Table of Contents

What Makes A Bestseller?

By W. Terry Whalin

The question is worth asking but there are few answers. What elements have to come together to for a book to suddenly skyrocket to the top of the bestseller charts? In my last post, I talked about the importance of story—for nonfiction and fiction. Each of us need to learn how to write meaningful stories. The writing will always have to shine for it to get the buzz and attention going. Yet some wonderfully written books don’t get to the bestseller list.

Several years ago, I was interviewing Jerry B. Jenkins for a story related to one of the Left Behind books. Jerry realizes the unusual way his series of books has caught public attention—with over 60 million copies in print and a huge appetite for the next book the series. Jerry recommended that I read a book from Malcolm Gladwell called The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference (Little, Brown Company, 2000).

A tipping point according to Gladwell is that magical moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire. What causes it? The Law of the Few is one of the critical elements where three groups intersect and come together. These three factors are: connectors, mavens, and salesmen. A connector is someone who knows lots of people and Gladwell gives a simple test. He takes about 250 surnames from the Manhattan phone book. You are to scan the names and see if you know someone with that last name. As he says on page 41, "All told, I have given the test to about 400 people. Of those, there were two dozen or so scores under 20, eight over 90, and four more over 100…Sprinkled among every walk of life, in other words, are a handful of people with a truly extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances. They are Connectors."

A Maven is one who accumulates knowledge. "A Maven is a person who has information on lots of different products or prices or places. This person likes to initiate discussions with consumers and respond to requests." (p. 62) So you see two of the elements—mavens and connectors.

"In a social epidemic, Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it. But there is also a select group of people—Salesmen—with the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing, and they are as critical to the tipping of word-of-mouth epidemics as the other two groups." (p. 70).

Do I have it figured out? Not at all. I believe Gladwell is on to something significant for these factors to come together to tip the balance and make a book move from one level to the bestseller category. I hope it provides you with a bit of my insight. I still have a great deal to learn about this particular question.

The Power of Keeping Track

By W. Terry Whalin

For almost twenty years of my writing life, I've been automatically keeping track of different little bits of information. I tuck an address into my address book or I update a phone number or a new email address. It doesn't take a great deal of time but it's a consistent and conscious act on my part.

I know some of the data in my rolodex is a bit dated. Yet I keep it there because I understand some times even an out-of-date address has value. Several years ago, I needed to reach an author for the publisher. Because of my role in acquisitions, the managing editor turned a project over to me. This author who has a busy counseling ministry owed the publisher a manuscript. There had been some back and forth correspondence via email to talk about the editorial details with this manuscript. When I took the background information including the book contract from my colleague, I asked, "What's a current phone number for _____?"

This busy managing editor said, "I've never talked with him on the phone. We've only communicated through email." Heading back to my desk, I knew I needed to reach this author on the phone and talk through these editorial issues. Email has its purpose—but it's also a less personal means of reaching someone. It's pretty easy to turn someone down via email or reshape their request or idea. I knew on the phone and in person, the conversation would be much more ground leveling with this bestselling author. But where do I find the phone number since it wasn't in the file?

About fifteen years earlier, I had worked with this author as an editor and ghostwriter on one of his books. During that brief experience, we communicated a great deal but I hadn't talked with this author in over fifteen years—yet his old information remained in my rolodex. It was a starting point. I called the old phone numbers and they didn't work. My only choice was the front door approach. I called this author's office and reached his assistant. When I explained the need, this assistant said, "You could be anyone on the phone, Terry, posing as a publisher. I can't give you that information."

I tried a different tact, "Does _____ still live in (name of the city), California?"

"Yes."

"Does he live at (specific street address)?"

"Yes"

"Is his home phone number (specific area code and number)?"

After giving this information, the assistant made a long pause on the phone. Then with a sigh, she said, "Yes, that's the phone number but the area code has change to ____." I thanked her for her "assistance." In a matter of minutes I was talking with this author's wife (another bit of information in my rolodex) and beginning to connect with him about my editorial issue. I understand the power of keeping track.

In an earlier post, I wrote about the Devil In the Details. It's true you have to keep track of the details in the writing life. I love what Ellen J. List has written about the value of networking at a writer's conference—which is a valuable first step to connecting with the editor. It's important to exchange business cards every possible chance.

One key from my perspective is what do you do after you get the business card? Tuck it into your desk or put it in your computer where you can easily access it? For many years, I keyed the information from my business cards into my computer rolodex. Now I use a Targus Mini Business Card Scanner. The device isn't perfect in the scans. I may still have to type a few bits of information. But overall it's a huge timesaver and helps my process of keeping track of information. I understand the power of such information—even if it's old.

Free Book Proposals That Sell Teleseminar

Several months ago on Annie Jennings PR, I recordered a free tele-seminar about Book Proposals That Sell.   This teleseminar covers the major points of the book in a free MP3 file.  Follow this link to download the teleseminar.

Marketing 101

By Jodie Lynn

Six Things Your Publicist Won't Tell You

By Fern Reiss

Hiring a publicist could be the best thing you could do for your book. Or it could be a huge money sink with no dividends. If you’re considering hiring a publicist for your book, learn what your publicist won’t tell you. (And then check out the dozens of other articles on the http://www.PublishingGame.com web site, and sign up for the (free) Expertizing email newsletter on how to do your own publicity at http://www.PublishingGame.com/signup.htm).

So, what six things won’t your publicist tell you?

I don’t need a license. Like literary agents, publicists aren’t required to have any sort of license, which means that no one has ‘vetted’ their credentials. Though you can go to school to study publicity, and you can join professional associations (such as PRSA), many publicists have neither educational nor professional association credentials. This doesn’t necessarily make them bad publicists—but it does mean that you must check their references carefully. The best way to get a publicist is to hire someone who comes highly recommended—by someone you know.

PR is a crap shoot. For even the best practitioners, publicity is hard to guarantee. Sometimes you hit it, and sometimes you don’t. So there’s no such thing as guaranteed publicity—and any publicist who promises you guaranteed publicity is full of it.

You can probably skip the press kit. The first thing most publicists will do for you is to prepare a press kit. They do this for two reasons: It’s an easy deliverable to produce (all you need is a jazzy folder and some glossy photographs and press materials). And it gives the publicist something tangible to point to that they’ve accomplished for the campaign.

The problem is, there’s almost no reason to do a press kit these days. (I almost never do them for my clients.) Sure, you can send them to journalists and broadcast media. But you’re often better off sending a (much cheaper) straight press release: It’s more likely to be read, and harder to lose in the pile. So if the first thing your potential publicist promises you is a press kit, think about looking elsewhere.

Radio isn’t a panacea. Publicists tend to book a lot of radio for their clients because it’s easier to get broadcast time than print space. But radio has a few disadvantages: It doesn’t have the longevity of printed publicity (It won’t turn up in a doctor’s office reception room three years later, for example). It doesn’t get passed from friend to colleague the way printed articles do. And people listen to it from their cars, making it harder for them to jot down the name of your book even if they intend to buy it. So although it’s worth doing some radio in your publicity mix, be wary of the publicist who focuses on radio to the exclusion of all else. It’s easier for the publicist—but usually not as good for the book. (The few people who have made their book bestsellers by doing hundreds of radio shows have really been on the air way more than most authors would prefer.)

Press releases need *news*. It’s easy to write a press release that does not get pick-up by the press. But if you really want your press release to get exposure, keep in mind that it needs to have a strong news angle. (“I have a new book” or “I hired a new employee” is not considered news.) Your publicist knows this—but since it’s easier to write a press release that doesn’t have a strong news hook, sometimes that’s what you’ll get. Insist that each of your press releases has a strong news angle.

Good PR is expensive. Good PR is expensive; top PR professionals get a minimum of $5000 per month, and the prices can run much, much higher And PR campaigns need to be run over a several-month period in order to be effective, so most PR professionals won’t take you on for less than six months minimum. So if you’re thinking about taking the plunge, be sure you’re prepared to spend at least $30,000.

So march out and hire that publicist. But be sure you have realistic expectations—and that you know what you’re buying.

What's Your Reader Tolerance?

By W. Terry Whalin

I used to be a pretty patient consumer. I would read a slow starting novel and give it at least 100 pages before I stopped. Or with nonfiction, I would faithfully plow through every single page of information and consume it. Or with a dull movie, I would sit with the video or DVD version until the last frame of the movie. Last night my wife and I rented a recently released film which we missed when it came in the theater. We watched about 45 minutes of the 125 minute film, then looked at each other and turned it off. Our reader tolerance hit the ceiling.

These days I'm finding my reader tolerance level isn't very high. Maybe it comes from seeing too many poorly-crafted manuscripts on the fiction side of things—where the story is actually begins way into the manuscript. Or maybe it's from seeing too many nonfiction manuscripts that have no readers or market in mind when they were created (or seem that way from the writing). Or maybe it's the piles of books with great promise and not enough hours in our hurry up world to possibly read them.

In fiction, the story situation or the character or some other fiction element has to grab me. For nonfiction, the topic has to have enough storytelling to keep me turning the pages. If not, I find that I flip ahead and some times I don't finish the book.

As a positive example of a book that caught my attention in the general market. I know Jack El-Hai, the author, from my involvement with the American Society of Journalists and Authors. I was looking at Jack's website to promote the book and this paragraph jumped out at me, “As gripping as a medical thriller, The Lobotomist examines the motivations of a man whose personality combined brilliance with arrogance, compassion with egotism, and determination with stubbornness. The result is an unforgettable portrait of a physician who permanently shaped the lives of his patients, as well as the course of medical history.” It looks fascinating to me.

With reader tolerance, here's a few tips for the writer to keep in mind: show don't tell, begin with a bang, and write in the active tense. Each of these articles in the links have detail information for these tips. You may think you handle all of these elements with excellence—but I'd encourage you to return to your manuscript and make sure it's present.

Reader tolerance is a subjective matter. Your reader tolerance will be different than my reader tolerance. As I write or edit, it's an important element to keep in mind.

How to Locate An Agent

By W. Terry Whalin

I've learned that many people ask this question before they are ready for an agent. These authors want to have their books published but have learned almost nothing about the business or how to craft an idea for the market. One of the best things you can do for yourself to find an agent (or a publisher) is to get published in magazines. The experience of writing for magazines is invaluable and will help your writing career--and help an agent be interested in your work.

No matter where you are in your writing career, whether you are advanced or beginning, it's difficult to find an agent. Having a connection with that agent is critical. One of the key factors is whether the agent charges you for the services or whether he gets his income from selling your book manuscript. If the latter, then it's more likely they are a solid agent. If they are charging you to market your book, then I'd be suspicious because they could be making their money from simply charging you (and many other would-be authors).

Have you ever seen the ads for literary agents in writing magazines who charge reading fees? If you wonder if people prey on unpublished authors, then you need to read Jim Fisher's book, Ten Percent of Nothing, The Case of the Literary Agent from Hell (Southern Illinois University Press, June 2004). Fisher is a former FBI agent and this book reads like a fascinating novel. You will learn about a frustrated science fiction novelist, Dorothy Deering, who was burned by two fee-charging literary agents who did nothing to locate a publisher for her work. As an ex-con, Dorothy saw the money-making potential in starting her own fee-based agency. She believed there were thousands of writers who had stars in their eyes about publishing and who couldn't get the attention of traditional publishers. These writers would be willing to pay money to have their work marketed to publishers. This simple concept of fee-based reading and marketing of manuscripts began one of the biggest publishing scams in American history.

Thousands of would-be writers paid millions of dollars to Deering, a former bookkeeper who had no professional experience as a writer, editor, agent or publisher. Fiisher who worked for the FBI for over twenty years, was drawn to this story after learning of a friend who lost money in this scam. The author exposes an ugly side of American publishing and the book emphasizes the warning signs to any would-be writer so they will not be drawn into such practices.

I recommend anyone in publishing get a copy of Ten Percent of Nothing, The Case of the Literary Agent from Hell to help their own education about the importance of using common sense and also avoiding fee-based agents. You will learn from Jim Fisher that Dorothy Deering ran a publishing hoax. She never sold a single manuscript to a major publisher and bilked millions of dollars from her clients that were spent on personal cruises and expensive cars and homes. Dorothy Deering went to prison for her scam but others have taken up this confidence game within publishing and writers need to know about this little talked about aspect of publishing.

I work with a number of terrific agents--as an editor and as a writer. It's interesting to me the depth we go to when we check out a good car dealership--yet how we don't do our homework sometimes with an agent. I understand part of it--as writers, we want anyone who wants our work--but that might not be the wisest route. Anyone can suddenly become an agent and that agent might not be the right one for you.

I've got some great basic information about this topic on Right-Writing.com including: The Safest Way to Search for An Agent and Do Literary Agents look for new authors? These two articles will give you a start in the journey to locate an agent. I hope it helps.

How to Improve Your Negotiation Skills

By Amy and Bob Bly

How To Keep Your Story Engine Running

By James Scott Bell

Busting Publishing's Biggest Myths

By Laura Backes, Children's Book Insider

Rejection is never easy. But some authors can't separate themselves from their work, and take rejection letters very personally. I get many emails from disgruntled writers who can't get past their anger to figure out why their work was turned down in the first place. So before you spend hours sticking pins in your editor voodoo doll, see if you recognize yourself below:

The complaint: "Editors practice age discrimination. I'm over 50 and editors believe only young authors can write for children."

The truth: Editors are interested in finding good books, period. It doesn't matter how old the author is. Take a look at the lists of award winners (ask your librarian, or do an Internet search for Caldecott or Newbery Awards) and note the ages of the authors. Many didn't start writing until their kids were in school full time, or took up writing as a second career. Editors also know that the best stories come from years of life experience, and older writers have more to draw from. Yes, occasionally a book written by a teenager will make the news, but more often than not it's the novelty of the author's age that gets the publicity, not the quality of the writing. And why does the editor know your age in the first place? There's no reason to mention it in your cover or query letter, unless it has direct bearing on the story. If you're writing historical fiction and you actually lived through the events in the plot, or your nonfiction book is based on years of study in the subject, then your age is a plus.

The complaint: "I'm a man, and editors think only women can write children's books."

The truth: Sorry guys, but this one's a little ridiculous. Again, look at that list of award winners. Men are well-represented. Glance through the names of editors in Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market published by Writer's Digest Books. Lots of men there too. The only time your gender might be an issue is with the readers themselves. For example, teenage boys might not buy a science fiction/adventure story written by a woman, or middle grade girls may think a man can't possibly pen a series featuring four adolescent girls at summer camp. They're wrong, but you can always use your first initial instead of your name to fool your audience.

The complaint: "They're just wrong about my writing! All editors want these days are famous names, not quality books."

The truth: Yes, many editors (especially those at larger houses) have to be concerned with making money for the publisher, and so rely on a certain number of established authors each year to pay the bills. But they also know they need to find new writers, because those standbys aren't going to be writing forever.

Sometimes it's almost impossible to interpret a rejection letter, and one or two form rejections does not mean you're a failure. Editors are people too, with personal tastes and the need to balance each list by subject matter and age group. However, several rejections in a row deserve a closer look. Are you submitting to appropriate publishers, who actually publish the kind of book you've written? Have any of the houses on your list recently published a book very similar to yours? Is your manuscript riddled with typos or grammatical errors? Even though a copy editor will fix these before the book's published, sloppy presentation can give an editor reason to reject a manuscript when she's got 50 others sitting on her desk waiting for her attention.

In most cases, though, it's the writing that gets the manuscript rejected. And since it's the editor's job to recognize good writing and help those authors make their books even better, there is a chance (admit it!) that the rejection is deserved. How can you tell? First of all, if you get personal comments about your manuscript in the rejection letter, take those to heart. Play devil's advocate and assume the editor's right, and see if those changes improve the work. Secondly, get objective input. Join a writer's group, get a professional manuscript critique, or pay for a personal critique session at a writer's conference (most Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators workshops--www.scbwi.org--have optional one-on-one critiques). Take writing classes, read books on writing. Do whatever you can to learn how to judge your work and make it better.

The complaint: "Publishers aren't interested in publishing books that will help kids."

The truth: Whoa! If children's book publishers didn't produce books that benefit kids, they'd go out of business in a heartbeat. Of course, we can all walk into a book store and find books that aren't worth the paper they're printed on, but that's true of any product. (Have you ever bought a T-shirt that disintegrated in the first wash, or a DVD player that self-destructed in a week?) I'm not saying that's a good thing, but our society seems to tolerate a certain amount of drivel in the marketplace. However, all publishers prefer commercially-appealing books that also have substance. This complaint consistently comes from writers whose goal is to "help kids," or teach them how to grow into solid, caring citizens through their books. This is admirable and even desirable, but very often the message is heavy-handed and preachy. The message smothers the story, and the book ends up sounded like a lecture. It's simply not good writing. Try reading several popular books wit h a message embedded in the plot (ask a teacher or librarian for recommendations) and work on the writing-improvement suggestions above.

The complaint: "I'm disabled/poor/have had a hard life and want to share my story, but no one will listen."

The truth: I imagine it's difficult for an editor to reject a manuscript that comes from someone who has struggled with adversity and is still determined to follow their lifelong dream of becoming a published author. The tough circumstances themselves don't work against the writer (very often they contribute to powerful stories) but an author's unique situation cannot outweigh less-than-stellar writing. What's on the page is what matters the most. If your story is too personal (it's about your life as an adult, or you haven't extracted the universal feelings and crafted them into a story that will be relevant to a wide audience), the book simply won't sell in the children's market. Again, learn what makes a quality children's book and get objective feedback on your manuscript. Remember, no one owes you a publishing credit just because you took the time to write a book. Writing is hard work, and requires self-education, practice, and persistence. There's no shame in p utting aside a manuscript that simply won't sell and writing something new. Every published author has a drawer full of those, and enough rejection letters to wallpaper an office. So join the club– it's worth the price of membership.