editing

The 2016 Publishing Shift

Hershman Rights18 Comments

In any industry, there is such a vast amount of knowledge that you should know in order to be successful in it. Knowing what’s ‘in’, what’s ‘out’, what’s ‘hot’, and what’s ‘not’ is essential. Publishing is one of those industries, for better or worse. It’s exciting to watch the publishing market evolve over time, but it can also leave you staring at your computer screen asking yourself, “Wait, when did that become a thing?” In publishing, trends happen fast and we need to be able to catch them while they are still here. Lucky for us publishing professionals and authors, we have awesome people sifting through this information for us- like the wonderful people at Written Word Media. They have read through all the most important articles (like those by Mark Coker Jane Friedman, and Joanna Penn) about the publishing industry going into 2016 for us. I wish everything was this easy. Here’s the ten most important publishing trends to keep your eye on this coming year:

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  1. The indie market is still growing.

Indie authors make up 20% of the publishing industry- that’s actually a pretty big number it’s only continuing to grow each day. Indie authors have proved that consumers care about pricing. Just because your book is priced low, doesn’t mean you aren’t going to make money. Lower prices entice more readers. Indie’s have pricing flexibility that traditional publishers do not have and that has played a key role to their success.

2. Amazon is asking for better quality. 

Starting February 3rd, Amazon is taking down any books that include any reported typos, grammatical errors, or other mistakes with formatting etc. until the author fixes them. Amazon has been a great outlet for authors to get their work published. Anyone can publish anything they want, which I have always been a fan of. But, that has led to a lot of sub-par books being put out on the market for consumption and readers aren’t happy with that. Would you be happy with a new car that stalled out every couple minutes? I don’t think so. So, why should a reader be happy with a book that has an error every other sentence? It’s distracting and unattractive. To learn more about what will happen if Amazon does this to your book and how you can avoid it, check out the full article for yourself. They give some helpful tips.

3. You need to be mobile friendly.

Almost everyone searches the internet on their cell phones. Smart phone cell phone usage has risen 392% between 2010-2014 and I don’t think that number is getting any smaller any time soon. If your website is not mobile friendly, it’s going to be very hard for your fans to navigate and they are likely not going to come back then they can get their hands on an actual computer. It’s estimated that about 60% of your visitors will be using a mobile device- that’s a lot!

4. Amazon KDP is a love-hate relationship for many.

Amazon is always rolling out new programs for their authors. Some are met with enthusiasm and others… not so much. KDP Select is one of those programs that I keep hearing mixed reviews about. Many authors enrolled in the programs are seeing that burrows are taking place of actual sales, but the marketing efforts that Amazon offers authors in the program are proving to be effective. Authors are seeing that these promotions are increasing sales, as well as burrows. Authors are left to weigh what’s more important to them- the sales or the marketing. Authors who aren’t in the KDP program are left to fend for themselves on the marketing side of things. If you aren’t experienced in marketing, or just don’t have the time, you aren’t going to get as many sales on your own if you can’t put in the initial leg work.

5. Free book promotions sell series.

Offering one of your books for free can be a scary thing. But research has showed that it’s a very effective marketing tool. A Smashwords survey reported that a series (of three books or more) that has the first book free sold more copies than other series. It has also been found that 45-55% of readers who downloaded a free book have gone on to purchase other work by the author. Sometimes a little risk leads to a big reward.

6. E-mail marketing drives sales.

Both publishers and authors are investing more and more time into building their own e-mail lists. E-mail marketing is so effective because you know you are hitting a targeted group of consumers who care about what you have to say and what you have to offer- they were the ones that signed up for your newsletter in the first place.

7. Physical book sales are rising. 

It’s time to focus our attention back on print books, which is why many indie authors are now interested in finding traditional publishers. The rising print market is making it worth it for them, giving traditional publishers the advantage on this one. There really is nothing better than holding a book in your hand and sitting back for a relaxing afternoon.

8. The international market shouldn’t be ignored. 

The United States and Canada only make up 30% of readers consuming e-books. The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and Italy are creeping closely behind.

9. Coloring and erotic romances for the win. 

Adult coloring books and erotica continue to flood the publishing market. Erotica romances have been hanging in there for a few years now and it doesn’t look like it’s going away for 2016 either. The coloring book trend has proved that maybe we all need to relax a little bit more. We will see more big things for the trend before it dies.

10. Being an indie author has become a choice.

Many indie authors aren’t self-publishing because they can’t get a traditional publishing deal, but rather because it makes more financial sense for them. Readers are starting to realize that and are taking more chances on indie authors. There are so many awesome books out there that aren’t getting the recognition they deserve because they are ‘indie.’ Fortunately for these authors, an important and inevitable shift is occurring. Being an indie author is something to proud of.

That’s a wrap on what’s ‘hot’ and what’s ‘not’ for 2016. Publishers have a lot to learn from the indie world, and vice versa. 2016 is going to be the start of some more major shifts in the publishing industry and I am excited to be a part of it.

Write on.

Why Writers Read

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One concept that I have mentioned frequently throughout this blog is that in order to improve your writing you need to be reading. Your best learning tool is other authors. The key to successful learning through reading is to venture outside your writing genre. There is so much to be learned from writing that is different from what you normally indulge in and most importantly, what you typically write. I have offered up this advice many times before, but I never really explained why it’s so important. In order to reap all the potential benefits, you need to know why you are doing what you are doing, what the benefits are, how it’s going to help you improve, and what you should be looking out for. It’s easy for me to spit out ‘meaningless’ advice to you, but understanding the advice and how to take full advantage of it is going to make all the difference. Since 2016 is the year of change, we need to start understanding our own writing and why we do what we do on a whole different level.

I have to be honest, I love Bustle. They always seem to have the right advice for me right when I need it the most. The advice they offer up is very accessible and it’s actually fun to read. Once again, Bustle came to my rescue with a recent article about… wait for it… why we should read outside our genre and its benefits. It sums up, for me, the three major reasons we should all diversify our reading list a bit more.

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  1. Reading outside your genre is a form of priceless research.

Successful research takes a mediocre book/story line and turns it into a masterpiece. We all want to believe what we are reading. We all want the story to seem possible- either in our world or in some extraterrestrial universe. Research brings reality to your writing. Just because you write romances, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t read some medical non-fiction books or medical thrillers to bring that heart wrenching hospital scene to life. If you write science fiction, try your hand at some romances to learn how to take that budding relationship between your two main characters from platonic to sexual. Learning how other authors describe and present certain areas that you are struggling with is a priceless tool. You can read countless articles on how to make a steamy hot sex scene, but immersing yourself in the literature yourself is the best thing you can do. Not only will you learn things that you should do in your own writing, but you will also discover things that you shouldn’t do along the way as well.

2. Reading outside your genre will reveal your strengths, as well as your weaknesses. 

All authors have their signature writing tone that many of their fans identify with. Having a distinct style that readers can rely on is part of successful writing career. Readers are drawn to your writing for a certain reason and you need to make sure you give it to them every time. Reading outside your genre can put you more in tune with your signature tone, you will quickly realize which authors are similar to you and which must be writing on a completely different planet. You learn what’s working for them and perhaps try to incorporate it into your own writing. Most importantly, you also learn what your own writing is lacking. You likely aren’t going to change your tone completely and I don’t think you should, but incorporating different styles and tones into your stories leads to more layered and entertaining writing and reading. Varying tones can take a one dimensional piece and convert it into a three-dimensional piece of glory. Spice your writing up a bit and throw your readers for a loop every once in a while.

3. Reading outside your genre will teach you different ways to captivate your audience.

As important as a signature writing style is, we never want to become predictable or boring. We don’t want to start every chapter the same way or end each book with the same resolution. Reading different genres teaches you how different authors create exciting scenes, introduce new characters, create tension, and demonstrate emotion. You know, all that important stuff that makes for a great story. There are a million ways to do exactly the same thing, which is what makes writing so awesome. You can essentially read the same scene by a thousand different authors and feel like it’s fresh new content every time. Reading outside your genres teaches you to diversify your writing in a way that will never be coined as predictable.

Write on. Or perhaps this time, read on.

Creating Your 2016 Action Plan

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The new year always brings lots of talk about goals. We often get so wrapped up in where we want to go this year that we forget that we need an action plan in order to get there. It’s great that you want your book to land on the New York Times bestseller list, but how are you going to get it there? It’s most likely not going to appear there by itself. That would just be too easy. Once you have your goals lined up, next step is to create a plan. Formulate tools that are going to help you reach those goals. A good action plan turns goals into reality.

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This afternoon I came across an article on Poynter that handed out some pretty refreshing suggestions for productive writing. Sometimes the action plan seems so overwhelming that we quickly start to doubt that we will even make it past step two. That’s why I loved this article so much, it makes productivity sound easy. The article provides five doable solutions to having a productive writing year. It’s something we can all do without too much hassle. It makes our goals seem within our reach, which is half the battle. We need to believe in ourselves before others will. While creating your 2016 action plan, try incorporating some of these tools:

  1. Create a to-morrow list.

Slim down your “to-do” list every night. Make a smaller list of 3-5 things that you know you will be able to accomplish tomorrow. Often there are many pending jobs left on our ever expanding “to-do” lists that we constantly have the nagging feeling that we are doing so much but we aren’t moving anywhere. Feel your progress with shorter lists meant for success. Tomorrow never felt so good.

2. Dream Big.

This one might just be my favorite. 2016 is the year of big changes. Big changes means big goals. Take a moment to picture your wildest dream ever. Don’t be afraid to get a little crazy with it. Draw a quick picture of your ultimate success and hang it in your work space. Yes, I said it- draw. It doesn’t need to be the next Picasso, but visual reminders are often the most effective. A take a look at that drawing every day before you get to work. Use that energy to make your day the most productive it can be.

3. Build your own ladder. 

Create your action plan in chronological order. Start from the bottom and work your way up. What needs to happen before you can take the next step? Don’t get ahead of yourself. Live within the moment and savor every step of the journey.

4. Just do it. 

We can only plan so much before we want to rip our hair out. Sometimes we just need to sit down and write. Get all your thoughts out of paper then go back and revise, polish, revise, polish. In order to create something, you need to have a product. Get your baseline product done early so you have the most amount of time possible to make it the best version of your product out there.

5. Set a timer. 

It’s really easy to feel overwhelmed when writing, especially when nothing seems to be working out the way we had envisioned. Work in smaller spurts. Set a timer between 30 minutes to a couple hours. Work until the buzzer goes off, then take a break. If you are really feeling what you are writing, keep going. If not, it’s the perfect opportunity to hit the reset button.

Happy writing! Write On.

New Year, New Writing

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I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season and a very happy new year! I cannot believe it’s already 2016, where does the time go (like, for real)? The start of each year gives everyone the perfect opportunity to take a moment out of their busy schedules to reflect on what has happened over the past year, what they accomplished, what they didn’t get to do, and what they want to change for the coming year. This is a really great time for writers to sit down and think about where they want to go with their work. Are you  happy with your current success? Do you need to make any major changes to make yourself more successful? Is there something new you have always been dying to try? Do you want to write more or less? Do you want to try your hand at shorter or longer works? The new year isn’t just the perfect time to reinvent yourself, it’s also the perfect time to reinvent your writing.

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If you are looking for a little new year inspiration, I came across a fun article on Business 2 Community this afternoon that gives some ideas for writer’s new year resolutions. Hopefully these suggestions will help inspire you to make your own changes. Change is the only way to continually see the results we want. If we become stagnant and comfortable, soon enough our ‘luck’ will run out.

  1. Write that ‘thing’ you have always been talking about. 

The best new year’s resolution for a writer is to stop talking and start writing. We all have that something that we have always talked about writing, but for whatever reason we haven’t picked up the pen yet. We may have even written countless other stories in the meantime, but that one project just can’t seem to make it’s way to fruitation. Think about what’s holding you back and throw that negativity out the window. 2016 is all about action and change, make it happen so you can move onto the next thing on that growing bucket list of yours.

2. Visit the places you write about or want to write about. 

The best way to effectively write a scene, chapter, or story is to write from experience. Plan a couple vacations or day trips this year to visit those places you write about. Spend some time writing in those places as well. Visual inspiration is often just the thing we need to bring our writing to life.

3. Read a book that has had a big impact.

Pick up a book that has made a difference. Read a book that has changed history, that has left many readers talking years after it’s publication. Think about why this particular book was so successful. Become part of it’s history and use it to create your own.

4. Learn a foreign language. 

This one is certainly a daring and daunting task, but one that could change the course of your writing forever. Learning how other languages construct sentences, how they use different words, and how they express emotions can open up countless new avenues for your own writing. You don’t need to become fluent is the language, just familiarizing yourself about a particular language’s ‘rules’ will teach you a lot in itself.

5. Study your own writing. 

Look back at what you have written over the past year and learn from it. Is there a particular mistake you catch yourself making over and over again? Are there certain words you use too much? Do you find all your characters to be eerily similar? Make note of the things that have worked well too. Your biggest teacher is often yourself.

Here’s to another great [writing] year! Write on.

Becoming Your Own Editor

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I do a lot of posts about editing on this blog, it’s no secret. To be honest, I have been feeling kind of lost lately because I haven’t done one in a while. There must be something real off in the universe, right? But have no fear, Bustle answered my cry for help this morning. Rachel Krantz reads essay submissions for Bustle and also conducts monthly writing seminars/workshops for their writers and freelancers alike. It is very safe to say that she has completely immersed herself in every part of the writing process, for better or worse. Her last seminar focused on self-editing (insert happy dance here). It is actually one of the more helpful articles I have stumbled upon when it comes to editing, giving me even more of a reason to share it with you.

I don’t want this advice to replace hiring a professional editor. If you have room in your budget to hire professional help, I would still highly recommend it. I’m also in touch with reality enough to know this isn’t possible for everyone, making self-editing one of your prime concerns because you simply don’t have a choice. Whether you are writing a news article, an essay, a short story, or a novel editing can seriously make or break you. You can have an awesome story, but if the reader/editor evaluating your writing can’t get through a few pages (or lines) without finding structural or grammatical errors your writing is automatically going in the ‘trash’ pile. It may not seem fair, but it’s really hard for someone to connect with your writing when all they can think about are the mistakes that keep popping up. Despite if they are easy fixes or not, most editors aren’t going to be willing to work with you if they can’t connect with your story.

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Below you will find some advice from Rachel’s seminar, but you should really check it out for yourself too:

  1. Get your FAME on.

Rachel created an acronym for the process of self-editing before you even start writing, she calls it FAME.

–Free Write: Designate a certain amount of time and just sit down and basically barf up your story in any way, shape, or form possible. Just write whatever comes to mind. Don’t stop and most importantly, don’t think. Just write.

–Account For Your Details: Look for patterns. Words that repeat themselves and themes that keep reoccurring. Highlight those details.

–Map Your Arc: Create a general map of your story. It will be helpful to know where you are starting, what your climax is going to be, and where you will end up.

–Expect An Audience: Figure out who your audience is before you start writing. Also, make an ideal word count. Different forms of writing, different age groups, and different genres all have different ‘ideal’ word counts. It’s best to figure that out before you start writing.

2. Embrace the first edit with questions.

How nice would it be to only have to do one edit and then call it a day? That has to be every writer’s dream, right? Unfortunately, your first edit is going to be one of oh, I don’t know… 100? It might be helpful to approach your first edit with some questions in mind, instead of focusing on just finding the mistakes. I bet there are many areas that could still be developed, cut down, or made clearer. Your first edit is the best place to tackle these problems. That’s why Rachel provides key questions on content, form, and length for you to think about. It’s important to get these issues resolved as early as possible.

3. Walk away.

Once you complete your first edit, walk away from your writing for a few days. Work on something else, treat yourself to a reward, or pick up that book you have been dying to read. Give yourself some time to digest all the work you have done so you will be able to come back to it with a clear mind.

4. Conquer the second edit and so on.

During your second edit, make sure to revisit the same questions you asked yourself during you first edit. Make sure you still feel the same way about them. Rachel also poses some new questions for you to think about to make sure you are still following your original intended track.

5. Recruit a friend.

Ask a friend to read it through. A fresh set of eyes can often save your writing. Sometimes we become blind to the one thing that really needs our attention because we are so busy making sure our overall message is delivered. You might even want to give them the questions that Rachel suggests, so they can think about them while reading.

Self-editing is scary, let’s just admit it. But, with a little help from people who have been there we will be able to get through it, hopefully with the same amount of hair on our head as when we started. Write on.

Make Criticism Feel Good

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One of the hardest parts of writing is the criticism that naturally comes along with it. Perhaps this even holds some of us back a bit. Writing makes you vulnerable. The whole point of writing is to pour your heart out onto the page (for days, months, or even years), put it out there for the world to see, and then wait for the reaction. We all hope for stellar reviews across the board and thousands of copies to be sold. But the reality is that no matter how perfect your writing is, there is always going to be someone who just doesn’t like it. It’s very hard to please everyone and that is one of the first things you need to accept if you are going to have a fulfilling and successful writing career. But, it’s not easy. Those comments hurt and often stick with us for years to come, popping into our mind most often at the worst possible time. Writing isn’t just about becoming a better writer, it’s also about becoming a better version of yourself. Writing teaches us many things and how to handle failure and negative criticism with class is just one of them.

I was so happy to see an article about criticism on Elite Daily yesterday- especially at this time year. Things are starting to wind down and we are starting to look into next year. We start setting our goals for the upcoming months, goals that most likely include more risk being taken and pushing yourself farther than you ever done before. With bigger risks often comes bigger criticism. But don’t worry, it’s not all bad. These pieces of criticism will most likely yield your greatest lessons. Here’s a few things that Merylee Sevilla has learned about enduring criticism.

  1. Critics will always exist.

There is always going to be someone out there that has something negative, no matter how big or small, to say about your work. The most important thing to remember is that they are criticizing you based on their own opinion. There are still many other people out there who absolutely love what you are doing- focus on that.

2. Grow tough skin.

Don’t let other people’s negativity get to you. Instead of feeling down or discouraged, use their criticism as energy. Energy to become a better writer and to perhaps win them over the next time around. Turn negativity into positivity.

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3. Learn how to become innovative.

There’s a lot of criticism out there about not being ‘original’ enough. It’s really hard to be original. With the ease of the internet, more stories are getting published each day than ever before. Take your focus from trying to be ‘original’ and start being ‘innovative.’ Put new spins on stories that have already been done, break the rules a little, and aim to surprise your readers. Innovation is a much more realistic and just as effective goal.

4. Just go for it.

Your biggest regret will be holding back. If you are afraid to publish a story because of the possible criticism that might come along with it, you are missing a huge opportunity. A negative comment might hurt for a few days but the pain of a missed opportunity will never go away. Be brave, be bold, and publish your work as you imagine it to be.

Write on.

The POV Debate

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One of my favorite parts of being a literary agent is getting to work closely with so many talented writers. The best part is being able to collaborate on their latest project together. It’s a privilege, really. I love seeing each individual’s writing process and watching each layer of their work unfold until the final product somehow miraculously declares itself finished. During this process a lot of interesting questions come up. Some questions have straight forward answers. But, it’s not all that easy. One of my authors recently asked me about point of view (POV) for her new series she is working on. This was one of those not so easy questions. Do particular genres have rules about POV? Is dual POV a ‘no-no’? Do POV rules change depending on gender? How about age, does that affect POV too? Are publisher’s looking for a certain POV? See? Not so easy.

At one point, the answer to these questions would probably have been ‘yes.’ Writing used to be more formulated and possessed rules that writer’s dare not break unless they wanted to send their career to an early grave. But now, authors are breaking every possible boundary and are doing so successfully. We aren’t so focused on the rules, but rather our story.

My initial response was ‘no,’ it doesn’t matter. But, out of curiosity I wanted to see what others had to say about it. I came across some general rules. Romance is often written in the third person because love involves more than one person and we want to be able to understand all characters equally. Young adult is written in the first person. You can only switch POV or ‘head hop’ after a scene is complete or a new chapter has arrived. Despite all these said to be ‘rules’ most people came to the same conclusion- it doesn’t matter. Every genre doesn’t have a correct POV, but every story does.

My favorite article I came across was by Alan Rinzler, an experienced book editor. He only has one rule when it comes to POV- does your manuscript work? At the end of the day our goal is to create something that is readable, that keeps readers wanting to come back for more. As long as you can make that happen- anything goes. Crazy and adventurous sells.

I wish I could give you a list of rules here that would solve all your problems and save you hours of brain-numbing torture flip flopping back and forth on your decision, hoping you are making the right one. But after all that’s what writing is all about, right? To help ease the pain, Rinzler provided three basic tips on POV. Maybe it will shed some light on one of your toughest decisions:

  1. Get to know your characters first. Know who your protagonist is and their particular strengths and weaknesses. Does it make sense to tell their story from the inside or the outside?
  2. Don’t give your story away. Whatever POV you choose, craft your story carefully. Don’t tell your readers anything, let them do the discovering for themselves.
  3. Go ahead, break the rules. Of course we all like a reliable narrator, but don’t feel like you need to give your readers one. The best stories end in the most unexpected ways.

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Rinzler also gave some examples of how he has helped authors find the correct POV for their story so if you’re on the POV struggle bus, check it out.

Write on.