Writing Mastery

I’ve recently self published a book with xlibris publishing, but i want to know how to go about finding a publisher and getting my book in stores instead of just available online.

here is my books website by xlibris:

http://www.achristiansoldiersjourney.com

Obey YOG’S LAW: "Money flows TOWARD the writer."

This means NEVER pay to get published or to enter contests or pay a fee-charging agent. NEVER. Obey Yog’s Law and you won’t get ripped off.

Go to a bookstore. Find books like yours. Look inside the front pages to get the publishers’ websites. Follow their submission guidelines to the letter.

Look up websites of writers with work similar to your own. See if they mention who reps for them. A short polite mail asking if they can recommend an agent is not out of place. Do not tell them about your book, that’s seen as poor manners.

Go to the 808 section of your library which has all the books on writing. They will help you steer clear of the rips.

Writer’s Market 2010 will be in the reference section. It lists all the commercial publishers and what they’re looking for.

This site is a SAFE writer’s board run by pros. It is free and they can help you stay clear of the sharks in the publishing pool.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/

You don’t start shopping your book around until you’ve gotten solid feedback on it first. AW has a Share Your Work forum where other writers can give constructive crits.

Feedback, beta readers, polished, and re-polished, a book has to be the best you can make it before you send it out. I thought my first was ready, but two years of rejections and rewrites taught me better.

(It did sell, I landed a multi-book contract.)

But you can’t be in a hurry, or assume you’ll get paid a fortune. The Brenda Hiatt link below will give you a general idea about book advances. Always assume you will get the lowest number. You’ll be the newbie on the block. It takes time to work up to getting the real money.

STAY AWAY FROM PUBLISHAMERICA. They are the BIGGEST ripoff site of them all. They say they’re free and don’t want your money, but that is a LIE. You end up buying overpriced copies of your own book!

They will not put your book into a store–but lie and say that you are supposed to do that. Most writers submit their book, and whether it is good or horrible, it’s quickly "accepted," (they take everything!) and then you never hear from the poor writer again. Your rights are tied up for seven years!

Just google "publish America" + "scam" and find all the writers who got ripped off by them. They are what is called a "print mill." you don’t want anything to do with them. They ruin lives and careers.

If any publisher or agent advertises on Google, it will only lead to a scammer or a vanity house. A real publisher or agent doesn’t advertise!

Get Strunk and White’s ELEMENTS OF STYLE. All writers have that book and use it.

Again–the 808 books at the library will help you on all this!

Helpful sites for writers:

http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubwarn.htm

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/

http://www.sfwa.org/category/craft-of-writing/

http://www.sfwa.org/category/business-of-writing/

http://www.vampwriter.com/FAQ-WRITING.htm

http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/

http://howpublishingreallyworks.blogspot.com/

http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html

And just because you’ve finished a book doesn’t mean it’s commercially viable. Pro writers finish a book and start writing another. It keeps your head from exploding while you’re waiting to hear back from agents and editors!

See you on Absolute Write! ;>)

Tags: how to get a book published by admin
6 Comments »

I plan on writing a book about the psychology of boxing. I am a therapist and boxing/fight enthusiast. I have read quite a few boxing biographies and every other boxing related book I could get my hands on. Any ideas or must-reads? Opinions or chapter ideas would be helpful also. Any similar books out there?Thanks!

Good luck, I couldn’t find anything so there is definitely a market for your book, why not read up on the basics in Sports Psychology:

http://books.google.com/books?id=8Xy629OzAQsC&pg=PA30&dq=boxing+psychology&ei=_JY9R8GtJYTy6gL2kd2yAg&sig=VFuoLmt7jX2s7rhn0jpYwu5jqt0#PPA8,M1

Tags: writing a book by admin
1 Comment »

I was just wondering what are some tips for writing a YA novel.

Write about life experiences,,Be aware of the details!Character Focus, Write whatever you feel passionately about make a draft, Then, when you’re at the revision stage, return to the draft for guidance. keep the terms plot and story distinct,be in control of your story.Have some end or goal or major event in mind so you don’t end up going nowhere,concentrate on the most significant part of the characters’ lives, also concentrate on an interesting character or characters

Tags: writing a novel by admin
3 Comments »

I’d like to stay in the top 50 schools, and I want to be able to major in creative writing, not just minor. Any suggestions?

Not sure what schools are considered "top" (because it’s not like they’re being ranked by prospective employers or anything), but it might be a good idea to go to a school that also offers a graduate degree in creative writing. Typically, those kinds of schools will have more of a network of writers, more readings, etc, and the teaching assistants will be writing students, not english students. Traditionally the University of Iowa has been viewed as the most prestigious graduate writing program, although I think they only introduced their undergrad program recently. In the case where the grad program is so large and well-entrenched, you might feel like a second-tier student as an undergrad, so keep that in mind as well. But at the very least, you’re tapping into the same resources that the grad students get, and your degree gets an added reputation just from being affiliated with a famous grad program. Not all of these schools offer undergrad programs, but it can’t hurt to attend any school that does.

You can see rankings of Masters programs in creative writing in a few places:
U.S. News and World Report’s 1998 rankings: http://www-as.phy.ohiou.edu/~rouzie/569A/compcreative/University.htm
Tom Kealey’s rankings (by the author of "The Creative Writing MFA Handbook", which are biased towards graduate programs that provide funding): http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/2006/12/2006-creative-writing-mfa-rankings_31.html
A blog survey of reputation: http://sethabramson.blogspot.com/2007/01/2006-creative-writing-mfa-rankings-2007.html

That said, there are probably a few prestigious schools that offer undergrad programs in creative writing but do not offer a graduate program. Princeton and Yale and both pretty prestigious places to study creative writing and neither offers a graduate degree. Not sure if Yale has a full program in it or not, but I know a lot of people who wanted to be writers aspired to go to Yale. But I know Princeton has a pretty big program, with the option of submitting a piece of creative work for the thesis. You’re getting the prestige and the resources of the school itself, and surely (if you can afford it and can get accepted) that’s just as good for your development as a writer as going to a school with a well-known Masters program.

A few other things you can do to narrow down your list to your favorite schools: Check out which faculty teach with the department and try to read some of their work. Try to find out what courses you’d be required to take or if there are any interesting options available to you. And look at some of the other features of the university: location, opportunity to study abroad, opportunity to do an interesting minor in another subject, etc. Are there opportunities to take practical courses in editing, journalism, etc? Does the school have a literary magazine (and can undergrads work on it)? Can you earn credit for doing an internship (eg, at a book publisher, magazine, newspaper, etc)? Does the school have an interesting newspaper, if you’d like to write for it over the years?

Writing is a particulary interesting subject in that the school you study at doesn’t necessarily mean a lot (it really doesn’t even mean much whether you even do a degree, unless you want to teach after you graduate, but if you have the means and the will to do a degree, it’s worth it). What’s more important is to put yourself in an atmosphere that will improve your writing – give you life experiences, allow you the free time to write (eg, not demand you spend 20+ hours a week working a part-time job), let you meet other students who stimulate your mind and encourage you to do interesting things that will inspire your writing. So… reputation is worth considering, but creative writing – probably more than any other program out there – is really more about what you do outside the classroom than what you do in it.

Good luck with your decision and your future writing career.

Tags: writing programs by admin
1 Comment »

I’m writing a book and now have two more great ideas that I would love to write like right now but I am worried about getting overloaded or accidentally writing about the wrong book while trying to write a different one. How many do you recommend?
Thanks!

Only one, or you might lose enthusiasm for all the ideas! I suggest you carry a notebook around with you to develop the other ideas, but only start writing one of them after you’ve finished your current book. Good luck!

Help with mine? http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Al1ekG_Omf3eZ2_tFnL7rcfsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090513120651AAeZ3wx

Tags: how to write a book by admin
10 Comments »

I want to publish my book. I don’t want to use lulu and I don’t have an agent. What can I do?

Miese is right. Traditional publishers just don’t know a good thing when they see one. Not all traditional publishers actually made the BEST decision when it comes to choosing books. Do you know that several best selling authors have been turned down by publishers? Stephen King, author of Gone with The Wind and Chicken Soup have been rejected by publishers and were not even given the second glance.

Perhaps if you collected all those information before you get to decide, it might help.

Tags: how to get a book published by admin
4 Comments »