Can Self-Publishing Land You on the Best-Seller List?

My indie-released songwriter friends never understood why writers are so hung up about self-publishing.  Musicians have long separated from the labels and ventured out on their own, releasing their own CDs and working with indie distributors like cdbaby. 

But we writers have been told that unless we get an agent and go the traditional route, we'll never be taken seriously in our writing careers. 

I went the traditional route for years--agent, large publisher, small press.  Each experience had its ups and downs and I worked with some wonderful editors and publishers and some not so.  I stayed away from the stigma of "vanity press," or self-publishing, because I believed it was a fast route to career suicide.

Besides, I wanted the marketing and distribution help a publisher could give.

Times have changed.  Advances are few and small now, most publishers don't have the same careful editorial procedures I benefited from as a writer starting out in the 1980s.  Manuscripts must arrive in pristine condition--the writer's responsibility.  Agents and publishers demand a platform, a solid marketing plan and media presence, from most authors they sign nowadays.  The writer must become more than just a wordsmith with a good story.  She has to learn to sell her book as well as write it.   

For this, writers get 7-1/2 percent of sales, which for a $14.00 trade size paperback amounts to about $1.13 per copy.  We do the marketing work, we hire editors before submitting it.  The publisher prints the book as orders come in (print on demand) in most cases, not wanting to carry inventory, or does a short run of less than 500 copies to see whether the book will sell.  Agents take 15 percent of everything.   

Some writers are thinking seriously about their options now.  Many are choosing self-publishing. 

They're figuring out the system themselves, they're crafting e-books and selling them for 99 cents a copy to drive up sales.  They're making money.  Even if they self-publish a printed book, through Create Space or Lightning Source, they can make up to $10.00 a copy after expenses are paid back (for typesetter, proofer, cover designer, and editor).   

Self-publishing requires money up front, for a printed book.  Less or none for an electronic book.  But if you're going to have to market it yourself anyway, why not make $10.00 a copy instead of $1.13?

What's your experience with self-publishing?  What are your thoughts?

Find out the potential, explore your options.  Don't be swayed by the traditional route when there are more opportunities for writers than ever.

Your writing exercise this week is to read all about writer Darcie Chan. She was rejected by over 100 literary agents and dozens of publishers, then went on to self-publish her debut novel and sell over 400,000 copies on Kindle.  Think this kind of story is a fairytale?  It's happening more and more.

The link to Darcie's story is here.

Self-publishing is still a controversial topic.  But as the industry takes one hit after another, it's an option many writers are considering--and succeeding with.

For more success stories about self-publishing also check out chapter 25 of my book, Your Book Starts Here.

Living as our grandparents did

I’ve never really thought of myself as ‘green’, more ‘old-fashioned’. But the more I research, the more I’m convinced they are almost the same thing. I was reading this article in a great new magazine I have out from the library:

Living Lightly and Saving Money

The article compiles many ways our ancestors went about life and were thrifty in the process. In the eighties we went away from this in favour of conspicuous consumption. Thank goodness thrift is back in vogue again.

Aside from the saving money aspect, I feel disrespectful if I waste food or throw away something that could have been used by someone else. In fact I just can’t do it. When we were moving I drove my husband nuts, sifting through everything we were decluttering, figuring out where it could be donated to.

As much as I love those decluttering programmes on tv, it really upsets me to have the solution be a big skip outside, where everything is thrown in. If an item is in good, usable, clean, unbroken condition there is always someone who could use it that otherwise might not have the chance. I think it is our duty as a caring human being to try and find that person, via thrift shops, to charities that assist others or simply directly, by asking around.

Other ways I am like our grandparents?

I scrubbed our kitchen floor and entrance-way with hot water and sugar soap not long after we moved in (it was pretty filthy). Strongly-scented floor cleaners aren't for me. Normally I use hot water, white vinegar and a squirt of lemon dishwash. A few drops of essential oil are added if I'm in the mood. And I hang washing outside. And cook many of our meals from scratch.

Even when eating, the question could be asked ‘would my Grandparents recognise this food?’ when choosing what to eat. The world’s population would be a much healthier place if we ate according to this.

Many of the things listed in the article I do, and they were originally done in the name of thrift or making do. This is what I do! And now it’s green! I do these things to make the most of my resources, and also because I feel disrespectful to the Universe if I waste things.

I simply cannot throw something in the rubbish if it can be used by someone else (so I donate it) and I feel terribly guilty if I throw out food. If it’s vegetation I throw out I feel bad that the Universe grew it for me and I wasted it. Even more guilt is felt if it’s meat or eggs I throw out. An animal died (or laid) for me and I can’t even be bothered to appreciate it?

As a result I throw out practically nothing. I honestly can’t remember the last time I threw out food. If I don’t eat something as leftovers for lunch the next day (like our creamy chicken and mushroom pasta from tonight, which I’ll have with salad for lunch tomorrow), I will tuck it in the freezer to have another day. If it’s something like a small piece of blue cheese or half a chopped onion, I will freeze to include in a casserole or soup.

Another aspect of living like our grandparents did is mending something if it’s broken. There is much satisfaction to be gained from utilising our grey matter and working out how we can fix a problem. My sister was telling me today how she hemmed a pair of jeans shorter, and in the process used the excess denim to almost invisibly patch a hole in the knee. Result: one ‘new’ pair of jeans which are currently receiving a lot of wear.

I understand not everyone sews, but really, in the olden days it was just something you did. If one is really interested in living a thrifty life, at least knowing how to sew on buttons, hand-stitch a hem or sew up a small hole is mandatory.

Reading instead of tv watching, going for a stroll after dinner, eating real food, being a good steward of our finances, appreciating nature, growing herbs or even vegetables, making things with our hands: these are all ways we can enjoy life by living as our grandparents did.

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Five Major Turning Points on the Road to Finishing a Book

Travelers in foreign territory often need good maps.  But book writers rarely have them.  We often don't know about the major stops--what I call "turning points"--in the book-writing journey.  It's hard to tell when we've arrived, when we're ready to move on, when the writing is finally enough.

These five turning points are often where we get stuck and frustrated.  Moving to the next level requires skills and a new approach,
and for a while we might flounder, thinking our project has gone south, when it's just a matter of re-orienting ourselves to a new task, a new stage of the journey.

So if you feel like you're stalling out, you may just be approaching the threshold of another turning point.  If you're frustrated with foggy, confused, unsettled, panicked, or bored feelings about your book, maybe knowing these five turning points will help you figure out why.

These five are "make or break" moments, in my experience.  Not knowing about them, not preparing for them, can derail your journey, and shelve your book project, faster than you can say "writer's block."

That's why I'm grateful to have completed so many books myself, and helped so many others write and finish theirs.  Because I know now about these five turning points, I can recognize the signs when I'm approaching another one.  I know it's normal to have upsets or disorientation about my book then.  I remember that I'm just being asked to re-vision it on another level, to learn new skills.

When You Reach a Turning Point
Reaching a turning point is kind of like coming of age.  It's a time to put away childish things.  This might mean letting go of what's no longer serving the project--or us as writers.  You may have heard the phrase in writing classes:  "Kill your precious darlings?"  This refers to writers reaching a turning point, where the favorite words or phrases or even chapters have to be looked at again, and possibly replaced.

Not an easy task.  Ever.  But much easier if you know where you are in the journey, if you know you're being asked to step up to a new level.

So I find it very helpful to highlight these turning points in my book-writing classes.

Do they apply to all genres?  Yes. I've seen writers of every genre pass through them.  Like universal gateways, we must pass through them to get our books published.  It doesn't matter if we're writing a novel, a children's book, a poetry collection, a memoir, or a nonfiction book. We're facing these five turning points at some time during the journey from idea to publication.

So it helps to recognize these five turning points.  Give them respect:  you've passed a big test and it's now time reassess your project and revisit why you're this book.
Not stop, though.

Even if you're tempted, all that's usually required at one of these turning points is new skills, support, and a good map for the next stage.

Five major turning points on a book journey
1.  Taking an idea into regular production of pages
2.  Structuring the flow of the book
3.  First draft completion
4.  Revision completion
5.  Final editing (often with professional feedback)

Stage One:  Ideas into Pages
The first stage is where you are full of ideas.  It's so exciting.  The book has been bubbling inside for a while and you're finally getting the ideas down on paper.  The energy of this stage makes the writing feel easy for a period of time, and sheer enthusiasm carries you forward.  You may take classes, begin a writers group, share your writing with others.  It's a joyful, and somewhat innocent, stage and very important.

What keeps you going through this first stage?

When the enthusiasm begins to wane--you maybe realize how much work a book is!  you may become terrified that your mother will read it!  you may get sick or overwhelmed or tired and bored!--your writing practice keeps you going through this stage.

Writing regularly is the key to getting enough material to begin to structure it wisely and begin a real book.  If someone writes regularly--each day, each week, each weekend for a certain number of hours--the pages will accumulate.  Writing practice is just that:  it's not writing perfect, it's writing practice.  You turn out terrible stuff, good stuff, great stuff.  Everyone does.  You just write, because that's what writers do.

These segments of writing, freewrites, or "islands" that will someday become continents (chapters), are the work of writing. The only goal now is to accumulate them.

When you've accumulated about 90,000 words, or three hundred double-spaced pages, you've reached the next turning point.

Stage Two:  Structuring the Book
The next turning point  is all about structure, so we move from the random, exploring part of ourselves to the linear, organized part. Some writers love this stage.  Some hate letting go of the free flow.  But it's an essential step in making a book.

Your goal now is to create a working structure of the book, via a  structuring tool like storyboarding.

I really dislike storyboards. They tell me what I don't want to know--where I have too much or too little, where I've written on track or on a tangent. Where my book isn't yet working well.
But I know that books love storyboards.  They allow a book to find its correct placement in time and space--where each of the "islands" will be located, where they will merge with other "islands" to become continents.  In this second stage we learn it's not just enough to flow out the words. We need to have a sequence that readers can follow. Storyboards provide this. They are used a lot in publishing and the film industry. Imagine a giant blank cartoon--a row of empty boxes lined up on a page or wall or posterboard. You insert ideas, then you move the boxes around until the sequence of ideas equals a reasonable flow for your book.

What you learn: All the things I grumbled about above. What is working, yes. Also what is not working. It's not uncommon to emerge from a storyboarding session with many blank boxes. Stuff you know you need to write, transition chapters or sections. Research still to do. It's also not uncommon to feel discouraged. All that writing done, but it's not yet a book.

Why even bother? Storyboards are the absolute best way I've found to see if I have a working book, to force myself to structure the flow of ideas, to see what's left. I usually get kind of squirrely (imagine a squirrel twitching in agitation) when I have written too much to really see my book anymore. When I get squirrely, I know it's time to storyboard.

After the storyboard is intact, we need to go back to stage one for a while, fill the holes that the storyboard has revealed.

Stage Three:  Completing Your First Draft
Once we have a good structure and plenty of workable "islands" written, we are ready to build the first draft.  If you have an electronic tool like Scrivener, it's a simple matter of clicking a few keys.  Otherwise, you cut and paste, using the map of the storyboard and the hundreds of pieces of writing you've completed.  This is rough!  Irreverent writer Anne Lamott (author of Bird by Bird) calls it "a shitty first draft"--aka SFD.  And it is that.

But it's a huge step in the writing journey, and it tells us we've passed through another turning point.  Depending on the genre, most books are about 300 double-spaced pages or more at this stage.
 
Stage Four:  Revising Your Manuscript
Revising the draft is next.  As a professional editor, this is my favorite time but also the hardest.  It requires staring down all my mistakes and figuring out what path my reader needs to take through my book, then weeding anything that doesn't serve the story.

Revision reveals many things, including where we've gone to sleep.

Stage Five:  Editing and Professional Feedback
At final editing, after revision, I always recommend getting feedback at a higher skill and experience level than your own.  Find a professional editor or a published writer (in your genre) to do a read-through and evaluation.  Get a sense of where you need to focus for the final edit (line editing, substantive editing if needed).

This is where you clean everything up--make it sing.

Does it help to understand these turning points, look at them one by one, and hear about the roadblocks that often come up just before a writer reaches them?  Maybe our discussion has helped you realize why you're stuck right now (often right before a turning point!) or why you're racing ahead (finally made the turn and see the open road).

Maybe this little map will help you see what is ahead on your journey.

I go into each of these stages in my book Your Book Starts Here.  You can use it as a guide for whichever stage you're traveling right now.  

To recap, here are the five turning points and what will keep you going through them:

The Idea Stage
        How to keep going?  Build a writing practice
The Structuring Stage
        How to keep going?  Work with a visual map, such as a storyboard, to keep oriented
The First Draft Stage
       How to keep going?  Focus on simply getting the manuscript completed--no editing
The Revision Stage
       How to keep going?  Let go of what's not serving the book
The Feedback/Editing Stage
       How to keep going?   Accept help and advice


This Week's Writing Exercise
1.  Consider your book, where you're feeling frustrated, where you're excited.  What stage does this indicate?
2.  What needs to be strengthened to help you get through this stage to the next turning point?

Embracing the Scary Project--Why Bravery on Demand Can Help Your Writing

Simone de Beauvoir once wrote, "Every time I start on a new book, I am a beginner again. I doubt myself, I grow discouraged, all the work accomplished in the past is as though it never was, my first drafts are so shapeless that it seems impossible to go on with the attempt at all, right up until the moment . . .when it has become impossible not to finish it."

This comes from her1965  book Force of Circumstance, which is one of many published works during her long literary career. New book writers might read this in astonishment. How come such a prolific and experienced writer had such beginner's emotions?


Does it never get easier? Do we ever feel like we know what we're doing?

We're at the end of the annual extravaganza of National Novel Writers' Month.  The whole point of nanowrimo is to allow writers a window to try something they wouldn't ordinarily attempt.  Sheer volume of words each day keep the perfectionism at bay.  The point is to explore new ideas, without worrying about knowing what we're doing.

I love nanowrimo for this absolute freedom.  But once it ends, what's going to keep you exploring?  Keep you on the edge of learning?

This need for bravery in our art is not limited to writers, of course.  I once asked a professional speaker about this. I wanted to know if he ever got stage fright, felt that beginner's nervousness. This man has delivered hundreds of talks to audiences of thousands. He said he always feels jittery before he goes on stage. Every time. He has come to expect tense shoulders, butterfly stomach.  He likes the opportunity to be brave on demand.

I asked why he still gave speeches if he didn't feel he'd conquered fear in his art. "I'm glad for the fear," he told me. "It keeps me from falling asleep creatively."  If he starts taking his creative expertise for granted, he loses any freshness and edge--the elements that makes his performances memorable.

Nanowrimo works because it promotes beginner's mind and heart.  It is all about embracing new things in our writing.

So this week, as my daily nano word count wraps up, I thought about what next step in my writing life would require bravery.  I thought about a new software program I've been stalled out on but longing to try. Learning new software demands time and brain power, two things I haven't had much of this fall.  But I took a step:  I called a writing buddy who loves this software and she talked me through first baby steps to try it.

Not only did I feel instant glee at my own bravery--the simple act of trying something new--but as I practiced the new software, new ideas came through for my book.

So many writers, even published writers, hold themselves back.  They stick with what they know, be it a favorite template for stories, a certain plot idea, or even similar characters, because it is safer.  They don't want to be a beginner again.  It could be quite humiliating!  Especially if The Book has become a huge haunting presence, with so much still unknown--like how to finally finish it!

One reason Nanowrimo works for so many writers is that it is all about courage and not knowing.  For an entire month, hundreds of thousands of us have been daily explorers.  It's intense, scary, and a great way to avoid writer's block and ongoing discouragement about a writing project.

What's a scary project you might embrace this week?  Or, if not embrace, just consider?  I will be neck-deep in learning my new software program, Scrivener.  It promises to let me see my book draft in a completely new way via its electronic storyboarding system, and already I'm both excited and cranky about the bravery it is demanding of me. 

Your Weekly Writing Exercise
1.  List three scary and exciting new things you could try that would take you new places in your writing.

2.  Pick one.  Take a small first step toward trying it.

3.  Post your results here!

PS  If your exploration into bravery includes getting an overview of your memoir, novel, or nonfiction book-in-progress--and trying storyboarding yourself--join me for my popular two-day workshop "How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book."  Offered this month in two locations:  The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, December 2-3, or Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, December 10-11.  I'd love to see you there!

New House - Our Bedroom

As with the living room, Miss Jessica enjoys the sun streaming into the master bedroom. Most days after work we find her in our bedroom upstairs. In fact I don't think there has been one day she has been downstairs when we've arrived home.




How fortuitous that these lovely ropes were already holding the curtains back when we moved in. They're just my style.


One of the things I liked about this place before we bought it (OK, the main thing) was the triple width wardrobe in our bedroom.


We're going to get fancy built-in wardrobe people to come around and quote for us as there's a lot of space in there and I think we can get rid of our drawers and just have a spacious hotel-like bedroom with a bed and a wardrobe.


My makeup area. The larger of the two mirrors I found on the side of the road. I love it.



The ensuite off our bedroom. This is one end.


And this is the other.

Starting a Law Firm | Thanksgiving Edition

It is officially Thanksgiving, at least in Seattle. At 12:16 a.m., we've officially entered the day of thanks. Some would say this day of thanks is a slap in the face to the indigenous people of the United States. I get that. But for me, it's a day to eat great food, mingle with my family, and, this year at least, watch some decent football.

But it also means something else. It means I don't have any court tomorrow, or Friday for that matter. It also means that right now I am waiting for my pumpkin pie to finish cooking - that's what Thanksgiving is all about right - late night cooking? And it also means that I have the time to write a ridiculously long starting a law firm post. I'm going to try to answer the questions I could find, review a book, and talk about what's going on in my firm. If you're interested in reading a ridiculously long post, you're in luck!

Mark Cuban's Book Review | How to Win

I bought this book two days ago on amazon.com. It cost me 2.99. Did I learn anything from it? No. Would I buy it again? In a second. It's the type of book I love to read from a successful businessman - it gives at least a partial glimpse into not only what it took to come up with a successful idea but what it took to turn a successful idea into a successful business. Here's a spoiler alert - it takes a ton of freaking work.

If you like to read go out and buy this book. If you don't like to read, go out and buy this book. And then read it. It's a crash course on success. It reads like this:

1. Get an idea in your head;

2. Pursue said idea with passion;

3. Work your ass off;

4. When you think you've outworked everyone, work some more;

5. Rinse and repeat.

What you'll learn from Mark Cuban is what you'll learn if you read any successful person's manifesto on success - work hard, then work harder than anyone else and you'll succeed. Don't do that and you can be mediocre. You can skate by and be comfortable. But if you want to be great, you've got to go for it every day.

Bottom line, read the book. Okay, now on to other stuff.

What Am I Up To Re Starting My Law Firm?

No one ever really asks me this, so I thought I'd ask myself. I've got a couple of things in the works right now. Here's what's going on.

First things first, I'm looking to expand a little bit. I love being a lawyer. It's great. But one person can only do so much work. Two people can do at least twice as much work. Three people three times - you get the idea. In the past couple weeks I've formed an of counsel relationship with a colleague to take care of some of the cases that I know he's good in. And I'm looking for someone to help me out with my DUI case load. Know anyone that can help? Lemme know.

Second, I'm putting together a video for my website. This isn't going to be one of those boring "if you've reached this site you've been charged with a crime. Our law firm is super boring and looks like all the rest but you should hire us" type of stuff. Hopefully it will have some production value. Hopefully it will be interesting. I've got some video people working on it and we are planning on shooting next week.

Third, and finally, I'm tweaking the website again. The current design is okay, but it's just not right. And if it's just not right, then it's wrong. I've got a new designer helping me out and I think the new look is going to be amazing. It's pretty much finalized, so it should be rolling out soon. I think it does a much better job of promoting our message than what I've got now. Hopefully potential clients feel the same way!

Revenue Goals and Projections

This is a two-fer question. The first question I got was related to this year income projections - what was I projecting. The person was asking because they were curious and because they wanted to put it into context with what I was asking for for my search engine consulting business. The second question was where I got my goal number for 2012.

For 2011, I think I'm going to be somewhere above $200K and somewhere below $250K in gross revenue. That's the best I can give you right now. I do a terrible job of keeping track of exactly what's coming in month to month. I just did my quarterly taxes and I was close to $20K a month, which puts me in the realm of where I just said.

To put that into the context of my search engine business, what I'd be paying right now would be about $1,000 a month. But, now that the question's been asked, I think that's about to go up. The reason for that is several fold. First, I'm not even close to maximizing the potential clients I'm getting to my website (that's why I'm putting on a video and revamping my website). And even with my lack of success I'm still doing better than most. Second, that number just doesn't reflect the value I'm providing. $1K per month to make $20K? Someone's getting the short end of that stick and it's me. Third, and finally, you all had the chance to get in on this early and you balked. This is an exclusive offer - when you sign up you automatically freeze out the competition. That means this service is extremely valuable.

Okay, now onto my 2012 numbers. I just looked up what I think I said, and I think I said $350K. Someone wanted to know where I got that number from, so I'm going to tell you. Last year I thought $100K was unreachable, so I made it a goal. This year I thought $250K was unreachable, so I made it a goal. For 2012, $350K seems like a lot - it make me uncomfortable - that means it's a good sign I should go for it.

Wrapping it Up

The pie is done. I'm finally tired. I've probably bored you. Happy Thanksgiving. As always, if you have questions or comments, let me know.

Saying thanks . . .

Just wanted to say thanks for writing books that share your passion with the world.  Seems appropriate on this Thanksgiving week to post this wonderful article by Derek Sivers.

Happy Thanksgiving!