WRITE ON – Revision Road to Publishing
Patricia L. Brooks, MAOM
Speaker, author, book shepherd
Brooks Goldmann Publishing Co., LLC
P. L. Brooks Seminars, LLC
cell 480-250-5556
Ernest Hemingway – “There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
Why do you want to write? Why do you want to publish?
Three Revisions may be the Charm!
Do you inform, entertain or engage?
Do you have a clear focus?
Do you write for your readers?
Ghostwriters are not “Scary”
Allow you to be an author if not a writer
Fill in for what you might lack
Take a vow of “perpetual” silence
Developmental Editing Stage
Partner out of the starting gate
Honor compelling, clear copy
Cultivate a must read boo
Content Editing Stage
Shape it for your Needs and Purpose
Size it for the Reader
Improve your Voice structure, Flow, Story line
Copy Editing Stage
Welcome the “Eagle Eye” to mature the book
Approve a proof of grammar, punctuation
Use mostly power, active verbs
The “Hottest” Selling Point
Allow your book title to Sizzle
Make your title Succinct – 7 to 10 words
Dress it up with Clarity and Curiosity
Peer Reviews
Someone you trust with open eyes
Not usually friends or family
One willing to listen with an open heart
The Back Cover Counts
Short testimonials
Your photo and your message
Advocacy and charity
The Cover Design
Seven seconds to Success from Six feet
Influences the Buying Decision
Competing with no national Borders
Photography and Illustrations
Creatively enhance your book
Pictures are worth another 1000 words
Stand out in the crowd of books
Interior Design
Show off more than Word Processing
Make it easy on the Eyes
Deliver a delight to Read
Printing Particulars
Digital printing vs. Offset Printing
Book size, pages count, paper weight, color
Soft cover vs. hard cover or both
Book Launch
Warehousing and storage – where and why
Distributors can increase sales and are costly
Online , retail, specialty, events
Traditional Publishing Planning
Book Proposals for niche markets
Agents to the publisher (80-90%)
Advances, Marketing
Self Publishing/Independent Perspective
You are in control, make more per book
Go through the process much quicker
Costs for book production
You are now in Business!
Organization is Key
Objectives (steps, destination), Strategies (how)
E books and Audio books
Suggested Reading
Writing Down the Bones – Natalie Goldberg
On Writing: a memoir of the craft – Stephen King
Your Life as Story – Tristine Rainer
The Power to Write – Caroline Joy Adams
The Right to Write – Julia Cameron
Lessons of a Lifetime of Writing – David Morrell
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING – QUESTIONS?