Jane Friedman's Blog: Jane Friedman, page 67

Deciding Between Simple and Complex Memoir Structures

Photo by Mitchell Luo from Pexels

Today’s guest post is by writer, coach and editor Lisa Cooper Ellison (@lisaellisonspen). Join her on Nov. 17 for the online class Find the Memoir Structure That Works for You.

In my earlier post on memoir structure, we explored the scaffolds that can help you complete a first draft. These tools are great for reducing angst during the early stages of the writing process.

But eventually, you must settle on a final memoir structure.

At this crucial milestone, some writers freeze, fearing they’ll make the wrong choice. Others proceed with confidence. One of the challenges you’ll face is deciding whether to tell your story in a linear, chronological manner, or use a more complicated structure, like a braided narrative. Here’s how to decide what might be best for your memoir.

What is your narrative arc like?

Every memoir has a narrative arc made up of interconnected events (plot) that result in the narrator’s internal transformation (character arc). In the beginning, the narrator believes one thing or operates a certain way. In the middle that way of being and believing is tested. Overcoming those struggles shift the narrator’s worldview and circumstances in a way that creates a satisfying ending.

Understanding your narrative arc can help you identify the specific thing you wish to say about your topic. For example, Carol Smith’s memoir Crossing the River: Seven Stories that Saved My Life isn’t just about grief. It’s about how the stories Carol reported on for the Post-Intelligencer taught her how to live with immense heartache.

But your narrative arc can also tell you a lot about your ideal structure. Some stories, like Carol’s, follow a specific shape. In Crossing the River, each reported story shines like a star. Together they create a constellation of resilience that lights the path for Carol’s healing in the wake of her young son’s death.

However, many memoirs yearn to be told as straightforward stories. While that might seem like the easy way out, easy doesn’t mean ineffective. Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle is a linear memoir that explores child abuse, neglect, and the stories children tell themselves to survive chaotic upbringings. Like most coming-of-age memoirs, there’s less material to flashback to, which is one of the reasons why the linear structure works. But the linear form has other benefits. By staying in the child point of view, we get to experience the young, unreliable narrator’s take on her family’s wild behavior. In this way, Walls imposes the emotional work of the book onto the reader. Young Jeannette might think she’s having a wonderful time, but as readers, we fear for her.

Sometimes it’s better to approach the material slant, something Jeannine Ouellette does in her fragmented collection, The Part That Burns. Like The Glass Castle, The Part That Burns deals with child abuse, but this book is about what happens when a young mother reconnects to a body she’s dissociated from. Dissociation that results from trauma fractures memories—eliminating some parts, jumbling others, and rendering certain events so vividly it feels like they’re happening in the present moment. Reconnection after dissociation is a little like peeling an onion. Survivors circle around events, each time arriving at a deeper layer of understanding and significance. Ouellette uses prose poetry, flash nonfiction, and essays woven together in a circular form that effectively mimics this experience.

As you’re drafting you might uncover two or more complete and compelling arcs that speak to each other. Braiding them together might create a super arc that tells us something we would miss if these stories were told separately. Alex Marzano-Lesnevich’s The Fact of a Body uses the narrator’s personal experience with sexual abuse and a horrific crime to explore the complicated nature of the truth. Like the scales of justice, the narrative oscillates between the two stories and how they intersect within the narrator.

Finally, consider if your memoir chapters feel self-contained, or dive deeply into a concept but don’t necessarily tell a cohesive story with a beginning, middle, and end. If that’s the case, perhaps you’re writing an essay collection.

Do you intend to challenge the reader?

An unspoken contract exists between reader and writer that includes the following components:

You will entertain me—whether that’s taking me inside an unknown world, allowing me to be a detective who works through clues, teaching me something new, or making me feel something profound.You will teach me something about the human condition.More importantly, you will teach me something about myself.The work this book requires will match the effort I’m prepared to put in.

The first three bullet points relate to your story. The last one is a matter of structure.

Straightforward structures are easier to craft and read. The best ones carry the reader on a journey that feels like a lucid dream. While readers might work through clues that help them anticipate what comes next, they can choose how deeply they delve into the material.

The more complex the structure, the more readers must chew on the content to understand its significance. This can lead to greater engagement for motivated readers, but others will give up.

Consider how much effort you want readers to put into the reading experience. What would you like them to chew on—something in their head (ideas) or something in their heart (emotions)? When written well, simple structures can leave more room for heart connections; complex ones sometimes keep readers in their heads.

Before deciding, think of the readership you want to reach and what they like to chew on. I know fans of literary memoir who love a good structural challenge, especially when it’s combined with beautifully written sentences. Others hope to use your story as a form of escapism.

What kind of success are you looking for?

Some writers simply want to write a book they can pass on to family members. Athena Dixon, author of The Incredible Shrinking Woman, values an engaged readership over a vast one. But I know other writers who won’t stop until they’ve secured an agent and a lucrative Big Five publishing deal.

The higher you wish to climb, the more competition you’ll face and the more hoops you’ll need to jump through. While there are always exceptions, memoirs with complicated structures can be a tough sell, even if you have a strong publication record.

If you’re invested in Big Five success, perhaps a simple three-act or letter e structure is best. But if your publishing goals are more modest, and simple structures don’t speak to you, small publishers might give you the freedom to experiment with form.

Do you have a specific vision for your project?

The goal of some memoirists is to turn their life experiences into art. But not all writers care about high art. Some just want to craft a story their friends can read. Others care so deeply about their artistic visions they’re willing to work for years—even decades—to get their stories and structures right.

More than a few talented writers have chosen to honor their visions over other concerns. Some, like Lilly Dancyger, have even canceled publishing deals. For these writers, artistic integrity is paramount.

Maybe that’s something you also value. Consider what you would do if an editor or agent asked you to make significant revisions that would sacrifice your original vision. Would you prefer to self-publish, work with a hybrid press, or reach out to a small, independent publisher before making changes that appeal to large traditional publishers?

Parting thoughts

Writing a book is an audacious endeavor that always requires more time than you initially budgeted. Because memoirists must write about their lives and make sense of them, their projects take longer to finish.

There are several kinds of time you’ll need to consider when writing a memoir—drafting time, resting time between drafts, time to reflect and understand your experiences, time to research your facts, and most importantly, time to acquire the skills needed to tell your story.

The fancier your structure, the more skills you’ll need to acquire, and as a result, the more time you’ll need to finish your project. So how important is this story to you? How much time can you invest in writing it? How much time can you invest in your skills? What else would you like to accomplish?

Note from Jane: If you enjoyed this post, please join Lisa on Nov. 17 for the online class Find the Memoir Structure That Works for You.

How to Secure Early Endorsements (Blurbs) for Your Book

“Eat it or read it?” by Chris Guillebeau is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Today’s post is excerpted from From Book to Bestseller: The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Promotion, Smart Branding, and Longterm Success by Penny Sansevieri (@Bookgal).

Authors often tell me their first goal in marketing their book is to go after early endorsements. It’s a worthy goal, because getting high-profile people to blurb or endorse your book can add a lot of value to your book’s marketing.

Securing them, however, can be tricky. In the age of social media and email where we potentially have access to everyone, it’s easy to get carried away in your attempts to target a high-profile influencer. I’ve spoken to some authors who create a hit list of high-profile people, or influencers they want endorsements from, and they will just start hitting them up in every way imaginable. Sometimes it works, but more often than not it doesn’t. If you pitch the wrong person in the wrong way, you’ll just waste valuable book marketing time.

Though it can be challenging to secure book endorsements, especially if you’re self-publishing, it’s definitely possible if you go about it with thoughtfulness and patience. And the higher you go up the celebrity food chain, the more involved the process becomes.

Before we go any further, let’s break down the type of endorsement you might want.

Blurb, endorsement, or review?

The terminology is confusing and frankly all of these things are pretty similar. Let’s start with reviews.

Reviews can come from paid and highly respected professional reviewers working for professional organizations, to equally respected blog reviewers, to book reviews written by readers that appear on Amazon and Goodreads.

One of the advantages of reviews is that you can include excerpts of reviews on your book cover and/or inside your book under the “endorsements” or “reviews” section. So often “endorsement” and “review” are used interchangeably.

But if you’re going after a high-profile person in your market, you should use the term “book endorsement”—because that term automatically implies something that’s done before the book is published.

Inside the book publishing industry, “endorsements” or advance praise for a book will often be referred to as “blurbs.” And blurbs have a long history. (Important: Blurbs in this context are not to be confused with short book description copy.)

Celebrity endorsements

Celebrity endorsements can mean virtually anything. It’s not always about trying to get an endorsement from Lady Gaga or Reese Witherspoon. Sometimes it’s a celebrity in your specific market. One complimentary nod from a famous face can launch even the most obscure product. Most advertising agencies pay a high price to have a celebrity take a swig of their soft drink or wear a pair of their running shoes.

The good news is, if you can get an endorsement for your book, it probably won’t cost you a thing—except time, patience, persistence, and did I mention patience? It’s a long road, and you should start down it as soon as you have a reasonably final manuscript.

Forewords

A book foreword is typically written by a celebrity or expert in your market, mostly used for nonfiction. It could also just be someone you admire, or whose work has inspired the book you wrote. Different from a book endorsement, but still “endorsing” your book in a much broader way, a foreword by an industry expert can help enhance your overall book marketing.

Develop and research your hit list

The more you’ve been networking, the faster and easier this process will go. If people know you, or have at least met you, they may be more inclined to help you out.

1. Create your hit list

Whoever is on your list should have a direct interest in what you’re selling. Not indirect, not through some random thing they were involved in ten years ago, but a direct connection. The more direct the connection, the easier this will be. In book marketing, we call this alignment, and your first and most important job is to find people who are aligned with your book.

While I get that someone like Robin Arzon, a leading fitness personality, has millions of followers, and gee, wouldn’t it be great if she shared your stuff … wouldn’t it make more sense if Robin was actually interested in the subject of your book?

2. Look for potential conflicts

Does the potential endorser have a book or product coming out that they’re currently promoting? Sometimes these things can present a conflict, and other times they present an opportunity. A book marketing synergy, as it were. Before you pitch your target for a book endorsement (or a foreword), research them and make sure there’s not a conflict with your book.

Or, there might be an opportunity to offer to share their work with your crowd. Though it may not be as big as the influencer’s (and likely it isn’t), it’s still a nice gesture, and most people won’t turn down a free mention of their book or whatever it is that they’re knee-deep in marketing.

3. Check for connections

Book marketing is all about relationships. Remember, people who know you are more inclined to give you an endorsement (or write a foreword). So check with your list of professional associates and friends and find out if any of them know your target. This could be the opportunity you’re looking for, and while you’re at it, build relationships, because you’ll need them down the road. You do this by adding value, because book marketing is a two-way street. You can share their stuff, help them out, and show others the value of knowing you. Don’t just show up with your hand out for a book endorsement, because I can almost guarantee you won’t get a positive response.

4. Study their current work

If you have your sights set on someone, study them, know what they’ve written, what they like and don’t like. I’m so flattered when people take the time to get to know my work and even a few times when people have mentioned my dog, Cosmo.

Get to know who they are, maybe reference something they recently shared on social media, a trip they took, whatever. Let them know you’re paying attention, and that you care. When it comes to getting the attention of your intended target, these kinds of thoughtful details tell them that you’re paying attention, and it can make a huge difference.

Create your pitch package

Whether you’re seeking book endorsements or someone to write a foreword, the pitch package is pretty much the same. It includes:

Your book cover: You should have a final, or near-final coverA one-page overview of the book: This can be the back cover copy for your bookEarly reviews or endorsements: If you’re targeting people for book endorsements, you may want to include a list of those you already have. Sometimes, if they’re impressive names, it could encourage even more early endorsements. Remember, people like what other people like, and it’s human nature to favor something others are already viewing as positive.Table of Contents: If it’s nonfiction, this is a must. If fiction, skip this.Book sample: I recommend three to five chapters of your book.Pre-written foreword, blurbs, or endorsementsWhat? Pre-written endorsements?!

A lot of authors neglect to include pre-written content in their pitch package. Yes, this means writing endorsement examples, or writing an outline for an endorser to use for the foreword.

In almost every case, the person you’re targeting is busy. Providing them with samples for them to consider will save them some time, and I can almost guarantee you that you’ll double the number of endorsements you receive. The same is true for your foreword. I’m always flattered when someone asks me to write a foreword for their book, but it’s much easier for me to do it if they provide some pre-written content. This doesn’t mean I’ll use it verbatim, but it’s a start and a time-saver.

Include a few different sample endorsements with the package that someone can choose from. You can directly tell them you’ve pre-written some endorsements that you hope they find helpful, and they’re welcome to edit them as they wish. Just be sure to vary the blurb choices you’re sending to your prospective folks so there’s no duplication.

Craft your outreach email

As much as we all know how many emails big names and influencers get, I’m still surprised at how often I see pitches that are unfocused and rambling. Consider this: regardless of how you’re pitching, your subject line is crucial, and most of us have a preview on our phone, too. So aside from a solid subject line, consider the first sentence they see before even opening the email. That’s how a lot of us scan email these days when we decide whether to open it, file it, or just dump it. And if you’re lucky enough to get an influencer to open your email, make sure the body of it is a tightly focused pitch that’s ideally no longer than one paragraph.

How to reach your target

I suggest that you start with their website; look for a contact form or email address. (Hunter is a helpful tool.) I discourage you from pitching someone on Facebook Messenger, or via direct message on Instagram or Twitter. Instead, take the time to obtain their contact information, which should be on their website. It’s not only smart, but good book marketing.

If their website is hard to find, they may have an agent you can contact or you can email their publisher and ask for help, if applicable. For bigger names, the publisher may handle the requests.

If the person is a speaker and you’re attending an event where they are speaking or in the audience, this may be a window of opportunity for you as well. Sometimes you can connect with speakers after their talks, and if you plan to do that, be sure to have your pitch package with you and get their contact information (or ask how to follow up).

If your target is an actor, you’ll want to start by contacting the Screen Actors Guild for current agent/publicist information. You can do this by calling (323) 549-6737 if the celeb you’re looking for is LA-based. If not, head on over to the SAG-AFTRA website for the current contact information for the Guild’s New York office.

The bigger the name, the more follow up that’s required

Depending on who you’re targeting for a book endorsement, the follow-up part may entail your biggest chunk of work. Why? Because the bigger the target, the busier they will be. If you’re targeting a celebrity, you may have to go through layers of people to get to them, so be patient and diligent. Then follow up.

I’m a firm believer (and it’s my personal philosophy) that even the most high-profile influencers are reachable if you make the right connections and take the right steps.

Like-minded influencers will often be excited and more than willing to help you out, but the relationship doesn’t have to end there. I find that these situations often morph into very mutually beneficial long-term relationships, which means that you shouldn’t drop this effort once you get your book endorsement. Stay on their radar, because reaching influencers is not something that has to have an expiration date or be a one-time thing. And of course, when you get what you’re looking for, blast it to the four corners of the earth!

What happens next

Does the search for book endorsements have to stop when your book is published? Not at all. In fact, I’ve known authors who continually go after big names to endorse their book. If book endorsements are your goal, then your focus on getting more shouldn’t stop—even when you have a handful.

Sometimes authors start small to go big, meaning they’ll start with smaller book endorsements, and build on them as the book continues to grow in popularity. If you’ve self-published your book, it becomes fairly easy to update your cover with a new book endorsement, though often they’re just added to the author’s Amazon page. Even if you’re with a traditional publisher, you can add it to your Amazon book page and your website, and that’ll be enough to capture your readers’ attention with your impressive endorsement or blurb.

P.S. for traditionally published authors: You might also find this advice helpful, from agent Kate McKean: How to Ask for What You Need

Note from Jane: If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out Penny Sansevieri’s book From Book to Bestseller: The Savvy Author’s Guide to Book Promotion, Smart Branding, and Longterm Success.

Maybe It’s Not Your Plot

“Walking the Labyrinth” by zoxcleb is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Today’s post is by regular contributor Susan DeFreitas (@manzanitafire), an award-winning author, editor, and book coach. She offers an online course, Story Medicine, designed to help writers use their power as storytellers to support a more just and verdant world.

Recently, I presented at a virtual summit for writers entitled “Escape the Plot Forest”—a full week of talks with nearly 30 speakers, with 3,000 people registered. Which is ample evidence of what pretty much every independent editor and book coach knows: Plot is the number one thing novelists and would-be novelists tend to struggle with, and it’s what people come to us for help with, day after day.

But eight times out of ten, as I see it, that’s not really the problem at all. The problem is that these writers don’t understand their protagonist’s character arc.

Because while a plot full of trouble, twists, suspense, and reveals will keep the reader turning the pages, in the end, it’s not the external events of the story that make a novel feel meaningful—it’s the internal journey that the protagonist has made along the way.

Recently, I was talking with one of my mentors, the book coach Jennie Nash, about this business of character arc—what I call “Centering the Heart.” It is key to what I teach in my course, Story Medicine, and central to both of our practices as book coaches.

I asked Jennie why she thought so many people came to us seeking help with their plot when, in reality, it was their character arc they needed help with. Why did she think this issue was so nonobvious?

Jennie laughed and said, “Well, that’s the whole question, isn’t it?” And went on to note something I found pretty profound: As people, we’re often unaware of what we’re going through emotionally. Emotions are messy and inconvenient, and we’re often so focused on what we have to do each day to put food on the table that whatever’s going on inside us…lies somewhere just below the surface of our awareness.

I think the same is true of character arc in a novel: It’s not as obvious as the events of the plot. If someone challenged you to sum up the character arc of a book you recently read and loved, you probably couldn’t do it.

But long after you’ve forgotten the events of the plot, you’ll remember how that book made you feel—and whatever strong emotions that story evoked, I can virtually guarantee you, were an effect of its character arc.

Character arc is often the key to the other big thing writers tend to struggle with, which is motivation. Because when the internal journey your protagonist takes in the course of their story aligns clearly with some deep personal truth of your own, that’s where the lights really come on with a novel.

Which is to say, that’s when writing it begins to feel urgent and meaningful. Because that’s when you go beyond simply telling a story to sharing real truths of your own life, the truths of your heart.

If you’re one of those novelists struggling with your plot, consider the following questions:

1. What is the internal journey your protagonist makes in this story?

Often writers will respond to this with something vague like, “I think she learns something about self-love, and about trusting others.” But that’s nearly specific enough to evoke strong emotions in the reader, or to produce the sense of your novel having been meaningful to them in the end.

In order to produce those kinds of strong emotions, and that sense of meaning, the journey your protagonist makes has to be specific: from self-loathing to self-love. From feeling like she can only depend on herself to learning to trust others.

And a big part of this equation is setting up your story so that you’re making it clear, at the beginning, what your protagonist’s internal issue really is. Because if there’s “nothing wrong” with your protagonist, there’s no room for this character to move, no clear direction for them grow in over the course of the story to come.

2. How do the major events of this story push my protagonist to grow and change?

This is where character arc really becomes structural. Because plot, by itself, can go in virtually any direction, like Jorge Luis Borges’s “garden of forking paths.” Character arc is the limiting factor—the one that will turn your maze, with all those possible dead ends, into a labyrinth, which only leads just one place: To the heart of the story.

If you’re struggling with whether to include a given event in your novel, ask yourself: Does this event touch in a clear way on my protagonist’s character arc? Or could it?

If so great: include it in your story. But if not, there’s a good chance it doesn’t need to be there.

3. Does this character arc intersect in some clear way with the truths of my own life?

As readers, we intuitively recognize when the story is personal for the author. Meaning, we recognize that we’re not just in a story based on other stories, but in a story based on the truth of someone’s life. And this is true even if you’re writing a story that has very little to do, on the surface, with your own personal history.

For instance, maybe you’re writing a sci-fi novel about a young man whose best friend was kidnapped by interstellar smugglers. One option would be to go with a familiar, recycled character arc: the protagonist who starts off feeling like a coward, and goes on to discover his own courage and confront the man who kidnapped his best friend.

A stronger tactic with this scenario would be to work out an arc more clearly centered in the truths of your own life. Say, for example, that these interstellar smugglers have actually been terrorizing the protagonist’s region of space for years, and this taps into your own history of being bullied as a kid, and the strong emotions you have around that.

Now it’s personal for you, so when the protagonist finally confronts that antagonist, the leader of this gang of smugglers, at the climax of the story, a lot of emotional power will be unleashed, because you’ll be confronting that bully, and all bullies, in a way you never got to in real life.

And at the end of the day? A strong character arc makes for a strong novel—whatever the events of the plot may be.

NFTs: What Are They and How Much Should Writers and Publishers Care?

Photo by Thought Catalog from Pexels

Note from Jane: This article is adapted from a piece that I originally published in my paid newsletter, The Hot Sheet.

I’ve now spent months reading about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the millions of dollars being spent to acquire them, yet I struggle to understand the concept or appeal. Secretly I’ve been hoping they’ll just go away and never be heard from again, along with the pandemic.

However, like it or not, NFTs have entered the media and publishing world. Book distributors are getting into them (see Creatokia). TIME magazine sells them. The Economist sold one. Newsletter creators use them. Gary Vaynerchuk has a community built around them.

Is it a fad? A scam? How much should you care?

I don’t have definitive answers to share, but I hope by the end of this post you’ll grasp the concepts and why there is enthusiasm for NFTs.

First, here is a definition from Wikipedia.

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a digital ledger. NFTs can be used to represent easily-reproducible items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files as unique items, and use blockchain technology to establish a verified and public proof of ownership.

Does that help you understand NFTs? Probably not, because you need to grasp several other concepts first, like blockchain.

So before I get any further, here is a quick and simplified shorthand, just so you can get your bearings and form a deeper understanding as we go:

If Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are the money of the future, NFTs are your unique possessions of the future that can be sold for money.

NFTs showcase your social status and what you care about, similar to a Rolex on your wrist, the Birkin bag on your arm, a Picasso on your wall, or a first edition of Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow on your shelf.

Right now, only .009 percent of Internet users own an NFT, but there are people in the publishing community—innovators I respect—who think NFTs are meaningful or even revolutionary for writers and indeed the world. Whatever the case, everyone acknowledges: we are early in the game, and much remains unknown. Dealing with NFTs right now means dealing with uncertainty.

NFTs are a small component of a larger movement that predicts an upcoming shift from what is called web2 to web3

Web2 is the world we all live in now and partly hate: it’s controlled by mega-platforms like Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, etc. You get advertising, sales of personal data, and regular security breaches. Web3 puts an end to all that—or so its proponents hope.

Digital innovator, consultant, and entrepreneur Sebastian Posth wrote in a private publishing listserv, “The value of [web2] is captured by only a few organisations that charge a ridiculously huge cut of the value, which is created by the community, for their services that increase their own wealth and furthermore cement their positions (and instate their business practices). Web3 promises to change this situation so that the value of the community will be distributed among the community and beneficial for the creators and rightsholders.”

In colloquial terms, envision a world where you don’t have to tolerate Apple’s 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases, or Amazon’s lack of transparency, or Facebook inexplicably shutting down your ad account. Sounds like utopia, right? This utopia requires blockchain.

Unlike Google or Facebook, web3 applications run on blockchain networks where control is decentralized. This is where most people get lost and tune out, so I won’t explain the intricacies here. But suffice to say, this technology theoretically offers an escape hatch from the dystopia of Big Tech. In a web3 world that’s decentralized, no one can censor your social media posts, and services don’t go down—there is no central source of power or singular on-switch. Control and power is distributed; users have privacy and sovereignty they do not have on web2.

Cryptocurrency plays a big role in web3 because it supports easy, anonymous, and secure payments and transactions—without giving a cut of the action to payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, etc. All transactions are transparent and, if you trust the algorithms, can’t be tampered with.

For book publishing specifically, one of the most immediate use cases of web3 could be a decentralized registry and distribution service for royalties, rights, and licensing. In such a system, rights holders would be paid efficiently and transparently based on a set of rules and agreements. Rather than having to trust that an agent or publisher will (eventually) send proceeds from a sale, an author could feel confident they will get the correct share of the proceeds the moment a transaction is logged.

However, critics like to say that web3 and blockchain technologies are like shiny new toys that aren’t in fact needed to solve today’s problems; what we need instead is the will to solve them. Moreover, some find this technology ethically objectionable, as blockchains can increase the use of fossil fuels.

Back to NFTs: what role do they play in all this?

A common explanation of NFTs is that they offer bragging rights of ownership in regard to digital or physical goods. Whether you own copyright with your NFT purchase is subject to the terms of sale or platform. As Posth says, “If you buy a limited edition $1,000 sneaker, you would not claim any rights to the design or other IP. Only that no one else is walking in the exact same shoes.”

The owner of a NFT now has a digital token (a possession) that no one else has; this token can fluctuate in value and also be re-sold in the marketplace. The value of this unique, one-of-a-kind token is determined by the market and can indicate social status, gaining the holders of the token entry into specific communities or experiences. Inventor and entrepreneur Ron Martinez has described it as “a right to claim ownership of a set of fulfillment rights,” which includes the right of resale and the right to join the party.

Common NFTs sold right now: digital artwork, in-game items (like accessories for your gaming avatar), and historic firsts (like the first tweet).

A recent publishing industry example: Dirt is an entertainment newsletter that funds itself with NFTs that act as souvenirs and gain the owner access to private Discord channels and in-person events. In the future, Dirt plans to set up a DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization, where people may be able own a stake in the project and vote with their NFTs on what the newsletter should publish.

Critics of web3/NFTs say that it replicates what creators already do as part of web2

It’s already possible to release exclusives or allow fans to buy digital products that have some kind of scarcity or higher community value attached to them. One might ask: Does one really need crypto or blockchain to sell exclusive or limited digital products and experiences? Does it needlessly complicate matters? (And what’s to stop web3 from being co-opted by powerful entities?)

While it’s true that web2 can do everything that web3 can, web3 allows power structures to be set up in a different way. For now, though, the NFT space is not well understood even by those launching NFT-based ventures, so you’re going to see a lot of naive use of them that’s not about changing power structures but about making money or jumping on a hot new trend.

In Posth’s comments on the publishing listserv, I found a more sophisticated understanding of NFT potential: “It does not make sense to offer an NFT for a song or a news article, content which is specifically addressing a mass market. It does, however, make a lot of sense to tokenize a license for a song or news article. An NFT could be associated with specific copyrights, translation rights, or other IP rights that can be invested in—and that could be transferred to a decentralised autonomous organisation or DAO.” (To explore this further, read more at Posth’s site.)

This brings us to another use case for publishing in particular: creators could pre-sell tokens to fund the creation of a new work. This is essentially a form of fundraising or crowdfunding where the supporters get a cut of sales in the future, as an investor would in a startup. You can see this play out in the university community already, where those holding NFTs have full legal IP rights and data access control of research.

A web3/NFT project was launched in the YA community last month

A group of YA authors including Marie Lu, Tahereh Mafi, Ransom Riggs, Adam Silvera, David Yoon, and Nicola Yoon, in collaboration with a team of engineers and designers, announced a web3 storytelling world called Realms of Ruin. The announcement said, “Realm of Ruins starts with an origin story, five realms, 42 characters, and 12 initial stories. Anyone can write a story in this universe and ‘mint’ it into an NFT they own. The initial set of authors will promote and reward the best stories. A collectible NFT character set will be sold at launch to fund the project.”

It’s tough to scrutinize this project’s setup because it’s now offline, but public perception was that copyright would be held by the original YA authors behind Realms of Ruin, not the writers minting the NFTs. Very quickly writers raised questions and objections on the project’s Discord server (and social media) relating to copyright and who would hold it, the potential fees involved to participate, and the targeting of minors.

Unless one really grasps the idealistic vision of web3—and trusts the person(s) launching such an NFT project—it is hard to explain or convey why the holy grail of copyright ownership might not matter to earnings in this scenario. If readership in Realms of Ruin grew, and its social status reached Harry Potter levels, presumably so would the value of participating authors’ tokens. The value and earnings would be distributed across the community. But most of us only tenuously grasp NFT/web3 models in the first place, much less use them, and once you layer the ethical concerns on top, good luck.

In response to criticism, Lu said, “While I have answers, it doesn’t really matter at this point—what matters more are the feelings this project has elicited from you all.” The entire project was dissolved in a matter of hours—social posts and announcements were deleted, and the Discord server disappeared.

Parting thoughts

Like any new technology, NFTs are subject to hype and dreams, scams and abuse; the market is not supervised, and the issues are complex. Skeptics often compare NFTs to pyramid schemes. But those who genuinely understand and believe in the technology see NFTs as part of a future that’s decentralized by design and can’t be co-opted by the rich and powerful or by the state.

Martinez, who is a pioneer in this area and a developer/creator of NFTs and NFT platforms, commented in the private listserv, “The NFT tribe and web3 weirdos (haha) are interested in pushing knowledge, culture, power, and economic rewards for one’s online engagement back out to the edges, back into the hands of everyday people, and away from mindlessly avaricious big platforms, surveillance capitalism, filter bubbles, misinformation, tagging and tracking people like wildebeests, too often dehumanizing us in the service of equipping Ozymandian billionaires with spaceships to alpha-dog each other with on the edge of space.”

On Twitter, someone commented, “I think recognizing the spiritual hunger that sits at the core of these movements (and remember how many in the space are young people!) is an important step to understanding them. Crypto culture is a mirror world that feeds off of the unexamined failures of the real world.”

I am grateful to both Posth and Martinez for helping me better understand NFTs and ensuring that what you just read about web3/NFTs is accurate (fingers crossed). If you’d like to explore the issue in greater detail, check out this reading list that includes varied perspectives.

Structure Isn’t the Holy Grail You’re Looking For

“scaffolding at the hagia sophia” by saragoldsmith is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Today’s guest post is by writer, coach and editor Lisa Cooper Ellison (@lisaellisonspen). Join her on Nov. 17 for the online class Find the Memoir Structure That Works for You.

It’s Tuesday at 4:30 PM. A writer’s name flashes across my Zoom screen.

As we begin her free consultation, she tells me about the harrowing memoir she plans to write. The project is her first book, and she’s not sure where to begin.

After a five-minute banter about the writing process, she says, “Can you tell me how to structure my memoir?”

As I craft a reply to this frequently asked question she leans in, waiting, perhaps even hoping and praying, that I’ll share the secret that easily and efficiently unlocks her project’s genius.

I understand because I repeatedly asked the same question early in my writing process.

At the time, I thought structure was the holy grail of storytelling. Like the characters in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, all I had to do was choose wisely. Complete the task and I’d soon double fist the prizes ever writer seeks: the ecstasy of having written and the pride of holding my published book. Fail and the bones of my project might crumble, right along with my motivation.

Unfortunately, structure isn’t the storytelling holy grail.

It’s just one of many important components.

Think of a completed memoir as a dwelling with scenes and exposition as the building blocks. Chapters are the rooms. Structure is the frame that holds it together. Your narrative arc is the blueprint that guides construction and determines your structure.

In real life, blueprints are created long before construction begins.

But memoir writing is an iterative process that begins with Anne Lamott’s shitty first draft and then slowly develops and deepens. The early stages in this process sometimes feel like building a skyscraper with nothing but air. No wonder writers seek a structure to hold onto!

So how do you keep from white knuckling your way through an early draft?

As I look back at what I needed—and what my clients now crave—it’s scaffolding, not capital S structure.

In construction, scaffolding is a temporary structure that supports the work on a building whether it’s new walls, repairs, or cleaning. Once the work is complete, the scaffolds are removed.

Here are a few scaffolds that can support your first-draft efforts.

Scaffold #1: Choose a time in your life, not your whole life

While autobiography covers a life from birth to death, memoir is about one experience.

Marion Roach Smith says it this way: memoir is about what you know after what you’ve been through.

Break your life into epic moments—an odd career, a monumental journey, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a loss that changed everything.

Your first draft should be about one of these things and the lessons you learned.

Scaffold #2: Establish a timeline

You’ll be tempted to start at age three on that formative day when someone stole your cookie. No matter how delicious the cookie, refrain from doing this. Instead, begin at the point when you first noticed the problem. Unless you’re writing a coming-of-age story, it’s likely this event took place in adulthood.

For example, in The Suicide Index, Joan Wickersham’s problem is creating order around her father’s suicide. While earlier life events affect the way she responds to this family tragedy, she begins with her father’s death—the day her problem first occurred.

Once you’ve established a beginning, select an ending.

Journeys and time-limited events often have clear endings. For example, Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild ends when she completes her trek along the Pacific Crest Trail. Carmen Maria Machado’s book In the Dream House follows the rise and fall of an abusive relationship.

If your ending isn’t clear, you can create a time marker, like Joan Didion does in The Year of Magical Thinking, the memoir she wrote about grieving during the first year after her husband’s death. 

If your final moment isn’t definitive, and a time marker doesn’t work, identify the first instance when you experienced peace, and let that serve as your first-draft ending. At this point, don’t worry about pinning down the perfect scene. Instead, choose a “good enough” ending—one that results in a completed draft. Once you solidify your narrative arc, you’ll find the right ending for your book.

Scaffold #3: Choose plain over fancy

Maybe you read In the Dream House, The Fact of a Body, or Safekeeping and thought I want to do that. I get it. These books are elegantly arranged, and perhaps you’re a writer who can also pull this off.

But few writers begin with an elegant, or fancy, structure. More often, it’s something they discover after many drafts and years of hard work.

For a first draft, stick with a linear, chronological structure and minimize flashbacks. I suggest this for two reasons. Flashbacks by their nature occur out of order. Once you accumulate hundreds of pages, it can be easy to forget where you placed them.

And, while you might think a flashback juxtaposes nicely with a certain scene, flashbacks only work if they tell us something about the character that’s immediately relevant to the story. In a first draft, those insights are rare.

Scaffold #4: Let your mind wander

I know, I told you not to start your book with the cookie. But sometimes your brain reallyreallyreally wants to write about the cookie.

So, write about the cookie, and the time you fell out of the tree, and even your first kiss.

Your unconscious is a wise creative ally that frequently learns through association. It also knows the things you need to work through so you can truly understand your story. Some of the moments you’ll feel compelled to write about will ultimately belong in your manuscript, but others are just prewriting. Instead of adding them to the timeline you’ve already established, keep them in a separate file that’s also ordered chronologically. This will prevent you from becoming overly attached to them. It will also dampen your compulsion to begin with that cookie.

Scaffold #5: Give up the dream of having written

Holding a completed manuscript is a delicious, soul-satisfying state. If I could bottle it, my life would be complete. But focusing on the dream of having written leads to impatience. It’s the number one reason why writers ask so many questions about structure. Instead, embrace the process and scaffold your way to a first draft. Once you’ve achieved this goal, you’ll be one step closer to understanding and identifying your memoir’s structure.

Note from Jane: If you enjoyed this post, please join Lisa on Nov. 17 for the online class Find the Memoir Structure That Works for You.

Does the Idea of Promoting Your Book Make You Feel Queasy?

Photo by Ryanniel Masucol from Pexels

Today’s post is by author, podcaster, and speaker Lizbeth Meredith (@LizbethMeredith).

At every writer’s conference, I see fledgling authors roll up their sleeves when told well-established truths on writing:

Writing is important.

Make it a priority.

Schedule time for writing every day, or as regularly as possible.

But when they’re exhorted to market their books?

Pearl clutch.

While a small group of enthusiasts may swap tips between sessions, the attitude of far too many—especially authors who fancy themselves literary—is that the promo piece is unsavory. They’re too important, and drumming up their own book buzz feels beneath them. (“Isn’t that someone else’s job?”)

Or they’re too introverted. Too icked-out by the idea of becoming a self-promoter.

The problem? Their books join the other million-plus published annually that don’t find their forever home in the hands of the right readers.

In his March 2021 interview on The Creative Penn podcast, author Steven Pressfield told host Joanna Penn that he’s spent as much time mastering book marketing as he does writing books. If he didn’t, he’d need to simply stop publishing books. (For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading his work, try The Legend of Bagger Vance or Turning Pro). This legendary author, whose books have had both critical and popular acclaim, acknowledged that without gaining some marketing muscle, his career could be dead in the water.

When I first began my author marketing journey, I assumed I needed to be funny or outgoing or remarkable somehow to succeed. And while on a good day I could fake it til I made it and nail one or so of the qualities, it felt inauthentic and forced. It was unsustainable, and I had an emotional hangover afterward.

But I was committed to getting my work into the hands of readers. Not only did it take eons to write my book, but I’d committed money I didn’t really have to hire a PR team. After spending several thousand dollars to get the normal 180-day campaign that still relied on me to pick up the baton once the contract ended, I had to face facts: I could live with some new debt that would soon be multiplying, or I could learn how to do my job.

As an author, marketing your work will always be your job. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Author and speaker Dale Carnegie taught long ago that we become more interesting when we’re interested in other people. It’s a perfect message for us self-conscious authors who worry we’ll need to constantly toot our own horn and be obnoxious after the book is published. No, that’s not what marketing is.

Give up trying to dazzle potential readers and replace those efforts with making a contribution to the community. When I started taking this approach instead, I realized how much more fun book marketing could be. I gave up the misplaced fears that other authors were my competition, and found ways to elevate their work as part of my own marketing. I might have a Facebook Live event for their new launch, or agree to be an early reviewer for their pre-order campaign. I help writers who needed sources to finish their work, whether or not that provides me with more sales. I also took Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy to learn more about marketing essentials and became a Help a Reporter Out warrior.

While it would be terrific if we could all get a BookBub deal out of the chute and end up on a bestseller list soon after our books are published, we can take a deep breath, recognize this is a marathon and not a race, and start to enjoy the process. Enjoy serving. Serve readers. Serve other writers. Serve your community with your writing. And enjoy being a part of a supportive writing community that can last and pay dividends, long after the book royalty checks have begun to dwindle.

Today, I tell my own book marketing students that book marketing deserves their time and resources as much as writing does. It’s both a skill and a practice.

Marketing is important.

Make it a priority.

Schedule time for marketing every day, or as regularly as possible.

NaNoWriMo: How to Fly by the Seat of Your Pants—and Win

Photo by Jens Johnsson from Pexels

Today’s post is by author and book coach Stephanie Bourbon (@StephOBourbon).

When I first did NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2006, I started with nothing but a book title. That’s a little too much pantsing even for me. But I did land an agent and got published through a small publishing house, and that gave me confidence to come back every year to NaNoWriMo and blast out a first draft. And I always “win.” I have written 15 books and over 1 million words during NaNoWriMo. (Although I don’t love to call it winning—we are all fantastic!)

Do I spend months plotting? Do I have it all worked out before I put pen to paper? I must not have a job? Clearly, I sit and write hours every day to finish every time, right?

Nope.

I work full time, I have two dogs and a husband. Here is my secret.

How you can “win” as a pantser

If you’re a pantser, that means you are flying by the seat of your pants, dodging problems or lobbing them away as they arrive. There is a myth about us pantsers that we don’t have any idea what we’re doing, but usually we do.

I’m a true pantser, and for me, it works. I know that for others it ends up a big old mess. Think of it like this: Some people need to follow recipes, and others, like me, just toss ingredients together and have a Chef Ramsey-esque meal. Okay, well, maybe not that good, but you get the point.

Not all of the novels I have finished during NaNo are published or even great. Some are in fact a mess. It happens. But, I have finished novels each time, which is the goal.

Your goal is 50,000 words or more, and this is all about the math: 50,000 divided by 30 is 1,667 words a day, which is just over an hour if you write at an average speed. Drop Thanksgiving, and it’s 1,724 words, which is doable for most writers. So don’t think of it as 50,000 words; think of it as a daily goal of 1,724 words. Then:

Identify a time of day to write that is realistic. For example, if you can’t write for an hour or two every morning, don’t assume you will magically make up the time elsewhere in November. Instead, choose a time or times that work every day.Have accountability buddies or at least one writer who will cheer you on. The first time I did it, I met a friend of mine in Starbucks once a day, and we talked about our stories as we went.Post about your goals on social media. This also helps you stay on track.Plan to finish before November 30. That way you won’t be too behind if something comes up.Know these things before you start

This should take you about ten minutes to write down, even if you are pantsing.

WHO is your story about? What does she want, need, or desire?WHAT happens in the story? Does she discover that her husband has a secret? Does she find out she’s a wizard? Does she have to go back to a small town filled with only gorgeous available partners ready to settle down?HOW does it end? Know the ending or have a solid idea for the ending.The PREMISE: A strong premise will practically write itself. Steve Kaplan talks about the power of premise in his comedy writing workshop and his book The Hidden Tools of Comedy. I highly recommend it.Additional main characters: the love interest, the best friend, the nemesis.

When you know these things, you can write all the way through your novel and finish it on time. If you want to plan a little more, you can go a few small steps forward and know these story beats.

THE BEGINNING: How does it open?THE INCITING INCIDENT: What happens to launch the story forward?THE NEW WORLD: Where does the story take place?THE MIDDLE TURNING POINT: What decision is made?THE CRISIS: What happens that sends your main character into her “all is lost” moment?THE CLIMAX: How does it all come to a head?THE RESOLUTION: This is your ending.What holds most writers back

EDITING as you go.

Write forward, always. Write new pages, no matter what. There are two reasons for this.

You won’t finish if you keep going back to change things. This is also why I pants because when I have a detailed outline, I don’t stick to it. The characters want to go their own way. (However, at the end of a writing day, I will write out on a notecard what will happen in the next chapter.)Many writers I work with, or have been critique partners with, get stuck on the words. They forget that they are telling a story.Story is first

Focus on telling a great story and forget about being a good writer, and you will be golden. If you remember anything from this, remember that. I like to call this my wedding cake writing theory.

When you make a cake, you have the flour, the eggs, the water, the oil. You mix these ingredients, and then you add flavors like chocolate and spices—then bake it. This is what NaNoWriMo is all about.

When you continue to edit or go back and make sure each word is perfect, that’s like the little silver ball on top of the rose on top of the base on top of the grenache on top of the icing on top of the top layer, which is on top of the other layer, etc. Don’t focus on the little silver ball. Focus on the mixing and baking.

A final note

NaNoWriMo is a great place to write a first draft, and it will need revision. This is when I do extensive outlining, actually. After I have the first draft, I let it sit for December. Then in January, I outline it using Martha Alderson’s Plot Whisperer method and Lisa Cron’s Wired For Story and Story Genius for character.

Understand and know that you will revise, and it will give you the freedom to make mistakes. Your draft won’t be perfect, but done is better than not done. Please don’t query your NaNo novel in December. It’s not ready.

In the comments, I’d love to hear about your experiences flying by the seat of your pants during NaNoWriMo!

Use Your Analyzer Switch to Increase Productivity

Photo by Dmitry Demidov from Pexels

Today’s post is by author, editor and coach Jessica Conoley (@jaconoley).

Every writer’s brain contains an analyzer switch. The switch regulates analytical thinking, which is the part of brain that dissects drafts and figures out how to improve projects during revisions. Conversely, it regulates ideaphoria—which is the quality that helps us bang out a first draft in record time because ideas are flowing at an exponential rate.

Most of us have no idea the switch is there. We assume our brain is hardwired at its current static setting. This assumption keeps us saying things like, “I love drafting, but revisions are the worst!” While our critique partner says, “First drafts are stab-my-face-off awful to write. I can’t wait until I have enough words to start revising.” We mope over the skills we seemingly don’t possess (which others have clearly been naturally blessed with), which slows our writing process and triggers a slew of mindset issues.

If any of this sounds familiar, and you wish you could amp up your ideaphoria or analytical abilities, I’ve got great news for you. Your brain isn’t hardwired, it’s fancy and neuroplastic. Therefore, you can improve the weaker side of your writing practice by consciously adjusting the setting on your analyzer.

To adjust your analyzer

All you need is a little imagination with a touch of visualization.

Imagine your analyzer switch. Maybe it’s a round knob like the kind that turns on your dining room light, or a stereo volume dial, or some other type of dimmer switch. Mine looks like a soundboard with sliding levers that move up or down. The important part is this is NOT an ON/OFF toggle switch.Decide the appropriate setting for the type of writing task you are getting ready to work on.Visualize adjusting your dial to the setting. For me that looks like sliding the levers all the way up to engage my analyzer. When I slide them all the way down, I’m at the 100% ideaphoria setting.

This takes less than ten seconds to do and can profoundly impact your productivity.

My default falls to the 95% analytical side of the spectrum. The highly analytical side is great when I’m editing, and awful when I’m drafting. When I began turning down my analyzer before drafting sessions, I found my inner critic was muted and my compulsive need to stop, re-read, and assess the quality of my words was mitigated exponentially.

My prolific page count clients default to a high ideaphoria setting. After implementing analyzer adjustments before they write, they have shared revisions are much more palatable and efficient.

How to use your analyzer settings

Turn your analyzer up/decrease ideaphoria when you:

Need to cut word countResearchCopy-editRead to study/improve craft

Turn your analyzer down/increase ideaphoria when you:

Need to increase word countDraft fresh contentBrainstormOver-think to the point of paralysis and need to get unstuck

Set your analyzer somewhere in the middle when you:

Re-read a draft you’ve set aside for some timeBeta readPlot/OutlineTry out a new genre or form of writing

Because you’re a writer I know you have the creative ability to experiment with this very simple exercise.

Scientifically the visualization primes your mind to work in a certain brain-space, cues your body that it is time to get to work, and empowers you to take ownership of your ability to learn and modify your behaviors. You’re reinforcing a growth mindset which is key in your evolution as a writer.

Let me know how adjusting your analyzer worked for you. If you find a certain task benefits from turning your switch up or down, please share in the comments below.

Business Bootcamps for Writers: Join Me Next Week!

Next week, I am delighted to be moderating two panels in partnership with The Authors Guild Foundation on paths to publication, which are part of a larger series, Business Bootcamps for Writers.

All sessions are free to the public; you do not have to be a member of Authors Guild to register. And yes, these sessions will be recorded and available afterward if you can’t make the live event.

Paths to Publication: Traditional and Small Press

Traditional publishers provide you with cachet, a brick-and-mortar presence, and of course, an advance. For many authors, the preferred path to publication is through one of the large houses or a respected small press, even as these paths become harder to navigate. This panel will discuss the current landscape of traditional publishing, such as how to submit your work with or without an agent, what to expect from the editorial process, and how much marketing support a small or large press should provide.

Panelists include:

Mary Gannon, Executive Director, Council of Literary Magazines and PressesJudy Hottensen, Associate Publisher, Grove AtlanticVivian Lee, Senior Editor at Little, BrownAnne Trubek, Founder and Director, Belt PublishingHoward Yoon, Ross Yoon AgencyRegister for freePaths to Publication: Alternatives to Traditional Publishing

In today’s marketplace, many authors with important voices and stories are reaching their readers by self-publishing (also called indie publishing) models where authors manage every aspect of publishing their books—whether by hiring experts for the myriad tasks involved or doing it all themselves. We’ll discuss the various online platforms available to authors to publish in ebook, print, and audiobook formats; working with freelance editors, book designers, and other service providers; as well as methods of distributing and promoting your own work. We will also cover working with hybrid publishers (which take on the production and distribution of a book like a traditional publisher but ask the author to share in production costs in exchange for a greater share of any profit), and how to identify reputable hybrid publishers and avoid those trying to take advantage of authors.

Panelists include:

Tara Cremin, Director, Kobo Writing LifeDarien Hsu Gee, authorMark Leslie Lefebvre, Director of Business Development, Draft2DigitalL. Penelope, authorBrooke Warner, Publisher, She Writes PressRegister for freeTake a look at more wonderful sessions

The Authors Guild Foundation is hosting even more business bootcamps for writers this fall: Review the full schedule.

Book Printing 101: What You Need to Know Before Approaching a Printer

“2013-01-08: (08/365) Book Binding P1220749” by lundyd is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Note from Jane: Today’s post is excerpted from the book Cover to Cover by Andrew Watson, a comprehensive guide to self-publishing a print book or ebook, mainly for those in Australia. However, the book printing information below is applicable to any author who wants to invest in a print run for their book.

Keep in mind that, due to the pandemic (and other factors), the market right now is very tight for paper and printing, with long lead times and increased pricing. Plan far in advance if you have a specific release date in mind.

Choosing the right materials for your book, and the right printer, is more important than you might think. They will not only affect its physical appearance but also influence a potential customer’s perception of value for money. You’ll also need to know exactly what to ask for when requesting and receiving quotes from a printer whether near you or overseas.

Everything below should be regarded as general guidance only. There will, inevitably, be variations depending on what is available at the time and the technical preferences of your nominated printer. When in doubt, always get a sample.

Depending on where your printer is based, they may express a paper’s weight in pounds per ream (#), grams per square meter (gsm), or points (pt). In this article, we’ve provided US and rest-of-world equivalents.

Note also that papers manufactured for different purposes utilize different systems of measurement. For example, a 100# cover stock is much heavier and more rigid than a 100# text stock.

Text paper

Generally, paper used for the text pages in a typical book will be either coated or uncoated. A coated paper has had a fine layer of china clay or a similar synthetic substance applied to make a smooth, sealed surface. Uncoated papers are, for the most part, everything else.

Gloss, art, satin, semi-matte and matte papers are all coated stocks. The principle is the same for all of them—ink sits on the surface of the paper rather than being allowed to soak in or spread. This allows for precise color registration and enables high quality image reproduction. For this reason coated paper is nearly always white. Indeed, many books that appear to use cream-coated stock are actually white with the non-illustrated areas printed in a light cream color from edge to edge.

The process of applying the coating on both sides tends to flatten the fibers so, although coated papers might have exactly the same weight as uncoated ones, they are noticeably thinner. This, in turn, means a book with coated paper will be considerably slimmer than one with the same page extent using uncoated paper and this may affect the customer’s perception of value for money. Publishers often try to compensate by using heavier gloss paper (from, say, a standard 90 or 100 gsm/60# or 70# stock up to 120 gsm/80# or greater) but this can make the book much heavier and is something to consider if large quantities are being sent by ordinary mail.

Uncoated papers, apart from being, you know, uncoated, come in an extraordinary range of weights and thicknesses and shades of white and cream. They are non-reflective and eminently suitable for a wide variety of uses in book production. They can be as thin as tissue for Bibles and large reference books (literally known as bible paper), all the way up to almost card-like quality for children’s picture books.

Generally, weight corresponds to thickness—the heavier the paper, the fatter it is, but some lightweight stocks leave the fibers deliberately fluffed up to make the paper seem thicker. This ‘bulky’ paper is frequently used in mass market novels to give the appearance of greater value for money.

Weights of text stock can vary between 70 gsm and 120 gsm/50# and 80#. A consideration here is the potential for show-through which occurs when printed matter on one side of a page is clearly visible on the reverse side. This is less likely to happen with coated stock but it can be problematic with lower weights of uncoated paper. If you are unsure about choosing a paper stock for this reason you should ask your printer for recommendations and obtain samples of pages printed on different weights of paper.

All this is, of course, assuming that your nominated printer will actually allow you to choose your own paper. Many do not, primarily because they purchase a small range of paper types in bulk which they then allocate to specific formats of book. Digital printers, in particular, will only use one
or two types of paper for black and white production (eg. 80 gsm or 90 gsm/55# or 60#) and will only increase the weight if the book contains ink-heavy color pages. Choice of paper stock may also be determined by whether your printer uses a sheet-fed machine (eg. single sheets of paper) or a large web-offset machine fed by large rolls of paper.

Paperback cover

Ideally, card for paperback (sometimes called limp or softback) covers should be between 240 gsm and 270 gsm/12 pt. and 15 pt. Outside this range the book can become either too floppy or stiff and awkward to open. Again, it is advisable to obtain a sample of the material to be absolutely sure it is what you want.

Hardback cover

A hardback (or cased) cover has four main components: the board itself, endpapers which help to attach the board to the block of pages, the board covering, and the dustjacket. In the past the board covering would have been thin leather or a textured material but is it much more common now for it to be a printed paper covering which replicates the dustjacket or perhaps eliminates the need for a jacket altogether.

Board: Normally formed from grey card, kraft board or mill board. The most suitable weight is around 40 oz (1800 gsm/100 pt.) but can range between 16 oz (1000 gsm/55 pt.) and 48 oz (2200 gsm/120 pt.). Boards may warp if they contain too much moisture when the endpapers are attached and then dry out. This frequently happens when the grain of the endpaper runs in the same direction as the grain in the board instead of being applied at a right angle.

Endpapers: These are usually around 110 gsm/75# although the thickness may depend on the book’s weight and format size. They help to attach the book block to the board and so the material used has to be sufficiently robust. They can be left plain or printed with an illustration or a patterned design or a block of color. There was once a craze for unusual types of endpaper, such as marbled patterns or recycled papers embedded with flecks of rag or other unbleached materials but, trust me, your printer will not thank you for specifying these and will probably charge extra for the manual work involved in attaching them.

Board covering: There are three ways to go with this: a reconstituted or synthetic leather lookalike, a lightly textured cloth material, or a fully printed paper covering (or PPC). In the past the cloth would have been dyed but it is now more likely to be a basic white material printed with whatever color you desire. Paper for a PPC cover should be around 260 gsm/90# but can be anywhere in the 210 gsm to 270 gsm/80# to 100# range. A leather-like or cloth cover would normally be embossed on the spine with at least the title, author name and publisher’s logo. 

Dustjacket: Ideally no less than 128 gsm/90#. And, as with endpapers, the size and format of the book will affect the weight—the heavier the book, the heavier the dustjacket, so anywhere up to 160 gsm/110# would be acceptable. As with the cover, the dustjacket will probably be laminated so the actual thickness will increase anyway.

Printing options

While options are now endless, in broad terms, there are only two methods you to need to know about: offset and digital.

Offset

In the lithographic offset process, whole pages containing text and images are transferred either by photographic means onto thin, flexible printing plates, or ‘burned’ onto the plates by laser directly from a computer file (computer-to-plate or CTP). If necessary, a separate plate is produced for each of the four primary printing colors (CMYK) which, when combined, produce full color images. (See color below)

Each plate is wrapped around a cylinder and inked as it revolves. The plate is then pressed onto a
revolving rubber cylinder which applies the ink to a sheet (sheet-fed) or a large roll (web-offset)
of paper as it travels through the machine. The plates are usually metallic or made from a plasticized material and would wear out quickly if in direct contact with the paper, hence the offsetting.

Digital

This can take many forms but the most common is a hugely scaled-up form of an office laser printer where text paper is fed at high speed through a machine from a large roll. The image is taken from a computer file and applied almost magically by ink or fine powder. The paper is then cut into double-sided pages as it emerges from the end of the machine.

This method is ideal for producing small quantities of books at the outset and then reprints of almost any quantity. Once the text and cover files have been loaded into the machine, there are no further set-up costs, in comparison to platemaking and machine make-ready for the offset process which, generally, have to be completed each time there is a printing. Moreover, it significantly reduces the financial ‘risk’ associated with printing a large quantity of copies prior to publication. Only a small number need to be printed and stock replenished as orders are received. This is commonly referred to as print-on-demand or POD publishing.

Color

In conventional offset printing only sheets that actually contain color images are printed in CMYK, all other pages are printed in black (a ‘monochrome’) as usual. Color illustrations may sometimes be grouped onto a separate set of pages and printed on gloss rather than the normal text stock.

In digital printing it is more than likely that a whole book will be run through a full color machine, irrespective of the number of pages that contain color images or other graphics, or where they might fall in the text.

Choosing a printer

Most medium to large general printers will assure you they can produce books. By this they usually mean they can print the sheets that make up the pages. Whether they are capable of following through with all the remaining ‘finishing’ tasks of folding, collating, trimming, and binding is another matter. Some may well have the necessary equipment but, in reality, most will outsource some or all of these tasks. This may cause problems when it comes to quality assurance and scheduling. Your book is likely to join a long queue where it will be a one-off minnow in a large ocean dominated by big-fish publishers producing, say, thousands of hardback dictionaries or books about football champions. Unless tightly monitored, this has serious implications for scheduling.

Printers overseas, particularly ones in South East Asian countries, rarely have this problem because more often than not they have their own paperback and hardback manufacturing facilities in-house—or at least a good relationship with an associated company.

Indeed, it is worth considering whether you should print overseas. It is not as difficult as you might imagine, especially if you use a reputable broker. They will guide you through the entire process and arrange all aspects of production for you, from checking the computer files to proofing to delivery. Obviously, it will take longer because of extra shipping and customs clearance (up to an additional two months) but there are significant cost advantages.

BrokersPrintNinja is a major international print broker which sources its products from companies in China. Although its head office is in the US, it services clients worldwide via a comprehensive website and has production and logistics teams based in Shenzhen.KHL is a large printer in Singapore offering a wide range of services, from short-run digital to large format books in full color.Getting a printer quotation

To get an accurate cost quotation from a printer, you will need to provide some basic details of your project, usually by completing an online enquiry form. Bear in mind that the range of paper types and finished format sizes may be limited if you are planning to print digitally.

Book titleCopies: Total quantity requiredExtent: Total number of pages including blanksSize: Trimmed page dimensionsFormat: Paperback or hardback? Portrait or landscape?Binding: Section-sewn, notch-bound or perfect-bound? (Your printer can recommend what’s best for your book.)Paperback cover: Weight and matte or gloss finish?Case covering: Cloth or printed paper?Printed cover: PPC or dust jacket?Color pages: Number of any sections containing full colorPaper: Type and weightProofs: Digital and/or paper-basedAdvance copies: Number of copies and destination of a few copies for approval before the bulk stock is dispatchedDelivery: Street address and any issues regarding packing or difficult vehicle access

Certainly, a request for a quote could contain more technical details but, frankly, unless you know exactly what you’re talking about, it would be better for the printer to ask specific questions and advise you accordingly. Nonetheless, they should be able to provide an accurate quote from the above specifications.

Their quote may include a provision for a small percentage of copies that can be supplied over or under the ordered amount. Standard quality control practices mean printers produce more than the required number of printed sheets or finished books to allow for possible spoilage. Sometimes the rejection rate is high and sometimes the opposite can happen and they have more acceptable sheets than anticipated so end up with slightly more books. It simply means they can deliver a different amount (usually between five and 10 percent of the whole run) than ordered and charge you on a pro rata basis.

There may also be a provision in the quote (or the terms and conditions) for increases in the cost of raw materials to be passed on to the customer. It is worth noting, for example, that at the time of writing, global pulp prices have fluctuated significantly over the last six months, however the general trend is upwards.

A printer will want you to accept their quotation as quickly as possible and their sales people may put you under some pressure to do so. For admin reasons they will want to place the project in their future schedules and budgets, so you should make it absolutely clear to them from the start if the quote request and the project itself are speculative and especially if you do not yet have a fixed timetable for production. Once production commences they may require you to pay part or all of the quoted amount upfront.

Note from Jane, especially to Australian readers: If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out Andrew Watson’s book Cover to Cover.