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Category : The Business of Writing
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Continue Reading "A Mixed Bag"A Mixed Bag
A mixed bag of questions today. Donna sent this to me recently: "Nonfiction seems to be struggling in bookstores, but fiction has been on a growth track. I heard you say one time that this disparity is due to the growth of the internet. Can you explain that to me?"
Okay, let's call this The MacGregor Theory of Non-Fiction Struggles. First, the core of nonfiction is what we call "problem/solution" writing (or sometimes question/answer writing). A person comes into a bookstore with a problem ("I need to lower my cholesterol" or "I don't get along with my teenage daughter"), and wants a book that offers a solution to the problem ("Lower Your Cholesterol in 30 Days" or "How to Talk so your Daughter will LIsten"). They walk in with a problem, and they look for a book that offers a solution. Or they walk in with a question, and they look for a book that offers an answer. That's the focus of most nonfiction. (There ARE alternatives: history books tend to educate instead of answer, craft books offer an idea without necessarily being a "solution"). Fiction, on the other hand, is usually written to entertain, occasionally to inspire or educate. And during the current economic times, people are turning to fiction because it is basically a cheap, satisfying, and long-lasting entertainment option. (There's plenty of evidence to suggest fiction reading goes up as the economy goes down.) Anyway, with the advent of the web, people aren't buying as many nonfiction books because they tend to look to the web for a solution. (Think about it… the last time you needed to know how to make Yorkshire Pudding, did you dig through a cookbook or look it up online?) I'm not declaring the death of all non-fiction — I'm just explaining why it's struggling, while fiction is growing.
Andrew wrote and said, "I couldn't help but read that letter you received the other
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Continue Reading "A Mixed Bag"
A Mixed Bag
A mixed bag of questions today. Donna sent this to me recently: "Nonfiction seems to be struggling in bookstores, but fiction has been on a growth track. I heard you say one time that this disparity is due to the growth of the internet. Can you explain that to me?"
Okay, let's call this The MacGregor Theory of Non-Fiction Struggles. First, the core of nonfiction is what we call "problem/solution" writing (or sometimes question/answer writing). A person comes into a bookstore with a problem ("I need to lower my cholesterol" or "I don't get along with my teenage daughter"), and wants a book that offers a solution to the problem ("Lower Your Cholesterol in 30 Days" or "How to Talk so your Daughter will LIsten"). They walk in with a problem, and they look for a book that offers a solution. Or they walk in with a question, and they look for a book that offers an answer. That's the focus of most nonfiction. (There ARE alternatives: history books tend to educate instead of answer, craft books offer an idea without necessarily being a "solution"). Fiction, on the other hand, is usually written to entertain, occasionally to inspire or educate. And during the current economic times, people are turning to fiction because it is basically a cheap, satisfying, and long-lasting entertainment option. (There's plenty of evidence to suggest fiction reading goes up as the economy goes down.) Anyway, with the advent of the web, people aren't buying as many nonfiction books because they tend to look to the web for a solution. (Think about it… the last time you needed to know how to make Yorkshire Pudding, did you dig through a cookbook or look it up online?) I'm not declaring the death of all non-fiction — I'm just explaining why it's struggling, while fiction is growing.
Andrew wrote and said, "I couldn't help but read that letter you received the other
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Continue Reading "Making Money through Articles"
Making Money through Articles
Kerry sent me this question: “Is it realistic to think an author can still sell articles and get paid for them? It seems like magazines and journals are all moving to unpaid, web-based forms.”
I started out in magazines, and I still think magazine, journal, and e-zine writing is a viable way for an author to make some money. No, it's not as easy as it once was… but when was making a living as a writer ever easy? If you're looking for ways to generate income through your writing, don't feel you've got to land a book contract — focus on writing short articles. My experience has been that I made more money in less time creating articles than in writing books.
It's best to go to magazines or e-zines you already know, so you're familiar with (1) the sort of articles they publish, (2) the most likely reader of the 'zine, and (3) the length and tone of the articles. By going to the website of, say, Redbook magazine, you can find out what they buy, how long they want each piece to be, and what their interests and requirements are… but you might not really get a feel for what the voice is in that particular magazine.
Once you have targeted a magazine, you create an article for them. Have a clear topic, find out who is the decision-maker, and send them an email. Put the title of your piece in the "subject" line. Tell the editor very simply who you are, what your idea is, the details of the piece (word count, etc), and why you're the person to write it. Keep it short, and under your name list a handful of links to other articles you've written.
This really isn't rocket science, but it takes some work. Magazines have a tendency to do business with the same writers again and again (like every other sort
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Continue Reading "Understanding the Financial Side of Writing"
Understanding the Financial Side of Writing
Amanda asked, “What do beginning writers need to know about the financial aspects of writing?”
There are only a few thousand people in this country who make a full-time living at writing. Don’t assume, just because you’re hanging out at conferences with people who all write books, that the world is made up of full-time writers. An average novelist may take eight to ten months to write a book. With time added for edits and galleys, that works out to about one novel per year. Yet that novelist, unless he or she has a breakout book, is no doubt going to be paid less than $30,000 for the novel – sometimes considerably less. That means you’d work an entire year to scrimp by on wages barely above the poverty line. So think carefully before you quit your day job.
Here’s what I did when I decided I wanted to write for a living: I set a monthly income goal for my writing. When I first started writing (on a very part-time basis), my goal was to make $100 per month. I would sell articles, write advertising copy, create newsletters, make up back-cover content – in fact, I’d do just about anything to produce some income from my writing. I edited manuscripts, worked as a ghostwriter, created study guides, and worked with pastors to turn their sermon series into books. Eventually that figure jumped to $300 per month. Then $500. Then $1000 per month. When I set a goal of making $1500 per month, that’s when I figured I was going to become a full-time writer. (And yes, that was more than 20 years ago, when $1500 went farther. Sorry to sound like my own grandfather.)
That said, there’s nothing in life that says you are necessarily called to follow that same path. As I have said in other posts, publishing a book doesn’t validate your life. Perhaps you are called
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Continue Reading "Ten Notes for Today's Writer"
Ten Notes for Today's Writer
1. Lots of big news this week, including something nobody seemed to have sniffed… THOMAS NELSON WAS BOUGHT OUT by an equity company, Kohlberg and Company. Remember, Thomas Nelson is one of the largest Christian publishers in the world, and they were sold just a few years ago to the guys at InterMedia (one of the pioneers in cable TV, InterMedia made the interesting step of pulling the company out of being publicly traded, and went back to being a private company). Anyway, the previous owners had financed a big chunk of the purchase, and Kohlberg must have seen Thomas Nelson was going to make them money, since they paid off the $219 million loan (go ahead and read that figure again) and took control of the company.
2. Wow. And it didn't stop there – they had the good sense to keep Michael Hyatt, perhaps the brightest mind in CBA, and the man who has restructured the company and made it both leaner and more focused, AND they brought on Jane Friedman as a board member. Some CBA people may not recognize the importance of that, but Jane used to be the boss at HarperCollins, the owner of Zondervan, before that was the Executive VP of Random House, and before that Publisher at Vintage . I'll tell you there isn't a publishing professional who doesn't respect Jane — she's one of the best, most experienced minds in contemporary publishing. An incredible addition, frankly.
3. Novelist (and longtime friend) Joyce Magnin, best known for her wonderful "Bright's Pond" novels with Abingdon, has started a company to help new novelists get their manuscripts ready. This isn't just another editorial service — take a look at her website. You'll come away totally impressed: www.joycemagnin.com/Site/Narrative_Destiny.html
4. If you're a married woman (or you have any married women in your life), they can be part of a research project on
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Continue Reading "The Worst of Contracts"
The Worst of Contracts
Dale wrote to say, "You've told us some things to look for in publishing contracts. What are some of the BAD things you've seen in contracts?"
First, let me say that I think it's great Dale wrote to me, so that I can legitimately use a joke about "Chip and Dale." I've seen some really, REALLY stupid things in book publishing contracts. Some examples:
1. A contract with no title listed and no description of the project. So you're on the hook for…who knows what?
2. A grant of rights that includes everything, including if you ever decide to write or speak on this topic again sometime in this lifetime. (Keep this in mind when looking at the conflicting publications clause — it's reasonable to expect a publisher gets a window in which the author is focused on their contracted title. It's not reasonable to make that a lifetime ban on the subject for an author — something I've seen.)
3. A description of the work so broad that you would be considered in breach of contract should you write a thank you note to your Aunt Agatha for sending you that bad Christmas sweater.
4. An advance that needs to be paid back should it not earn out. Paid back?! This is an "advance against royalties," not a loan. For crying out loud — why not ask 'em to fill out an application?
5. Royalties that DROP when more copies are sold. (No kidding. Read the fine print.) Take a look at the contracts of some publishing houses — if your book is sold at a reasonable discount, they'll cut your royalty in half, leading the sales team to SUGGEST THAT VERY IDEA to accounts. Great plan.
6. Some contracts have words that basically say, "If we re-sell the idea to other people, we get to keep all the money." I've seen this happen a couple
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Continue Reading "A Quick Q-and-A"
A Quick Q-and-A
I'm WAY behind in answering questions, so I thought I'd try to do some quick questions today (and limit my normally loooooooong answers). We'll see how it goes…
1. Heidi said, "I finished my first novel, don't have a contract or an agent for it yet, but I'm going to a conference soon to talk with agents and editors. Should I bring a one-sheet for both books? Or focus just on the second book?"
Huh? Why would you focus on the second book, Heidi? If the first book is completed, focus on that. Right now it's tougher than ever to get your first novel deal, so focus on the book that is complete. If you're unpublished, you're much more likely to get interest in a completed manuscript than a cool synopsis.
2. Holly asked, "Since I'm pitching a series, should I have a double-sided one-sheet — the front page would cover the first book, the back page for the series? Or should they be separate sheets?"
I'd go for separate sheets.
3. Stan wants to know, "If I'm pitching editors at a conference, should I include a proposed cover on my one-sheet?"
Only if it was professionally designed AND you've test-marketed it (preferably with people who are not relatives). Most author-produced covers are godawful. They start off the meeting on the wrong foot, sending the happy message, "I don't know what I'm doing!" No sense revealing that in the first five seconds.
4. Karen wrote, "I was in a Lifeway bookstore yesterday, and noticed they have put a sticker on some of the books that says, Read With Discernment. Um…what's up with that?"
I heard about this from a handful of people, so I checked it out. Turns out the ever-vigilent Protectors Of All Things Correct running Lifeway have put stickers on books from authors like Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, and Donald Miller. (You catching a theme here?) So in other words, these
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Continue Reading "Catching Up On Questions"
Catching Up On Questions
Okay, I'm up and around and not taking pain pills today, so let me try and catch up on a handful of publishing questions…
Carol wrote and said, "You've said quite a bit about platforms lately, but can you tell us how an agent or publisher determines the value of a particular writer's platform? For example, is there a certain number of listeners they want to see for an author who has a radio show? Or a certain number of subscribers to an online program? Are they looking for a certain size of audience for speakers? How are such things decided?"
Generally speaking, the larger your actual audience, the better your platform is in the publisher's eyes. An "actual audience" is the number of people with whom you've had a point of contact in the past year — they came to hear you speak, or bought your book, or sent a donation to your organization, or actually listened to your show. (This is in comparison to a "potential audience," which is "the number of people who could have listened to your show." Radio and TV types love talking about a potential audience, because if you have a TV show on cable, it has a potential audience of billions…but that won't do you any good if nobody is actually watching.) That means you may have to dig a bit in order to find your actual audience numbers.
If you speak, this is easy to determine — you figure out how many times you spoke and how many people came to hear you. If you've got a newspaper column, it's fair to offer the paper's paid circulation as your audience. If you have a popular blog, your host service should be able to tell you the number of hits and distinct page views you've had. If you're on local radio, Arbitron can tell you the size of your audience. If you're on local TV, your station will have
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Continue Reading "And still MORE fiction questions…"
And still MORE fiction questions…
Continuing our discussion about fiction in today's marketplace…
Rick wrote to say, "I recently read a nonfiction author with excellent writing skills… but then I read her fiction, and found it atrocious. How rare is the ability to write both fiction and nonfiction? Why can't some NF writers transfer the skill over to a novel?"
In his National Book Award-wining memoir, Growing Up, Russell Baker tells the story of winning a Pulitzer Prize for his political column in the New York Times, telling his mother, and having her respond with, "That's great Rusty — maybe now you can write a novel and become a real writer." Ouch. I don't know why it is some writers don't see themselves as "complete" until they've published a novel. I made my living as a NF writer for years, and never felt I had to do fiction in order to justify my writing. But many do… and with the growth of fiction in recent years, many have felt pressure to write a novel. Frankly, I think it's self-imposed pressure, or maybe just egotism, and it's stupid – akin to the lead singer of Great Big Sea deciding he's got to sing an aria from La Boheme in order to be "a real singer."
Writing a novel and writing a nonfiction book are different tasks. Each requires voice and content and clarity, but one is basically telling a good story, and the other is basically sharing information. (It's a fair argument to say that writing a NF book also requires telling a good story, but there's a difference — a NF book is not just a story. It's often sharing history, or encouraging life change, or offering insight and principles to do something more effectively.) I'd argue that the two tasks require some different skills. When working on a NF book, I didn't have to think about characters or setting or story arc. And a novelist doesn't have to think about
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Continue Reading "Business Questions"
Business Questions
I've had a bunch of questions about the business side of writing lately…
Dawn asked about a reprint issue: "I noticed that Amazon allows people to search inside my books — but that means they've posted a sample chapter. Is that legal? Isn't that giving away a section of the book in violation of my publishing contract?"
If you'll take a look at your publishing contract, you'll see in the "marketing" section some wording that allows the publisher the right to use short sections of your book for marketing purposes. That's the clause allowing publishers to work with Amazon's "Search Inside" feature. They monitor how many pages a customer can actually view, and they limit the page count so that nobody can read the entire book. In cases where the Table of Contents is critical, they don't make that available. Amazon also blocks readers from copying the text, so they've created a feature that helps sell your book, but tries not to give too much away.
The folks at Amazon have noted that this is their way of competing with your local bookstore. If you walk into any Borders or B&N, you can take a book off the shelf and flip through it. (In fact, you could sit at their cafe and read the whole thing — a feature you cannot do on Amazon.) So the "search inside" aspect is a form of marketing — letting potential readers get a peek at your book. Perfectly legal.
Jessy wrote this: "I'm a volunteer writer for a quarterly publication. Recently the publisher told me he would be issuing a special anniversary edition, and would include all my stories. I've never received any monetary compensation for my writing, so my question is: To whom do those stories belong — the magazine or me?"
First, take a look at your publishing agreement, Jessy. If you've got a written contract of some kind (whether