Marketing, ISBNs, Blurbs, Front Matter

What self-publishing tasks can you be getting on with while your manuscript is being edited?

Once you’ve handed your manuscript to a copy/line editor, it’s really important that you don’t touch it again until the manuscript is returned back to you. Having multiple versions of a manuscript in play gets extremely confusing, and needs to be avoided wherever possible.

However, there are some things you can be doing while your manuscript is with your editor. I’ve outlined some suggestions below – and these will be different, depending on whether you are hoping to secure a traditional publishing contract or are going to self-publish.

(If you are hoping to secure a traditional publishing contract, have a look at Part one – Traditional Publishing.)

Marketing

As with traditional publishing, you can start marketing your book now. This means thinking about the best platforms for promoting your book. Social media is an obvious one – which platforms are you familiar with? Do you already have an author account? Can you start building a following? All authors need to have some form of web presence – even if it’s just a static site that you can direct people to, with details of your upcoming books and where to buy them. Writing a blog, keeping readers updated with the publishing process, letting them know what to expect – all of this will help when the book is available for sale.

There are lots of authors who are very good at building mailing lists – this is something else to consider. Most self-publishers intend to sell their books through Amazon, and it’s worth remembering that if you do this, you will never be provided with details of the people who buy your book. This means that you can’t promote your next book to them. So it’s important to try and build your own mailing list if possible. You are then in charge of your own data, and don’t need to rely on Amazon.

Effectively, you are building your author brand. You need to find a way to connect with your readers – to demonstrate to them why they should buy your amazing book, rather than the amazing book written by someone else. What about you, as an author, will give you an edge? One way to do this is to work out why you’ve written this particular book. If you can say your novel is based on something that actually happened to you, in places you’ve actually visited, straight away you are forming a personal connection. Clearly with some genres (such as science fiction and fantasy), it’s unlikely that you have personally experienced many of the events in your novel, or visited many of the places. But did you base any of the characters on family or friends? Did you write it because you wanted to encourage your son to read more books?

Some suggestions for growing your mailing list

If you have written the first book in a series, the end of book 1 can have a hook – coming soon… join my mailing list
Give readers the option of naming a future book
Add a sign-up form to your website.

Blurb

You will be responsible for writing your blurb (the text on the back of the book). A lot of authors find this hard, so it’s worth starting this sooner rather than later. There are lots of websites covering blurb writing. I’d recommend listening to this podcast episode from the Self Publishing Show, where they talk about just how explicit a blurb should be. It’s about managing reader expectations, and they say: “You almost need to say this is an MI6 thriller book. This is a romance book set in a high school. You need to tell someone that they are in the right place, if they like these sorts of books.”

The blurb is probably the first thing your reader will actually read, so it’s important to get it right.

The blurb also doesn’t want to be too long. Have a look at other successful authors in your genre – how long are the blurbs on their books? Often around 200 words is a good length, but these words need to be impactful and intrigue the reader enough to want to know more.

Reedy’s blog How to Write a Book Blurb that Sells (with Examples) (reedsy.com) outlines how a blurb should introduce the characters, set the stage for the primary conflict, establish the stakes and show the reader why this book is for them. That’s a lot to pack into 200 words!

I’ve written before about how one recommendation is to use the blurb to literally give away ALL the good bits in your book. When we watch a trailer for a film, it often shows us all the best bits, but it doesn’t stop us from watching the film. Personally, I’m no so sure this works for books, but it’s something to think about.

It’s also worth considering how your blurb will appear on Amazon, and the Reedsy blog goes on to talk about how to make your blurb particularly appealing on Amazon and other online booksellers.

Further reading: Blurb Your Enthusiasm: An A-Z of Literary Persuasion by Louise Willder

Cover Design

Another thing you will need to think about as a self-publisher is the cover. Should it stand out? Or should it look the same as other books in your genre? Should you draw it yourself (unless you are a professional cover designer, the answer is no!), or find a professional? What should you put on the cover? Have you decided if you will be using a pen name?

The cover needs to tell the reader – within a few seconds – what genre the book belongs to. It’s got to tell them whether it’s science-fiction, a crime thriller, a romance, a horror. And for this reason, it’s really important to stick with the conventions in your genre. Readers who love crime thrillers will pick up (or click on) books that LOOK like crime thrillers. If it looks like a romance book, they are very unlikely to give it a second glance.

The cover design needs to align with your readers’ expectations.

So when someone asks me for an opinion on their book cover, my first thought is, is the genre obvious? The colour, the font, the images used, all provide information which potential readers will, subconsciously, understand.

If you aren’t sure what the cover expectations are for your genre, then a simple Amazon search can help. Looking at best-selling books, you can select your preferred genre, and see the covers of books which are currently selling well.

As an aside, another interesting question is whether any people shown on the front cover should match the description of your protagonist (eye colour, build, hair length). When you are reading a book, how often do you actually look at the cover? Probably not very often, and by this point you’ve already bought the book and are (hopefully) invested in the story, so the details of the cover are unlikely to be impactful. And if you are reading on an e-reader, you are even less likely to look at the cover.

I know that many of the authors I work with are romance writers, so it might be worth you having a look at this article about demystifying romantic comedy and chick lit cover design: Romantic Comedy and Chick Lit Cover Design Demystified (yummybookcovers.com).

One final point – I’d recommend that you don’t put the price of your book on the back cover. Because if you want to change the price (for example, discounting it), you will need to load new artwork on all the platforms selling your book.

Front Matter

Have you written (or thought about) your copyright page, your acknowledgement page and any dedications? As you are self-publishing, it’s really up to you what you want to include in your front matter, but you will have to have a copyright page. This can be a little confusing, so have a look at Creating Your Copyright Page: A Guide for Indie Authors from the Alliance of Independent Authors. They have text that you can cut and paste into your copyright page.

ISBNs (International Standard Book Number)

The ISBN is the number that sits with the bar code on the back of your book, and every book will have a unique ISBN. You can also buy your ISBN now. In the UK, all ISBNs are sold by Nielsens. You will need a different ISBN for each version of your book (hard back, paperback, large print, audio, e-book), so be prepared to buy more than one! At the time of writing, one ISBN will cost £91.00 but don’t panic, you can buy a batch of 10 for £169.00. Nielsons explains ISBNs as follows:

“Whilst it is not a legal requirement to allocate ISBNs to your books, it is used by publishers, booksellers and libraries for ordering, listing and stock control purposes. It enables them to identify a particular publisher and allows the publisher to identify a specific edition of a specific title in a specific format within their output. Systems used by publishers, booksellers and libraries all rely on the ISBN to identify books ensuring they select and stock the correct title and edition.”

If you are not based in the UK, have a look at the International ISBN Agency to find the relevant details for your country.

I’d also recommend you have a listen to The Pen to Published Podcast: ISBNs for a concise explanation about what’s required.

These are all suggestions for things to be getting on with, while your manuscript is away with your editor. Of course, you should also take some time to sit back, relax and pat yourself on the back. Many many authors don’t make it this far!

The post What to do while your manuscript is being edited appeared first on MandaWaller.

Researching Agents, Book Summaries, and Marketing

What should you do while your manuscript is being edited? Once you’ve handed your manuscript to a copy/line editor, it’s really important that you don’t touch it again until the manuscript is returned back to you. Having multiple versions of a manuscript in play gets extremely confusing, and needs to be avoided wherever possible.

However, there are some things you can be doing while your manuscript is with your editor. I’ve outlined some suggestions below – and these will be different, depending on whether you are hoping to secure a traditional publishing contract or are going to self-publish.

If you are intending to self-publish, please see Part two – Self Publishing.

If you want to go down the traditional publishing route, there are several things you can do now to help with the process of securing an agent.

Most of the larger publishing houses do not take direct submissions – and everything needs to come through an agent. Smaller, independent publishers will often accept direct submissions (straight from the author, not via an agent). But either way, the query letter process is basically the same – whether you are querying an agent, or contacting a small publishing house direct.

Research Agents

It sounds obvious, but it’s important to send your manuscript to the right agents. Don’t send a romance novel to an agent who specialises in science fiction – it’s wasting everyone’s time. Do your research – look for agents who specialise in novels in your genre (and, preferably, your sub-genre).

Once you’ve got a list of agents, have a look at their websites. Find out the individual names of the agents (never address a query letter to Dear Sir or Dear Agent). See what they are interested in – if you’ve set your novel in France, do any of them have a connection with France? If you find an agent you are particularly interested in, check whether they are currently taking submissions.

Have they appeared on any podcasts, are they active on social media, or will they be speaking at any conferences soon? If you’ve heard them speak, or have had a meaningful interaction with them on social media, this might give you a head start with your agent query letter.

Agent Requirements

Once you’ve got a shortlist of favoured agents, have a proper look at their submission criteria. Their criteria are likely to be very similar. Most of them will ask for an extract, and most of them will want to know about your comparison titles (also known as competitive titles).

Comp titles help an agent to visualise where your book might sit in a bookshop. To work out the right comp titles for your book, you need to think of a few popular, successful titles that are similar to yours, from within the last 10 years (preferably within the last 5 years).

A lot of authors find this really hard, so it’s worth putting in some time now to get this right. Providing comp titles will help an agent with their selection process.

Book Summary

Most agents will expect you to provide a summary of your book. This can vary in length, and they should state this on their websites. Again, many authors find this really hard, so it’s a good idea to make a start on your summary now.

See my blog post about Agent Query Letters.

Marketing

Many authors feel compelled to secure a traditional publishing contract because they just don’t like marketing. They are an author. They want to write books. They aren’t into marketing and would like someone else to handle it. It’s true that – if you secure a traditional publishing contract – a publishing house will invest in marketing your book. But unless you are a really big name, or already have a really big following, this marketing is likely to be minimal. If you want your book to succeed then you may very well have to do a fair amount of marketing yourself.

On a recent podcast, I heard one author describe her successful book as being 10% about the writing, and 90% about the marketing.

With this in mind, your marketing really needs to be happening already – before you’ve finished preparing the book for publication. Building a mailing list will be part of this, as will growing your social media presence.

This is, effectively, building your author brand. You need to find a way to connect with your readers – to demonstrate to them why they should buy your amazing book, rather than the amazing book written by someone else. What about you, as an author, will give you an edge?

One way to do this is to work out why you’ve written this particular book. If you can say your novel is based on something that actually happened to you, in places you’ve actually visited, straight away you are forming a personal connection.

Clearly with some genres (such as science fiction and fantasy), it’s unlikely that you have personally experienced many of the events in your novel, or visited many of the places. But did you base any of the characters on family or friends? Did you write it because you wanted to encourage your son to read more books?

When you approach agents, or smaller indie presses who accept direct submissions, they will want to know whether you already have an author brand. If you can tell them that you have a substantial mailing list, and a significant social media presence, you are more likely to secure a traditional publishing deal.

Once you have created your message – the one that explains why readers should buy your book – you can also incorporate it into your agent query letter.

These are all suggestions for things to be getting on with, while your manuscript is away with your editor. Of course, you should also take some time to sit back, relax and pat yourself on the back. Many many authors don’t make it this far!

The post What to do while your manuscript is being edited appeared first on MandaWaller.

I’ve written a book – what do I do now?

You’ve written your novel (congratulations!), and are wondering about the next steps.

Is it ready for proofreading? Does it need to be edited? Should you self-publish? Should you approach a publisher? Actually, how do you approach a publisher?

How many drafts does a novel need?

If you’ve literally just finished writing your novel, the best thing to do is to let it rest. This can be really hard to do – you’re probably really keen to move onto the next stage, to get your baby out into the big wide world. But the truth is that your book might need a lot more work – is it only the first draft? Or have you revised it multiple times? There is much discussion about how many drafts a novel needs – some say three, some say ten – but the consensus is that the first draft should never see the light of day. As Ernest Hemingway famously said, the first draft of anything is shit.

ProWriting Aid has an excellent article about how many drafts are needed – and why the first draft should be abandoned: How Many Drafts of Your Book Should You Go Through? (prowritingaid.com)

Often, when you’ve just finished writing your novel, it’s really hard to be objective about how good it is, and about whether it needs another draft. Letting it rest for a few weeks (if you can last that long) gives you space to review it from a distance. Of course, even after leaving it to rest, it’s still very hard to be objective about your own manuscript. So now it’s time to ask someone else to read it.

Who should I get to read my novel?

Once you have done your multiple drafts, and are reasonably happy with where you are at, the next step is to ask some people to read your book. This can be a very scary step, and it’s probably best to start with people whose judgement you trust, and whose opinion you respect. In any case, you should go into it expecting their feedback to be negative.

Not everyone is going to love your book as much as you do – in the same way that not everyone will love a TV series you’ve recommended, or the restaurant you’ve raved about.

You can also use some beta readers – these are people who you don’t know, who will read your book (normally for free or for a very small fee) and give you their opinion. Have a look at my article here : What Are Beta Readers and Why Should All Novelists Use Them?

Does my novel need proofreading?

Most first-time authors have no experience of using proofreaders and editors, and in fact many people don’t really understand the difference between the two.

Does your novel need proofreading? Absolutely. But when it needs proofreading might be a surprise.

If you haven’t had your novel edited, then it’s extremely likely you need to use an editor BEFORE you use a proofreader.

An editor is the one who picks up concerns with grammar, flow, consistency, character arcs, plot holes, sentence structure, unnecessary adverbs, over-use of stage direction and much much more.

A proofreader’s job is to check the book just before it is published, looking for spelling and punctuation mistakes – basically they are looking for things which are objectively wrong.

For information about how my editing service differs from my proofreading service, have a look at my website here: What’s the Difference Between Proofreading and Editing?

Does my novel need editing?

If you haven’t already had your novel edited, then the chances are that you absolutely, definitely DO need to have it edited.

Developmental Editing

But there are different types of editor! In the UK, there are two different types involved at this stage (it’s slightly different in the US). There are developmental editors (also called structural editors and substantive editors) who will look at the bigger picture elements – the plot, the story arc, issues with character development, inconsistent approaches to dialogue, etc. Effectively, they look at story-level concerns, and will produce a report or a letter outlining their findings. They won’t generally make changes directly to the manuscript.

Not all authors make use of a developmental editor – either because they are fully confident that their story holds water, or because of budget constraints.

A developmental editor is not 100% essential in the publishing process, but – to my mind – a copy/line editor is something you cannot do without.

Copy/Line Editing

The copy/line editor (in the UK, this is pretty much the same thing) will look at sentence-level issues. They will comb your manuscript line by line, word by word, looking at things like dialogue tags, point of view and head-hopping, showing vs. telling, chapter endings and beginnings, action beats, use of tentative language and filter words, overwriting (and, less frequently, underwriting).

Copy/line editors will make changes directly to your manuscript. Most will use MS Word, Track Changes (see my webinar on track changes here: MS Word Track Changes Webinar | MandaWaller, Edit and Check) – meaning you will be able to see each and every suggested change and choose to accept/reject each one (should you so wish!). They will return two versions of your manuscript – one showing all their suggested changes, and a clean version showing your manuscript as it would be if you accepted all their suggestions. Some copy/line editors (including me) will also include an editorial report which outlines your strengths and suggests ways to make your writing even stronger.

Proofreading

As mentioned above, the proofreading stage comes after the book has been edited. Proofreaders look for errors with spelling, punctuation and grammar. Having your book proofread before having it edited is a bit like ironing your shirt before you wash it – a complete waste of time and money.

Copy/line editors will also pick up on these same errors – but they are not specifically looking for them, and sometimes it’s hard to spot them as part of the bigger editing process. As a general rule of thumb, an editor should pick up about 95% of the errors. A proofreader will pick up 95% of what’s left. It’s generally accepted that no book currently in print is completely error-free, but clearly the more people look at your book, the fewer mistakes will remain.

Whether you use a proofreader or not is entirely up to you – it isn’t essential, but your book will be cleaner if you do.

How do I get my novel published?

So now you’ve had your book edited and (possibly) proofread, how do you actually get it published? In years gone by, the only way to get your novel published was to approach a publishing house. There was simply no other option. The publishing house paid all the costs involved in return for a hefty chunk of the author’s profits post-publication.

For this reason, only books which the publishers thought would be successful ever made it into print. The market was therefore shaped by, and limited to, the publishers’ tastes. Publishers also made all the decisions about marketing and selling books – and authors effectively had no control once the contract was signed.

Self-publishing is now also an option. Not so long ago, there was stigma involved in self-publishing. The view was that self-published books were not “good enough” to be traditionally published, and that therefore they were substandard. Self-publishers used vanity presses – whereby the authors paid a large sum of money just to get their book in print.

However, this view has changed hugely. In 2012, the Alliance of Independent Authors (Alli for short – pronounced “ally” (al-eye)) was launched. Their website states: As a self-publisher, you are part of a great flowering of creative expression in the literary arts.

Self-publishers can publish books which are not to the taste of the publishing houses – and this has resulted in a huge bloom in literary variety. Books can be published even though they aren’t going to be popular with the masses. Although some argue that the quality of published books has declined as a result – sometimes because a self-publisher has not used an editor or a proofreader – the result is still a massive growth in choice.

Advances in technology also mean it’s now possible for self-publishers to literally publish their books themselves. They can upload e-books directly to Amazon, and use various print-on-demand (POD) options to fulfil their orders.

Should I traditionally publish, or self-publish?

There are some excellent videos on my website which were produced by the Authors Guild (Help For Fiction Authors | MandaWaller). They discuss the various pros and cons of traditional publishing and self-publishing. One thing to note is that most traditional publishers don’t accept submissions directly – and this is where literary agents come in. In order to traditionally publish, you would first submit your manuscript to an agent for their consideration. If they believe your book will be picked up by a publisher, they will take you on and submit your manuscript to an acquisitions editor at a publishing house on your behalf. For more details about how to approach an agent, see my tips here: How to Write an Agent Query Letter | MandaWaller.

How do I sell my book?

If you do decide to self-publish, then you are in charge of EVERYTHING – including the sales and marketing. There is a lot of information out there about how to sell your novel – I’ve summarised some of it here: How to Sell a Novel using Cover Design | MandaWaller, Edit and Check

In summary

You have options! There is no right or wrong way to publish your book. Ultimately you are in charge at each step. Different authors have different advice – and several of them list their thoughts on the Compulsive Readers website: I’ve written a book…. now what? – Compulsive Readers.

The post I’ve written a book – what do I do now? appeared first on MandaWaller.

Find out what Beta Readers do, how much they cost, and where to find them!

What is a Beta Reader?

Put simply, a beta reader is someone who will read your book before it is published and give you their opinion. Generally, they will read the whole book – so it’s best to finish your book before you start working with a beta reader. If you are interested in working with someone on a chapter-by-chapter basis – and want someone more involved as the book develops, rather than when it’s written – you might be better off with a Critique Partner. Critique partners are generally other writers, and the idea is that you will work together, critique each other’s work and keep each other accountable.

A beta reader is not a substitute for an editor or a proofreader. However, they do provide another pair of eyes that might catch any final minor trips.

Why bother?

Firstly, it may give you (the author) more confidence to push forward to the next step. Having five different people all read your book and give you a generally positive response can be an incredible boost.

Secondly, if all five of your beta readers say that a particular element of your manuscript needs work, this should alert you to the fact that you need to revise that section. If they all say you need an editor, then chances are you should employ one.

Thirdly, as mentioned above, they can be used as a final safety net to potentially catch any spelling or punctuation mistakes that may have been missed in the editing/proofreading stages. (Don’t forget, the industry standard for errors spotted in the editing/proofreading process sits at around 90% – see Is Perfection Achievable? )

However, beta reading is entirely subjective – remember that you will never please everybody!

How many beta readers to use?

There are some authors who believe you should use as many beta readers as possible. The more the merrier. This provides a bigger spread of feedback and gives you a bigger picture.

However, there is such a thing as too many opinions! Picking through the comments of five or six readers is one thing. But looking at twenty or thirty different opinions can tie an author up in knots.

You also have to be a pretty confident author to lay yourself bare to so many pairs of critical eyes.

Some authors I’ve worked with don’t use beta readers at all. They write for themselves, not to please others. They are confident in their stories. Confident in their editors. And don’t feel the need for more opinions.

Generally, it’s accepted that having between two and five beta readers seems to suit most authors.

Where to find a beta reader?

Friends and family is often a good place to start (although they might find it hard to be objective).
Writers groups on social networks like Facebook can also provide volunteers. Even better, if you attend an in-person writers group, you may find someone there who is willing to provide you with feedback.

It might be useful to try and find beta readers from the right demographic – by which I mean your target audience. If your book is aimed at young adults, maybe try to find some young adults to read it for you. That said, editors and prolific readers can often put themselves in the shoes of your target reader, and feed back accordingly.

It’s also important to find a beta reader who reads your genre. Quite frequently – particularly with romance novels – a beta reader who doesn’t read in your genre will not understand what makes a good story in that genre. What makes a science fiction book work, for example, is very different from what makes a romance book work.

What makes a good beta reader?

The most important quality you are after is honesty. You want someone who will give you honest feedback. You also want constructive feedback, not someone who will tell you that they liked the book and leave it at that. Ideally, you want someone who is an avid reader of the genre of book you have written. Someone who can compare your book with other books of a similar style.

It might sound obvious, but a beta reader also needs to provide feedback from a reader’s point of view (not from a writer’s perspective).

It’s also important to remember that most beta readers are doing an author a favour – so it’s worth being patient and kind. However, if you don’t feel like your beta reader is providing you with feedback that is constructive or useful, or if you are finding their comments too damaging, then you are perfectly within your rights to walk away and gently terminate the relationship. As with finding the right editor, it’s important to find someone whose comments you find empowering and uplifting. Of course you want their criticism, but it doesn’t need to be framed insensitively.

How to instruct a beta reader?

It’s useful to let your beta reader know what stage you are at with your book. Have you effectively finished it, and are just wanting some final confirmation that it’s worth pushing on to the next stage? Or have you literally just put the pen down on the first draft? If the ink is still wet, you will be looking for a more detailed critique – how does the plot work, are the characters believable, are there gaps, can the story be developed more slowly/more quickly?

You might want to send just a few chapters of your novel to begin with, and get a feel for how your beta reader responds, before sending them the entire manuscript.

It might be useful to give each of your beta readers a set of instructions – what are they looking for?

Do you want your grammar and punctuation critiqued, or do you know that you will be employing an editor, so want your beta readers to ignore this aspect?

Is there a part of the book that you are not sure about?

Do you want to know whether a particular character is believable?

How to be a beta reader?

If you have put your hand up to read and critique someone’s novel, there are a few things to bear in mind:

• Be sensitive. It’s likely that this novel has taken some time to write. Weeks, months, possibly even years. The writer may well have invested a lot of themselves in it. Maybe the chapters about a cancer patient were based on a relative who passed away. Maybe the sex scenes are based on their own intimate knowledge. It’s hard for an author to hand over their manuscript and ask for criticism. For this reason, although beta readers need to be honest, they also need to present their feedback in a sensitive, constructive way.
• Be constructive. It’s no good simply saying, “Yep, it was great!” or “No, I didn’t like this bit.” But adding the reasons why you liked it or didn’t like it makes a big difference.
  For example:
  – I’m not sure that the character would have behaved like this – maybe add an explanatory back story?
  – This part of the story came as a real surprise – maybe you need to build up to it a bit more?
  – Who is this person? Where have they come from? You are writing like we know them, but I have no idea who they are?
  – I loved the part where…
  – I really believed in this character, and love the way you created such a warm and caring individual.
• Be honest. There is absolutely no point putting your hand up to be a paid or voluntary beta reader if you simply tell the author what they want to hear.
• Format your feedback. The best beta readers will add comments to the actual manuscript (for example, using MS Word comments feature) to indicate specific sections that they liked or didn’t like. And they will also provide a summary outline in an email of what they liked and didn’t like, and why.

Finally, beta reading doesn’t happen over night! The readers need to have time to read the book properly, think about it and compose their feedback.

The post What Are Beta Readers? appeared first on MandaWaller.