Children's Book Writing: No More Creative Than Copywriting?

Writer Abroad always thought it would be fun to be a children’s author. It seems like such a creative career--at least in comparison to some of the marketing writing she does on a daily basis. But the realities of writing for children, as she learned from an author at the Chicago Lit Fest this month, seem otherwise.

This particular debut author/illustrator had to go through 70 revisions of her 200-word picture book once it got to the publisher—70 illustration revisions—in addition to text revisions. She said by the end, the only part of the book that was hers from the original version was the last page—and that she had had to fight to keep the ending less than happy. Percentage wise, she quoted 1 percent of the book was truly hers.

These kind of results, barely recognizing what you originally suggested, sound a lot like some of the advertising and marketing writing Writer Abroad has done for clients over the years.

There's a lot to learn at the Chicago Lit Fest,
which is held every June.

And there's a reason for that: Apparently the marketing department at this author's large publisher kept pushing for the characters to be more like a particular Disney character, since that character was popular the summer her book was coming out. Apparently the marketing department was in charge of basically everything.

Now along with being a freelance writer and author, Writer Abroad works in the advertising and marketing industry. She considers it a plus to do so because she normally enjoys it, and also because it informs her pure creative writing work. The reality is that knowing what kind of writing sells and how to sell it matters. A lot.

But if it comes to the point where a 200-word picture book has none of the 200 words or illustrations originally suggested by the author in it, then is writing a book for a big publisher no more creative than writing for advertising, where often every word is at the whim of clients?

It appears that in some cases at least, the only way to be completely in creative control as an author is to be your own publisher. Especially when you consider beautiful and successfully independently published children's books like the Lost My Name series (which Writer Abroad's daughter loves).

That’s why for the time being anyway, Writer Abroad is pretty happy with her balance of writing for business and writing for the pure creativity of it. Somehow, keeping her corporate writing separate from her book writing, yet controlling both via her own writing and publishing company—is the perfect balance of writing for industry and writing for pure creativity.

It’s something to consider when a writer considers her alternatives. And these days, there are a lot of them. 

What to do with writing rejections

Writer Abroad has been reading an interesting book called Rejection Proof by Jia Jiang.

It’s about an entrepreneur-turned author’s personal journey with rejection. To battle his fear of rejection, he develops 100 tasks that he believes will lead to rejection in order to learn how to deal with it.

In the middle of the book, he includes a section on writers and rejection, since no one knows rejection like an author. He lists how many times famous books were rejected by agents and publishers until finally being published. The lesson, of course, is that much of rejection is opinion. Does the person you’re asking like your idea and writing or not?

To find a person who likes your work, it can sometimes take 100 agents or publishers. In other words, it can take persistence and a lot of time. In the age of independent publishing and the tendency for big houses to only publish already-proven authors and/or celebrities, how persistent should you be? Or should you even waste your time with traditional publishers?

Writer Abroad isn’t sure she has an answer to that. She knows some authors that are purely independent and never submit to traditional publishers. She knows other authors who would never dream of self-publishing—even if their work is rejected. And then there is Writer Abroad, who is open to either and thinks there is usually a clear answer to what you should do depending on the kind of rejection you receive from big publishers.

With Writer Abroad’s first book, the feedback from traditional folks was that her market was too small. That opinion seemed consistent. The rejection wasn’t about the writing or the idea—it was about the size of the readership who would appreciate it.

She could have scrapped the book because of that. But instead, that kind of rejection led Writer Abroad to publish the book, Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I’d Known, through her own press. Because small markets are great for independent authors—they are easier to target and market to. And since independent authors get bigger paybacks, a book with a smaller market can still make sense for them financially even if it doesn’t for a big house.

Whether to publish after “traditional” rejection depends a lot on your project. Do you have the ability to target and reach potential readers? Do you have the money to hire a good editor and designer(s)? How set were you on having the “status” of being traditionally published? Is the writing great and have you been published enough to be able to claim that? All good questions to ask.

How to do you decide what to do with rejection?

5 Big Lessons Learned a Year After Publishing the First Book

You don’t need a marketing budget.

This does not need to cost anything.

Yesterday, on the one-year anniversary of publishing her first book,  Writer Abroad ended up on the cover of one of Switzerland’s biggest tabloid papers. 

In the last year, she gave several radio interviews, appeared in various magazines and newsletters both on and off-line, and also on many blogs. She spent nothing on any of this promotion. The key to good promotion is to:

1. Make relevant contacts far ahead of book publication—people you can draw on later who will happily help you out since they know you.

2. To have at least a rough promotional plan ready well before you launch your

book (it will help you with number 1).

Some promotion will just happen
based on other things you are doing.

3. To keep writing for publications on topics related to your book and include your book in your bio. Writer Abroad's bio in one New York Times article led to over 100 book sales within five days. Her book was selling right up in the ranks with David Sedaris' newest book—for 24 hours anyway. But it proved that in the age of online book shopping, links in the right places matter. Not big marketing budgets.

You need to start writing the next book right away.

About a month after Writer Abroad published her first book, a traditional publisher came to her with an idea for a book. They later rejected the idea of publishing it because they felt the production and marketing budget would cost too much (crazy from Writer Abroad’s point of view—see point one above), but nevertheless, she was grateful for their inputs anyway. Why? Because at that point, she was already 25% through writing it, had a concept developed, and now, just a year after publishing her first book, this new book’s first draft will be complete by the end of the month. Does she need the traditional publisher to publish this book? Thankfully, not at all. In fact, if her numbers are right, within one year of publication, she will be much better off financially without them. And she also controls all of the creative production process, which, as a copywriter with over 10 years in the ad industry, she enjoys managing.

You should take advantage of affiliate links.

All authors should do this—even those who hate amazon. This author loves amazon, but that’s another topic… Anyhow, at the very least you should sign up for the Amazon Associates Program. Then, any links to your book that you have on your website or elsewhere should link to your associate name, which will pay you around 5-6% of the selling price should someone click on the link and purchase it directly. Not only that, but if the buyer purchases other items after clicking on the link you’ll get 5-6% of whatever they buy—even if they don’t buy your book. It adds up. In a good month, it can mean an extra $100. And if you hate amazon, well, think of it this way: that’s 5-6% of the price of an item that amazon isn’t getting—you are.

You should never stop promoting.

Of course the busiest promotional period will be leading up to your launch date and in the couple months that follow. But you should never really call it quits when it comes to book promotion (it doesn’t cost anything, remember?), even if, like Writer Abroad, you end up simply promoting the book in your bio that appears after all the freelance writing work you publish. Some links do nothing, but others can sell a few—or a hundred books. Online links are most effective, but it never hurts to include info about the book in a print publication either.

There are no secrets except to work hard and to believe.

Writer Abroad often gets emails from writers wanting to know how to get into writing or how to improve their chances of publication. There are no secrets. The answer is to treat writing like your job (even if it’s just your hobby at the moment) and sit in a chair almost every day and write. Write when you’re tired. Write when you’re not inspired. Write when you’re depressed. Make no excuses and then and only then will your writing move to the next level. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell says it takes over 10,000 hours to master something. You’ve got to put in your 10,000 writing hours, which will probably take about 10 years. Then you can expect to see results.

Also, don’t give up. Don’t let rejection get you down. Easier to say than to do. But if Writer Abroad had given up after traditional publishers told her that “no one cared about Switzerland” then she wouldn’t have the niche she has today. And if she had given up the book she had started writing last year after the traditional publisher came to her and then dropped her a few months later, she wouldn’t have another almost-completed book right now that she believes in and loves.

Anyone else have tips for writers or things they learned after publishing a book?

Make Your Own Luck in 2015

Happy Old Year. 

Writer Abroad would like to take a moment to celebrate 2014. It was a big year in many ways. She published her first book, which has sold almost 1200 copies since May. She secured a distribution deal with one of the publishers that originally rejected the manuscript. She wrote for several new publications, including Brian Child, CNN Travel, and Fodor’s. And oh yeah, she changed continents. At least for the time being.

In any case, 2014 taught Writer Abroad a lot. Mainly, that success as a writer is up to you. You can wait for others to decide to offer you something. Or you can create your own luck in 2015 and make your dreams come true yourself. 

For Writer Abroad, it took ten years of writing, ten years of making contacts, ten years of learning about promotion and advertising, and ten years of learning about the publishing industry before she felt ready for Book Number One. And that’s the other lesson: in a world where publishing is more accessible than ever, patience is key. Publishing when you’re not ready can do more harm than good. But if you are ready, Writer Abroad says this: 2015 is waiting for you to take success into your own hands. Won’t you join her in pursuing it?

Happy New Year.

Happy Independence Day

Here's to the independents. The ones who believe in themselves and their artistic endeavors. The ones who turn marketing into a creative project as big as the one they are selling. The brave ones who say no to seven figure deals and yes to autonomy. 

Writer Abroad's
logo of independence

Today is American Independence Day. Let's celebrate the independents. 

Ira Glass is giving us a great reason to celebrate. Thanks to him, indie fever is spreading beyond book publishing and into radio and broadcasting. Ira Glass's "This American Life" left Public Radio International. And turned down a huge deal from NPR. As of July 1, the show is independent.

Independent.

Writer Abroad couldn't be prouder to be a part of the new class of independents. Are we all crazy? Maybe. Maybe not. But the ones who have the confidence to go ahead and create without the world approving us first are just the ones who might take that world and redefine it.

Happy Independence Day from Writer Abroad.

Createspace versus IngramSpark

There are many options for distribution when publishing a book these days. Writer Abroad studied as many as she could for her book, Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I’d Known.

Her goals:

Because her book speaks to an international audience, she wanted as many distribution options as possible, including bookstores, since Swiss bookstores were a promising place for sales (and are proving her theory correct, since the book sold 48 copies in less than a week at a bookshop in Zurich).

So here is what she did (the super short version):

First off, she consulted knowledgeable friends who had already published several books. Next, she bought her own ISBNs.  This is important if you want distribution in bookstores.  Your ISBN is your book’s identifying number. Bookstores will look it up. And it makes sense to own it, even if the price isn’t free. She bought her ISBNs from Bowker.

Then, she hired professionals to design the covers and interiors and format the book correctly for each platform.

Finally,

She uploaded her title to createspace.

She uploaded her title with IngramSpark.

She uploaded her title to kdp amazon (Kindle)

And she uploaded her title to Smashwords.

Here are the pros and cons of each channel, at least from her experience having published a book approximately 14 days ago and having sold over 100 in two weeks.

Createspace (for paperback books)

Pros:

User friendly and easy-to-use website

No upload, change, or title fees

Fast, round-the-clock customer service response

Very fast shipping (even overseas)

Makes title available directly on amazon.com with the best royalties for amazon.

Cons:

Printing is not as polished and professional as IngramSpark

If you only use createspace (and not IngramSpark too) your book will most likely never be ordered by bookstores since bookstores consider amazon their enemy

You are limited to certain trim sizes if you want expanded distribution (not to worry about if you use IngramSpark for your expanded distribution instead)

If you choose a customizable trim size, the print quality is hit or miss

IngramSpark

Pros:

Many trim sizes and printing options

Global distribution puts you on the same playing field as large publishers

Your title can be ordered by bookstores worldwide

Beautiful, professional printing

Cons:

Site is not as user friendly as createspace

There are title fees, catalog listing fees, and change fees ( in other words, typos get expensive!)

Customer service is only available from 8-5 p.m. Central U.S. Time (not so good if you are based internationally).

Book is processed much slower than createspace

Book is delivered much slower (even when not shipped overseas, books arrived much slower than books from createspace)

Kdp amazon (Kindle)

Pros:

Easy user interface

Quick and free upload and book is available within 12 hours

70% royalties depending on price

Cons:

None so far, unless you call being able to see your sales in real time addicting!

Smashwords

Pros:

Easy-to-use interface

Quick upload and approval times

Distribution to all major e-book retailers

Swiss Life is in bookstores
(well, at least one bookstore, anyway.)

Cons:

Royalties not as high as amazon

Most e-book sales are on amazon anyway

Requires different formatting than amazon

Finally, after enduring the crazy process that is called publishing, Writer Abroad sat down, relaxed, and had some cheese and chocolate. Her book is about Switzerland, after all. And look, there it is in the Swiss bookstore. Not bad product placement for a book with no marketing budget, oder?

Anyone else have similar experiences with these distribution channels? Or what is your book publishing experience?

The Business Writer

If most writers are like Writer Abroad, then they spend a lot of time alternating between writing and dreaming about writing, but they don't spend a lot of time being business people.

But shockingly, nothing is much more business-y than publishing a book.

Writer Abroad should know. She’s going through the process now. And after seven years of writing and editing her book, she was all ready to upload it to her printer (yippee!) only to discover she must enter things like bank accounts, tax numbers, and metadata first. 

Her surprise at this realization surprised her. After all, Writer Abroad has spent over a decade writing copy for advertising brands, articles for magazines, and essays for anthologies. But somehow her book felt different. It felt especially creative, like it was all hers, and so it came as quite a shock to realize, oh yeah, her book is a business thingy too.

It's a product people will be able to buy that she has spent over seven years and $2,000 to produce. But the investment didn’t seem like much to her since it was a labor of love. And that’s when Writer Abroad realized something: She could spend her life working on labors of love—and actually sell them. Ok, maybe she’ll only sell them to two people—like her mom and dad. Or sell them to the two people that are on that mailing list she just got around to realizing she should have. But you know what? Two sales or two hundred thousand, it seems like a pretty good life. One that she is glad she has decided to live.

Do you think of your writing as a business?

Becoming a publisher

Writer Abroad has taken a new step in her writing career: becoming a publisher.

Naturally, doing anything for the first time is a bit scary, but Writer Abroad learned from her experience as an expat that doing scary things usually result in rewarding outcomes.

Life in Switzerland.
The not-made-for-TV version.

So she’s publishing a book of previously published and new essays. It’s called SWISS LIFE: 30 THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN.  And it’s all about life in Switzerland—the not-made-for-TV version. The book will be coming out at the end of May. Just in time for a reading at The English Bookshop in Zurich at 7 p.m. on May 23.

Thus, Writer Abroad apologies in advance (Americans always say they are sorry, so sorry, this apology is part of her culture) for any obnoxious self-promotion that may or may not occur on this blog. She takes full responsibility for it.

As Writer Abroad prepares for the next month of intense publishing activities—buying ISBNs, submitting various formats of texts and covers to printers and websites, and beginning the marketing campaign—she’s also excited.

She’s learning that she likes publishing. As a perfectionist, she likes having control over her work. She likes picking her designers and editors. She likes using her ten years of experience in advertising and marketing to come up with ideas to sell her own product instead of someone else’s. And she likes seeing how the last seven years of networking and blogging is beginning to pay off. But most of all, she likes making her own luck.

Because that’s what being your own publisher is all about. When you publish something yourself, you make your own luck. No one is telling you what to do. You are using your talents and your connections to put something into the world that you believe in. Your success is entirely up to you. It’s an exciting time to be a writer—whether abroad or at home.

International Writing Round-up

What's going on in the international writing world? Thanks for asking. Here is a list of the latest from Writer Abroad.

IndieReCon, a free online conference designed to help any writer or author who is curious about independent publishing, will be held February 25-27. Register at http://www.indierecon.org

Has the rise of confessional blogs made it harder to publish personal essays? Find out in an interview Writer Abroad did with Susan Johnston over on The Freelance Strategist about personal essay writing in the age of oversharing.

Looking for books about Switzerland or expatriate life? Last week Writer Abroad recommended ten great ones over on her other blog, One Big Yodel.

What authors are earning? Writer Abroad recently discovered authorearnings.com and was amazed at the difference between what independently published authors are making as opposed to traditionally published ones. See the report for yourself—indie authors out-earn traditionally published authors in all categories but one.

Finally, the London Author Fair will be held February 28. The one-day event features seminars, workshops, one-on-one collaborator hubs, a live PitchUp! literary agent submissions event, and networking.

Any news you'd like to share? Leave a comment.

Writer Interview: Chris van Hakes in the United States

Writer Abroad would like to introduce Chris van Hakes, a pen name for Shalini, the blogger behind Reading and Chickens, who just released her first novel, Lost & Found, which she published independently. Writer Abroad is extra excited about this novel because she went to high school and college with Shalini, back before they both knew they would become writers. Now Shalini joins Writer Abroad to discuss the experience of publishing her first book.

Congrats on publishing your first novel. Could you tell us a little about the premise?

Thank you! My elevator pitch is: Delaney hates Oliver, but not as much as Oliver hates Delaney. So why can't they stay away from each other?

At first it's a bit of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, contemporary-style. The novel starts out with Delaney and Oliver in a meet-cute, absolutely loathing each other. Oliver is a self-centered asshole, and Delaney has the lowest self-esteem, so they're obviously meant for each other. 

I like to think of it as a feminist romance. There are a lot of novels where a man "helps" a woman solve her problems (including Pride and Prejudice), and I wanted Delaney to go from weak to strong on her own (and she does).

You have a literary agent, who is currently shopping around some other book projects of yours. Why did she advise you to publish your first novel independently?

My literary agent and I parted ways this summer (amicably). She was incredibly insightful and I like to say she gave me an MFA in all she taught me about the art of writing. We worked on a YA novel of mine for nine months, and in the end, things just didn't work with the novel. 

I had another novel I was writing at the time, OFFICE CRUSH, that she said was well-written but wouldn't do well traditionally published, and I thought seriously about self-publishing it, but eventually decided against it. I focused all my energies around the YA novel instead.

After the YA novel was off my plate, I didn't really know what to do with my writing career, so I sat around metaphorically chewing my hair for a few months before deciding I wanted to self-publish, and to do something that sold well online, like romance, so I wrote LOST AND FOUND.

You published the novel under a pen name. Can you discuss why? Do you think authors should brand themselves differently based on the genre?

I am also a librarian, and I hope to one day be a school or children's librarian. While my book isn't exactly erotica (not even close), it does have lots of swearing and some sex, and I just wanted to keep those two worlds separate.

I think in the past authors have branded themselves differently by genre, and I can see the advantage, especially if you write both romance and children's lit.

Can you discuss your blog and the importance it has had for you as a writer?

My blog has been SO important. Not only have I met many great people, it gave me writing practice every single day, provided a great community for feedback, and helped me learn the ins and outs of social media. I think every writer should have a blog. If nothing else, it's free advertising, but I don't really think about it that way. I'm not sure the percentage of my readers who bought my novel, but I don't really care. They were cheerleaders, and every writer needs passels of cheerleaders!

How did you find your editor and book cover designer?

Honestly, I was incredibly lucky. My cover designer is a great friend of mine, and she volunteered because she happens to be a web designer by trade. My editor was a beta reader for my YA novel, who happens to also be an editor (who I met through my blog). I liked her notes on my YA novel so much that I asked if I could hire her. That's really no help to the wide world. Sorry!

Book promotion. Writers seem to have to do it whether they publish independently or traditionally. What has been your promotion strategy?

I'm still learning my strategy. I don't think I have one yet. I'm trying out GoodReads ads, and a few other places online, slowly rolling them out so I know what's effective and what's not. That said, so far I think almost all of my sales have been because of word-of-mouth, and BOY do I appreciate it. (See above when I talk about cheerleaders.) I think my other strategy is perseverance. I believe in my novel and my writing skills, and so it's just about finding my audience. I'll get there, whether if it's with this novel or the next one. I feel confident that there are people out there who want to read sweet, smart, well-written love stories about strong women.

Printing actual real books. How did you decide on Amazon’s CreateSpace? Was it easy to use?

I cannot go on enough about how professional and great CreateSpace was. The software is great. The review process is great. The way they get your book in print almost immediately is great. It's a lot tougher than formatting an ebook, because you have to consider gutter margins, font, line spacing, etc., and it took a lot of experimenting, and I wouldn't say it was easy, but I think that's just the nature of formatting for print. I think the final product is amazing.

Based on your experience so far, do you think you would publish again independently? Why or why not?

I'm only a week into it so far, so I think I need a little more time to decide. I really like being able to set my own timeline, and have control over my cover, and the great royalty rates, but if a traditional publishing house wanted to sink lots of money into me, I wouldn't be saying no!

I don't know that traditional publishers are great for first-time unknown authors any longer, though. If you go to a trade show, or look at the books being marketed by any of the US Big 5, they promote their biggest authors and throw all the money behind them. Smaller authors don't get much. 

As a capitalist, I understand this strategy completely, and if I were in book marketing, I'd do the same thing. It's hard to be on the other side of it, though, as understanding as I am. Agents and authors do SO MUCH work, and get paid so little, and the prices of traditionally published books are so much higher. I really enjoy having a book for 2.99. I'd feel guilty if readers had to pay 9.99 for an ebook copy, but it has to be priced that high to pay for all the marketing, publicity, etc., that I'm doing for free.

And those of you without agents so far--agents make even less than the author on deals so they're definitely on authors' sides in every sense. Something has to change, and I think self-publishing is making that happen. Self-publishers are learning, too, to not undercut the market by selling books for nothing, and how to put out a great product and make a name for ourselves that it's not all weird erotica or badly edited clichés. We're professionals, too, and I think LOST AND FOUND is the best work I've done so far. I've gotten a lot of "I couldn't put it down!" comments, and I'm extremely happy with that! I have a lot to learn, as does every writer, traditionally published or not, but I think my novel is a testament that quality exists in the self-publishing world.

 There has to be a medium where the public can appreciate art widely, and artists can actually survive doing what they love, and get better at it. Right now traditional publishers don't have the resources to support all the writers out there, and I think indie publishing is helping close this disparity.

Most of all, indie publishing is, at this point, low-risk. What's the harm of trying to write and sell? It's a great learning experience, and I'm so glad I'm doing it. I'm learning to be my own cheerleader, too, because I believe in my skills as a novelist so much more now that I have to self-promote and not just sit in a writing cave and think of great jokes and

metaphors. 

I think much more now in terms of pacing and plot and what people like to read, as well as what I want to write. I think about what people say in my reviews, and how I can change that for future novels, or keep what people have loved. It's definitely helping me be a better writer, all around.

Yes, I want to purchase Lost & Found on amazon.

Yes, I want to purchase Lost & Found on the Nook (Only US).

Yes, I want to check out Reading and Chickens for more on the writing life (and just plain life).