What is your Author Platform?

Think of your platform as your launching pad. The place you’re taking off from. Essentially, it’s where you are today in terms of your exposure, your following, your regular speaking gigs and the organizations you’re already involved with. Publishers and others who are going to be interested in getting into bed with you (hey now!) are going to want to know how impressive you are. The way you demonstrate your grandeur is by presenting your platform, in descending order of impressiveness. Items that would be included in your platform might be:

1. The appearance you did on MSNBC last month.
2. Your long-standing relationship with the Boys and Girls Club.
3. The 35,000 friends you have amassed on facebook.
4. The 3 people who follow you on Twitter.
5. The 3 reading groups you participate in regularly.
6. The 17 speeches you gave to regional writing groups.
7. The online articles you’ve written for Comicbookhero.com.
8. The published article you wrote that was accepted by Cookbooks Anonymous Magazine.
9. The 347 people on your regular newsletter list.
10. Your current, up-to-date and smashing looking website!

Ultimately, your potential business partners want to know who you know, and who they can rely on to support you both through publicity and book sales. So your platform is where you are today.

How do I find an editor for my novel?

I'll always edit up to three pages at no cost. It is important for the writer to see the style of the editor. We all work differently. I do a line edit and pages of notes. The notes are for overall issues and the line edit gives them a definitive path for each issue I raise so a writer is not left in the dark about what to do. I'm also on the higher priced side, so it is especially important that writers know what they are getting for the money and view it as a valuable trade. Never just consider price, though. Look at strengths and weaknesses. I specialize in character development, dialogue, plot structure and rhythm and flow. I do not excel with language. We all excel in different areas. You will want to respect an editor's time and not just ask everyone to do a free edit. Find three you really like who are in your price range and ask each of them for a short sample. If you really like them and they won't do it for free, you might consider paying for a short sample--it's not unheard of. The main point is that you want the best quality at a price that is just out of your reach. Too far out of your reach and you'll be too stressed as a result. Too under your reach and you won't get the value you really need to push you to that next level.
 Best of luck!

How does PR work?

The key to generating PR is repetition. The media is very skeptical of what they read and so it takes time to generate buy-in. Buy-in is created by being consistent and submitting solid content to the same media players over and over again. Think of it like this:

1. 1st release reaction: never heard of them.

2. 2nd release: who are these guys?

3. 3rd release: I think I’ve heard of them before.

4. 4th release: So what do they do?

5. 5th release: Looks like a solid company.

6. 6th release: I should keep them in mind.

Then the boss comes down the hall and says we need “such and such” a story, and the reporter says, “I have a great company I’ve been following for that.” Then BAM you get the call and suddenly your story is being told.

An ideal campaign is one release every two weeks. Results traditionally begin as online and printed stories. Then after a few of those have been acquired, you graduate to radio coverage and then eventually to TV. TV media wants to know you are ready to handle their stressful environment and so they look at your overall media experience. Radio wants to know you have your story down and so they look to your print experience. Print is the easiest to get because the story is controllable and so we begin there and start building your media portfolio.

What is essential to recognize is that every success is something you can use on your company’s resume forever, so the investment is worthwhile if you have the funding to move forward with a regular campaign.

If your company or you as an individual are eager to begin a PR campaign, we’re available to set up a time to speak to you on the phone and go over the specifics of how we work. You can call us at 815.346.2398, or contact lauray@writersoftheroundtable.com.

Developing a character's voice...

A character’s voice should be found from the inside out, not the outside in. Meaning that characters are created through a writer’s willingness to dive into doing their homework and truly bringing a character to life. You can read my article on character development to see how I approach breathing life into a character. The process is simple, and the results are profound if you’re willing to do the work. The overall intention is not to impose your own voice onto your characters, but to unveil their own voices as a sculptor would reveal a form by removing clay from a mound. Your characters are ultimately like your children. The goal is to raise them well and spend time teaching them about the world so that ultimately you can let them go and trust them to make their own decisions. We have to trust our characters and let them fall on their faces as they navigate our stories. If we have built them correctly they will have fears, desires and agendas of their own that they will fight for on every page. That is their voice. When you have found it—uncovered it—it will flow through you. You will only be a conduit putting words to paper.

Are pen names a bad idea?

I’m not in favor of pen names unless you are moving outside your brand and are afraid of confusing people. We all know what happened to coke when they tried to redesign their image – it flopped. So if you are a mystery writer who wants to take up travel books, you might consider doing them under a pen name. Otherwise, if you are a first time author, you have to be willing to stand up for your book and be the face of your conversation. Otherwise, who does the media contact? Who is going to do the interviews? Transparency is a big word being thrown around these days and readers want to be able to get to know their authors and see their faces, look them up on social networking sites and learn about their daily lives. I think it is imperative, especially if you are in the earlier stages of your career, that you build a brand around your books. They you remain consistent with your messaging, that you stick with a single theme and set of core values that guide your writing and benefit your reader. Let your name become synonymous with your message and do so with pride.

Dean Koontz's Life Expectancy

This past weekend my wife and I were doing a lot of driving through the colored fall countryside of Wisconsin and we ended up listening to Dean Koontz’s Life Expectancy, the audiobook. We actually found ourselves, wanting to take little day trips just to be in the car a bit more so we could make progress on the story. What I enjoyed most was Koontz’s ability to paint a scene. His use of metaphor is superb and while at first it felt overused to me, I eventually found myself panting for the next great string of words like various and delicious flavors of popcorn hung on a holiday tree; varieties that often would not appear to please the palate together, and yet when touching the tongue offered the most delightful combination of sweet and salty flavors that not only satiated me in the moment, but left me craving the next bite.

This book was my introduction to Koontz and I would imagine that I’ll peek at another of his books in the future; hopefully read by the same exceptional narrator whose rich baritone was musical in nature and whose dialects imposed on the various characters were melodic or harsh as necessary. You can sneak a listen here.

This was an especially enjoyable read considering the Halloween mood of the Midwest, as the temperature cooled and the oranges, reds and yellows painted the trees. If Clowns scare the hell out of you – pick up a copy. You’ll love it. Highly recommended!

How do I know which publisher I should send my pitch to?

In my opinion, you should never send a pitch to a publisher if you are expecting them to buy your book and pay you with an advance. Any commercial publisher worth their salt doesn’t accept queries and pitches directly from authors. That is what agents are for.

That being said, if you are looking for a business partner for your publishing, you’re in a different situation. Working with a commercial publisher, they are the boss because they have paid you. Hiring a publisher yourself puts you in the driver’s seat. The model is completely different! This model is for people who have the financial capability of participating in the business of their book and in taking on the risk. They are also the people who know that those who take the risks also benefit from the rewards. The average profit margin for the author in a commercial publishing structure is around $1 per book. Our clients earn 400% to 800% more per book!

So, if you are in the financial position to call the shots, you want to find a publishing company that is going to surround you with an exceptional team, that is going to behave professionally, and whose books and authors you respect. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Working with companies like createspace and lulu and authorhouse, is a different experience than working with a Writers of the Round Table or a Wyatt McKenzie. The former are companies that provide very little customer service. They make their money from the volume of authors they attract who pay for template services that require no human interaction; not from book sales and elite services. The latter are companies that provide tremendous personal attention and creative teams that focus on both the creative process and the resulting sales.

Compare pricing and revenue models.
Compare customer service practices.
Compare services (template services, vs. original branding).
Compare up-front fees.
Compare the quality of the design and the writing of books they represent.

All of these should be part of your decision making process.