http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com http://blogcopy.com http://blogcopy.com/int/fpix.php?bd=1kaw en-us Tue, 21 May 2013 10:20:17 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=z3gv5v Sat, 18 May 2013 22:17:15 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=z3gv5v http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=39sc7ke Sat, 18 May 2013 22:11:53 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=39sc7ke http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=39sb3ww Sat, 18 May 2013 15:43:30 +0000
Stories for this one must be between 350-500 words and must be previously unpublished in any form (including your own blog). They must be in the broad 'fantastical' genre, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural, magic realism, slipstream, and so on.

The closing date is a little further away - 3 June 2013 - and again it is open internationally. In addition to publication, the first, second and third placed stories will be published in the BFS Journal and will receive "a fantastic set of books" from HarperVoyager. In addition, the winner of first place will receive a copy of the fantasy classic Conan’s Brethren by Robert E. Howard (by courtesy of  Gollancz).

For full details of this contest and how to enter, visit http://sjihollidayblog.wordpress.com/sjibfs-flash-fiction-competition/.]]> http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=39sb3ww http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cphfu1 Fri, 17 May 2013 23:52:06 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cphfu1 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1fmqho6 Fri, 17 May 2013 23:48:35 +0000
Paul believes book publicists can provide valuable support to authors with their marketing campaigns, whether they are working with a publisher or publishing independently.

However, he also believes it is crucial that the author has a clear understanding of the role of a book publicist, in order to make a sound decision on whether (and when) to engage one...


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Although the role of the publicist has changed as the book publishing world has changed, their basic role has not. They are still the conduit between the author and the media.

While their role for an author is dependent on a number of factors--not least of which are the author's needs--making the decision about whether an author needs a publicist begins with an understanding what a book publicist does.

An experienced book publicist uses their media connections--and their knowledge of how to present an author to these contacts--to gain press exposure in the form of feature stories, book reviews, author interviews, commentary, blog mentions, author written articles, op-ed pieces, and so on.

They also work with the author (as well as the publisher if the author is not self-published) to create media kits, write press releases, and set up book signings and blog tours. A book publicist helps authors create exposure for their brand and their book.

The most experienced and sought-after publicists have extensive connections with relevant editors, producers, guest bookers, columnists, freelance reporters and bloggers to try to generate targeted media exposure. Consequently, they can assist with article placement with journals, newspapers, and magazines (print and online), as well as pitch feature interviews to radio and television.

Book publicists may also arrange blog tours, solicit book reviews from genre specific book reviewers and bloggers, and help shape and give meaningful content to add to social media campaigns. The list is endless, and much of it will be dictated by the author's platform and goals, and the book's genre and audience.

Publicists are often employed in the marketing departments of larger publishing houses or are hired by publishers to work with their authors. Authors who are looking for broader book publicity support then offered by their publisher as well as self-published authors may also hire a book publicist to generate publicity.

Authors should weigh the pros and cons of hiring a publicist by understanding exactly what a publicist does, and then establishing realistic expectations through in-depth discussions before engaging their services. Whether an author is working with a traditional publisher or decides to self-publish, if book sales and building an audience is a goal, then authors will have to spend some time marketing their books.

In today's fragmented media landscape, even larger book publishing companies are making online and social media outreach key parts of their campaigns, with Facebook pages, Twitter, Goodreads, Shelfari and other social media tools to create a direct relationship with their readers. While social networking is crucial to marketing books, however, it's also just one piece in the marketing mix.

Today's book publicists integrate online and "traditional media" efforts as well as make sure all these efforts are appropriate for the target audiences and the author's goals.

A good book publicist will devise a plan to help the author in engaging every avenue suited to the author's target audience, including book bloggers, book reviewers, librarians, and editors and producers from local media, national and/or international media who cover the topics related to the book. The goal is to introduce the book to potential buyers.

It is imperative that a good publicist think like a journalist from the standpoint of what will interest the reader. Understanding the rules of the industry, which are ever-shifting, is as important as their knowing the rules of whom to pitch to, as well as how and when. Their insights come not only from their experience in the book publishing world, but their ongoing efforts to stay abreast of current news stories, trends, studies, etc. to adjust long-term messaging and spur new ideas. Book publicists must give the media useful and relevant information, and of course what is useful and relevant can change by the day.

Understanding the importance of local media, and networking with local media by going to media events like Press Clubs is never overlooked by an experienced book publicist. The goal is to help identify a local angle on a national story, which is always prized by local media.

While the needs of authors and their budget will dictate what the publicist will do for the author, a good book publicist provides some very important intangible assets. These will include acting as an information resource, giving concrete feedback about how their book is faring in the media, brainstorming ideas, and remaining the voice of reason to help keep the author grounded and focused. While knowing what a publicist does is an important first step in the decision process of whether an author should hire one or not, it is equally important for the author to understand their role in the client/publicist relationship.

Since every penny counts in an author's budget, considering affordable book publicist tactics is worth researching. A good publicist can help get the ball rolling, but cannot do the whole job for the author or the publisher. The author must be ready to make a considerable sweat equity investment and remain diligent in order to build their brand and gain fans of their work.

Byline: Paul McKergee is a freelance writer with a strong interest in book marketing, book promotion and the intersections of writing and technology. For more information visit Smith Publicity.


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Thank you to Paul for an interesting insight into the work of a book publicist.

In my view, any author who is serious about getting his or her work into the best-seller lists should at least consider hiring a publicist at some stage. Obviously, there will be costs involved, but they may not be as much as you think, and can be an investment that pays off many times over.

Many book publicists and agencies offer fixed-cost packages for authors who want to keep their expenditure within tight limits, though you can of course always add to these later if things go well.

It should go without saying that you must have written a book you believe in wholeheartedly and are confident readers will enjoy. Assuming that is the case, an effective publicity campaign can set the ball rolling and create a growing torrent of media coverage.

Once this happens, word-of-mouth will hopefully take over and help you reach an even wider audience. It is, though, vitally important to generate enough media coverage to kick-start this process, and that is where a publicist can make such a valuable contribution.]]> http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1fmqho6 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1w62dmq Fri, 17 May 2013 15:43:04 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1w62dmq http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=46uxny9 Fri, 17 May 2013 15:28:14 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=46uxny9 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=z3a0fd Fri, 17 May 2013 09:43:34 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=z3a0fd http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=39s3jhe Thu, 16 May 2013 23:56:17 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=39s3jhe http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=3qbgypy Thu, 16 May 2013 23:39:34 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=3qbgypy http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=3qbgmfg Thu, 16 May 2013 21:04:50 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=3qbgmfg http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1fmj8u6 Thu, 16 May 2013 13:06:27 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1fmj8u6 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cp9hq1 Thu, 16 May 2013 10:13:11 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cp9hq1 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1fmgub6 Thu, 16 May 2013 02:49:49 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1fmgub6 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cp7dej Wed, 15 May 2013 23:13:39 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cp7dej http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1fmf1v6 Wed, 15 May 2013 16:21:22 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1fmf1v6 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=3qb9aog Wed, 15 May 2013 12:28:18 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=3qb9aog http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cp2bj1 Wed, 15 May 2013 02:41:35 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cp2bj1 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1w5ojs8 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:55:41 +0000 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=1w5ojs8 http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=3qb61qg Tue, 14 May 2013 21:42:28 +0000
National Flash Fiction Day is a UK-led initiative, although anyone in the world is welcome to join in. For more information, including details of some local events, visit the National Flash Fiction Day website.

I know through my forum at www.mywriterscircle.com that there is a lot of interest in flash fiction, which can be loosely defined as stories of up to 500 words (though some definitions go up to 1000). There are a couple of opportunities to take part in this year's event that I thought you might therefore like to know about. Both are free to enter, incidentally.

The first is that contributions are currently being invited for the official National Flash Fiction Day anthology. Stories for this can be up to 500 words, but they must be connected to another work of art in the broadest sense. On the website, they say:

"This year we are looking for stories which take their place in the larger web of art. So we are looking for pieces which have been inspired by another work - a book, story, poem, painting, photograph, piece of music, or anything else artistic. It can be a direct relationship, or a loose one, an homage or a tangential glance which sparks the muse. We don't mind the connection, we just want to see how other works of art feed into your writing."
The deadline is Midnight GMT on Friday 17 May 2013 (just three days' time!), and submissions are welcome world-wide, with no restrictions. There is no prize (as far as I can tell), but you will be rubbing shoulders with some high-profile authors in a book that is likely to get plenty of publicity and media coverage.

For further information and details of how to submit your work, visit http://nationalflashfictionday.co.uk/anthology.html.

The other contest for which contributions are currently being invited is the #SJIBFS Flash Fiction Competition.This is being run by author Susi 'SJI' Holliday, in association with the British Fantasy Society.

Stories for this one must be between 350-500 words and must be previously unpublished in any form (including your own blog). They must be in the broad 'fantastical' genre, including science fiction, horror, supernatural, magic realism, slipstream, and so on.

The closing date is a little further away - 3 June 2013 - and again it is open internationally. In addition to publication, the first, second and third placed stories will be published in the BFS Journal and will receive "a fantastic set of books" from HarperVoyager. In addition, the winner of first place will receive a copy of the fantasy classic Conan’s Brethren by Robert E. Howard (by courtesy of  Gollancz).

For full details of this contest and how to enter, visit http://sjihollidayblog.wordpress.com/sjibfs-flash-fiction-competition/.

Good luck, and happy flash fiction writing!]]> http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=3qb61qg http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cozj1j Tue, 14 May 2013 13:50:04 +0000













Finding a Publisher for Your Novel










I've had a few queries recently from writers frustrated by their inability to get a publisher to look at their novel. The one below is typical:You know, I think the one biggest need for the writing community is a primer on how to actually get printed. I have written four novels now. I have submitted one to several companies (with no answer), one to an agent (with no discernible activity), and have two waiting in the wings. It seems I can get no one to look at any of them.How do you find a publisher that is willing to work with you? I've most often heard that "it's all in having the right contacts" but how do you establish those? I resist vanity press and don't know the first thing about web publishing. I just want someone to publish my books. I am very frustrated. Writing the book is by far the easiest part of the whole thing...I do have a lot of sympathy with the frustration expressed here. For a new writer today (who isn't already a 'celebrity') even getting a publisher to look at your work is a challenge. For what it's worth, here are a few suggestions that may help overcome this problem.1. Try a Range of Agents and PublishersThe old days when you were told to avoid multiple submissions are long gone - life is simply too short to wait for some lowest-of-the-low junior editor to pluck your manuscript out of his/her in-tray and condescend to read it.For checking out publishers and their requirements, I particularly recommend the annual Writer's Market and Writer's Market UK. These are comprehensive guides to the US and UK markets respectively, and both list a range of publishers in other countries as well.There are nowadays some great interactive websites where you can search for agents who handle the type of book you are writing, and read comments by other authors about their experiences with them. LitMatch and QueryTracker are two such sites I highly recommend.And by the way - don't just limit yourself to the country you're in. Publishing is nowadays very much a multi-national industry. If you're a UK writer specialising in hard-boiled detective fiction, you may find you get a better reception from some US publishers. Or if you're an American author specialising in historical novels set in 19th century London, you could most certainly try some British agents and publishers as well.2. Enter Writing Contests and CompetitionsI can speak from personal experience here - winning a high-profile contest really can open doors for you. A few years ago I won a short story contest run by a top UK women's magazine. As part of my prize I was invited to an awards ceremony at London's Dorchester Hotel. I was seated with (among others) a BBC producer, a literary agent and a book publisher, all of whom were keen to find out what other literary gems I had in my locker. In many ways the contacts I made through winning that competition were more valuable to me than the prize itself.3. Get Testimonials in AdvanceAnything you can do to help your book stand out from the rest will help. And one way of doing this is to get 'testimonials' for your book from published authors and/or celebrities, which you can submit to an agent or publisher along with your manuscript. My course Write Any Book in Under 28 Days goes into some detail about this, incidentally.4. Make Your Novel as Good as It Can BeYou really do need to ensure that your novel is as good as it can possibly be before you submit it.If you know that grammar and spelling aren't your strong points, therefore, ask someone you trust to go through it for you, or pay a professional editor. In any event, there is a lot to be said for getting your work checked over by someone seeing it with fresh eyes.Be sure, especially, that the opening pages of your novel grab the reader. The days of long, rambling introductions are long past. You need to capture readers' interest and attention in the first few pages, either with the quality of the writing or an exciting scenario (preferably both).Don't assume that publishers will overlook a few little mistakes either - they won't. You are entering a highly competitive arena, and only your very best work will do if you hope to succeed.5. Don't Expect It to Be EasyPerhaps I'm stating the obvious here, but getting a novel published is not - and never has been - easy. Even J.K. Rowling had her first Harry Potter book rejected by twelve publishing houses before a then-small independent publisher called Bloomsbury decided to take a chance on it.Neither does it necessarily get easier once you've been published. I was talking recently to my friend Jeff Phelps, the award-winning novelist and short story writer. He told me that he had just sent his latest novel to his publishers and received a reply showing polite interest but asking him to rewrite the entire book and then re-submit it (still with no guarantee it will be accepted). And Jeff is a meticulous writer, so I'm sure there was nothing wrong with the book stylistically.Looking at it from a publisher's point of view, publishing a first novel from an 'unknown' writer is a huge gamble. Publishers know that most first novels lose money, though there is always the hope that, like J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter novel, one will succeed spectacularly. As an author, your task is to demonstrate to a potential publisher that your book has that added 'X factor' that will make it stand out. And publishers also want to see that you have the ability to write more books, preferably lots of them. Even if your first book fails to make money for them, then, hopefully your second or third may be the 'breakthrough' novel that catapults you into the big time.]]> http://blogcopy.com/~www.mywritingblog.com?copy=2cozj1j