Authors Who Succeed in The Book Business

Terry Whalin    @terrywhalin   

Throughout my decades in publishing, I’ve written many different types of nonfiction books: biographies, how-to, diet, self-help, co-authored books, children’s books and others. I’ve interviewed more than 150 bestselling authors and written their stories for various magazines. It’s not that I’m the best writer in the room but I am one of the more consistent, persistent writers.

I attend conferences and pitch my ideas to editors. I listen to their response and sometimes they say, “That’s a good idea, Terry. Write that up and send it to me.” I make a little note, then I go home. write and send it. Now that doesn’t mean I get published, but I did give myself a chance to get published because of my submission.

Now I go to conferences as an editor and listen to writers pitch their ideas. I listen carefully and if I hear a good idea, I encourage them to send it to me. I’ve been to conferences across the United States and Canada listening to writers and encouraging them to send me their material. Here’s a startling statistic: probably only about 10% of those writers actually submit their requested material. I follow up through email and often a phone call to encourage them to send it—but they don’t submit.

There are several other key factors from my experience:

Professionals continue to work at learning the craft of writing. I’m constantly reading books and taking online courses and learning. The authors who disappear off the bestseller list figure they have arrived at their craft and don’t have anything else to learn. Yes, I’ve met some of these writers.

Professional writers keep in touch with readers through an email newsletter and have invested the time to learn about their audience (readers) then write what they want and expect. These professionals also understand the importance of a gentle follow-up. Notice the word “gentle” because if you are too pushy, the easiest answer to give is “no thank you.” Yes often takes patience, persistence and time.

These professional writers also understand the importance of continual pitching to decision makers (editors but also radio show hosts, podcast creators, and others of influence). Authors who succeed in the publishing world are looking for opportunities. When they find the open door, they have the boldness to move forward and seize it.

Also professional writers understand the importance of deadlines and meet those deadlines with quality writing. As an editor, I’ve fielded calls from writers who are not going to make their deadlines. They have many reasons—some of them even reasonable. Writers are notoriously late so publishers often build some room for such excuses into their schedule—but don’t be one of those writers. I’ve taken some crazy deadlines from publishers and sometimes stayed writing at my keyboard all night to send my manuscript on the deadline. It’s another key for those writers who succeed in the book business.

The path is not easy for any of us and takes persistence, consistency and discipline. But it is possible for you to find the right idea and the right book and the right publisher at the right time. I understand there are many rights which need to align. It simply will not fly if you don’t try.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including https://jumpstartdreams.com/Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s newest book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. The revised and updated edition will be out later this year. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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When Your Book Doesn’t Sell

By W. Terry Whalin

I used to cringe when I saw the mail or email from one of my publishers. It probably contained a royalty statement and experience told me many of those numbers would begin with a minus (negative balance).  I’ve written for many different traditional publishers and have had this experience from a broad spectrum of types of books including how-to, self-help, biographies, gift books and children’s books.

When your book sales are off, it’s a natural tendency to want to blame someone. Maybe my editor has left and my book was orphaned inside the publisher with no champion or advocate. Maybe my publisher didn’t market the book to bookstores. Maybe they changed the title between what was printed in the catalog and what was published. Or _(fill in the blank). I’ve had all of these things happen to my published books. Good publishing involves a cooperative process and working with many different people. Much of this process is outside of the author’s control. I’ve also learned there are many pro-active steps authors can take to change their situation.

1.      Take 100% responsibility for your own success. In The Success Principles, Jack Canfield makes this the first principle. Over ten years ago, I heard this principle and adopted it in my publishing efforts.

2.      Be active in the promotion and marketing of your book.  As the author, you have the greatest passion for your book—way beyond anyone else including your publisher. The great promoter, PT Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens—nothing.” Consistent promotion of your book is important.

3.      Be Generous with your book. Reviews sell books but many authors have few reviews for their book on Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes & Noble. Give books to people who are willing to write a review. If they’ve never written a review, give them a tool to help them like with this form.

4.      Ask for others for help. In the New Testament, James 4:2-3 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” If you need endorsements, ask but make it easy for them to say yes (offer to draft it). If you need social media promotion, ask but create possible posts. Here’s an example of a page, I created to help others help me spread the word on my latest book.

5.      Take the long view of publishing. Publishing and promoting a book is more like a marathon than a sprint. With the huge volume of published books, someone has to hear about your book seven to twelve times before they purchase it. What actions can you take every day to give your book this exposure? My Billy Graham book trailer has been seen over 11,500 times in the last five years. http://bit.ly/BGBookT

6.      No matter what happens in your life, keep going. In Perennial Seller, New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday writes, “The hard part is not the dream or the idea, it’s the doing.” If there were a simple formula to create a bestseller, every book would be a bestseller. There are practical actions every author can take. Each part of the publishing process has challenges and as writers your persistence and consistency is critical. As #1 New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins wrote in the foreword of my book, 10 Publishing Myths, “Only one of a hundred writers literally make their deadlines.” If you meet deadlines with quality writing, it’s an easy way to stand out from the crowd. I wrote 10 Publishing Myths (releases December 17^th) to give writers realistic expectations and practical steps every author can take to succeed. Today, you can get the 11^th Publishing Myth as a free ebook.

When you point a finger at others because your book is not selling, just remember: when you extend your pointer finger, four more fingers are bent back toward you. Take action today.

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W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Straight Talk From the Editor. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.