Making a Living as a Writer

I haven't kept up this blog, because I've been so busy writing, but I've been learning so much about self-publishing that I want to start sharing what I know.

But first, I want to comment on a cliche I hear bandied about the writing community time and again:

"Everyone knows writers can't make a living writing."

Ahhhh!!!! Stick my fingers in my ears, bite my tongue!

I've been hearing this statement for years. I heard it before I was published, I heard after I was published, I heard it before I was successful, I heard it after I was successful, I heard it when I was broke, and I heard it when I was making a good living from my writing, I heard in in 2011 (when it was so "easy" to self-publish (apparently), I heard it in 2014 (when it was so "easy" to self-publish ... no, that's not an echo), and I'm hearing it now in 2018.

It is the great myth of being a writer that most writers are starving. An equally believed myth is that you write one book, are offered a 7-figure deal, and you go on TV interviews and sign movie deals, and you are set for life and never have to work another day, ever.

Both of these can and do happen. But, and I promise I'm not making this up ...

YOU CAN MAKE A PERFECTLY GOOD LIVING AS A WRITER EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BLOCKBUSTER HIT.

And just because others say it can't be done, that doesn't mean it applies to you.

OK?

Read on . . .

I know plenty of people who make a living as writers. Many of them started publishing at the same time I did. Now people look at them with envy, and say they "got lucky," or they "got a break" and whatever.

The truth is that these writers are able to make a living because they WORKED HARD, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY WORKED SMART.

But how do you do that?

The first year I was traditionally published, I made a grand total of . . . wait for it

$2000

That's a 2 with three zeroes. Two thousand dollars. I had to give 15% to my agent. The rest I blew on promotion.

My first month of self-publishing (nine years later) I made:

$35

Notice the lack of zeroes in that number.

Did I weep? Did I say--"Oh, it's too hard. I'll never make a living. I'll never quit my day job. Oh. Oh. Oh."

No. What I actually said (both times) was . . . "COOL! I MADE MONEY OFF MY WRITING!!!"

For the first time in my life, someone had paid me to write. How awesome was that?

The next thing I did was say, "OK, I made that much. How do I make more?"

I made more by looking around to see how other authors were making a living. When I went to conferences, I didn't sit with authors who were mourning about their low royalty checks or saying they had to go back to work, and this career is an empty promise. I sought out the authors who weren't in the doldrums; writers who were excited and happy, and ready to move forward. I said to myself, I want to be like them.

So my first tip in making a living writing is:

1. Surround yourself with positive people.

If enough people tell you you'll never make a living writing, you'll believe it. If you believe it long enough, it will happen.

My second tip has to do with understanding the publishing world, beyond just "what sells?"

2. If you want to make a living writing, don't agree to write for a press where you will likely make very little, if any, money.

This should be a no-brainer. And yet, I see authors excited that an unproven start-up e-press offered them a contract--these writers will be lucky if they make $25 in a year. But now they can say the magic words contract and published. But--you've just signed all your rights away to your beloved book for the grand total of $25.

If having a contract and being published is very, very important to you, regardless of how much you will make, then you go for it. There's nothing that says you have to write for money and no other reason. But realize that and make it a conscious choice.

3. Make sure you know exactly what you can expect from a publisher--money-wise, professionalism-wise, prestige-wise.

For example, if that publisher offers you something that you feel is more important to you than large advances and lots of sales--say they're known for their authors who win big awards--then by all means, write for them.

4. Make the choice about what is important to you, and gear all your actions to that choice.

After I sold my first book, I realized that the key to success was discovering not "what sells" but WHERE books sell. And I did my best to go there.

I realized quickly that most books aren't sold in bookstores. Counterintuitive, right? But the truth is, books are sold at the big box stores, and now online. Ebooks were already growing. Booksellers were cutting back and closing (sadly; I love bookstores).

I saw that a way to make a living was to build up my backlist with publishers who were hitting the most readers. That meant the publisher who first bought me (Dorchester), who were terrific at getting books into places like Wal-Mart; and also Ellora's Cave, whose books were in great demand in the ebook market. Both of those publishers are gone now, but more on that later. (At the time they were the best places for me to be published.)

I sat my butt down and wrote!

This doesn't mean I cranked books out like a meat grinder--I put a lot of thought about what I wanted to write before I started, and I dedicated myself to writing the best books I could.

5. Hone your ideas, and have MANY of them.

When you pitch to an editor or an agent, you are not pitching a book, you're pitching an idea, plus the assurance that you have the skills to write that book.

Come up with as many ideas as you can. I have a ton of them: Some are great; some just ok; some need much more thought before I tell anyone about them. Mull them over, research the market, pick the best ones. If editors/agents don't like one, try another.

Believe me, I've pitched plenty of ideas to my agent and editor--over the phone, at dinner, talking in a hotel lobby--that they've negated. Some of those ideas I rethought and re-introduced at a later date, and sold them.

(I used to have to wait weeks for rejections. Now that I'm published, I get rejected at the speed of light!)

6. If you write something you're not emotionally invested it, chances are it will be a weak book, and not help your career.

I never have waited for my agent or editor to tell me what I should write next. It's a mutual conversation. There are things I don't want to write, and when they're suggested to me, I say No. It goes both ways.

7. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. 

Now, at one point in my career, I saw the pathways I was following leading to disaster. My publisher started to crumble and fall.

Yikes! There goes my living!

It wasn't the total disaster for me that it was for others, because I was still writing for Berkley and Ellora's Cave. (See? No eggs in one basket! I still had eggs.)

But then EC was gone. And the $ I made from Berkley wasn't much. Advances were low, and my income dwindled to nothing. ("Sorry dear, we have enough money to pay bills this month, but after that, no more.") Did I mention my DH was out of a job at the same time?

So, I started exploring the possibilities of self-publishing.

None of this was easy. It was hard to juggle, hard to produce, hard to keep from sliding into depression and despair.

8. Always keep looking for new ways to reach readers.

Once my backlist at Dorchester was gone from the shelves, I looked around the publishing universe to see where the readers had gone. I notices that many readers had migrated to Nook and Kindle (etc) and authors were now talking about quitting their day jobs because of self-publishing.

"Hmm," I said. "Let me check that out."

I revised a backlist book, learned how to format it, and released it. I did this on a shoestring budget--my biggest expense was the cover, because I had to hire someone to do it for me (no way did I have time or skills to learn graphic design on the fly). I paid about $100 for the cover.

As I said, I made $35 in month one.

Again, did I moan--"Woe, woe! No one can really make money at this!!!"

No, I said, "Cool! People actually bought it! And not just my mom!"

So I put up book 2 of the backlist the next month. And then more books. I found a short story I'd written for the series that was never published. I made it a novella. Then I wrote a new book in the series.

See what I did there? I took the resources I had (backlist),  took new resources (self-publishing), and shoved them together.

By the end of the first year self-pubbing, I had seven or eight books out. I wrote a shorter book to go with a series that was struggling at Berkley, to remind readers it was out there. I did not make a fortune! But we could again pay the bills.

BTW, that backlist series and that little book, all published in 2011, turned into two of my most lucrative series to date. I never would have believed that when I started.

Which just goes to show ....

9. Don't give up.

"But," you say, "that's great for you. You already had a name when you self published. And we can't control whether a publisher offers us one contract, or two, or any at all."

But . . .

When I self-pubbed, I did it under one of my least-known pseudonyms. No one knew me. The backlist of my most popular name had been wiped out, and I heard readers saying they didn't think I was writing anymore (ack!), and some thought I'd died (double ack!) My discoverability had gone way, way down.

I made money self-pubbing because I worked very hard and worked as smart as I could. Remember my first month? $35.

I know authors out there who would have been discouraged by that number and given up. I was the opposite.

If one book can make $35, I said, then two books can make $70. Four books, $140. And so on.

Now I have 70 self-pubbed books.

Now I make a living. Why? Becuase of math.

If each of those 70 books sells one copy a day (on average! that means some will sell ten copies, some will sell zero), then at the end of the month, I have sold about 2100 books. If I charge an average of $2.99 per book (average! as in some will be 99 cents, some 4.99 and up), with 60-70% royalty, I have made about $4200. And that's a month with no new books and everything selling one book a day (on average).

By the way: This is without spending money on marketing. This is just having books sit there.

I'll say it again: The key to making a living writing is building backlist. Backlist snowballs.

To answer the question of selling to publishers. It's hard! I know it is. It was hard for me to sell the first time, and it's still hard! 

I don't sell everything I come up with. I get plenty of rejections. I've just learned not to take them personally. I keep trying until my publisher says, "Yes, that sounds like something that interests me. Work up a proposal." (Which, by the way, they might still reject.)

That brings me to

10. Always keep trying. Keep trying to find new ideas, new stories, and new places and new ways to sell those stories.

That one's self explanatory.

Good luck!

Becoming a Bestselling Fiction Author

How to Become a Bestselling Fiction Author
By Jennifer Ashley

Workshop, Glendale Chocolate Affair, Feb 2013

Tips to increasing the odds of sales, exposure, and bestsellerdom, regardless of whether you’re trad pubbed or self-pubbed

What this worshop is NOT about:

Marketing campaigns

Being a one-time blockbuster / flavor of the month
Social networking yourself until everyone hates you, including your pets

Writing “what sells”

Instead: How to build a successful career--writing books for a living

1. What do I mean by Bestseller?

National Lists:

NY Times

USA Today (approx 10,000 sales in a week makes this list)

Amazon Top 100

            # 90-100 = about 300 books a day (of one title)

            #50 = about 700-800 books a day

            #40 and down, thousands of books per day

Not small lists:

Fiction>Mystery>Ebooks>Mysteries & Thrillers>Historical>Regency>1812>Left-handed Spinsters>  "Ooh, I'm number one!"

(These lists can get your book exposure, but the actual sales are small)

National bestsellers happen with a burst of sales at one time

A book can sell just as well over time and never hit a bestseller list

Bestsellerdom Isn’t the Whole Story!

Five Steps to becoming a Print Bestseller

Great book

Package (cover, blurb)

Print Run  / Placement in Stores

Pre-orders and Re-orders

Word of Mouth

Five steps to self-pub E-Bestseller

Great Book

Package (cover, blurb, price)

Availability (top e-vendors)

Alerting the masses (newsletters; FB)

Word of Mouth

What Does the Author have the most control over? 

Great Book

2. Write the Very Best Book You Can

A. What Makes a Great Book?

(Regardless of Format; Packaging; Marketing)

Memorable Characters 

           Examples: Sherlock Holmes; Scarlett O'Hara; Jackal in Day of the Jackal

            People who stick in our minds

            We want to know all about them

            Don’t necessarily like them

            If unlikable character is focus, need sympathetic one to connect to reader (Dr. Watson, Melanie and others, French policeman in Day of the Jackal)

Intensity

            Don’t pull back from emotional encounters

            Be in the moment—immediacy more interesting than the big picture

            Example: Battle of Waterloo from POV of an infantry captain of a square, not the bird’s eye view of every battle movement

            Never let down the intensity. Rest, but not for long

            (example: Action TV shows like Burn Notice—few lines of personal / emotional plot thread; pause a beat or two; someone breaks in with action plot)

            Keeping it intense:
                 When revising, cut deadwood. If the back of your mind is saying "Blah, blah, blah," the paragraph / page / scene needs to be cut!

Put the good stuff up front

            Bourne Identity—Jason Bourne drowning

            Marie Force romance—Man steps off curb, woman runs into him on bicycle, she’s hurt and might lose her job, has kid to take care of (we know all that right away)

            Outlander—“People disappear every day”

            Entire first scene / chapter should be the hook

Dialog

            No throwaway lines!

            Every piece of dialog moves the story forward or deepens characterization (ideally, both)

            Find tightly written books and TV shows / movies and study their technique

            (Example: Buffy the Vampire Slayer--pick an episode and listen carefully to every line of dialog)

             

Satisfying elements for your target audience:

            Thrillers: Edge of seat, gripping scenes, constantly asking “what’s going to happen?”

            Romance: H/h together, tension between them never stopping until end (whether it’s between them personally or outside problems)

            Erotic romance: Same as romance, but sexual tension includes more erotic details. Must be believable

            Mystery: Who did it? Why? How? (Nero Wolfe and Agatha Christie good at “how did that person drop dead in front of everyone?”) “How” less fashionable these days: Who and Why are more prevalent

            Horror: Fear—but believable. Play to a basic fear we all have (what’s in the dark, dying in dreams, monster under the bed, helplessness). Stephen King popular for a reason

            Historical novel: Historical detail in POV of a character or characters who takes us through those details

B. Increasing your odds of bestsellerdom, or at least great sales

Hedge your bets:

            Some time periods, settings, style of writing, and topics are vastly more popular than others

            Realize that setting in a place and time that there is little interest in will lead to smaller sales.

Caveat: Write what you are passionate about instead of trying to fit it into a box. A writer can have a lucrative career writing wonderful books without ever hitting a bestseller list

“What Sells?” 

Trends / vs. Universal Themes

            Look beyond the outer trappings of popular novels to find the theme that speaks to the readers

            50 Shades and similar books: Outward Perception: “Erotica (esp bondage) Sells!”

           Theme: Woman Coming of Age: Woman who is inhibited emotionally for whatever reason finds man who awakens her sexually and emotionally, using sex and emotional challenges to do so.

            Twilight: Perception: "Vampire books sell (esp to teens)!" 

            Theme: Surrendering completely to someone who takes care of you (boyfriend, husband, God), is the way to true serenity and happiness (some of that in 50 Shades as well)

            The DaVinci Code: Perception: "Treasure hunt books sell!"

            Theme: People will go to any lengths to preserve the status quo of their religious beliefs (any beliefs for that matter).

           Gone With the Wind: Perception: "Civil War books sell!"

           Theme: Woman will do anything she must to save her symbol of stability and happiness (her home)

           Day of the Jackal: "Catch the assassin books sell!"

           Theme: Little guy is put in charge and saves the day (Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings/ the Hobbit, similar theme)

            Ben-Hur: “Action / adventure stories set in Biblical times (with chariot races) sell!”

            Theme; Revenge versus Forgiveness (Ben-Hur starts out driven by revenge on his ex-best friend; his encounters with Jesus teach him that revenge isn't enough—forgiveness and love is necessary for a full life)

            Outlander: “Time-travel and Scottish books sell!" 

            Theme: Woman torn between two worlds—where she thinks she belongs (the “right thing to do”) vs. following her heart

Trends die swiftly ---> Themes endure

3. Consistency: Schedule; Packaging; Content

In our society, consistency is our best friend

            

Consistent Quality (don’t put huge effort into one book and blow off the others)

            Releases out at a consistent pace (1 per month; 1 every 6 months; 1 per year)

Series vs standalone books (series are more popular, but standalones w/ related style can work)

            Deliver series consistently—stick to what series is about

            Consistent Packaging  (find one cover look for a series and stick to it--same fonts at the very least!)

           
Give value for money--"cheap" should not mean a throwaway story or book. 

Give your very best book, regardless of the book's price or how much money you think you should make.

Make it about the book, not the money!

        

Consistency builds

Readership

Income

Career

Character and Control

I've kind of let this blog go, because of one reason--I'm too busy to breathe. Sometimes you have to sit down and decide what to let go in your life in order to stay sane. Blogging takes time and mental energy, and I'd rather spend both on writing books. Therefore, not much blogging.

That said, writing related issues occasionally occur to me, and this venue is a great place to muse on them.

Today, I was thinking about writers letting characters take control, and some comments I've come across lately from people who severely disagree with this method.

I like to say I let my characters tell the story. And they do. I put them in motion on the page and see what they do. I watch, and I write down what I see.

I saw a tweet the other day that said basically that an author who lets his / her characters tell the story is an idiot. A fool, not really a writer. Saw the same kind of comment in a book I'm reading on plotting.

Writers are ALWAYS in control of their characters, right? 

Not quite. When I say my characters have control, tell me the story, or take over I do NOT mean that they meander about talking about the reproductive cycles of cabbages while the bank they're standing in is being robbed (unless I'm going for zany humor).

But my characters then don't forget all about the trauma of the robbery and decide to take a European tour where they meet some aliens and journey with them back to a moon of Jupiter.

See what I mean? Now, we could probably come up with a plot where that all works... but I'm being a bit silly to make a point.

I put my character in a situation (say, a bank being robbed while my hero is there on his lunch hour). This bank robbery will be very important to the story (maybe he's a private detective, maybe he realizes one of the robbers is his best friend's son, maybe he's undercover for the CIA). 

But then I let my character go. I sit back and watch him decide what to do while the bank's being robbed. Be a hero and tackle the guy with the biggest gun? Does he covertly make a phone call? Does he go all Burn Notice and take down the robbers with duct tape and canned air? What kind of a person is he--what would he do? (as opposed to the eight-year-old girl, or the eighty-year-old woman in the electric scooter.)

My character's actions should be logical and make sense for him: X happens, he reacts by doing Y, causing Z, which causes A, then B, and so on. I watch, I type.

But I've not decided beforehand what Y, Z, A, B, and C are and outlined them. I can't think that way. I can sit here and project out a very, very rough sketch of a story line, to a point, but I can't really know how the story is going to flow until I write it. 

What was in my rough notes as C turns out to be W when I start writing. W comes to me out of nowhere, and is a much better, more entertaining, and more logical course than C.

But I will never know that until I start writing and let the characters go. The act of moving my fingers on the keyboard seems to trigger the creativity in my brain.

That's what I mean by writing by the seat of my pants and having my characters in control. They do, I watch.

Possibly, what's going on inside my head is me seeing the situation and problem-solving it via my character as I write dialog, stage direction, description, inner monologue. I'm good at problem-solving (figuring something out as it's thrust in front of me). I suck at strategy (planning in advance). 

When I release my inhibitions and let the characters take over, they tell me things about themselves I never knew, and do things I didn't realize they were capable of.

Now, if they do decide to hop a plane to Paris and then fly off into space with aliens, when I revise the story I can see whether that incident logically flowed with the story line (maybe I'm writing scifi; or the character is using the aliens as a thought exercise with his therapist), or whether it was a strange and unnecessary digression (but hey, it worked for Monty Python's Life of Brian).

Letting my characters tell me the story does not mean I let them rampage willy-nilly through the book with a mad fixation on aliens and cabbage. But watching what they do does make my stories richer and deeper than they'd be if I slavishly followed an outline I'd beaten to death beforehand because I thought this was the "right" way to write a novel.

It's just the way that works for me. If I had a different brain, maybe I could only write a story after I'd meticulously planned every plot detail. If you're much better at planning in advance than I am, go for it.

Whatever works FOR YOU is right.

That's my musings for a cloudy Wednesday afternoon. Hoping for some rain soon.

Print Pub vs. E Pub vs. DIY (Indie) Publishing

This handout is from a talk I gave to the Northern AZ Romance Writers in Prescott last month. It's an update of my "Print vs. epub" talk, with added information about the new self-pub options available to writers.

My take is that each form of publishing has its trade-offs--and that you need to understand what you get and what you give up.

The Current Face of Publishing
Print Publishers, E-publishers, DIY E-publishing

Your Publishing Path = Your goals (achievement, financial) + understanding the trade-offs involved in each type of publishing

Your path is your path, no matter which one others perceive
as more "prestigious" or financially sound.

Print "New York" (Traditional) Publishers

Predominantly New York-based large corporate publishers (Random House, St. Martin's, Penguin [Berkley, NAL, Signet], Kensington, Harlequin, Grand Central [Hatchett])

Advantages
Distribution to major chain bookstores and big box stores
(Walmart, Target)
Aggressive marketing to booksellers who in turn market your book
International distribution
Potential of high advances (six figures and up)
Increased possibility for making national best-seller lists
Some large publishers now offering ebook first lines

Disadvantages
Only top-tier authors and authors whom editors wish to build get large advances and aggressive marketing to booksellers

A system that can quickly kill careers of mid-list authors (diminishing print runs, no support w/ booksellers)

Advances, even large ones, dribbled out over several years

No author control over covers, book price, distribution, print runs, publishing schedule

Royalty payments twice a year, only if book has earned out its advance

Authors must market to readers (via social networks, booksignings, conventions, promotion materials) and foot the costs

Comparatively low ebook royalties (25% of net proceeds is common; can be as low as 6% of cover price)

Authors can feel lost or neglected in huge corporations

Publishers tend to focus on narrow band of "what sells"


Small (Print) Press

Independent presses, some with only two or three employees; specialized presses (one genre only, or distribution to one channel, e.g., libraries). Examples: Avalon, Poisoned Pen, Walker Books, ImaJinn

Advantages
Smaller, family-like atmosphere
Small presses can be prestigious and produce award-winning authors
Good distribution within specialization
Good sales and/ or awards at small press can lead to contracts at larger presses.
Some small presses can sell mass market rights to get you wider distribution.

Disadvantages
Very small advances ($500-$1000) and small chance of earn-out
Limited distribution
Small print runs
Little or no author control over price, print run, distribution, publication schedule (though more author input is possible)

Ebook Publishers ("Ebook First" Pubs)

Small to medium-sized publishers, sometimes specializing in one or two genres (e.g., romance; erotic romance), publishes ebooks first, then might publish a small run of print books or POD books. Examples: Samhain, Ellora's Cave, LooseID

Advantages
Well-established publishers have loyal readerships
Distribution to predominant ebook vendors (Amazon, B&N, Sony)
Higher ebook royalty rates than print houses (30-40% of cover price is common)
Quarterly to monthly royalty payments
Some epubs now placing authors on New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists

Disadvantages
No advances
Little to no author control over covers (though more flexibility in this area)
No author control over price, publication schedule, print publications
Print publication of the ebook follows slowly, sometimes not at all
Saturation of ebook market means fewer sales per author


Do-It-Yourself Ebook Publishing (Indie Publishing)

Authors use services such as Kindle Direct Publishing; PubIt (Barnes & Noble), and Smashwords to package and distribute ebooks

Advantages
Distribution to all major e-vendors (Amazon, B&N, Sony, Kobo, and others)
Higher royalty rates (35-70% of cover price)
Monthly or quarterly royalty payments
Complete author control over covers, pricing, distribution, publication schedule, marketing, and story
Books can earn into the hundreds of thousands of dollars
Cover and formatting costs can be minimal ($100-$300 per book)
Instant access to sales numbers

Disadvantages
No advances
Author assumes all cost and responsibility for editing / proofreading ms
Author assumes all costs for packaging and marketing the book: Cover design, formatting, marketing materials, advertising
Non-writing aspects (marketing, ms. formatting, etc) can be time and labor intensive
Print distribution minimal
Not all books earn high $ amounts


Conclusion: Carefully consider your options before taking the plunge in any direction, and understand the pitfalls you may encounter. Realize that no publishing career will be without ups and downs, mistakes, and setbacks. Understand what each publishing model can do for you, and what it can't, and plan accordingly.

Workshop from Tucson Book Fest: Book is Written, Now What?

I'm reproducing my handout from my talk in Tucson: The Book is Written, Now What? Enjoy!

Organization and Career Focus

What kinds of books do you see yourself writing day in, day out? How many books
a year can you write? (be realistic!)

What kind of publisher do you want
to target? (large press, small press, e-pub)

Market Research

Who are the editors and agents buying/selling what you write?

Writer’s Market (updated annualy)

Conference websites (editor’s bios--shows what editors are looking for)

Agents’ blogs

Check a publisher’s distribution and reputation, not just how much $$ you can get up front. Distribution can be more important than money (keeps you published)

Go to stores (Walmart, Target, grocery chains, bookstores) and see what publishers are on the shelves who publish what you are writing or close to what you are writing.

How to Get your Ms. Read

• Contests

Target wisely (publisher-sponsored; your genre; editors/agent judges)

• Conferences

Hone your pitch to the agent or editor to one-two sentences. Give them room to ask you questions. Ask them questions--what are they looking for? What was the last thing they bought that got them really excited? What is the most recent (new author) book they've sold to a publisher?

• Query Letters

What is a query letter? A one-page letter that contains information about your book plus your pitch:

Paragraph one: Tell the agent why you've written him: I'm looking for
representation for my mystery series set in the outback of Australia in the
1940s. The first book is 80,000 words and is finished.

Paragraph two-three: Blurb of your book. Very short setup of main
character, main problem, villain, what makes the book unique. (or in romance,
hero and heroine, main problem, etc.)

Paragraph four: Offer to send a partial or full manuscript at the agent's
request. Thank her for her time, and sign.

That's it!!!

Send out up to 10 query letters at a time. When one comes back, pop another in the mail.

• Submit constantly.


Agents: Why do I need one?

• Agents can be your number one biggest asset.

Agent does much more than get you sold (you can get yourself sold).

Shop for agents wisely. Ask questions, read their blog, research them.

Do not use agents who charge up-front fees.

For Inspiration

The amount of dedication you give to your writing career is what it will give back to you.

Don’t settle. Believe that you can attain the highest levels! What you shoot for, you will get, or get very close to.

When you make writing your job, it becomes your job (with pay!)

For Education

Lawrence Block, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit (Insightful articles on writing, discipline, technique, marketing).

Steven King, On Writing. Part 1 is an autobiography; part 2 offers gloves-off advice for starting and sticking to writing, the basics of good writing, how to finish the book and what to do with it.

Donald Maass, The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies for Success. What everything means, and how to survive it.

Jeff Hermann, Jeff Herman’s Writer’s Guide to Editors, Publishers, and Agents (updated annually)

SWFA’s Predators and Editors website (lists agent addresses and websites, $=an agent with a track record of sales): http://pred-ed.com/pubagent.htm

Online Workshop--Agents: Do You Need One/How Do I Get One?

I will be teaching an online workshop from Feb 1 to Feb 7 through my RWA chapter at http://www.drworkshops.com/ /. My workshop:

Jennifer Ashley--Agents: Do You Need One, and How Do You Get One if You Do?

From 2/1/2011 to 2/7/2011

Questions many authors face at the beginning of their careers are: Do I need an agent? What for? How do I find one? Will an agent represent an unknown, unpublished author? What about if I'm category published or e-press published? The answer to all these questions is: "It depends"--on many factors. Agents are not golden tickets to success; on the other hand, navigating the waters of big-house publishing without them can be tricky and sometimes impossible. This workshop will address what an agent's job is, what you should expect from them (and what you should not expect), when and why you should go it alone, how to find an agent to represent you, and how to work well with your agent once you're signed with her.

Cost: $15 for Desert Rose RWA members; $20 for non-members

Sign up at: http://www.drworkshops.com/Workshops/Details/2011-Agents-Do-You-Need-One

Please feel free to forward!!

Denise Agnew's best books on writing

Denise Agnew has a terrific New Year's post on her top ten books on writing. These are more inspirational than the nuts and bolts of craft, and well worth reading. Pop over and have a look.

http://deniseagnew.com/blog/?p=703

Staying Motivated When Times Get Rough

I have not posted here in a while, for which I humbly apologize. I have been writing, marketing, revising, rewriting, editing, proofreading, proposing, and on and on and on, while at the same time trying not to burn out.

As some of you may know, I've been caught in a publisher's spiraling troubles--I moved to another publisher already (did last year), but the problems are still pulling at my heels. Lots of issues to solve.

I know many authors caught in the same situation who are finding difficulty writing and staying motivated to write. Luckily, I have not had this problem; I still love digging my hands into my books and writing them. That's not to say I'm not distracted as heck from getting work done! (I so need to turn off the Internet.)

I had a brief revelation yesterday about staying motivated creatively, so I want to quickly share it FWIW:

Divorce the act of writing from getting paid for it.

I write for money. I have no other marketable skills (*g*), so I have to turn in books to get paid. I don't always want to. Sometimes I would much rather go to the mountains and look at the view. (And I do; it's inspiring.)

But when I separate the act of writing from money, business, contracts, proposals, numbers--in other words, when I make it all about the stories, the creative motivation returns.

I do plenty of creative things just to do them. I build dollhouses and dollhouse miniatures (it's not a hobby; it's an obsession). I don't do it for money--spend money yes, make money, no. Yet, I'm still motivated to do it. I pick up the miniature magazines I subscribe to, look at the beautiful things other people have created, and I want to get out my glue and paint and make them too (or purchase them from said people--I'm happy to shop!)

Yesterday I made an autumn wreath for my front door, digging through my boxes of silk flowers and leaves and making a huge mess before I was finished. I didn't do this for money or because I had a contract. I did it because I wanted to create something pretty for my front door.

Making a wreath is not as difficult as writing a novel (well, not as time-consuming, anyway), but it's a creative process, one I went through without thought of compensation. I just wanted a wreath.

Building dollhouse miniatures *is* time-consuming and complicated, and costs money, but I do it anyway. I build my settings because I want to create something beautiful. I display them in various places about the house (or I thrust them upon long-suffering friends or family members).

I have no monetary motivation for building these things. I will receive no compensation, no fame, no fortune, no awards, no name in print, nothing. I take photos of my projects and post them on my website, my minis blog, or to a Facebook group for the like-minded mini-obsessed. But that's all the "publication" I will get.

(BTW, if you want to join the long-suffering, my mini blog is here: http://jennsminis.wordpress.com / with many photos here: http://www.jennifersromances.com/Miniatures/miniatures.html )

I still do it: for the joy, to delight in the finished project, to see if I can do it.

Why should writing be any different? Yes, I have contracts, and I make money when I sell books (see no other marketable skills). But I write to create something beautiful, or as near to beautiful as I can--for the joy, to delight in the finished project, to see if I can do it.

When I think of writing like that, the motivation is there, the joy is back. Having contracts and deadlines is an extra motivation, of course (and why I write books rather than do minis all day), but I'm also working on a couple of books/projects for which I have no contracts and no deadlines. I might never sell them, but I'm still motivated to finish creating what I've started. Having other books on deadline will slow down this process (like the minis), but will not stop it.

In conclusion, if you are tied in knots about writing, fear you'll never be sold again, have rights tied up to the book of your heart (and believe me, I know how horribly heartbreaking that is), stop.

Divorce the act of writing from signing contracts, making money, yadda yadda yadda.

Go back to writing for the sake of it. Create something beautiful. See that you can do it. Try a new genre you've always wanted to try. No one says you *have* to write what you've been writing thus far. Write what you want to write, try to sell it when you're done. Forget about "career" and go back to why you wanted this career in the first place.

Even if you never sell that piece of writing, it is NOT a waste of time. Every book or story completed teaches you something new, builds up your existing skills, and leads to new creative thoughts. When I build another miniature project, I try to learn something new, which I can take with me to the next project. I get better as I progress. Writing is no different.

And hey, you can always thrust that finished and lovely novel upon your long-suffering friends and family, or pop it on Kindle and thrust it upon the people there.

But whatever happens to that piece of writing in the long run, you had the delight in producing it, you saw if you could do it, and you learned something.

On the other hand:

If you think I'm insane, and the only thing that motivates you is impossible deadlines, it's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Join in and write!

Recommended Reading: Novellas

At RWA, Bonnie Vanak and I did a workshop on Writing the Novella. I had a handout of recommended reading (novellas I feel did an excellent job conveying story/character/plot/resolution) in a short word count. I ran out of handouts, but I'm reproducing it below:

Put on Your Shorts:
Writing the Novella and Shorter Lengths (10K-30K)
By Bonnie Vanak and Jennifer Ashley/Allyson James

RECOMMENDED READING

By Bonnie Vanak
“Darkness of the Wolf,” Nocturn Bite (Silhouette 2009)

By Calista Fox:
Devil’s Kitchen—Ellora’s Cave E-book (Jan. 2009)
Until Jake—Ellora’s Cave E-book (May 2008)—Voted Best Book of 2008 for its Category by Romance Reviews Today
High Voltage—eRed Sage (March 2008)

By Virginia Kantra
“Sea Crossing,” in Shifter (Berkley 2008)

By Ilona Andrews
“Magic Mourns,” in Must Love Hellhounds (Berkley 2009)

By Meljean Brook
“Blind Spot,” in Must Love Hellhounds (Berkley 2009)

By Angela Knight
“Dragon Dance,” in Beyond the Dark (Berkley 2007)

By Allyson James (aka Jennifer Ashley)
“The Dream Catcher,” in Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance (Running Press 2009) (short story, 5000 words)
“The Decidedly Devilish Duke,” in Private Places (Berkley 2008)

The RITA nominated novellas for 2010 (all pubbed 2009)
“A Little Night Magic" by Allyson James in Hot for the Holidays ( Berkley, Jove)
“The Christmas Eve Promise” by Molly O'Keefe in The Night Before Christmas (Harlequin)
“On a Snowy Christmas” by Brenda Novak in The Night Before Christmas (Harlequin)
“This Wicked Gift” by Courtney Milan in The Heart of Christmas ( HQN)
“Charlotte and the Wicked Lord" by Amanda McCabe in The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor (Harlequin Historical)
“Annalise and the Scandalous Rake” by Deb Marlowe in The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor
( Harlequin Historical)
“The Robber Bride” by Marjorie M. Liu in Huntress (St. Martin’s Press)

You Do Have More than One Shot

I realize I haven't posted anything since April, which does not mean I've let this blog go. It means I've been busy with the most important part of a writer's career--duh, the writing! (That gets lost sometimes--don't let it!)

I was inspired to do this post while watching a television show, in which one of the characters confesses he's had a dream of writing something his whole life and never did it. The other characters encourage him to go for it, and he finally finishes his story and sends it in.

Very nice, right?

Then I started laughing. The character haunts his mailbox for TWO WEEKS, and then is devastated when he gets a rejection. "Oh, well," he says. "I guess I'm just not cut out for this. I'm an average Joe, not someone with talent." The other characters pat him on the back and say, "At least you tried." And he goes back to his life.

I'm sitting there with my mouth open, going--what kind of a stupid, messed-up message was THAT?

OK, I do get the point of the (rather cliche) story. The theme is "You have to go for your dream. Even if it doesn't work, at least you tried instead of saying 'if only' your whole life."

That's not a bad message.

But the execution--oh my goodness! OK, I do also realize they had to tell this story in half an hour and keep the character and the series status quo.

But now I can use it to send my own message:

YOU CAN NOT EXPECT TO FIND INSTANT SUCCESS IN A WRITING CAREER OF ANY KIND AND DECIDE IT'S NOT FOR YOU WHEN YOU GET ONE (COUNT IT, 1) REJECTION!

Well, you can, but if so, you weren't really in the game in the first place.

Becoming a career writer, which means making a living off your published books being bought by (a huge gob of) strangers in bookstores or online, takes TIME AND HARD WORK.

The idea that you're a failure (read, untalented loser) if you don't find instant success is simply not true.

Success comes from trying and trying and trying again until you find what YOU want. This is true in any career--most people learn all they can about their chosen profession then start at the bottom and work their way up.

We do the same thing as writers.

As writers, our "education" is either getting an MFA in creative writing (the way you'd go if you want to be a literary writer) or reading tons of books in the genre/style we wish to write and then writing them.

Our job application is the query letter to an agent or editor, our employment agency is our agent (though we can bypass an agent and sell ourselves--see my post "Why You Need An Agent" ).

When we sign our first contract, we've landed our first job. It may be a great job that lets us quickly climb the career ladder, or it may be a dead-end job that we need to quit after a couple of books and try again in another place. You might end up rising to the top at that publisher, or getting fired (that is: dumped, contacts cancelled, it happens).

All of this takes time and work.

Even self-publishing, which people think is a great way to bypass all the pain and suffering of finding an agent or a publisher is still WORK! and TIME! and STRESS! and add in MONEY! Self-publishing means essentially becoming your own publishing company--hiring people to edit and proofread your book, create book covers for you, format your books, and either print and distribute them for you or upload/distribute them to e-book sales sites, and then it's up to you to do all the marketing and sales. You are now a small business--with all the work that entails!

To be a published author, you have to keep writing, keep submitting, keep trying, keep selling. It's a never-ending game. It's not easy money. If being an author (whether you're published and stressed or unpublished and stressed) doesn't make you happy in and of itself, THEN, you give up and do something else (which will likely lower your blood pressure).

Have I shouted enough? Writing is a tough career. I don't care if you decide to publish yourself or go the agent/publisher route, it's still tough (each is tough in a different way).

The bottom line is: Thinking you can sell a novel/story/play/whatever in TWO WEEKS and then GIVING UP when it doesn't is ludicrous!

HAVE PATIENCE, DON'T GIVE UP, and if you can't sell the first thing you finish, WRITE SOMETHING ELSE!

OK?

The Editorial Process

Lately I've been hearing a number of misconceptions about what happens to a book when it gets bought by a publisher (small or large). I hear:

1. "Editors don't edit anymore."
2. "Why does it take so long for the next book to come out?"

I will answer both in a post about the whole editorial process.

1. Myth: Editors don't edit anymore.

Well, I can't speak for all authors everywhere, but it certainly isn't true for ME. In the past eight years, I've worked with seven different editors, and each one, trust me, edited my work. (This goes for both gigantic New York houses and small e-press.)

2. Why does it take so long for the next book to come out?

Because though an author might write a book in a few months (or a few years, depending on the author and the book), it takes print houses nine to 18 months to process the book into print form; e-houses a bit less (if the book is e-released alone first).

Let me start at the beginning:

• The manuscript is accepted by the publishing house.
  
  The editor chats with the agent or author about what the publisher is offering, author/agent accepts, champagne is broached.
  
  The contracts department then works up a contract according to what editor and agent/author have discussed and sends contract to agent/author.
  
  Agent and/or author go back and forth a few times with the publisher until the contract is hammered out.
  
  At a print house, once the contract has been signed by the author, the publisher sends out a check for *part* of the agreed-upon advance. (Most e-houses do not pay advances.) Advances are usually split into three or more parts: 1. Signing the contract; 2. delivery of first book; 3. (possible) delivery of synopsis for subsequent book; 4. delivery of subsequent books; 5. (possible) publication; and 6. (possible) when published hardback book goes into softback or mass market
  
  Standard time between contract signing and your first check: four to six weeks.
  
  
• Manuscript
  
  If the editor had the manuscript in hand when the contract went out, the book can be scheduled in the publisher's list of books coming out in the next year or so.
  
  If the editor purchased on a partial (synopsis/chapters), contract will indicate when the full book is due.
  
  
• Editing/Revisions
  
  Once the editor has the full ms. he/she reads it. She then contacts you via phone or email to discuss the book and possible changes. Sometimes these changes are minimal; sometimes deep.
  
  The editor then sends you back the ms. for revisions, usually with a letter asking questions, suggesting changes, asking for clarification. A due date is set for when revisions should be returned. (Some editors skip the chat and simply send the ms. back to you with the letter.)
  
  Note that at this point, the ms. is not considered "accepted." If the editor thinks the book is a mess even when you turn it back in, she can still reject it, and you won't get the rest of your advance (contracts vary as to how long you have to fix the book or write something else.)
  
  Standard time for aquiring editor to read book and send back revisions: a few weeks to a few months.
  
  
• Author revises the book.
  
  Depending on how extensive requested revisions are, this can take you an hour to two full weeks.
  
  Now--lest you think suddenly all control is wrested from you, and the book is being written by a "committee," and the world has gone all swirly and green; not at all.
  
  If you don't agree with changes your editor has proposed, you can certainly argue. I often do. This shouldn't be a heated, screaming match; it should be a reasoned discussion about what is best for the book. Editors are not always right; neither are authors.
  
  Keep in mind you are very close to the book at this point. An editor is reading it for the first time. Things are going to jump at her that you never saw (or your critique group never saw). This does not mean that the editor is perfect, and you should do whatever he says; nor does it mean it's time to go all diva and scream that no one understands your gift.
  
  Anyway, that's revisions.
  
  Standard time you are given for revisions: two to four weeks
  
  You turn in the book, the editor adores what you've done, and they send you the D&A (Delivery and Acceptance) advance.
  
  Standard time to get your D&A advance after acceptance: six weeks to 60 days.
  
  
• Copyedits
  
  Next, the book is sent to a copyeditor, usually a freelancer; sometimes someone in-house. That person does line edits; that is, she or he marks corrections to grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and asks questions about sentences or story points that are unclear.
  
  Standard time for freelance copyeditors: Two to four weeks
  
  Most houses let you look at the copyedits and answer the copyeditor's queries. Some houses take the CE manuscript and send it to production without you seeing it, but this makes me squirrelly, so I always ask to see the CEs.
  
  You go through the ms. one more time, curse at the copyeditor for changing your words, change them back, correct other errors, answer the queries, concede that the CE has caught things you missed.
  
  Standard time for you to look at the CEs: Two weeks.
  
  
• Proofs
  
  Once you have messed with the copyedited ms., your inhouse editor goes over it again then sends it back to Production to be put into page proofs. These proofs are close to what you're going to see in the final copy.
  
  Standard time from CEs to proofs: Two to four weeks.
  
  You get sent either a printout or a PDF file, which you then proofread.
  
  Most houses also send the proofs to a freelance proofreader at the same time. Between you and the proofreader, the typos should all get caught. (Note I say should.)
  
  Reading page proofs is my favorite part. The book is so finished that I can't change the story--I can now just read it as a story. I also like to make sure I've caught every problem I possibly can. That's my OCD talking.
  
  Standard time you get to look at proofs: Two to three weeks (Often less, because time is marching on)
  
  
• Book to printers
  
  By now, the book has a cover (usually before you've done the revisions, because it needs to be in the catalog a long time in advance) and a blurb. This plus the manuscript gets sent to the printers for the final book.
  
  Standard time at printers: Six to eight weeks.
  
  There you have it. The book comes of the press and is warehoused and sent out to booksellers nationwide (or pubbed on an ebook site). If you are owed a pub advance, you get it four to eight weeks later. For ebook houses, your royalties start rolling in six to eight weeks after the book is posted (depending on the pub's payment schedule).

Mileage can vary, of course!

While the pub house is doing this for your book, they're doing it for many, many other authors at the same time, which adds to the time. Smaller houses with fewer authors might have a shorter time frame.

E-book houses put out books anywhere from four to six months after author turns in the ms., because they don't have to schedule time at the printers and wait for that process.

The e-book house I write for uses a similar editing process except:
1. I don't get paid until the book is published and starts to earn royalties.
2. The line editing and proofs are done in one step.
3. I usually don't get a cover until the book is a few weeks away from publication.

More notes:

Everything I'm talking about here are the mechanics of getting a book to print. I have skipped the conversations with my editor about the back blurb and the cover, me seeing the cover and either gushing or weeping, the covers being printed and the marketing team going out to sell the books to the distributors with lovely covers in hand.

So...books are still put through the wringer, and you can see why it takes such a long time to process them.

Caveat: I speak only from my own experience writing for NY houses and e-houses, and as an editor at medium-sized nonfiction presses.

How to "Get Started"

As I slowly catch up from my three-month marathon of revising two books and writing the complete ms. of a third, I'm finding my inbox filling with questions from aspiring authors about how to get started writing a book.

I think many bloggers here are already in the completing-the-ms.-and-getting-it-sold stage, but I think it's a good thing to review how to start writing in the first place.

You just sit down and write.

Profound, eh?

But true. Writing is a skill/craft that develops by working at it. It's unlikely you'll simply be brilliant and become an overnight star. It doesn't work like that in writing.

(And here's a truth that very few people want to hear: It NEVER works that way. Talented people succeed because they work very, very hard to hone their craft, and they have that craft in place when the right opportunity for them to shine comes along.)

So, you want to write a book. You're willing to work. You might think you have loads of talent; you might think you have zero talent. What do you do?

READ

then

WRITE

Read a wide variety of books and make a pile of the ones you love. It's likely that what you love will have something in common--even if they're all from different genres! Something in those books speaks to you. Is it family love? romance? in-your-face action/adventure? Sad stories about courageous people?

Whatever it is, read those kinds of books and find more like them. Then start writing. It doesn't really matter whether you have a good plot or characters or have a grasp on dialog--the act of writing you teaches you as you go.

You might think--but it's crap! It has to be good!

No, it really doesn't. Not your first attempt. Forget about the high-falutin' ideas about "First Novels" and all that BS. It's a good bet your first manuscript will be full of holes, with flat characters and dialog, and likely be an amalgam of books you like. That's ok, because you need to get that out of your system.

If the book is brilliant--hey, you're lucky. If not, don't worry about it.

View your first manuscript as a learning tool. I taught myself to oil paint a few years ago. I certainly would not let anyone see my first attempts! Eventually I painted a couple pictures that were ok enough to frame and hang on my wall.

Books are similar. Your first attempts at scenes or dialog might not be good. And that's ok. Allow yourself to be bad. From "badness" you'll find a little goodness, and you can take that and build on it.

If you find yourself bogged down in the middle of your book, that's ok too. It's entirely up to you whether to abandon it or push through to the end.

Note: When I was first starting, people advised me NEVER to abandon a book, or I would just end up with dozens of half-written manuscripts. That is a danger, admittedly. But I discovered that my instincts were good--I would realize that the story was wrong somehow, or wasn't what I wanted, or something. Letting myself walk away and start fresh led me to writing something that I could finish and was publishable. When I wrote that publishable book, I knew it. The pieces came together--all those things I tried to write before finally gelled, and yep, that book got published.

Once you have a complete manuscript:

1. Celebrate! You've reached a point that so many people aspire to and never reach.

2. Now worry about making it readable and/or publishable. There are tons of books out there on craft (dialog, scenes, structure, style, grammar . . .). Look them up in the library or shop at your local bookstore or online. I read many books when I was learning--some helped, some confused the heck out of me. Find ones that work *for you.*

3. Read some more, and start another book.

A word about process: Don't get bogged down by trying to copy another writer's process. Everyone's is different--you have to figure out the way of working that is right for you.

Some writers won't write a word unless the scene is planned meticulously from beginning to end. I prefer to go with the flow: I might make a note that says [Janet talks with Coyote about the skinwalker; Maya interrupts] and then write the scene. The flow of the dialog, the setting, the important points all come out of my head as I think about them. For me, if I plan ahead too much, it takes away the freshness of the scene.

But, I know plenty of good writers who plan, plan, plan. They make charts; they make posters; they make spreadsheets. They know every single thing that's going to happen and then they write it down.

However, it is not the process that's important but the end result. No one reading your book will have any idea whether you wrote it longhand with a pen or plotted each scene on a spreadsheet and organized it by bullet points. They probably won't care either.

That's my spiel on getting started.

Just start.

What you come up with might be putrid. It might be brilliant. But you will never, ever know unless you sit down and start typing.

So, go for it, and have FUN!

Creating Characters the Organic Way

I wrote a big, meaty post on my method for developing a main character over on The Chatelaines. http://www.thechatelaines.blogspot.com

Scientific it ain't. But it works for me.

:-)

Excellent words of advice

Cruising other blogs to find good stuff:

Here's a post on handling criticism: You need to learn to handle feedback before you're pubbed, and you definitely need to know how to handle it when you're pubbed. (All authors get bad reviews. Doesn't matter how brilliant the author or the book, or how much the angels sing, a negative review will come.)

http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2007/08/20/how-to-handle-criticism-and-get-something-good-out-of-it/

Colleen Thompson blogs about tightening words, plots, scenes.

http://boxingoctopus.blogspot.com/2009/12/cutting-to-chase.html

And Now for a Humorous Look at Writing

Came across this today:

How to Write Badly Well:

http://writebadlywell.blogspot.com

A hilarious sendup. We all need the laugh I think!

The New York Times (and Other) Bestseller Lists

I'm always fascinated by bestseller lists and how books get there (because, yeah, I want mine there too).

For the last three weeks, I've had the thrill of seeing my Allyson James pseudonym appear on the New York Times mass market bestseller list at the following ranks: Week 1: 15; Week 2: 14; and Week 3: 35. The first two weeks were printed in the newspaper, and you bet I grabbed a copy of each.

Now, this was for an anthology, and I know that, duh, the lead authors in this book were responsible for it getting on NYT and I was just in the car with them. But it was a thrill, nonetheless to see my name on the coveted print list.

I'm always curious about bestseller lists and how they're put together. And also, who it's important to. As an author, I'm stoked when I get on one. As a reader--I think I can't be paid to care. I read what I like to read, and will think no less of the author or the book if they're not "bestsellers." But publishers get very happy with you when you hit a list, and booksellers start to privilege you, so as a writer, it's in my career best interest to do so.

The USA Today top 150 lists the top 150 sellers for the week, be they nonfiction, fiction, mass market, hardback, YA, romance, self-help, whatever (some things are left out, like category romance). They have handy web page: http://content.usatoday.com/life/books/booksdatabase/default.aspx which lists the current week, plus provides a searchable database, so you can look up "Jennifer Ashley" and "Allyson James" and see me there (all right, if you're not my mother, you don't have to do this).

According to the USA Today page, books are not broken down into formats--for example if a hardcover, mass market, and ebook copy of a book are all available for sale, the sales are counted together.

You can read the whole explanation of how the list is generated and who gives them sales data here: http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/booksdatabase/2006-06-14-bookslist-about_x.htm

The New York Times list, on the other hand, breaks its lists down into categories and formats.

From their handy website: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/bestseller/

they have separate lists for:

Hardcover Nonfiction
Hardcover Fiction
Trade paperback fiction (those oversize paperbacks that run about $15)
Mass market paperback fiction
Paperback nonfiction
Hardcover Advice books
Paperback Advice books
Children's Books
Graphic Novels
Hardcover Business bestsellers
Paperback business bestsellers

Here is what the page says about how they get the numbers for these lists:

"These lists are an expanded version of those appearing in the November 8 print edition of the Book Review. Rankings reflect sales, for the week ending October 24, at many thousands of venues where a wide range of general interest books are sold nationwide. These include hundreds of independent book retailers (statistically weighted to represent all such outlets); national, regional and local chains; online and multimedia entertainment retailers; university, gift, supermarket, discount department stores and newsstands. An asterisk (*) indicates that a book’s sales are barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A dagger (†) indicates that some bookstores report receiving bulk orders. Among those categories not actively tracked are: perennial sellers; required classroom reading; text, reference and test preparation guides; journals and workbooks; calorie counters; shopping guides; comics and crossword puzzles"

In the publishing world, the New York Times list carries the most prestige. It's a difficult list to crack. In my personal opinion the USA Today list is even harder--you're competing with cookbooks and the most popular YA as well as your fellow romance or mystery authors in all formats. This would explain why people can hit the New York Times extended lists (#21-35) and not make USA Today top 150.

Then there's Bookscan, which most readers never see. I read all over the place that Bookscan represents 75% of all sales. That might be true for hardbacks, but it is NOT for mass market fiction, especially mass market paperback originals. For mm originals, Bookscan represents about 25-30 percent (this is data taken from my own royalty statements; I'm sure mileage varies.)

The main reason for this disparity is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart does not report sales to Bookscan (at this time), and Wal-Mart sells a gazillion mass market paperbacks. In my own experience, Wal-Mart accounts for the largest chunk of my print runs.

Bookscan is a private list owned by Neilsen, and you need a subscription to view it. If you're in Romance Writers of America or Novelists Inc, you get a chance to look at Bookscan lists at a substantial discount. I like it because when my book makes the top 100 romance list, it gives me a good indication of how my book is getting out into the world. The list shows total sales for each book for the current week, the previous week, and total year to date. It's only a slice of the pie ('cause, Wal-Mart), but it's helpful to get a relative picture.

So there you have the dirt on bestseller lists. As authors, we are constantly judged by them. As a reader, I personally don't care, although I know readers who refuse to read anything not on the New York Times top 10 (I feel so sorry for them *g*).

Opinions? Questions?

The Dreaded Synopsis

I've been wanting to post on synopses, but my friend Colleen Thompson did a great one on her blog, Boxing the Octopus.

http://boxingoctopus.blogspot.com/2009/10/writing-selling-romance-synopsis.html

Go forth and learn!!

Jennifer Ashley

Professional Jealousy--How to Deal with It and Make It Work for You

I have been trying to write a post on Professional Jealousy for some time. I started the draft months ago, but have been too busy to finish. No one should be jealous of my organization skills! LOL But here goes:

What is Professional Jealousy?

Professional jealousy is really envy--something wonderful happens to someone else and you wish it had happened to you. If you want to be Biblical, you are coveting your neighbor's success. You want what they have.

The first thing you have to realize is that it's ok to envy someone. I envy one of my friends who travels the world every year. I'd love to do that! But circumstances at this point don't allow it. I envy another friend who always seems to have the coolest gadgets. I want them! But I have other expenses I have to take care of first.

And when I was unpublished, I hung out on online loops where every week someone else had won a contest or gotten a request for a full or signed with an agent or pubbed a book, while nothing, nothing, nothing happened to me. Sometimes it got to be where I couldn't sign onto the loop without feeling a great wash of despair.

But don't feel bad. Envy is natural. When we want something (and want it bad!), it seems unfair that it happens to someone else.

Then I looked at it this way:

1. Do I want what they have? YES!
2. Am I willing to work very hard to have the same succes? YES!
3. Do I want to take someone else's success away from them? NO.

No, I don't want to take the shiny trophy away from the person who is weeping with happiness, surrounded by her family and friends cheering for her because she won it. She worked hard, she likely had many, many problems along the way (personal and professional), and she probably deserves the damn trophy.

After I'd been writing a while I realized that no one's life is perfect, not even an author's (and these days I'm thinking, especially not an author's! LOL).

No one achieves without a lot of sweat, heartache, pain, and sacrifice. Very, very few people are handed things on a platter. (It might seem like some people are, but it's extremely rare, and it may be that you just can't see the pain behind the success.)

The most important question up there is:

Am I willing to put in the time, energy, and labor to get what that person I envy has?

If your answer is No, then the rest of this post probably won't help you. You are expecting things to be handed to you, and I'm sorry, they won't be. Nothing is free.

If it's Yes, then let me see if I can help you harness your envy and make it work for you.

How to Harness the Ugly Emotion and Make it Work for You

One thing I've learned about very successful authors: They work very, very hard. They want success so much that they are willing to give up time with family, vacations, sleep, watching TV, and other things to achieve their goals. These people are willing to put in the hours, the labor, the pain and depression to become stars of the literary world--well, let's face it, to be published at all!

One way to curtail your jealousy is to realize that no one--no one at all--achieves anything without a price.

I've seen authors leap to the top with their first book (doing way better than me), only to be gone within a few years.

I've seen authors' careers lag for years before they finally hit the right note and shoot to the top, baby! (I mean, one year these authors are completely ignored at the conferences; the next, they can't walk without a crowd on their heels.)

--Aside: I can think of at least five authors off the top of my head whose first series were very modest successes, if that. Then they did a name change/genre change and zoomed upward. I figure that's because they're now more market savvy, have more experience writing books, and just wrote the right thing at the right time.

I've seen authors start at the bottom and progress slowly and steadily to the top. I can think of names in that area too.

Another way to look at it

Everyone has a different path to success. Some luck out with the best agents right away and land delicious contracts while the rest of us are still struggling. Some people write for years before they strike paydirt with a good contract. Some get published then languish low on the midlist for a decade before they have a hit.

You know what? Each of these authors might in the end make the same amount of money and have the same number of sales. And yet, they each reached that level in a different way.

So if you think--everyone's getting published but me!! That might be true!

Today. Maybe even next week. Some day, it will be you getting published/winning that award/landing that dream agent.

It really will happen.

The fact that other people succeed BEFORE you do, DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU WILL FAIL.

How to Use Jealousy to Your Advantage

Also known as Market Research!

There's always going to be someone out there you envy. Someone got published. Someone won that award. Someone got an agent.

Do you want to get published?

Do you want to win the award?

Do you want the agent?

Here's what you do. Read that person's book. Don't bother trying to read them before they're sold (e.g., asking friend to read her GH finaling book)--you want an example of what SOLD. Because A BOOK WINNING A CONTEST DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE BOOK IS MARKETABLE.

Sad but true.

But the reverse is also true: LOSING A CONTEST DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE BOOK IS NOT MARKETABLE.

Say woo hoo.

(I tanked in as many contests as I won before I was published--imagine my confusion.)

Anyway: Read the book. Analyze the book. What do you think caught the readers' attention? What is the writing style? Simple and plain? Lyrical and witty? Did it have innovated ideas, a twist on the tried and true? Or did it feed a market greedy for more of the same?

What happens if you don't like the book? If you're thinking "This is the most putrid trash I've ever read. How did this get published??!!"

Do the following:

Go into a back room in your house alone.

Scream. Pout. Kick the walls (not too hard; you'll just have to fix them)
Shout: "It's not fair! I hate her!"
Have a sullen temper tantrum.

Then suck it up.

Put your emotions aside and read the dang book. What do you think caught the readers' attention? What is the writing style like? (You know the drill).

Do You Mean I Have to Write This Person's Book?

No.

Of course not. You have to write your book. I'm just trying to get you to diffuse your envy and turn it into a learning experience.

What if I Just Don't Get It and Hate the Book and Never Want To Write Anything Like That?

Then that writing style/theme/market/audience is not for you. That's fine. There are SO many opportunities and markets and styles and subgenres that you'll find your niche if you are willing to try.

Therefor, you can stop being envious of that writer! You don't want to succeed in that area anyway.

Read other books of successful authors. Find the ones you fall in love with. It's likely that those styles and subgenres are ones you connect with, and probably what you should be writing. (I say probably, because some people have a heck of a time writing what they love to read. Oh well! We all find our talent one way or another.)

One Other Thing I Should Mention about Negative Wishes, or Hoping Mega-Bestselling Author will Fall into A Well and Clear the Field for You

It doesn't happen that way.

Actually, you want mega-bestelling author to succeed.

Why? Because booksellers like sure things.

If certain types of books sell very, very well (e.g., romances; time travels; Manga; whatever) it's much more likely that your book in the same niche will be published and sell well too. Publishers and booksellers like a sure thing. I can't stress this enough. (Yes, they take chances on new things too. But warily. Sometimes new things take them by surprise. If it's your new thing, yay you!)

If you write romance, you want every romance author out there to do well. So that the romance genre will still be there when you want to publish in it!

(To make things complicated, though, never write so closely to a trend or popular subgenre that the shelf life of your career is about two minutes. That's another post!)

Other Ways to Deal

If you just can't stand that you seem to get no breaks and everyone on the Internet is talking about THIS aspiring author that they say is the Next Big Thing, and no one, but no one is paying any attention to you, and you have heartburn and can't think about anything else, let alone write your book:

Stop.

Turn off the Internet.

Just. Don't. Look.

If you can't handle it, I implore you, let it go and don't participate. Obsession only loses you valuable writing time. Take all that emotion and put it into your stories!!

The Spotlight Shifts

The publishing business is fluid. One day everyone says a certain author is the Next Big Thing. The next, no one can remember her name. I've forgotten the names of many authors I swore, when I was unpubbed, would be The Next Big Thing. Everyone on the aspiring author loops were sure of it. They were the darlings of the group. Everyone ignored me, or responded to my questions with condescending dismissal.

Guess what happened?

Yep. Here I am a multipubbed author making a nice living, while most those people gave up.

Sometimes the spotlight is on me. When I won a Rita. When I hit USA Today for the first time. When I was headlining the Immortals series. When Madness of Lord Ian came out.

Right now, no one can be paid to care. I'm not doing anything interesting right now. (To the world. To me, I'm busier than I've ever been!)

Some of my books get hoopla. Some of my books get ignored.

It is the way of publishing.

I'm saying this so aspiring authors realize that the spotlight shifts. When it's shining brightly on you, be gracious, lap it up, do your best to thank people who are shining it on you.

When it's not on you, breathe a sigh and get back to work!

From Nothing to Full Book

I'm guesting at Magical Musings: http://magicalmusings.com with a tale of how last year I had a looming deadline, a blank screen, and no story. From blocked to book. It might be inspiring. :-)

How Authors Make Money

With a lot going around the net about ebooks, piracy, advances vs. royalties and things of that nature, I thought it would be a good idea to lay out exactly how authors earn money and how much (or little). From what I've seen around and surveys I've read, there's a bit of confusion among authors and readers both.

Basically authors earn money BY THE SALES OF NEW BOOKS IN RETAIL OUTLETS (Borders, B&N, Walmart) OR IN RETAIL EBOOK STORES (e.g., Kindle, Fictionwise, B&N, Sony, etc..). With possible income supplements I outline below.

Period.

I could end my post here. But I like to talk so I'll do more explaining.

Here's where you can find print books and ebooks for sale and what each means to the author:

1. Retailers who carry NEW books ordered from the publisher (sometimes via wholesalers/distributors like Ingrams, Baker & Taylor, Anderson Merch, Levy, among others). These include: Borders, B&N, independent booksellers who stock new books (not just used), Target, Walmart, drug chains, grocery stores, and the like.

Authors make: Royalties on the cover price, anywhere from 4% to 8% on mass markets, 7.5% on trades, 10% or so on hardbacks.

Sales: Mass markets: anywhere from a couple thousand to a couple hundred thousand; Trades: anywhere from a couple thousand to 50K; Hardbacks: Anywhere from a couple thousand to 50-75K. (This is the average author. Huge blockbuster authors like Nora Roberts or Stephanie Meyer sell much more, but most authors never become blockbusters and sell more moderately.)
Benefits to author: Author gets paid royalties. (twice a year or yearly)

Drawbacks to author: Books, esp. hardback and trade are expensive for readers. Distribution might be spotty--her/his books might only make it to a few chain bookstores and indies, in which case the number of sales will be drastically lower.

2. Ebook retailers who order directly from the publisher: Amazon Kindle, B&N's new e-store, Fictionwise, Sony, and others.

Authors make: Well, there's a bit of fluctuation going on. About half the publishers right now are giving authors royalties on the cover price (percent varies wildly; I do mean wildly, not widely); about half publishers are trying to give authors royalties on the "net proceeds" (which means after all expenses are subtracted, authors get paid. Bad, bad, bad for authors. What if there's nothing left after expenses are subtracted?)

Sales: At this point, the percentage of ebook sales to print sales (from major print publishers) is small.

Benefit to author: Another area of distribution, and author gets paid royalties. (Twice a year or yearly)

Drawback to author: Ebook readers are expensive, not all readers are comfortable with the technology, readers dependent on the site having no glitches at the time they want to purchase. Not all publishers are making their books available as ebooks.

3. Ebook publishers selling new ebook originals directly from their websites (e.g., Ellora's Cave, Samhain, LooseId).

Authors make: Again, varies by publisher. Royalties are about 35-40 percent of cover price, but some try to pull that net proceeds thing.

Sales: In one month, anywhere from a handful (at the smallest pubs) to several thousand (at the larger epubs). Sales can continue at a lesser rate (from a handful to a couple hundred a month) for years.

Benefit to author: Author gets paid royalties, usually quarterly or monthly.

Drawback to author: Readers must go directly to publisher website. Again, glitches when reader tries to purchase will send reader elsewhere.

4. Print publishers (Penguin, Dorchester, Kensington, St. Martins, eHarlequin) selling directly from their website.
Authors make: Royalties on cover price (usually 4-8% on mass markets; 7.5 on trades; 10 and up on hardbacks.

Benefit to author: Author gets paid royalties.

Drawback to author: Print publishers don't get very many direct sales (from my royalty statements, I get only a handful.) Most readers purchase from larger online retailers or bricks and mortar retailers.

5. Book clubs (i.e., Doubleday, Rhapsody, publisher's own book clubs).

Authors make:
a) From their own publisher's book club, a royalty on cover price (usually a reduced royalty; 4% of price is common)

b) From big book clubs (e.g., Doubleday): A flat fee (usually small) that the big book club pays directly to the publisher.

Sales: Varies depending on book club, etc. If you sell the book club rights for a flat fee, that means NO royalties, and you don't always know the sales figures. Publisher-owned book club: varies depending on publisher.

Benefits to author: Another distribution point to find new readers.

Drawback to author: Flat fee is usually small / smaller royalty percentage.

6. Secondary rights (movie options, foreign rights /translation sales)

Authors make: Fee, which is often split 50/50 with the publisher (unless the contract specifies otherwise). Fees can range anywhere from $1500 to five and six figures (but the top end is rare, even for movie options). Sometimes authors get royalties, depending on how contract is written.

Sales: Who knows? Much of this is flat-fee based--you are selling the rights to someone else to do with your book what they wish (within certain parameters spelled out in the contract).

Benefit to author: Income plus more distribution.

Drawback to author: Fees are usually smaller than you think. Even movie options can be $10K or less. (An "option" is an agreement for you to take the movie/TV rights for the book off the market. No guarantee the movie/show will ever be made. If movie/show is made, what authors make is dependent on how that contract reads.) Translation rights can be purchased but the book might never be published. Waters tricky to navigate without an agent.

7. Libraries: Public and school libraries that purchase books directly from the publisher or wholesaler (e.g., Baker & Taylor).

Authors make: Royalties on cover price of LIBRARY's purchase. Authors do NOT make royalties when the book is checked out. (E.g., if a library buys five books and each book is checked out 100 times (500 checkouts total), author gets royalties for FIVE sales only.)

Sales: Varies from library to library based on library budgets.

Benefit to author: Readers might "discover" an author in the library and then buy that author's books new. If books are popular, libraries will buy more copies of the author's next book.

Drawback to author: Not all libraries order an author's book (depending on genre, author popularity, and library budget). Potential loss of income.

8. Used book stores (including eBay): Stores that mainly sell books acquired through customers who bring in books for trade and from purchasing from other used book sellers.

Authors make: Zero (no royalties are paid to authors because bookstores do not pay publishers.)

Sales: ??

Benefits to author: Readers might "discover" an author in the UBS and then buy that author's books new. UBS owners are usually avid readers and can be incredibly supportive to authors.

Drawback to author: Books might be difficult for readers to find. Loss of income when the book is still available new, and more copies are bought used than new.

9. Remainder bookstores: Publishers sell off remaining copies of new books from their warehouse to free up space.

Authors make: Zero

Sales: ??

Benefits to author: Readers might "discover" an author and then buy that author's books new.

Drawback to author: Loss of income, loss of face (books are remaindered if they're not selling well), possible loss of career.

10. Pirate ebooks sites: Readers scan or decode ebooks/files and post them free on sites.

Authors make: Zero

Benefit to author: Possible that reader will read book free and "discover" the author.

Sales: None. Some sites post how many times the book has been downloaded.

Drawback to author: Files can be downloaded hundreds and thousands of times (one author reported 100,000 downloads of one of her books from one site). Loss of income. Copyright infringement.

As you can see, from the many places books are available authors make income from about half of them. Authors can make extra money from secondary rights sales, but many authors never get offered secondary sales.

Authors make most of their money ONLY from royalties on new book sales. Advances aren't salaries; they are advances against SALES. If a publisher offers an author 100K for 3 books (about 33K a book), then they are expecting the author to make enough sales to earn back $33K before the authors sees another penny in royalties.

(Note that an offer of $100K does not mean the publisher hands the author $100K. It means the author gets a little bit on signing the contract, another little bit each time she hands in a manuscript (which might be a year later), depending on the publisher, another little bit when the book is published. This whole process might take two years, three and more to finish the contract. So that's $100K that has to last the author for three years. Plus she has to pay her agent (if she has one) and income tax.)

I'm not here to whine about how little the average author makes or to whine about UBSs and pirate sites.

This post is meant to lay out pretty much where authors make money and how much. It does vary from author to author; each person's experience is going to be unique.

I like to say: The most consistent part of the publishing business is its inconsistency!!