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2月27日 SO YOUR BOOK IS READY TO PUBLISH PUBLISHERING TIPS
This series of articles will evaluate the pros and cons of the various publishing options availabe to you. This first blog discusses Traditional publishers.
You have written a great book and would love to see it in print. Where do you start? This series will give you some ideas of where you might want to start.
If you want to go the traditional publishing route, you start be deciding which publishers are most likely to publish your book. Writer’s Market lists almost all large and mid-sized publishers, the kind of books they publish, how many books they publish each year and usually how many books by new authors they publish. Small publishers
are more likely to take your book than large ones but they also have fewer resources to help you
market the book.
I advise you pick the ones you think would be the best fit for your book, go to their website
and download their submission guidelines as well as the name of the person to send them to. Do
your research. Send to those who publish new authors and publish your genre.
Almost all require that you send a Query Letter and depending on the Publisher you send a few
pages or your entire manuscript. Your query letter is the one thing they will read. Large
publishing companies receive up to thousands a day. So spend whatever time you need to, to make
that letter one that will pique their interest so they will read at least part of your book.
Some publishers almost never publish a new author’s work. Most prefer proven authors. Most also give a new author minimal help with marketing their book.
If you're fortunate and they do accept your book, you will receive a check up front and they will do all the
work of publishing it for you. They will suggest (and since all the money to publish your book is coming from them, they expect you to take their suggestions) changes they think will make your book more
salable. They may demand you make changes you don’t want to make.
They are likely to keep most of the rights to your book. You lose control
My research shows that for most new authors it takes AT LEAST five years from the time you start
this process until you hold your book in your hand.
Advantages of traditional publishers:
1. You don't spend any money getting your book published. In fact, you should get a check, usually about what the sales over the first few months will being them.
2. All the details of getting ISBN numbers, copyrights, book design, type setting, editing, cover design and printing are done by the publisher.
3. They will do some marketing for you. Probably not much but some and you will have access to their experience in planning your own marketing.
Disadvantages
1. For a new author, the check will be small and the marketing they will do won't be much. 2. They may require you rewrite things you don't want to or in a way that you don't agree with. 3. You may give up most of the rights to your book. 4. Your royalty for each book sold is small. 5. You will do most of the marketing for your book. Their budget for a new author's book is usually small.
If you do decide to submit to a traditional publisher: 1. Write a dynamite query letter 2. Check out writer's market and submit to publishers that are accepting books from new authors and who are publishing your genre.
3. Download their submission guidelines from their site 4. Follow those to the letter. 5. Send it off and wait to hear from them. I'll be posting pros and cons of other publishing alternatives over the next few days. Check
back so you can compare and decide what is best for you.
Check back. Over the next few days I'll post information on your other publishing options.
Bless you and keep writing! It is your soul's work. 2月19日 INSPIRATION OR PERSPIRATIONWRITING: INSPIRATION OR PERSPIRATION?
Of course, it’s both. Our best writing comes from inspiration. And You must do the
hard work that’s required.
Let me tell you how I do both:
First of all, for inspired writing, I have to have a pen and paper. I can’t write my
best at a computer. I wish I could. I hate the time it takes to get my writing from paper to
computer. But the muse sings to me when I sit with pen and paper. So I still do it the old
fashioned way.
First Create the Atmosphere that inspires you to write: Set up a place where you always write.
Make it attractive and comfortable. Putting a flower or a something you love in front of you can
help.
I found that one piece of music let the words flow more easily for me. Now any beautiful music
(no words, those you have to come up with) works for me. But in the beginning, it was Mike
Rowland's AND SO TO DREAM.
It’s gotten much easier for me to get to inspiration. But in the beginning, it was rare and not
easy. I found that I needed to go to my special place and turn on that certain piece of music.
With this combination I could write—it flowed from deep within and sometimes—once in awhile it
was truly beautiful.
That’s still my favorite way to write but now inspiration may come as I sit waiting to see my doctor or as I’m driving to town.
Commitment is the key to both inspiration and perspiration. Keep trying different things until
you find what works for you. But in the beginning you must set aside time to write and write.
Sometimes it will be awful and can only be thrown away. But when you write even a sentence or
two that sings, you know you’ve found the secret. All you have to do is keep writing and it
will come oftener and oftener.
Writing in a supportive writing group also seems to call forth my best writing so if there is a
supportive writing group here, join it.
I don't worry about polishing while I write. If I can't think of the right work, I leave a blank
line or I circle a word that means about the same thing. I'll come back later and go to the
thesaurus and pick the word I want. But when I'm writing, I don't slow down to do research of
any sort--I just let the story flow. Editing and polishing are different functions than writing.
Don't try to do them all at once. Just write. Maybe someday, we'll be experienced enough and
good enough to do it all together--but for now--just write.
Find your own style. Don’t slavishly follow what anyone tell you. Break new ground. Do it
your way. Try rewriting one scene three totally different ways. Which flowed best? Which do you
like best when you read it?
Buy my book. It is inspiring. It is different. It will give you MANY ideas—sometimes things
you want to emulate and sometimes things you want to avoid at all costs. But it will help you.
Read! then read some more. You'll learn how to write better by observing how others write. Sometimes reading something truly beautiful (That is often poetry for me) just before you write
will help you jump start your writing.
Next blog on writing will talk about perspiration. For right now, just try to get to the inspiration for when you do, you will truly come soar with me in the land of the writer.
Bless you,
Dr. Jeanne 2月15日 THE STEPS IN CREATING DREAMSTHE STEPS IN CREATING DREAMS
1. Get clear on what you want.
2. God always wants you to have what you want--always says "Yes, Thank you for asking. It is my joy to give you whatyour heart desires!” So the gift is always given. ALWAYS! That’s not your job. It’s done!!! Whatever you want truly wants you. 3. Recognize the blocks and remove them. If you don’t see your dream immediately, somehow you're blocking it. The moment you truly believe you have it and have made the growth you want to make it will be there! 4. Release it in great gratitude knowing that whatever it is you want is already on the way or something even better. And you are willing to do the work involved. They are simple steps but not easy. Often we don't take time to get clear on what we want. Go back to one my earliest blogs for some ideas on getting clear. Until we get clear, we can't move toward having it. When we're really clear, we're willing to develop the disclipline and skills needed to have it.
The gift is always given. As soon as we're really ready.
The hardest and most time consuming part of this process is the growth needed. This is where our work is--our personal work to become the person who can live with this dream gracefully, confidently, and lovingly. If our dream was truly selfish and not in our own best interest, it is in this step that we come to know this. Ultimately we learn that when we ask "What is the most loving thing I can do?" we are truly on our way. I'll spend many blogs with ideas for personal growth. It is a lifelong task. That's why we keep on wanting (asking for more) because it keeps us reaching for our full potential. A wonderful place to start is Debbie Ford's book, THE DARK SIDE OF THE LIGHT CHASERS. It is full of great information and helpful exercises that help you do your work.
Once we make a step in our growth, we own that. Then it's time to learn something else. Like I said, life is perfect. Our very natures constantly pull us forward toward our Divinity. Toward the best we can be. Toward being more at one with God. Toward heaven.
And once our work is done, we let it go with great joy and gratitude. Gratitude for all we have learned. Gratitude for all the growth we've made. Gratitude for our dream and for knowing that with God we are a majority of two and there is nothing we can't do.
So please, get clear on what you want and delve into the growth work needed then you'll come soar with me in joy and blessedness.
Love,
Dr. Jeanne
2月11日 Where is the Love of My Life?Just in time for Valentine's Day, Tips for finding the love of your life or keeping the romance in your love.
WHERE IS THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE?
Is your dream having a love in your life that knocks your socks off and makes your days and nights soaring joy? That's a great dream to have. I promised you, I'd give you some inside tips on how to find that love! And if you already have a partner, these tips will help keep you more interesting and make your life with another happier and more solid.
A few years ago, I was alone and lonely. My first husband was dying and I was facing living the rest of my life alone. Or finding a new love. How did I do it? Where did I look?
First and most important, look within yourself. EVERYTHING (health, wealth, success, writing, and living the life you want) starts with our thoughts--our attitudes. Too often we look for love to fill a hole in our lives. That doesn't work and when it does, usually the romance doesn't last.
The first step is to love yourself and to build a life that you love now. By yourself. You'll be more interesting and more whole. A much better partner. And then you'll attract a much better partner.
When Ken found me, I loved my life. As Jack's health deteriorated (he had Parkinson's Disease), I started planning my life alone--planning for living my dreams. For years and years I'd dreamed of living right ton the beach. The ocean is my healer, my joy, my heart's home and my path to God. I bought a condo right on the beach and I took a writing class. My life was GOOD. It didn't need a partner to have a joyful life. But I wanted one to make it better!
In later blogs I'll talk about good places to meet people. But before you go out there looking, become a person who is whole and complete by yourself. When we're needy, we find needy people and to have a life of sheer joy, both people must be whole on their own.
Look at what you love to do. Listen to good music? You can do that alone. Walking the beach or the mountains, biking or hiking? You don't need a partner to do that.
Do what you enjoy and start building your life around those things. You'll be more interesting, more fun and you'll be happier. All of these will make you more attractive and more likely to find that special love.
When you do this, you'll find it easy to come soar with me!
Bless you,
Dr. Jeanne 2月7日 BUILDING GOOD HABITS EASILYBUILD HABITS EASILY AND QUICKLY
My first creative writing teacher just visited. We had a great time critiquing each other's work and meeting with my writing group.
She has written an article entitled TEN BY TEN. I didn't get to read it but this is the idea:
Anything that you do for ten straight days will train your body to do that easily.
If you want to write regularly but just can't do it, pick a time and sit down and write for even five minutes for ten days in a row and your body will feel comfortable doing it so it become easier and easier. I've found this absolutely true.
If you want to lose weight, change your eating habits (eat less and especially less of the empty calories and more of the veggies) for ten days and it will be a habit and easier every day. I've proved this one too.
If you want to exercise and just HATE it like I do, pick the exercise you want to do (for me that would be walking) and do it for a few minutes at the same time every day for ten days. Your body will start to walk out the door at that time. Well, almost.
If you want to meditate or pray every day, do it for ten straight days. You'll wonder how you ever got by without it.
You get the idea. Now the bad news:
Stop doing it for ten days (less if you haven't been doing it for a long time) and the habit of not doing it will be back. So it's important once you build the good habit to keep it up.
Decide what area of your life you'd like ot improve and then go for it--begin doing it every day and keep it up for ten days and watch yourself grow.
Bless you,
Jeanne 2月2日 GROW THROUGH REACHING FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANTYOU GROW THROUGH REACHING FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT
I’m going to ask you to suspend judgment while you reaad this and then think about it. To
be open to the possibility that everything I tell you is true.
The good news is: Your hopes, your dreams, and your desires are the stairway to growth-
-to becoming more than you've ever been before. The stairway to deeping who you are.
AND there is a price tag.
Life is so perfect. When we ask or wish for something or dream it, it doesn’t matter how selfish or materialistic that wish seems. We will have to grow to become the person who can
be/do/have that dream. In the wish or dream is impetus to do the work our inner all-wise being
wants us to do. Did you get that? It doesn't matter whether your desire seems to be selfish, it
will impell you to growth.
Do you know what the other absolutely wonderful thing is? The more we desire, the more
we grow. The more we wish for, the more unique experiences are brought to us and we become more
than we ever would have been without that wish. And then we ask for something else—more
experiences, more growth, more becoming and more trust and faith until the whole process becomes
easier, faster and our magnificence glows.
That means it’s our responsibility to want more and to accept more so that we expand and
the Universe expands. There is plenty of everything for everyone! None of you sit here saying,
“I’d better hold my breath now so my neighbor has enough oxygen. You just let your body breathe
and trust there is plenty. There’s plenty of oxygen, there’s plenty of love, there’s plenty of
good jobs, there’s plenty of money—there is abundance EVERYWHERE!
God/Spirit/The One/The Universe—whatever name you choose to call THE SOURCE is longing to
give you everything you want. Trust me. That’s true.
I know many of us were taught to desire was selfish, greedy, and thoughtless. Not true! Our wanting takes us further on our path—ever more in alignment with our callings; ever toward
our Divinity. So keep wanting! Enjoy asking and be supremely grateful as the answers pour in.
Itworks! Every time! I’ve proven it over and over in my life and so have you. We are
such marvelous creators! Over the next months, I'm going to share with you the tools for
creating with more purpose—creating more of what we want and less of what we don’t want. We
create every MINUTE. Actually every second. Our every thought creates or at least moves us
toward creating something or blocks our creating what we want.
We’ve all asked for many things we don’t get. Does that mean this works for some and not
for others? Does it work sometimes and not other times?
NO! The laws of this world always work! I just think there is more to it—we have to
grow and become the person ready to have that or be that. We have to do the inner work that our
desires require of us. When you've digested this and are ready to learn the steps that help us
grow into our magnificence, come back. I will be telling you more about how to do this in future
blogs. In the meantime, enjoy figuring out what it is you really want!
Blessings, Dr. Jeanne
I HAVE A BOOK BUT WHERE DO I START?I HAVE A BOOK INSIDE
You bet you do! Everyone has a story to tell. Some are true; some are fiction. But we all have a story worth telling and worth reading.
So how do you get it from your brain to the paper or computer?
1. Write about what you know. You're the expert when you do and your writing feels real. It takes less research, and for me, at least, research is not the most fun part of writing.
2. Write with passion. That means writing about something you are passionate about. I am passionate about writing. It is nmore than a job or oa hobby. It is a calling I MUST write.
I am passionate about good health--mine and yours. So much of this blog will be about health and about writing. And I am passionate about love and romance. So I write novels about love--love that shines and makes life a joy. It isn't just the book that must be about passion. You must be passionate--every episode must soar.
3. Add some humor. If you can make your readers laugh and cry, they'll love you. The more feeling you can impart to your characters, the richer they'll be.
4. Don't avoid the tough issues--they make a character real.
To sum it up, you write what you love to write. That's the only way you'll be willing to sit down and write every day. It has to be enjoyable.
Remember, this life is precious, so write about what you love.
Your first assignment is to decide what you want to write about. Not just the overall plot but how you will develop it. How will you keep passionate throughout the writing.
The only really important thing is that you begin. Take out a pen and paper or sit down at your computer and begin. Soon you'll be soaring with me as your book or article develop. You can never do anything that will bring you more satisfaction. So, dear friend, begin today and write!
Blessings,
Dr. Jeanne 2月1日 YOU ASKED FOR IT: CHOCOLATE
I welcome your suggestions for future blogs. And encourage you to get an account so you can leave comments. So far I haven't found a place where I can post a blot and you can leave comments without being a member. Sorry about that. If you learn of one, let me know. Have a wonderful day and COME SOAR WITH ME while we both enjoy a chocolate treat. Dr. Jeanne To contact me, click here send me an email. |
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