…”Because writers have increased choices for how to publish. Because we have increased choices of how and where to seek assistance. Because we have so many easy, inexpensive career-building tools at our fingertips. And because it has never been easier to locate and make the most of everything we need to succeed in the short run and the long run.”

More at ChristinaKatz.com

“Right now I’m looking at the Top 10 Kindle bestsellers in occult fiction.

Every one of them is self-pubbed. In fact, there are only three legacy authors in the Top 30. I count only ten legacy pubbed in the Top 100, and most are brand names.

That’s… staggering.

It also doesn’t bode well for legacy publishers.

Long ago, I said ebooks aren’t a competition. But that only applies when they are affordable. Once an ebook costs over five bucks, readers become choosy. The above list is proof. There are ten ebooks on that list priced more than $4.99.

Bet you can guess which ones. Hint: none of the self-pubbed.

At the moment, legacy publishers seem to be content with their ebook sales. They boast how ebooks are exploding, while print sales slip more and more.

And yet, they obviously aren’t pricing ebooks competitively. I’m outselling King, Harris, and Preston & Child. That’s odd, since they kill me in paper sales. But it doesn’t matter, because bestselling authors sell at any price, which publishers are aware of.

Midlist authors do not. Midlist authors right now are getting screwed by their publishers, earning far less than they could. It’s bad enough they’re only getting 17.5% of the list price; when the list price is ten bucks it is leaving a lot of money on the table.

So why aren’t legacy pubs pricing their midlists and backlists competitively? Are they still trying to preserve paper sales? Or have they crunched the numbers and figured out $7.99 to $14.99 is the sweet spot for profits?

Whatever the reason, it is misguided. Here’s a look into the future:

1. Amazon is the #1 ebookseller in the world. Its bestseller lists are prime real estate, allowing browsers to peruse genres and discover new titles to buy.

2. Free and cheap greatly improve a title’s chance of getting on a bestseller list, which leads to more awareness and more sales.”

…continue here:  http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2012/01/self-pubbed-author-beware.html

Have a good week,

Helen Gallagher

Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, the essay form holds appeal for most writers. Whether you’re a pro or just starting out, essay markets are plentiful and a satisfying sale.

In my recent reading, I’m spending quiet time with the Best American Essays Series from 2010and came across this helpful description of essay types. Maybe it will inspire you today to write an essay for publication:

• The heuristic essay is an attempt to call attention to new information that has been overlooked or ignored or even suppressed, or that perhaps is simply deserving of a larger audience.
• The polemic essay may be an attempt to persuiade or refute, or explode and debunk, or to mobilize.
• The confessional, in which the writer seeks to engage the reader in either an apologia or a revelation, serves to disburden something.
• Descriptive essays are  where the writer paints a scene in the hope of presenting it through his or her eyes.
• The revisionist to the heuristic: an article that approaches familiar material or common assumptions in a fresh light.
• Conversational, composed for pleasure alone or for its own sake, where the “point” is that there is no particular point.

– source Christopher Hitchens,  (recently deceased) in the Introduction the The Best American Essays 2010

Pick up a pen and create or rework an essay today, in any style that appeals to you. It is one of my favorite forms and I really started the year off well by having an essay published in Bylines 2012 Writer’s Calendar. Until you start, you never know where your writing might take you.

Helen Gallagher

]]> http://pajamamarketing.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/essays-a-fresh-look-at-a-thriving-market/feed/ 0 pajamamarketing BestEssays http://pajamamarketing.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/make-your-own-rules-for-success/ http://pajamamarketing.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/make-your-own-rules-for-success/#comments Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:00:01 +0000 pajamamarketing http://pajamamarketing.wordpress.com/?p=1019 ]]> Here’s an old bon mot:

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

— W. Somerset Maugham

Use it as your motivation to make your own rules, find your own path, and make 2012 the year you move your writing ahead.  Get an article published, research the requirements for a book proposal or charge ahead on the path to seeing your book published. A year is a long time, and that time will be filled with a myriad of obligations and surprises. How you use your time to push closer to your goals will detemine the outcome for you at year-end.

I’ll get off my soapbox now!
Best regards,
Helen Gallagher

   Do you want to be published in magazines?
Do you want to have a book out in 2012?
Do you want to have a successful blog to showcase your writing, and  earn money?

All of those are possible. Articulate your top three goals, then write down five steps that will get to closer to focusing on each.

Need encouragement along the way? There are many motivating websites and blogs to inspire you.

Here’s to you and your 2012 success,

Helen Gallagher

Remember, you can soon order your copy of Bylines Writer’s Desk Calendar. I have an essay in it this year, and always find it the most productive, uplifting way to remember to “be a writer” every week.  The publisher worked hard through rain and snow and major snafus, and calendar orders are now being processed. Quantity discounts are available.

As usual, there are stories by 53 writers in Bylines. This year, writers are from 25 states, plus Ireland and the UK. The state with the most entries is Kansas, with 4; however, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Oklahoma each have 3 entries. I’m one of the Illinois contributors and very excited to receive my copy.

While those are all true, I instead chose to reflect on the inspiration I receive from the success of others:

I attended the OCWW holiday party and marveled at the accomplishments of those present in the room. Most of these writers forge ahead and succeed year after year. I also admire the many achievements of my clients.

Many of my clients published books in 2011. Happily, one won the USA Book Award for a non-fiction book, “Sustainable Weight Loss.” Another published his second major book, this one on the Irish famine, with the powerful title “Famine Ghost.”

Two clients won awards for their blogs; quite an achievement in a world with over 180 million live blogs, according to BlogPulse.com.

Another, because of her niche blog, was hired by a U.K. magazine to write a major article and cover a conference in Chicago.

A woman who wrote a relationship book ten years ago learned the publisher was dropping the title. She came to me for advice and I’m helping her update and publish a second edition of the book in early 2012.

These results are a direct result of the focused efforts of these independent writers.

The rules for success remain the same: Have something to say, say it well, and don’t be deterred. There are appreciative readers for every writer.

Happy Holidaze,

Helen Gallagher

Here’s the link – - Look over previous entries, and mark your calendar for Dec. 15 for the next prompt.

Pajama Marketing will repeat this post on Dec. 14 as a remind…

Surely after all the festive holiday events this month, you’ll be longing for a couple quiet hours to write. Promise yourself you’ll grab your notebook or laptop and settle into a quiet writing time.

And, if you’re wondering what to ask for for a holiday gift, instead of another sweater, here are my top suggestions for inspiring your creativity. Print, forward or tweet this list of my top five suggestions to be sure you get these goodies from your family and friends this holiday season:

1. The book, The Story Within: New Insights and Inspiration for Writers, by Laura Oliver. Unusual in that it grabs you from the first page, and is styled as a how-to writing guide but reads much like a memoir. Available locally and nationally.

2. A subscription to Writer’s Chronicle magazine, where you won’t see the same old concepts repurposed in two bigger writing magazines. (awpwriter.org/magazine)

3. A one-year membership in Small Publishers, Artists & Writers Network (spawn.org).

4. Bylines 2012 Calendar — a weekly desk calendar for writers. For me, fabulously motivating, with writer profiles, lists, events, and a great motivator to track submissions, manage deadlines and stay inspired. You can even be a contributor for the 2013 edition.

5. The book, Pilgrimage, by Annie Liebovitz. Now this is an indulgence, a huge book of photographs and essays, but it is very special. The famous photographer made a list of places that had meaning and were on her life list. And the result is inspiring beyond belief. The full-page photos beg to be touched, and the images will stay in your mind forever. From the view out Emerson’s bedroom  window, to Emily Dickinson’s house, to the unbelievably tiny desk where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women, to the fantasy of your own get-away to explore life… It’s all in this lovely book. Available locally at The Bookstall via this link.

Here’s the link – - Look over previous entries, and mark your calendar for Dec. 15 for the next prompt.

Pajama Marketing will repeat this post on Dec. 14 as a remind…