FROM TABLE TALK TO TABLE BOOK PUBLISHING 101 WITH DR. THOMAS EATON
PUBLISH FOR PURPOSE: WHAT IT MEANS YOU have finished your work. It is ready for publication. So Now It is time for you to take off your WRITER’s CAP and put on your BUSINESS CAP. Make No Mistake. The World of agents, editors, publishers, and scammers is a business world. So, put your feelings aside. Your work has now been reduced to dollar signs. So what’s next? First, we learn some vocabulary.
AGENT EDITOR PUBLISHER RETAILER E-MARKET COACH RIGHTS KILL FEES QUERY SYNOPSIS VANITY PRESS SUBSIDY PRESS MARKET-BEARING FORMULAIC REJECTION Serial Shotgunning Submission Proposal TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW
12 KEY WRITER ERRORS WRITING THE STORY Adverb tragedy Telling, not Showing Unnatural Voice Dead story (so what) Ego (my friends say I’m Awesome!) Procrastination Directionless SENDING YOUR MATERIAL No Research Giggly Format Pretension NO SASE/Rules Phone bothering Deadlines My friends all say… Not making changes mistakes-how-to-fix-them
submissions/ THERE IS NO GREAT RECIPE for publishing. The market moves, people move, tastes change. The standard rules to apply – those that never change include: Honest and Disciplined writing on a Daily Basis. Building a backlog of work. Making connections with publishing. Writing, Refrigerating, Revising and sending your work. Knowing your Audience: publisher vs. Editor vs. Blogger/Conversationalist. Determining Your personal Goals – Money, Fame, Distinction, internal happiness, or all of the above. Do Your Research – Who wants what? Be willing to take criticism. Revise, Revise Revise but say “no” Covet your time – writing is not something you do “in a free Moment.” In the absence of a workshop – build one. Readers are your future buyers. Contact me regardless of where I am. I’ll help. --- Dr. Eaton