The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College’s fourth annual “Publish & Promote Your Book” Conference was the best I’ve attended, filled with engaged and engaging editors, agents and authors. I know not every aspiring and struggling writer (aren’t we all?) has the opportunity to attend such a conference, so allow me to share the takeaways, which should help and hearten you:
Don’t be afraid to share your work/ideas. In the United States at least, you own the copyright to your work the minute you start writing it.
Write in Microsoft Word. Google Docs may be cutting-edge, but the publishing world uses Microsoft Word.
Beware the sagging middle. Lots of writers concentrate on socko openings and endings but let their narratives – and the readers’ attention – sag in the middle, a possible source of rejection by agents and editors.
Your pitch is important. This is the query letter that lets the agent/editor know why he or she should read your manuscript. It should include comps (famous works your book is comparable to).
Hand in polished work. That may mean hiring an editor if you’re not good at self-editing. I myself am fortunate to work with several superb editors and readers, including the Blog Goddess, but I’ve always edited my own work as well. Still, fresh eyes can’t hurt. Even Shakespeare had an editor (many editors).
Use social media. Don’t let it use you. The panelists’ responses were mixed on having a platform – a must for nonfiction writers, less so for fiction authors. But take care that those who represent you on Twitter, etc., speak in your voice.
Consider hiring a publicist before your book comes out. This is an individual choice that can cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. My thinking is that you’re going to need marketing help, because most writers are busy writing and don’t have the temperament for marketing anyway.
Regardless of your temperament, you have to sell yourself – in the best possible way. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the conference was learning that you are the brand, more so than the book. (The panelists suggested that your website should be in your name, not the book’s. Maybe have two?)
Finally, some personal observations: We heard the usual gloom and doom about a fraction of one percent of books hitting the publishing big-time, of people turning away from fiction in our troubled world of alternative facts. What I say is we need all kinds of books now more than ever to provide enlightenment, entertainment, solace and escape. None of this, however, matters if writing is your passion – as it is mine. You have no choice then but to follow it. Don’t let anyone dissuade you from it.
You won’t regret it.