Lori-Suzanne Dell's Blog: Keeping up with the times

My next book is called Thinking About A Dog.

Back in November I lost my best friend Peanut. And, by 'lost' I mean that he passed away. He was a Yorkshire Terrier and we had been together for just a bit over ten years. I was, and am still, devastated.

So, I am writing this book and I am committing all profits from the book to go into the Peanut Fund, which shall go to pet rescue organizations, animal shelters, veterinary clinics who maintain a program to provide funds to help the indigent pay for veterinary services, and to programs to help provide free veterinary services to homeless pets who are living on the street with their owners.

I want to try to make a difference somewhere with my writing, and this is one of the ways in which I have chosen to do so.

I am about 9 chapters into writing this book and I have come to a halt. I haven't lost the desire or the ability and I haven't hit a writers block. I am at the chapter where Peanut took ill and died. And, I just don't want to write this chapter.

Instead, I have been finding every distraction, and every excuse I can to avoid writing this chapter. I just don't want to relive the pain. But, I have to finish this book.

Peanut was a huge part of my life. We have been through a lot together. And, his death has been the most painful loss of my life.

I have set mid spring for the books release, so I really need to get back to work on it.

Have you ever written something personally painful and dealt with the avoidance of the most painful part of the story? What did you do to get back to work?

Lori-Suzanne Dell

One of the toughest challenges an author has, regardless of whether they are traditionally or self-published, is self-promotion.

Today, it seems harder than ever to get results from all the self-promo work we authors do. Take this page and blog. I have been on Goodreads for a little over a year now and all I can muster is two followers and this blog hasnt had one like yet. Thats par for the course of promotion.

Building an audience is tough. Despite the many books I have sold I have yet to obtain a review on Amazon. My books twitter pages are showing a slow growing following, but I suspect its mostly others trying to build their audience as well. So, we are just preaching to the choir.

I have created video trailers, Jpeg posters, book giveaways, a website, an Authors Central page, a number of twitter pages and facebook pages for each book, and the Goodreads page. Still little has come from the many hours of promotional work I have done.

I know I am not alone in this dilemma. I have read the remarks of other authors who has echoed this frustration and I have read articles also commenting on this. Maybe people are just over the whole internet thing.

Just today I read about how the average median income for a working author has declined over the last few years, and I believe it.

This is one of the reasons why I am stepping away from book promotions for a while and focusing on the promotion of book rights options and sales.

However, I am planning to create some authors readings videos and other video for my Youtube channel. And, I may do a series of pod casts.

I really have no idea how to better affect book promotions and sales online, beyond what I have already done.

How do you meet the challenge of promotion?

Lori-Suzanne Dell

I am currently working on trying to make my latest book, Stories From Maine, into a PBS TV series. Yup, I know. Sounds a little Pie-in-the-sky, right? Perhaps.

One of the biggest reasons I think more authors should go with self-publishing is to explore the sale of their film and television rights. In one sale you could make more money than you can in actual book sales. And, the film or tv program can help sell more books as well.

I am choosing to go with Maine PBS because this book is about Maine legends and odd tales from the state's history. Its right up their alley!

To get where I hope to go I have chosen to first get my on camera talent in order. I wont yet mention who this person is, but he is a household name in Maine and someone I know. I have begun talks with him and hope to get him attached to the project.

The second step I will be taking is to actually pitch the idea to Maine PBS (MPBN) and see where this leads. I don't know much about making a television series, but I know the man I have approached for the on-air talent does. I am hoping he will mentor me through this process.

Their is a lot I will have to do to make this project happen and the chance of failure is pretty good. But, nothing ventured equals nothing gained. So wish me luck.

Then, I hope to have my second book, The Quill & The Bayonet, made into a documentary. Again I will try to get this on MPBS and then see where it goes.

Yes, its PBS. But, money can be made at PBS. And, its a great place to begin. And, the contacts made can be greatly helpful in other pursuits, like getting my novel, Texas City, turned into a feature film.

Although book sales are slow, the worth of the rights to your book can be much more valuable. And, it can be a very fun effort.

So, I urge you all to give your rights a lot more thought. If you sign a publishing contract you will lose a lot of money, since the contract will ultimately give the majority of your rights to the publisher for the term of the contract.

So, think of your book in terms of rights and where you would like to see your book go. Do you want to see it become a feature film? Television series? Documentary? Radio broadcast? Stage play? Then, you need to have full control of all your books rights.

I do not know where my efforts will lead or if they prove fruitful. But, I do know that I am sitting on rights to my work and those rights are potentially profitable. And, thus, I am glad I didn't go with traditional publishing.

Lori-Suzanne Dell

In all fairness to traditional publishing I should mention some of the positives that come with this publishing option.

First, when you sign on with a traditional publisher you get an editor to work with you to make necessary changes and to give your book a more evolved and polished look and feel.

Second, once your book is printed you get the full effect of an established promotional machine. Publicity and professional reviews are automatic and this all relates to better sales.

Additionally, you get a better system of distribution that retail booksellers are more likely to respond to.

One of the drawbacks of self-publishing is something retail booksellers shy away from. And that is a no return policy. Booksellers need the return policy so they don't get stuck with books that have not sold in their store. With traditional publishers these retail stores can return unsold books and obtain credit for the returns.

There is also one more drawback to self-publishing. Most retail booksellers consider online booksellers such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble to be their mortal enemies. The last thing these little businesses want to do is provide additional income for their greatest opposition. So, don't be surprised if you find it nearly impossible to get your self-published books on the shelves of local book retailers.

Another drawback to self-publishing is the amount of competition you will have to go up against. It nearly seems like everyone in the world has written a book. And, your competition is not only the self-published but the traditionally published as well.

In your books genre and the categories and sub categories your book shall be placed may be so saturated with competition that your book quickly sinks to the bottom of a list where millions of other books hover above.

This can be the kiss of death. If your book isn't in the top few pages of a search for your book's genre then no one will know your book even exists. And, it can be very difficult to lift your book up the ladder.

Another problem with self-publication is promotion. With a traditional publisher this is handled for you. The publishers success with your book depends on it. In self-publishing its all on you! This can be time consuming, tedious, frustrating, and expensive.

Truth be told, traditional publishing is the way to go, if you can get that coveted publishing contract. But, for those who find themselves too eager or too impatient with the process of seeking that contract, self-publishing gets you in print, available for purchase, and moving forward, with minimal time spent.

I mention all of these things because its something I wish I had been told when I started out. I would have liked to know, even though it would not have changed my mind about self-publishing. I am still glad I went this route.

Lori-Suzanne Dell

I just can't imagine toiling away, writing a great book, only to be unable to make it immediately available.

I cannot imagine going through the lengthy process of trying to find a literary agent or publisher, which can be a very lengthy process.

Then, once you've found an agent or publisher who is interested in your genre and is willing to take on a previously unpublished writer, going through the lengthy process to finally get your book published.

By the time you have gone through all of this work, all of the rejection, and all of the effort to get the manuscript into print, about 2-years has passed since you finished the book.

Of course, now that you have expended all of that time, energy and heartache, the pay-off finally arrives! That's when you realize you are getting hosed!

The publisher gets 70% of all the profits your book earns. That means 30% is left for you. But, not so fast! Remember that agent you got? He will take 10-15% of the profits too. So, now you are left with just 15-20% of the profits.

Now, for a first time author, your advance payment is usually the standard $5k. But, you won't get it all at once. They pay this advance to you in three payments. First check is issued when you sign the contract. The second check comes when the book is sent to the printer and the remainder of your whopping advance comes when the books are finally shipped out to booksellers.

Some deals work a little different, but this is the standard deal for first time never before published authors. And, the process can take up to 12 months. Additionally, there is a catch to the advance, its called the earn-back.

The earn-back is where you pay the publisher back the $5k advance through your 15-20% share of the profits. So, you won't be seeing anymore money until after this amount is paid back. And, on top of it all, once you have paid off the advance and start seeing payments of royalties you will only get these payments every six-months.

Also, there is one more entity that will suck up your money. Don't forget that you will have to pay taxes to Uncle Sam. That will whittle-down your profits a bit, too.

Of course, times have changed a little. The days when the publisher pays for you to travel the world to promote the book are over, unless the publisher anticipates a million dollars in sales, which is rare. If you want to travel and promote your book, and live the life of a celebrity, you will have to pay for this yourself.

So, that's the basics of getting a publishing deal. Is it worth it? Maybe, if your Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. But, if you're Jane Doe or John Q. Public, probably not.

This is a prime reason I go with self-publishing. I get to skip all of this stuff and move forward. I earn more money from each sale, I keep control of my work and get to move right on to the next book I wish to write.

Now, there is one more point I wish to make and that is the rights to your book, which may be the most valuable part of your book.

Lets just say that Hollywood come-a-calling. They want the film or television rights to your book. Great! Those rights may earn you anywhere between $10k and roughly $300k, depending on many things. You finally made it! The pay-off is huge! But, not so fast here either.

Remember that 15-20% you get applies to the rights as well. Since most publishing deals are a standard 1-year deal the publisher owns the rights to your book in all forms for that entire year, or the whole of the contract period.

Guess your pay-off isn't so great afterall. But, Uncle Sam will be happy to take his cut of your 15-20%, which can be as much as 50%!

It just isn't worth it to me to go this traditional route. And, there are many other smaller points that aren't so great as well about this traditional path to being published, but I think I have covered the really important stuff.

So, consider all of this when you decide to delve into the traditional publishing route to getting published.

In my next blog, I'll get into the self-publishing aspects.

Lori-Suzanne Dell

Being a writer may just be the best choice I have ever made, career-wise. Unfortunately, its not the most lucrative job I have ever had. Fortunately, I don't write for the purpose of making money. That being said, feel free to offer me millions for my work. I promise not to reject the offer.

I write because I love to tell a story, to inform, to entertain, and to spark interest and discussion. I write because I am fairly good at it and I really enjoy the entire process of writing.

As a historian, I love to write about the past, about the people and times and events that are important to know about. I love to make a point and to relate the past with the present and provide some clarity or context. And, teaching via the medium of writing allows me to be specific, on topic, and to the point.

I have written for newspapers, a magazine or two, and have thus far written and published three books, with a fourth due out in March. And, though the books have been well received I have yet to make much money from them. Good thing money isn't that important to me.

Its more important to me to have control over my work, from inception to format, from editing to cover design, and from distribution to promotion. I rise or fall on my own merit as a writer, as an author, and as a historian. This way I avoid the disappointment of the mistakes of others involved in the process.

Unfortunately, the self-publishing game is a difficult one. My sales report will bear me out on this fact. However, I can be proud of what I have accomplished, whether the books sell or not.

Of course, I don't need to write to make a living. I am retired and have an income. Not all writers have this luxury and therefore must choose traditional publishing and pursue the money that can be made. And, sometimes this means giving up control, allowing others into their den, and risking the changes these people may bring to the table. Sometimes this can be good, sometimes... not so much.

I chose to go with self-publishing for many reasons (which I will cover in my next blog). And, though the money may not be there the potential for a lucrative income from writing is certainly there. But, for now, lets just say I made a lot more money writing for newspapers.

So, for the most part, this is why I write. Why do you write? What has been your writing experience? And, how much does the money you make from writing mean to you?

Lori-Suzanne Dell