Let's Get Professional

I spent twelve years working in the corporate environment in variety of roles that covered everything from humble jobs like "Customer Service Representative" and "Administrator" to "Consultant" and "Project & Client Manager".

I moved up through the ranks because early in my career when my experienced, successful bosses gave advice, I listened and learned how to conduct myself with that tag which we bandy around called "professionally".

So when I read agents and editors blogging about how writing is a business and you have to behave accordingly, I get it.

The problem is, it seems like a lot of writers just don't.

I think in part this is because many have never worked in a "professional" environment (read: where people wear suits, have meetings around board tables, their days are run by an hourly appointment schedule, and they're expected to communicate fluently with everyone from the CEO to the Janitor).

Now, don't misunderstand me: I'm not singing the praises of the corporate environment - frankly, I'm glad I got the chance to turn my back on it.  But I learned some useful skills there.  If you haven't spent a few years working like that, then you may find some of the points below helpful in your rise to the top of the Publishing pile:

Conducting Yourself Professionally...

1.  Means primarily being reliable, dependable and true to your word, i.e. If you have a deadline, you meet it.  If you can't meet it, you alert those who are affected by the deadline as soon as you know you won't be able to meet it.  (Note: This does not mean five minutes after the deadline has passed).

2.  Means dressing for the job.  Most of the time for a writer, this is no biggie.  You can sit around in your pajamas and Donkey Kong slippers while you're writing, no one will care.  But if you have a video conference, brush your hair, wear a nice blouse/shirt, and make sure it's a blank, or nondescript wall behind you.  Clutter is distracting and your SCREAM poster, well, screams...  Oh, and if you ever get the chance to meet your Publisher in-house in New York, wear grown-up shoes and buy a suit (or at the very least, some nice slacks, a button-down top and have your hair / make-up done if you're a woman).  Whether it's right or not, you'll be judged (at least in part) by how you present yourself.

3.  Means speaking with caution: Pragmatism is the word of the day, flexibility is the attitude that wins.  Even if the other person has been terribly unprofessional in what they've said or done, don't fight fire with fire.  Try to find a win-win situation.  If you've been put on the back foot by someone else's actions, deal with the problem first, talk about the conduct later.  Do not blame.  Do not vent.  Do not threaten.  Fix.  Solve.  Work.  Vent when you get home.  To your cat.

4.  Means taking bad news with a good attitude - even if it's fake.  People will often tell you things in business which sound aggressive, critical or LIKE THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO END.  If someone delivers that kind of news, ask for some time (an hour, a day, a week) to think about it before you respond.  Whenever it's critical that you do respond, focus on the issue, not the person who is the cause of it.   Put emotions aside until after you've put the phone down or gone home, and vent to your spouse / partner / cat. 

5.  Means being discreet (!!!).  I think this is probably the hardest one for novice writers.  Word to the wise: anything you tweet, blog or even facebook can be read by ANYONE.  Which includes the people involved.  It's a very, very thin line between sharing rejection statistics and making yourself look like a blabbermouth.  And honestly, discretion applies even more if an agent / publisher wants to work with you.  After all, if you can't keep your mouth shut about a full-manuscript request, how will you ever manage to do it about a publishing contract that's in the works?  (And PS - true discretion doesn't mean "The very best of my writer dreams just came true... but I can't tell you what it is *wink wink*).  You'll probably get away with that one, but it's hardly a testimony to your trap-shutting capabilities.

6. DOES NOT mean never having a sense of humor.  Professionals laugh and joke all the time.  But the true professional will get to know you a little first and feel out where your boundaries lie before slapping the Fat Mama joke on you, or making a crack at a colleague's expense.  It's actually harder to be funny in a way that isn't potentially offensive or shocking.  If you've got the gift, use it!  If not... maybe wait a while before displaying your rapier wit.

7.  DOES NOT mean identifying where your colleagues, competitors or suppliers are going wrong.  Quite the opposite.  A true professional has class enough to let the thing everyone knows but no one is saying be left unsaid.  (And, if it must be said, caging it in the most diplomatic terms possible).

8.  DOES NOT mean giving everyone a free pass to walk all over you.  See, the trick with professionalism is that you're savvy enough to choose your battles.  You keep your trap shut, work with flexibility, try to accommodate your agent / editor whever possible.  Then, when it's really important and you have to say no - they're ready to listen because they know you don't do that on a whim.

9.  DOES NOT mean pretending.  There's a huge difference between diplomacy (saying what you mean in simple, impersonal terms) and duplicity (saying something you know will be taken in a way you didn't mean it).  Refer to point number 8 - pick your battles.  Choose when it's really important to conflict, then you're more likely to be heard.  Because I promise you, it isn't always necessary to get your own way.

10.  DOES NOT mean never having fun.  Some of the funniest and most enjoyable relationships and conversations I had have been with colleagues-cum-friends.  In fact, most people I know prefer to make work fun.  The trick is in proving your professionalism first.  That way, people know they can trust you.  Once they know they can trust you, you'll be surprised what comes out of the woodwork.

So, what does all this look like in practice for the unpublished author?

- When writers flame their own negative reviews, roll your eyes and keep your trap shut.

- When you read blogs or tweets where people Name and Shame others in the industry, cringe and stay out of the conversation.

- Don't shy away from contentious issues if you think they're relevant, but always, always, always debate the issue, not the person who's writing about it.

- Be discreet.  Be discreet.  Be discreet - about what agents you're querying, what publishers your agent is submitting to, the upcoming contract, or anything another author tells you about their career.

Why?

Because it makes you look good.  And the pain of being careful pays out in the end when professionals want to work with you.  It's worth the wait.  It's worth the seeming isolation of not sharing news.  It's worth taking one on the chin for someone else now and again.  And it's definitely worth building relationships founded on trust. 

If you do, you won't just succeed, you'll be promoted by the very people closest to you in the rat-race.

Your Turn: Do you have anything to add?  What ways can we choose to be professional in the publishign industry - especially online? 
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Advice from the Professionals

I'm sick (*bleh*) so my scintillating post on professionalism (c'mon, you know you're dying to hear it) is going to have to wait.  Instead, enjoy this interesting interview with Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness co-authors Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia.

If you're low on time, skip to 3:59 for the 'Advice to Writers' part.

Enjoy!

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WINNERS - Free 10,000 Word Critique

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, especially those who offered encouraging comments. It means more than you know.

Without further ado, the winners are...

Angela Ackerman (http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/)

Melody (http://iamanauthoress.blogspot.com/)

Mary Elizabeth Summer (http://www.mesummer.wordpress.com)

Congratulations ladies!  I'm emailing or tweeting all of you, but check your spam and / or feel free to get in touch with me at aimeelsalter@gmail.com if you haven't heard by tomorrow.

Thanks again, everyone! 

Write What You Know... In Fantasy?

I am re-reading Romeo and Juliet for reasons that won't interest you.  The little collector's edition I now own has a foreword from someone I've never heard of.  In it, Aforementioned Unknown makes this observation (NOTE: It's a British publication, so all spelling is SIC):

"Reading the play you discover that the characters all act and speak as you would expect anyone to do in the circumstances.  Those circumstances might be dramatic, even violent, and the setting long ago and far away.  But the interactions make sense.  Events unfold not in the way of throw-away fiction or drama, driven by dithering, unreasonable behaviour and ludicrous coincidences, but via the credible reactions of each character to the actions of the others.

"[Consider Juliet.]... we empathise not just with her predicament, but with her rational manner of coping with it.  And that is why we are so touched with the tragedy of her death."

-Ned Halley, Page xiii of this publication

Here's the thing: Mr. Halley gives these words a delighted air, as if this resonance with the reader is a unique and uncommon trait.  Perhaps in Shakespeare's time it was.  But I would contend that empathy with the main character(s) goes far beyond 'delightful' in contemporary publiction - it's essential.

I could make all kinds of quips regarding Mr. Halley's observation that Shakespeare's characters speak "...as you would expect anyone to do in the circumstances..." but you and I both know what he actually meant by that:

Whatever world your characters inhabit, whatever language or colloqialisms they use, whatever creatures they may encounter, it is imperative that you bring to them an element of humanity that is common to us all.

When we're told to Write What You Know that doesn't mean one must become an expert in swordsplay to write a convincing Knight (though that may come in handy).  It means a writer's job is to identify the most common element at the core of your protagonist (and his / her opponents) which anyone can recognize.

Feelings.

(I.e. If that was me, I'd feel that way too.)

As my Writer Swami puts it:

"...thought it is the writer's world the reader enters, there are all sorts of opportunities for confusion.  Too often, the writer falls into the trap of writing about things--about sex, about violence, about scenery, about war, about domestic bliss or discord.  Historical fact or clinical detail overwhelm him.  The implications and evaluations, tacit in his thinking, never quite reach the reader. 

"In brief, although his work may on the face of it be cast rigidly in story form, it isn't actually fiction.  For a story is never really about anything.  Always it concerns someone's reactions to what happens: his feelings, emotions, impulses, dreams, ambitions, clashing drives and inner conflicts.  The external serves only to bring them into focus.... as the old rule-of-thumb has it, 'Every story is somebody's story."

-Dwight V. Swain, Page 43 of this publication

In other words... it isn't the words about your fabricated world that draw a reader in.  It is what you know of people.  Of feelings.  Of the human condition.  Using the focal character, you draw a picture of a world and a set of circumstances that - if the reader were in it - would evoke great emotion.

You then attribute those feelings to your focal character.  And create reactions within them and to them that also resonate for the reader.

In short, you make sure your characters act like real people... even if they speak like fourteenth-century soap-opera stars.

I may not be a swashbuckling wench with a serpent tattoo, but if you place me firmly in the head and heart of a buxom young lass who demonstrates a humanity I can recognize, I'll feel like I am.

That is what I think it means to write what you know.  Search yourself.  Search your heart.  Search your life - and observe the actions and reactions of those you love.  Understand how you feel and why, then attribute those same feelings, reactions and conclusions to your characters.  Your reader will love you for it - even if it means empathizing with a demon-blasting immortal, or a narcisistic Emperess. 

Your Turn: What other tips have you found useful to successfully deliver 'writing what you know' in fantasy genres?
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2011 Debut Author Lauren DeStefano

My son is sick and having surgery tomorrow (minor), so I'm taking a week off real blogging.  In the meantime, check out this fabuloso advice (and coolio Kittehs) from White Hot YA Author Lauren DeStefano:

See you in a few days.

(And if you want more from Lauren you can find her here and here).

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How Do You Know When Your Book is Cooked (The Revival)

A funny thing happened here on my blog:  I was wrong.

Now, now, before you go gettin' all quivery...

Last year, after an extensive round of edits with my agent that whipped my manuscript into the best shape it had been at that point (and during which time several editors asked to read it *gulp*) I wrote a post on how to know if your book is cooked.

Except, the problem was, my book wasn't.  So editors who were 'very excited about the premise', turned it down. 

It just wasn't ready.

(If you want to see why I'm eating humble-pie, check out this post, then come back here.  I'll wait....)

*Facepalm*

Now, from what I gather, I'm not the first author to have experienced this.  But it taught me something really important:

I'll probably never be finished until the book is on the shelf.  (And, based on listening to a bunch of published authors out there, I'll probably wish I could change it later).

BUT that's kind of the beauty of this industry.  We're always growing, always improving, always learning new skills (or should be). 

I think the question you, me and everyone else who's writing should ask is: Have I got the right recipe?  Whether the next step is revision, querying agents, submission to editors or self-publishing - your book might be as "cooked" as you're capable of getting it right now.  If you find yourself reading through, changing sentences, then reading through and changing them back... you've probably reached your limit. 

So, what next?  How do you know it's ready to move along?

- Find a critique group (especially with someone more experienced than yourself) and listen to what they have to say, even if it hurts.

- Read a Really Good Fiction Craft Book.

- Put the manuscript aside for a couple of months and write something else, then come back to read with fresh eyes.

- Read another Really Good Fiction Craft Book.

- *CAUTION: USE WITH CARE*: Approach any professional contacts you might have and ask their advice.

The point is, even published authors haven't 'finished' a book until it's been through several rounds of editing.  We-The-Aspiring's can't really expect to reach that level without professional help.  The trick is to recognize when you've taken it as far as you can for now, then employ one of these techniques (or any others you can come up with).  And the key to making any of these actually useful is a willingness to consider criticism as a springboard for improvement, rather than a failure of epic proportions.

Your Turn: Is your manuscript ready to move on?  What helped you feel confident of that?
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Confessions of a Classics Loather

My name is Aimee and I'm a literary neanderthal.

It has been twelve weeks since I last throttled myself with classic fiction...

*Ahem*.

Okay, so the truth is a lot of classic fiction bores me, while most poetry makes me want to slit my wrists (or something less dramatic, but equally vehement).

However, there are writers in the contemporary world who I think aren't given their dues. They take my breath away with their ability to paint a picture with words. They evoke emotion and put me so firmly in their shoes that I feel like, just for a moment, we inhabit the same skin.

Here are brief snippets from two of them. (Ten points if you can name their pseudonyms without Google or clicking the links):

I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like. And right now it’s a steel knife in my windpipe. I can't breathe, but I still fight while I can fight. As long as the wrong feels right it's like I'm in flight - high off of love, drunk from my hate.

It's like I'm huffing paint and I love it.

The more that I suffer, I suffocate. And right before I’m about to drown she resuscitates me. She hates me and I love it.

Wait…

-M. B. Mathers

Day after day, love turns grey like the skin of a dying man. Night after night, we pretend it’s all right. But I have grown older and you have grown colder and nothing is very much fun anymore.

I can feel one of my turns coming on. I feel cold as a razor blade, tight as a tourniquet, dry as a funeral drum.

Run to the bedroom! In the suitcase on the left you'll find my favorite axe. Don't look so frightened. This is just a passing phase - one of my bad days.

Would you like to watch T.V.? Or get between the sheets? Or contemplate the silent freeway? Would you like something to eat? Would you like to learn to fly?

Would you like to see me try?

Would you like to call the cops? Do you think it's time I stopped?

Why are you running away?

-G. R. Waters

Your Turn: Wow me with a brief sample from someone you think goes unheralded as a fabulous writer in these days and times.
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The Mind Boggles

Okay... I promise when I wrote the blog on pricing an e-book the other day, I didn't see this coming.

In fact, though I read a fabulous blog from Bob Mayer  last year on this very subject, I really didn't expect to see it happen for another year or more... and yet...

It's happening now.

Have you seen this folks?  For my money, it's possibly - nay!  Likely - the future of publishing because (I suspect) if it's done properly it will strike the near-perfect balance between professionalism and creative license.

I'm talking about Agents becoming Consultants to Self-Publishing clients.

Yes, you read that right.  (If you don't believe me, read the links above and this and this).

Read them, then come back to the next post 'cos I'll be looking for THOUGHTS FROM YOU when I've had time to digest. In the meantime, Refer to the subject line above...

Your Turn: Does this affect who you would apply to for agenting services?  Does it affect your opinion on self-publishing vs. traditional?

Value Pricing - One for Self-Pubbers

I took a bunch of flack for my previous posts on self-publishing in which I criticized the business model.  I think most self publishing authors thought I was hiding a derision for the industry behind a business-minded opinion piece.

They were wrong.

Self publishing has been on my radar for years and I think it can be done, when it's done well.  But I also think it's (currently) difficult and costly to do well.  Also, rife with potential hiccups that could have far-reaching consequences for an author's career.

But just to prove that I have actually seriously considered the issue, and to maybe help out anyone with the gonads to give it a shot , I'll tell you one of the things I would do, if I were going to do it.

Assuming you can overcome the obstacles I see in the process to self-publication, there's a very, very big business decision to be made:

$$  Price  $$

I see a lot of hubbub out there right now about the $1 e-book.  I can see why authors would do it, and I can see why readers would buy it.  It's really a no-risk purchase for a reader - which in turn equates to more sales for the writer. 

Win-win?

Hmmm... I'm thinking that depends on what you want out of your writing career.


Quick Marketing Lesson

I'm not going to get into the intricacies here, but I want to put a concept in front of you:

When a reader pays a price for a product, their perception is that the product is worth that much.  That means:

1.  If they want something and it costs too much, their perception is that they're being screwed over and they will look for other ways to find the product cheaper or a cheaper alternative. 

2. If they need something and it's cheaper than expected, their perception is that they got a bargain.

Agreed?

But here's the problem:

Last Tuesday, Joe Bookbuyer purchased Ty Roth's So Shelly in hardcover for $29.95.  He read the book and liked it.  Feels like he got himself value for money.... Until he found out that Neighbor Jane also bought So Shelly in hardcover last Tuesday.  But she only paid $22.95.

Suddenly, Joe's perception of value is under attack.  Now, if he loved the book, maybe he'd be philosophical.  But regardless, what do you think Joe's going to do next time he hears about a book coming out?  Chances are, he'll be headed for the outlet Neighbor Jane used - or looking for a supplier who'll give him the product at the reduced price.

And if he can't find it at the reduced price, he's going to perceive that he's paying more than necessary for the product.

(NOTE: I'm simplifying to illustrate the point.  Value is based on more variables than price-point alone - With books it would including timing, hard / soft / digital cover, extras, special editions, etc).

We can debate the big box stores vs. indepedent or online retailers, but that's not my point.  My point is: when you price a product, you create an expectation.

Now, let's apply the Value Pricing equation to e-books:


Hypothetical Pricepoint Dilemma-Slash-Unexpected-Consequence

Author Shelly Noname has written a book and decides to release it herself via Indiepub.  Because no one knows who she is and she's happy to build a readership over time, she prices her book at $1.

She sells a few, starts to get some good reviews.  Sales take off.  Her first book sells 1,300 copies and nets her $1,000.

Author Shelly Noname is laughing all the way to the bank, right?

She writes the sequel and it sells 1,200 copies (along with an extra 500 for the first book).  Author Shelly Noname is stoked.

She's starting to get some buzz on Twitter, a few author interviews and fans cropping up.  After a few months of this (with steady, though not significant sales), she gets yet another comment from a fan about how the book is worth so much more than $1. 

So, figuring she's got a good base at this piont, she puts the price up to $9.99.  Sales slow dramatically, but on numbers she's still making the same, or maybe even a little bit more money, so she leaves it there.

But a week or two later the reviews start coming in and Author Shelly Noname notices something...

Where the vast majority of her reviews before were 4 or 5 stars, now she's got a buttload of 3 stars and a healthy sprinkling of 1's and 2's.

Figuring it's just a blip, she presses on, releasing the third book in the trilogy at the new $9.99 pricepoint.

Sales are downright low.  Reviews - when they come - are average across the board.  And those 'average' reviews are gaining momentum on the first two books which used to get raved about.

Q: What happened?  

A:The customer's perception of value was impinged.

Let's cut to the chase: In these days and times, anything you can get for $1 is a nothing.  There's no risk.  There's no perceived value.  If you can get something for $1 that is even marginally good, you're going to rave about it.  It's a bargain!  It might as well have been free.

Now apply that to a book and you've got  a recipe for fandom.   If you give people any amount of pleasure for a buck, they're going to (figuratively) kiss you on both cheeks and tell everyone you're a demigod.

Because the perception is that you gave them something for (virtually) nothing.

But as soon as the price goes up, the customer's expectations changes.  Perceptions of value on $10 are significantly different.  For $10 the customer can buy their favorite author's backlist paperbacks or go to the movies.  If your book doesn't at least punch at a similar weight (i.e. a long, enjoyable reading experience, or a couple of hours of good, pure entertainment), perception is that it wasn't value for money.

Simply put: If your book cost $5, it needs to be at least half as good as the customer's favorite to break even.

You can pretend this isn't true, but you won't be doing yourself any favors.  Go find some reviews on Goodreads for books sold at that pricepoint (or books offered on special for a short time).  You'll see comments like "A bargain at $1" or "I wouldn't have bought it for $15, but at $1.99 I thought it was really good...)

I'm not making this up.

So, my advice (for what it's worth) is this:  If you are happy to sell your product at $0.99 or $1.99 for the rest of your days, and you have the means to market it, go for it.  It's your very best chance for success.  If you can drum up some word-of-mouth publicity at that price, you'll go global.

But your book has to be good.  Not just 'pretty good for a buck'.  It needs to be Something-Incredible-For-Virtually-Nothing good.  That's what will get people excited so they tell their friends to buy it. 

A five star review on a $1 book is not created equal to a five star review on a $15 book. 

The audiences are different.  The expectations are different.  The equation is different.

If you're self-pubbing, you've either got to punch above your weight, or price below your value.  And don't put your price up until that fanbase is fanatical.

The good news?  Word on the street is that if you can achieve that, Traditional Publishing is listening.

Your Turn:  How does pricepoint affect your buying?  What's the difference between a book you wait for paperback release, and one you shell out for in hardcover?
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Digital Doom? Nay!

Today I'll be speaking with conviction.  Consider yourself warned.

Every time I read writer blogs announcing the death of the print book, it kind of makes me want to bust a cap in someone's nether-regions.

The print book is not dead.  It is not even dying.  Bear with me:

As writers are are, necessarily, surrounded by people in the publishing industry.  Particularly online we are drawn to like-minded folks.  We read blogs by agents, editors, writers who work in the publishing industry professionally.  We join writer groups (online or real-life) with other writers.  We network with authors on Twitter and Facebook and yadda, yadda, yadda.  You get the picture.

But these are the very people who are most likely to purchase e-readers, to use them on a daily basis, and to recommend them to friends. 

Sitting in a room full of writers, reading an agent's blog, or chatting with your writer group is a great way to survey a slice of the publishing-population pie.

But your results are not indicative of the actual population.

As writers we live in a publishing bubble and we need to stop thinking our contact with e-readers and e-books reflects the average Joe Citizen.

Our perceptions of market saturation are skewed because we come in contact with a variety of people whose personal and professional interests make them early-adopters of the digital technology.

If you don't believe me, go to a park.  Sit on a plane.  Walk through a library - or a school!  Count the e-readers on the bus in the morning.

There's no doubt e-readers and digital books have a presence.  But there's also no doubt they are in no danger of taking over.

Check out this blog post from Chip MacGregor - Publisher's Marketplace 2009 Top Agent (by sales) - from this year's BEA.  Among other things, he states:

"Amazon just announced that they’re selling 105 e-books for every 100 printed books. So yes, digital titles are outselling printed titles. But… that’s a bit of a tricky fact. Amazon will sell anything you choose to stick into a digital file (your company’s annual report, your seminar files, your class notes), so not every e-book they’re selling is really a “book.”"  (From the Author: I'd also like to add that as an online retailer, Amazon has a much greater digital focus than most bookstores, which is important because of the next quote)


...and...

"...A study here revealed only 6% of people who buy a book were satisfied by their online browsing experience… so 94% of readers want another way to view books. Which means the bookstore still matters. Now everybody is trying to figure out how to make money turning bookstores into showrooms."


Need more?  How about our desire to see the digital world the way we want to:

A couple days back I read a story from one writer who'd purchased an e-reader for his elder father for Christmas.  Aforementioned Elderly-Dad recently told Writer-Son how surprised he was to enjoy reading on his e-reader - particularly the functionality which made the font larger and easier to read.

Writer-Son's conclusion?  (Paraphrased): "If the old folks are getting into it, then you know it's taking over."

Um... sorry, but if you purchased the e-reader for him, he isn't actually the consumer.  I have no doubt he'll read more digital books now, but I don't think it logically follows that the elderly about to stage a market takeover.

And that's my point: Writers and those connected to the publishing industry are advocates for this product.  They're buying them, using them, giving them as gifts, etc, etc.  If we only look through the filter of the people around us, we aren't being realistic about these products.

Remember that post where I said I have a background in branding and marketing? My short-but-eye-opening time working with a branding visionary taught me many things... but the single most important fact was this:


Branding / Marketing / Advertising is all about perception.  When it comes to purchasing decisions fact and truth are moot. What matters is what the purchaser believes to be true about the product and their need for it.
 
So if you want to believe E-Readers are taking over the world, you're going to look at the world that way.  You're going to notice the e-books and e-readers around you because you're hyper-sensitive.  You're going to find room in your budget for a product that to you seems very important.
 
But there's a massive portion of the population who don't know or care about e-readers or e-books.  Yet they're still buying books.
 
The print book is not dying.
 
It is not.
 
It is not.
 
It is not.
 
Your Turn:  Do you believe the print book is dying?  Why?