Tag Archives: Writing Business

Writers’ Independence Day

July 5, 2023Writing Career Tipam Writing, Indie Publishing, Writing BusinessAlice Orr

Writers’ Independence Day. It happened at a conference. I was there to present a workshop called The Art of Agent Stalking. Nothing Independent Publishing about it. Traditional Pub all the way. I had been watching the Indie movement but as a curious onlooker. Nothing more.

Before I Reached the Conference Hotel my Attitude Began to Change. The airport shuttle van was packed with authors talking about Indie Publishing. Some wanted to know more. Some were thinking of making the leap. Some had leapt and shared their experiences.

Those Stories Captured my Attention. I was most impressed by the enthusiasm. I had been an editor/agent/published author/workshop presenter for many years. I had never heard published authors – beyond the first euphoric blush of their careers – so positively excited about publishing. By the time we reached the conference hotel I understood why.

These Authors had Retrieved their Writer Selfhood. They were no longer controlled and manipulated by others. They owned their work. They owned their decision-making. They owned their careers. And they not only felt empowered – they were overjoyed.

At that Conference I also Learned about the Downside of Indie Life. I learned that along with total control of your publishing life comes total responsibility for it. The buck stops with the Indie author and often the other kind of buck – the green one – doesn’t stop with her anywhere often enough. This was the truth of choosing a Writers’ Independence Day.

That Point about Money Must be Emphasized. 2011 to 2015 or so was the golden age of Indie Pub. Big careers and fortunes were made. The results of undertaking an Indie career since then have mostly been less than fabulous. An Indie Pubbed author must work very hard and be very savvy if she hopes to make a living at it. Here is some of what she/you must do.

Produce a First Class Story. Create a showstopper. Make it the very best storytelling you have in you. Then run it past fresh eyes – fresh and talented eyes. Which means you need a strong editor who will see the flaws you have inevitably missed. Which brings me to…

Put Together a First Class Team. Hire that first-class editor I mentioned. Do not try to mastermind your words alone. Then a good cover and book designer. Next an expert at publishing platform placement. These folks usually perform uploading etc. to the platform(s) as well. Do these operations yourself ONLY if you have topnotch skills. IMO it takes a Team.

Construct a First Class Post-Pub Plan. Start gathering your mailing list the day you are born. Adopt an online presence by puberty. These are only slight exaggerations. The internet is the highway via which you reach and grow your readership. School yourself in everything social media. Find an Indie marketing success story and follow her example. Mine is Kayelle Allen.

Back to Me and the Conference Hotel. By the time I took the van back to the airport I had made a decision. I longed to be fully in charge of my own work life. I had that experience as a literary agent. I wanted it as an author also. One Indie memoir (below) and five Indie novels later I occasionally question my publishing choice. Usually when the money issue arises.

I Don’t Make as Many Green Bucks as in my Traditional Pub Years. I probably never will. Still I am content with what I do and how free I am to go about doing it. I might change my mind. I am free to do so. But – for me for now – I celebrate my Writers’ Independence Day.

Alice Orr Says – You Possess Storytelling Magic. Keep on Writing Whatever May Occur. https://www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Ask Alice Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know – in your writing work and in your writer’s life? Ask your question in the Comments section at the end of this post.

Alice Orr has published 14 novels, 3 novellas and a memoir so far. She wrote her nonfiction book No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells as a gift to the writers’ community she loves. Her Indie Pubbed novel – A Year of Summer Shadows – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 2 – is available HERE.

Praise for A Year of Summer Shadows: “Alice keeps you wanting to read faster, then when you finish the last page, you want more.” “Orr’s characters come alive on the page.” “A Year of Summer Shadows has moved up to one of my favorite books.”

All of Alice’s Books are HERE.

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Get Your Writing Out There – Right Now

April 6, 2022Writer MotivationPublishing Savvy, Writing Business, Writing Career TipAlice Orr

Get Your Writing Out There – Right Now. A colleague was in touch with me recently about a novel she has been working on for some time. The story is finished. It has been edited and polished. It is ready to go. Still, she hesitates to send it into the world.

I Understand this Writer’s Hesitation. There is always more that can be done to any manuscript, more tinkering and tweeking. But the time comes when you must decide – whether you will let your book go or most likely hang onto it forever.

A Substantial Fear Factor Resides in this Decision. I understand that also. Especially after you have worked on a story for a long time. The act of actually submitting it somewhere feels like a finality, as if it could be make or break for your career. But none of this is true.

You are merely taking a first step, seeking a professional response to your work. After that step has been accomplished, you may ask yourself, “Where do I go from here?” Meanwhile, however, your work is off your desk and into the publishing universe, where it needs to be.

We Have All Heard that Rejection is More Likely than Acceptance. This is entirely true, but you must move forward anyway. What is the alternative? You can of course collect story files, one after the other, never allowing yourself to discover what might or might not happen to them.

This is the safe alternative, but it is also a dead end. Dead means the same thing in the writing world that dead means in any circumstance. Life is over, at least on this side of eternity. Your hours, months, years of work have been consigned to a drawer somewhere, digital or otherwise.

Instead, Let’s Address the Question “Where Do I Go from Here?” Have you researched where it is appropriate to submit this story? Have you identified other successfully published books in your genre, where exactly they were published, and who their editors might be? Get Your Writing Out There – Right Now.

You Need a List of 6 Appropriate publishers for Your Work. You need the name of a specific editor at each house who already works in your genre and has made a success of other authors there. You will go on to identify 6 more houses eventually, and 6 more after that, but this is where you begin.

Prepare Your Most Impressive Submission Package. Include first chapter and synopsis even if the submission guidelines say not to do so. A writing sample and synopsis proof of a full, compelling plot give you a fair chance to showcase your abilities. Blame the rule break on me.

Top Your Package with a Carefully Written Cover Letter. Then, let that baby go. Six submissions at a time. Be sure to mention in your cover letter, with deliberately diplomatic subtlety, that this manuscript package has been submitted to “a very select group of publishers.”

Move on, Immediately, to Your Next Book. Forget about the submissions you just made. Do not sit around waiting for responses. But when the responses do come, keep track of them in a file for that book. Meanwhile, submit to a new editor on your next six-publisher list.

Do What each Responding Editor Requests. If she asks to see something more, send it. If she suggests revisions, incorporate them and resubmit. If she turns you down but adds what she did like about the work, enhance that element further and resubmit. Thank her profusely, and sincerely, for the inspiration her comments were for you – so inspiring in fact that you felt you must show her the result.

At Last, You may Turn to the Other Stuff. Like marketing to gain name visibility online, via the platforms that work best for you. That part of your career is important, but submitting your work must be your first priority always. Get Your Writing Out There – Right Now.

Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com

ASK ALICE Your Crucial Questions. What are you most eager to know – in your writing work and in your writer’s life? Email aliceorrbooks@gmail.com. Or add a comment question to this post. Alice will be honored to respond.

Alice has published 16 novels, 3 novellas and a memoir so far. She wrote her nonfiction book No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells as a gift to the writers’ community. Her latest novel – A Time of Fear & Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5 – is available HERE.

Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving: “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “The best one yet!”

Look for all of Alice’s books HERE.

https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
http://twitter.com/AliceOrrBooks/
http://goodreads.com/aliceorr/
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Build Your Writer Platform One Plank at a Time

March 9, 2022Writing Career TipBook Marketing, Writer Motivation, Writing BusinessAlice Orr

Build Your Writer Platform One Plank at a Time. Your Platform is the launch pad for your visibility. Your Platform gives you access to your readership. It gives your readership access to you. If your goal is to be published and read – you must build a solid writer platform.

You Do This or You Continue to Do This – One Plank at a Time. You do not have to do it all at once. You do not have to do it hurry. That will plunge you into frenzy. Frenzy is not an effective mode for accomplishing anything. Resist the urge to dash about in frenzy.

Your Social Media Presence is a Good First Plank. A pile of planks actually. Still – approach this effort one step at a time. No frenzy. No dashing about. One plank at a time means you will not become overwhelmed. Here is the first thing to remember about this first plank.

The Most Important Thing about Social Media is the Nature of Your Presence There. Your Presence as in how you Present yourself. The nature of that presence must be a conscious, even calculated choice. You think it through – or rethink it through – at the very beginning.

Begin your Thinking – or Rethinking – with This Crucial Question. Since my goal is to enhance my visibility – how is it in my best interests to be seen? Which means you must also ask yourself another question. Why am I on social media? What do I need to get out of being there?

These days I am on Social Media mostly as a Teacher. I want to attract people to me in a way that will make them open to my message. Which means it is in my best interest to be likable, approachable, pleasant. Someone you will enjoy learning from. That is my conscious intent.

You Must be Consciously Intentional Too. Be aware always that social media is not a small peephole accessible only to chosen friends and followers. Social media is a giant picture window. Everybody can look through that window at you. Decide what you want them to see.

Think Hard about What You Need Your Very Visible Presence to be. If you need to be a political firebrand – or any brand of firebrand – rant away. If you need to be a sex pot – vamp away. Be aware always that you make this choice for your writing career as well as for yourself.

Build Your Social Media Presence in a Way that Works for Your Writing Career. Which is all about building relationships. Make relationships your priority. Talk about the people you are connecting with as much – or more than – you talk about you. Put their needs ahead of your own.

Use your Social Media Presence to Serve Your Followers. They are potential readers. Pay It forward in advance to your readership. Give them – first and foremost – what they need. They will keep following you for it. They will support and encourage you and your writing career.

Lasting Relationships will be the Happy Result. Relationships that form the foundation of your solid platform. A place where you can firmly stand. A presence that works for you and your writing career. As you – Build Your Writer Platform One Plank at a Time.