by Barbara Florio Graham
As a publishing consultant I’m often contacted by authors who feel stuck, either because they can’t finish their book, or because it’s been published but isn’t selling the number of copies they expected.
If you can’t finish your book, it may be because:
1. You keep starting over, rewriting rather than revising. There are many ways to say the same thing, and every time you rewrite you may not be improving the book, but just saying the same things a different way.
Instead, analyze, perhaps with some help, the structure of the book. Does it begin with a scene that will grab the attention of the reader, and hence a potential publisher? Too many first-time authors start the book by describing the settings, or providing the backstory. These elements need to be woven into the narrative later on.
2. You’re afraid it might be rejected, so if you don’t finish, you don’t have to send it out. A recent mentoring client has been denying that this is her problem. She emails me about all the things she has to do before she can get back to the book. She’s stalling by organizing closets, cleaning duplicate files from her computer, enrolling in a class she’s always wanted to take, anything that will keep her out of the home office where her book sits on her laptop, almost, but not quite, finished.
I’ve been among several people who have read this book and think it has great potential. We all know her well enough to understand that she has serious anxiety problems, and the reason she can’t finish the book is that she’s afraid it isn’t as good as we all think it is.
Scientists tell us that failure is one of the key steps toward success. She needs to finish this book, send it out, and see what happens. She may be pleasantly surprised!
If your book is finished but you don’t know how to find a publisher, it may be because:
1. You think all you have to do is write a good book. You’re stalling on creating the platform that will appeal to publishers, including a website, a social media presence, etc.
2. You may be avoiding the tiresome research required to find a suitable publisher. And you may not understand that no matter who publishes your book, you have to do most of the marketing.
Before your book is released, you should begin to watch all the local TV shows and listen to local radio to find out whom to approach about interviews. Go online to find email addresses for these people as well as print and broadcast media in your area and nationally.
You should also assemble an email list of family, friends, past business associates, former classmates, neighbors, and anyone else who might want to know about your book. Begin by sending a brief message to all of them announcing that your book is finished, even if you don’t yet have a publisher. Provide a brief description, and ask them if they want you to keep them informed as things progress.
If your book isn’t selling, it may be because:
1. You relied on a few close friends and family to provide feedback, instead of someone with the background and experience to help you. Even if you’re the one who notices errors in someone else’s work, you still need an editor. A good editor will detect problems with consistency and continuity and gaps where you’re assuming the reader knows something that needs to be explained, as well as provide careful copy editing to correct mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Hiring someone to do this before the book proposal goes out can make the difference between acceptance and rejection. As a publishing consultant, I work on structural/developmental editing of the book and point out obvious errors or omissions, so the book stands a much better chance with the mainstream publishers the author approaches.
2. Your book proposal isn’t complete and strong. The authors I work with check submission guidelines carefully, making sure each publisher they approach publishes books in their genre, has a good track record (with titles on their website that you can check out), and doesn’t charge authors any fees. The author sends each publisher a customized package with a cover letter mentioning one or two books he or she has already published, and sends exactly what the publisher requests–not three chapters if the publisher asks for only one, a detailed outline only if that is what is requested, etc.
3. You are trusting the old rules against simultaneous submissions. It can take a long time for some publishers to respond, so you want to have enough proposals out there to increase your chance of acceptance.
4. You are listening to other authors who show you their self-published books but you aren’t asking how much they paid to get the book into print, whether it’s in bookstores, and whether or not it’s selling.
Barbara Florio Graham is an author and publishing consultant. The author of three books, Five Fast Steps to Better Writing (20th anniversary edition), Five Fast Steps to Low-Cost Publicity, and the award-winning Mewsings/Musings, she served as managing editor for Prose to Go: Tales from a Private List, which is now available as an e-book for just $4.99. Her website contains a great deal of free information, including resources for writers and publishers.