Editor's Corner May 2011

Many a writer aspires to be a published author, but what most new authors don't realize is that once a book is published, it requires a lot of time, effort, and money to market it. A book won't sell itself; it has to be presented to its target market over and over. Promoting a book can become a lot like owning a business!

A poorly-written book with a so-so cover or an ambiguous title/subtitle that lacks keywords is not as marketable as a page-turner that jumps off the shelf and causes the reader to say, 'This is just what I've been looking for." Double trouble comes when you publish your book before it has been edited. You may get bad reviews posted on social sites. This will establish a reputation that causes readers may reject any future books you publish when they see your name.

On May 4, I'll be presenting "Authors Must Learn to Sell What They Write" during a joint teleclass with Carol Batey to help authors learn how to promote books. Carol's topic is "Writing Books and Getting Your Book out to the World." A teleseminar is a writing class conducted with a group of participants via telephone. Register at http://weare1inspirit.com/workshops.htm . A call-in number with a pass code will be given to participants once they sign up for the class.

Please welcome Wendy, Deborah, and Kristen to the WITS team. These ladies are filling specialized roles.

Wendy Lachmuth is available to proofread and provide voice talent for recording. She read my book, More Than Meets the Eye ~ True Stories about Death, Dying, and Afterlife, which is now available as an audio book.

Deborah is a non-fiction literary agent and the co-author of Write the Perfect Book Proposal: 10 Proposals that worked and Why. See her article, "Building a Non-fiction Book Proposal," in this issue.

Kristen House specializes in writing instruction and editing for the teen/tween genre. See Kristens' summer writing program in the announcements section of this newsletter.

Even though I study the Chicago Manual of Style and listen to Grammar Girl Podcast to keep my editing skills fresh, I still only do developmental editing because I don't enjoy the tedious task of trying to catch every misplaced comma. However, the editors on WITS team—Sarah, Dana, Dianna, and Kristen—have full command of the red pen and consider copy editing as a way to have a good time. Due to this vast amount of knowledge in our collective editing pool, we are able to offer authors a great education along with improving their manuscript. http://writersinthesky.com/editing-services.html . Meet these new people and all the members of WITS team at http://writersinthesky.com/meet-the-team.html .
Barnes and Noble now carries by book for empaths. It is available in print and for the Nook reader. It is also available on Amazon UK in Kindle store and in print. See all purchasing options at http://whosestuffisthis.blogspot.com/p/purchase-book.html . Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from the Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those Around You is a guidebook for empathic people who have been unknowingly carrying energetic burdens that belong to someone else. If you are an empath (highly-sensitive person), you won't want to miss this incredible interview I did with Dr. Michael Smith. http://weareoneinspirit.blogspot.com/2011/04/navigating-2012-thriving-in-earths-new.html


Yvonne Perry, Owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services
http://writersinthesky.com/
Facebook
LinkedIn

Twitter