The down side of Kindle? Well, there are probably a few, but one is that you can no longer flash the cover of the intellectual book you’re reading so others at the cafe around you will be impressed.
Problem solved: get the new shouting Kindle! It repeatedly shouts the title of the book you’re reading.
There’s a lot of debate about whether it’s best to try for a publishing deal with one of the big houses . . . or go with self-publishing (sometimes called independent publishing). Many authors I work with still yearn for the prestige of being published by one of the Big 6—Penguin, Random House, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Georg von Holtzbrinck/Macmillan (soon to be the Big 5 because Penguin and Random House are merging).
But are emerging authors yearning for what they’ll get from these big houses, or for what they would have gotten some twenty years ago? Just as everything on the planet is in constant change, so is the face of publishing. Big advances, book tours, publicity? If you’re a celebrity maybe.
The thing is, whether you self-publish or get picked up by a publisher, the responsible party for getting your book out there is . . …
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There’s a lot of debate about whether it’s best to try for a publishing deal with one of the big houses . . . or go with self-publishing (sometimes called independent publishing). Many authors I work with still yearn for the prestige of being published by one of the Big 6—Penguin, Random House, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Georg von Holtzbrinck/Macmillan (soon to be the Big 5 because Penguin and Random House are merging).
But are emerging authors yearning for what they’ll get from these big houses, or for what they would have gotten some twenty years ago? Just as everything on the planet is in constant change, so is the face of publishing. Big advances, book tours, publicity? If you’re a celebrity maybe.
The thing is, whether you self-publish or get picked up by a publisher, the responsible party for getting your book out there is . . . YOU (or your publicist if you hire one, and I recommend you do). Whichever route you choose, you are the one who has to set up your book tour, your author page, and any other publicity that will help the world know you’ve written a book. Oh, and don’t forget your platform (that thing you’ve got to stand on to reach a publisher in the first place! . . . or to sell your book to all those followers you’ve cultivated).
What is a platform? It’s your visibility and authority to reach your chosen audience. Platform includes: your web presence, your engaged blog or Twitter following, your email list, your speaking circuit, your media appearances, and so on. In a nutshell, it’s the readership you’ve cultivated for your book before you’ve finished (or, even better, before you’ve started) writing it.
Overwhelming? Not if you take it one step at a time. . . . Just like writing a book!
Still not sure whether you should try for a publisher or go the route of self-publishing? Renowned ghostwriter Michael Levin has a very definite opinion about this in his July 16 blog post. One benefit to self-publishing is that you don’t have to write a book proposal.
I invite you to share your own experiences and opinions about publishing (or self-publishing). Just leave a comment!
If you haven’t had a chance yet to read My Gentle Barn, you may want to pick up a copy. It’s a story to get wrapped up in, one of those tales where you leave your comfy living room sofa and find yourself in another person’s life . . . And Ellie’s a pretty awesome person to hang out with!
Here’s what Booklist had to say about My Gentle Barn (starred review):
The saga of Laks and her animal sanctuary is enormously compelling. She grew up loving animals in a family that could not understand her empathy for “disposable pets.” Struggling to find her way, she fought drug addiction and then successfully started a dog-rescue operation in her spare bedroom. Determined to change the world, Laks rescued animals from a dilapidated petting zoo and then expanded to accept pigs, horses, and more on a multiacre ranch outside Los Angeles. With brutal honesty, she acknowledges the missteps in her first marriage that became a casualty to her rescue efforts, but then she recounts the happiness she found with a volunteer who became her soul mate. The two found enormous personal and professional success as they reached out to at-risk youth and became leading voices in the movement to extend rescue efforts to farm animals. Laks brings so much raw emotion to her narrative that readers will find themselves moved to tears over the lives of goats and cows. Intimate, powerful, and shocking in its revelations about the food we eat, My Gentle Barn is not easily forgotten. This is a book to talk about and return to; it’s a life changer, plain and simple. –Colleen Mondor
You can buy it by clicking on one of the retailer buttons on this page.
“Will you review my manuscript and tell me whether it’s publishable?”
This is a common request I get from prospective clients.
My short answer is: Every manuscript, no matter how good it is, needs a critique (also known as “constructive feedback”) to become publishable.
In response to the critique, the author then does rewrites. Fewer rewrites if the manuscript is close; more rewrites if the writing needs more help. The final step, when you’ve done your last rewrite and addressed all the bigger-picture stuff, is to have your manuscript copyedited (also called “line editing”).
In light of that, it may not make sense to pay for a review to see if your manuscript is publishable, because unless you’ve already received a critique, done your rewrites, and had the manuscript edited, the answer is: it’s not publishable (yet).
It’s more cost-effective for you to go straight into having a critique, since you will need one anyway. In a critique, I give you feedback on the bigger picture—the developmental issues (e.g., plot, character development, themes, dialogue, description, etc.). I make comments directly in the manuscript, at the spots where something catches my attention. I also do a write-up summarizing the salient points.
What you end up with is a custom-made “user’s manual” for rewriting your book. A step-by-step guide created just for you.
So, start with a critique. It’s not as scary as it sounds!
Email me at Nomi.theWriteCoach(at)gmail.com or give me a call for a free 15-minute consultation.
If you missed the book signings last weekend, there’s another one on the calendar for this Saturday. Come treat yourself to a glimpse of My Gentle Barn, as shared by Ellie Laks (who is an absolute delight).
Saturday, April 5, 2014, at 1 pm at the Barnes & Noble in Valencia
My Gentle Barn weaves together Ellie’s own journey with the story of how The Gentle Barn came to be what it is today. Filled with heartwarming animal stories and inspiring recoveries, My Gentle Barn is an uplifting account that will delight animal lovers and memoir readers alike.
Or buy the book here.
If you’d like to meet Ellie and have her sign your copy of My Gentle Barn, she will be signing books at the following times and places in the L.A. area. I plan to be there too (at all but perhaps Valencia).
Saturday, March 29, 2014, at 1 pm — Barnes & Noble in Burbank
Sunday, March 30, 2014, 10am to 2pm at the Gentle Barn! — Barnes & Noble will be there selling books (Not only a chance to buy a signed book, but you can meet the animals!) [Map to The Gentle Barn]
Saturday, April 5, 2014, at 1 pm at the Barnes & Noble in Valencia
Read more here for March 29 and April 5 signings: Ellie at Barnes & Noble
You can also buy the book here.
Nomi Isak is the collaborative writer on My Gentle Barn
Very excited to be approaching the on-sale date for the book I collaborated on: Ellie Laks’s memoir, My Gentle Barn.
It comes out officially on March 25, but it’s available for preorder at the usual retail sites. You’ll find links HERE (you’ll have to scroll down a bit).
If you’d like to read advanced reviews, check out Good Reads.
“My Gentle Barn is a wonderful book. You’ll love Ellie Laks and the animals she rescued–and who rescued her back.” –Sy Montgomery, author of The Good Good Pig
Reblogging this, just because it’s so important . . .
If you’re being asked to write—anything—for free, I just hope the person asking is your mother or your kid (or the person who shares your bed). Because if the asker doesn’t fit into one of these categories, he or she is no different from someone in a dental chair saying to the dentist: “Oh, and I just want to confirm that you’re not going to charge for this crown, right? I’ll show it to everyone; it’ll give you great exposure.”
Tim Kreider has published an exceptional essay in the New York Times that tells why it’s wrong to write for nothing: Slaves of the Internet, Unite!
You owe it to yourself (and to every writer who ever hopes to make a living writing) to read this article.
If you’re being asked to write—anything—for free, I just hope the person asking is your mother or your kid (or the person who shares your bed). Because if the asker doesn’t fit into one of these categories, he or she is no different from someone in a dental chair saying to the dentist: “Oh, and I just want to confirm that you’re not going to charge for this crown, right? I’ll show it to everyone; it’ll give you great exposure.”
Tim Kreider has published an exceptional essay in the New York Times that tells why it’s wrong to write for nothing: Slaves of the Internet, Unite!
You owe it to yourself (and to every writer who ever hopes to make a living writing) to read this article.
Nomi Isak, Writing Coach 
