Publishing: A Survival Guide, Second Edition

By Michaele Lockhart

In the 21st Century, publishing your book is just a point-and-click away....

In this concise handbook, editor and author advocate Michaele Lockhart provides guidance for writers navigating the often tricky journey to publication. In the United States alone over one thousand companies compete for the author's money: your precious dollars should be spent where they will do the most good.

Every day thousands of writers agree to have their manuscripts published. The self-publishing industry comes in many guises, from cozy local start-up ventures to mega-giants of the industry. All promise the author both ease and success.

The road to successful publication is long, filled with potholes, and littered with technicalities. Less than ethical practices are to be found everywhere, while vague promises lure the uninformed. Among the newest of unregulated cottage industries are e-formatters. Many new authors find the end results disappointing, falling short of their expectations and what they have been promised. Authors should be well-informed about the industry they are a part of. Forewarned is forearmed.

Based on a series of articles featured on the author's blog site, Lockhart's words of wisdom prepare and protect the newer writer for a first publishing experience while improving future endeavors for any author who might already have spent several thousand dollars publishing a single book. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michaele Lockhart
• Release date: Sep 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781516332557

Michaele Lockhart

Michaele Lockhart brings a diverse background to her writing: a passion for history, a fascination with human drama, and a love of literature. Her education combines early and secondary schools in Europe, in addition to college at the University of Arizona and the University of Maryland. Embracing a variety of genres, her versatility extends from her favorite periods of history to contemporary social issues. A retired teacher and a talented nature and landscape photographer, she often inserts elements of visual lyricism into her writing. Her short stories and novels encompass historical fiction adventure to romantic magic realism to suspense. As an editor, she works with writers, helping them produce their best by publishing the most professional books possible. As an author advocate, she encourages clients to spend resources wisely, where their dollars will most benefit their books and careers. Michaele lives in Tucson, Arizona. Current projects include a collection of short fiction based on family memoirs of World War II in France and a mystery-suspense series set in the scenic beauty of the Southwest. Focused on Murder is Book One in the series. Connect with her online at MichaeleLockhart.com.

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Publishing: A Survival Guide

a Michaele Lockhart publication

Copyright © 2015 by Michaele Lockhart

Second Edition

Publishing: A Survival Guide

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"Writing is easy. All you do is cross out all

the wrong words."

Mark Twain

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Mark Twain had no such pithy advice about publishing in the 21st Century.

It might have helped thousands of writers.

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1

Some of the Write Stuff

As a published author with many friends and students who are also writers, I am often asked for advice. I find this flattering but daunting. I hear recurring themes and wild misconceptions, even from writers who were published fifteen years ago. For those who were last published before then, the vastly changed new world of modern book publishing might as well be on another planet.

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Throughout this short book, I have shared some information and opinions about matters that are important, even critical, for writers. Sometimes my answers were not exactly what those asking the questions have wanted to hear.

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Like everything else worth doing, writing requires taking the time and the effort to do well. That means devoting time—lots of time—to your craft. That also means passion and practice.

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Publishing is another matter entirely; it is also where the writer, especially the author of a first book, will encounter the most challenges. These chapters will help educate and protect anyone publishing today.

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How do I get an agent?

That’s one of the first questions I am always asked. Typically this comes from a person who has never before written seriously but has completed what he or she thinks will be the next Great American Novel or The Most Fabulous Memoir. This is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. Please excuse the cliché, but it really fits here. More on agents later.

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"I don’t really need an editor, do I?

I just can’t afford one. Besides, I know I can do it myself. I’ll hear these remarks, sometimes combined with, But my daughter is taking AP English in high school.... You cannot afford not to have a professional editor, but that is a grand, full topic for a later chapter.

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"What’s the best way to get published?" and

How do I get published in the first place?

These are often combined with I know someone who published a book with an Internet company for only $500! These, too, I will address in an upcoming chapter.

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What about self-publishing? Isn’t there sort of a stigma attached to it?

Finally, How can I increase my sales—‘they’ told me my book was a ‘sure bestseller’? Ah, well, we all have our egos and it’s easy to be taken-in. Read on for my comments and statistics on the fee-for-publishing industries for self-publishing vs. independent publishing. There’s a vast difference between the two.

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First of all, write, write, write, and then write some more!

Then rewrite, of course. Write an absolutely outstanding darned good book or short story. Before you even consider publication of any kind—whether to a magazine, as a book, or to an online journal—make sure that what you have written has been professionally edited. Remember, you cannot afford not to! Locally I know several excellent editors who not only provide this valued service, they always respect the author’s voice and they are here.

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Later I will thoroughly discuss what Jerry Simmons, of www.WritersReaders.com, calls editorial integrity. Your husband or wife or best friend may be extremely nice and totally blown away by your writing, but they are necessarily subjective. There is no substitute for an extra set of experienced, objective eyes. However, it is always best if these eyes are not part of a faceless editorial mill based elsewhere (typically not in this country) that charges you, the writer, grossly inflated fees. More on this later too.

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Good writers, really good writers, are voracious readers. When one of my students says I don’t have time to read, I sometimes wonder how he finds time to write. There’s a direct co-relation between what that student reads and how he writes, if he’s able to write at all.

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Other writing instructors recommend reading extensively in the genre you’re writing. Occasionally, that advice has merit. It will keep the writer up-to-date on conventions within that genre: what’s being done and what’s not and whether, perhaps, something is also being overdone!

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My Advice:

However, the advice I give my students is to find and read truly excellent writing that is fairly close to his/her own particular writing style—or the style that writer wants to cultivate and develop. I also point out that simply because a certain book made it to some bestseller list (a feat which is typically a result of intensive branding and marketing), this does not necessarily mean that it represents good writing.

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We all learn by imitation to some degree. For example, our children watch us and learn to say please and thank you (we hope). They’ll watch how we treat others and then (again, we hope) model their own behavior after ours. A word of caution: it is ever so tempting to jump on the bandwagon of a current popular fad. The market will be saturated by the time you get your Twilight-style, DaVinci-style, Hunger-type, or Gray-type book out to the public. Write where your passion lies—if you’re not enthralled with what you’re writing, don’t expect a reader to be enthralled either.

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Reading good books—those enduring and well-written stories that provide examples of structure, voice, appropriate use of vocabulary, foreshadowing, ways to handle backstory, dialogue, narrative description, character development, just to name a few elements—is a painless way to learn writing while vicariously enjoying a new experience in the form of a great story. Good books feed our minds, just as a fine meal feeds our bodies.

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I currently moderate two successful and stimulating writing critique groups. Without anyone confessing, I know who writes regularly and who has tried to knock out a chapter the night or the morning before our meeting. After all, I am a teacher—I have experienced and endured assignments that were rushed through at the last minute.

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For those interested I will share my suggested reading list for adult writing students with an explanation of why I chose those books and what I expect a writing student to glean from them. There is a sureness to good writing, and a writer should never fear being overly influenced.

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Addenda from blog site and comments: Some of the Write Stuff

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Well said on every level. If you don’t know what a participial phrase is, or can’t define What is a gerund? or question Does a comma go here? You need an editor. If you can answer those and other questions, you still need an editor. Athletes, both professional and amateur, train regularly. As a writer, if you’re not writing, your skills will atrophy. From DLJ

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Thanks, DLJ. I appreciate your comments. As you pointed out, there is so much more to editing than non-writers or even new writers might expect. It’s not only the copy editing (making sure things are right) but the creative side of the business that helps identify and prevent lapses in your storyline. We are in partnership with our writers. We want your story to be as good as it possibly can be too!

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Incidentally, for others who might be interested, the most commonly used general manual of style, about what’s right and wrong and what’s generally accepted in the United States, is The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). I recommend that all my clients and writing students buy and read (and re-read) Strunk and White’s Elements of Style—eighty-two pages of pure gold. With that as your guide, it’s almost impossible to go wrong! Thanks again. Keep on writing! From ML

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Michaele Lockhart knows the world of writing and all that it encompasses. I’ve read several of her books and she’s a great storyteller. As a fledgling writer, I knew it was important for me to join a writing critique group where I can bounce my work off other writers and receive honest feedback on structure, grammar, character development, and so on. Ms. Lockhart’s recommendation that writers should write, write, write, is right on point. My critique group meets twice a month, so I have to write most days to bring something worthwhile to the table.

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Passion and self discipline can blossom into a great romance. I usually reread my work a month or so later. Sometimes, I’m startled that what I’ve written reads so well. On many other occasions, however, I cringe. Did I actually really write that? Once my book is completed, for me, professional editing is a must. From RG

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Great input, RG! For writers and writing teachers alike, hearing that we’ve made a difference and receiving comments like yours always helps keep us devoted to our craft. Thank you and Happy Writing! From ML

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I am writing my first novel. Not exactly new to the world of writing since I have been a poet all my life and have a couple of published poetry books. I have just finished