, but to also set aside material worthy of a quotation made the research process much easier. At first I just tagged everything that looked relevant, but soon I realized that it helps to read the articles first rather than assuming I’d read them later. I rarely did that! So I read through, highlighted the section I wanted to quote, and then tagged them. By highlighting a section, I could then find it on my del.icio.us bookmarks without have to reread the whole article.
Small sticky notes make it much easier to find quotations from books. I had a system of using small sticky notes as tabs sticking out of books. I’d typically stick the note to the page, make a bracket around the relevant text, and then jot a few words connecting the quote with a particular chapter. I later found that many of my quotes didn’t fit, but without taking the time to mark everything that seemed important, I doubt I would have been able to find enough helpful quotations to pull from the many books I read.
Lining up readers for your drafts is absolutely essential. I received invaluable advice from my readers who soldiered through my early drafts. One chapter needed to be deleted, while another began with too much intensity. In both cases my readers helped prompt significant changes to my book that I believe will make it more successful.
Writing down many of my stories and anecdotes months before I began seriously working on the chapters helped me sort through the most important topics to be covered in the book. This book could have taken a couple of different directions, but I wanted it to unfold as organically as possible, letting my stories direct and shape the overall direction and point of the book. By starting with a solid core of stories totaling 30,000 words, I quickly ruled out certain chapters that would not have enough substance to work within the parameters I had established for the book.
Anything written can be deleted. I have found that I am continually amazed at what ends up working and what ends up being tossing into the “scraps” folder. Never tire of using the delete button.
Thanks for Visiting!
Ed Cyzewski is a freelance writer and author of Divided We Unite: Practical Christian Unity, Coffeehouse Theology and A Path to Publishing. He also blogs on Christian belief and practice at www.inamirrordimly.com.Other Projects
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