Book Publishing

Anonymous: The War-time Role of Military Mascots: Foreword

2011-04-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

FOREWORD

In contrast to how warfare is portrayed in the movies, in the live theatre of war, there is no glory. While elements may differ at sea, air, land or between battles and wars, a common link remains: war is hell.

At war, each enlisted man or woman must reach within the depths of their souls to maintain their personal sanity. Letters from home are as precious as freedom and each allows the serviceman to sustain another day.

Camaraderie is deep and can’t be described well enough on paper. Living with death on a daily basis creates an unspeakable bond between humans. They may rival, feud, and manifest genuine dislike but the relationship is an eternal one.

In keeping with that camaraderie, nearly every rank and company enlisted a mascot. The mascot might have been the officer’s pet or an orphaned pup that happened to stroll by the unit. Officially, mascots were against the rules and had to be smuggled into the ranks.

A mascot’s breed was familiar to the surroundings of the company. Monkeys, goats, rabbits, geese, and several exotic animals were privy to being adopted. One serviceman says that dogs were the best because cats had a tendency to run off. He believed dogs developed more of a friendship than other mascots. The common link for all mascots was that they boosted morale and inspired the crew through the most heinous of times.

Once a mascot was adopted, special moves were made to accommodate it. Many were issued identification papers, Mae West life jackets, and hammocks. Some were even assigned specific duties.

As with fellow servicemates, mascots were not immune to danger and disease and many survived some close calls. Others were not so lucky.

It’s a part of warfare veterans don’t mind talking about. Mascots carved a special place in their hearts and memories and while the stories are many, most are not recorded.

Manning Wright, who served aboard HMCS LANARK, puts it into perspective, “These war-time shipmates certainly deserve a great shot at posterity.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ON HOW THIS PROJECT CAME ABOUT

This project could not have been possible without the cooperation of the enlisted. Thanks to each of those who took the time and effort to write or call me with their stories.

A special thanks to Legion Magazine, Army Magazine, Marine Corps

Gazette, The Retired Officer Magazine, Sea Power, The Military Collector’s

Club of Canada, Calgary Herald Neighbors, Calgary Mirror and Jeff Collins of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio in Calgary’s “Homestretch” for allowing me to reach the servicemen.

Most of all, I have to thank my mother, Helen Dembiski, who made available our in-house library, and to my father, Russ Dembiski, who gave me the thirst for military knowledge and the idea for this book.

Anonymous: The War-time Role of Military Mascots

2011-04-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

I have decided not to hold onto this manuscript any longer. It may never get published as I had intended into a real book, but it will be published -- here, in this blog space.

The preface below describes how this came about. The posts will be ongoing and I hope you find them interesting. They are near and dear to my heart and I feel strongly that I am the custodian of many peoples' history.

This has been a labor of love for many years (you'll note the copyright date) and I think I started it in 1990 when I published my first article on military mascots in the Calgary Herald.

I have amassed a large precious collection of letters and photographs that were sent to me as a contribution. These posts are for the people who sent it.

So here it goes: Entry #1.

Russ Dembiski aboard HMCS Sault Ste. Marie

ANONYMOUS: The War-time Role of Military Mascots by Debbie Elicksen

Dedicated to the memory of: Russ (Biscuits) Dembiski, STO 2/c V.41268

HMCS Nonsuch - Edmonton

HMCS Naden III - Comox

HMCS Naden I - Esquimalt

HMCS Sault Ste. Marie

PREFACE

Several years ago, I was looking through Dad’s old navy photographs and while I had seen the photos several times, it finally struck me...there were animals in some of the pictures.

“Hell, yes!” Dad retorted, then he proceeded to tell me about some of his ship’s mascots.

What was fascinating was Dad never talked about the war except for his shore leave stories and about some of the people he had met. I thought about all the veterans I knew and realized they too never spoke about the war but bring up the topic of mascots and they would talk for hours.

At the time, researching military mascots wasn’t easy. Except for a few blurbs in rare publications, the concept was virtually unrecorded. (These were days before the Internet.) I came across one American book but the stories included only United States and British mascots. I had exhausted all my resources after a half page of notes. The last place to look was at the service-men themselves. Given their reluctance to describe their conditions, I wasn’t sure how well they would respond. As it turned out it was my best source of research.

I received letters from all over the world. Some sent photographs, some sent leads to other sources. Stories varied in detail, ranging from half page to five pages to personally published books. Some stories were vague and some included graphic details. In most of the stories, the element of war in which these service-men had been reluctant to share, had resurfaced. Those elements were key to describing how mascots adapted to certain situations.

To remember a mascot in such detail after more than fifty years says a lot about the bond these men had shared. It’s true that some of those details may be sketchy and even a bit mixed up due to the aging of the veteran but I left their descriptions in tact because it is how these men perceived their experiences.

The main impression you will formulate is that the war-time mascot was a key to survival. Perhaps that is why you will detect an element of fondness in their recollections.

It is for the service-men and women that I wrote this book. They sacrificed their lives for the good of democracy and their experiences, however trite, need to be heard. Lest we forget.

How Do You Find an Editor or Ghostwriter?

2010-09-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

It truly is like handing over your house keys to a stranger you just met off the street to get them to babysit your dog while you're away for three days.

I don't care what anyone says. Books are personal. They're so personal, the author bleeds all over the page. And so it is important to be able to choose an editor or ghostwriter who adheres to the same philosophy, understands the content, and can put themselves into the same pages, using their own compatible blood type.

Gut instinct is important. You can usually tell after five minutes (actually within one or two) whether or not you get a "good feel" about the person. If the chemistry doesn't fit, don't commit. Communication is everything and if you don't feel like you can speak the same language, move on.

Don't take people at face resume. What I mean is, just because most of the books they worked on are on one topic doesn't mean they can't work on yours. They may have done that same job in the past. Maybe it's their passion. You don't know what people know. So when you're interviewing them, you'll learn if they have a connection with the topic.

They need to also understand what you want to accomplish. They should see the big picture. And most of all, they need to try and keep your voice. When you get the manuscript back, you should still be able to read your voice.

Streamlining Information in One Place

2010-09-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

I get inquiries every day through my email, social networks, in person, and even that black thing on my desk that I rarely use these days called a telephone.

While every person is as unique as their projects, their questions are very similar in that they are looking for the same things:

How do I get started on my manuscript?
How do I find a publisher?
What do I do with my book now that I've finished writing it?
How do I market my book?
Will you publish my book?
How do I go about finding a graphic designer?
I'm thinking of writing a book, where do I start?
I self-published my book and have been having some success selling it through __, how can I find a publisher/get on Amazon/get into bookstores?

Sound familiar? It's why I do what I do.

At author Rose Sangregorio's launch of her book Journey to Self-Enlightenment

This is why I spent the last couple of months developing a member website. The idea jumped inside my brain and slapped me around when Stu McLaren (founder of Wish List Member) presented to the June Calgary CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers) via Skype.

The site is a way to connect with people, provide meaty content, incorporate several platforms into one place (video, audio, blogs, etc.), give stuff for free but also have exclusive content, allow others to make it their own and post interesting stuff and let everyone in on their challenges.

We know that information about book publishing can be overwhelming. There is so much material available online and it's hard to figure out fact from fiction. Cutting through the bull is my specialty.

The traditional book publishing industry is in the process of reform and re-invention (whether it wants to believe it or not), and I spend my days staying ahead of the curve and continuously looking for creative and user-friendly ideas from the most innovative minds in the business. I like the thought of being able to help others through the book process as pain-free as possible, whether it's the first book or fifth book or 20th book.

I made this site to help those who don't know where to turn and need the support and guidance to get through the process on their own time.

There are four tiers of membership.

Superstar: Besides enjoying all the ingredients of the other level memberships, the Superstar Member allows you access to personal coaching and marketing help to push your message to action. Here are the elements to this membership level:

Member blog

Author Corner

Social media access

Inside Publishing e-newsletter

Monthly teleseminar

Access to private Facebook page

Digital audio recordings

Copy of e-books

Complimentary access to live workshops (excluding those available through Chinook Learning)

Print copy of Book Publishing 101

10 CDs

Publishing rights to member blog

Featured member

Q & A

Customized written marketing overview of your project

Customized written concrete advice on publishing options and resources for your project

Two hours one-on-one coaching

The Superstar membership is $1499.00 each year.

Bestseller: This membership level gives you lots of meat. You have access to creative options with respect to all aspects of publishing and marketing. You'll have first-hand access to tips and ideas from experts and industry insiders and learn about marketing ideas that the industry hasn't even thought of yet. You'll receive practical help to give your message the direction it needs to get heard in today's noisy marketplace. The Bestseller membership includes these features:

Member blog

Author Corner

Social media access

Inside Publishing e-newsletter

Monthly teleseminar

Access to private Facebook page

Digital audio recordings

Copy of e-books

Discount 20% on live workshops

Print copy of Book Publishing 101

10 CDs

Publishing rights to member blog

Featured member

Q & A

The annual Bestseller membership is $299.00.

Published: Published Members have access to interesting and compelling audio interviews and teleseminars from industry insiders and those who are transcending the publishing industry. You'll learn great tips and creative marketing ideas that will help you push your message to the public stage. You'll get copies of the Book Publishing 101 step-by-step e-book, among others, and get a good understanding of how to maneuver yourself through the industry. As a Published Member, you receive the following:

Member blog

Author Corner

Social media access

Inside Publishing e-newsletter

Monthly teleseminar

Access to private Facebook page

Digital audio recordings

Copy of e-books

Discount 20% on live workshops

The Published Member is only $9.99 a month for as long as you like. At any time, you can cancel or upgrade to the Bestseller and Superstar levels.

Advanced Copy: This free membership give you access to a blog, and Author Corner where you can learn about member projects, social media access, and Inside Publishing.

Come on over and take a look. I will be posting something new and unique for this site every day.

http://www.bookpublishingmember.com/

Check out my @constantcontact newsletter archive

2010-06-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

Check out my @constantcontact newsletter archive

I've archived my Inside Publishing e-newsletter. You can find them here.

Tackling Writer's Block

2010-05-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

You open up Word or a new post on your blog then stare. What will you write?

Procrastination is one thing, writer's block is another. Sometimes the two go hand-in-hand.

There are a number of tools out there to help you get started in tackling writer's block. You could probably Google a few tips, too.

The good news is writer's block isn't terminal.

Try some creative strengthening exercises like this:

Describe Paris Hilton from her purse's point of view
Describe speeding along the highway in the trunk of your car
Describe your craziest friend
Describe what it would be like to be a bird sitting on top of the tallest tree in the neighborhood
Describe what comes to your mind when you think of a park bench
Find a picture online or in a catalog or magazine and write a paragraph about what it is saying to you -- who is the subject; what are they doing

Let Nature Map Your Course

2010-04-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

If there is one good thing that can come out of a volcanic ash cloud -- the one from Iceland that is spewing all over the fly space around Great Britain and Europe, maybe it's to teach us to re-evaluate why we're always in a hurry to get somewhere -- at least when we don't have to be.

When I was a kid, my dad used to rent a car for a couple of weeks and we'd drive from Edmonton to Vancouver every summer. But the drive was not so much about reaching Vernon to visit Grandma or arriving in Vancouver to spend time with the cousins. It was about the drive itself.

The cooler was full of refreshments for all the stops we'd make along the way. Dad had a few favorite sites he'd go to annually, but he'd also take an unknown turn, just for the adventure.

He'd stop at the same "crick" once we entered the mountains, and he'd take off his shoes and socks and soak his feet in the ice cold stream. I'm certain he tried to go up every dead-end runaway trail between Banff and Vancouver, just to see what the view was like. We usually motel-ed it before reaching Vernon, instead of driving straight through. To Dad, it was more important to stop and admire the ducks on a slew pond between Edmonton and Calgary, than beat the clock.

When is the last time you stopped to breathe, slow down, and just soak in life -- not looking at your watch?

I've come to the conclusion that this good practice for encouraging the creative juices to flow. Daydreaming and "vegging" helps your mind relax and for thoughts to come in -- thoughts about the creative process. I don't feel guilty anymore when I take a break to have a coffee on the deck, throw in a load of laundry, or even run to the store to browse or shop. It's those moments that seem to ignite my best ideas.

If You Can Dream It...

2010-04-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but -- when I remember them -- some of my dreams have more intriguing plots than any TV or movie drama. Some of them are down right bizarre and dark or they are just a cool story with the most unlikeliest of characters. I began writing them down and many times wonder how I could come up with such an angle.

When you think of it, your dream plots tend to be an accumulation of the things that influenced your brain that day or that week. The people you see will be some of the characters. (So when I say I dream about hockey stars Jarome Iginla or Joe Thornton -- I don't mean in THAT way. It's because I had spoken to them that day or saw then a couple of times during the week.)

TV or movies play a role in your dreams. Mine may take a dark twist because I tend to watch shows like Criminal Minds, OZ, Law and Order, or CSI.

The key to capturing the dream plot is to have a piece of paper and a pen handy to your bed so you can quickly jot it down the moment you wake up. Hey, you never know. Some of them might make a pretty good book some day.

An Innovative Tale of Lipstick

2010-04-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

Source: The New York Times June 12, 2006

“Cathy’s Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233” is an actual book title. The young adult novel, written by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman, was published in 2006 as a marketing partnership between Cover Girl (owned by Procter & Gamble) and Running Press (unit of Perseus Books Group). The heroine discusses wearing a Cover Girl brand of lipstick in the story, although the company is said not to have paid the publisher or authors for the unique promotion. However, Proctor & Gamble has helped promote the book on the interactive website: www.beinggirl.com, which also offers makeup tips among other content for adolescent girls.

The subtle insert of products into television shows and movies isn’t new, but doing it in books is, and will probably continue. A look into some of the reviews posted on Amazon, the concept and interactive aspect of the story is getting some positive ink.

What We Have is a Difference of Opinion

2010-04-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, the first associate editor of The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, Yehuda Lev, penned an article on publishing perils. Here are some tidbits you’ll find interesting:

Writers are not unemployed; they’re between assignments

Publishers worry about bottom lines; editors worry about what’s above the line

A knowledgeable readership keeps writers on their toes and catches untruths

Many times, the generation gap between veteran and newbie writers needs to be explained (for example, streets and buildings change over time)

This is Worth Recycling Re Bloggers' Rights

2010-04-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

Source: Mercury News: San Jose court to weigh blogger’s rights by Howard Mintz; Posted on Mon, Apr. 17, 2006

Do bloggers deserve the same legal protections as mainstream and freelance journalists? That’s an issue that is set to be decided in a San Jose Court, which will determine if those like Jason O’Grady, owner of PowerPage.org, can be protected against divulging confidential sources.

Two years ago, Apple went to court seeking the identity of individuals who allegedly leaked confidential information on a new product on three web pages specializing in news about Apple. The 6^th District Court of Appeal will hear Apple’s arguments in California. Apple claims they have a right to protect trade secrets while PowerPage cites the First Amendment and that to disclose the name of the bloggers is an attack on journalism’s right for protecting confidential sources.

The case is being closely watched because of the accusation of there being no journalistic privilege when concealing corporate theft. The bloggers are accused of exaggerating the First Amendment. That said, legal experts admit the courts will have a difficult time excluding bloggers from journalistic protections.

Source: http://www.happynews.com/news/5192006/Publishing-Industry-Enjoys-Strong-2005.htm
(This link is no longer working.)

New stats on 2005 U.S. book sales are out that show 3.1 billion books sold, translating to $34.6 billion in revenue. Included in this are the small to mid-sized publisher that have been traditionally left out in the past and who's annual revenue is estimated at $11 billion. One of the disturbing trends in the marketplace is the decline of readership amongst an emerging generation of people, despite the encouraging report on sales.

That's a Lot of Paper

2010-04-04T14:44:00.001-07:00

It takes 60 percent less energy to manufacture paper from recycled stock.

Producing one ton of virgin paper requires 20 trees and 7,000 more gallans of water than one ton of 100 percent recycled paper.

Each ton of recycled paper used in place of a ton of virgin paper reduces total energy consumption by 27 percent, net greenhouse gas emissions by 47 percent, and wastewater by 33 percent.

Source: www.ecomail.org and www.nrdc.org (Friesens Green Scene)

Read This Before You Work Any Further on Your Book!

2010-03-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

You're thinking about writing and publishing a book and you're not sure what's involved. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself.

Is your manuscript finished? Don't bother trying to solicit quotes for editing, printing, etc. until it is.
If finished, how many words or Microsoft Word pages is it? This helps an editor give you an accurate quote.
What is your book about? Describe it in one sentence.
What is your purpose for writing it? Your purpose is the key to your marketing strategy
What is your connection to the story? In your marketing strategy, you will be asked this -- so what gives your book its credibility?
Who is your target reader? Everybody is not an answer. Who and where are the people who will be most connected to your topic?
How do you plan to market it? If you don't have a marketing plan, don't expect to sell any books.
How do you envision the final product? (hardcover, soft cover, workbook, ebook...) (trim size) (special features) (illustrations) You need to know this before you solicit a quote for graphic design and printing.
If the book is not already laid out, do you already work with a graphic designer that you are comfortable with? If you already have someone you trust, first see if they are able to do the job (i.e. they work in InDesign and are comfortable with book layouts, which is quite different from creating a brochure).

These specs need to be confirmed before you can get any sort of printing quote:

Page count (in layout)

Trim size (take a look at the books on your shelf to see what you like and just measure the outside)

Quantity -- Offset presses print several pages on one sheet two-sided, then trims and puts into binding as a "signature." Digital is sheet fed, so those pages are put into the binding individually. Not much for setup involved in digital. You only go offset if you are printing 750 or more books.

FOB -- where you want delivery and if the delivery is a commercial drop or residential (they tack on more for residential but overall, delivery is cheap like borscht, might be around $350 for a residential drop of 1,000 books)

Binding - Most soft cover books are perfect bound (glued). If sewn binding re hardcover, note that there will be a minimum spine for the sewn binding, which means there is a minimum page count to accommodate that. Thickness of paper stock also comes into play here.

Cover - Recommend full color front and back with no printing on inside if paperback. Color processing, even if cover is black and white, looks more professional and is not that much when factored into the whole cost. Matte finishes are more - are a richer smooth look, but they do tend to scuff more than gloss finishes. Hardcover with dust jacket -- you'll be asked re coloring of lettering on cover cloth -- if any -- and what color of cover cloth.

Paper stock -- best to use the in-house stock to save here, unless you have a specific stock in mind, like parchment; for full color text pages, inside stock should be at least 70 pound. For black and white, average text stock is 60 pound and 50 pound. Any lighter and you can see through the page.

Social Media/Networking Facts

2010-02-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

Facebook (over 350 million members)
Twitter (over 8 million visitors)
LinkedIn (over 36 million members)
88 % marketers say they use social media to market their business
72 % of them have been at it a few months or less
64 % log into their social media sites 5 hours a week
39 % log in for 10 or more hours a week
9.6 % log in over 20 hours a week

Source: Michael Stelzner for Social Media Success Summit 2009

Writing Exercises to Tweak Your Creativity to Start Your Manuscript

2010-02-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

Watch a film created from a book and find parallels

Blend: poetry and songs; pick a song you like and Google the lyrics, write your own words

Re-write an article

Find a novel and copy part of a chapter and write what you think will happen next

Nickel and Diming

2010-01-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

There is one printer I have done a lot of business with -- put through as much as $50,000 worth a year. But policy changes and little things are ticking me off lately -- the nickel and dime stuff.

When electronic files are uploaded to a printer, they go into what is called preflight. What happens there is the printer's techie guys go over the electronic files with a fine-tooth comb to ensure they are kosher for print. What has happened until about eight months ago (and every other printer I work with does this now), is if there are issues in preflight, such as fonts, image resolutions, trim marks, and things that impact a layout, the printer will contact me and/or the graphic designer to advise of the issue that needs to be fixed before the book can proceed. Then the designer would fix them and the files stay in preflight until those issues are fixed. Once the files leave preflight, that's when a proof is generated.

Not so anymore with this printer. They don't tell you what's wrong with the file until AFTER the proof is generated now. What that means is, if something needs to be fixed that affects the entire layout, that means you fix them, and then will likely need a new proof. $$$ extra as a result.

Another "little thing" that has recently come to my attention is when you need a copy of the print files after press. When a proof is generated and changes are needed, you upload the individual pages that are affected instead of a whole new file. Then the printer inserts the corrected pages. So what happens is when the book is printed, the corrections may not be in the final "to print" PDF that is sent to the author (and me), and if the designer is unreachable and you need the files for another printing, you can usually get them from the printer. Not a problem with three large book printers I use -- one of them in the United States. They gave me files last week without any questions asked. They sent me a link and a password for the FTP site and I downloaded the files easily. No charge.

Not so with this other printer. They want to charge me $50 for the privilege of downloading an electronic file -- a file that is probably never moved from its location, citing that it's the cost of labor for retrieving the files. Not a lot of money, but combine that with the new preflight policy and a couple other things and I'm feeling nickel and dimed to death. Combine all those nickels and you're looking between $50 to $800. They will not budge on their policies. However, while they do exceptional work and there is never usually many issues with delivery, I do have to think about using the other printers more.

Although, I did have one issue post delivery on a book with this printer. A strange one that I really can't go back and have the bill adjusted for. Sporadic books in a delivery of 2,000 books have two signatures missing. That's 16 pages. It's so sporadic that some boxes have no books affected, some have one to eight books affected. That means checking every single book in every single box. Not going to happen. I check the books as I move to the next box. So because I don't have time to sift through the pages of 2000 books, I know it's no use in asking for a refund on the spoiled books until I open that last box. By then, they'll say the statute of limitation is up for sure.

I'll still use this printer because they do good reputable work, but the more I'm nickel and dimed, the more ticked off I get and the more I start spreading the "love" by uploading projects to other equally capable printers.

What is plagiarism?

2010-01-17T13:25:00.001-08:00

There is a difference between borrowing ideas and plagiarism. Plagiarism is passing off someone else’s creation as your own. Obviously, writers quote other writers’ works all the time. The difference is that they also credit those writers and indicate where the material came from. Plagiarism is serious business. Make sure, if you use another writer’s quote, that you cite the source (the author and where it came from). Theft of someone else’s written work is a one-way ticket to the reject pile, if not to the courtroom.

Many people can come up with the same idea at the same time, but not all of them will act on it. Ideas cannot be copyrighted until they are put into a physical form. Then it’s the physical form that’s copyrightable (the text, song, movie, etc.), not the idea. (That’s why there are so many books and movies with the same basic theme, but all worked out in different ways.)

Publishing tips and why unsolicited manuscripts don't get read

2010-01-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

This article from the Wall Street Journal says it all about dead slushpiles:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703414504575001271351446274.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_
MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsForth

Here are a couple video publishing tips:

Treating your book as a business: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-vXg8XtkFA

Finding a publisher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoNDd_hxaAA

Join Inside Publishing

2009-12-22T16:42:00.000-08:00

Inside Publishing is an opt-in newsletter that addresses the ins and outs of all types of publishing, including royalty and self-publishing, and takes a behind the scenes look into every aspect that goes into formulating a book, and also media. Issues include success stories, where to find help, describing the process from the interview/writing aspect to project managing a book to print.

To sign up, just put (Subscribe Inside Publishing) in the subject line and send to freelancecommunications@shaw.ca.

Sincerely,

Debbie Elicksen
Freelance Communications

Tips on Improving Your Email Correspondence

2009-12-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

RE-READ emails at least two or three times before sending

Take the same care in drafting an email as you would with any written correspondence that you send by mail or courier - even if it is a short reply. For example: one keystroke can make the difference in meaning. (Will not/will note; will/will not.)

Don't text talk

Simplify your language.

Don't use five words when one word will do.

Never assume everyone knows your industry jargon or is impressed with fancy foreign phrases and scientific words. Be consistent.

Commas, dashes, quotations, possessives, and titles - when in doubt, look it up.

All right is two words not one. Don't take words and names for granted.

Be Careful What You Write

2009-12-15T08:54:00.000-08:00

Workplace literacy is an issue so big, it impacts how our businesses are perceived and it can also impact whether or not we can compete in the global economy. When is the last time you found an error-free email?

To hone that point, I did a LinkedIn survey asking about today's business communications challenges. Here are the common threads in each of the replies:

* Misspellings
* Miscommunication
* People feel they are too busy and don't have the time to proofread
* Word choice errors (apart of/a part of) or missed words
* Using TEXT talk in non-TEXT talk situations
* So called experts saying it's okay not to bother with grammar or spelling -- "Just get your tweet out there as fast as you can"

There are some clear steps one can take to improve their communications skills. I want people to think about the delivery of their messages. And this includes crafting all business communications, whether emails, memos, or other physical documents.

If people become cognizant of what they are writing, their message will be much clearer, and it could ultimately save their bottom line. Redos take time. Typos can leave a bad impression. Missed words can miscue the intent of a message. And just because everybody else does it, doesn't make it right.

Study by Radicati Group August 2008

* 1.3 billion email users worldwide: 1 in 5
* 5 to 6 million business email inboxes in 2007
* 210 daily emails 2 million emails sent every second
* 70 to 72 % may be spam and viruses - genuine emails sent by the 1.3 billion users

Tips for the Reluctant Writer

2009-09-06T22:12:00.001-07:00

Take small steps to build up your stamina.

Be brave and blend things like poetry and prose.

Pick a song you like, Google the lyrics, and change the song to your own lyrics.

Rewrite an article - how would you write it differently? How many different ways can you approach it?

Read a novel and present your understanding of the novel, i.e. short story, painting, dialogue between a couple characters.

Follow Your Dreams

2009-08-13T10:37:00.001-07:00

Victor Hugo said that each man should frame his life so that at some future hour, fact and his dreamings meet. Success is usually defined by financial reward. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we don’t meet this expectation. But real success comes as a result of living your dreams.

Think for a moment – not about how much money you want to make but what you’d consider your dream job. Is it the same dream you had as a kid? Are you doing it now? If your answer is no, why not? Sometimes we let others dictate what’s best for us.

Theoren Fleury is a perfect example of someone not letting others talk him out of his dream of making it to the National Hockey League. At 5’6” and 180 pounds, Fleury wasn’t drafted in his first year of eligibility. The next year, Calgary Flames’ scout Ian McKenzie had to almost beg the club to consider him. Fleury wasn’t picked until the eighth round and went 166th overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Before he ended his career, he was listed as one of the top 50 players in the NHL by The Hockey News and had been paid with multi-million dollar contracts.

Sometimes you have to open your own doors. Even when you’re focused on the dream, the path may twist and turn or change complete direction. The key is not to give up.

A gifted young football player had the opportunity to play for a Canadian Football League team. Unfortunately, he came to training camp overweight and hadn’t worked out all winter. He put in very little effort, and as a result, was cut from the team. He was never offered another opportunity. What would have happened if he really wanted to play?

If someone tries to talk you out of your dream, don’t let them. Be disciplined. When you see the results of someone else’s success, know that the end result didn’t come without sacrifice. Thus no truer words were ever spoken than by broadcaster and former National Football League coach John Madden. “Easy Street goes through the dump.”

What's Your Story?

2009-07-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

This story is never old -- The Hot Dog Story.

A man sold hot dogs on the side of the highway for years and his business was very successful. He didn't have much of an education but he sold good hot dogs. He advertised his message everywhere he could: Good Hot Dogs For Sale. And the people came. He sold more hot dogs, then had to buy more buns and wieners and hire more people. He continued to advertise and sold more and more hot dogs.

One day, his son, who had just graduated from university, came home to help him with his very busy business. His son saw how much his father had spent on advertising and other expenses and said, "Dad, there's a recession on. Businesses everywhere are suffering. You need to cut your expenses -- advertise less."

His son must have known. After all, he went to university and learned of the world and all he did was sell hot dogs. So the father listened to his son. He stopped advertising, and eventually, he sold less hot dogs. He had to lay off most of his staff, buy less buns and wieners, and soon his business was in trouble.

"Son," the father said, "you're right. There is a recession."

"Stand by Me" Calgary Drop In

2009-07-13T10:33:00.001-07:00

This is a fabulous video of homeless musicians. These guys need a recording contract!

A Class Example

2009-06-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Frankie Valli is the ultimate professional. I went to his concert in Edmonton at the Coliseum some time in the early 1980s. There were 1,000 people in a 16,000-seat arena. He called everyone to come and sit up close, then performed as if he had a full house and everyone raved about his concert and class. When he rebooked Edmonton a year later, he had a full house at the Jubilee Auditorium. If I’m ever conducting a workshop, keynote, or even a blog – if just one person shows up, I always use him as the example. There has been discussion on a speaker newsletter about what to do if organizers say to expect an audience of 400 people and less than fifty show up. If you perform like Frankie Valli, the ones who did show up will become your biggest disciples.

On the flip side, I used to sell tickets for a box office and in the case of two concerts: Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight and the Pips, they each had half a room filled – Aretha at the Jubilee and Knight at the Coliseum. Both of them walked off the stage after maybe two songs and the box office had to refund the tickets. They never returned to the city and I’ve never thought much of them since.

Here’s some clips of Frankie Valli I found on YouTube:

Medley for those unfamiliar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UZKoUppu-Q

Oh What a Night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQO9LNELIKQ

Grease
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol8gCOA0iP8

Let’s Hang On (His closing song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ04NiiFy2U

What NOT to do when soliciting a publisher

2009-06-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

If you don't edit and proofread your correspondence, check out what a publisher actually publishes, check out their websites and submission guidelines, what do you think your chances are? Here are just two examples of real emails that say more than I could preach.

(Group email listing every email in the Association of Canadian Publishers' directory in the "TO" box.)

Friday, October 27,200612:23 PM
Looking_for _a _publ isher.pdf
Looking for a publicher

Estimable Sir
I wrote two books in informatics. I think that these are good and I send to you the cover, the contents
- and a paragraph from everyone. If you are interested, please answer to me for sending the entire fist form for every book. Everyone has a CD with the application programs, whose design was performed in the books. I trust in you, for helping me. See attachments. No viruses.

the authOr.

Thursday, October
16, 2008 3:22 AM

Subject:Good Book

Attachment: The Master's Stick.doc (908 KB)

Dear Literary Agent, Dear Publisher,

(His picture was inserted here)

My name is ___, and I am an Italian writer. It is an honour for me to send you a piece of my work entitled: "The Master's Stick". It consists of a collection of short stories and aphorisms, based on the zen style, and it has already been published in Italy, obtaining a good number of sales.

If you are interested in my work, as I hope you are, you might like to know that a second volume of such work is already available and has not been published in Italy yet. It would be a pleasure for me to collaborate with you for our mutual economic and moral satisfaction.

Yours faithfully,

Copyright

2009-05-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of questions about copyright and when it begins. Copyright begins when an idea is put into physical form. Ideas, no matter how great they are, are not copyright. They are when they are written down on physical paper, audio, video, or in your computer. Every person in this group could write a piece on the same idea, but not one of those pieces would be written the same. Each of us would own the copyright on what we personally wrote as soon as we write it.

So you want to be an editor

2008-12-30T19:22:00.001-08:00

If you have some other editing experience, you can hook up with the American Copy Editors Association (www.copydesk.org). or the Editors Association of Canada (www.editors.ca) and look at some of the links on their sites.

There are two sites that list journalism jobs in Canada: www.jeffgaulin.com and http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com/. Jeff Gaulin's site is really good. The Media Job Search site is also good for grunt work in connecting with various associations and media. It pretty much lists every magazine, newspaper, and radio station in the country, with a link to their websites. For US sites, use Google to find specific directories related to the industry you wish to work in.

Depending on how serious you take your editing, like whether or not you study guide books and continually look for areas to improve your craft, will determine where you fit on the professional scale.

One of my book clients, who wrote a sales book, says when he meets potential salespeople, he asks them what's the latest sales book they bought. He says that tells him if they're serious about sales. The same can be true for writing and editing. I can tell you I have three dictionaries (the double set of Oxford, Websters, and Canadian), two thesauruses, Chicago Manual of Style, AP Stylebook, and probably another 50 or so more other writing reference books. We're not all perfect, but we can look it up. But at the very least, you should know the basics of grammar and punctuation, that the quotation mark comes after the comma and period, that there is only one space after the period, and that using a serial comma makes life much easier for the reader.

Book layouts are equally as important as what's written on the pages

2008-12-30T19:07:00.000-08:00

I'm just appalled at the lack of thought that has gone into most books in the mainstream marketplace. Royalty published books are starting to look like Print On Demand publishing. Books are fraught with:

1. Hyphenation where it doesn't need to be, which makes it annoying to the reader when every other word is hyphenated (designers can make one click to turn this off in their layout programs)

2. Widows and orphans -- dangling sentences at the top and bottom of a page that belong to a paragraph on the next page. I've even seen a five-letter word hyphenated, as a widow, where you had to turn the page to see the end of the word!

3. Times New Roman. Good grief! It is NOT the only font on the planet.

4. Indented paragraphs squished together. Makes it harder to find your place when you put the book down and it's the same layout in every single book in the universe, it seems. Not to mention being in Times New Roman. I just started reading a book where two of those indented paragraphs don't even line up!

5. Lazy editing -- I've seen spelling errors, missed words, and more. In one of those Readers Digest condensed four-in-one books, one of the stories -- in the first chapter -- talked about a kid during the same period of time (the same day) and he was three different ages.

6. Cheap production -- it may be cheaper to print in China and to use newsprint instead of 50 or 60 lb offset, but books are starting to look like they won't last through the year, let alone stand up to time, like my 1897 copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula.

When you put this altogether, these "lazy" layouts actually take away from enjoying a good read. In the case of the indented paragraphs that don't line up -- that was on page two. So as I ventured through the rest of the book, I was conscious of anticipating more layout errors more than what is said on the pages.

I'll stand many of the self published books I've worked on and seen against a lot of the books I'm seeing on the shelves today.

The Copyright Page

2008-12-03T07:27:00.000-08:00

What are the issues that I should consider as to whether I copyright my book under my name or under my business name? What do you write on the copyright page?

1. Who is the publisher? Me or my business?
If you are self publishing, you choose what you want the publisher name to be. Think of your branding, if you plan on doing more than one book.

2. ISBN number?
You always include the ISBN number.

3. EAN versus UPC bar code?
The barcode goes on the back cover of the book.

4. "Printed in Canada" -- what does it mean?)
You must have "Printed in Canada, U.S., China..." in the copyright page and the back cover, mainly if you intend to move books in or out of the country.

5. Format and layout of the page
The format and layout of the page is somewhat standard. The best thing to do is pick a book off your shelf that has the layout that resonates with you and copy that format.

6. CIP data (Which comes first? Copyright, ISBN, bar codes, CIP data)
First comes the publisher number (Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/isn/041011-1030-e.html;
U.S.: http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/secureapp.asp), then the ISBN. You can't apply for a cataloguing in print number without the ISBN and you can't generate a barcode without the ISBN.

The copyright page is always on the left-hand side.

The copyright of the written manuscript belongs to the author, however, if a publisher (other than the author) publishes the book, you lend the rights to publish to that firm for a period of time (usually two years -- but make sure the contract says the rights revert back to you, or you may not get back the rights to publish your own book).

Are Traditional Publishers Following the Footsteps of Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors?

2008-08-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

The Big Three automakers seemingly woke up last week and got it. Unless one works on a construction or oil well site, and with the price of gas going sky high, V-8 and V-10 SUVs and monster trucks are no longer attractive. When Honda and Toyota kept raising their market share, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors didn’t investigate to find out why.

Can the same be said for the traditional publishing industry? Here are some facts to sink your teeth into:

Media General, Inc. reported a 9.8 percent decline in revenues from June 2007 to June 2008, mostly from its Publishing Division revenues, which declined overall by 15.3 percent. (Fox Translator, July 17, 2008)

The Bowmark Entrepreneurs’ Index said an Optimism Index revealed small- and medium-sized media and publishing firms have the lowest levels of optimism among United Kingdom businesses. Almost 75 percent blame government intervention and legislation as impacting their growth. (Brandrepublic, Emma Barnett, Media Week, July 14, 2008)

The overall Canadian book publishing industry is down 1.2 percent from 2005 to 2006 re Statistics Canada (The Survey of Book Publishers). Ontario and Quebec factored into 91 percent of the industry’s operating revenues and 95 percent of the profits in 2006. Publishers outside of these provinces continue to rely on grants, subsidies, and tax credits. (Josh Kerbel, Publishers Weekly, July 24, 2008) However, the industry is still seen as being fairly stable and not losing as much as magazines and newspapers (to which the decline in profits correlate to free digital information). (Tobin Dalrymple, National Post, July 11, 2008)

What are some of the reasons for a declining industry? First, let’s start with the publishers. Traditional publishers still tend to take the conservative, safe approach to finding topic matter. It’s as if they think readers do not want to buy anything risqué, fresh and new, or controversial. Jason Quirk (Guardian.co.uk, Why publishing has gone to the dogs, June 27, 2008) says publishers are “dumbing down content and aiming for the lowest common denominator” and that “people will happily pay a lot more money for a slightly better product.”

We know that most of the major publishers, whether they print 10 or 200 titles a year, only choose a handful (not even 10 percent) to put their marketing dollars behind. The rest of the books sit in a catalogue and the hope is that the top titles will support the money spent on the latter.

Mark Thwaite of Guardian.co.uk adds that most publishers are not using the Internet to their fullest potential. In fact, most have substandard Websites. If publisher Websites had great search engines, up-to-date catalogues with detailed pages and graphics, author information, links to fan sites, blogs, and even social networking sites, they just might survive.

An online presence in today’s marketing environment is everything. Without it, you’re invisible. If people Google an author or book title and nothing shows up, you don’t exist.

Now let’s look at the booksellers. Chris Holifield (www.writersservices.com/mag) says booksellers are more focused on bestsellers than stocking a range of books. That attitude ultimately puts more pressure on the other stock, makes it tougher for new authors to get on the shelf, and for publishers to keep books in print. According to some booksellers, the average shelf life of a book in a bookstore is three months.

And then there is the return factor. In an article series by Angela Hoy of WritersWeekly.com, September 2005 (go to the article archive section on www.writersweekly.com to read them in full), she points one of the reason for high returns is bookstores order too many books and then return them for a credit at the expense of the publisher. Many times, the books they return are damaged – or they are outright destroyed. So in other words, if the bookseller can’t sell books, the publisher is the one who suffers.

There is a quote in Hoy’s article from Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal who says, since the Depression, publishers told struggling booksellers they could return unwanted titles as long as they ordered new titles. The Depression happened in the 1930s. This is 2008 and publishers still use the same business model. As a result, the return ratio, while its average is slated to be 35 to 40 percent, in most cases, it’s much higher.

These are some of the contributing factors on why it’s easier to get an audience with the Pope than a publisher. Like the car industry, some time down the road, other firms – independent self-publishers – will reach a significant market share of the readership, if they haven’t already. We may never know officially because even the statistics gatherers only focus on the traditional bookselling market.

Self Publishers Make It Big

2008-06-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Simon and Shuster paid a $4.125 million advance to Richard Paul Evans for his self-published book The Christmas Box.

James Redfield self-published The Celestine Prophecy in 1993 and after selling something like 12,000 books out of the back of his car, sold the title to Warner Books for $800,000, where it sold 20 million copies worldwide and was translated into 34 languages.

Paul Tawrell’s Camping and Wilderness Survival sold over 320,000 copies. He initially paid $125,000 to print 35,000 copies and sold it for $24.95.

Vickie Stringer was rejected by publishers 26 times when she pitched Let That Be the Reason.

Thanks to a $5,000 donation from friends and family, she printed and sold 1,000 copies from the trunk of her car in 2001, and by 2005, she estimated her sales at $1.8 million.

Bill Byham wrote ZAPP! The Lightning of Empowerment for managers and empowering employees. He sold 275,000 copies before Ballantine bought the rights, where it sold over 1.5 million.

(Wow, imagine) Vicky Lansky was rejected 49 times by publishers before she self-published Feed Me, I’m Yours, a collection of kid-tested recipes. She sold 300,000 copies and got the attention of Bantam Books, who bought the rights and sold eight million.

Mary Ellen Pinkham coilbound 50,000 copies of Mary Ellen’s Best of Helpful Hints in her basement and set a goal to sell 500 a day. She was retailing 30,000 copies a month when Warner took it over.

You are not alone

2008-05-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

At a recent IPAC (Independent Publishers Association of Canada) meeting in Calgary, someone brought up an issue that every author could relate to:

Psychological blocks that prevent manuscripts from being finished

Here are some ways you might address this:

a. Write from a distance: write something and sleep on it before reviewing

b. The block to finish the last pages can mean – now that it’s done, what do you do with it? Being a good writer doesn’t mean you are a good marketer and visa versa. Find people to play to your weaknesses: hire a marketer or a ghostwriter.

c. The fear factor – being afraid of success or failure – what’s the worst that can happen? Manuscripts are highly personal. There can be anxiety about finally releasing it.

d. Projects take a part of your life. It’s important. You can’t give it up because if you do, there may be nothing to take its place. Maybe start a new manuscript or research another project to fill that void.

Common editing quirks

2008-04-10T19:40:00.001-07:00

.”/not “. – in other words, the quotation mark comes AFTER the period or comma.

% -- unless you are writing an annual report or financial document, where the numbers need to stand out, spell out as either percent or per cent, but be consistent.

Mom, my mom – Mom is a name, like Mary; if you are talking about “my mom or your mom or their mom,” it is lower case

Twenty-four – the second word is lower case regardless of how weird it looks in a title

Language consistency – pick a language, either U.S. English, Canadian English, or Oxford English and be consistent throughout the text; don’t spell humor in one chapter and humour in another

Tense consistency – keep aware of tenses – it’s common to mix them up

Spacing after period (one) – while they may still be teaching it in school, in publishing, it is only ONE space after punctuation. The two spaces went out the way of the typewriter.

Consistency in spelling – Hilary/Hillary – sometimes we don’t write a name the same way

Explanations if terms are vague (i.e. Cold War) – don’t assume the reader knows something, such as Cold War (particularly younger readers); there are many desk encyclopedias or Wikipedia with simple explanations to help you pen a small blurb to describe

Redundancy – if you see the same word, like report, three for four times in a paragraph or sentence, find a replacement word or rewrite the paragraph so you don’t have to keep using that word

Numbering consistency – if you’re spelling out numbers over 10, spell all of them; all numbers under ten are usually spelled out

Commas (serial comma) – red, white, and blue – not red, white and blue; commas clarify meaning; for example, saying Joe’s father, mother, wife, and brother means something different than Joe’s father, mother, wife and brother; is it Joe’s brother or his wife’s brother?

Punctuation – use a stylebook; when in doubt, look it up; commas in particular can change the whole meaning of a sentence

Abbreviations (spell out – don’t assume others know them) – never assume the reader knows even what you may think is a common abbreviation; CPR in the U.S. may mean something different than CPR in Canada; spell it out the first time you use it with the (abbreviation) after, then you can continue using the abbreviation and the reader should be able to identify the meaning

CFL player has something in common with publisher seekers

2008-04-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Sheldon Napastuk, now retired from the Canadian Football League, was not a shoe-in as a professional football player. Perhaps many others can relate to his unconventional journey to finally fulfilling his goal regardless if it is finding a publisher or starting a career.

In university, I started my freshman year (Iowa State) and everything was going really well. My junior year, I tore my peck muscle completely off. I played through it but wasn’t playing that well. My senior year, I came back and the fourth game of the year, I blew out my MCL (medial collateral ligament) twice. When I came back, I did it again. At that point, you feel you’ve just killed any chance to be in the National Football League. Fortunately, I had been drafted to the Edmonton Eskimos. I went to training camp, and I thought I had the training camp of my life. But you know how the numbers work. It’s pretty tough to make it when the guy in front of you was a special teams’ guru. He’s the guy you use for drill tape for everybody else in this league. I wasn’t going to beat him out, and they weren’t ready to trust a rookie to start. I was out of a job.

The next year, I went to Hamilton. Right before camp, they had two guys come back from the NFL for defensive linemen. I got a phone call to say, we’re going to put you at offense. You try to make a pro team at a new position. It lasted a couple weeks, and I got sent home. I was so frustrated because I trained so hard. I felt I was right to play but it’s so much being at the right place at the right time. After those two camps, I thought my football was done. I dropped about 30/40 pounds, moved to Saskatoon, and ended up running some hot dog carts. I’m selling hot dogs on the streets of Saskatoon outside of city hall and outside some night clubs.

The next year, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have their training camp in Saskatoon. There I was serving hot dogs at night and all these Riders are coming into the bar and on their way out, buying hot dogs. Two years before, I was playing in Texas and Nebraska and playing in front of 90,000 people, had a shot at pro football, and here I am selling hot dogs to these guys. It was tearing me up. I was asking myself: why didn’t I make it? I called home and was pretty upset about it. My mom and dad just said, if you still love it, get back in there. This was a few weeks later, the Riders had a couple injuries. They said, give it a try. I’m only 250 pounds, I can’t do this anymore. They said you never know unless you try.

I called up the head coach of Saskatchewan: Cal Murphy. He wouldn’t return my calls. Two/three days waiting for callbacks, I just shut down the carts one morning and drove to Regina – a two and a half hour drive – with my old college game films. The Riders were practicing, so I waited three hours until after practice and meetings to meet the coach. I met with him for about five minutes. I gave him the tape. He said, don’t call us, we’ll call you. That night, I got back to Saskatoon. Within minutes of being home, Coach Murphy called up. “I just looked at the tape; do you think you can still do that? Why don’t you come down here and we’ll put you through a workout tomorrow.” The next day, I jumped back in the car to drive down to Regina, throw on my shoes and my gear, and worked out for about ten minutes. I thought, wow, the only chance they’re giving me is this ten minutes. I sat down with the coaches and they ask if I’d been working out. I said no. They asked what I had been doing. I said selling hot dogs, playing hackey sack, volleyball, some biking, stuff like that keeping in shape. I hadn’t been working out; I had been a little light. They asked if they thought I could get that back, and I said I know I can. They said, well, we’re going to have to talk about it. We’ll let you know in a few days. I drive back to Saskatoon. That time, I get back to Saskatoon, he’s already on the phone with my roommate. He said, “You’re moving to Regina.” And that’s how it started.

What’s the point and moral to that story? I don’t know. I trained as hard as I ever did and was in the best shape of my life and was ready to go for two training camps and I got cut. I never worked out for a year and was selling hot dogs on the street, was 30 pounds underweight, and I make a pro career out of it.

Sometimes when it comes to making pro, everybody is pretty good. Everybody trains and works hard. A lot of it is being in the right situation and not being afraid to face criticism or rejection. The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my pro career was call up a head coach who I didn’t even know when I was underweight, drive down there and meet them in person and tell them why they should give me a job. Sometimes you’re going to get those doors shut in your face more times than they’re going to be open. If you keep persisting and focus on what you want to do, you never know what’s going to happen. That being said, there are a lot of guys who tried that and never made a pro career. You have to have the right gift, the right people have to see it, and you’ve got to have somebody in the head office who loves you. That’s it.

Self-Publishing Market Dwarfs Traditional Publishing

2008-01-31T21:40:00.000-08:00

Source: Clement James, vnunet.com, January 21, 2008, Incisive Media Ltd.

Writers turning to self-publishing by Crissa Shoemaker Debree, January 24,

2008, phillyburbs.com

So if the online publishing community Blurb in the United Kingdom says it produced about 80,000 titles in 2007, how many titles would one traditional/royalty publisher have produced? Try 1,800 titles by Simon & Schuster in 2007 and 9,000 by Random House in 2006.

While Clement James cites one of the reasons for this explosion in self-publishing growth is due to a dramatic spike in sales of the digital camera, Foster Winans (author, chief creative officer of Winans Kuenstler Publishing) says it’s because technology has made it so easy to physically manufacture and market a book. There isn’t anything a publisher can do that you can’t do for yourself.

Because traditional publishing is more and more selective about its titles each year, closing offices, merging with other publishing firms, it’s virtually impossible for a new author to ink a contract and just as difficult for established authors. Economics are such that you have to sell four or five (or more if a Canadian publisher is paying only five percent of the retail cost on U.S sales) royalty published books to get the same coin as you would receive from selling one self-published book.

Besides the fact you don’t have to wait for rejection letters, another attractive feature of self-publishing is control. You control distribution. You control the pricing. You control the editorial.

CDN/US on Par, So Why Do We Have to Pay the Higher US Price on the Back of the Book?

2008-01-04T08:06:00.000-08:00

Source: Globe and Mail, December 28, 2007
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071228.wbooks_yearender29/BNStory/Entertainment/home
It seems like a big scam, doesn’t it? The Canadian dollar has been on par with the US dollar for some time now, and the difference in CDN versus US pricing on the retail shelves still remains 20 to 40 percent, and the booksellers refuse to sell at the lower US price. It makes no sense.

I don’t know about you, but when you’re looking at a medium-sized to a large coffee table book, I will leave the book on the shelf rather than pay $10.00 to $40.00 more than the Canadian price. I don’t need a book that badly. Chances are, like most consumers, I’ll buy it directly from the US instead.

It doesn’t make much business sense. The booksellers try to explain that the prices are set months in advance – before they reach the shelves. But wait? Don’t booksellers unilaterally discount books to clear their inventory? When you ask the clerks, they offer the corporate line that the publishers set the price. They also don’t ask the publisher’s permission to discount.

What will be clear when the 2007 statistics are tallied is that sales will likely be down significantly. The good news might be that in 2008, they might come to their senses. On the other hand, if the dollar continues to stay above the US greenback, publishers will start charging more for US versus CDN. Then wanting to pay the Canadian price might be a mute point.

Uploading files to a printer

2008-01-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

The PDF is the way most printers prefer to receive book files. Some require the source files (i.e. In Design) be uploaded with the PDF, but for the most part, they all end up as a high resolution PDF. Any technical questions about uploading should be directed right at the printer.

When a file is uploaded, it goes to a process many call “prepress.” That’s where they check to see if the files are clean and meeting the printer’s standards. Some of the issues they look for are:

Image resolution
Bleeds
Page count
Page size
Color format
Printed in Canada
Fonts
Images
Highlight/shadow values
Corrupted files
Supported file types (images)

What's the deal with printing in China?

2007-12-26T23:07:00.000-08:00

Headline: Chinese dissident jailed for illegally publishing book
http://abc.net.au:80/news/stories/2007/11/15/2091183.htm?section=justin

This is one of the reasons why I refuse to outsource my printing needs to China.

I have to share my journey of the last couple of weeks -- in search of a printer that will print inside color competitively and NOT offshore to China. On a 5.5 x 8.5 book, 224 pages, full color inside, 1,000 books, the best quote so far is $10,000. That's almost three times higher than what the book would be in black and white. The Association of Canadian Publishers told me ALL Canadian publishers offshore color printing to China. When I asked about the United States, the answer was nobody goes there. No specific reason.

Because I would rather outsource to a country that operates with a free society, I went on the US ISBN site to find several recommended printers. Sadly, even many of those printers offshore to China, but I did manage to find a couple off that list that were willing to offer a quote. The cost isn’t dramatically cheaper than the Canadian printers so far, but it’s better, including shipping to Canada. I’m waiting to hear back from a California author who had her book published through a local printer and found the pricing and service wonderful. So I’m still looking to add to the two firms I’ve found (listed in the Resource section below). Keep in mind, however, that most US printers consider 5,000 books a small run.

It's been frustrating for me personally because I have serious philosophical issues with outsourcing to China or any other country that advocates the abuse of its citizens. A lot of companies do business with China, and I certainly have nothing against the country as a whole via its people, but if you want to stop lead paint in toys and contaminants in human and pet food, there is only one way to do it. Stop using them. This is just my opinion. I would rather support North American workers first. But overall, this has been a good quest. I’ve learned much in my online and telephone travels.

Submitting to a publisher

2007-11-02T21:01:00.000-07:00

This message can never be said enough.

If you're thinking of submitting to a publisher, research publishers online to find out which are the best fit for your project. (See www.publishers.ca for Canadian publishers.) They will also have submission guidelines on each Website.

Most publishers will not accept email proposals, unless you have already developed a relationship. In order to get noticed and stand above the 6,000 to 8,000 pitches the larger publishers receive every year, just doing the due diligence as to researching and taking the time to pen a good proposal will set you on the upper rungs of the slush pile ladder. Never send a manuscript until asked.

You also need some serious editing, using the Chicago Manual of Style.

Publishers don't care you wrote a book. They want to know why they should invest their hard-earned dollars to produce it and if you are going to take ownership -- meaning help sell the project. Include a marketing plan in your proposal and make all the words sing off the page. You'll need to "sell" the story as to why the reader should read it and the publisher should publish it.

The other option is to self-publish. But again, it's still about marketing and it starts with a well-edited product and a professional looking design.

This is never what many people want to hear, but it's the facts of publishing. Compare it to walking onto an MGM movie set and convincing Steven Spielberg you should be in his next movie when you haven't acted before or read his script. It's all about presentation and doing the homework. Or maybe you prefer auditioning for a position of replacement guitarist to back up Eddie Van Halen and you’ve never held a pick in your hand, let alone a Peavey or a Gibson. What do you think your chances will be? It will be the same with publishing.

Printing colors are hard to match

2007-11-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

You might notice when you compare your PDF proof from your designer to the finished book that the colors might look different. In fact, if you had your book printed at two different printers, the color will also likely be different.

Why is that? Computer graphics versus printing ink is one reason. They will never be exactly the same because they work on two different technologies. But you certainly aim to match it as close as possible.

There are more technical reasons for this but in a nutshell it boils down to two things: ink mixtures versus computer color technology and paper stock.

Two different printers will use similar stocks but they won’t be exactly the same. Papers project color differently. Printers do try to color match to the specifications as close as possible, but it is very difficult to produce an exact match.

Getting back to basics

2007-10-07T12:59:00.001-07:00

It may be years since many of us were out of elementary school, where we learned the basics of A, B, C’s, but it never hurts to refresh our memories once in a while. That means picking up a grammar or style book and actually reading a page or two, rather than just using it for reference.

Sometimes, we may even need to be refreshed as to how to use common construction of nouns, verbs, conjunctions, adjectives, and other aspects of writing.

For example, Diane Hacker reminds us in her “A Canadian Writer’s Reference – Third Edition (Bedford/St. Martin’s, Boston/New York, 2004) to balance our sentences. Use single words to balance single words, phrases with phrases, and clauses with clauses.

According to an Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey on Canadian literacy levels (see www.abc-canada.org), 42 percent of adult Canadians struggle with daily literacy requirements – that translates to nine million people between the ages of 16 to 65.

Statistics Canada will tell you there is a link between education, literacy, and earnings. But the good news is there are a lot of resources for us to brush up on our skills. Also check out www.literacy.ca, www.nald.ca, www.nlhp.cpha.ca, and www.worldlit.ca.

Maybe we can start a movement together. Foster literacy. It’s never too late.

What to do when you're in a rut

2007-10-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

Believe in yourself – write down some of your accomplishments. The more you compile, the better you feel.

Re-evaluate. Are you targeting the right market? Are you working on a project you don’t feel passionate about?

Motivate yourself with motivating material. Collect uplifting quotes and pin them to your computer or mirror. Read a page or paragraph from a motivational book to get you going.

Pat yourself on the back for the things you have done well.

Diversify – don’t get stuck in one direction.

Take some time for yourself and relax; have fun, watch football, a movie, pet the cat, go shopping, take a drive.

Social networking is the new telephone/email/fax

2007-09-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it. I’m hooked. I am what they might classify as a Facebook addict – and I’m only two months in.

After some verbal prodding, someone finally convinced me to join Facebook. Well, I wasn’t going to until I saw Howard Kurtz talk about his Facebook page on CNN’s “Reliable Sources.” I figure if Kurtz had an account – and also the two reporters he was talking with from the Washington Post and New York Times, I figured Facebook couldn’t be all that bad.

I have to say, it's been fantastic. Besides reconnecting with people I haven't seen in years (it really is awesome), I'm using it as a networking and business promotion tool.

I posted ads and distributed electronic flyers in targeted networks for $1 each, reaching hundreds per community, to promote my new lacrosse book.

I also joined Ryze, LinkedIn, MySpace, and a couple others. It's reaching a gazillion people for pretty much nothing.

For example, on LinkedIn, on a group posting, my introductory email went to 5,400 people! Immediately, I received connections left, right, and center from quality connections all over the globe – people who were initially connected to people I know, who are also well connected.

An August 16, 2007 article by Caroline McCarthy I found online regarding the Nielsen/NetRatings for July says MySpace and Facebook were the top two social networking sites. Increased memberships for MySpace were 33 percent and 129 percent for Facebook. LinkedIn is said to have grown twice as fast as any of them over the past year (260 percent for July). Also, Google’s Blogger was ranked as the top blog site in July.

So whether you’re in or out of the social networking scene, it does appear to be here to stay. The thing to watch out for is to not get addicted. It’s hard at first, so allow yourself a time limit to soak up the novelty.

The bottom line is you can never have enough friends.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=690215729
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/55b/a84
Ecademy: http://www.ecademy.com/user/debbieelicksen
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/debbieelicksen
Ryze: http://www.ryze.com/go/DebbieElicksen
http://www.bloggernews.net/
Xanga: http://www.xanga.com/ElicksenOrkut: http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=9183516602540729582

Spam and cookie droppings

2007-07-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

It doesn’t happen with every spam email, but I’ve finally figured out how some of this stuff works. When you get a spam email, regardless if you open it or not, it drops adware cookies into your computer.

I even tested it out. I had one piece of spam come into my mailbox and I had just scanned my computer with AdAware. I scanned it again after zapping the spam email and low and behold – six critical objects (tracking cookies).

The same exercise was done with those annoying pop-up ads. I have my pop-up blocker keep them from appearing on most sites, but decided to let them appear after a clean AdAware scan. Then I went to scan my computer again – 10 critical objects. Unfortunately, some Websites won’t let you in unless you allow some pop-ups. You can always allow temporary pop-ups when you click the Tools menu on your Web page and scroll down to Pop-Up Blocker

I could be wrong on this but if you don’t get rid of the tracking cookies regularly, you’ll notice if you go online to your bank or some other site, you’ll all of a sudden start receiving spam related to the sites you visited.

For those of you who are not already doing so, go to Lavasoft.com to download AdAware and scan your computer regularly. Your first scan will be alarming. I think mine had something like 180 critical objects. That’s a lot of tracking cookies. But like antivirus software, it’s cheap insurance for your computer. If you let enough adware pile up, it could start slowing down your operating system.

Finding a graphic designer

2007-07-30T13:57:00.001-07:00

You’ve finally finished the last keystroke to your manuscript. It’s been edited to death and now you’re ready for that next step: finding a graphic designer.

In finding a designer, perhaps the most important element you have to look for, besides having a good feel about the person and their ability to create the vision you have for your book (someone that listens), is the program they are creating the design in. Is it a real layout program, such as In Design, PageMaker, or Quark Express? Or are they working in Word or Microsoft Publisher? Although today, printers want the files in a high resolution PDF, you still need compatible source files to make the process more seamless.

Microsoft Publisher is great for doing up your own marketing materials and dressing up files, but it is not compatible with most printers. It will cost you several dollars more for the printer to make the files compatible, and you’ll probably have several layout errors and issues that come about as a result. Ditto for Word. Unless you want to spend lots of money having a printer clean up your files, your money is best spent having a professional create them before it goes to press.

That’s not to say there won’t be errors. It’s inevitable. But you will minimize them and the printer may also be able to make changes effortlessly with compatible source files, such as In Design, PageMaker, and Quark Express. Any questions about how a printer needs to receive the files should be addressed directly with the printer. Professional graphic designers can speak the same language: Techie.

But how do you actually find a designer? You can ask the printer. You can also look online by Googling graphic designers in Calgary or whatever city/town you live in and check out your center’s online directories. You could try educational institutes that offer graphic design programs. Any marketing/advertising agency can also do the job. You could go to a print on demand service, but really check them out first. Even some of the so-called reputable POD firms have a good share of horror stories, where clients wait for months on end to receive their book or have their corrections done, or are held hostage over being able to retrieve the files they have already paid for.

Professionals will charge a variety rates. Cheaper is not necessarily lesser quality and more expensive is not necessarily better. You want to see a portfolio of their creativeness, whether it includes other books or not. You can get a good feel as to how clean and crisp their layout might be, based on some of their other work.

You want to feel like the graphic designer understands how you might like your book to look. Find some examples to help show what you mean. Give the designer a good overview of what your book is about and who your target reader is. For example, if your target readers are seniors, you might want to consider larger and cleaner fonts, such as 12-point Arial, Tahoma, or Verdana. The more you can share about what your vision is, the more likely the designer will nail it on their first attempt. Also, the less time your designer spends on your book, the less it will cost.

Paper

2007-07-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Source: Research Paper – Connectedness Series: Our Lives in Digital Times by G. Sciadas, Statistics Canada, ISSN 1492-7918, ISBN 0-662-44343-9

Remember 25 years ago? It’s hard to believe that the telephone was the main source of communication back then. And then there was email.

When computer came into existence during the early 1980s, the world envisioned a paperless society. But in reality, quite the opposite was true.

Studies show that today’s paper usage is at an all-time high. We’ve more than doubled our paper consumption between 1983 and 2003 (139.3 percent), even though the population growth has been at 23.6 percent. What does that mean in terms of real sheets? Try 20,000 pages PER person.

Email was supposed to curb the need for printing but now we just print off our emails. Even the mailboxes are continuing to fill (although the fax was supposed to take care of this around 20 years ago). The volume of U.S. mail has actually exceeded the number of letters the post office delivers. Another half billion pieces of mail are transported by courier.

Yet, with all of these increases in paper and electronic communications, we are still meeting with each other face-to face. And people still talk on the phone. We just have more of a paper trail to back everything up.

Couple this with paper mill shutdowns, closures, and takeovers, especially in Canada, plus Asian competition. All this dramatically affects the paper industry, which means printing costs will not be going down any time soon.

Having Your Cake and Eating It, Too

2007-06-30T16:20:00.001-07:00

In the February 5, 2007 edition of The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin wrote a poignant piece (Google’s Moon Shot) about how publishers are against, yet for Google’s Book Search program.

“The dual status of several leading publishers as both partner and adversary to Google underscores their desperate need to hedge their bets in a digital world that they have yet to master.”

First of all, Google Book Search is the company’s attempt to broaden the search engine to include finding a list of works and passages that can be found in every book published. Toobin explains that if you entered “Ahab and whale” in the books.google.com search box, the results would be numerous titles containing that reference. And if you opened “Moby Dick” or “The Whale,” Chapter 28 would pop up where Ahab first appears in the story.

If you check out some of the books in the Google Book Search, you’ll see that you get a good sense of what each book is about, the publisher, copyright, Table of Contents, and sample text. While the company may have scanned every page of the book in question, every page does not appear online.

Google plans to scan every book that was ever published, which includes digitizing all library collections. Thus where things get interesting.

You see, many of the major publishing houses, which agreed to partner with Google Book Search to help market their books are now suing Google for infringement of copyright. They are not necessarily objecting to Google scanning and digitizing their own books, just those housed in the confines of the libraries.

While copyright laws, which stem back to 1790 in the United States, are fluid and have been frequently amended over time, because Google doesn’t show the entire book but rather parts of it, it says that constitutes as being legal under fair use.

The Authors Guild has joined some of the publishers in filing a suit against Google. As Toobin puts it, the Guild is “concerned that pirated copies of the books on Google’s site could leak to the public.” He adds that sadly for these writers and publishers, people are not clamoring for their products and that there isn’t enough of a demand to worry about a piracy problem.

The suit is still on the table and it may be doubtful that Google will be forced to stop their program. They might be forced to share some revenues with each publisher with every book file opened in the search, much like how radio stations pay royalties for each song they play.

Being forced to pay is not something the company will likely be worried about, considering its market value is worth a tad more than the North American publishing industry at $150 billion. In the meantime, its 10,000 plus employees will continue scanning books.

Every author's dream

2007-06-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

What’s the first name that comes to mind to everyone who has ever thought about publishing a book? Oprah.

We all want our books on Oprah but sending her a copy will not get you on her show. Given the reach of her audience, none of us can even begin to imagine how many letters and emails her organization receives in one day. It’s why she’ll never see most of them. Million dollar empires have a myriad of staff that handles everything incoming. And if truth be told, much like having a royalty publisher, just because a book or author makes the show, it doesn’t mean instant success and truckloads of sales.

Forget Oprah. Concentrate on WHY you have written or are writing your book. Concentrate on your target audience. What does the reader get out of investing their time in turning the pages? It’s not about Oprah; it’s not about you; it’s always about the reader.

So if you concentrate on your book’s message, your business, and the notable things you’ve achieved by being you, if those things stand up and get noticed by your local community, then perhaps spread outward, just maybe, someone like Oprah may notice and call you. And if they don’t, it’s a pretty good chance you will have impacted someone who really matters.

Delivery precaution

2007-05-29T14:24:00.001-07:00

I just had my first box go missing on a delivery from the printer. It might not have been a big deal except the author had paid $9.60 per book for the DISC profile alone. Times that by 80 books and it's a chunk of change, not to mention that his books have a unique code for logging into his website. After two days of searching (and perhaps denial by the carrier), they finally found the missing box (at the carrier's), so the box was finally delivered.

This problem is something for you to keep in mind if you're not already doing this. The carrier refused to unload or let the receiver (the author's wife) count the boxes until they signed the proof of delivery slip. She wasn't sure of protocal and so she felt compelled to sign. Perhaps, there may soon be a change in delivery policy if the truckers insist the receivers sign the bill of lading and accept the delivery before the receiver is able to count the boxes. Until then, I suggest that if you are being forced to sign before you are allowed to see or count the boxes, that you sign and say on the form you were not allowed to count the boxes and can't ensure the accuracy of the delivery. That should cover both you and the printer from the trucking firm denying responsibility.

A traditional publisher speaks out

2007-05-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

Interview with a royalty publishing firm for Self-Publishing 101

A typical day in publicity is never the same! From coordinating author tours, generating press releases and/or press kits, to fielding calls and requests from the media and fans alike, you never know how your day will be. Usually hectic, often stressful, but always exciting and entertaining.

The biggest misconception I've come across is the success of a published book. Authors often get pep talks from their agents and publishers (necessarily so), but when it comes time to market and promote the book, they're often disappointed with lackluster sales. It's a tough industry, one in which very few people achieve the financial status or acclaim from peers and colleagues they desire.

Traditionally, an agent was of utmost importance--unsolicited manuscripts were dumped into slush pile obscurity. But lately, there's been a definite trend of publishing houses publishing unrepresented authors. It will never hurt to have an agent, but most reputable agents aren't accepting new clients. It's a bit of a catch-22.

Do your research! You need to pitch the right book to the right publisher, or else you're just wasting everyone's time.

Treat your publicist well--he or she has done a great deal of work to line up media appointments, and while it is your publicity tour, it is ultimately his or her reputation that is on the line. Also, behave--publicists, despite popular opinion, are not babysitters!

Publishers expect a finished product that is as interesting, marketable, and relevant as your pitch letter asserts it to be. Deliver the goods!

The author should expect a working, functional, give-and-take relationship with their publisher (and editor). Writing is a process and there are many people, from designers to editors to marketing professionals, who work endlessly to support and promote your book. It's ultimately a team effort and everyone on that team needs to recognize the importance of everybody else.

Books do not "always" get into bookstores--ask any smaller Canadian publishing house (and there are many)!

Many factors are taken into account when a book's price is determined. Most importantly, printing costs: What weight of paper are you using? Are there photos? How many? Are they color photos? Hard cover or paperback? These factors alone greatly impact the price of book, and that's not even taking marketability, promotional costs, royalties, distribution costs, etc. into account!

It is crucial for the author to be involved in the marketing process! After all, it's their product, and media is not interested in speaking to marketing directors or publicists about the book. Books are most successful when all parties involved pool their resources and work together to effectively market the book.

Communication Styles

2007-02-17T17:15:00.000-08:00

Read other author’s works, both inside and outside of your genre. It will help you assess your own communication style. Ideally, you want to be unique, but you can learn more about what you like and don’t like by reading other people’s writing.

The Select Editions from Readers Digest, where there are four novels in one, are a great product to get you reading more without having to read a 400-page novel. The more you read, the more you learn about writing styles and format.

Assessing your communication style means doing what is comfortable for you and maybe stepping out on the edge.

For example: first-time author John Warner in his self-published book “Emperor of the East Slope” (ISBN 0-9737967-0-7, Ilthyn Productions, 2005, http://members.shaw.ca/ilthyn). Note his choice of words to paint the scene and emotion.

The soldier lay dead.

Most of his face was missing. His weapon lay beside him, impotent. His body lay on its back, head down into a depression. The overnight rain had soaked the corpse, increasing its miserable plight. Gases of decay bloated the trunk and limbs inside the confined clothing, and during the day, fat blue flies laid eggs. Maggots crawled. Vermin and night creatures feasted.

Soon, he would disappear, back into the soil from whence he sprang. But that had not been his purpose here. Lured by fate, he died for the purpose of politics and power-wielding leaders who sent him as a sacrifice to their ends. His family, his loved ones knew not his fate, and maybe it was as well. Hopes, dreams, and promise went with him, vanished in a moment of time, while his corporal remains mouldered briefly, as a reminder to all who passed.

Yet, still the soldier lay dead.

Check out opening sentences, both in book chapters and media articles. Get ideas from other writers to inspire your own unique voice.

Tom Hopkins: “The Art of Selling” (ISBN 0-446-38063-6, Warner Books, 1982)

James Buchanan Brady could borrow millions on the strength of his name.

Let’s think about truth for a moment.

Leon Uris: “Redemption” (ISBN 0-06-018333-0, HarperCollins, 1995)

If the earth were flat, New Zealand would have fallen off it a long time ago, it’s that far
from Ireland.

Dave Shoalts, Globe and Mail columnist:

More than 150 National Hockey League senior executives, general managers, head
coaches, referees and linesmen marched in lockstep out of a Toronto hotel ballroom
Tuesday toward what is now the common enemy: obstruction.

NHL Sports Writing Pioneer on Starting and Keeping a Career

2006-12-29T14:11:00.000-08:00

Shirley Fischler is a veteran writer and women’s advocate, whose columns and feature articles have appeared in the Toronto Star, The Hockey News, Hockey Illustrated, and numerous other publications. Her husband is the famed and legendary hockey writer Stan Fischler, who has penned over 100 books on hockey, to which Shirley has coauthored a few.

Shirley entered the business when women were denied access to press boxes and dressing rooms and relegated to sitting in the wives’ section with their typewriters and storylines. She had taken Madison Square Gardens, the New York Rangers, and the Hockey Writers’ Association to the Human Rights Commission and sued them for access to the press box—and won.

Her advise for a young writer coming out of school? “More often a strong stomach than a strong back. You have to be ready to start at the bottom. One of the things that absolutely drives me crazy sometimes about the interns (both she and Stan have interns helping them on a daily basis with all their projects) is a kid will walk through the door and instead of being willing to do some filing and real gut work, they want a byline and to do face-to-face interviews.

“Everybody wants to be in Los Angeles or New York. Nobody wants to be in Podunk. Many, many of the young men and women who have made it in the business have done so because they were willing to do exactly that. Try writing hockey in Daytona, Florida. Try writing hockey in Muncie, Indiana. They did and they persevered. And they’re still in the business.

“Everybody in the acting business, with a few notable exceptions, realizes that you have to wait tables and do crap work for years and years and years and years before that break may come. It’s a terrible cutthroat business. If you want to persevere, you have to be willing to be out of the business or do something else in the business that you didn’t want to do for five, six, seven years. Why? Because there’s a depression going on, at least in the media.

“You can’t get a job. You can’t even work in Podunk. You have to be an assistant nothing to a marketing manager at an arena, that kind of thing. People in show business know this. You have to pay for putting food on the table by doing the most outlandish things that have absolutely nothing to do with theater in order to finally get into the theater. But nobody who comes out of journalism school or communications school realizes that you have to do crap for God-knows how long in order to work your way back into the business, if that’s what you really want to do.”

Shirley admits she and her husband Stan are rare exceptions. “He was a kid that was a veteran hockey fan, loved the game, and by pure fluke, his first job was in hockey. But that will happen to one out of 1,000.”

How traditional bookselling works

2006-12-05T15:08:00.000-08:00

First, the publisher produces the book that the author has written. The publisher ships these books (at its own expense) to bookstores or to a distributor (the middle party between the publisher and bookstore). If the books are sent to a distributor, he or she sells them to bookstores (many times on consignment), usually through a catalogue or a sales call, and ships them to the bookstore at the distributor’s expense.

When the bookstore sells a book, it pays the distributor or publisher. However, each party in the sales chain takes a percentage of the retail revenue from the book’s sale before the remainder, the royalty, trickles down to the author. Generally, the bookseller will get 40, 45 to 55 percent of the sale, the distributor 20 percent, the author 10 percent, and the publisher the balance. (As a self-publisher, you would get the author and publisher share.)

Also keep in mind that booksellers send back returns (books that don’t sell) to the publisher at the publisher’s expense. Authors receive no income from these books.
Advances

An advance (or, more correctly, an advance against royalties) is a sum of money a publisher pays an author before a book is published. The schedule can vary, but often, it is paid in two or more installments — one when the author signs the contract, another when the manuscript is delivered to the publisher, and additional installments at different steps of the process.

In order to understand how a publishing advance works, you need to understand how the bookselling process works.

The advance you may or may not receive from a publisher is an advance on royalties, the author’s share in the pot. If your book retails for $20 and you’ve received an advance of $5,000, that means the publisher needs to sell 2,500 books (2,500 x $2) before it makes back the money it paid in the advance and before you will receive any more royalties. If the publisher doesn’t sell enough copies of a book to recoup the advance, that will be the only money you will ever see. One benefit is that the author doesn’t have to pay back the advance if book sales go in the hole.

It only goes to show you, don’t spend your money before you have it.

Royalty Errors

2006-11-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

While there is a heavy perception that royalty (traditional) publishing is a better read or a better quality book than a self-published book, you will find blatant errors in a royalty published book (see James Frey). In one story produced by a very large publishing house, there were three references to a child's age taking place during the same period of time -- all three references were inconsistent. One said the kid was 9, one 8, and one 8 1/2. In another story, the author spelled all right wrong (as alright) and spelled it that way throughout the story.

One literary agent says that errors are commonplace in traditional publishing. It’s mostly due to short deadlines and not enough support staff to get things done.

The Anti-Anti Spam

2006-08-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

You see it every morning, all day, every day. The dreaded spam. And not the kind that comes in a can, either. It’s the kind that likes to launch gremlins in your computer – spyware that monitors your every move and slows down your computer if you get too much of it.

But before you run out and download the newest, fanciest anti-spam fighter, none of them will ever work as good as the delete button.

The danger of anti-spam software is that the program sometimes groups legitimate emails with the stock reports, Viagra advertisements, and the please-help-me letters from Africa.

Big deal, you say. Well, if 90 percent of your business relies on your email, yes it is a very big deal and could be a costly one at that. So you get a lot of emails in a day. Unless you don’t need the business, you do risk losing a contract or two by entrusting your Outlook or Outlook Express to Mr. Anti-Spam.

The spam is a nuisance, but I'd rather put up with it than miss an important email that means business in my pocket. Not to mention, those anti-spam programs that ask every sender to resend their emails or fill out an e-business card are actually worse than the spam itself. The recipient is usually put off by the return email and you can be sure that the president of XYZ is not going to bother.

I receive, over the course of a day, 300 or so emails in and out, so deleting spam has become a habit. While spam does launch all sorts of spyware on your computer, whether or not you’ve opened it, you can download Ad-Aware SE Personal for free from Lavasoft.com and it will zap these gremlins off your computer.

There are already enough reasons that emails go array. So next time, before you begin to say these words to your biggest customer or prospect, “I didn’t get your email,” perhaps you ought to think twice about your anti-spam program. Just think, you may be missing that big book deal, too.

Book layout: what order do things go?

2006-07-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

If you look at some of the books on your shelf, you’ll see some consistency as to how the internal layout is ordered. The Chicago Manual of Style also helps you step-by-step through this process and describes, in much detail, as to what each element is, such as a Foreword, Appendix, etc. Not every book will have a review page, appendixes, glossary, or even bibliography. Every book should have a title page, copyright page, and table of contents.

Here is a template for the order of sections in a typical book.

Title page: might include just the title and author; can include edition and publisher
Copyright page: publishing information, ISBN, CIP, copyright holder, year…
Reviews: may or may not be included in a book; this is where you commonly see them
Dedication
Table of contents
Foreword
Introduction
Other front matter: might include map (such as in military planning), list of abbreviations, etc.
Chapters
Conclusion, Afterword, Epilogue
Appendixes: explanations and/or elaborations of chapter material
Chronology
Endnotes
Glossary
Bibliography or references
List of contributors
Index

If a book is hardcover, then it is common to have the author information on the cover wrap. Otherwise, if a book is softcover, the author information might be on the back cover or inside, after the conclusion.

Save your time and money

2006-07-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I’ve been holding onto my old computer like an old comfortable blanket – that is until I noticed the free space on my hard drive was hovering between 16 and 14 percent. That meant when I received a large PDF file or picture image, I’d panic whether or not there would be room on my computer, not to mention the performance level was at the chugging, groaning, and grinding mode. I had to bite the bullet and get a new tower, whether I liked it or not.

Now, because the old tower had no CD drive (yes, it was THAT old – upgraded to a Pentium II), transferring files to the new 512 MB, 80 GB, Windows XP operating system meant laborious disk transfer, although some files were too big to save on the 1.44 MB disk space, so I would have to email myself and pick up the file when I hooked up the new computer. Panic. No disk drive on the new tower. No disk drive!!! What’s with that?

I probably spent half a day powerless, trying desperately to figure out what to do other than try and get a computer exorcist to come by and transfer my files using whatever magic they possess, which I have no clue about. I called one of them (he’s probably still rolling his eyes) who suggested I get (and spoke slowly so I could write it down) a USB key. I always thought they were something like $150 to $200 (much cheaper to hire the exorcist), but this fellow enlightened me that they can range $25 to $50, depending on how big. Well, given that my old computer had about 15 percent free space, mostly programs and software stuff, the actual files were much less and could fit on a 256 MB USB drive.

Guess what? It was so easy; I had trouble forgiving myself for doing things the hard way for so many years. In fact, the USB key is like having a portable hard drive less than the size of a lipstick tube. You can carry it in your wallet or stick it in your safety deposit box for off-site storage.

If you get one for the first time and find the slot it sticks into, an icon pops up in the bottom corner and when you open the screen, you just select and drag whatever you want on the old computer files into the folder. That’s it. But, you must go to that icon and click STOP before pulling it out; otherwise it might mess up your hard drive. It’s like having a very large back-up file that you can update as often as you want.

My only problem now is – what to do with all those backup disks.

Due Diligence

2006-07-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, you've got the greatest book idea -- the bestseller everyone is waiting for. Now you're ready to sit down and pen the perfect manuscript, then get a gazillion copies and mail them to every publisher you can find. But wait! Before you spend all that money at the post office and the corner copier store, don't waste your time.

Before you lick one envelope, research. Go online. Look at each publisher's website first. Is this a publisher that might publish your book? There's no point in mailing the manuscript to a science fiction publisher when yours is a business book. There's no point in mailing to a publisher that has already published the same book angle by another author. Roll up your sleeves and do the work. Find the right fit.

So, now you've compiled a list of five or six publishers (sure beats mailing 20) that have a direct fit with your project. And no, that doesn't mean you mail out those boxes of manuscripts. Not yet. If you check their websites for submission requirements, you'll likely see they don't accept unsolicited manuscripts -- by anyone, no matter how brilliant you think the book is.

Now what? Well, first, you have to realize nobody cares you wrote a book. Really. Publishers don't care YOU wrote a book. What they want to know is WHY should they be interested in putting up the thousands of dollars they would have to invest to publish your book. What's in it for them? In no more than three Word pages (10 pt text at the smallest), you must be able to convince them your book would be a good fit for their firm. You might cite other books in the same flavor that you noticed they have published in the past. You might mention, because they publish ..., your book falls into that category.

You make your cover letter all about them and why you approached them. You show your book fits with their catalogue. You convince them you are qualified to pen this book. You show them you will be hands-on involved in marketing the book -- not just by saying it, but by sharing your preliminary marketing plan.

If this sounds like a lot of work, it is. It comes down to how badly you want your book published. The slush pile for traditional publishing is quite high. It may be no exaggeration to say there are over 6,000 people vying for maybe 200 spots every year PER publisher. Most authors send out pitches indiscriminantly without having checked to see what the publisher publishes. (Don't worry, we've all done it.) Those that do the due diligence and actually research the firm will put themselves in the top 10 percent of the slush pile. That's still about 600 names, but 600 is better than 6,000, and your letter has a better chance of being read.

Debbie Elicksen

Practice your editing skills on email

2006-07-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

Regardless of whether an email is personal or business (particularly personal emails at a business location), they are considered a legal document and can be used in court. (Email evidence played a major role in the Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco investigations.) If they are deleted, they can be forensically recovered and would be if a company has been taken to court. That means all those anger emails and off-colored jokes would be included.

There is one way to make sure an email says what is intended to say and there is only one way to do that: RE-READ.

I challenge you to practice your pen skills in every email, whether it's to your mother, sister, or significant other. That means PROOFREADING everything that leaves your computer. How one pens their emails, particularly business emails, can reflect on one's professionalism. When people approach firms for work using the lower case "i" when talking about themselves, perhaps thinking it's cute, the receiver is likely thinking, 'If that's the effort they put into their work, there is no way I would hire them.'

Nobody is 100 percent perfect. You may even find the odd error in this newsletter, but I can assure you it has been proofed, reproofed, printed off, and proofed again, several times. Those who do the due diligence to ensure their emails read as well as any written letter mailed set themselves ahead of pretty much 90 percent of the pack. It's also good practice that translates to penning your manuscript.

Debbie Elicksen, Freelance Communications

Driving your computer safely online

2006-07-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Norton Anti-Virus and other protective software are as important to your computer as its operating system. Without it, you're driving blindfolded, backwards on the highway at 100 miles per hour. It’s not a matter of if you’ll crash, it’s when.

There are many gremlins, hackers, and cyber-mosquitoes trying to land inside your computer every second of every minute. Don’t believe me? Check the activity logs on your Norton Anti-Virus. For example, looking at today’s log:

8:57:23 PM, unauthorized access logged and stopped – 17 times

8:57:22 PM, unauthorized access logged and stopped – 13 times

10:29:49 – intrusion prevention monitoring 578 signatures

10:29:48 – intrusion prevention monitoring 578 signatures

In fact, if you don’t have Norton, I suggest you shut down this very minute and run, don’t walk, to Wal-Mart, Staples, or wherever the CDs are sold. I recommend the CD because if you ever need to reload it (re computer system upgrades, etc.), it’s much easier and cheaper than trying to buy another download off the Symantec website. Consider it computer insurance and the cost of driving your computer online. Without it, perhaps you should be arrested for driving without insurance and putting everyone in your address book at risk of a fatal virus or worm. Norton updates daily for a year. I recommend doing this manually every day.

The other two items you need are a firewall and a spyware zapper. Zone Alarm and Norton are two common firewalls that you can buy. You’d be amazed at the alerts on these logs, too. I turn off the log alerts, otherwise the darned window pops up every few seconds and annoys the heck out of you. You can just be comforted to know it’s working without having to see it working.

There are spyware zappers you can buy (it comes with the Norton Security CD), but one of the best, and highly recommended by Microsoft, is Ad-Aware. The good part is you can download this for free from Lavasoft. It zaps much of the spyware that comes with pretty much every spam email plus those excruciating elongated text forwarded jokes and e-cards (both of which I do not read and they are a total nuisance when 90 percent of your business is done via email). Spyware is evil because it launches stuff inside your computer so people can see what you’re doing, and perhaps, some might find a way to infiltrate your files.

The Internet is great for opening a lot of doors re opportunity (work-wise), research, etc, but there are a lot of trolls hiding under the bridge waiting to pounce. I look at buying Norton every year like car insurance. You have to or you risk paying through the nose when a virus crashes your computer. A firewall doesn't really stop a lot from getting in, but it helps keep hackers at bay. (Why would anyone want to hack your computer? Two words: identity theft.)

Anti-virus software is your number one priority. If you only use one of the three, that should be your first choice. Your second priority would be a firewall, and third – Ad Aware. These three things make that big scary world of cyberspace a lot easier to maneuver and you can go about your business virtually undetected.

Debbie Elicksen, Freelance Communications

2006-02-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

The Plan

A business plan is your blueprint for starting any new venture -- even a book. A book requires a vision, a dream, and unfortunately, sales. Be as specific as possible in your planning. Use timelines to keep yourself accountable. But if you've never done a business plan, how do you start?

Did you know you have the outline for developing a business plan already in your computer? You can access the PowerPoint template two ways:

Click on START - then New Office Document (at the top) - then click on the menu Presentations. There is also a template for a marketing plan and project overview that may be helpful.

Open your PowerPoint program directly

Ideally, you should map out your plan before you start your manuscript. First establish if there is a market. Do your homework. Check Google, Amazon, and Chapters/Indigo for other books written on a similar angle. Plan for sales outside the bookstores. If you get in (and that's a big "if"), consider the bookstores gravy. The rest is your bread and butter.

You also need to know what's out there if you pitch to a traditional publisher. Why should they be interested if there are already other books on the market? Find the unique angle.

Your business plan should factor in timelines for writing, design and layout, printing, distribution, marketing, media, and followup. If you have a drop dead date for publication, for example, you want your books ready for a conference, work back from that date. If the conference is December 31 -- work back and ask the printer when you need to submit the electronic files to have delivery by the 15th (ideally cushioning for delays like power outages, etc. that could affect the plant). If the printer says November 25, work back two to three weeks, depending on designer's schedule, to allow time for layout. That would mean you must be ready with your edited manuscript by November 4. Always allow for delays. What if you get sick for three days? Factor in major events, work deadlines, and add at least another week for an extra cushion.

Debbie Elicksen
www.freelancepublishing.net

2006-02-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

Your Book's Resume

Regardless of whether you decide to pitch your book to a traditional (royalty) publisher or publish it yourself, you absolutely must have an outline. Your outline is your book's resume.

An outline should include:

1. A general overview of the project
2. What the reader will get out of it
3. Research or interviews planned
4. What's on the market that may be similar or may prove your project is unique
5. Target audience
6. Qualifications: back up why you are qualified to write this book (write what you know)

Your general overview will be three carefully worded paragraphs, describing the essence of your book. There is no room for vagueness. Like a press release, these paragraphs should be shaped in an inverted pyramid style, most important to least important. The first paragraph should tell the story without having to read further into the next two paragraphs.

What will the reader get out of this book? What do they take home? Entertainment? Laughter? Inspiration? A better understanding of a topic or industry? This is what will help the publisher (or distributor) determine if it should invest in your book. It also reinforces your purpose and gives interviewees a good understanding of what they're getting involved in. The outline will help the media, sponsors, readers, and even potentially tough to get interviews determine if they should invest any of their hard-earned time in your book.

Listing the research and interviews you plan or have already done adds credibility to your book. It shows that you are doing the due diligence in providing accurate material. These are the book's credentials.

Your outline sells your book. Take a lot of care and attention in developing it.

Debbie Elicksen

Marketing yourself or your business through books

2006-02-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

Picture this. You've just heard the most dynamic speaker. At the conclusion of his talk, you rush to the back of the room to purchase his book. At home, you settle into reinforcing what you learned by opening the book. As you begin to read, you're appalled that this eloquent speaker didn't even appear to take time to edit his book. There is no flow to the text and you discover numerous grammatical and spelling errors.

If you want to be taken seriously as a writer, be serious about your writing. At the very least, invest in a good dictionary (minimum 1,500 pages) and a comparable thesaurus. Buy a stylebook (Chicago Manual of Style) and other writing reference books, then use them. Do not, I repeat, do not rely on Spell Check. It doesn't catch synonyms and many other grammatical or spelling errors.

The quality of your product is reflective of the time and effort you put into it. Most people don't have a lot of time on their plate. If that's the case, hire a competent ghostwriter or editor. Grammar plus proofing equals professionalism.

Have something to say

Don't write a book for the sake of writing a book. If you don't believe in the message, why should a reader? What experiences can you share that might help or encourage others? What is your expertise? Why would someone be interested in your story?

Find a niche. What do you do that is different from everyone else? What advice do you get asked for all the time? What are you most known for? What are some of the challenges you faced while growing your business? What do you say to those just starting out? What isn't being said about your industry?

Getting Started

If you have an idea of what you want to write about, take the time to map out a plan before you put your fingers on the keyboard. You need an outline and a business plan. What message do you want to send? What do you want the book to accomplish? Who is your audience? How will you market? What's your timeline? What will you research? Who will you interview?

Looks are everything

Hire a professional graphic designer to layout the book and create its cover. Save a lot of time and money by having a vision of how you want your book to look. Check out other book covers (front and back) and layouts. Sometimes you'll have three or four examples of each. Maybe sketch out a rough layout. That, with the samples you provide, will help the designer come up with a something very close in just the first draft.

Next time you visit a bookstore, pay close attention to covers. Stand about ten feet back from an aisle and take note of which book covers jump off the shelf. The cover is more important to the sale of a book than its contents.

You can never spend too much time editing. Read your manuscript at least seven times both onscreen and in printed form. Reproof again after the designer lays it out and again from the digital blue line. Read until the thought of reading it again makes you ill.

Give your book professional credibility by applying for an ISBN number. This is an international book numbering system that costs nothing if you live in Canada and a small fee if you live in the United States. Your book absolutely must have a barcode. Printers that know book publishing will insert it at the time of printing upon request. Without it, you limit your marketing efforts severely. You can't have a barcode without an ISBN.

Your book is your marketing tool. It offers you instant credibility. Taking the time and effort to ensure it looks as good as it reads is something you will never regret.

Debbie Elicksen