W. Terry Whalin's Blog, page 37

Do the Hard Work

Ideas like an anvil can be hard to execute



I understand my work in publishing is not easy or simple.  It is not. There
are a number of things which I don't do easily—but I still do it and that is my
encouragement to you.



For example, I'm not crazy about making phone calls yet yesterday I spent
several hours on the phone making calls. The majority of the time I left little
upbeat messages to authors. Why? Because from my years in publishing I know how
rare it is to get a phone call from an editor at a publishing house. My
intention is to stand out and be the exception. I understand this business has a
lot of rejection—people saying no thank you and passing on your project.



Our model at Morgan James is different from others (something I spend a lot
of time talking with authors and agents about). You may not like all the details
of Morgan James,
but we are providing opportunity for authors and making incredible books in the
marketplace. Do all of these books succeed? No because we can make books but
can't make them sell. In the process, I try and manage expectations for authors
and tell them that 80% of the work is up to them. Yes Morgan James can sell the
book into the brick and mortar bookstores—but it is the author who promotes and
drives readers into the bookstore to actually buy that book (through many
different ways such as social media, radio, magazine articles, public speaking
and much more).



A number of the authors that I called yesterday have not returned my calls or
answered me via email. In a number of cases, I've called them multiple times
over the last few months and left these messages.  Each of the people I called have
received a contract from Morgan James—but for whatever reason they have not signed or
negotiated this contract. Maybe they are looking for an agent or a better offer
or haven't finished their book or ??? (multiple reasons). The main purpose of
my call was to let them know that I still believed in their book and wanted to
help them get it published and into the world.



Let me tell you about two authors I worked with this past week. One author I
met at least five years ago and haven't heard from in a long time. She reached out
to me and asked if our contract had changed in the last four years. Her book has
not been published. Four years ago the timing wasn't right but now she is ready
to move forward. I checked with my colleagues and a new contract was issued and
sent to this author. Will she sign and move forward and get her book into the
bookstores? I don't know but she now has a new opportunity.



Also this week I spoke with another author who has a literary agent. A year
and a half ago, I had lunch with this agent and he told me the author wasn't a
good fit to publish with Morgan James. I listened and accepted this decision and
moved on working with other authors. Then a few weeks ago, this author reached
out to me. She has the same agent but the book hasn't been published and she
wanted to explore Morgan James. I spoke with her and have now moved this book
into the process where my colleagues look at the author and the book to see if
they will issue a contract for this novel. I have no idea if Morgan James will
publish this book or not but again I am providing the opportunity.



What is hard work for you? Are you doing it? Maybe you don't like social
media or marketing or creating an email list or any number of other tasks. Are
you doing these hard tasks? My encouragement is for you to keep moving forward
every day. Your steps may be small but continue to move forward and eventually
you will get it done. Keep growing in your craft and reading and learning more
about new aspects. Keep broadening your connections and network and keep looking
for new opportunities.



I understand that some of the process is not easy but you can do it. If I can
help you in the journey, let me know. My work contact information is on the bottom of the second
page of this link. My encouragement is for you to keep moving forward and
that you can do it.



Let me know in the comments below, what actions you are taking to tackle the
hard work.



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Happy New Year & Five Action Steps

Happy New Year 2019.  As Edith Lovejoy Pierce wrote, "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."



What pages will you write in the New Year?



I want to give you five action steps to take which will help you succeed in 2019.



1. Keep expanding your reach and your audience. Every writer (new or experienced) needs to have their own audience. If you don’t have an email list, start one and if you do have an email list, keep expanding it. Why? There is much in publishing you can’t control but you can control your own email list. I have a resource to help: http://thelistbuildingtycoon.com/



2. Continue to promote and tell people about your books and other resources. The author’s passion will continue longer than anyone else. I continue promoting my BOOK PROPOSALS THAT SELL which has over 130 Five Star reviews on Amazon and you can get the discounted book at: http://BookProposalsThatSell.com I wrote this book 15 years ago but it still has value whether you are publishing traditional or self-publishing.



3. Be working on new books or the expansion of a book. Can you create an online course associated with your book? I have another resource, the Simple Membership System. To help you, I’ve discounted it for a week from $47 to $37--just use the coupon code 2019START for the discount when you check out at: http://yourmembershipcourse.com/



4. Continue learning and growing, reading new books and applying the information to your life. I recommend you attend a conference because who you know is as important as what you know. (http://www.right-writing.com/conferences.html? ).Also subscribe to my blog and get it by email every week at: http://bit.ly/1F9r3Ro



5. Reach out to me if I can help you. One of the books I acquired last year for Morgan James got on the USA Today bestseller list (broad distribution). I know many people are self-publishing (over a million self-published books last year) but the average lifetime sales of a self-published book is 100 copies.  I would encourage you to go a different route and as an acquisitions editor, I send contracts to authors every week. My work contact is on the bottom of the second page at:

http://terrylinks.com/mjponesheet



Be encouraged and keep going. Wishing you great blessings in the New Year. 



Finally You don’t have to buy my resources to succeed in 2019 but you do have to take action and I’m glad to help you in this process. Also Last year marked the passing of America’s greatest evangelist, Billy Graham. My short biography, BILLY GRAHAM has over 100 Amazon reviews. It is available in print, ebook and audiobook. Get more details at: http://BillyGrahamBio.com 



In the comments below, let me know what steps you are taking in the new year.



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Quitting Your Day Job

When can you quit your day job?

The question from a first-time author surprised me, “When can I quit my day job?” I loved the optimism built into this question from a brand new author. She had high expectations about her book in the marketplace. That she asked this question showed me that she wants to do be doing something else other than her day job.



I tried to answer honestly saying that many authors never quit their day job. Throughout history many authors have kept their day job as they write books. Also I told her this decision is different for every author. Since I had this conversation, I've been thinking more about it and believe it will make an interesting article for The Writing Life.



1. Make sure your day job is something you love and want to be doing. Some people have a genuine dislike for their day job and that to me spells the necessity to look for something else. It strikes me as a shame to spend lots of time at a job or position you dislike. I've seen the work surveys wich show many people are in this position. If you are one of them, I would begin looking to make a change to find something you love doing for your day job.



2. Take daily action to build your platform and audience for your book. Finding your audience and building a newsletter list and following takes time. The pathis different for every author but over and over, I've seen authors give up too soon in this platform building process. It's one of the things I admire about Morgan James Publishing. While some publishers give up on a book after six months or a year in the market (and move it to the backlist and eventually out of print). Instead Morgan James is more patient and understands that some books take a few years to find their audience and then sell 20,000 to 30,000 copies every year like clockwork. This long-term mentality is one of the reasons most of the books published over the last 16 years are still in print (which is a remarkable and little noticed publishing detail).



3. It's wonderful that my authors feel like they can ask any question and get an answer for it. I don't know the answer to every question but I know how to find answers to questions I don't know. There is no hidden agenda or holding back in this process. Questions are encouraged and every author needs to be asking questions and continuing to grow and learn about their craft.



Click the image for this resource



4. Begin working on your side gig or plan B or whatever you want to call it. From my experience this side gig has to grow and ultimately replace your day job. It will not happen overnight or instantly but you have to begin working at it. Maybe you will begin selling information products and building an emal list. 







Click this mage for the resource

Maybe you will develop other products related to your book and grow that aspect into your main business. There is no right or wrong way to achieve this dream but you do have to be taking consistent action for it to happen. Check out my free book for some ideas (follow this link).



As I write this article, we are about to end 2018 and begin 2019.l hope this article has given you some action steps for your writing life. I wish you great things for the new year and if I can help you, reach out to me (follow this link and my work contact information is on the bottom of the second page). May each of you succeed to your wildest dreams during the new year. In the comments below, let me know what steps you are taking to quit your day job.



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Five Ways to Gear Up Your Writing

Gear up you writing with these ideas

Often within the publishing community, there is a noticeable
shift right before Thanksgiving through the New Year. Emails don't get answered
or returned as promptly. Phone calls and messages are ignored (unreturned). I'm
continuing to work with authors, get new contracts and sign authors throughout
this season. The overall pace has been slower.



For example, this week, I had several authors who have received
new Morgan James
contracts tell me they wanted to hold off and revisit it after the first of the
year. I told them that would be fine and made a note to reconnect with them in
January.



I understand everyone has a different mindset and agenda often
during the holiday season. When I worked at a publisher years ago, I recall
spending at least a day or two signing Christmas cards to authors. These types
of activities interfere with the normal course of the publishing business yet
are important.



If you are facing this type of response, what do you do? In this
article, I want to give you five ways to gear up your writing.



1. Write query letters
and pitch magazines for assignments.  It depends on the publication
whether you write a query or the full article. Whatever your strategy, select
some magazines and get your material out to them. If you don't know what to
write, I would encourage you to write personal experience stories since almost
every publication takes this type of article.



2. Create a new proposal. Use
my book proposal
checklist to get some ideas. If you have a proposal which has not been sold,
pull that proposal out and see if it needs revision or updating then plan a
strategy to get it back out to more agents or different publishers.



3. Work on a new information product or new online course.
Information products continue to sell and it's a way you as an author can create
something independent from a publisher and add an income stream. If you don't
know what I'm talking about, listen to this free teleseminar from Bob Bly and follow his
advice.



4. Get some new speaking gigs for next year.
What groups tie to your book? Can you send email pitches or make some phone
calls to get new bookings? Don't forget local civic groups like the chamber of
commerce or these types of groups.They are always looking for speakers and need
what you have for them. It doesn't happen  you aren't pitching so take this time
to be pitch.



5. Beef up your social media conections. Do you
need a new twitter header or a new blog header? Then go over to Fiverr.com and search for someone
who can do it inexpensively for you and get it moving. In a recent article, I mentioned about expanding my connections on
LinkedIn (currently about 600 more than my last writing. You can take time to
expand your connections and see if it turns up some new writing projects. From
LinkedIn, I've had articles published and met new authors. I encourage you to
take this time teo expand your social media.



I know I promised five ways but I'm going to add a bonus sixth
one: Read a how-to-write book then apply the information to
your writing life. Whether you purchase the book or get it from the library, you
can use this season to expand your writing through reading.



Did you notice something consistent about each of these
suggestions? Anyone can do them. It does not matter your skill level or your
experience. The key is to take action and move forward during this season. If I
can help you in this process, don't hesitate to reach out to me (my email and phone is on
the bottom of the second page of this link).



What steps are you taking with your writing during this season?
Let me know in the comments below.



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Unfinished Business

My work in publishing is like an unfinished puzzle.



I’ve worked at three publishers as an acquisitions editor. For the last
six years, I've been acquiring books at Morgan James
Publishing.  There is one key lesson that I’ve learned: You are never caught
up—yes never. Unfinished business is a part of the work.



There is always more email to answer and more phone calls to make and more to
be done. While I am never caught up, I continue to work on the priorities. For
example, an author yesterday sent me an email objecting to some things about the
Morgan James publishing program and essentially told me that she was going to
pass on our contract offer. I wrote a detailed response, answering each of her
concerns (that she mentioned) and offering a revised and improved contract. She
appreciated the effort and is looking at it  again. Will it work to convince her
to sign with Morgan James? That decision has not  been rendered but I hope so.
At least I’m doing my part to persist and not give up.



Each author has to decide what they are going to do. Some authors make quick
decisions while others look at many different publishers and options before
they return to Morgan James and decide fo sign. The path to publication varies
for each author. From my years in publishing, I understand our publishing model
at Morgan James is different and part of my responsibility is to highlight those
differences so the author understands the value. After they understand, they can
choose to go elsewhere but I’ve served them with the information. We work hard
at answering authors questions and helping them in any way that we can. From my
experience no publisher does enough for their  authors but we certainly do more
than many publishers.



The best publishing isn’t done alone. Yes more than a million books were
self-published last year. The best publishing is a team effort—getting the best
title and cover design and shape of the book then selling that book to the
bookstores as a team. We show the covers to our sales people and get their
feedback. The team is always able to make better decisions than an individual
from  my experience.



As an editor, I have books in many different stages of the process. Some
authors have signed with the publishing  house and their books are in
production. Other authors have not signed but are considering signing. Other
authors have just submitted their materials and I’m pitching or championing
their manuscript to my colleagues to see if I can get them a book contract.
While I am respected and build the best possible case with my colleagues, I
don’t always succeed. Some of my pitches are rejected and do not receive
contracts. The process is all part of that consensus-building process that I was
telling you about.



Other times I get push back from my colleagues asking about the author’s
connections and marketing plans. I attempt to gather as much of those
connections and marketing plans in my pitch to my colleagues but sometimes my
words are not enough and need more from the author. This week I went back to an
author and asked for more details. They are working on those details and as soon
as I have them I will share them with my colleagues. The back and forth is all
part of the process.



As I tell every author, the publisher is investing a large amount of money in
the creation, production and marketing of the book. If the author is not engaged
in this process and selling books to their connections, then no one
succeeds. The publisher and the author lose money in the process.



Book selling has several key components in my view:



1. The book has to have great contents and read well.


2. The book cover
design and interior have to look high quality and inviting.


3. The book has
to be properly distributed so readers can purchase the book. For example, Morgan
James not only gets the book on Amazon but also on 1800 other online
distributors. They not only sell the book online but also in brick and mortar
bookstores.


4. Yet a forgotten key element is the author drives the readers
to the bookstore to purchase the book. If the author doesn’t drive readers to
the bookstore, then the books are returned to the publisher—and no one sells
books.



As an editor, there is always more to be done—more to promote and more to
pitch. Yet also as an author, I can always be doing more too. The work is never
finished and it’s one of the elements that people like me who work in publishing
have to keep in mind. We get up every day and do our best to complete the work
and move things  forward in this process. 



Because we are imperfect humans, the
process is imperfect. Occasionally we hear from our readers about the impact of
our books and our work and how they have changed people’s lives. Far too often
we never hear about the impact of our books and our writing. That’s where the
faith element is publishing enters the picture. We do the best we can each day
and leave the rest in God’s hands.



Do you have unfinished business as a writer? How are you handling it? Tell us
in the comments below.



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Every Writer Can Get Publishing Connections

Within the publishing community, who you know is almost as
important as what you know. Yes, it is important to pitch an excellent book
proposal or manuscript to the right publisher. As an editor and an author, I
also understand people buy (books or manuscripts) from people they know, like
and trust. How can you know more publishing people? From my years in publishing,
one of the challenges is keeping track of the moving people. 



Years ago, one of my six-figure book deals was cancelled because
my New York editor had changed companies. My book was orphaned or without an
editor directly responsible for my project. It taught me the importance of
having a champion within the publishing house for each book.



How does a new author with no connections, begin to get
connected to publishing people? Everyone can use a social network which has over
562 million users: LinkedIn. This network is primarily business related and
publishing is a business. 







To get connected, you need to take several
actions:



1. Rework your LinkedIn profile to show your activity in publishing. Do you
write for magazines? Have you published books? Or possibly you have some other
explicit publishing role such as leading a local writer’s group. If you have
these types of qualifications, then add them to your LinkedIn profile.



2. Begin to send connection requests to different people in publishing. These
people could be book editors, literary agents, magazine editors, authors and
many other roles. In some cases you will want to send them a little personalized
message with your invitation. In other cases, you simply send out the generic
invitation that you want to connect with the person.



For many years, I received LinkedIn invitations and ignored them. I had very
few connections on LinkedIn and was not connected. Then I began to look at the
background of the person and for most people, I accepted their invitation to
connect. My number of connections increased and my public
profile says the common “over 500 connections.” The real number of my
LinkedIn connections, as of this writing, is over 7,900. These connections are
varied with many different roles (mostly within publishing) Here’s the critical
reason you want to be connected: when I need to reach someone that I’ve not
emailed or called in a long-time, I check their LinkedIn contact information.




While there is a lot of movement within the publishing community, when they
change positions or companies or physical location, everyone takes their
LinkedIn account with them. This account belongs to the individual and is a way
to consistently keep up and reach them.



LinkedIn has a lot of other functions as well but being connected and
maintaining those connections is one of the basics and best reasons to
consistently use this network. Are we connected on LinkedIn? If
not, send me an invitation and let's get connected.



How are you using LinkedIn? Let me know in the comments below.



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Move Beyond The Book

I love books and have written many books over the years. I'm working at my third publishing house as an acquisitions editor working with hundreds of authors on their books. Yes the book is important and every author has to be passionate about their books and telling others about it. Yet in this article, I want to ask a different question: How can you move beyond the book?



In November, I spent several days with over 40 Morgan James authors in Nashville. Most of these authors were launching their book and we celebrated the launch with interviews on the red carpet and special time together. After this celebration, Morgan James organized a second day of marketing training for our authors. I don't know another publisher making this type of effort to train and encourage authors with their books. The marketing training was open to any of our authors—not just the ones launching their books. Morgan James did three of these events last year, three this year and three more are scheduled for next year. 

There is great synergy at these events where authors swap books (to review each other's books) and much more.



Whether you have published your book with a well-known publisher or self-published, you have accomplished something amazing in getting your book into the market. Now the real work begins of telling people about your book. Your on-going marketing efforts are important to tell others about your book. The key piece many authors miss in this process is: your book has made you an authority on your topic. Every author has to use their book to open new doors of opportunity.



Because you have published a book, others will want to hear you speak As you speak on the topic, people learn about you and hopefully purchase your book. I encourage you to approach event organizers and open up opportunities to speak on your topic. It's always best to begin in your local area with Rotary or Kiwanis or other such groups looking for speakers. Sometimes these are free opportunities where you sell books in the back of the room. Other times they will pay a fee. The key is to use your creativity to pitch yourself and book these opportunities. They are definitely out there.



Can you use your book as a springboard to create other information products that you sell online? If you want to know more details, I recommend you listen to this free interview I did with Bob Bly and look at the free Ebook with it.







Can you use your book and create an online course or membership site where you deliver content instruction and insights for your audience? I have a risk-free Simple Membership System product to give you much more detail and insight. Notice my 30 day no questions asked love it or return it guarantee.



Can you use your book to launch a personal coaching program? Your book has made you an authority and now use that influence to begin another aspect of your writing life—coaching. You will have a limited number of people but it can also create a regular stream of income for your business.



The overall key for any author is to create multiple streams of income. This article only gives a few of the possibilities. As an acquisitions editor, I repeatedly see authors focus on their royalties (or they tell me about their lack of royalties). There are many dynamics in play with a publisher receiving and paying these royalties such as the slow rate that bookstores pay publishers—which is something many authors forget. In my view, the royalty focus is the wrong focus. As an author, you can't control your royalty payment. If it comes, terrific. There are many element I mentioned in this article that you as an author can control. Seize those elements for your focus and work on them. It will yield a far greater financial result.







Every author needs to continually work at building their platform and expanding their influence. If you want or need to know more about building an author platform, get my free ebook on the topic. You can do it but it will take effort and initiative on your part. From my experience, it is not a simple one-two-three process but the journey is different for every author. Keep at it and if I can help you, just reach out to me and let me know what you need.



How are you moving beyond the book? Let me know in the comments below.



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Sometimes You Have to Push a Little

Sometimes writers need to do some pushing like this baby elephant is pushed.



Several times in these entries, I've written about the power of
asking for what you want. I recognize there are relationships where we hesitate
to ask. From my experience, if you are professional and straightforward, then
you can push past your hesitation and go ahead and ask.



Several weeks ago I noticed one of my authors posted on Facebook
about having a meal with a high profile television personality. I knew this
author has a forthcoming book to be released next year. I reached out to this
author and encouraged him to ask this television personality for an endorsement
or foreword for his book. In his initial response, he was reluctant because he
had been childhood friends with this person and known her for years. My author
was hesitant to ask for this endorsement. I encouraged this author to move
forward and ask because of the prominence of this person in the marketplace. He
took my advice and I recently heard he had secured this endorsement.



Now with the endorsement in hand, the next question is where it
will be placed in the forthcoming book. My encouragement again to the author is
to ask for it to be prominent on the front cover. I've had authors gather these
endorsements then the publisher puts the words in small type on the back cover
with little promotion gain for the author. Once again I pushed this author to
ask the publisher to get this endorsement on the front cover. If the author is
straightforward and professional with his asking, there is nothing wrong with
giving a little self-protecting push in this process.



Some books have endorsements and some do not. Here's what you
need to know: your literary agent or your publisher or your publicist doesn't
solicit and generate these endorsement. It can happen from those people but it
is rare. The bulk of the endorsements come from the author and the author asking
people for these endorsements. My encouragement is for you to take action to
secure these endorsements because endorsements sell books.



I encourage you to study this article from Jacqueline Marcell about her
self-published book. Why? This author had remarkable endorsements from numerous
well-known celebrities, business people, athletes and others. How did she get
them? Marcell asked—and sometimes she asked over and over to break through and
get them. It's a combination of professionalism and perseverance that makes the
difference in my view. Yet as the author you have to take action in this area.




Recently I was in Nashville with my Morgan James authors.
As an acquisitions editor, I helped these first-time authors get a foreword from
a bestselling and recognized author in their field of expertise. During our
interaction to get the foreword, this author offered to have these new authors
on her forthcoming podcast. The authors reminded me about this generous offer
and had not heard any more about it nor had it been scheduled. My immediate
encouragement was to give them this author's email and encourage them to
follow=up on that offer and book that podcast.



We live in a busy world and the details can get lost in the
process without  follow-up. The offer to appear on a podcast may have been done
at the spur of the moment and without sending a follow-up reminder, the
opportunity may disappear and not happen. As a writer and author, you have to
seize all of these opportunities and follow-up. These actions are a key part of
this business.



What are you gently pushing on to make it happen? Let me know in
the comments below.



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The Real Test of A Writer

For my writing life, I've created some routines and habits.
These habits are important because I do them without thinking and they keep my
writing and my publishing details on track and moving forward. For example, I've
written about using Refollow to
follow 800 new people every day on Twitter. Using these tools consistently allows my numbers to keep increasing and my platform to grow.



I am a long-term coffee lover. In fact, I have a coffee pot in
my office area. I fill this pot with water and coffee ahead of time. When I get
up in the morning, one of my first daily actions is to turn on my coffee pot.
Then as I begin my day, I enjoy my coffee. Yet today my coffee was filled with
grounds. The paper filter went wrong and the entire pot of coffee was wasted and filled with grounds. It was a giant mess. Instead of enjoying my coffee, I had to clean the pot and begin
again. I finally got my coffee pot working today but it took more than simply
pressing the button to turn it on. Instead of a calm start to my day, I had an
immediate mess to clean.



From my recent back to back trips to events (with only two days
in between), I picked up a cold virus. While I try and wash my hands on the road
and be careful, despite my best intentions, I get sick. I've been increased my
water consumption and trying to get more rest (even sleeping during the day a
few times). I'm on the mend yet several days last week when I called authors,
I'm certain I sounded different. Yet I continued making calls, writing emails,
answering questions and pushing forward with the work.



Throughout my travels and illness because of using scheduling
tools, my social media feeds continued without interruption. The consistency and
persistence is important and a quality that I've mentioned many times in these
articles. These interruptions is one of the real tests for a writer.



Everyone has unexpected things happen such as illness or a
technical difficulty or countless other things. When you are at this point of
decision, you have two choices. First, the unexpected can throw off your
schedule and sour your attitude and prevent you from writing or meeting any
other task you have as a writer. Or there is another choice: you can move
forward with your writing, find a work around, switch gears to a different task
and keep going. For me as a writer, I've tried to make the second choice my
default action. It doesn't always work and some days I get thrown off track.
Normally I determine to keep going and accomplish the task at hand. Sometimes it
is consistency for writing. Other times it is working with my Morgan James authors and answering their questions and making phone calls. Your tasks will be
different than mine. My encouragement is for you to find the way to make the
choice to keep going.



Many others will make the first choice and get derailed from the
process. Their writing will not get done and they will miss their deadlines and
the books will not be published. Or maybe it is in the marketing area and their
book will not get pushed and promoted so people hear about it and purchase it.
If you have gotten derailed, every day is a new day. I encourage you to start
fresh and keep going.



Recently in Nashville, I was talking with one of my Morgan James authors.
This author has gone through some personal issues about the time his book was
released two years ago. Now he has weathered that situation and is refocused on
his book and the promotion. In my view, it is never too late to for a book. Yes
you missed the launch of your book but are you still passionate about the topic
and message in your book? As the author, your passion will drive the on-going
marketing and promotion of your book. Your publisher will press on to other
books. Your choice is to begin each day new and dig into the expansion of your
topic and promotion. You are the only person who can determine it is too late.




What has derailed you and how are you making a fresh start on
your writing life? Let me know in the comments below.



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Four Reasons to Get With Other Writers

Terry Whalin teaching at the Independent Authors Conference

This weekend I just returned home from back to back conferences. I had two days at home between the events. Each
one was a completely different experience. 





First, I spoke at the Independent Authors
Conference in Philadelphia. Book Baby organized this event and it was their second year. I
taught a six hour class in two three hour sessions about how to Jumpstart Your Publishing
Dreams . This session was the day before the conference and
included a small group of hungry writers—read fun to teach. This conference had
about 400 people.

Some of IAC audience

I taught a packed room about the characteristics of successful
writers. The speakers and sessions were on various topics and I met a number of
people who I've corresponded with but never met face to face (again fun).
Several of the people I met lived outside of the USA so it was a unique
opportunity talk with them face to face.





Dr. Sherrie Campbell & Terry Whalin

Then I went to Nashville for our third Morgan James
Publishing author event of the year. Our largest group of over 40 authors
came to this unique gathering. As an acquisitions editor, I had not met many of
the authors who I introduced to Morgan James. It was a brief but intense time
with authors and my colleagues at Morgan James. Prior to the Morgan James event,
I went to Lipscomb University for the Art of
Writing Conference from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.











Author Panel at the Art of Writing


The afternoon and evening concluded with the Christy Awards to celebrate
excellence in Christian fiction. The timing was perfect for me because of the
Morgan James event and it gave me a chance to see old friends and meet new
ones.



Our writing is a solitary experience. We sit and crank words
into our computer. As storytellers (whether nonfiction or fiction), the start of
the process is something we do individually. You don't have to continue alone.
We are a part of a larger writing community which has been a large reminder to
me again through these events. 



In this article,. I want to detail four reasons
for you to attend events with other authors. While I've just returned from some
amazing events, I recognize there are many types of opportunities for writers
and my encouragement is for you to seize them and take action. 



Here's my four
reasons why you want to attend these events:



1. Discover Innovative Ideas and Learn from Others. Whether in a
classroom lecture setting or through a one on one conversation, I gained
numerous insights from these events. The real work will come as I apply this
information to my work. One author told me about how he was a poor typist and
uses Dragon Naturally Speaking for all of his writing—including his emails.
Years ago I tried this program with poor results so I did not continue yet this
insight intrigued me and is something I hope to explore soon in my own work. I
have pages of notes and insights from these events that I apply in the days
ahead.



2. Invigorate your own writing and marketing.
From being with other writers, I gained new insights and marketing ideas. Dr.
Joe Malone and Sarah Harris have recently released Battles of the
Sexes (Morgan James). They brought copies of their book and
gave them to other authors (always a good idea). When I picked up the book, a
page was sticking out from back. The natural inclination is to turn to this page
and straighten it. This page thanked readers and encouraged them to be in touch
with the authors—then it added something more with a handwritten note: “Review
on Amazon and Connect with us. Joe & Sarah.” The bent page was brilliant to
call attention. It takes some additional effort and work but will pay off for
these authors.



3. Opportunity to give and help others. I've
had numerous conversations with authors but also the chance to teach and give
back and encourage. I will never know the impact of those conversations to help
others.



4. Make new connections and renew others. I
exchanged numerous business cards with authors at these events. The follow-up
work will be critical to continue the relationship and explore new
opportunities. If you follow-up, you will be rare since many people never
do.



To attend a writers group, you don't have to travel. Maybe you
have one in your area. Could you offer to speak at this group? There are
infinite possibilities but you have to take action and attend. When you attend,
bring your books and business cards to continue the relationship.



Are you consistently getting with other writers? Let me know in
the comments below.



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