LOVE OR MARKETS ONLY

I've been trying to step away from writing only fiction and have been drafting some articles to submit—who knows where at this time. I know I should study the market first, right, but in order to get back into the nonfiction groove, I have simply been writing. But there will come that time when I must study the market in order to place my work.

That brings up the age-old question: what comes first, your love for writing, or a market to sell it to? Some writers will tell you they only write for their personal pleasure and what they want to read. Still others say that doing such a thing is a waste of time. What if you can’t find a market for your work? What if the audience you thought was out there for your work, isn’t? What if no editor today wants to publish what you love to write? Hard as it may be to acknowledge, we all have to write to the market if we want to be published in today’s writing world.

That means we have to know our market. We have to read and research those magazines or publishers we want to accept our work. What interests us may not be anything like the topics editors find unique. And that is a word (UNIQUE) we have to listen to. Today what we submit must be different, off the beaten path of the same old information recycled, a topic covered thoroughly that will give the readers information they don’t get in their daily lives.

Researching your market means knowing what the editor/publisher will print. Write a good piece suitable in content, word length, and interest for the publication. Offer the audience something unusual about your subject matter, give expert’s advice or worthwhile quotes, and make sure your manuscript is proofed, tightened, and follows the guidelines set forth by the editor.

I’m looking forward to the research for my pieces, even though it will probably mean a lot of rewrites. I want editors, and their readers, to be as enthusiastic as I am about my topic. That means writing for their pleasure too.

HAPPENINGS ON THE WAY TO A BEST SELLER

I have just completed a book. "Rejectiion, Romance & Royalties" by Laura Resnick (2007). A seasoned writer of romance and fantasy epicis as she calls them, I enjoyed her honesty, her humor and the many tips she offered writers of all genres and status. One of the most interesting chapters was one where she collected the horrors of what that masterpiece book you've sold to a wonderful publisher can look like when you receive your first copy.

Here are some of the slips:

One author's name was left off the cover of her book. Another had such an awful cover design, bookstores would not put it on the shelves (too risque? too macabre?).

An author received her book and the middle 40 pages was missing. Another had her title and name on cover and title pages, but someone else's book printed inside the cover. Still another had many pages printed upside down. In both of these instances, the author had been sent a galley copy to check for errors--these mistakes were not on the galley copy.

The story I have heard about James Mitchner's book, Texas, was also repeated in this book. His massive book was printed with 64 pages missing. Thousands of copies were sent out; recalls for them were sent out. Not too many were returned. Does that mean they wanted to keep it as a souenier thinking it might be worth a great deal of money one day? Or did they not read the huge tome?

And how steamed would you be if the publisher had accepted your work, signed a contract with you for a certain number of words and then, during the printing process, cut the number of acceptable words--so he just wacked off the last three chapters of your book--leaving your story with no climax, no ending?

One author appeared at a bookstore for a signing and found that the store had ordered copies of a children's book by an author with the same last name. Now, how do you sell your book when there are no copies to be sold? Do you do a quick read of the children's book (okay, you can read fast if it is a picture book) and speak about this other author's great product? Do you cancel the whole thing? Or do you pull out your business cards, hand them out and offer the buyers a discount to order your book at your web site or at your email address?

If any of you writers have ever had a bad experience with the IRS, or whatever the taxing entity in your country is called, you will appreciate the author whose publisher sent to the IRS an outrageous amount of earnings for the author. Can you imagine how long it took her to straighten out that mess?

Some of us who have not often (or ever) been published might welcome some of the problems these authors have just to see our creation on any bookstore shelf and in the hands of readers. However, these kind of missteps cost many authors a readership they would have earned had it not been for the publishers or printers errors. Writers must be as vigilant as possible, joining with the publisher as a partner to get the correct work out, to market that work, and to urge everyone in this loop to do their best work.