Rob Bignell's Blog, page 242

Four Myths About Self-Publishing

Surprisingly, after a decade of gaining popularity, some writers still dream of following the corporate route to publishing rather than self-publishing. That may be because plenty of myths about print on demand ��� in large part promulgated by big publishing houses and literary agents who benefit from the old system ��� still linger.

Let���s take a look at and debunk the more egregious of those myths.

No book of any value is ever self-published
Oh yeah? How about ���Leave of Grass��� by Walt Whitman, ���Poor Richards Almanac��� by Ben Franklin, or ���Birds of America��� by John Audubon? All were self-published. A conceit of corporate publishers is that only they can be arbiters of what is a quality book. The fact is that corporate publishers primarily are interested in what will sell the most copies (and hence yield the greatest profit), meaning most Big Six books are a race to the lowest common denominator. Simply put, ���sales��� does not equal ���quality.��� Arguably, corporations lower the standard of what is considered ���quality��� writing simply to make sales.

Indie authors do all of the work
While this can be true, without context it turns what in truth is a positive into a negative. Simply put, the price of an indie author having to do all of the editing, formatting, designing a cover, distributing and marketing comes only in time; the payoff is new skills learned, control over one���s product, and higher profits. The reality is all of that is lost with corporate publishers. The editor forces you to revise your book so that it is more marketable, a cover is designed that you have little to no say on, and in the end, you receive a low percentage of the profits, as the publisher needs to pay a editor, a formatter, a cover designer, a printer, and to make some money on top of that. And as for marketing, unless you���re one of the top 100 selling authors, you���ll have to do that all on your own. Of course, you don���t have to solely edit, format, design, distribute or market your book; you can contract out that work to freelancers, who will charge much less than the publisher���s employees earn.

Indie authors don���t make any money
While the advance from a corporate publisher likely will be larger than your first month���s profits from self-publishing, in the long run indie authors win. Authors with corporate publishers earn about 10 percent of the sales cost per book; in contrast, indie authors typically earn at least 35 percent of the sales cost per book. So for every three to four books a corporate author sells, an indie author only needs to sell one book to make the same amount of money. Remember, either way, you���ll have to do all of the marketing for your book on your own. Further, if your first book doesn���t sell well, the corporate publisher likely won���t agree to a contract for a second book. If an indie author���s first book doesn���t catch on, that���s no big deal ��� you can keep publishing until one does sell well.

Your work is only valid if a big publishing house prints it
The theory is that if a corporate publisher editor selects your work from the thousands he or she receives every month, then your manuscript has ���validity.��� In truth, that system is restrictive and anti-democratic. ���Validity��� simply is a codeword for ���marketable.��� That almost always means you���re either a celebrity or that your writing is imitative of what���s currently hot. So, if witch books are in, and you wrote one, you stand a greater chance of being published ��� even if it���s garbage and you know your Chupacabra book was better.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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Collective nouns and pronoun agreement, oh my!

Among the many confusing aspects of the English language is pronoun agreement with nouns that refer to a group or an object consisting of several members. Known as collective nouns, words like army, committee, faculty, school and team, seem to refer to more than one person or object.

A collective noun, however, actually is an ���individual��� of sorts, as it typically shows members of that group working in unison or as a lone, single entity.

Given this, collective nouns usually are singular, meaning they require a singular pronoun. Hence, we would say���

The team took the field, determined to win its final game.

���not���

The team took the field, determined to win their final game.

Sometimes, however, sentences are constructed in such a way that a collective noun does require a plural pronoun. That occurs when the members of the group each perform different actions or take on different responsibilities. To wit:

The marching band took their seats in the stands, brass in one row, drums above them, wind instruments in the front.

There is a trick you can use to ensure the right pronoun is used. Simply add ���members��� to the collective noun. Members is a plural noun that requires a plural pronoun. So the previous sentence could be written as:

Members of the marching band took their seats in the stands, brass in one row, drums above them, wind instruments in the front.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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Four writing prompts: Enigma

Good stories center on the clashing of characters��� goals and motivations. Sometimes a character���s goals and motivations arise upon achieving his dreams. Here are four writing prompts for stories that center on the motivation of dreams.

Man vs. nature
While on a research assignment, a biologist spots odd signs that no native animal he knows of would make. He attempts to puzzle out what left these signs. What does he discover? A new animal? An alien being? A hoaxster?

Man vs. man
A serial murder appears to be selecting his victims based on the murals painted in a city (or some other sets of objects ) . Can a detective determine what clues are in the murals to prevent the next murder and ultimately to capture the killer?

Man vs. society
Attempting to crack a code that will help a nation win a war, the protagonist finds himself worked to physical and mental exhaustion. Can he overcome his personal limitations before the enemy, thanks to its apparently unbreakable cipher, is able to gain the upper hand and ensure its victory?

Man vs. himself
Our protagonist has been trying to decipher a hidden message in a book, which if discovered will tell him the location of a macguffin. After years of making little progress, he has to decide if he should give up or keep at it. Which choice will he make?

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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Don���t underestimate first page���s importance

When buying a book ��� whether online or at a bookstore ��� most people check out the cover, read the back cover blurb, and then open to the first page. Kudos to you for getting the reader that far, but you���re still not home free. If the reader doesn���t like your first page for whatever reason ��� can���t connect with the character, doesn���t like the writing style, spots a typo ��� you can forget the book sale.

Arguably, the first page of your book is the most important page. Those opening lines draw readers into your story, hooks them on it, makes them want to read on, and even allows them to put up with a scene they later find dull. With so many books, movies and other forms of entertainment out there, many readers won���t give you more than the first page to engage them in the story.

Given this, you must get your first 250 words or so of your story absolutely right. There���s no place in for a misstep or a throwaway line.

Here are a few articles that describe some of those key components to a great story opener:
��� Event that upsets status quo 
��� In medias res 
��� Focus on conflict 
��� Narrative hooks

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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Five Great Quotations about Publishing

���I think I am starving for publication: I love to get published; it maddens me not to get published. I feel at times like getting every publisher in the world by the scruff of the neck, forcing his jaws open, and cramming the Mss down his throat ��� ���God-damn you, here it is - I will and must be published.������- Tom Wolfe

���The long-lived books of tomorrow are concealed somewhere amongst the so-far unpublished MSS of today.��� - Philip Unwin

���Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.��� - Cyril Connolly

���I wanted to make money writing because I liked to drink at night and I didn't like to get up in the morning.��� - Charles Bukowski

���Though an angel should write, still 'tis devils must print.��� - Thomas Moore

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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5 Tips For Finding Your Daily Writing Motivation

��� Make yourself accountable 
��� Focus on the present 
��� Remain in the present 
��� Establish milestones 
��� Get into the zone 
��� BONUS: ���Be grateful for every word you can cut.��� - William Zinsser

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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��� Utilize Pinterest to generate book sales 
��� Best time to promote your book on Pinterest 
��� How to best use hashtags on Pinterest 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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��� Sales advantages of writing nonfiction books
��� Ask how your nonfiction book helps readers 
��� What if your book topic already has been done?
��� Thinking up a title that sells your nonfiction book 
��� Seek endorsements for your nonfiction book 
��� Write articles to promote your nonfiction book

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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Editing client publishes first poetry collection

A recent editing client of mine has published his first collection of poetry. Alex Missall���s ���13 Free Verse Poems��� takes the reader on a journey from college, into a mental collapse, inside the confines of a psychiatric ward, and, after brief homelessness, the poet���s search for meaning and truth continues in the small and quiet town of Germantown, Ohio. His poetic style can best be described as a search for catharsis through composing tough and tragic experiences. The book is available online.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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31 Writing Prompts: One Every Day of the Month

��� How to come up with great story ideas (9 prompts)  
��� Promise (4 prompts) 
��� Race (4 prompts) 
��� Reclaiming (4 prompts)
��� Removal (4 prompts)  
��� Wrongly accused (4 prompts) 
��� BONUS: "If you haven't got an idea, start a story anyway. You can always throw it away..." ��� William Campbell Gault 

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



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