Paul's Links for Writers and Authors
This section contains links I have put together for writers and authors, whether they are writing about sex, solitude, the weather, Spanish history or anything else under the sun. I have organized these links into the following sections:
1. Publishing Contracts (between authors and publishers)
2. How to Write a Book Proposal
3. Dan Poynter
4. Making a Contract with Your Co-Author
5. Ghost Writing & Work for Hire (Hiring a ghostwriter, work for hire, contracts, etc.)
6. Fair Use, permission and copyright violation
7. Trademark: Selecting and Protecting the Title of Your Book
8. How To Write A Compelling Query Letter
9. How To Find a Literary Agent
10. Turning Thoughts into Books
11. Marketing Tips on Amazon
12. Interview Release Forms
13. Paul’s Perspective on The Current State of the Publishing Industry
And here they are:
1. Publishing Contracts (between authors and publishers):
Negotiating Your Book Contract: 20 "Must" Topics to Talk About By Brenda Warneka
Negotiating Book Contract Terms and Royalties Morris Rosenthal raises some important issues in this article on his FonerBooks publishing blog.
2. How to Write a Book Proposal
The Book Proposal: Tips for Writing a Winning Book Proposal by Chris Webb
How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal by Annette Fix
How to Write a Great Non-Fiction Book Proposal by the Shepard Agency
Book Proposals: What Should My Book Proposal Contain? by William Cane
Writing The Blockbuster Book Proposal: How To Sell Your Non-Fiction Book by Britt Gillette
The Nonfiction Book Proposal by June Cotner
The Fiction Book Proposal by June Cotner
Formatting, Packaging and Mailing Your Book Proposal by June Cotner
How to Research Competitive Books for Your Nonfiction Book Proposal by June Cotner
3. Dan Poynter--Friend of the Author and Guru of All Things Self-Published
Dan Poynter’s Website Be sure to sign up for Dan’s free monthly Publishing Poynters.
Dan Poynter’s Self Publishing Manual If you are considering publishing of any kind, whether being published by Random House or self-publishing, I highly recommend this book by Dan Poynter, which many of us consider to be The Self-Publishing Bible.
Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 2: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book
4. Making a Contract with Your Co-Author
Author Vs Co-Author By Debra Shiveley Welch
Collaboration Agreements in the Publishing Industry By Lloyd J. Jassin and and CopyLaw.com
Sample Author Collaboration Agreement from Adler & Robin Books, Inc.
Co-Author Issues in Book Contracts by Ivan Hoffman
5. Ghost Writing & Work for Hire (Hiring a ghostwriter, work for hire, contracts, etc.)
Ghostwriting Contract Tips by Jeff Smith and Info Product Marketing Insider Tips and News
How To Go About Negotiating a Writing Contract by Julie Ann Amos
The Ghostwriting Contract by Laura College
6. Fair Use, permission and copyright violation
Ten Common Copyright Permission Myths By Attorney Lloyd J. Jassin and CopyLaw.com
Fair Use in a Nutshell: A Practical Guide to Fair Use By Attorney Lloyd J. Jassin and CopyLaw.com
How to Obtain Permission to Use Copyrighted Material by June Cotner
7. Trademark: Selecting and Protecting the Title of Your Book
8. How To Write A Compelling Query Letter
How To Write A Compelling Query Letter by Wendy Keller on the WomenOnWriting.com website
Query Letters to Agents by June Cotner
Query Letters: Ten Ways to Hook a Literary Agent by Lisa Silverman on the WomenOnWriting.com website
9. How To Find a Literary Agent
How to Find a Literary Agent for a Book Proposal by William Cane
How to Get a Literary Agent by Michael Larsen
How to Find a Literary Agent by June Cotner
Your Contract with a Literary Agent Must read advice by Daniel Steven that any author should read before signing a contract with a literary agent.
10. Turning Thoughts into Books
Writing Nonfiction, 4th Edition: Turning Thoughts into Books by Dan Poynter
11. Marketing Tips on Amazon
12. Interview and Photo Release Forms:
The Interview Release by Ivan Hoffman
Interview Release Form of the Univeristy of Illinois Press
Photo Release Form of The Mortar Board at Kent State University
13. Paul’s Perspective on The Current State of the Publishing Industry
As some of you might know, no credible publisher in America would publish the first edition of the "Guide To Getting It On," so I published it myself. The Goofy Foot Press that I started is now one of the few self-sustaining one-book publishing houses in the country.
If you are a prospective author, two possible ways to go are self publishing and having your book published by an established publishing house:
Self Publishing: If you have a specific purpose for publishing your book, such as wanting to do so for your customers, clients or for the sheer joy of it, then self publishing might a good way to go. If so, be sure to read just about everything on Dan Poynter’s website. Dan is truly the self-publisher’s guru.
If the reason you want to self-publish is because you are looking to quit your day job and make a living from your book, be prepared to go way into debt and to spend at least 12 hours a day 7 days a week for the next couple of years creating, managing and running your publishing company. Even then, good luck given the current state of the publishing world (I’ve listed my reasons for caution below).
If you are an author and have already had an offer from a publisher: I can’t encourage you enough to read as much as you can on publishing before signing anything. Again, Dan Poynter should have helpful information for you. I would also STRONGLY encourage you to speak with a publishing attorney such as Lloyd Jassin before signing any contracts. I can’t tell you how often I hear from colleagues who have written perfectly good books only to have had them mismanaged by publishers who you’d think would know better. An author has little recourse once he or she signs a typical boilerplate contract.
Authors also have the fantasy that their books will magically sell once they are published. They don’t realize that for their book to become successful, they will need to spend almost as much time publicizing it as they would if they had self-published. Unfortunately, they often have their hands tied behind their backs if their publisher teams them with an overwhelmed or lazy publicist. Rarely will a publisher put in the time and effort required to give a book a chance to become successful.
Authors need to research and learn how their book can be successfully promoted. They need to discuss this ahead of time with their prospective publisher, and this needs to be built into the contract they sign with their publisher. For instance, if an author is a well-established member of two or three professional organizations, it makes sense that the publisher send a flyer to the members of the organizations notifying them of the upcoming release. It also makes sense that the publisher send review copies of the book to the professional journals in the author’s field. But just because it makes sense, don't assume a publisher will do it unless you have a signed agreement ahead of time. On the other hand, authors who expect their publisher to send them on book-signing tours or to purchase ads in newspapers and journals are not being realistic. (Unless the author’s name is a household word, neither of these are cost effective ways of selling books.)
If you are an author but don’t have an agent or publisher: Read everything you can about the publishing industry. I would also encourage you to read the articles I’ve linked to about finding an agent and making a book proposal. Also, know your potential audience and how to reach them. If you write for a specific audience, search for publishers who specialize in that area.
The Current State of Book Publishing
In the 13 years since I published the first edition of the Guide To Getting It On, the publishing industry has changed dramatically. It is currently in its biggest transition since a goldsmith named Guttenberg invented movable type in 1440.
No one is quite sure where publishing will land. What we do know is that people today want their information in short bursts and they don't want to pay for it. As a consumer, I'm no different; unless it is highly specialized information or there is something compelling about it, I expect to get it for free. But I also know that real journalists can't survive without being paid, writers can't live without an income and authors can't live without royalties. How the writers of the future will get paid remains a serious and unanswered question.
As a self-publisher, I have some idea of how crucial it is to get good value for your marketing dollars and how to use every publishing dollar wisely. So I think an author needs to be very realistic about publicity and promotion.
I can't tell you how many publishers have published book after book without supporting or publicizing the books--leaving most of their titles to die in remainder bins--while throwing millions of dollars at celebrity authors who can no more pen their own pages than the man on the moon. I have seen publishers overnight entire pallets of books to book stores for book signings--imagine the cost of overnighting a thousand pounds of books--when the people who work in the book store say they don’t expect more than 50 people to show up for the signing.
And then there’s the retail book market. Ours is the only industry where the retail book stores--now mostly made up of the chains--can send back unsold books (often in damaged condition or way out of date) and get a full refund from the publishers. The publishers are then left having to pulp the books, eating the cost of having printed them and having shipped them. But that's how the system works, and now the chains are wondering why publishers are flocking to digital media where there are no returns? The book store chains' insistence on slamming publishers with returns has kept even the best run of publishers from being able to build up the kind of reserves a business needs to stay in business.
Amazon has been a savior of sorts, because they rarely slam publishers with returns. On the other hand, Amazon has created an difficult situation for the brick and mortar book stores. That’s because people use their local Barnes and Noble as a library and then go home and order their books more cheaply from Amazon. (You mean to say you've never done this?) Then the unsalable books in the bookstores get returned to the publishers who have to give the stores full credit. So both Barnes and Noble and the publisher are quietly subsidizing a lot of Amazon sales.
Also, you wouldn't believe how much it costs the publisher in promotional charges to have a book placed in a bookstore location where you can actually see it, or have it pop up on Amazon when you are looking at a similar title.
This is only the most cursory of descriptions of what’s going on in the book world, but hopefully it will give you an idea of how challenging book selling has become. It will be interesting to see where the world of publishing ends up in the next decade.
Again, this is only my personal opinion and I can't tell you how many times I've been wrong in the past.
