Author : Michael LaRocca
Here's everything I know about improving your writing,
publishing it electronically and in print, and promoting it
after the sale.Two questions you should ask:(1) What will it cost me?(2) What does this Michael LaRocca guy know about it?Answer #1 -- It won't cost you a thing. The single most
important bit of advice I can give you, and I say it often, is
don't pay for publication.My successes have come from investing time. Some of it was well
spent, but most of it was wasted. It costs me nothing to share
what I've learned. It costs you nothing to read it except some
of your time.Answer #2 -- "Michael LaRocca has been researching the
publishing field for over ten years."This quote, from an ezine (electronic newsletter) called Authors
Wordsmith, was a kind way of saying I've received a lot of
rejections. Also, my "research" required 20 years.But in my "breakout" year (2000), I finished writing four books
and scheduled them all for publication in 2001. I also began
editing for one of my publishers, a job I've been enjoying ever
since.After my first book was published, both my publishers closed.
Two weeks and three publishers later, I was back on track. All
four books were published, and a fifth was released in 2004.
Written in 2003, no rejections. Another scheduled for 2005
publication, no rejections.See how much faster it was the second time around? That's
because I learned a lot.Also, I found more editing jobs. That's what I do when I'm not
writing, doing legal transcription, or teaching English in China
(my new home). But the thing is, if I'd become an editor before
learning how to write, I'd have stunk.2005 EPPIE Award finalist. 2004 EPPIE Award finalist. 2002 EPPIE
Award finalist. Listed by Writers Digest as one of The Best 101
Websites For Writers in 2001 and 2002. Sime-Gen Readers Choice
Awards for Favorite Author (Nonfiction & Writing) and Favorite
Book (Nonfiction & Writing). 1982 Who's Who In American Writing.Excuse me for bragging, but it beats having you think I'm
unqualified.I'll tell you what's missing from this course. What to write
about, where I get my ideas from, stuff like that. Maybe I don't
answer this question because I think you should do it your way,
not mine. Or maybe because I don't know how I do it. Or maybe
both.Once you've done your writing, this course will help you with
the other stuff involved in being a writer. Writing involves
wearing at least four different hats. Writer, editor,
publication seeker, post-sale self-promoter.Here's what I can tell you about my writing.Sometimes an idea just comes to me out of nowhere and refuses
to leave me alone until I write about it. So, I do.And, whenever I read a book that really fires me up, I think, "I
wish I could write like that." So, I just keep trying. I'll never
write THE best, but I'll always write MY best. And get better
every time. That's the "secret" of the writing "business," same as
any other business. Always deliver the goods.I read voraciously, a habit I recommend to any author who
doesn't already have it. You'll subconsciously pick up on what
does and doesn't work. Characterization, dialogue, pacing, plot,
story, setting, description, etc. But more importantly, someone
who doesn't enjoy reading will never write something that someone
else will enjoy reading.I don't write "for the market." I know I can't, so I just write
for me and then try to find readers who like what I like. I'm
not trying to whip up the next bestseller and get rich. Not that
I'd complain. But I have to write what's in my heart, then find a
market later. It makes marketing a challenge at times, but I
wouldn't have it any other way.When you write, be a dreamer. Go nuts. Know that you're writing
pure gold. That fire is why we write.An author I admire, Kurt Vonnegut, sweats out each individual
sentence. He writes it, rewrites it, and doesn't leave it alone
until it's perfect. Then when he's done, he's done.I doubt most of write like that. I don't. I let it fly as fast
as my fingers can move across the paper or keyboard, rushing to
capture my ideas before they get away. Later, I change and
shuffle and slice.James Michener writes the last sentence first, then has his goal
before him as he writes his way to it.Then there's me. No outline whatsoever. I create characters
and conflict, spending days and weeks on that task, until the
first chapter leaves me wondering "How will this end?" Then my
characters take over, and I'm as surprised as the reader when I
finish my story.Some authors set aside a certain number of hours every day for
writing, or a certain number of words. In short, a writing
schedule.Then there's me. No writing for three or six months, then a
flurry of activity where I forget to eat, sleep, bathe, change
the cat's litter... I'm a walking stereotype. To assuage the
guilt, I tell myself that my unconscious is hard at work. As
Hemingway would say, long periods of thinking and short periods
of writing.I've shown you the extremes in writing styles. I think most
authors fall in the middle somewhere. But my point is, find out
what works for you. You can read about how other writers do it,
and if that works for you, great. But in the end, find your own
way. That's what writers do.Just don't do it halfway.If you're doing what I do, writing a story that entertains and
moves you, you'll find readers who share your tastes. For some
of us that means a niche market and for others it means regular
appearances on the bestseller list.Writing is a calling, but publishing is a business. Remember
that AFTER you've written your manuscript. Not during.I've told you how I write. For me.** EDITING **The next step is self-editing. Fixing the mistakes I made in my
rush to write it before my Muse took a holiday. Several
rewrites. Running through it repeatedly with a fine-toothed
comb and eliminating cliches like "fine-toothed comb."Then what?There are stories that get rejected because the potential
publisher hates them, but more are shot down for other reasons.
Stilted dialogue. Boring descriptions. Weak characters.
Underdeveloped story. Unbelievable or inconsistent plot. Sloppy
writing.That's what you have to fix.I started by using Free Online Creative Writing Workshops. What
I needed most was input from strangers. After all, once you're
published, your readers will be strangers. Every publisher you
submit to will be a stranger. What will they think? I always get
too close to my writing to answer that.Whenever I got some advice, I considered it. Some I just threw
out as wrong, or because I couldn't make the changes without
abandoning part of what made the story special to me. Some I
embraced. But the point is, I decided. It's my writing.After a time, I didn't feel the need for the workshops anymore.
I'm fortunate enough to have a wife whose advice I will always
treasure, and after a while that was all I needed. But early
on, it would've been unfair to ask her to read my drivel. (Not
that I didn't anyway, but she married me in spite of it.)Your goal when you self-edit is to get your book as close to
"ready to read" as you possibly can. Do not be lazy and do not
rush. You want your editor to find what you overlooked, not what
you didn't know about, and you want it to be easy for him/her.Your story is your story. You write it from your heart, and
when it looks like something you'd enjoy reading, you set out to
find a publisher who shares your tastes. What you don't want is
for that first reader to lose sight of what makes your story
special because you've bogged it down with silly mistakes.Authors don't pay to be published. They are paid for publication.
Always. It's just that simple. Later, I'll tell you where to get
some free editing. But there's a limit to how much editing you can
get without paying for it. Do you need more than that? I don't
know because I've never read your writing. But if you evaluate it
honestly, I think you'll know the answer.As an editor, I've worked with some authors who simply couldn't
self-edit. Non-native English speakers, guys who slept through
English class, whatever. To them, paying for editing was an
option. This isn't paying for publication. This is paying for
a service, training. Just like paying to take a Creative Writing
class at the local community college.By the way, I don't believe creativity can be taught. Writing,
certainly. I took a Creative Writing class in high school, free,
and treasure the experience. But I already had the creativity,
or else it would've been a waste of the teacher's time and mine.If you hire an editor worthy of the name, you should learn from
that editor how to self-edit in the future. In my case it took
two tries, because my first "editor" was a rip-off artist
charging over ten times market value for incomplete advice.That editor, incidentally, is named Edit Ink, and they're listed
on many "scam warning" sites. They take kickbacks from every fake
agent who sends them a client. (I'll talk about fake agents later.)If you choose to hire an editor, check price and reputation. (For a
ballpark figure, I charge $3 per 1000 words for a proofread, twice
that for an in-depth edit.) Consider that you might never make
enough selling your books to get back what you pay that editor. Do
you care? That's your decision.Your first, most important step on the road to publication is to
make your writing the best it can be.** PUBLICATION **My goal is to be published in both mediums, ebook and print.
There are some readers who prefer ebooks, and some who prefer
print books. The latter group is larger, but those publishers
are harder to sell your writing to. I want to be published in
both mediums, because I want all the readers I can get.Thus, I advocate something of a stepping-stone approach.
Publish electronically with a quality place, and enjoy the
benefits of free editing. Later, if you think you can sell
your book to a traditional print publisher, you have a
professionally edited manuscript to submit. Free editing.Before you epublish, check the contract to be sure you can
publish the edited work in print later.If you know your book just plain won't ever make it into
traditional print, print-on-demand (POD) is an option. Some
of my books fall into this category. The best epublishers will
simultaneously publish your work electronically and in POD
format, at no cost to you.A lot of authors swear by self-publication, but the prospect
just plain scares me. All that promo, all that self-editing,
maybe driving around the countryside with a back seat full of
books. I'm a writer, not a salesman. Maybe you're different.I self-published once, in the pre-POD days. Mom handled the
sales. I had fun and broke even. With POD, at least it's
easier (and probably cheaper) to self-publish than it was in
1989, because you'll never get stuck with a large unsold
inventory.POD setup fees can range anywhere from US$100 to over $1000.
Don't pay the higher price! Price shop. Also, remember that
POD places publish any author who pays, giving them a real
credibility problem with some reviewers and readers, and that
they do no marketing.** PROMOTING YOUR PUBLISHED WRITING **It doesn't matter how you publish your book. Self-published,
epublished, POD, or traditional print publishing from a small
press or an absolute powerhouse. Marketing falls largely on you,
and the same things always work. Book signings, book reviews and
interviews in the local newspapers and on radio. (Or Oprah,
but what are our chances?)Start with
http://www.kidon.com/media-link/index.shtml. It will
allow you to look up all the local media outlets in your area
that have websites.If you write to them all, you're a spammer. Plus, it'll take
ages. Look for the ones with a legitimate interest and fire
away.If you find a stale URL, and I think you will, look for the name
of that media outlet at some place like Google. Spend some time
looking for the right press contacts, spend some time writing
your press release, and do what you can.Most of these sites list email, snail mail, and phone numbers.
Since I live in China, I've only used email.Book reviews, author interviews, book listing sites, and book
contests are something we can all do, regardless of where we
live.HOW TO GET PUBLISHED (my free ebook) contains my list of
resources.
http://www.chinarice.org/howtogetpublished.htmlSome of the sites I mention review ebooks, and some do not. The
POD option can help e-authors here, but balance cost vs.
likelihood of gaining enough readers to offset that cost.Some are ezines and some are websites. Some are printed
newsletters, some are printed magazines, and some are
newspapers. This is just a starting point. If you visit them
all, and you have time for more promotion, you can find many
more.Aside from two radio interviews and a seminar in Hong Kong, and
some emailed press releases to the LOCAL media back in the US
which may or may not have succeeded in anything, my marketing
has come from the Internet.I have a website. I have a newsletter. I write free articles
such as this one. I give away a free ebook, the essence of which
you're reading now. You found me somehow, right?Here's the type of message I receive often in email. To be more
precise, in spam."If a million people see your ad, and you get 1% of them, that's10,000 readers and therefore $15,000 profit and you only paid
$1000 for those million addresses."NO!! It doesn't work that way. Need I use the words dot-com
bust?My website is free. My newsletter is free. I don't buy mailing
lists, I don't harvest email addresses, and I don't spam. I
want interested traffic, not just sheer numbers.Do you think the Phoenicians tried to sell sails to people a
thousand miles from water?Internet marketing isn't a replacement for the methods mentioned
above, but a complement to them. And by using it, I got you here.Your goal in marketing is this. There are people in the world who
like what you like. And since you like your book, they probably
will too. You have to find those readers and make them interested,
without spamming them and without "playing the numbers game."If you're an e-author, let me state the obvious. Nobody buys
ebooks who doesn't have Internet access. Do they? So you
definitely need a website.Traditional print authors need websites too. Even blockbuster
authors like J.R. Rowling and Stephen King, who I doubt could
garner any more name recognition, have websites. So does every
long-established inescapable monstro-business like McDonalds and
Coke.Okay, those folks pay web designers. I'm not doing that. I can't
generate sales like that. And yes, I've been employed as an HTML
programmer. But you can write your own website without learning
HTML if you want. It's no harder than writing a manuscript with
a word processor.It won't be super-flashy like the big boys, but it'll
communicate the information. Remember, you can communicate.
You're an author! That's what keeps people coming back to a
website after the thrill of the flash wears off. Information.
Content. Your specialty.I consider my website and my newsletter to be successful, and I've
analyzed how they got that way, in the free ebook I mentioned above.
There are legitimate ways to bring traffic to your website and your
newsletter. Not massive numbers overnight, but slow steady growth over
the long term.
http://www.chinarice.org/howtogetpublished.html** CLOSING THOUGHTS **Here's something you've heard before. When your manuscript is
rejected -- and it will be -- remember that you aren't being
rejected. Your manuscript is.One reader took me to task for that statement, claiming he'd
never been rejected. I'm very happy for him. But why, if I may be
so bold as to ask, would he need advice on "How To Get Published?"
I'd rather he write some advice so I can hang up my "helper guy"
hat and learn from a master.But I digress. You aren't being rejected. Your manuscript is.Did you ever hang up the phone on a telemarketer, delete spam,
or close the door in the face of a salesman? Of course, and yet
that salesman just moves on to the next potential customer. He
knows you're rejecting his product, not him.Okay, in my case I'm rejecting both, but I'd never do that to an
author. Neither will a publisher or an agent. All authors tell
other authors not to take rejection personally, and yet we all
do. Consider it a target to shoot for, then. Just keep
submitting, and just keep writing.The best way to cope with waiting times is to "submit and
forget," writing or editing other stuff while the time passes.And finally, feel free to send an e-mail to me anytime.
michaellarocca@chinarice.org or
michaellarocca@yawweb.org.
I'll gladly share what I know with you, and it won't cost you a
cent.I would wish you luck in your publishing endeavors, but I know
there's no luck involved. It's all skill and diligence.Congratulations on completing the course! No ceremonies, no
degrees, and no diplomas. But on the bright side, no student
loan to repay.Best regards,
Michael LaRocca
http://www.chinarice.orgCopyright 2005, Michael LaRoccaMichael LaRocca's website at
http://www.chinarice.org was
chosen by WRITER'S DIGEST as one of The 101 Best Websites
For Writers in 2001 and 2002. His response was to throw it
out and start over again because he's insane. He teaches
English at a university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province,
China, and publishes the free weekly newsletter WHO MOVED
MY RICE?
Category : Writing-and-Speaking:Writing
