Tell a writer. Tell the world.

With easy-to-do yourself book publishing through Amazon Kindle and easy-to-do blogs via Google’s Blogger aka Blogspot, poets and writers have become more and more likely to publish their own work. Equally enticing, both forms of self-publishing are free!

A big obstacle arises though in getting out the word about the words written. With none of the advertising or publicity help that traditionally published poets and writers can rely on, the self-published author counts on you the reader to let friends, fellow readers, and social media followers know which books and blogs might be worth their reading time.

You don’t have to be a writer yourself to help the publishing community or literary world! Just tell people what you like as though you’re talking to them in person. Be specific about the unique aspects you found especially appealing or why you’re drawn to the work of a particular poet or writer.

If, however, you run across a “bad read” you wouldn’t recommend to anyone, don’t say a word – at least not in public! Instead send a note to the poet or writer if there’s something you feel strongly about; otherwise, let it go. It could be that the work hit a nerve or that whatever bothered you simply conflicts with the personal preferences or beliefs to which you’re both entitled.

As you review and laud 5-star books on Amazon and other sites, you add your voice to the literary community. You influence other readers, and your show appreciation for work well done. You may never know for sure, but your reviews can encourage a poet or writer enough to give momentum for the next book. At least, that’s what happened to me.

After decades of researching what the Bible says and shows about prayer, I “suddenly” knew I wanted a book that collected Bible prayers into a contemporary prayer book we can use to refresh, deepen, and empower our prayer lives. The immediate responses to the Book of Bible Prayers were so positive, I began the next book right away before my enthusiasm waned.

Maybe that’s why I’m up, writing this appeal before daybreak! Of necessity, poets and writers spend much of their time in solitude in order to get any work done, so your encouraging words matter a lot! And, who knows? Your positive review might give the momentum needed for the next manuscript that inspires and encourages you!

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

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Marketing your book in person

When the Crescent City public library hosted “Meet & Greet the Authors” at the Crescent City Woman’s Club last weekend, this well-organized event gave me an opportunity to meet other writers and readers in my area. I sold more books in our small town than I’d sold over the past few months on Amazon, and I also learned a lot!

People want to get to know you before they buy your books.

Since most readers also want to know more about the area in which they live, book browsers seemed especially interested in my poetry from a natural Florida perspective. And, they hung around book tables where other authors had histories and mysteries set in our state or county.

Books on your locale will be most apt to sell.

Although it’s not yet November, I made a point of mentioning how some of my books might make nice gifts for Christmas. Then, I asked if the buyer wanted me to sign a book with the name of the person for whom they’d bought the gift or, in case they seemed unsure, if they wanted an autograph with a greeting appropriate for anyone.

Children’s books do particularly well as gifts.

Generic signings might be “God bless” or “Happy reading!” followed by an autograph.

Did I mention that I sign in pencil? My handwriting has deteriorated a bit, plus I’m apt to misspell my own name! An ink pen would have marred 3 signings, but as it was, I could easily erase.

Having someone (in my case, my supportive husband) to take monies, make change, and note which titles sold was another big plus as this left me free to chat with people, answer questions, and simply ask, “What do you like to read?” That latter question helped me to direct buyers toward titles that might interest them the most – even though they said they don’t normally buy poetry!

In addition to this event, which featured about a dozen writers and their books, our public library often invites locals poets and writers to give readings, which can be another opportunity to market a book. Those occasions also give a chance to answer questions and talk about what evoked a subject, scene, or poem, which inevitably interests potential book buyers even more.

Besides investigating what your local library has to offer, other opportunities for marketing your books in person can occur when you’re a guest speaker in a public school, bookstore, community building, church fellowship hall, or club meeting. If no such events have been planned, consider asking about the possibilities or organizing an event yourself.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017, poet-author

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10 Ways a Writer’s Work Has Changed

Back in the different old days (neither good nor bad) a writer’s life didn’t focus on marketing or building a platform or connecting with other writers.

1. We had no Internet to build a platform. We did no marketing. We “got known” if we wrote well, consistently placed manuscripts with publishers of books and periodicals, then waited for word to get around – mouth-to-mouth or through ads, book-signings, or other events our publishers planned and paid for. For example, one publisher flew me to company headquarters to talk about writing with school children who approximated the ages of my readers. On another occasion, the publisher of my 7-book devotional series sent a make-up artist and photographer to my modest home for a photo shoot! The picture chosen became a huge poster placed beside my books in bookshops and now in my basement.

2. No Internet also meant no social sites, so those of us who lived in small towns or rural areas almost never had contact with other poets and writers except through writing conferences or by reading publications for poets and writers. Basically, we lived in a vacuum, worked in isolation, and, in solitude, prayed a lot.

3. To find potential publishers, we went to libraries, bookstores, or newsstands to see who was publishing what – a task I highly recommend poets and writers continue to do today by visiting Internet bookshops. This still goes on the “different” list, however, because, once we had found potential publishers, we had to write letters via snails (known then as “first class mail”) to ask for writers’ guidelines. If we ever wanted to hear from them, we included an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) to ensure a reply.

4. Few of us could afford to buy each magazine that interested us or every new book a book company published, so we had to request sample copies of periodicals and current catalogs of book titles – again enclosing an SASE with every request. We would then study, study, study each publication to see where we might fill a gap in their line yet stay in line with that particular company’s needs and requirements – a practice I still recommend for anyone who wants to be published by an established publisher, but now, by studying the samples and information on their websites.

5. In the days when libraries had only books, we would read, read, read everything we could find in our favorite genre. If our writing required research, that, too, meant hanging out in a public library, checking the card catalog index to see if the book or journal needed was on file and, if so, where it was located. Since we weren’t always allowed to check out reference materials to take home, we had to ask the librarian to find the publication for us and let us see it long enough to take copious notes and document the name, title, and page number(s) of each source. Another option was to pick up the phone to call on the expertise of an expert, who inevitably lived in another town. Often, this resulted in a horrendous long-distance charge on our next telephone bill, whether the book or article sold or not.

6. Our biggest expenses, though, were office equipment and supplies: a desk, an electric typewriter, well-inked ribbons, reams of 20 lb. paper, carbon paper, and postage.

7. Working on an electric typewriter meant using white-out to correct a mistake then trying (and never succeeding) to erase the same mistake on the carbon copy. If we had too many typing errors on a page, we had to retype. Worse was revision! If we added a full paragraph or scratched through lines, not only did we have to retype that page but those following as the pagination changed.

8. Since most editors wanted an approximate word count, we had to count words – now done by clicking “Review” and “Word Count” in Word software. Then, it meant the ole one, two, three, four, which got tedious if a contract required 100,000 or more words! (Usually, I shortened the process by counting the number of lines and average words per line then multiplying the two.)

9. Writing assignments came with very specific instructions on how many characters were allowed per line. When writing church school curriculum, for example, I had to count – not just the words for the whole manuscript – but the number of letters on each line.

10. Writing freelance also involved querying the editor of the first publishing company on the list, and if s/he wrote back with interest, mailing the article or book manuscript – with SASE – first class. If the editor approved the work, a contract followed – also by mail. If the manuscript was rejected, it came back dog-eared and smudged, which, yeah, meant retyping the whole thing. That alone was an incentive to do the best we could do the first time out. Praise God, I managed to place several books and a few hundred poems and articles that way until my computer and the Internet made my work much, much easier. But working in cyberspace altered everything forever – at least until the next big round of changes.

Mary Harwell Sayler, poet-writer, © 2016

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Step into the New Year: writing, revising, and marketing

Preliminary Steps:

Study classical and popular works in your favorite writing genre.

Consider what draws readers to a particular poem, story, article, or book.

Study magazines and other publications you like to read.

Get familiar with the book catalogues of publishers whose work you like.

Consider potential gaps that your story, poem, article, or book might fill.


Writing Plan:

Plan your fiction or nonfiction manuscript before you begin.

Decide on a theme, purpose, and reading audience.

Thoroughly research your topic or story setting.

Outline each article or nonfiction book.

Write a synopsis of your novel in present tense.

Both the synopsis and the outline should be from 1 to 5 pages.


Writing, Revising, and Marketing:

Let your writing flow without criticizing yourself, then let your work rest.

Later read those pages as if someone else had written them.

Read your work aloud and notice if anything seems “off.”

Pinpoint a problem, and you will usually find a solution.

Revise to make the manuscript your best before you send it to a publisher.

Find and follow writers’ guidelines located on the company's website.

Query several editors at once about an idea or book proposal, but when you submit your actual manuscript, send it to only one editor at a time.

When mailing your manuscript by postal service, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) to cover its potential return.

Keep track of where, when, and to whom you mailed each manuscript.

If you don’t hear back in 3 months, follow up with a brief, polite email.

While you wait to hear from one editor, query another editor about your next idea.

Repeat the above steps.


©2015, Mary Harwell Sayler 

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Writing power outages

Poets and writers encounter down times in their writing for a variety of reasons, ranging from power outages to phone interruptions to feeling uninspired. Every time you get a new computer or upgrade software, you probably experience down times, too, as it takes time to save time working in and through electronic equipment that may be new to you.

Regardless of the reasons for the power outages in your writing life, those downtimes can bring uptimes for placing your fiction, nonfiction, children’s stories, devotionals, Bible studies, church curriculum, and poetry with journals, e-zines, book publishers, or your church’s denominational publishing headquarters. To do this:

Study book catalogs and back issues of periodicals and magazines you subscribed to, got at church, or bought from a newsstand.

Notice the topics, tone, style, and length of the manuscripts published in your genre.

In a word processing file, list every publisher who publishes work similar to yours. Add info about their editorial requirements and contact information. Or make a 3x5 file card filed alphabetically for each publishing company you like.

If your power loss does not include an electrical outage or lost hard drive, research literary journals, book publishers, church publishing headquarters, and e-zines on the Internet.

How?

Study publishing companies as you browse through titles in online bookstores such as Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, and the shopping pages offered by the publishers themselves.

Check out literary journals and e-zines readily found on the Internet.

You’ll find new publishing possibilities through social networks too.

When inspiration returns you to writing again, you’ll be ready to plug in your powerful words to the publishing markets you found during downtimes that cause upturns in your publishing credits or book sales.

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© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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