Have You Been Thinking About It?

Have you been thinking about hiring me as your publishing coach? For those of you who may not know, one of my areas of expertise is helping authors solidify their publishing plans. Do you understand your options? Do you need some direction in choosing a good path? I can help with all of that. In addition, I do developmental editing as an extra pair of eyes for your non-fiction manuscript, helping to make sure your work is clear, flows well and really speaks to the audience you're trying to reach. Note: I only edit Non-fiction, but coaching is open to most any genre (exceptions are anything considered "adult" or excessively violent).

I truly enjoy doing both of these things and please know that I consider it such an honor to be a part of someone's publishing journey.

Have you been thinking about it? There's no time like the present! It's time to get on the right path and whip that manuscript in tip top shape.

One more thing, my business model is going to be changing over the next few months. It's highly likely that I will not offer the exact same services as I grow and look to serve you in new and exciting ways. If you want one of the basically ala carte' style services I offer now, don't hesitate too long.

Ready to go? Contact me via the Publishing Answers.com contact page and let's get things rolling!


Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

Book Proposal Help from Publishing Company CEO

There's no doubt about it, getting an agent and then getting a publisher to take on your book is becoming harder and harder. One big reason for this is all of the uncertainty that's going on in publishing today. For example, just a few of the questions publishers are wringing their hands over include: What kinds of books will people continue to pay for and what price point will work? Will e-books gain market share and will they help or hurt sales and profits? And of course, the big one, how can we continue to make a profit?

With all that being the case, publishers aren't taking huge risks on unknowns. New writers can still get published (more likely with smaller publishers) just realize the writing has to be top notch and then some. But before anyone will ever notice your writing, your book proposal will have to grab them and make them take interest.

So how do figure out how to do that? CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing Michael Hyatt offers a lot of help in his two e-books that I just discovered. There's one for fiction proposals and one for non-fiction. They're based on decades of experience in the publishing world and his generous spirit. If writing a great book proposal is on your list to do before the year is out I'm sure these books would be worth checking out.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

I just came across this excellent post by Chris Brogan which provides a nice list of how to use sites social media like Facebook or a blog if you have something to promote. Just having a presence and sharing bits and pieces from your day is far from the whole story.

The big take away point is that selling today is mostly about connecting with people. I'm sure you, like your customers, are weary of being bombarded by advertising. It's always been around of course, but with as technology gave us more options, it also gave us the ability to get messages and information, good, bad, useful, useless 24/7/365. We're overwhelmed more often than not. That's why we rarely listen, or give up our valuable attention anymore -unless we connect. That's why "social" media is named the way it is. It's about people connecting to people, sharing what they have to offer and hopefully enriching each other's lives.

How have you used sites like Facebook or Twitter or a blog to connect with your readers and potential readers? Let us know your success stories (however it is you define success).

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

Why Bother?

No matter what kind of book you want to write or have written, at some point in the process you likely had the thought above-why bother? Whether you have a book about Cajun cooking, how to do well on tests, a mystery novel, or a picture book featuring cuddly critters there are hundreds, if not thousands already out there.

Why bother? The short answer is because you're you and nobody else, no one else's voice or story is exactly the same. Two quotes that exemplify this came from two different sources that I respect greatly over the last few days:

1. There are more people out there, waiting to hear from you, who can hear only from you, than you can ever get to in your lifetime- Jeff Herring (Article Marketing & Social Networking expert)

2. People online need and want what you do, the way you do it-Dawud Miracle (Website Consultant, Small Biz Marketing Expert)

So does this mean just because you write your unique whatever it is "they" will come & buy? No, it will still take a lot of hard work, especially on the marketing side because you still have to help your audience find your book/product.

What it does mean though is that your message is needed by someone. Maybe it's one, ten or a thousand people, but someone needs it. Your goal, go find them and tell them.


Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

New Keyword Tool

If you write non-fiction, or if you have a website for your book (you do don't you?), even if it's fiction, I hope you are familiar with the term "keywords". Just in case you aren't, keywords are those words and short phrases people type into search engines. The search engine then looks for them on websites as they try to match a request for information. Keywords are also the basis for the ads that show up on the side of the results page. Basically, in the world of the Internet, keywords are everywhere and if you want to attract visitors you need to have at least a basic grasp of how they work and where/when you need to use them.

Over the years, there have been a variety of tools that help people figure out the most popular keywords are on any given subject. That's important to know because if your website has those popular words in the right places, it will come up high in a search. If you write or post and article on a blog, directory, etc. the same applies.

Today, I found a new tool that works a little differently called Keyword Questions It appears to be a new variation from Wordtracker. It's different in that when you put in a topic or potential keyword, it generates a list of recent questions posed by searchers rather than just phrases.

How does this help you? Type in the topic of your current book or book you're planning to write. Here are just a few ways to use the search results:

1. How many of the popular questions are you addressing? If not many, are you sure people have a need or desire for what you're offering?

2. Pose and answer one or two of the questions within your back cover blurb and use that copy on summary pages on Amazon etc.

3. Make sure your website utilizes the questions or keywords within the questions in the appropriate places including in the text.

4. Even if you write fiction, you may be able to enter locations or other central themes of your book and see what people are talking about and also get blog posts or ideas for hot topics to weave into the story.

What are your keywords & why?

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

Critiqued by an Agent

Thanks to the wonderful Inter-web, it's much easier these days to know what's going on in the minds of agents and editors. What do they want? What do they consider good writing? Is my work anywhere near good enough? Several agents host blogs that answer these kinds of questions and more.

One of those agents is Nathan Bransford. Recently, he started a neat little feature called Page Critique Monday. He chooses a sample submitted by a reader and marks it up (with red even) to give at least a peek into what makes good writing. Though fiction is much more subjective than non-fiction, the first couple of examples show basic skills that every fiction writer needs to accomplish. You can find this week's example here.

BTW, if you write non-fiction instead and you could use a critique/content editing of your work, that's something I can help with. Contact me via my form at my website and let's see if we can get your project to the next level.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

Pitch a Pair

When I saw this article at the Shelftalker Blog I was immediately impressed by the simple, yet creative book marketing idea it portrays. In a nutshell, an author who wrote a book about salamanders and she let a bookstore know about it. It was such a great fit for the area (that has a lot of salamanders) the bookstore decided to host not only the author, but a naturalist who could bring live salamanders to the event as well. They did a presentation together, a total win win all around for the author, the kids, the nature center and the bookstore.

Whether you are trying to entice a group or venue to host you as an author, think bigger, think beyond one book one author. This author was blessed to have the bookstore so excited that they did the legwork to expand the event themselves, but it won't always be that easy for everyone. It will be more likely that you'll need to at least have tentative ideas (make sure they'll fly if you pitch them) so that the host understands you're trying to eliminate as much hassle as possible.

Have you ever successfully paired up with someone else or pitched a full event around your book? Hope you'll share and inspire the rest of us.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett