COMMENTS ON:

Author! Thou Shalt NOT Be A Martyr!!! (Or, When Authors Let Martyrdom Kill Their Entire Book Project)

These people are first-timers, right? I don’t think they’re quitting because of martyrdom, but because they have serious stage fright. What if their book fails? What if there are more typos or errors? What if they get panned? Criticism from strangers can be very hard to take. Or – and this can be just as terrifying – what if it actually succeeds? Do they really want their words out there in public? What if they have written something controversial and they’re not sure they want to deal with it?

Furthermore, the whole business – evolving from being a writer with a manuscript to an author with a published book – can be confusing, like turning from a caterpillar into a butterfly, and weird stuff to deal with such as the Library of Congress. I’m sure you’ve helped a lot of people through it.

Enjoyed the weekly as always!

– Victoria

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Thank you, Angela, for being there for authors and standing up against the bullies!

– Joan Helm

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Interesting, entertaining, informative read! I look forward to Thursdays for my weekly dose of WritersWeekly.com! Thanks!

– Pamela Allegretto
Bridge of Sighs and Dreams
Nazi-occupied Rome sets the stage for Bridge of Sighs and Dreams, where the lives of two women collide in an arena of deception, greed, and sacrifice.

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Quote: “The LOC wrote me back less than 24 hours later. Turns out the author only completed step 1 of the process. She apparently never actually logged back in after being accepted to enter her book’s information.”

For their pre-publication LCCN program, the LOC also claims that future participation depends on supplying them with a copy of the book shortly after publication. That is so they can assign Dewey decimal and LOC numbers to it. That’s the entire point of the program. I’m not sure how strictly they hold authors and publishers to that rule, but just to be sure I never get backlisted, I follow two rules:

1. I don’t apply for a LCCN until a book is almost done and thus certain of being published. As you note, once signed up, you’ll typically get that number in a couple of days. Getting it can be part of the wrap-up phase for a book.

2. When I publish POD, I order several printed copies. I make sure the LOC gets one of those.

I’m the stubborn type, so the more opposition I meet with, the more I plunge ahead. But I will offer thanks for all the authors that you have encouraged when they were ready to give up. That’s going the second mile. Not all those in your line of work do that.

Also, for some would-be authors, halting just before publication is the writer’s equivalent of stage fright. Before those final steps are taken, they freeze up, fearing failure. The reasons they offer are often just a cover for the real issue. Pushing them through that moment of hesitation often brings relief. For good or ill, that book is out.

– Michael W. Perry

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COMMENTS ON:

READERS RESPOND! “When Was the EXACT Moment You KNEW You Wanted to Be a Writer?”

I always knew. In fact, I have one question for the great authors of our time–the ones who support themselves by writing books: How many lifetimes did it take to get you where you are today? Because honestly, I think it takes multiple.

– Sandra Knittel

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If the mere act of playing golf makes one a golfer, then I suppose I am a writer. The truth is, I never wanted to be a writer as much as I just wanted to write about the substance of my doctoral dissertation, which consumed several years of my life. To answer the question, I knew I wanted to write about the outcomes of instructor development the instant the university’s Institutional Review Board approved my research proposal. Thanks, BookLocker, for publishing my book with such care and for giving us, non-writers-who-write, a credible, quality platform for showcasing our work.

– Jack P. Macfarlane

 

Read More Letters and Comments

 

BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K - $100K Publishing Contracts - by Angela Hoy

Peek over the shoulders of highly successful, published authors to see how they landed publishing contracts worth $10,000 to $100,000! An enticing yet professional book proposal is the key!

BONUS! Successful ghostwriter, Anton Marco, shares his secret for landing ghostwriting clients. Don’t miss Anton’s real ghostwriting contract at the end of this book! It provides an example of what he charges and the payment terms he requires from each client.