As a publisher and a writer, I often here many myths about this industry. With the industry going through rapid changes such as it is, these myths are becoming more rapid.

Myth 1: It’s damn near impossible for a first-time author to land a publishing contract. 

So not true! So not true! So not true! Yes, you will hear people say this and you’ll even see it written many of times. No, it’s not easy but there are things you can do to make this dream a reality. Make sure your book has been edited well. Make sure you create a marketing plan, write out a book proposal and study the industry. You should also consider the small and medium-sized publishers who are more willing to work and develop a first-time author. Yes, it’s a dream to be published by Simon and Schuster, Random House, Penguin, etc., and see your name in lights, but don’t sleep on a small and medium-sized publisher out either. You never know, what they can do. Remember, the big guy started out the little guy and look what he has become. 

Myth 2: Publishers only accept manuscripts through agents. 

Not! There are tons of publishers who prefer to deal directly with the author.  Key word being tons. There are lots of small and medium-sized publishers out there. Part of the issue is that writers only want to deal with the really big traditional publishers-Simon & Schuster, Penguin, etc. The fact is that some of those majors will only deal with a first-time author if they have an agent. The writer needs to broaden their publishing horizon and think about working with a small and medium-sized publisher. Writer’s Market (a reference book for writers and authors) lists over 1,000 publishing companies. More than ninety percent of those publishers do not require that an author have an agent. 

Myth 3: If I have an agent, I’m guaranteed a publishing contract. 

Uh no! Not really. While, the agent may think you have a decent enough book, a publisher might not feel the same way.  They may think your book needs more work, it may not be written well, or it may not fit their needs at the present time. The other thing is that, while there are some really good agents, there are also some agents walking around in sheeps clothing. They are unscrupulous and ineffective. They don’t really know the industry and are more interested in getting a fee from you, than doing something for you. 

Myth 4:  I don’t have to edit my manuscript because the publisher is going to spend the time and money editing it for me.  

What? Who came up with this stuff? A major part of whether or not your manuscript gets accepted is how the manuscript looks. A manuscript filled with lots of grammatical errors is a pain in the behind to read. It shows unprofessionalism and will most likely end up in the shredder or in the garbage. Yes, your manuscript will go through the hands of an editor, but the editor and the publisher will be very happy if they have very little editing to do. The less editing they have to do, the better it is for you. Hire a good editor before you submit your manuscript. Again, your manuscript is your baby, would you send your baby out looking like any old thing just because you know they are going to spit up on the outfit? I hope not! Make a good impression the first time and send in the very best manuscript you can. 

Myth 5: Bookstores won’t carry self-published or fee-based POD published books.  

As a publisher whose seen some really bad self-published books in the bookstore, I almost wish this was true, but it’s not.  If the demand is big enough, they will carry it. Also, if you want the bookstore to carry your self-published book, you must! must! must! have a marketing plan for it. Those are your two options-either get it to the point where the demand is big enough for it that the bookstore is wondering why they don’t have it in their stores, or create a good marketing plan for it and present it to the bookstore convincing them that they should carry the book. You should also focus your attention on the local independent bookstores in your area. Build a relationship with them while you are writing the book so that by the time your book is ready for publication, they will be a lot more comfortable and willing to have your book in their bookstores. Authors make the mistake of seeing the book in publishing format and then approaching the bookstore owner. They are reluctant to want to do business with you because their question is, “what have you done for my business before your book got published?” If you can’t answer that, then you will have a much harder time getting your book into their store. Being selfless, instead of selfish will get you a lot further in your book publishing endeavors. 

Myth 6: No one will review my book because it’s a self-published or POD published book. 

Huh? Where’d this one come from? The worldwide web is your friend. Figure out what your book topic is and find the magazine that relates to your book topic. Find out who the editor of that magazine is and offer to send them a review copy. Another avenue is book clubs. Yes, you have the major book clubs out there who are very picky about the books they select and have a long waiting list of books to be read, but you also have the smaller book clubs out there who are hungry, willing and waiting to read and review your book. There are also book review services, where you pay them to read your book and they put their review on websites such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and other book purchasing websites who allow book reviews. You can also look for book blogs on the web. These blogs review books because they love books. Some include: 

• Buzz, Balls & Hype
• Becky’s Book Review
• Worducopia

Yes, we would all love to have our books read by The New York Times but the reality is that until that happens, don’t ignore “the little guys.” They are the ones who will be buying your books and really telling their friends about your book. 

Myth 7: Writing the book is the hardest part of the process. 

Not! Nope! Not even close! When you have to promote, market and even get your own distribution, writing is the easy part. Convincing people to read and buy your book is not easy. Nor is figuring out ways to get your book out there and bought. When you realize that publishing is a business and far from an easy task, you will realize that writing is the easy part. It’s like women who’ve given birth-they say labor is the easy part. Raising a productive, ethically responsible child is the hard part. If your book is your baby, then you need to look at it this way as well. Writing is like birth, it’s hard but easy, but the real work begins with raising, promoting, nurturing and marketing your baby!

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Good afternoon:

Welcome to another edition of The Publishing Watchdog. If you are unfamiliar with what we do, please take a moment and look through our blog. With that said, today’s topic: The Death of Urban Fiction…

It should be obvious to everyone that the publishing industry is changing. Monopolies are becoming non-existent (Amazons book war with Walmart and Barnes and Nobles Book Reader War with Amazon), publishers are laying off, self-publishers are getting richer by the minute, and now-Caucasians, yes-Caucasians, white people, whatever you want to call them are looking to publish Urban Fiction. Yes, you heard me correctly-Urban Fiction a.k.a. Black people’s book trash.

White folks are not only looking to publish Urban Fiction but are looking to get investors to help fund the money to traditionally publish their books and open up publishing companies. They are looking to monopolize on what K’wan, Wahida Clark, J.M. Benjamin, Treasure Blue, Tracy Brown, just to name a few, have done: write urban fiction and start publishing companies. The difference: Their version of urban fiction given the same editing that traditional publishing gets and every book deserves. Now someone correct me, but if my history is correct, there was a time when no one would touch this fiction for various reasons, such as: there was no market for it, black people wrote it, it was ghetto trash writing.

It has been said for a long time that Urban Fiction books are saturated with terrible grammar, bad spelling, and obvious to a duck that most of the books in this genre aren’t edited. The Caucasians are looking to change this and do as I recently heard it, “do urban fiction the right way, decent editing and something people want to read.”

Wow! I believe I have truly heard it all. For those of you out there who believe or are even hoping that Urban Fiction is a lost art or a genre that will fade away, this shows you that it won’t. It may be reinvented but it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. All it takes is one Caucasian Trailblazer. Eminem did it in the rap game, who knows who will do it in the Urban Fiction game.

Whether or not this genre needs changing is like beauty, it’s up to the holder. Some find nothing wrong with the way urban fiction is done because they feel the way it’s written is what makes it unique. Some find it’s bad grammar and lack of editing, terrible for the eyes as well as for all books. It use to be that white people wouldn’t pick it up. It was something that only “black people read.” It seems the tides are changing and now everyone wants to read, write, and publish this genre. Whoever that trailblazer is will truly be making history, especially if they do it the way it is being said it should be done: pleasing to the eyes. If they do it, the game will truly change!

We do feel as publishing watchdogs that it is our duty and responsibility to inform the writers and lovers of this genre. How we feel about it, is besides the point. We go to the publishing seminars, talk to the bankers, walk through the book stores and we inform. If you’re curious and think we’re bashing, being racist, and just picking on white people, do yourselves a favor and go look up the history of urban fiction and why and how it got to be so popular. Do that and then tell us what you think. Just know, that this isn’t the last time we will discuss this topic, especially when the Trailblazer makes his or her mark on the Urban Fiction genre as we currently know it.

You heard it from us first-May it rest in peace!

Until the next time!

The Publishing Watchdogs!

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Lately, I’ve been seeing blog posts where writers are announcing that their book has just come out.  They then go on to give an excerpt as to what the book is about.  Whiel, this is okay, let’s not forget that some authors wait until after the book is done to announce it.  For some, this is too little, too late. 
Let’s review why:
When you wait until the very last minute to announce that you’ve written a book, you’ll find more chances than not that most people won’t care.  Plenty of people write books and plenty more are published each year.  The key is to market the book while you’re writing it.
How do you do that?
Tease your audience with Chapter excerpts, although I prefer the term-Chapter Previews. The last time I went to the movies, I spent 10 minutes watching previews, a few of those being movies that aren’t coming out until next year.  The preview was so good that I can’t wait until they come out.  The only problem? I need to keep coming to the movies to see the preview in order to remember those great movies. There’s no difference in book marketing.
In order for your book sales to do well, people have to remember you and be enticed by what you have to offer. You have to get your potential buyers to care, to follow, to remember, to need. If you wait until the last minute to do that, then you’ve waited too late. The truth is that when you tease people with your book, before the book comes out, they feel a bit special and honored and are more likely to buy your book because they’ve been made to feel like a part of the process. Waiting until after the book is published feels like a sales pitch, and nobody cares for a sales pitch.
Take a que from the movies industry and other famous authors. They don’t wait until the last minute to announce a new book. With online resources such as Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Ning, Linkedin, Gather, etc., there is no reason to wait until the last minute to discuss your book. I mean you can, but just remember: Sometimes, it’s too little, too late!
Until tomorrow!
ZLS Publishing
www.zlspublishing.com