The Desire To Not Write

A new client made an off-handed comment today. She wondered why almost every writer gets strong urges not to write. “Suddenly, the plants need watering, the dog needs petting, the laundry needs folding at that very moment.” She laughed sheepishly. “I find in the moments that fall into my lap and announce they could be used for writing, I am suddenly possessed by an irresistible urge desire to clean closets, skim the internet for some obscure fact, or finally finish reading that book I started last month. It’s worse than craving chocolate, and just as narcotic!”

Writers have it tough. The very thing we most want to do, we don’t do. My ex-husband, who was a journalist at the time, dragged home a snippet of a quote. “No one likes writing, but everyone likes having written.” I am not sure to whom attribution belongs, but I’d wager it’s a professional writer. I am disinclined to write unless there’s a deadline looming. Perhaps this is why so few authors actually get published. Finishing a proposal or the first draft of a fiction work is usually a self-imposed deadline.

I used to think it was the fear of criticism or rejection that kept most writers from writing. But now having been a writer all my life, and working with thousands of them as an agent, I think that is just the tip of the, well, the tip of the pool cue, to avoid a cliché. My dad, an old pool shark legendary only in his own mind, remembers people who were nervous about taking the shot who endlessly chalked their cue stick. It’s the same with us, isn’t it? We fuss and distract and whine that we don’t have time or the right circumstances to write. As for me, if I’m not alone in a cabin in Big Bear with a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies (or in a pinch, oatmeal raisin), in front of the fieldstone fireplace with snow falling outside, in my favorite faux leopard skin slippers, how could I possibly be expected to turn out prose of any value? Quite simply, I cannot write unless conditions are perfect. That’s what I tell myself. That’s what my writers tell me.

The question in my mind is always “Why don’t writers just force themselves to do it?” I gave a seminar some years ago, when I was naïve. I taught a class to eight professional speakers. I charged exorbitant rates to force them through a proposal creation process in just three days. They were limp when we finished. I sent them home edited and complete, with only one sample chapter to finish. Six of them had had sample chapters coming into the event - we’d edited them on site. All they had to do was incorporate those edits! Five years later, I have yet to get a completed proposal from any of them. What’s worse is that I happen to know that no other agent or publisher has seen their work either in all this time!

Upon deep introspection and a cup of peppermint tea, I have determined once and for all that the reason writers don’t write is because we simply know that language cannot begin to convey accurately the words in our hearts, minds and spirits. Like the Inuit who allegedly have hundreds of words to describe snow, or the ancient Greeks who had six words for love, we are immediately restrained by our limited language skills. The first words we type will instantly disappoint us, because they cannot perfectly convey straight into the heart and mind of another the precise message we wish to send.

And this is utter failure. And complete success. It is failure in all the obvious ways, but the way it is success is valuable to consider. For in our failure to direct our message perfectly, we leave it flayed open, exposed to any reader’s interpretation. Each reader sees in the work precisely what he or she needs to take from it. They get what they wanted to get, nothing more or less. The critic who dices a book gets another paycheck next month for being pithy and curt. The reader who skims only the first few chapters and carries away a wholly different message from that intended needs that skewed message to verify his or her own opinion, pro or con. If fifty people read our work, there will be fifty interpretations of the same work.

We should have learned this in college English classes, for therein is the beauty of the craft and the release from the “Writer’s Procrastination” malaise. Each person sees something different in the book, even the author upon rereading it later. We are perfectly met by words, because the words mean something different to each of us. Themselves, they are merely symbols for meanings, and meanings are wholly subjective. In California, the yellow stoplight means “hurry up!” In Chicago, it means, “slow down!” The words we see come to us in their own stark beauty, they adhere to our own vision of what we want and need from the text we are consuming.

When you next set fingertips to keyboard, or quill to parchment, remember that your efforts to convey a distinct message are only and sublimely your efforts. A whole world of possible interpretations exists behind each phrase you turn, each word picture you sketch. Resolve to allow all who choose to indulge in your writing take what they prefer, like a bountiful banquet table. Then you are liberated to write what is true and has meaning for you, what is real, in the best language you are capable of using. With clarity, logic and precision, you are freed to let the words flow onto the page. Those who take them up will see your work only from their own myopia. Your job is complete when the words have been spent and they lie there, self-satisfied and heaving on the page.

(c) 2007, Keller Media, Inc. Want to use this article in your publication? Reprints welcome so long as the article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links made live.

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About the Author

Wendy Keller is Senior Agent at Keller Media, Inc. She’s been selling books for other writers since 1989 and meanwhile has had 29 of her own books published under 8 pseudonyms. To get her and her staff on your side, go to http://www.KellerMedia.com.

Why do people buy non-fiction books? Most readers buy books to solve problems or help with fulfilling a need. For example, when I started speaking for a fee I went out and bought a couple of popular books about speaking. Browsing in the bookstore, I was attracted to Lilyan Wilder’s book “7 Steps to Fearless Speaking” I read the back cover. I noticed she could help with 7 easy steps. I skimmed the table of contents, read a few lines and immediately liked her easy to read style.  It went in my purchase basket.

Because I wanted to hear from several authorities on the subject, I picked up another book by Nido R. Qubein, “How to Be a Great Communicator: In Person on Paper, and on the Podium.”  His cover design was white with clean lines and a personable picture of him on the front. His style of writing was not as easy to read but it still went in my purchase basket as well. Which brings us back to my original point; people buy non-fiction books to solve problems. To identify your targeted market, pinpoint a problem they have and the solution of course.

Problems come in all shapes and sizes. Usually a general category problem applies to all types of markets.

• Hobbies.
Is your tennis game, golf game, bridge game as good as you’d like? Are you considering taking up horse-back riding? Want to improve your computer skills? What ever the case may be, your desire to improve or change your level of performance is considered the problem.

• Health.
The first thing you do when your doctor diagnose your cholesterol is high and you need to lose 20 pounds. You go look for a book that will walk you through step by step to lose weight or lower cholesterol. You turn to someone that has solved the problem to learn from their experience.

• Mental State.
Are you feeling stressful about the economy? Are you noticing unexplained physical symptoms possibly related to stress? Once again, you have a problem and you are looking for a solution in book form. Someone who has outlined easy steps or ways to de-stress in our society.

• Personal Finance.
Worried about lay-offs, down-sizing, retirement? Books that offer financial solutions to economic problems during shaky times are guaranteed to succeed.

• Marketing.
We live in a competitive society. Small business owners and managers everywhere need a growing database of customers and clients. Therefore, they seek out how to books that offers solutions on improving their advertising copy, improving their business image or their website.

Each of the problem categories describes a problem and a need for a solution. The main goal of your marketing plan is to identify the problem your book solves and then present the solution. The more intense the problem and the easier you can make your solution, the more readers will seek out your book.

Your task becomes to re-structure your knowledge into bite-size reader solutions. Appeal to the masses, by letting them know what’s in it for them and how easy the solution is with your book. For example, let’s consider the book title I mentioned earlier about speaking. The title could have been: “How to Overcome Your Fear of Speaking” instead of “7 Steps to Fearless Speaking” The latter is more appealing because it alludes to only 7 steps to my solution.

Don’t put it off any longer. If you wait, you can be this time next year without fulfilling your dream of writing a successful book. You have the solution. Now write it down. While you’re at use the tips above and write a book that sells well. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.

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  © Earma Brown, 11 year author helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Send any blank email to iscribe@writetowin.org for free mini-course ‘Jumpstart Writing Your Book’ or visit Write a Book for more book writing tips.

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The hardest part of writing is the first sentence.
When you look at the whole project, it seems like an
impossible task. That’s why you have to break it down
into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain.
You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at
its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you
possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?

There is only one way to climb a mountain ? step by
step.

Now think of writing your ebook in the same light. You
must create it step by step, and one day, you will
take that last step and find yourself standing on the
summit with your head in the clouds.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually
were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Instead
of climbing gear, however, you must organize your
thoughts. There are some steps you should take before
you begin. Once you’ve gone through the following
list, you will be ready to actually begin writing your
ebook.

Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook

First, figure out your ebook’s working title. Jot down
a few different titles, and eventually, you’ll find
that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to
focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in
anticipating and answering your reader’s queries. Many
non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity
in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell
books ? as long as it’s not too cute. For example,
Remedies for Insomnia: twenty different ways to count
sheep. Or: Get off that couch: fifteen exercise plans
to whip you into shape.

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a
sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are
addressing and how your book will solve that problem.
All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement.
Once you’ve got your thesis statement fine-tuned,
you’ve built your foundation. From that foundation,
your book will grow, chapter by chapter.

Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your
ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis
statement. If they don’t, they don’t belong in your
book. For example, your thesis statement could read:
We’ve all experienced insomnia at times in our lives,
but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to
give you back a good night’s sleep.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write,
make sure there is a good reason to write your book.
Ask yourself some questions:

* Does your book present useful information and is
that information currently relevant?

* Will you book positively affect the lives of your
readers?

* Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader’s
attention?

* Does you book answer questions that are meaningful
and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel
confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another important step is to figure out who your
target audience is. It is this group of people you
will be writing to, and this group will dictate many
elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction,
and even length. Figure out the age range of your
readers, their general gender, what they are most
interested in, and even the socio-economic group they
primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion
magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters in
longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you
can pin down your target audience, the easier it will
be to write your book for them.

Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your
ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you
want to bring quality traffic to your website? Do you
want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing. Do
you want to sell it as a product on your website, or
do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out
a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use
the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook
to attract affiliates around the world? The more you
know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.

Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction,
keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly
consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to
your chapter topic, and then divide it into four
subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five
parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.

How to make your ebook “user friendly”

You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging.
Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos,
graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning
the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible
information, and they break up the density of the
page.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a
formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader’s respond
to the feeling that you are having a conversation with
them. Break up the length and structure of your
sentences so you don?t hypnotize your readers into
sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and
structure tend to be a good aid for insomnia!

Good writing takes practice. It takes lots and lots of
practice. Make a schedule to write at least a page a
day. Read books and magazines about the process of
writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The
art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you
write (and read), the better your writing will become.
The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales
figures.

In an ebook that is read on the screen, be aware that
you must give your reader’s eye a break. You can do
this by utilizing white space. In art classes, white
space is usually referred to as “negative space.”
Reader’s eyes need to rest in the cool white oasises
you create on your page. If your page is too dense,
your reader will quit out of it as soon as their eyes
begin to tear.

Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This
makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the
reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs
one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font
that’s easy on the eyes, and stick to that font
family. Using dozens of fonts will only tire your
readers out before they’ve gotten past your
introduction. Use at least one and a half line
spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on
the screen, but small enough so that the whole page
can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to
experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don’t forget to run a spell and grammar
check. You are judged by something as minor as correct
punctuation, so don?t mess up a great book by tossing
out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences
together with commas. (By the way, that’s called a
“comma splice.”)

Last of all, create an index and a bibliography.
That’s it! You’ve written a book! Now all you have to
do is publish your ebook online, and wait for download
request from your website visitors.
P.S.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, please be sure to forward
   it to a friend.
  Karen Martin is the Sub-Editor of ‘The Internet Affiliates Resources
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It’s so tempting to just dive into the publishing arena without doing our homework. We want to get published–often in a rush to get the job done, without considering the essential nuts and bolts to reaching our goal.

Publish! I want it to happen as soon as possible. But then again, is that really a good idea? Are we *prepared* to jump over hurdles and leap through hoops to reach our destination? Do we know what to do next? Have we created a to-do list that will move us forward? Do we have a trusted mentor we can confide in and learn from?

Doing our homework? It’s crucial…. 

***

Check out my online course: Prepare Your Manuscript for Publication at www.lvsonline.com

Question:

What happens inside the publishing house after I receive my contract and sign it?

Answer:

I’ve been asked this question many times–and unless you have personally worked inside a publishing house, it’s very difficult to answer it satisfactorily. The short answer is that a lot of activity is happening inside the publishing house after your contract is signed. While you as the author may not see it, things are moving on your book. It’s important for you to not email your editor or call your editor constantly–we have a few of those authors (even if we hear from them once a week) and they are labeled “high maintenance.” You don’t want to be in this category–especially if you want to do more than one book with the publishing house. You do not want the editor to groan when they receive an email from you, “Oh, no. Not ________ again.” And editors do have this reaction. There is a delicate dance between authors and publishers–so that as an author you are proactive but not high maintenance.

When your book is contracted at a publisher, it sets off a chain of events–especially the design of your book cover and the title of your book (each of these steps have internal meetings attached–cover meetings and title meetings). This process happens months before the book is released. Normally the publisher is working 12 to 16 months out on the book covers for their next catalog. For example if it is currently January 2004, then the book designers are completing the design of book covers for the releases of May or June 2006. These book covers are used for sales sheets and marketing efforts. The cover may get changed in the process but something has to be used for sales and marketing–and it happens early.

When I was acquiring manuscripts inside a publishing house, our rule of them was to contract a manuscript to arrive inside the publishing house a full year before the release date. Then we could make sure each book is thoroughly edited and the marketing materials for the book generated at the right time, etc. One of the lessons I’ve learned the hard way from my years in publishing is that haste makes waste–over and over I’ve seen it. When you rush something to press, some part of the many steps of a publishing process are left out and neglected. This neglect affects the overall results of the book–i.e. the sales.

Authors are notoriously late in turning in your manuscripts. I hope you aren’t in that category–because if you are–listen up. When you are late, you throw off the entire schedule for your book (the time scheduled when you will talk and work with marketing, when the sales guys will be selling your book into the stores and special channels, etc.). I envision the publishing process like a train roaring down a track toward a finished, printed book. If you don’t complete your manuscript on schedule (ahead is always appreciated but extremely rare–and will put you in a unique place in the editor’s heart–a good place), then you miss getting on the train. Then months down the road when your book doesn’t receive the proper push from the publishing house–it may have something to do with your own situation. Think back to that phone call when you begged the editor for one more week or one more month or whatever time you needed to finish the project. Then step back and see if the extra time was worth the cost to your project. I doubt it.

We also have had a number of authors come through the office before their book is published. It’s not a bad idea–to meet the sales and marketing people in particular face to face. Then our authors speak in our chapel and we get a chance to see them in a speaking context. If you have such an opportunity, put a lot of energy and preparation into this time in front of the publishing house. You don’t have to feel like you are on stage–but you are so don’t prepare at the last minute. Editorial assistants and secretaries talk with their vice president bosses–even if the VPs themselves don’t attend the particular presentation. Often these vice-presidents and other leaders of the publishing house are sitting in the audience as well. You can make a deep positive or negative impression through your speaking. I recall one case in particular where the author ignored my counsel to put a lot of energy into the presentation. This Vice President was so offended from the author’s persona and presentation that when his book finally did release, this executive couldn’t bring himself to read the book. It’s not the sort of result any author wants to have from their interaction with the leaders of a publishing house and will have lasting impact on the possibility of this author getting another book contract from this particular publisher.

Also at some stage after you sign the contract, you will want to work with the marketing/ publicity people in your publishing house. What’s their plan for your book? What key contacts do you bring to the table from your experience and connections to help promote and add to their plans?

From working with different major CBA and ABA houses, I’ve learned that each place is different in their process and how they work with authors. I had a major book contract a few years ago and couldn’t connect with my editor on the phone. He changed his voice mail daily but never returned a single call to my many voice mails. Yet when I tried sending an email, this editor replied within the hour. Learn how your editor likes to work and communicate. It will be important to your success in working with a publishing house.

There are many things that happen behind the scenes for a pile of manuscript paper to become a book. Be aware and sensitive to the fact that a publisher has a lot in motion–besides your book. It’s the delicate dance between the squeaky wheel and the high maintenance author.

__________________________________________________

WW. Terry Whalin understands both sides of the editorial desk–as an editor and a writer. He worked as an editor for Decision and In Other Words. His magazine articles have appeared in more than 50 publications including Writer’s Digest and Christianity Today. Terry has written more than 60 nonfiction books and one of his latest is Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success (Write Now Publications). See more about Terry at:www.right-writing.com/whalin.html. For more than 12 years Terry has been an ECPA Gold Medallion judge in the fiction category. He has written extensively about Christian fiction and reviewed numerous fiction books in publications such as CBA Marketplace and BookPage. He is the former Fiction Acquisitions Editor for Howard Books and creator of www.right-writing.com. Sign up for Terry’s free newsletter, Right Writing News.

© 2008 W. Terry Whalin

About the Author Anthony Obey is the owner of GMA Publishing providing book publishing and marketing services to Writers, Pastors, Leaders, and Speakers. At http://www.GMApublishing.com you can also sign up for Book Coaching and receive FREE E-Tips on Writing, Publishing, and Marketing your book.

When you look at the numbers, it’s clear that the New York publishing scene is a tough nut to crack. The reality is that with 83% of Americans wanting to write a book, the competition for a publisher’s attention is steep. So what’s an author to do? Well, if your attempts for finding a traditional publisher aren’t bringing any results, maybe it’s time to think like a publisher, instead of an author.Writing a book is the easy part, and while publishers look at writing style and voice, there’s a whole lot more that goes into a successful book than just how well it’s written. When it comes to success, a publisher looks at this much differently than an author does. Truth be told, a publisher gauges a book’s potential success largely by the author.

Now don’t misunderstand me, there’s market consideration as well, but the author’s “salability” is looked at very closely. What we refer to as a “platform” is something all authors need to have, regardless of their target market. A platform is not who you know, but who knows you. It’s your area of influence. A platform can be any of the following:

• Your business
• Your fan base
• Speaking gigs you have coming up
• Your email list of potential buyers (i.e. fans)
• Your website (if your site is drawing traffic and capturing email addresses)
• How well you’re known in your market

If you’re new to the book world (meaning this is your first book) you may not have a single item on the above list in your vault of marketing tools. That’s okay. Now’s the time to build them.

The next piece of this is to write for a market. Over the years I’ve seen countless authors write a book on something for which there is no market. They believe their book will create the market. This won’t happen. Ever. First, if you’re self-publishing a book you probably don’t have the funds available to you to “create” a market even if you wanted to. You may respond to this by saying, “Yeah, but new markets are created every day.” And yes, this is true; what’s also true is that while it may seem that these are “new” markets, they were in fact already existing but, perhaps, untapped. Finding these markets can cost you a fortune in consumer research, advertising, product/book placement, etc.

When a company like Coca-Cola decides to put out a brand new product, you can bet that millions of dollars has gone into this prior to the launch. When authors come to me and say, “I have a great idea and it’s never been done before,” I suspect there’s a reason why, a publisher will too. Now, let’s say that you’ve done the research, you’ve spent years working in this arena and you know there are readers out there. Millions of them. If this is the case then I’d suggest you show up armed with your (current) research and data.

The ability to self-publish your book has (thankfully) brought a number of books to the attention of a traditional publisher that might have otherwise gone overlooked. Why? Because publishers like what other people like. If you have a book that you’ve self-published and it’s done well, a publisher might consider this for commercial access as well. By “commercial” I mean consumer, trade paperback, mass market. The key is to keep a close eye on the track record of the book and document your success. This form of documentation will later become the resume you use to entice a publisher into considering your book.

I was talking to an author the other day who had a great idea. He had a hard time getting a traditional publisher interested in his book, so he self-published with the intent of getting a major house to publish him. With that he mind he solicited referral letters from bookstores. Why bookstores? Because if you can get a bookstore excited about your book and tell publishers it “flew off the shelves,” you’ll be a step closer to piquing a publisher’s interest. Why? Well many (if not all) publishers will solicit advice from booksellers on the sales potential of a book they’re considering. They do this because they know that the bookseller is front and center with the consumer every day. They see what sells and what doesn’t. Having a bookstore (preferably several) in your corner could be a tremendous thing for your future and the future of your book.

And finally, let’s be realistic. With 500 books published each day in the U.S., the competition is fierce for gaining the buyer’s attention. Your book is your resume and because of this, it needs to be letter perfect. You should never wait for a traditional publisher to come along and “polish” your book, it should be gleaming with perfection. Yes, there are always things you’ll want to change after it’s published, but having a book that’s edited with a cover that sparkles will not only get you noticed by a publisher, but by your reader as well. And in the end, it’s the reader we must reach. Once you do, the world will beat a path to your door.

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