Preface

1. Why Write?

2. What to Write

3. Typical Financial Arrangements

5. How to Get an Editor’s Attention

6. What Does the Editor Want?

7. How To Work The Periodicals Market

8. Subsidiary and Tie-in Products

9. The Act of Writing

10. Manuscript Preparation

11. Things to negotiate in a Book Contract

12. Self-Publishing

13. Promoting Your Book

14. Promoting Your Book on Radio & TV

15. Managing the Team Writing Project

Epilogue: Keeping the Ball Rolling
 
 

Publish or perish. If you are an academic, then it’s a good bet that you understand this principle. It is a fact of life at universities and four-year colleges where publication of research results and other works has the status of an article of religion. Publishing can be a very important fact of life, especially for the younger faculty member who has not yet earned tenure. Careers rise and fall on a few citations in the right place.

There is even pressure to publish in community colleges, trade schools and secondary schools. Those schools typically don’t emphasize research, and instead reward faculty for teaching, so there is less "perish" in "publish or perish." These schools none the less recognize faculty who publish, so publishing is at least a route to prestige, promotions and peer recognition (or your next job at a better school).

Unfortunately, although publishing is important to the academic life, it is rare to find an academic who has any significant experience in the publishing market. And that lack of experience can lead you astray. You won’t learn how to write in this book. That ability is assumed because of your education and position. This book provides you with some insight into the business of publishing and will equip you with what you need to know in order to maximize your CV and possibly make a profit doing so. My own CV contains more than 85 books and 650 articles. I’ve learned a little bit about this business over the past thirty years, and can pass enough of it on to you to make the price of this book a worthwhile investment.

Joseph J. Carr

Falls Church, VA
 
 

Writing is hard work. It is long, tedious and lonely hard work. Why in the world would anyone actually want to write? Why would you want to closet yourself some place and endlessly pound the keyboard of a word processor (or, heaven forbid, a typewriter)? There are as many reasons as there are potential writers, but fortunately, they boil down to a few basic categories.

Do You Want To Write, or "Be a Writer?"

First, though, ask yourself whether you want to write, or be a writer. Writing is hard, lonely work and takes the lion’s share of your time while you are working on a project. "Being a writer" means receiving praise, gaining respect, doing radio-TV talk show, being invited to parties, and having people point you out to others. It’s fun. But "being a writer" is the just reward for those who publish, not for those who don’t.

Writers’ conferences draw many attendees every year, but there is a sad reality at some of those events: many of the attendees dream of being a recognized writer, but are unwilling to pay their dues. They attend year after year, spending good money in the process, but never even submit material to a publisher. I suspect they live in a make believe world and like to have their friends think they are a writer based on attending conferences. If you don’t have a burning desire in your gut to write and be published, then don’t put yourself to the trouble. Getting a publishing contract, and then fulfilling it with quality work, is a lot more effort than most people realize, so those with less than a burning desire tend to fall by the wayside.

Professional Recognition and Advancement

In the academic world, professional advancement and recognition is heaped on those who publish. In institutions that press faculty to perform research, publishing is mandatory. After all, recognition by peers, and honor to the institution (not to mention research grant money), comes to those who get new research results out to the professional public. If you don’t print it first, then you didn’t do it first. You are the "also ran" researcher, second to the researcher who came in first. I know one fellow who did a lot of research in the US Archives, and in the process located an important War of 1812 site. He told a local expert on the war, who visited the site with my friend and then rushed into print. It was the chap who rushed into print who got credit, not the one who did the work. First is foremost.

The pressure to publish is tremendous in some institutions, and sometimes leads to some embarrassing situations. I worked my way through most of my undergraduate and graduate school years as an electronic technician in a medical center and medical school. Those were the years that saw explosive growth of electronics in medicine and the life sciences, and the arrival of the microcomputer. Because we "techies" could program those oversized calculators, and had the power to "interface" them to many types of experiments and instruments (a kind of magick, we pretended), we were a kind of sacerdotal priesthood for a season or two. We walked on water, and dearly hoped that no one would notice the rubber inner tubes around our ankles providing hidden buoyancy.

A physiologist was having difficulty with some apparatus. I realized that a simple amplifier of a special type would solve his problem, but he told me that the $1000 catalog price was more than his grant could afford. So I built one for him in the electronics laboratory for $30. And it worked spectacularly well. So well, in fact, that he asked me to write a technical description of the circuit. I gave him two paragraphs, but he frowned. "Could you make it a little more...say 6 to 8 pages?" I complied with his request, by adding a lot of trivial basic material on that class of amplifier. About eighteen months later he handed me a pile of fifty reprints of "our article" in a physiology journal. The piece had been published as a "technical note" in a prestigious journal. A little embarrassed, I told him it was too trivial for publication, and that I would fire a first-year vo-tech student who couldn’t design that amplifier for him. "It’s not too trivial for an impoverished scientist...I would have paid $1,000 for that amplifier if I had grant money. You saved me $970." If my engineering colleagues had seen that article, it would have embarrassed me, but my physiologist friend needed a few more publications (a tenure decision loomed a couple years hence). Besides, I guess it did fill a need of physiology researchers.

The pressure to publish can also lead to some tragic events. An economist I once knew spent two years researching the pharmaceuticals market. He distributed draft copies of the paper at a conference for critical review and comment. He genuinely thought he would receive feedback from his peers. And he did. But he also lost his paper to a plagiarist. About a year later, while his own submission was under review at one journal, the paper appeared in another journal under the name of a colleague who had received a draft copy. The plagiarist lost his career. His department chairman and fellow professors could not abide academic dishonesty among themselves any more than they would tolerate cheating by a student. Perhaps even less so.

Self-esteem

Face it, you like seeing your byline in print, don’t you? There are a lot of personal self-esteem rewards for writing, and they come on several levels. First, of course, is the public recognition that comes with writing. People will adore you (welllll, maybe not). They will look up to you. And you’ll love it. But don’t get a swelled head, because public adoration is good for about 15 minutes of fame, and after that the career rocketship looks more like a burned out roman candle. Enjoy it while it lasts, but keep your head on straight. The "Joe who?" phase starts all too soon.

More important than the ego-boost you get from other people is the deeper form of internal self esteem that publishing provides. When you first see your piece on print, you will experience a sense of satisfaction that is earned by carrying the project through to the end, and seeing "your baby" go out into the world for better or worse.

Dark Side of the Force

There are some negatives to publishing that can wreck self-esteem. You will immediately come under fire by all manner of people when you publish. My wife’s brother once claimed that I’ve "...never had an unpublished thought." But so much publishing brings with it a certain amount of flak. Some of it is well earned, for even the best of us make mistakes from time to time. The old advice holds true: If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

Some attacks are motivated by a base instinct to tear down excellence wherever it is found. Those people seem to think that it’s possible to increase themselves in the overall scheme of things by tearing others down to their level. It’s like the story about crabs in a pot about to be boiled. If a particularly energetic crab tries to crawl out of the cook pot, the others pull him down into the rapidly heating water (or so they say, I’ve never looked into a crab pot to confirm this possibly apocryphal story). A minister once told me, after receiving some unjust criticism about the all-too-normal misbehavior of his six-year old child, that "Sister Anne thinks the Lord gave her a ministry of rebuke." You will find many people who have a "ministry of rebuke" once you start publishing.

And some of the rebuke is a little difficult to bear. I once wrote about anti-Semitism for a religious newsletter. The result was, to misquote an old television commercial featuring a diamond cutter who smashes a 40 carat stone to dust, "oh boy, did I get hollered at!" Anti-Semites came out of the woodwork like cockroaches. My mail was full of harsh comments, some "gentle persuasion" helping me repent of my tolerance, and two death threats. One fellow wrote to me accusing me of being "...a Jew-loving bastard." I replied to him: "you are only half-right, my parents were married." And, of course, that prompted another letter more vicious than the first.

Another serious threat to self-esteem is seen in the behavior of colleagues. Whether you work in academia or the business world, less energetic or less able colleagues may turn their noses up at you once it becomes known that you are a published author. The jealousy is palpable. Your "crime" is straying from the herd or trying to climb out of the pot. One friend referred to one of my textbooks, which had been adopted in 27 colleges and universities (and is still the premier textbook in its field), as "...that little manual of yours." I found it easy to forgive him, and perhaps offer condolences for his own poverty of soul. I rejoice at the success of others, even when it makes me jealous. "I could have written a better book than that!" one fellow told me. My reply was: "but you didn’t." As a personal policy, I never run down the work of another in a manner that attacks the author. I may criticize or praise the work, but won’t engage in ad hominem attacks on its creator, even when I am intensely jealous for not having done it myself. But my jealousy is between me and myself, and should not trigger an assassination urge directed to the successful colleague!

Financial Rewards

Samuel Johnson reportedly held the opinion that "no one but a blockhead ever wrote but for money." The money may or may not be there, but at least there is a potential for making money in publishing. And the pursuit of the financial rewards is an honorable endeavor, and workers worthy of their pay need not be embarrassed by receiving it. It is your just reward for a job well done. Receiving paychecks is one thing that kept me going for the past 30 years and 80-plus books. National Public Radio once interviewed the composer who wrote the theme music for some of their news programs. One caller asked "how do you get your inspiration?" He replied: "The promise of a paycheck helps."

But keep something about the money firmly in mind: If your only incentive for writing is financial, then it’s unlikely that you will get past your first book. The financial motive is not, as some would assert, somehow more base than other motives, but it is a poor fuel for the long run. One reason for this is that the monetary rewards of most books are modest. I wrote more than 80 books because books in my field die when the copyright date is three years old (even though there is a 1949 book on one topic could be updated over a weekend and still be current!). As a result, the book will earn money for about two years, and then die out. Sometimes they die out a lot quicker, and sometimes they continue on for decades. But in general, a technical book is dead in about two or three years (but that doesn’t mean you can’t recycle the material!).

It’s not that some "higher goal" is more noble than Johnson’s motive. The financial motive can only be sustaining when it is pretty certain to be great. A Stephen King, Tom Clancy, or the writers of popular romance fiction, can be assured of large financial rewards for their toil. Most academics cannot. So have a family of motives for writing your book or article, of which financial is but one member.

To Fill a Pressing Need

One reason for writing is to fill some pressing need. That need might be a fire in your own gut to put your thoughts into print. There is a genuine need in the marketplace that is not being filled. There may also be serious problems with current textbooks in your field. The book that you plan to write ought to address some need that is either not filled, or filled poorly, by other books. A reader should get something from your book: knowledge, new skills, the ability to solve some problem, be better than they were before, or be profoundly entertained. Fill any of those needs, and you will connect with your reader.

An academic writer has a wider range of possible products than other writers. While most writers can produce popular books and articles, the academic writer can also produce professional journal articles, professional books and textbooks for classroom use. Each of these categories have unique attributes and should not be confused with each other. Indeed, one of the failings of academic writers in dealing with the popular market is forgetting the nature of the audience.

While there are more opportunities for the academic writer, there are also some taboos that must be observed. Physicist William Schockly was a co-winner of the Nobel Prize for the invention of the transistor. His professional work made an immense difference to the entire world (I wouldn’t be working on a word processor if vacuum tubes were needed!). He was truly revolutionary. Yet Schockly transgressed a taboo by promoting racist ideas of no observable scientific merit. His later writings earned him well-deserved contempt. Similarly, a historian can write a popular history, and do a superior job compared to those popular writers who lack the historians credentials. But the popular writer can delve into speculative history, alternate history and other nonsense. The historian who does so brings contempt and dishonor to the profession. A scientist can write popular science books, but dares not write in support of pseudo-scientific fads, the occult or VFO encounters. Within the constraints of professional integrity, however, the academic has a large area to roam around and can easily find a niche.

Professional Articles and Papers

Articles in professional journals are used to report research results to the rest of the scholar’s community. These articles are peer reviewed, so are usually well vetted by the time they get into print. Each scholarly community has its own standards regarding what must be in the article in order to let it stand or fall on its own merit (or lack of same). Those standards must be followed, unless there is a good reason for not doing so. Otherwise, the article may not be accepted for publication.

The professional publication must be long on footnotes or endnotes. These additions to the text are the bona fides that tells your peers that you did your homework. A paper without these notes is always suspicious, and should come under the most intense scrutiny possible.

There is often a considerable exchange amongst the author, the editor and peer reviewers (most of whom are not known to the author). The reviewers will make comments and ask questions, all of which may lead to revisions of the work. If the process works well, then the reviewer’s comments are worth considering, and incorporating them can lead to improvement of the work. Sometimes, however, the reviewer is just plain wrong. One of my papers was sent to a reviewer who was described as "eminent." His eminence made some comments that suggested a termination of his learning process not later than twenty years previously. It became necessary to refute a very well respected reviewer.

Sometimes, the reviewer will be either an proponent or originator of a currently held view that is challenged by your research. When your paper challenges the status quo, then it is incumbent on you to go the extra mile in preparing your paper. A good rule to remember is "extraordinary claims require extraordinary proofs." If the reviewer rejects the paper out of hand, and you suspect that it is because it snips at the edges of their reputation, then either ask for another hearing before another reviewer or go to another journal.

Occasionally, a rejection is due to the reviewer not understanding the work. I recall a scientist, who held doctoral degrees in both mathematics and psychology, having a terrible time getting her paper published because the reviewers in the psychology journal did not understand mathematics that math, science and engineering students learn in the sophomore year. In those cases, it might be necessary to seek another venue for publication. Alternatively, you can do what you can, where you can, and wait for the dinosaurs to die.

Textbooks

Textbooks are the life blood of the academic writer. While you may have to pay to have a paper published in a journal, the money flows the other way in a textbook project. If you write a textbook, and revise on a two to three year cycle, then it can keep you in royalties for a long, long time. In many fields, current senior faculty still teach from the same books, in later editions, that they used as undergraduates.

The textbook is a special kind of beast. It must be long enough to teach at least a one semester course, and in some subjects it should be long enough for two semesters. It will contain sufficient pedagogical devices ¾ quizzes, exercises, end of chapter questions, illustrations, summaries ¾ to help the student through the material. In the case of science, engineering and math textbooks, it may be appropriate to derive equations that can be taken as "given" for higher levels of reader. The references used should enhance the students’ exploration of the topic, and are not necessarily the same sort one would use for a professional paper.

The textbook must be focused on a single topic. Target a single course that is common throughout a large number of schools. Your own school, or your own favorite course, might be on the far fringes of the curve, so may not be the best model. It usually pays to survey other professors teaching the same course to uncover the strengths and weaknesses of currently available books. You will then be in a position to write a competing text that addresses both the concerns and preferences of your colleagues.

Part of your responsibilities in writing a textbook is to prepare the instructor’s manual, plus any other material that the instructor receives when the book is adopted. It’s a good idea to prepare the relevant sections of the instructor’s guide as you write each chapter. Also the captions for the illustrations. One of the reason why captions sometime seem to be at odds with the text material is that the author wrote them much later. In the process, memory faded and the exact nature of the illustration faded with it.

If you want to give your book an advantage in the marketplace, then you will have to provide something that the competition does not. In the case of textbooks, it might well be a collection of viewgraph slides, or a multimedia computer-based training software program. If you cannot make these items, then team up with someone who can. The textbook market is a crowded field, so anything that sweetens the pot for the adopter is money in the bank for you.

Be prepared to revise your textbook every two to three years (a little longer in some subjects). Your publisher will probably demand it. The reason for the frequent revision cycle is maintaining market. After two or three years, a sufficient stock of used textbooks is on the market to seriously cut into the sales of new books. The same number of students are using your book, but fewer are buying it. As much as 75 percent reduction in sales can occur in the third year of a new edition. Quite often, the only significant change in a new edition is the questions at the back of each chapter (dirty pool!). The next edition should at least reflect relevant advances in the field.

The time to start working on the next edition is the day you turn in the manuscript for the present edition. Keep an open file for materials that you want to see in your next revision. Keep letters from colleagues, and notes of conversations about your book. That way you can fill holes, correct errors and generally make the product better. Most textbook publishers do market surveys either mid-way through a three-year cycle, or just before asking the author to make a new edition. Ask to see the results. Although some publishers regard them as too proprietary to pass along to the author, the majority would be delighted if you want to structure the revision to meet the survey responses. In some cases, they may insist on it.

Professional Books

The professional book is written to the practicing professional. It may be a reference book, or it may be a book on a particular specialty topic that would interest a number of practitioners or scholars in your field. These books are different from textbooks in several ways. First, they do not have any of the pedagogical devices that textbooks require. Indeed, a book written to your peers is often viewed as an insult if it contains end of chapter questions or exercises and quizzes throughout the text. Also, facts that are commonly understood to be true need not be proved , and equations that are well known need not be fully derived, unless you are disputing them or attempting to build on them in such a way that their origin is a necessary part of the discussion.

One of the most common reasons for the failure of a professional book is lack of audience focus. If a book is touted as being all things to all people in the field, then it is nothing to any of them. And it will not do well in the marketplace. You must decide before you begin the project exactly who are the book’s intended readers. If you target the right audience, and stick to that plan as you complete the project, then you have a much higher probability of success.

A frequent failing of academic authors (of both textbooks and professional books) is a sad form of arrogance brought on by having high degrees and a measure of eminence. This failing can cost you a book project, and may earn the enmity of the publisher. Some authors are known to be difficult to work with, and they soon find themselves persona non grata at an ever widening circle of publishers. I recall one foreign author seeking a US publisher, on a book for which I was the peer review referee, refused to answer a reviewer’s question with the startling statement "How dare he question me, doesn’t he know that I am Herr professor doctor colonel count von someone-or-another?" Three sentences answering the question would have saved the book project.

Do not assume that your professional status makes you superior to the acquisition editor of the publishing company. They may lack your degrees and other professional credentials, but they are professionals in their own right. Their expertise in the business of publishing is far superior to yours, and their advice is usually well worth accepting. If not, then explain to them why not, and in the dialogue both of you may learn a few things.

Popular Books

Academics often look down their noses at popular books. That sense of snobbery can cost them a great deal in the publishing world. If you field is one that has a popular following, then consider doing a book in that genre. There are a lot more readers of popular books than for professional books, and that translates into a higher monetary potential. If your specialty is one that finds a popular market, then you might want to consider that area. After all, while "those who didn’t" criticized Carl Sagan for his excursion into the world of the profane, none can dispute the success of Cosmos. Or how about Stephen Hawking’s book on time? As an expert, you can bring something to the popular market that a flack writer cannot: profound expertise.

There are some differences between professional books (or textbooks) and popular books. The most obvious is the language used. It’s not so much "dumbing down" the material, as meeting your market. Popular readers may not have your profession’s arcane jargon at their fingertips (or is that "tongue tips?"), so you have to explain technical terms. It is also necessary to explain things is non-technical language. And that may be your greatest challenge. However, consider this: if you cannot explain something in your field to an intelligent layperson, then it’s a good bet that you do not understand it yourself.

There are some popular articles and books that are higher on the scale of things than ordinary work. If you want a good example of high level popular article writing in science, then look at Scientific American. Those articles are not a model for science writers only, but rather for any academic writer approaching the popular market. Articles in that magazine are intended for intelligent lay readers, as well as professionals in science who have expertise in fields other than the topic of the article. Lower order magazines are not to be disdained, but the Scientific American model is a good one to follow.

Part of the popular market is material written for youngsters. History, science and a host of other material is suitable for this market. However, there are requirements that must be met. The first and most obvious is the level of language used. The vocabulary that you select should be age and grade appropriate, or the work will fall of its own weight. If you are unsure of the appropriate level, then examine books and articles intended for the target audience to find a suitable model.

Another problem with kids books and articles is the matter of sensitive issues (e.g. sex, religion, politics). Unless you are specifically writing material for a course of instruction in one of these sensitive areas, then keep it low key. You can snort all you want about your "academic freedom" or "freedom of speech," but that’s the stupid argument of the pedantic fool if it kills your market. The goal is to sell books, and if average parents are offended by the material and don’t want their children to see it, then it won’t be seen. At least not for long. Freedom of speech applies to government harassment. You might find less freedom in a marketplace where buyers are free to patronize anyone they please.

Even if you see your writing as some sort of higher calling that is above the profane considerations of money, the fact is that you need to consider the financial aspects of writing. If you do a lot of writing, then you need to consider your writing activity as a small business, and act accordingly.

Articles

Magazine publishers vary in how they pay, and how much. If you publish exclusively in professional journals, then its a good bet that the money will flow in the wrong direction: you might have to pay a page rate to get the article in print, and you will have to pay for reprints. In commercial publishing, however, the money (if it flows at all) flows from the publisher to you.

Some very small magazines, especially those in the literary area, don't pay at all. If you are willing to work under those terms, then you can get published. There's nothing wrong with that type of arrangement, so long as everybody is happy with it.

A variant on the "no pay" theme is the magazine that pays in "free" copies. In some cases, it is very few free copies, after which you are expected to pay for additional copies. Again, this type of arrangement is not the best approach, but it is acceptable if you are happy with it.

Commercial magazines pay for their editorial materials. The rate might be a fixed fee, a rate per word or a page rate. The fixed fee approach might be very little money (e.g. $20), or it might be a huge amount (e.g. $4,000) for a piece negotiated on assignment.

The "rate per word" method of payment is quite popular in certain markets. Fiction, for example, often pays on a per word basis. The temptation to increase the word count to increase the pay is considerable, but one must overcome it. The writing, after all, is what is important.

The page rate is basically pay based on the number of square inches covered by the article in the final printed form. It is the published page, not manuscript page, that is counted when calculating payment. In some cases, the pay rate is based on the number of column inches the article occupies. In other cases, the calculation is made on some unit such as half, quarter, eighth or sixteenth pages.

Whether the article is paid on the "per word" or "page rate" basis, the actual amount may or may not be at the advertised rate. The magazine might publish a number in either their own author's guide, in the writing magazines (e.g. Writer's Digest) or in publications such as Writer's Market. The editor might decide to reduce the amount paid, however, if the article is a difficult edit, or if your manuscript preparation was poor. Read the author's guidelines and follow them. If you give editors what they want, then they are far more likely to give you what you want in return.

For most popular magazines, especially those that cater to highly specialized interests, the pay rate is typically $50 to $100 per published page, with about $150 to $400 per article being common.

The price paid may also depend on the illustrations provided, and their nature. Photographs are often paid for separately from the text. In page rate situations, however, the price per page is for square inches and that includes illustrations. If the illustrations are difficult to reproduce, then expect a decline in the amount paid for the piece.

The amount that you are paid may also depend on the rights that the magazine purchases. "All rights" is self-explanatory: they own the piece lock, stock and barrel. Even though you wrote the piece, you have no further rights to it. You may not use it again without the magazine's permission.

Some magazines buy first serial rights. This type of purchase gives them the right to be the first to publish the piece in a magazine or periodical. In most cases, this right also means that you cannot publish it in some other venue before it appears in the magazine, unless the editor agrees to that arrangement. After the magazine publishes the piece, ownership automatically returns to you. After first publication, you can use it in a book, publish it in some other form, or sell it to another magazine as a reprint rights sale (make sure the next editor understands that it is reprint rights that are being offered).

Books

Book publishers will pay either a fixed "buyout" fee (rare) or a percentage royalty based on sales. The buyout fee approach is appealing on first glance, but rarely works to the author's benefit. The buyout fee is rarely more than any advance they would offer, so if the books sells a lot of copies you lose money.

There are a number of royalty schemes in publishing. The most common is the percentage of all money received, although some pay a percentage of retail price (rare).

Depending on the type of book, the market, and the method of calculation (retail or all money received), the royalty will be between 4 percent and 20 percent. The majority of textbooks and professional books earn royalties in the 10 to 15 percent range, while pocket paperbacks and trade paperbacks usually earn in the 4 to 10 percent range. Only a very few pay as high as 20 percent. These numbers may or may not be offered to you, but they are representative of the market. The example below shows a sample calculation.

Example

A royalty arrangement pays 10 percent of all money received. The publisher's ordinary trade discount is 40 percent, so the retailer pays 60 percent of the retail price for the book. What is the unit royalty if the retail price of the book is $49.95?

Note that the amount is carried out to the third decimal place. Some publishers round the amount to the nearest cent (in their own favor, of course). Others retain the three-digit decimal until the final amount is calculated, and then round off. When thousands of copies are sold, then the early round off method can cost you money.

If you were paid 10 percent on the retail price, then the payment would have been $4.995 for book. Or would it? The most typical arrangement is to pay a lower percentage on the retail price than on the wholesale price. In that case, it may well be exactly the same amount of money regardless of which method is used. In the example above, 6 percent on the retail price is the same $2.997 as 10 percent on the whole price, assuming a 40 percent discount.

It is a good idea to understand exactly what "net" means in your contract. The usual interpretation is that the net price is the amount of money received by the publisher from a retailer or wholesaler. There is sometimes some fine print that taketh away what you thought the large print granted, so if you don’t understand exactly what is meant, then ask. In fact, ask for it to be spelled out in the contract (a verbal contract is worth only the paper it’s written on!).

The discount price paid by the bookseller varies with market and circumstance. College bookstores might receive only 20 to 30 percent discount. Retail bookstores typically get 40 to 50 percent discount, and on large sales or special promotions as much as 60 percent. Large distributors are able to wring out discounts of 65 to 80 percent, depending on their clout. Most publishers have multiple discount schedules, depending on the market and the situation.

One common ploy is to base the percentage royalty that you receive on the discount given to the retailer. One of my contracts calls for a 15 percent royalty at discounts up to 50 percent, and then only 5 percent at discounts greater than 50 percent. The publisher's normal discount schedule is 50 percent for retail booksellers. That was a stupid mistake on my part. Consider what actually happened during one bookseller's show. The publisher offered an addition one-percent discount to the booksellers who ordered during the show. One percent may not seem like much, but in the retail business profit margins are based on such seemingly small amounts. Here are the numbers:

1. Normal sale (50 percent discount, 15 percent royalty):

2. Show sale (51 percent discount, 5 percent royalty):

Amount = $49.95 x 0.49 x 0.05 = $24.476 x 0.05 = $1.224 per copy

The retailer got an additional $0.499 per copy discount (which becomes a lot of money when a lot of copies are bought), but I lost $2.522 per copy. In other words, I paid for the discount several times over! I've seen retailers get deeper discounts, and the author had to pay for it. Be wary of such variable royalty rates! As you gain market eminence, then you can negotiate these arrangements out of existence, but until you have a "name," you will probably have to bear the cost. It can’t hurt to ask for different terms, however.

Another common method is to pay a sliding scale based on the number of copies sold. One very common amount is to pay 10 percent on the first increment, 12.5 percent on the second increment, and 15 percent on all additional copies. One of my contracts called for increments of 2,500 copies. The royalty rates were:

My book is well past 20,000 copies, so I now earn 15 percent of all money received.

An important thing to negotiate regarding the sliding royalty is that it be cumulative, and not non-cumulative. The non-cumulative method starts over at zero at the first of each sales year (usually January 1). If you have a breakpoint of 2,500 copies to jump to the next higher royalty percentage level, and sell a consistent 2,499 or fewer copies each year for many years, then you will never reach the next step on the payment scale. In the cumulative method, the percentages paid are governed by the sales figures for the entire life-cycle of the book. Thus, if you sell 2,499 copies a year, then you will skip to the next level a few weeks into the first royalty period of the second year.

Another thing that will affect your royalties is the total number of books sold. That may seem an overstatement of the trivially obvious, but there is one major consideration: how many books can you sell? One of my books sold 1,500 copies. If that was all you knew about it, then you might think that the book didn't even earn back its $6,000 advance. But consider the rest of the story: the book retailed for $120, and the normal discount was 30 percent (i.e. the retailer paid 70 percent of the book price), while libraries paid 100 percent of retail. My royalty was 15 percent for sales to retailers and 10 percent of library sales. The 1,500 copies broke down as 850 to libraries (corporate, school and public), and 650 to retailers. The total amount earned was:

1. Library sales:

2. Retailer sales:

The acquisitions editor who signed the contract for this project came close to being fired because of the $6,000 advance. Her managers didn't think the book would ever earn back such a high advance (which was generous for a professional technical book). I delight in sending her copies of my royalty statements every year (she now owns her own publishing company).

Subsidiary Rights

There are other rights besides the per copy royalties. These "subsidiary rights" include movie rights, CD-ROM or video rights, foreign translation rights, rights to use excerpted text or illustrations, and other rights. It is common practice to split the money received by the publisher 50-50 between the publisher and the author. If someone pays $40 to use a picture from your book, then you get $20. Of course, if someone pays $400,000 for movie rights to your best-selling novel, then you get $200,000.

Advances Against Royalties

Most publishers pay the author an advance against royalties. This money is to help you finance the develop costs of the book. The amount of the advance will vary from very small ($500) to tremendous (millions for a Steven King or Tom Clancy). A typical advance for most books is $2,000 to $8,000. One-half of the advance is paid when the contract is signed, and the rest when the manuscript is either completed or accepted (depending on the contract terms).

If you do not complete the work on time (or at all), then the publisher will demand that you repay the advance, sometimes with interest.

The publisher recovers the advance by paying it down with the earnings of the book. For example, if you received a $4,000 advance, and the book earns $5,000 in royalties, then you receive a check for the difference, $1,000.

In most cases, you do not have to repay the unearned advance if the book does not do well. Although I’ve heard of some contracts that call for repayment, that is not customary. After all, it can be argued that one reason why the book does not do well is lack of effort by the publisher. At least one author won a lawsuit against a major publisher for non-promotion of the work.

How much advance can you demand? Actually, for a first book, probably nothing. You will have to accept the publisher’s offer (although it doesn’t hurt to propose a higher number). Sometimes there are some real surprises. Two of my writer friends were discussing a book project that had been solicited by a major publisher. The writer who received the offer asked the other "how much should I demand for an advance." The wiseguy reply was "Get at least $50,000." The author to our friend seriously, and asked for $50,000¾ and got it.

Pay Day

Most publishers pay royalties on a semiannual basis, i.e. every six months. Some textbook and professional book publishers pay on an annual basis, and a very few pay quarterly. I know of only one that paid monthly, and they are now out of business. You will usually receive a statement and (if the net total is in your favor) a check about 60 to 90 days after the end of the accounting period.

Most of my books pay on October 1st for books sold from January 1st to June 30th, and April 1st for books sold from July 1st to December 31st.

Note that these dates are exactly 90 days from the end of the reporting period. One editor told me that the reason for this delay, even though they calculate the amounts much earlier, is that the interest paid on the commercial escrow account where the royalty money is kept throughout the year is paid on the last day of the quarter. If a withdrawal is made prior to the last day of the quarter, then the publisher loses interest for the entire quarter. They mail the statements so that the check can’t possibly be deposited until the first of the month, and then transfer funds on the date that you are expected to receive the check.

A ploy pulled by one small publisher is a real gem. They send out an annual royalty statement with no check. Instead, they enclose an offer to let you buy a large number of copies of the book for a tremendous discount. Unless you have a pressing need for a garage full of your books, and can get rid of them easily, this is a not very good deal.

Holdback

The publisher will want to "holdback" a small percentage of your royalties. This money is to cover credits issued to retailers and wholesalers who return copies of your book. The industry standard is 2 to 5 percent, although one magazine article reported a whopping 70 percent in at least one case (that guy got shafted!).

You will want to limit both the percentage and the duration of the holdback. The percentage should be as small as possible, and only rarely more than 5 percent. The contract should call for the holdback to be used to credit returns only if the book is returned within one year. If the retailer holds the book two or three years and then returns it, then ask the publisher to bear the burden.

Also, make sure that the holdback amount is paid to you when the book goes out of print. It’s not fair to you to hold the money any longer than one year after the book is officially out of print. That gives the commercial buyers ample time to return unsold books. More will be said about this topic in Section 11 ("Things To Negotiate...").

Taxes

You have to report any money you make on your books and articles to the Internal Revenue Service. And if you don't, the publisher will. In January or February you will receive a 1099 form from the publisher stating the amount of money you earned and the fact that it was reported to the IRS. If you report less than this amount to the IRS, then they will get you.

On the other hand, you are also entitled to deduct any amount that you spent to produce and promote the work. Keep detailed records (including receipts) of your expenses as they are incurred, including automobile mileage (trips to the library, research trips, trips to the office supplies store, etc.). Do not try to reconstruct the amounts later on. If your expenses are trivial, then it's probably best to simply report your income as a royalty and not bother with the expenses. But if the expenses are more than a few dollars, then report them on Schedule C (the business expenses form).

One thing that sometimes "bites" authors is the fact that they fail to put aside enough money for taxes. The tax laws require you to file a quarterly estimated tax return (call 1-800-TAX-FORM for copies of the reporting form). Estimate what your taxes will be on the amount earned, and pay it. I set the guestimated amount aside in a special savings account as it comes in, and then transfer it to my checking account to pay the IRS every three months. There are costly penalties for underreporting quarterly income, so make it a good estimate. If you turn up short on April 15th, then you might have to pay penalties and interest.

There are a number of things that you must do prior to starting to write. Some of them you learned in English 101. In this Section we will look at some of the other matters pertaining to writing.

Form the Book’s Central Idea

A book that is all things to all people, is nothing to anybody. That truth cannot be repeated too often. The book must have a central theme, a core idea, that forms the organizing principle around which it is written. Most editors give, or at least agree with, the following good advice:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

When you have thought about the final product enough to craft such a sentence, then set it down on paper and use it as your vision as the project proceeds. Live by it.

Also use it in the proposal so the editor knows what you are proposing. Although it is possible to write a book without first consulting the editors of the company that will publish it, that's not generally too smart. A far more efficient approach is to submit a proposal to the editors and win a contract (see Section 11 for things to negotiate in your book contract). The reasons are that the editors might have some other book in mind than the one you are thinking about writing, and there might be some market survey or other data available to help focus the book.

Survey The Market

You should perform a market survey of the topic that you want to write about. This survey need not be a formal affair, but it should be sufficient to impress the editor that you have done your homework. One place to start is Books In Print. Nearly all libraries and book stores have copies of the latest Books In Print, and will let you examine it. Look in the subject index volume and locate the books that you are trying to compete against. Take notes, for the editor is going to want to know who (if anyone) your book will compete against.

You can also order catalogs of the publishers known to be active in the subject area that you want to cover. The descriptions of the different books is a guide to the kind of things they buy.

Look for holes in the market, and in the lists of any one particular publisher. If there is a distinct hole in the market, and you believe that it ought to be filled, then try selling the idea to a publisher. Keep in mind, however, that they see things differently than authors, and may regard a hole in the market as reasonable. It may indeed be a hole in the coverage of your subject, but there is little interest among buyers. That's a "no sale" every time.

Most publishers have a constantly changing list of titles in their catalog. New books are introduced and others are taken off the market. In any given catalog, therefore, there might be holes that you can exploit. If the targeted topic is covered by an old title, or by a title that is not well regarded, then you might be able to get that slot in the publisher's next lineup. Keep in mind, however, that it's often easier and cheaper for the publisher to revise an older book than to take on a new author. Be able to explain why your book provides a market advantage over the older book.

Once you have done your market "literature search," then you might want to move to a more active phase in which you survey colleagues who either teach the topic that you are targeting (if it's a textbook), or know the professional literature on the market. One approach is to use the two or three top books in the field as a model, and ask colleagues what is right and what is wrong with those books. All books (including yours) have both strengths and weaknesses. If your new book emulates the strengths and overcomes the weaknesses of current offerings, then it's a lot more likely to succeed.

Sometimes, you will find sub-markets that can be addressed. I have written a number of books on electronic instrumentation, including both textbooks and professional books. In that market, the same basic body of knowledge has subdivisions such as medical and life science instruments, physical science instruments, engineering instruments, communications instruments, and industrial process control instruments. With five or six different subcategories, it is possible to write overlapping books that are based on the same body of knowledge and the same material (if you stick with the same publisher, or obtain advance permission, then you can use the same text and illustrations in different noncompeting books).

Once the market research is completed, you are ready to formulate the central theme of your work.

Query Letter

Once you can state the central theme of the book, and have your market research in hand, you are ready to approach publishers. The first step is to write a query letter to the editors. It is generally considered acceptable to send out multiple submissions of query letters, but not at later stages. There is a lot of work involved in working up a proposal to obtain a publishing decision, so editors become downright annoyed when they find out that it all went to naught because you sold the work to another company.

The query letter should be a single page if possible, and never more than two pages. The reason is simple: anyone who has the power to do you any good does not have the time to read overly detailed query letters. This fact is so important that you will never go astray by not wasting an editor's time!

Your query letter should state the subject of the book, the tentative title, the central theme sentence, approximate length, the course that it will service (if a textbook), and an approximate working schedule (about one year is reasonable except for the longest projects). Offer to submit a formal proposal if the editor is interested. Briefly state your credentials for writing the book.

Do not assume that a grand conspiracy exists if the publisher does not want your book. The standard rejection ("...does not meet our current editorial needs...") is not always a lie. Send a note thanking the editor for the time and consideration of responding to your letter, and offer to be available for a project in the future.

A positive response to a query letter is not a promise to publish. It is, however, a pretty good sign. Editors are not sadistic demons (on most days) who enjoy stoking your hopes only to knock them down. If they ask for a proposal, then they will consider it seriously when it is submitted.

An advantage of submitting an invited proposal is that it usually goes right to the top of the pile. All editors have a "slush pile" of unsolicited manuscripts and proposals. And guess what? They don't have a huge amount of time for dealing with the slush pile. Contrary to popular belief, editors don't sit around considering proposals and manuscripts all day. Most of them are overworked, and may have to take the slush pile home with them from time to time. I know one editor who works in Manhattan, but has a cabin in the Catskills. Once a month he spends a weekend at the mountain cabin sorting proposals and manuscripts into three piles: "accept, reject and think about some more." The "reject" pile is usually quite a bit larger than either other pile.

Uninvited submissions have one distinct disadvantage over invited submissions: time for consideration. One editor told me that she receives 1,800 uninvited submissions per year. Considering the blocks of time that she can set aside for the slush pile, that works out to about 15 seconds each! An implication of this cold hard fact is that you must catch her attention within the first 15 seconds, or you are history (rather than writing history).

The proposal should not be an extensive affair, but should tell the story. It should include:

The entire proposal should be only a few pages long. One editor told me that any more than about ten pages (excluding sample chapters) doesn't get read very closely. Keep in mind the principle set forth above: Anyone who has the power to do you some good doesn't have the time to read a lot of extraneous material.

No matter how many pages are in the proposal, or the exact length, the proposal should answer one question succinctly and in detail: "So what?" Why would the publisher be better off publishing your book than someone else’s book? Editors have a finite budget for developing books every year, so it's basically a zero-sum game; if your book is published, then some other book cannot be published. Make it easy for the editor to come to the conclusion that your book is the one that she ought to gamble on.
 
 

The golden rule to getting published is "avoid the slush pile." Every publisher receives numerous manuscripts and proposals every year (one reported 1,800 just to a single editor). The consequence of so much potential material is that no one of them has an inside track to ensure consideration. You must somehow stand out from the pack.

Everything you do to market your proposal must be based on one: no one who has the power to do you any good has the time for a lot of trivia. Make sure that everything that you do is aimed at winning the contract with minimal investment in the editor’s time and effort.

There are a number of ways to get an editor’s attention (Fig. 5-1), most of which have been tried with varying degrees of success...usually on the low end of the "Succesometer." One hopeful author even sent an editor a custom-made tee-shirt with what appeared to be a shortform proposal on it: "Buy my book." Other hopefuls have sent flowers, made phone calls (a real no-no unless invited to do so), or sent telegrams. Supposedly, the telegram carries an immediacy that letters don’t, so the editor is expected to respond right away. Things don’t work that way.

Another way to get the editor’s attention is to complete a proposal, or even an entire manuscript, and send it in. One fellow even sent his Great American Novel to a publisher C.O.D. for $10,000, who promptly marked it "delivery refused" and handed it back to the postman.

Sending an uninvited proposal or manuscript is called an "over the transom" submission, invoking nostalgic scenes of pre-air conditioning offices that had ventilation transoms in the office doors. The image evoked is a poor, stressed-out hopeful climbing up the door jam and passing the manuscript through to the other side, hoping it will be picked up and read by the editor. Again, things don’t work that way. An unsolicited over-the-transom manuscript will go on the "slush pile" with the other unsolicited manuscripts. It will be considered, often many months later, when the editor has the time to work the slush pile. Even when your submission is considered, the amount of time spent is minimal. Expect no more than 15 to 30 seconds of the editor’s time, and structure your material to grab interest right up front. It takes a long time to bubble to the top of the slush pile (I’ve seen up to a year!), and then you have about as much "face time" as it takes to clear your throat. Lots of luck.

The best way to get the attention of the editor is to first send a query letter outlining the project that you will propose. Follow the directions given in Section 9

for the content of the query letter. Remember, a query letter is not your book, so keep it to one or two pages. Once again the primary rule applies: no one with the power to accept your proposal has time to read a long query letter. Offer to submit a proposal. If the editor is interested, then the offer will be accepted. If not, then neither of you has wasted any significant time.

Other Ways To Get Attention

The query letter is the best way to approach a publisher about a specific project, but there are ways to enhance the probability of being accepted. Book editors specialize in particular markets, and usually keep track of the journals and magazines that cover their specialty. If you write for those periodicals, then it’s a fair bet that the editors of book companies will at least recognize your name when your letter arrives on their desk. The editors often prowl professional conferences in their specialty area. If you present a paper, or a poster session, or come to public view in some other method (assuming it is honorable), then your name will be recognized when your letter arrives.

Conferences offer other advantages, even if you don’t present a paper. Some publishers operate an exhibit booth in the displays area. Although the purpose of the booth is to sell books, the acquisition editors usually hang out there, or at least use it as a base of operations. It’s often possible to make an appointment to see an editor through the booth personnel. Again, the "time" rule applies. Ask for a 5 to 15 minute meeting, or possibly a breakfast, lunch or dinner together. The editors are in a heightened state of receptiveness at conferences. They are, after all, attending not just to keep up with the state of the art in their specialty, but also to make contacts ("network" in the modern jargon).

If you get the editor’s attention at a conference, don’t abuse the privilege. Quickly explain what you are going to propose. If you have a proposal with you, offer it to the editor, but be prepared for a polite refusal. Offer to send it to the editor by mail.

Business cards are a really good idea! If you don’t have business cards, then have some made. They are a cheap investment, and have a high potential for getting you a slot in the editor’s RoledexÒ. The business card should contain all necessary details for contacting you: name, institution, mailing address, telephone numbers (voice and FAX), and Internet E-mail address. Make yourself easily available.

If you are off during the summer, as many academics are, then provide the alternate address or phone number where you can be reached. Alternatively, have voice mail on your telephone and check it daily. Believe it or not, some editors have reported receiving very good proposals that they were unable to accept because they could not contact the author. One editor showed me a well-done proposal that was complete in every respect except one: the author’s address and telephone number were missing. Short of researching the scholarly directories, blindly calling all schools in the area where the letter was postmarked, or investing in one of those computer CD-ROM national telephone directories, the editor didn’t have a chance of finding the author.

A conference meeting with an editor is not the time to make an extensive pitch for your project. The editor prowling a conference has limited time for you, so don’t hog it unless invited to do so. It’s rare, but an editor who really wants you on the team may spend more time than is otherwise likely. Nagging the editor will only earn you contempt. Be sparing of the editor’s time, but try to extract a "yes" or "no" for a formal query letter or proposal to be sent by mail. This approach is the professional way to do things, and will be appreciated by the editor who is seeking professionals for projects.

Periodicals

Thus far, the emphasis has been on books. The same techniques work with magazine editors as well. The typical magazine editor works in overdrive all the time because of the pressure of the monthly deadline. They are even less able to afford the time to kibbitz about a project. Send them a query letter of one page, and only one page.

Some magazine editors appreciate a self-addressed stamped envelope. Although the cost of replying to query letters can be significant in the whole, a single letter is not going to break the bank. However, the SASE allows the editor to skip one step in the response process. Don’t be offended if the response is a handwritten note in the margin of your original letter.

E-mail is a good way to communicate with magazine editors (and more of them have E-mail today than even a couple years ago). The editor’s E-mail address is usually printed on the masthead, or in the box of tiny, eye-straining type on the table of contents page that gives information about manuscript submissions. The E-mail approach allows the editor to click on the "Reply" icon, and type in "Yes, send in the article" or "No thank you, try again sometime."

A positive reply to either E-mail or query letter is not an offer to buy your article, but does tend to bring you to the top of the slush pile. Most editors will buy articles submitted subsequent to a query, provided that that article is in accordance with what the editor thought was coming. Very few editors will ask you to send in a manuscript if they aren’t at least interested in taking a look at it.

"What does the editor want?" Answer that question and you will get rich. The truth is, it’s often like art or pornography: they can’t define it, but they know it when they see it. This is especially true for fiction book and magazine publishers, but is also seen amongst textbook, professional book, and general non-fiction publishers as well.

One way to figure out the editors’ wants and needs is to survey their previous offerings. In the case of a book publisher, survey the catalogs for the past several years (the current catalog is usually available on request). Many topics lend themselves to lines or series. For example, a mathematics textbook line may include titles on algebra, trigonometry, geometry, calculus and several other topics. What you are looking for is holes in the line and obsolete titles. Also survey their competitions’ catalogs in order to find holes in the target publisher’s list.

There is a lot of copycat publishing in the industry, and you can take advantage of that habit if that market isn’t saturated with that particular topic.

Another good source of information is Publisher’s Weekly. Subscriptions are a bit pricey, but many libraries carry it. PW is the place where new titles are first announced to the trade, and usually well ahead of the announcement to the general public. You might spot a new offering that would compete with your book, and that fact makes that particular publisher less likely to view your proposal in a favorable light. Indeed, if they are dishonorable (only a few are), then they might hold your proposal long enough to get their own work on the market, and then reject your offer. You might also spot the next trend setter, or a topic that warrants a follow-on book or a rebuttal title (the book industry often seems like country music -- they plan the rebuttal at the same time they are working on the initial controversial title; the song "Honky Tonk Angels" was out only weeks before Kitty Wells’ rebuttal was released.).

Don’t bother with nonfiction markets that are saturated. If a market has more than three or four books on the same new topic, then it’s probably either saturated or will be saturated before you can get a book into print. The place to look for the next trend in publishing is magazines. Look in those periodicals that cater to readers who might be interested in your material. If an interesting article or two pops up, and is different from what went before, then it might herald the next exciting trend.

Scoping Out Magazine Markets

Deciding what a magazine editor wants is no less a black art than scoping out book publishers, but at least the material is more consistent. The magazine generally has both a very focused theme and a point of view, so in some ways the task is easier than for book publishers.

You should examine the target magazine for at least three years previous issues, and preferably five years, unless there has been a major change in the editorial staff. Editors are generally permitted some leeway in how the magazine is focused, so a new editor may signal a complete change in interests. It is rare for a magazine to buy a second article on the same topic within two to five years of publishing an article on that same topic. Exceptions do exist, but you either have to add something to the original article, take a completely different and fresh approach, rebut something in the other article, or the article has to be so good that the new article is too good to turn down (a tough act to pull off!).

The Want List

Most publishers issue a "want list" of topics they are interested in considering. Copies are usually available on request. Once you are known to the editor, they may automatically send you an annual want list by mail. The want list may contain a topic that is a good match to your project. Alternatively, it may be within your expertise, even though you were not actively considering it.

Querying from the want list is more certain to result in a positive response than something not on the want list. Keep in mind, however, that want lists are sometimes rather sloppily put together in response to direction from higher management. As such, it only vaguely resembles what the editor actually wants to see. However, it is at least an indicator of their thinking at some point in time.

Another use for the want list is to detect trends in the editors’ thinking. Even if you are not interested in the narrowly defined topics on the want list, you may be able to offer something that is in the same general arena. A query letter may pay off in that case.

The want list is often a guide to holes in the publisher’s list. Knowing where the holes are can help you focus on a likely topic. Also, if a presently available book is on a topic that shows up on a want list, especially if the book is several years old, then it may indicate that the older book is about to go out of print. By examining the older book, you might be able to figure out why it is being dropped. By correcting any deficiencies noted, your book might become the successor.

Even if your idea does not meet any of the want list topics, and does not seem to fill some hole in the list, send a query letter anyway. It may happen that your topic will just "click" with the editor, and get you a nod rather than a rolling of the eyes.

Part of your market survey is finding out about the competition. If the market for a particular topic is too crowded, then you may want to reconsider the direction of your project. However, don’t be afraid of competition, but rather strive to become the leader of the pack. Although editors sometimes exhibit risk aversive behavior, many of them are essentially crap shooters, and are willing to try knocking the top dog off the mountain if they find a viable and highly competitive product.

Small vs. Large Publishers

There are a lot of advantages and disadvantages to both small and large publishers. Part of the game of publishing is balancing these respective strengths and weaknesses, and doing trade-offs. The small publisher can make a quick decision, and get you published rapidly, but may lack the resources to properly market the work. In some subject areas, the small publisher may take the lead, however, especially if innovative publishing or new technology is involved.

The larger publishers have the resources to do things the smaller publisher can only dream about, but those organizations tend to be much more risk aversive. Idiotic senior managers, especially those who never heard of Dr. Edwards Deming or "Dilbert" cartoons, tend to create self-defeating reward and punishment systems that cause editors to do what is safe, and not what is best for the company. I know two editors who left a major textbook publisher to found their own company because of what one of them termed "corporate constipation" at the large company. Every publishing decision had to be vetted by a hierarchical array of committees. That process could take a year or more, and often cost the company good authors (including me). Short term thinking by management, a fear of making mistakes, and the refusal to let acquisition editors sign contracts often causes more problems than it solves. Most of the better quality acquisition editors would rather have the responsibility for their list, and the authority to sign contracts, and then rise and fall professionally on their own judgment. But that is not how it is done in the larger houses.

The resources of large publishers are a definite plus, if you can get some of them directed to supporting your book in the marketplace. The reality is that most new authors get only a tiny portion of what better known authors enjoy. A small publisher may have less overall resources, but the first timer gets more promotion. The small publisher has to make a profit on every title, so will vigorously promote your book.

One of the differences between small and large publishers is that small publishers are, being less risk aversive (i.e. they are basically crap shooters), are often willing to take on topics that others shun. There are several reasons for this behavior. First, of course, is that lacking experience and maturity they are likely to become enthusiastic about projects that sound good but have little market potential.

In some cases, the small publisher is in a niche market that the major publishers intentionally avoid. One of my publishers puts out books on ham radio, shortwave listening and related topics. The two major publishers in that arena had abandoned it because it could not produce the revenue that their overhead demanded in order to keep a title in the warehouse. But with lower overhead, and a keener insight into this specialty market, the small publisher was able to successfully work the niche.

Avoid the Thundering Herd

There is a bandwagon phenomenon seen in publishing. Once an unusual book hits the bestseller list, a dozen publishers will rush into the marketplace with a "me to" book on the same subject. That happened with Total Quality Management books in the late 1980s. The concept was originally very good, and was taught by some excellent people (Deming, for example). Early in the fad, there were about a half dozen really top notch books on the subject, and they covered it well. But then the me-tooers piled on. Often recycling their earlier material with a new cover. There were also the consultants who understood little about it, but perceived a growth market. Before long, bookstores had entire sections devoted to TQM, but it had changed so much that the original practitioners fled from the scene.

If there are already three or more books on the market for any "hot topic," then it’s a good bet that the market is either already saturated or soon will be. It takes several months to a year to write a book, and another several months to a year to get it out to the booksellers. You can bet your bippy that there are scores of authors pursuing the same vaporware dream as you! As a result, the market will flatten out, along with the chances for success of your book.

If you do write in a crowded field, then make sure that something about your book causes it to stand out from the thundering herd. When the elephants start stomping, your little hoof prints will be obliterated. Look at all the other titles on that same topic (remarkable sameness!), and find some hole that isn’t covered, an angle that’s not been taken before, or some other aspect that you can clearly identify as your own. And then do some market research to make certain that there is a market for it. After all, with so many people working the market at the same time, it’s quite possible that a hole exists solely because no one wants to buy it.

Spotting Trends

Because of the lag time required to bring a book to market, the bookstore is a pretty poor place to spot the next trend in publishing. Unless, of course, that bookstore has an excellent magazine section. By the time a bookseller gets into a new fad market, the bow wave has already passed and the ship is steaming away from you. The magazine market, on the other hand, has a much shorter lag time. An article can get into print in as little as two months, although three to six months is more reasonable. If you keep track of articles in your target field, then you will be able to spot trends. Look for articles on unusual topics. While one article may not signal a trend, a collection of articles may well do so. Besides, if you find a single interesting article on an unusual topic, then you might want to try sparking the next trend in book publishing.
 
 

The periodicals market represents an ongoing outlet for writers. The rewards can be quite significant, even though they come in small increments compared to the book market. This chapter deals with the commercial or popular periodicals market, rather than the professional journals. Although there is some common ground among these, the differences are more profound than the similarities.

The most important aspect of writing for the periodicals market is to know the publication. Every magazine has its own flavor, and that flavor is highly influenced by the editor. Different magazines in the same market may have totally different approaches, as well as different "look and feel." Study the publication for the past three to five years, or since the last major editorial staff change.

An article must be slanted towards the particular magazine being targeted. The same subject matter can often be slanted in different ways, so the slant for your piece must be aimed at the readership of the target publication. Look for the level of complexity, the level of language used, jargon or lack of it, and the number and type of illustrations. These are all very important to success.

Consider the level of language used. If you are writing for an academic audience, especially one steeped in the same specialty as yourself, then you can assume certain things about the vocabulary, style of writing and whether or not professional jargon is appropriate. Writing about the same topic in a popular magazine or a trade magazine requires a much more "plain English" approach. The inappropriate use of multitudinous polysyllabic words may make you look erudite, but it turns off the reader and the editor so makes you look silly.

Illustrations are an important part of many magazines. While there are some publications that do not use illustrations, especially in "think" pieces, the general practice is to break up acres and acres of plain black text with an illustration or two. Note the kind of illustrations used (e.g. line drawings, tables, charts, or photos), and if the media are mixed (e.g. line drawings plus photos). Also note how many illustrations are used, and how they relate to the text. The general rule is that the illustration should complement the text and make the points covered in the text clearer to the reader. An illustration should not stand alone, so be sure to call out any illustrations in the text.

Also examine the approach the magazine takes to similar topics. The approach will vary with the publication, and with the topic being covered. I’ve written a lot for electronics technology magazines. If an article is directed towards professionals, even if they are lower on the professional hierarchy than myself, it is acceptable to use equations in the article. But if the piece is directed towards casual hobbyists, then the rule of thumb is that every equation used cuts the audience in half, and calculus is out altogether. There are exceptions to every rule, but I have to note in each new publication the level of math used, or whether it is used at all. There is a noticeable difference between foreign publications than those in the USA In general, the use of math and other advanced devices is more acceptable in Europe and Japan than in the USA Again, the key is the back issues study that you should conduct on any newly targeted magazine.
 
 
 
 

Slant ¾ The Writer’s Private Gold Mine

Because articles must be slanted to the readers of each particular magazine, there are market opportunities that are often unrecognized by the new writer. Any given body of knowledge, whether you research it specifically for publication or not, can be slanted towards different magazines. It is accepted practice to sell the same material, but not the same exact text and illustrations, in non-competing markets, even simultaneously. The two most important factors are worth repeating:

1. The publications must be non-competing. They cannot both be after the same

In some cases, it is quite acceptable to use highly edited versions of the same text, and similar illustrations, provided that the editors consent. Photographs are a good way to use "similar but not the same" illustrations in two or more articles. When I am photographing a topic for publication I try to take six to ten views of the same thing, not accounting for exposure bracketing. This approach uses a lot of film, but film and processing are cheap compared to either losing the second article or needing to set up a second or third photo session. In most cases, just shooting from a different angle is sufficiently different.

Of course, if both editors are in agreement, then exactly the same material can be used in both venues, provided that they are non-competing. I know a business writer who does management and personnel related pieces for trade magazines. He lets the editors of all magazines he sells to know that other magazines in different markets may get the same piece. He makes it a condition of doing business. He is therefore able to set up his own "mini-syndicate" and sell the exact same piece to different magazines (sometimes in the same month). He might do a piece on scheduling service technicians who call on customers at their homes. The piece could be sold to a plumbers’ magazine, an electricians’, a television repair magazine, an appliance repair magazine and a cable television industry magazine. None of these venues overlap, so are considered "non-competing."

It surprises me how often newcomers to the writing business overlook the possibility of re-slanting material. A woman I know writes extensively in magazines for crafts and crochet enthusiasts. I met her at a Christian writers’ conference, and she shared with me the types of things that she was writing. Aggie lamented that the amount of work required to do one of those articles was hardly worth the low pay that such magazine offered. So I told her about slanting. Within minutes she figured out what that meant in her particular market. Any particular crochet project could be several articles, either in different magazines or the same magazine at different times: a piece on the technique used, a second piece as a "do-it-yourself" project, and a third piece for craft instructors on how to use the piece to teach the particular method being used. She might also be able to use the same pieces in one or more weekly columns she wrote for a local newspaper.

Most magazine editors are flexible on the issue of reusing your material, provided that you scrupulously observe the "non-competing" ethic. They realize that the amount they typically pay for an article is not sufficient to allow you to do quality work at a profit. But if the same basic work can legitimately be sold multiple times, then all parties win.

Don’t overlook the possibility of using edited, re-slanted versions of magazine article material as book chapters, or partial book chapters. On several occasions I have planned a book project well enough in advance to allow me to write a number of articles on the topic. The editors understood that the material would be reused (being open with them paves the way to good relations), so there was no problem. The trick is to use the material in a magazine a year or so in advance of finishing the book manuscript. With the six to twelve month lead time for publishing the book after the manuscript is accepted, the magazine has up to two years to publish the original article. In nearly all cases, the magazine will want to publish the material first, so be prepared to let them do it. There is nothing quite as dead to a magazine editor as an article in last months issue, so they tend to be flexible.

In thirty years of professional writing I have never had a magazine editor refuse a reasonable request to reuse my material. Indeed, a couple of them expressed shocked delight that I bothered to ask their permission. In several cases, my request to an editor was to reuse my text and the originals of my line drawing illustrations in a book. They offered to allow me to use their professionally rendered versions if a credit line is provided. Free advertising for them, less work for me, and lower costs for the book publisher. Again, it’s a win-win-win situation.

Another way to milk the articles market is to offer reprint rights. This option is only available if you own the rights. Some magazines only purchase "first serial rights," which permits them to be the first to publish the piece in magazine form (it also general practice to not sell book rights or other rights until after the first serial rights have been exercised). A month or two after the magazine appears, the rights revert to you automatically and you are free to offer exactly the same material to another magazine (even one in a competing market). In that case, however, you must specify that it is "reprint rights" that are being offered, and inform the second (or umpteenth) editor where the piece was published previously. It’s not only good manners, but keeps you from being branded a fraud by the reprinting editor.

Between pieces slanted for different magazines, book use of the material, and reprint rights, there is a considerable amount that can be done with any given bit of preparation or research. The smart professional writer tries to plan these uses in advance so they have some good idea of what potential sales are available.

Should You Copyright Your Manuscript?

One question that almost always comes up when teaching new writers is the matter of whether or not the author should copyright the manuscript before sending it out. Under the present US copyright law your piece belongs to you from the moment it is created, regardless of whether or not you mark it "copyright" or register it with the Library of Congress Copyright Office. Once you publish it, however, it must be placed under formal copyright protection.

New writers rarely believe experienced writers when we tell them that it is not necessary to copyright the manuscript. The usual form of the question is either a relative, a friend, or (take your pick) "someone at my [school, office, church, club...] told me I’d better copyright it before sending it to a magazine to prevent the editor from stealing it."

Consider this cold, hard fact of life: the amount that you would receive for the piece is not worth protecting. Even if you hold a formal copyright on the material, the amount of damages that can be collected from a thieving editor is not sufficient to pay the legal fees. Do you seriously think that a lawyer will even talk to you for $300 in actual damages?

And the same thing holds true for the editor. One editor told me that the amount he would normally pay me for a feature length article would only buy about an hour of time with his company’s law firm. If I decided to sue, even if the publisher won, the cost would be more than their entire annual budget for outside editorial material. In other words, stealing your material is a fool’s game.

The simple fact is that almost all editors are decent, honest people and won’t rip you off even if they could. They wouldn’t even think of stealing your material. And those occasional freaks who are thieves are held in check by the economics of the situation. Why spend a year’s editorial budget defending a $300 theft.

Over the past three decades I have sold more than 80 books and 600 articles. In all that time, only one bad incident happened to me. I sent a technical article to a popular magazine, only to see it rejected. A few months later a very similar piece was published under the byline of a junior editor on the magazine’s staff. The text was very close to mine, the outline was identical to mine and the illustrations were more than just reminiscent of mine. I sent my copy of the original (rejected) piece to the senior editor along with a letter complaining about the apparent plagiarism. The junior editor admitted ripping off my idea, and was promptly fired for his transgression. The senior editor then called me on the telephone and personally apologized. He made amends by sending me a "kill fee" check for the same amount that I would have received if the article had been published ...and he calculated it on the maximum page rate, not the minimum. The response of the boss editor was not to stonewall the author, it was not to cover up, but to admit that my complaint was justified and make amends both personally and financially. It’s little wonder that I still do business with that editor even after two decades.

Stake Out Your "Farm"

Most writing topics are part of some larger class. Although each article is specifically slanted and narrowly focused, there is a large set of similar material that can be written. One approach to prosecuting your writing business is to stake out topics that you know well, and for which you possess (or can develop) a high level of expertise. That area is your "farm" and you can harvest its crops for years.

Some writers stake out several farms. In my own case, I have four or five farms that are more or less in the forefront depending on the market (and, to some extent, my own preferences). My business writer friend has staked out the kind of business management issues that most interest small businesses. In his case, the "farm" gives him a base for consulting work and temporary employment opportunities.

Writing a book takes a lot of effort. It takes a lot of time, and you will put in a lot of hard work. There is a strong incentive to maximize the rewards for that effort. In many cases, that goal can be reached by adding subsidiary and tie-in products to your bag of tricks. These products are somehow either tied to the book, enhance the book (or are enhanced by the book), or are possible because of the fame and notoriety that the book provides.

The exact nature of these other products varies with subject matter and market. Some of them are covered in the subsidiary rights clauses of the publishing contract. In those cases, the publisher will have something to say about your activities in that arena. In fact, they may do the marketing for you (for better or worse). "Movie rights" and "foreign language translation rights" are examples of this class.

My writing is concentrated mostly in the area of electronics technology. Subsidiary products that either I or a publisher have offered include articles derived from books, and books derived from articles. Also included are audio and video tapes.

More recently, because I gained some proficiency in computer programming with Visual BASIC, I am able to offer multimedia software that supplements books or articles. In some cases, I sell the software diskettes directly to readers. The publisher puts my post office box address in the book or article, and the price of the product (or an offer to contact me for a price list). My particular field allows simple calculation software that greatly benefits the reader, yet is reasonably easy to produce. In most cases, even charging only $20 to $60 for the software, I make more from the software sales than the editor paid me for the article.

One of my new endeavors is writing multimedia computer based training software to go along with my books. Presently, the CD-ROM or diskette containing the software supplements the book. It is an "adder" or "sweetener" to separate you from the competition. Some people in the publishing industry see a day in the near future where the book will legitimize the CD-ROM so it can appeal to booksellers rather than software sellers, but is actually the secondary product. This format won’t work in all genres, but in my technical writing field it is rapidly coming true.

If you write in an area of hobbies or crafts, then you can often find subsidiary products that can be sold through the article or book. Patterns for needlecraft, plans for a woodworking project, or (in my case) kits of parts and printed circuit boards for building the project discussed in the article are all possibilities. For a technical writer doing electronic projects, the editor may insist on you either handling the parts kit or arranging for a third-party source to do it for you. The reason is that obtaining the parts in small quantities is often a problem for the individual hobbiests, and the editors want to solve that problem for their customers.

In Europe it is quite common for the magazine publisher to offer these subsidiary products and then pay the author either a use fee or royalty on each item sold. Several of my parts kits and software diskettes have been offered in this manner. Although the amount money received is quite a bit less, so is the hassle of filling orders.

I know some writers who operate at-home mail-order businesses selling products related to their field of writing. Most of them are small potatoes, but a few actually do quite well. One fellow operates a book service, and is quite successful because specialist books in his area of expertise are hard to find in the mainline bookstores.

Courses, Seminars and Lectures

Courses, seminars and lectures may prove to be your greatest tie-in product if you work it right. Expertise is sought by many people, and many businesses. Although anyone can hold themselves out as an expert, having a book in print on the topic you want to teach is a very special kind of bona fides that helps you market yourself. Good consultants and seminar teachers command $1,000 to $3,000 per day, so the payoff for success is obvious. I recall a speaker at a writers’ conference who made his living by providing motivational seminars to businesses and private individuals. He kept a job as a professor in a college in order to have academic credentials, which in his business are important. He wrote a book specifically for the purpose of using it as a handle for his seminars and courses. He once spoke to a crowd of 25,000 people in Atlanta (who each paid $20), during which he sold nearly 8,000 copies of his $4.95 book (which dates the episode, doesn’t it?).

If you write on a subject that can be made into a course of one to several days length, then you can often market it at various sites around the country. The book will be one of your key "draws" to attract buyers to the course. People will sign up for the course mainly because you, the famous author and world renown published expert on this topic, is the presenter. As a sweetener, each participant will receive a "free" copy of the book as part of the package deal...which you will dutifully autograph for as many participants as want it.

One writer of a major business book told a colleague that the whirlwind seminar and consulting business that came out of the popularity of his book would last about three years, maybe four at the outside. He intended to live fast and work hard for that three years, and then retire on his savings.

Writing a book is always a major project. In this Section we will examine some of the practical issues involved in the act of writing. Not the form or content of writing, but the actual doing of the writing.

Writing Place

Some people can write almost anywhere. For a couple years I wrote using a steno pad and pencil while riding the Washington Metro subway train to work. Another writer reports using the kitchen dinette table, and claims he wouldn’t know how to write unless his backside was against the hot stove (gives motivation to get on with it, I suppose). Most experienced writers are agreed, however, that having a clean, temperature regulated, well lighted place is the best venue for writing anything larger than a thank you note.

The late Jim Johnson, who was a novelist and professor of communication and journalism at Wheaton College in Illinois, was a popular speaker at writers’ conferences. One of his many anecdotes was the story of writing his first novel. He had a $1,000 advance (big money in those days), most of which had been spent. One of his purchases was the gleaming new IBM Selectric typewriter that he would use to write the novel. As the deadline approached, he didn’t even have one chapter written, and paying back the advance would be difficult if he failed to deliver a manuscript. Jim secluded himself in his basement office, but always managed to find an excuse to come back upstairs ("maybe some milk would get me started...a cookie would be nice."). After repeated trips upstairs for ever more cookies, his wife finally took the initiative and locked the basement door. So he climbed up the laundry chute. Or so he claimed.

Jim Johnson’s experience is probably atypical. Most people find it easier to concentrate on the task of writing when they have a special place to work that offers reasonable privacy. In my case, it is a basement office. And even if I had a laundry chute I’m too fat to climb up it. There is also no lock on the basement door. In fact, there is no basement door, so I have to exercise a little self-discipline to go to the office and start writing. Once there, however, I find it easy to start working.

Get a "Round Tuit"

There is a dime-store novelty item intended for procrastinators. It is a silver dollar size aluminum coin with the words "Round Tuit" on one side and the inscription "I would get more done if I could just get a...." and then instructions to flip the coin over. Now that you have your round tuit, there is no excuse not to get around to it. Unless you are pathologically unable to set a specific time to write, the best procedure is to intentionally set aside the time and keep to the bargain. I write three nights a week and Saturday afternoon on a regular basis, allowing only interruptions for illness and special events.

One of the things that will help keep you on track is to make a schedule that plans the project from contract signing to completion of the manuscript. One method for laying out the schedule is the linear approach: divide the total time available by the number of chapters, and then lay out your writing schedule according to that calculation. That works in relatively simple projects, but tends to fall down under the strain of more complex projects.

Things to consider when making the schedule, and which tend to invalidate the linear approach, is the relative complexity of each chapter (you might not be able to write some chapters in 1/nth of the available time). Problems getting information, problems getting illustrations, problems getting permissions, and problems coordinating with any co-authors or other people involved in the project tend to derail linear schedules.

Time management is an important ingredient to the successful project. Part of time management is using tools that save time. Believe it or not, at late as 1992, a time management workshop leader at a writers’ conference boasted that he did not use a word processor; he used his old Selectric II. If you are not using a word processor now, get one. Nothing will save you more time than a computer word processor.

Another aspect to time management is keeping interruptions down. Be brutal. Don’t allow anyone who is not making a direct contribution to the work to interfere with the time set aside for writing. If you work at home, as many writers do, then the task is doubly hard. There always seems to be good reasons to stray from the path. Some cannot be avoided, but others (kibbitzing neighbors) are quite avoidable.

The Computer

A topic that is sure the invite a lot more heat than light is the choice of computer that is best for the writer. There are only two real choices: IBM-PC compatible Windows machines and Apple Macintosh machines. All others are basically oddballs that have too little market share to be of use to you. The basic problem is compatibility with the computers used by the publisher.

Although the Windows computer is the nearly universal standard in business offices, the Macintosh is the standard in most publishing companies. The Mac became the standard when the basic page assembly graphics features of the Mac were far superior to anything an IBM compatible machine could offer. Although that claim is debatable now that page layout software is available for both platforms, the Mac remains the standard of the publishing industry.

The writer can use either Macintosh or Windows computers, because most publishers either have the in-house ability to convert files between Macs and PCs, or can have it done at low cost by a vendor.

It really doesn’t matter whether you use a Mac or a PC (even though fans of either would take exception), provided that compatible files are provided. The publisher will use one or the other as their main computer type, but will have a few of the non-selected model to read incoming author text files. For example, if they standardize on Macs (which are more common in publishing than elsewhere), then they will either have Windows/DOS compatibility in at least one of their Macs, or will have a PC or two around that can be used when authors send in PC diskettes.

Although the writer can use either Mac or PC with impunity, that does not mean that all software packages are mutually compatible between the two platforms. Check to make sure that your word processor software can provide files in a format that the publisher can convert. It is important to supply the publisher with a sample text diskette early in the process so these problems can be ironed out.

One of the easiest ways to solve the problem of compatibility is to use either the Microsoft Office series of software offerings, which includes the Word for Windows or Word for Macintosh word processor software, as your standard. The later versions of the Word software can exchange files between Macs and PCs. In most publishing companies, you can also use WordPerfect in any of its versions, although your files will require conversion.

Organizing Your Computer Files

One of the advantages of the personal computer is that it allows you to organize large projects such as writing a book. If you take advantage of the computer’s capabilities, then you will ease the route into publication.

The directory structure (or folder structure if you are a Mac user) is the key to organizing the project. For simple projects, you can use a structure such as Fig. 9-1. The hard drive is shown as "c:\" in this case, but you would use whichever drive you normally use to hold data files (mine is "e:\" drive). There is a master directory ("\MYBOOK") for the all files and subdirectories of the book project. Each chapter is given a subdirectory of its own (e.g. "\CHAP1" and "\CHAP2"). In each subdirectory you store the chapter text files (shown as "CH01.DOC" and "CH02.DOC" here, using the Word for Windows naming protocol).

If you use electronic files for the illustrations, then place them in each chapter directory. The publisher will be able to extract them easily enough. In the example shown, the file naming structure for the *.eps (e.g. "encapsulated postscript" format) picture files is "FIG0N00X.EPS," where "0N" is the chapter number (e.g. "01" and "02") and "00X" is the figure number. Thus, "FIG01001.EPS" is the encapsulated postscript file for Fig. 1-1. Although you may be allowed to structure your own filenames, the names should be easily decoded by a production editor who may or may not be as clever as you.

The directory structure for a more complex project (including most textbooks) is shown in Fig. 9-2. This structure also uses the master "\MYBOOK" directory. It also has an administrative ("\ADMIN") subdirectory. This subdirectory is used to hold electronic copies of letters you send, a listing of letters received (I use a spreadsheet record), permissions requested and received (another Excel spreadsheet), financial accounting data showing income (e.g. advances) and expenses. I use a spreadsheet for keeping these records because they are essentially quite simple. I can tell with the click of a mouse how much the project is costing me, how much I have earned on it, and estimate my tax liability at any given point in time.

Each chapter has its own subdirectory ("\CHAP1" , etc.). As in the previous case, the text document is stored in the chapter subdirectory. A second subdirectory for the pictures ("\CH1PIX") is created inside each chapter subdirectory where electronic graphics files are stored. If a large number of tables are used in a chapter, then you may wish to also create a special subdirectory for these files. Otherwise, place them in the pictures subdirectory.

If there is one basic principle that ought to be engraved on the panel of your video monitor it is: back-up your files. Computer hard drives and floppy disks are notorious for "crashing" with all of your data. I know a fellow who lost his doctoral dissertation files a few weeks before it was due because he was too stupid to back-up his files.

There are several options for backing up files. If you have two or more hard drives, then you can create image directories of the project on the other hard drive. I generally use the "e:\" drive for data files, so there is a directory "e:\mybook" containing all of the project’s files. The "d:\" drive is used for anything that I need it for, including backup. So there will be a "d:\mybook.bk" directory. At the end of each session I copy the contents of the "e:\mybook" directory (and all it’s subdirectories) to the "d:\mybook.bk" directory.

You can also use any of several back-up media. Some of them act like hard drives even though they are external, while others are clearly accessories (as seen by the fact that they play through the parallel printer port of the computer). Examples include tape drives and removable media drives (Syquist, Iomega, etc). If you don’t have too many large files, or if you are a glutton for cybersadism, then use a large collection of floppy diskettes to hold the back-up files. In my own system, as of this writing I use both the "extra" hard drive and a 100 mbyte Iomega ZIP drive with plug-in cartridges.

More will be said about these topics in the next chapter ("Manuscript Preparation").
 
 

An editor once called and asked me to do a technical peer review of another author’s manuscript. After I agreed, he sent me the manuscript and the commissioning letter formally offering an honoraria and explaining what was expected. But this time it wasn’t the normal form letter, but seemed to be saying something "between the lines." Being a politically inept, bottom line, and usually blunt sort of guy, I called the editor and asked what he really wanted from me. He told me: "that manuscript is in such lousy shape that any production editor I assign to it will quit on the spot, and probably shoot me on the way out of the building." And he was right. It was typed single spaced, on both sides of the sheets, and had an average of 20 to 30 smudged handwritten pencil changes on each and every page. The editor asked me to find technical reasons to reject the manuscript in order to spare him the difficulty of dealing with a petulant author. As the editor correctly guessed, the author who was so sloppy with the preparation of the manuscript was also sloppy with the content. I found that many of the technical facts were just simply wrong.

The manuscript was rejected, and the author was forced to repay the advance.

Another time, I reviewed a manuscript that was a combination of single-spaced typed new text, along with text and illustrations pasted in from one of the author’s previous books. That manuscript was rejected too.

Your manuscript is a statement of who you are, and how professionally you work. If you do a good job of preparing the manuscript, not only do you have a better chance at producing a world class book, you also make it a lot easier (and cheaper) for the publisher to get into print. Working with you becomes a pleasure, and that makes the editor a lot more eager to do business with you a second (or tenth) time.

Much of the material in this Section will seem "preachy" because it consists of a lot of do’s and don’ts. The reason for this approach is that the do’s and don’ts are distilled from many years of experience by hundreds or even thousands of authors and editors. This material comes not simply from my own experience, but also from talking to many editors and reviewing their "author guidelines." There are standards for preparing manuscripts, and while they may vary slightly from one publisher to the next, there is a certain commonality that applies to all. We will look at the electronic media required, the artwork, and text entry standards.

Electronic Media

It is not strictly necessary that your manuscript be typed on a computer word processor, but in this day and age it is strongly recommended. The reason is that properly prepared electronic file copies of your manuscript can be used to directly typeset the book pages from your disk files. This approach saves time and money, and results in getting your book onto the market much more quickly.

Books are produced on computers today. Although some publishers use Windows based environment for book layout and production, most use a Macintosh environment. They will use a software desktop publishing program such as Pagemaker, Framemaker or QuarkXPress to produce the camera-ready page layouts. It’s perfectly all right for you to use either Windows or Macintosh environments, as you prefer, but the software that you use to write the book should be compatible with the major page layout programs used on Mac computers.

Most publishers can accommodate either Mac System 6 or System 7, as well as any version of DOS and Windows PC environments, including Windows 95. Many can also accommodate OS/2 environment. Other, less widely used environments, probably cannot be accommodated except by sending your diskettes to a service bureau for conversion to either Mac or PC formats.

The portable media that they can use include both standard size floppy disks (5.25 inch and 3.5-inch, in any standard density (DS/DD and DS/HD). However, the standard is 3.5-inch, DS/HD 1.44-mbyte floppy disks. Some publishers no longer accept 5.25-inch diskettes because few (if any) new computers come equipped with that size disk drive.

Other portable media may not be quite as obvious as floppy disks. Most publishers today will accept removable hard drive cartridges such as the Syquest 44 mbyte, 88 mbyte and 200 mbyte sizes. Although those Syquest sizes are considered standards in the publishing and printing industries, the lower cost Syquest EZ-Drive (135 mbytes), the Iomega ZIP drive (100 mbyte), and Iomega JAZ drive (1 gbyte) are also accepted by many publishers.

Some publishers will also accept several different forms of optical disk or CD-ROM disk. A number of different recording optical drives, both in the CD-ROM formats and other formats, are now on the market at low enough prices that they are showing up in desktop computers.

Very few publishers will accept tape cartridges. One reason is the slow speed of data transfer, and the fact that there seem to be so many different incompatible formats.

Your publisher will have a manuscript preparation guide, as well as an information sheet for you to fill out, both of which list the transportable media that they can accept.

If you use a large capacity transportable media that is not compatible with anything the publisher has available, then you can usually find a local service bureau that will do the conversion for a small fee. For example, I paid $25 plus the price of a Syquest 88 mbyte cartridge to have data transferred from my Iomega ZIP drive cartridge to the Syquest cartridge that a publisher could use. It works well as long as the amount of data on the source cartridge is within the capacity of the destination cartridge.

Word Processor Software

Whatever word processing software that you use must be compatible with the page layout software that the publisher uses. Not all popular word processors will meet this requirement. Most publishers that I do business with ask for Microsoft Word for Windows or Word for Macintosh, with version 6.00 being most favored. They can also accept the DOS versions of Word, plus any version of WordPerfect from 5.0 up, but do not prefer those programs.

If you want to use any other word processor than those specified by your publisher, then find out if it will provide either "save as" or "export" capability to save the file in the Word 6.0 format. If not, then the publisher may be able to use a third-party conversion program or service bureau to convert your files into a usable format. But because this approach is not guaranteed, you will want to send in a sample file early in the process to make sure of your file’s compatibility. Indeed, this is not a bad idea even if you are using the specified word processors...better safe than sorry.

If all else fails, then use your advance money to buy a copy of the word processor software that the publisher specifies. That’s what it’s for, after all.

Labeling and Submitting Electronic Media

Make your electronic submission as clean as possible for the production people. That means using only fresh, never used brand new diskettes. If you absolutely must send in previously used diskettes, then make sure that they are freshly formatted before receiving your files. The production editor is going to believe that everything on the diskette is relevant, so if there are extraneous files it will confuse them immensely. Place only those files needed for the manuscript on the diskettes. If there is any reason to send in electronic copies of letters, permissions, e-mail or other material, place them on a separate "administrative files" diskette.

It should go without saying that you should send in only copies of the electronic files, not the originals (which are hopefully on one or more hard drives anyway). If you keep the originals only on a floppy disk (bad practice!), then make copies of those diskettes and archive the originals. The reason I mention it is that I’ve run across at least one distressed writer whose diskettes were destroyed by the tender mercies of the US Postal Service.

If you submit your files on floppy disks rather than a high capacity cartridge (e.g. Syquest or Iomega), then separate the text and artwork files, even if it "wastes" diskette space. Disks, after all, are cheaper than your editor’s time and trouble. Use one or more diskettes for the text, and then one or more separate diskettes for the artwork files.

Because of the compatibility problems with word processing diskettes, I usually send in two sets of text disks. One set of diskettes will be in the standard "native" file format of the word processor (e.g. my "*.doc" files in Word for Windows 6.0 format), and the other will be in ASCII format (Word calls this "Text Only" in the Save As menu, and uses a *.txt" extender on the filename). The ASCII format is something of a universal format, and is the "language" spoken by the keyboard of your computer. If all else fails, then it’s a pretty good bet that straight ASCII files will be readable by the publisher’s page layout program.

Each disk or portable media should be labeled with the following information:

Several different types of artwork are typically used in a book or article:

If you make hand drawn line drawings, then it is a good idea to type or print all of the call-outs and labels onto a sheet of paper, and then cut them out and paste them onto the drawing. Most of the errors made by artists are in misunderstanding your handwriting. You would be surprised how often symbols like Greek lower case "delta" (d ) come out lower case "dee" (d) on the final version of your drawing. If special math, Greek or scientific symbols are used, then mark them on the drawing ("GK L.C. delta"), and circle the note (in the publisher’s world, circled handwritten text on a drawing or manuscript is taken to be a note to the editor or artist, rather than a part of the work).

The advent of computer drawn graphics makes it easier to get a good picture to the publisher. Some publishers will use the drawing directly, others will modify it, and still others will have it redrawn in their own "house style" (they have a look and feel to all drawings in their publications).

If you provide the publisher computer drawn artwork, then be sure to give them the name of the software that was used to generate it, and provide them electronic copies that they can use directly or can convert. Most publishers can accept *.EPS and Mac format *.PCT files, and many can also accept *.TIF, *.GIF, and *.PCX files. Some will also accept *.BMP files.

Computer graphics and drawing files are not always readily convertible between programs or especially between computer types. Although the use of a standard makes one assume that such is the case, it’s not always necessarily so. If you plan to submit graphics files, then it is a good idea to send the publisher a sample file or two to find out whether or not it will convert.

Rendered artwork are those drawings normally produced by an artist, and are usually more complex than line drawings. Examples of rendered artwork include watercolor paintings and the type of commercial art images the appear in advertisements. Rendered work might be "pick-up" artwork from some other source, or it may be drawn especially for you. Either you commission the art or the publisher will, depending on the situation.

Video capture artwork is being used in some publications. This type of image comes from a video tape, television camera or other digital image device, and is captured as a still frame by a special plug-in card or external adapter (e.g. the Snappy device). These images tend to be lower resolution than photographs, so are not as good in print. But if that is the only way to get the image, or if it proves a point, then it can be a valuable addition to the work.

Photographs are a primary illustration material for books. There are basically three classes: self-shot, contractor shot and stock photos. The self-shot are those pictures you take yourself. There is no doubt about the ownership because you own the negative.

Contractor shots are those that you hire a photographer to make. Be certain you understand what you are buying when you have contract photos taken. Most photographers retain the negative, and that implies certain rights. It may be assumed by them that you are only buying "use rights" or even one-time use rights, after which you will be forced to pay an additional fee for future use. Document your order with a letter, purchase order or some form of written agreement between yourself and the photographer. In many cases, the photographer will have a form that is filled out, and it becomes a species of order or contract. You can document any differences that you require in handwritten changes to the order form, provided that both parties initial the change. Specify that you are buying all rights to the image, and insist on the negative being one of the deliverables (that will be a "hard point" for many photographers, but go for it anyway).

Stock images are those provided by other people. In nearly all cases, you will need written permission to use such images in your work. There are a number of sources of such images. There are, for example, commercial photo companies that stock a huge number of photos (one claims 4.5 million). To use these sources, send them a description of what you want, and let them research their files. Or if you have seen one of their images in print, try to provide a copy made (even if only from an office copier) to allow them to identify it. If they produce a number of candidates, then they will ship office copier quality copies to you for selection and approval, along with a price schedule and contract. Either you pay the fee, or the publisher will pay the fee and deduct it from your royalties. The fee usually covers only the initial edition, and additional uses must be paid for separately.

Public libraries, the Library of Congress, government agencies, and the US Archives and Records Service are potential sources for images. I’ve used all of these sources, and the costs run from free to rather expensive. In one project, I received the same image from both the National Library of Scotland and the Edinburgh Central Library (in Scotland); one asked the pound sterling (£) equivalent of $7 and the other the equivalent of $35 for the prints.

If you need to make extensive use of foreign archives, libraries or researchers, then consider opening a checking account in that country. You will save a great deal in bank fees. I had situations where I had to pay the pound sterling equivalent of $8 for some copies of documents in a Scottish library, and the charge of the US bank for a pounds sterling cashier’s check was $25.

The US Archives will do a quick index search for material, and send you samples made on an office copier. They no longer make copies themselves, however, but do provide you with a stack of advertisements from authorized contractors who can provide copies in a number of formats, including digital.

Companies and special interest organizations are also a good source of photographs. Many of them have a collection of photos of their products or of subjects that pertain to their interests, and will gladly let you have copies. Their interests are served by what amounts to free advertising, while yours is served by getting free images (provided there is no conflict of interest). Make sure that you have written permission to use the photos, however, as they are usually protected by copyright.

The most useful prints for use in publishing are well made black & white glossies, 3.5 in. x 5 in. ("snapshot") size or larger (up to 8 in. x 10 in.). At one time, color prints could not be used at all because they could not easily be rendered into a four color separation (they needed color transparencies for color rendition), and looked muddy when treated as if they were black & white. The quality of the rendition into B&W from color prints is now better because of electronic scanning and photo editing technology, so most publishers have started accepting color prints. Besides, have you tried to have B&W prints processed recently? Most processors print B&W on a color printing machine, but adjust it for gray scale. Such B&W prints often come through with enough of a "blue tint" as to suggest that "B&W" means "blue & white."

Most publishers today use digitally scanned photos in their products. The scanning resolution required is usually a lot higher than the typical desktop scanner, although a few low end companies use the 600 dpi that most good office scanners provide. If you can’t make scanned images that meet their requirements, then it is best to let them do the scanning.

One option that is becoming increasingly used (if the publisher agrees) is to find a local imaging dealer who will do the scanning for you (provided that the publisher can use these image file formats). I have used a local Kodak imaging dealer to make Photo-CDs of the images I needed. They scan either the negative (or transparency) or a copy of the print, and then write it to a CD. These CD’s are the standard size, but are not CD-ROMs in the normal sense. They can, however, be read on the CD-ROM drive in your computer if the correct Photo-CD software (such as Kodak Access or equivalent). Most modern image processing or graphics programs will read Photo-CDs, or you can obtain the Kodak product. Imaging dealers offer several different products, only some of which may be acceptable to your publisher. Ask what works, or send them a sample of the files to test.

Modern digital technology allows manipulation of photo images to a startling degree. So much, in fact, that a lawyer friend told me that photographs are not longer considered good evidence in courts unless vetted by some very strong evidence as to their provenance. This new technology, including software such as Adobe PhotoShop, permits mediocre photos to be spruced up and made much more useful. Previously, a poorly done photo could not be treated, so had to be either rejected or used as-is (even if it looked poor).

Today, however, a skilled artist using the new software can achieve miracles. One photo artist showed me a 16 in. ´ 20 in. poster-size color photo of an Irish castle, along with the original print. The original was taken at the wrong time of day (shadows all over the place), from a poor angle, and on an overcast day. The color values were pukey, so say the least. She dissected the image to retrieve the castle and the grounds around the castle, and changed their color values and eliminated most of the shadows. The sky was cut out entirely. She then made a new image by first laying down a clip-art image of a sky scene from Montana, and then overlaid the castle and grounds fractional image. The newly created image made the sky on a cloudy day in Ireland look like Montana of all things! Once the image is electronically made, they can create a new "digital" negative of the image on film so that it can be reproduced in the normal wet chemistry photo processing lab.

Scary, huh? The person who could put the Montana sapphire-blue sky in a picture of Ireland could put your image onto a photo of a murderer with the smoking gun in his hand.

Text Input

You spent a lot of good money to buy the fanciest word processor software on the market. You have a veritable powerhouse like Word. Its features are truly awesome, at least to anyone who grew up in the years when a mechanical IBM Selectric II was high tech. That Wonderware ought to help you produce one great manuscript, right? Maybe not. Keep in mind that the main goal of producing it electronically is to make it easier for the production editor and all other hands who need to touch this manuscript to produce the published book. Those people are, in one sense, your "customer," and it pays to keep customers happy. The best thing that you can do with all of the fanciest features of your word processor software is turn them off, or ignore them. The most basic text editor is nearly as useful for manuscript preparation as the fanciest word processor.

There are certain standards governing manuscript preparation, and violating them will at least make it harder for the production people and at worst cause the manuscript to be rejected.

Font. Use only the standard typewriter style fonts. Your word processor has a large number of really great fonts, and for doing your own desktop publishing they are a useful tool. For producing a manuscript for a publisher, however, they are terrible. Unless instructed otherwise by the publisher, use Courier, Roman, or Times Roman fonts. Do not use a sans serif, script, italic or other specialty font. The font size should either 12 point (equivalent of typewriter pica font) or 10 point (equivalent to typewriter elite font). Using an oversize or undersize font is not appreciated by the editors.

On many mechanical typewriters there is no "one" character, so the lower case "el" is used instead. In some machines, even if there is a "one" key, it looks exactly like the lower case "el." In digital electronic files, however, the binary ASCII symbol that represents the character "one" is different from the lower case character "el." So use the correct key, even though on the screen the characters look identical.

Text flow. Indent the first sentence of each paragraph one-half inch using the <TAB> control; do not use blank spaces (i.e. <SPACE BAR> control) to indent. Use only one line between paragraphs.

In your high school typing class you learned to insert two spaces between sentences. That is still the standard for typing letters, but is not used in books. Look at a competently published book (virtually any product of a major publisher): there is only one space between the end of each sentence and the beginning of the next. The electronic files of the manuscript will be used for typesetting, so if you put that extra space between sentences, someone will have to remove them.

Allow the manuscript to flow from one page to the next naturally. Do not use a carriage return (i.e. <ENTER> key) at the end of a page. Also, do not use any manual, inserted or forced page breaks. Again, the final published form will break the pages differently, and your editor will simply have to undo what you did in order to publish the book.

Most publishers recommend the use of the automatic "widow/orphan line" control of the word processor.

Hyphens. Turn off the automatic hyphenation feature of the word processor. If your word wrap feature breaks words at the end of lines with a hyphen, rather than forcing the too-long word to the next line, then figure out how to turn off that feature. I spent 27 hours over a Labor Day weekend editing a large document in which some idiot forgot this point. By my estimation I removed nearly 9,000 end of line hyphens...and it made me a very, very mad fellow.

Where words are normally hyphenated, use standard hyphenation as found in a competent dictionary. Most publishers have a house standard dictionary, but if they don’t recommend one the Merriam Webster New Collegiate Dictionary is usually well accepted.

A dash is not a hyphen, so it is not proper to use a hyphen for a dash unless there is no dash symbol in your word processor fonts. There are two forms of dash used. The em dash is the long dash, while the en dash is the short dash. The em dash is used to indicate a break in the thought or structure of the sentence, while the en dash is used to separate rows of numbers. For example, the date "1992- 96" is an example of the use of an en dash, while "em¾ or long¾ dash" is an example of the use of an em dash. Both en dash and em dash are longer and thinner than the hyphen character on the keyboard. If your word processor does not have the en dash and em dash, then use two hyphens ("--") to indicate either the en dash or em dash. The copyeditor will insert the correct marks to tell the typesetter which form is intended.

Line spacing. Use double spaced lines only. Do not use single spacing or line and a half spacing. Use a single blank line between paragraphs.

Justification. Use flush left justification, even though it leaves a ragged right. "Full justification" looks wonderful on the printed page, but is not what the editors need. Your goal is not to produce a manuscript that resembles a published page, but rather to facilitate the production of your book.

Word wrap. Allow the word processor’s "word wrap" feature to operate. Do not use a carriage return at the end of each line (as you would on a typewriter). Incredibly enough, a lot of people using computer word processors still think they are using a mechanical typewriter, and will hit the <ENTER> key at the end of each line. The word wrap feature takes care of this problem for you, so allow it to work. The <ENTER> key (carriage return) is used only to start a new paragraph.

Lists and tables. If you use a bulleted list, then use asterisks ("*") to represent the bullets, rather than the bullet symbols in the font gallery, or the automatic bulleting feature offered by some word processors. The correct way to make a bulletized list is:

Some publishers ask you to also insert the caption and credit line at this point:

Headers, footers, pagination. The header of each page should include the chapter number and the chapter title. The page number should appear in the upper right corner of each page. Pagination should start a "1" for first page and continue throughout the entire manuscript in order. Do not start renumbering at the beginning of each chapter. Do not use the chapter number as part of the pagination, even if that is how it will appear in the final published form. Footers are rarely used, but if they are it should be the page number only, or place the author’s name on the left side of the page and the page number on the right. Both headers and footers should be in a smaller type size than the main text.

Equations. If your word processor has an equation editor, then use it. One of the most common sources of error in the final printed technical book is equations that were handwritten and then misinterpreted. If you do not have an equation editor, then don’t attempt to hand write the equation into the text. Instead, use a space holder:

And then carefully and neatly write each equation on separate sheets of paper at the end of the chapter.

Whether you use an equation editor or hand write the equations, you need to let the copyeditor know what symbols are being used. A note about all symbols or non-English letters should be marked with a handwritten note that is circled. For example, the Greek upper case letter "delta" (D ) should be indicated with a note "gk uc ‘delta’." If a mathematical symbol is used, then mark it as such. For example, if an integral symbol is used, mark it "math integral symbol." These precautions take a bit of effort, but they keep your book from being scorned by your peers because of the errors when it finally appears.

Artwork. Do not ever embed pictures in the text, no matter how well your word processor software does the integration. Artwork is always kept separate, but in hard copy and electronic files. Use a place holder and caption similar to those for tables and equations.

Text marking. Your manuscript will normally use text features such as italics, bold face type and all small caps words. Do not use these features of your word processor because they will not translate well into the composition or page layout program. For italics use an underscore. Indicate bold face type with a wavy underscore line. If your word processor does not have a wavy underscore, then hand write it. Some publishers recommend using a dotted underscore to denote bold face type, but use it only if the publisher recommends it (otherwise, it would confuse the copy editor). For words that should be all small capital letters use double-underscore.

Some writers use italics, all capital letters or bold face characters to emphasize a point in the sentence. Supposedly, these devices make the point stronger. They are also the mark of an amateurish writer. If the sentence does not make the point strongly enough without one of these devices, then it is poorly written and needs to be re-crafted.

An exception to the rule is in textbooks where a technical or jargon word can be italicized the first time it is introduced in order to let the reader know that something new is presented. It is also usually appropriate to somehow define the new word, either in parenthesis or as a natural part of the text flow.

Find out the rules for italics and bold face used by your publisher. In general, foreign and ancient words (e.g. de facto) are italicized. Some publishers also italicize brand names, corporate names and certain other words. If your publisher does not provide guidelines about the use of italics or bold face type, then follow one of the standard style manuals.

Footnotes, endnotes and references. Scholarly works and controversial works should always have footnotes, end notes or references. Footnotes and endnotes should be numbered consecutively, starting over in each chapter. If both footnotes and endnotes are used, then use alphabetic characters for the footnotes and numerals for the endnotes, unless directed otherwise by the publisher’s style guidelines.

Do not use the automatic footnote or endnote feature of your word processor. If you use traditional notation, place the footnote or endnote number in the text as a superscript character (e.g. "superscript²") and then type the notes on separate sheets of paper either at the end of the chapter, or in a special section at the end of the book.

If you use the newer standard for notes, then it is only necessary to place the citation either in parenthesis or brackets within the text.

Standard style. It is wise to make every chapter of your book just like every other chapter: same font, same type of headers and footers, same level headings, and so forth. Some people create a style template and then call it whenever a new chapter is started. Most modern word processors allow you to define styles, give them a name, and store them in memory.

Printing rules. The final manuscript should use standard margins of one-inch all around. Do not try to "save trees" by using very narrow top, bottom, left or right margins, or by printing on both sides of the page. That space is needed by the copy editor to make notations to the typesetter and corrections. The final manuscript must be printed double spaced, properly margined and on one side of the page only.

Do not use erasable bond paper. Such paper is so thin that it will not stand up on a typists page holder. It also has a nasty tendency to smear badly when touched, or if it becomes wet. Sweaty fingers can cause the type to smudge. Also don’t use fancy premium paper. The best form of paper is ordinary cheap office copier paper in either 20-lb or 16-lb weight (20-lb is usually preferred).

Do not bind the manuscript in any form. The manuscript pages should be loose, unbound, and secured by one or more rubber bands. Do not use hole punches, GBC binding, staples or any other form of binding. For articles, use paperclips to hold the text and illustrations together.

Title page. The first page of the manuscript should contain the title of the book (or article) and a byline showing your name (and degree credentials if appropriate) in the exact form that you want to see it on the cover of the book. No matter how your name appears on the contract or on any information sheets that you filled out, the copy editor will use the form of your name that appears on the manuscript title page.

A book title page should be separate from the text, but in an article manuscript the title and byline are placed one-third to one-half the way down the page, and the text begins one line below the byline.

Your name, address, voice telephone numbers, FAX telephone number, and Internet E-mail address should appear in the upper left corner of the title page. If your word processor has a word count feature then use it and type the resulting number in the upper right corner of the title page.

Final preparation. Before you print the manuscript, use the word processor spelling checker to ferret out any problems. Be wary of some spelling checkers that don’t know too many words (one kept trying to change "invidious" to "insidious"). Don’t automatically assume that the spelling checker is always right, especially when technical or professional jargon words are involved. I heard of one publisher who sent an engineering textbook manuscript to a contract copy editor, who somehow believed that "the computer is always right." As a result, she accepted all of the computer’s spelling checker’s recommendations. The page proofs received by the author changed phrases like "Ionospheric propagation modalities..." into something like "insolent property mayonnaise."

Signing your first book contract is a thrilling experience. But don’t let that heady euphoria ("I’m going to be published!) blind you to some cold, hard facts of business life. First and foremost, remember that your editor is not motivated by the high ideals that drive many academic authors, but rather by the financial bottom line. Nothing else matters at the end of the day.

An implication of the fact that publishing is a business to the publisher is that they will make decisions and try to get terms that are most favorable to themselves. Although some of them will try to shaft you, most are simply acting out the logical implications of their own self-interest. The trick is to negotiate terms that are favorable to both parties, making the project a "win-win" proposition.

Although the contract may be preprinted, there is literally nothing in it that is not negotiable. Some points may be harder than others, but everything is open to negotiation. If they are not, and you have negotiated in good faith (and are not trying to be a hard-nosed prima donna), then try finding another publisher.

If you don’t understand a portion of the contract, then consider hiring a lawyer to read it for you and make recommendations for changes. Even if all the lawyer does is explain what the legalese means, the service is well worthwhile. A lawyer may or may not be needed in your case, but if there is any doubt, then the lawyer’s fee is cheap insurance.

Promotion Clause

The promotion clause means that you agree to be available to promote the book in venues such as book tours, bookstore "signings," radio and television interviews, and other activities. A book tour sounds real nice, but there may be a downside or two. For example, who pays the expenses? A multi-city six-week book tour can cost $15,000 to $30,000, and if you have to pay any significant portion of it, then you probably won’t make much money.

Also, can you really be spared from your "day job" for six weeks? At no pay?

Radio and television interviews can also be costly. Although some radio interviews are done on the telephone, television interviews usually require travel. Again, who pays the expenses? Even telephone interviews can be costly because some of them are "author call" affairs. In other words, you place the call to the radio show, and pay the telephone bill.

Alternatively, the interviews may come during times when you are otherwise engaged (during class time, for example).

One of my contracts contained the promotion clause below:

"¶XX Promotion. The Author agrees to be available for interviews, TV appearances and other promotional activity at the convenience of the Publisher."

What does "...at the convenience of the publisher" mean? It could mean something very costly or very inconvenient to you. Here is my amendment as proposed by an attorney:

"Amendment A-¶XX. Right of Reasonable Refusal. The Author may elect at his sole discretion to refuse to perform under ¶XX of this agreement if:

a) The author deems that un-reimbursed expenses are excessive,

b) Publisher’s demands conflict with the demands, policies and requirements of

the Author’s primary employer(s),

c) The Author lacks sufficient Annual Leave, vacation time or other paid leave

from his primary employment, or

d) If the Author has moral or ethical objections to any aspect of the promotional

appearance or other promotional activity."

I invoked the "moral objections" clause after one of my publishers scheduled me to do an interview on a radio network set up to appeal to the radical right-wing militia movement in the western states.

Author’s Copies Clause

The contract will usually provide the author with a certain number of free copies of the book. If you want additional copies, then you will have to pay for them. A typical clause may read:

"¶13 Author’s Copies. Publisher shall furnish to Author, free of charge, ten (10) copies of the regular trade edition of the Work as published; and should the Author desire any more copies for personal use, they shall be supplied at forty percent (40%) off of the retail price. Copies thus purchased shall not be resold."

You will probably want more than ten copies. The manufacturing cost of books is low enough that most publishers can easily afford to give you additional copies (within reason). In addition, why should your discount be less than a commercial bookseller who buys the same quantity? In order to address these concerns, I provided the following amendment:

"Amendment A-¶XX. Author’s Copies. Publisher shall furnish to Author, free of charge, one-hundred (100)[pick a number from 10 to 100 based on your own chutzpah] copies of the regular trade edition of the Work as published.

Additional provision if you want more copies:

"(a) Publisher shall supply to the Author at the same time he/she furnishes the free 'Author’s Copies' provided for in ¶XX one-hundred (100) additional copies of the Work at the highest distributor or retailer discount (whichever is larger) for a like number of copies."

In order to ensure that you always receive the best discount available for a specified number of copies:

"(b) In no event shall the Author’s discount on copies of the Work be less than the discount offered to booksellers, distributors or other quantity purchasers of the same quantity of copies."

The contract may contain a restriction on you selling your author copies or copies purchased at the author discount. The reason for this restriction is simple: they don’t want you to compete with them at the booksellers. This is a quite reasonable concern. However, when taken to its logical extreme, it prohibits you from selling copies in markets that you develop. The typical clause reads:

"The Author agrees to not sell or attempt to sell copies purchased under this Agreement [some add "...for less than the normal retail price established by the Publisher in catalogs, order price sheets or other advertisements"].

My replacement clause reads:

"The Author agrees to not sell or attempt to sell copies purchased under this agreement to retailers, distributors or other customers or prospects of the Publisher, except as provided below:

1. Author may sell to anyone if permission is granted in writing from the publisher without requiring formal amendment of this agreement;

2. Author may sell copies to personal friends;

3. Author may sell copies to individuals during personal appearances unless Publisher has made other arrangements to sell copies at that appearance; as a result of follow-up from personal appearances; as a result of any newsletter or other direct mail publishing activities of the Author, or from mailing lists developed or paid for solely by the Author without assistance from the Publisher; and in classes taught by the author [some insert "...not in a formal institution of higher learning" right after "...taught" in order to allow sales at commercial seminars taught by the author, but leaving the school market to the publisher].

4. Author may dispose of damaged copies of the Work at less than full retail price unless Publisher is willing to allow return of damaged copies for full credit without restocking charges under terms equal to those of commercial retail booksellers.

5. If Publisher declares the work out of print, or if it is unavailable from the Publisher for any period longer than one year (365 days), then Author is free to dispose of copies to any party he wishes, at any discount, including sales to booksellers and distributors.
 

Indemnity Clause

The Indemnity clause allows publisher to make a settlement of any lawsuit at his own discretion, without any permission from you. Want to bet how that would turn out? Here is my addition to the contract:

"No settlement to any legal action brought against the Author or the Publisher as a result of the Work being published may be made by the Publisher without the Author’s consent in writing if:

(a) Settlement affects any of the Author’s rights under this Agreement;

(b) Places the Author or his estate at any liability whatsoever;

(c) The Author deems said Settlement is contrary to his best interest.

Any such Settlement made by Publisher without consent of the Author in writing shall be binding only on the Publisher and not the Author."

Right To Self-Publish An Author’s Edition

If you do seminars or similar activities, then you will want to buy copies of your book to sell (or "give") to participants.

Consider the economics: if the book sells for $29.95, and you get a 40 percent discount for the quantity that you wish to buy, then the books will cost you $17.97 each. But if you can afford the printing costs of at least 1,000 copies, then you may be able to negotiate a price in the $5 to $10 region. This is not a big deal if you teach 100 students a year in seminars, but if you teach 1,000 or more, it’s a considerable bit of money.

Author Neil Eskiline, who wrote Yes, Yes Living in a No No World, told a writers’ conference I attended that he had a self-published edition clause for his $5 paperback book. The reason is that a $5 book cost him $3 with the discount offered by the publisher, but only $0.92 if he bought 5,000 copies from a book printer. Eskiline has spoken to as many as 25,000 paying seminar attendees, of whom about one-fourth to one-third bought books (and, Eskiline told us, most of those asked for his autograph...wearing out several boxes of felt tip pens and his writing hand in the process).

A suitable clause might be:

"The Publisher recognizes the Author’s right to self-publish a concurrent edition of the Work, at Author’s expense, for sale solely to attendees at Author’s speeches, personal appearances, training sessions, and other venues not provided by the Publisher. Author’s self-published edition may use the same cover artwork as Publisher’s edition provided that it bear a banner clearly marking the edition as the Author’s product and not the Publisher’s edition. The Author’s edition shall be of a different size format than any of the Publisher’s editions. Author agrees that copies of the Author’s edition shall not be sold in regular retail or wholesale channels, or in the form of bulk sales to associations, trade groups, religious organizations and other users unless and until either the Publisher declares his editions are out of print, or have not been available from the Publisher for more than one year (365 days)."

The self-published edition clause is only useful to people who have a means for distributing them. Eskiline was a successful motivational and religious speaker who taught seminars to business people. If you don’t have a platform or seminar with a mass audience, then don’t try to get this clause. Most publishers are going to resist giving you this one, so go for it only if you really need it.

Returns Clause

It is the common practice in publishing to permit booksellers and distributors to return unsold books (if in salable condition) for a period after initial purchase (usually one year). Your contract may allow the publisher to "hold back" a small percentage (typically 2 to 5 percent, sometimes more) of royalties due you in order to pay for these returns.

There are several problems with this clause that can bite you. One is that the time limit may be open ended. One publisher allows retailers to return books at any time (even though the formal period published in their sales literature is one year). Royalties on my current books are often reduced a few dollars by returns of books that went out of print in 1984. Foul ball! My amendment to the returns clause is:

"In the event the Publisher permits distributors and retail booksellers to return unsold copies of the Work for credit for any period longer than one (1) year, such returns shall not be deducted from Author’s royalties. In no event shall Publisher deduct credit given for returns of this Work from royalties or other moneys owed to Author for other works or for subsequent editions or revisions of this Work. Publisher shall not deduct from royalties or other moneys earned by this Work any unearned advances, returns or other monetary liabilities of other works of the Author including, but not limited to, future editions of this Work."

The reason for the paragraph is that later editions essentially kill previous editions (especially textbooks). One of my books came out in a second edition, and earned $7,900 the first reporting period (the Fall adoption season). But because the second edition was out, every college that used the first edition returned their stock, costing me $5,777 in royalties. Because my contract allowed them to deduct this amount from the amount owed overall, I received only the difference ($2,123)...a pitiful return for the amount of work that second edition cost me!

Publisher’s Right of Rejection

The contract typically allows the publisher to accept or reject the final manuscript at their sole discretion. If the manuscript is rejected, then you will be required to refund the advance against royalties paid to you on signing the contract (which is typically half the total advance).

The problem is that the publisher can reject the manuscript for any reason, or no reason at all. And that’s not fair. I’ve seen publishers reject a manuscript because the acquisition editor left, and his replacement was not enamored of the project ("not invented here" syndrome).

Or, perhaps the publisher changes business direction. One of my publishers decided to leave print publishing and concentrate entirely on electronic publishing (CD-ROMs, etc.). He was honorable, so paid me the second half of the advance and was fully prepared to publish the book as written. But he offered me two other alternatives: he could return all rights and the manuscript to me so it could be sold to another publisher (for another advance!), or we could cooperate to make it into an electronic multimedia title (I chose the latter).

In another case, I wrote a book for electronic hobbyists for a $4,000 advance ($2,000 on signing and another $2,000 on acceptance of the manuscript). The manuscript was accepted, and the second half of the advance paid. About halfway through the production process, however, the company was sold and the new owner wanted to concentrate solely on computer books. They terminated the agreement under terms acceptable to me, and returned all of my material; I did not have to pay back the $4,000 advance. A few weeks later I sold the manuscript to another publisher for another $3,000 advance.

Unfortunately, not all rejections are so favorable to the author (I was dealing with people of high integrity). It is prudent to have a rejection clause amendment that requires that the publisher’s right to reject the manuscript must be "reasonably exercised." If you complete the manuscript in a manner that a qualified reasonable person would state that it meets the terms of the contract, then they must at least pay you the second half of the advance as a "kill fee."

Another way out of this type of mess is to have the second half of the advance being paid "on completion" of the manuscript, rather than "on acceptance."

Copyright

Try to get the publisher to copyright the work in your name. Also, make sure that the contract calls for reversion to you of all rights assigned to the publisher once the book is out of print. If the publisher wants to copyright the book in its name, then insist on a clause that requires the publisher to return the rights to you when the book is out of print, and to do all necessary paperwork, whether between themselves and you or with the Copyright Office, to get the copyright certificate transferred to your name.

One little problem with the copyright involves what "out of print" means. The publisher could insist the book is "still in print" even though it hasn’t been available for a long time. The common practice is to define "out of print" as "unavailable from the publisher for more than one year (365 days)."

Subsidiary Rights

Although most publishing contracts transfer all rights to the publisher, this situation is not always in your best interest. If the publisher lacks the ability to publish and distribute the book in foreign languages, then you might want to retain those rights, and market them yourself. Most large publishers can do a lot better job than you, but smaller publishers might not be able to do it at all.

Similarly with electronic publishing rights (e.g. CD-ROM, Internet Web site, audio tape, video tape, etc.). If the publisher does not normally produce these versions of the work, then it’s not likely that they will do a good job. Retain those rights if you think you can do a better job (and if they will let them go - negotiation usually requires two-way compromise). Some authors offer "short-term electronic publishing rights" to the publisher (e.g. two to three years). This provides the publisher an incentive to act as your agent to sell the rights to another publisher.

The royalties and fees for subsidiary rights are usually split 50/50, i.e. half to the author and half to the publisher. If the publisher does not offer electronic versions or foreign language editions, then try negotiating a more favorable split (like 60/40 or 70/30).

Advertising and Promotion Budget

Your book will lay flat on the market if it is not promoted. Most publishers select an "A" list of titles that get promotion, and any book not on the A-list goes wanting. Include a provision that requires at least some advertising. One publishing consultant asks for a $5,000 to $10,000 budget for the exclusive promotion of your book. It does not mean that giving your book only one line on a whole page ad in Publishers Weekly.

If I were only allowed to write three words about self-publishing they would be: don’t do it. The self-publishing route to publication is a very rough road. The advent of easy-to-use desktop publishing software and "publication quality" 600 dpi laser printers has given people the idea that self publishing is easy. It is not easy. It is a lot of work, and will consume a huge amount of your time, energy and money. But the rewards can be great, and if you are willing to put in the effort, then self-publishing might be for you (that’s what I would say if allowed more than three words).

What Is "Self-Publishing?"

In self-publishing you assume full responsibility for producing the manuscript, copy editing it, typesetting it, producing the camera-ready illustrations, doing the book design and page layout, dealing with the printer, stocking the printed books, advertising the books, selling the books and shipping the books when they are sold.

You may or may not do all of these steps yourself. There are a number of contractors who can take all, or part, of the burden if you are willing to pay their fees. Some companies are book packagers. These firms specialize in finding the author, overseeing the writing and production of the book, and then placing the book with a major publisher. Others are full service contractors who will take your manuscript and produce the finished books for you.

Most of the firms and individuals, however, are smaller contractors who take only part of the job. These include artists, page layout people, book designers, copyeditors and all the other people who are needed to professionally produce a book. A lot has been written recently about our economy transitioning to a situation where "virtual companies" are the most competitive. These companies have a small core of permanent employees, and a "stable" of contractors and temporary employees. The publishing industry found out about this trick a decade ago, and many of them now have the entire production department (except for a few managers for liaison) working out of house. As one out source mini-contractor put it, "if you have a computer with a modem, a telephone, FAX machine and an address Fed-Ex can find, who the heck needs Manhattan?" She now lives in rural New Hampshire.

If you do all of this work yourself, or contract to have it done for you, then you are a self-publisher.

Beware of "Vanity Press" and "Subsidy Publishers"

One dimension of identifying true self-publishing is identifying what it is not. It is not either a vanity press or a subsidy publisher, although it may seem like it to some people. A vanity press and subsidy publisher will hold themselves out as a book publisher, but that is true only in the flimsiest sense of the term. These companies charge you to publish your book, and pretend to market it. Very few such books ever make it in the marketplace. Two signs of this type of company is that they ask you to pay for the book up front, but offer you a tremendous royalty on sales (40 or 50 percent is common). And why shouldn’t they offer you a tremendous royalty? After all, you assumed the financial risk of publishing the book.

If you are willing to bear the financial burden of publishing a book, then look for companies who do not hold themselves out as legitimate publishers, but rather as the purveyors of the services needed to get the book printed and delivered to your doorstep. They are a lot cheaper than vanity presses!

By the way, there is one species of subsidy publisher that may not be immediately obvious. Some publishers will publish your book "for free," but require you to buy a large number of copies at a regular trade discount (typically 40 percent). One contract I have seen called for the author to buy 5,000 copies of a $19.95 book, at a 40 percent discount. That was a "free" offer costing the author $59,850. Some regular (usually small) publishers have a mix of subsidy and non-subsidy books in their line, so be sure to understand the contract that you are signing!

Should You Self Publish?

One aspect of regular publishing is often overlooked by those eager to self-publish. The discipline of the process of getting past an editor to space on the shelf at the bookstore provides a species of quality control. Not only do you benefit from the experience and expertise of the people in the publishing company, but you also have the opportunity to find out whether or not your work is worth publishing. It can be personally traumatic to be told that your material is not very good, or that it is misdirected to the wrong market, but that knowledge can save you a lot of time and effort.

If your manuscript has made the rounds of the publishers, then you must consider whether or not it really has a future. It’s a hard call to figure out whether the book is a loser, or the editors simply haven’t seen the light. One of my early books went the rounds of twenty-one publishers before eventually (three years later) being bought by the first editor to reject it.

The standard publishing market also means that the money flows from the publisher to you, and that the lion’s share of the production work is done by the publisher or its contractors. In self-publishing you have to do it all, pay for it all, and risk it all. Instead of spending a lavish advance, you will pay, pay and pay before you ever see even one book.

Who Should Self-Publish?

There are several categories of people for whom self-publishing is reasonable. To answer the question of whether self-publishing is for you, it is necessary to find out whether or not you fit into any of these categories.

One category is where the topic is worthwhile, but has so small a market that it is not interesting to a publisher who needs to make a profit. Some academic topics are in this category, but for the most part even those topics tend to find low-volume publishers who charge buyers a small fortune for the book to cover costs. In these cases, self-publishing is an option but not strictly necessary.

An area where self-publishing is seen a lot is genealogy publishing. Unless you have a very well known surname, and can sell a large number of copies, then it is not likely that many people will want to buy the book. But it’s also a topic that is important to you and your kind, and if you are willing to bear the cost and work, then it may be worthwhile to consider self-publishing. However, even in genealogy and family history, the self-publishing route may not be best. Several companies will publish your manuscript at their expense if they can find a minimum number of paying subscribers. The company that is publishing my KERR/CARR family history requires 300 subscriptions, and I can supply them with 45 of them just from my own immediate family and file of people who provided material.

Another category of self-publishing is when the author has an outlet for the books. The biggest problem with self-publishing is not getting books in your garage or basement, but getting them out again at a profit. But if you teach seminars around the country, give lectures or speeches, or have some other means for distributing your books, then self-publishing may be an economically reasonable approach. Run the numbers and find out.

Still another category is the person who wants to start a mini-publishing company. If you recognize the pitfalls, and are willing to bear the burden, then self-publishing your own book may be the first step in starting your own multinational publishing empire. I know one author who did that, and five years of sixty-hour weeks later was able to sell the company for a handsome amount of money. He publishes a lot of books (including mine), but some of his earliest titles were his own.

There are a number of books and periodicals on the market that will tell you a lot more detail about self-publishing. You would be wise to read a number of them.
 
 

Promotion of a book is normally the responsibility of the publisher, so you only have to do it if you are self-published. At least that’s the general wisdom. It’s also not true. Most large publishers have an "A-list" of books that get promotion, and the others get little more than a few square inches in the annual catalog. Even if you are on the A-list this year (or even this season), the chances are very good that you won’t be on the A-list next time around. You will then be a "backlist" title.

I once saw a book salesman from a large publishing company pitching the owner of a local technical bookstore. He had the dust covers of the books with descriptions of the book printed on the back of the cover. He would hold up the cover so the bookseller could see it, who would wag his finger one way or the other to indicate approval or rejection. Your book gets less "face time" with the bookseller than your proposal got on the uninvited slush pile way (about 5 seconds, I reckoned). It reminded me of B-grade movie scenes of Doctor Mengele wagging his finger one way or the other to indicate who lived and who died.

Get the picture? You may or may not have a lot of publicity from the publisher. Even if you do get some attention from the marketeers, it is also wise to do some things on your own. In most cases, the publisher will assist you, but in other cases you will have to do it yourself.

If your publisher has any fliers, brochures or other ads that are for your book only, then ask for a supply of them. In one case, the publisher has both a one-page (but two-side) flyer on my book, and a direct mail tri-fold brochure in which my book is one of four being touted. They have me several hundred copies of each (at my request). In other cases, I have created my own fliers.

Personal and professional contacts. Nearly all of us have personal contacts within our profession or field of study, and these can be used to help introduce your book. Write each of them a letter telling them about the book. If you have a brochure or flier, then enclose a copy. Advertisements for textbooks should include instructions for ordering a review copy.

Most modern word processors have the ability to do mail merge and create mailing labels (or directly address envelopes). These capabilities can be used to ease the chore of contacting friends and associates.

One thing that will help you reach a large number of people is to keep a database file listing their names, addresses and telephone numbers (plus any other relevant information). You can also scour your collection of business cards for contacts. If you attend conferences or other events where your peers and colleagues congregate, then collect business cards or otherwise obtain as many names and addresses as you can find.

Trade and professional association directories are another source of names and addresses, but must be used with caution. Many of them are protected by copyright, or carry some statement limiting use. Even if the directory does not strictly follow the requirements of the copyright law, it is still their property and that property right should be respected. Ask permission. They may grant it without further fuss, or they may ask for a fee. Indeed, they may also have a mailing list of their own that could be rented for a fee (sometimes a substantial fee, other times it is quite reasonable).

If you either attend or teach a seminar or course for colleagues, or others who might reasonably be interested in your book, then make sure you send around a sheet of paper asking for every attendee’s name and address. It also helps to collect Internet E-mail addresses.

Once you have obtained or constructed a mailing list, then you can solicit business. If they are friends, colleagues or others who might reasonably know your name, then send them a personalized form letter (mail merge is great!). Otherwise, send them a brochure. Keep the weight of the entire package under one ounce so that it can be sent via mail at the cheapest rate. For letters to friends and colleagues, send the letter first class. For others, if you have enough volume and are willing to sort it they way the post office demands, then there are a couple of bulk mail rates that you might find attractive.

Trade, special interest and professional associations. If your topic is of interest to the members of any trade, special interest or professional organizations, then it is likely that they will be interested in reviewing the book. Unless there are only a very few of these in your field, it can get expensive to send them all a review copy of the book. It might be wiser to direct them to the person at your publisher who can supply review copies.

Libraries (including corporate libraries). Libraries only buy a few copies (or even just one) at a time, but in the aggregate they are a large market for many types of books. It might be wise to send your advertising literature and a letter to every library that is a logical candidate for your particular book. The reference librarian at your local library can help you with finding a directory of libraries around the country.

Write articles (even if for free). If there are any popular or trade periodicals in your field, then you should consider writing articles for them. Some of them will even pay you for the article, although that should not be your main criterion. I have written for "pay in copies" and "no pay" magazines that are directed towards teachers who might use one of my books.

In some cases, if both the magazine and book editors agree, you might be able to excerpt article material from your book. In nearly all cases, however, a good rewrite takes care of any copyright objections.

In all magazine venues, whether for pay or not, make sure the book is mentioned at least once. Most respectable magazines will not allow you to shamelessly tout the book in the body of the article unless it is clearly an excerpt situation. Nearly all of them will allow you to put in an author note somewhere in the article as a sidebar (most commonly on either the first page or last page). A typical note reads something like: "John Doe is the author of the book How To Write Wonderful Stuff. He teaches English at Snooker College in Mytown, IL."

Internet. The Internet is a wonderful means for promoting things like books. There are classified ad companies that do batch mailings to large numbers of potential clients. If they can focus on a list that is culled for your kind of reader, then they may provide a useful service. There is also the possibility for advertising on World Wide Web sites.

Do not upload any of your text that you want to protect. Once it’s out on the Internet, it will circulate without your permission and you have lost it.

Bookstore owners. The classical method for getting books placed in bookstores is to buttonhole bookstore owners and sell them on the idea of stocking your book. Some bookstores have a "local author" section that could move a few copies for you.

If you can get your publisher to invite you a booksellers convention, then go. There are a lot of radio and television shows prowling for interviews, and the places are overrun with bookstore owners and buyers.

Guerrilla Marketing. This technique is one way to get rid of books that are slightly damaged. The damage should be too much to ethically sell it to a bookstore as new, but not so much that it would turn off the retail customer. One small publisher takes their shop worn returns and shipping damage copies with them whenever they visit bookstores. They smuggle the book onto the shelves when no one is looking. When a customer picks up the book and buys it, the bookseller has to enter the book into the computer by hand, so is forced to ask herself "hmmmm...why isn’t this book in the computer?" Because at least one customer bought the book, they may reorder. One way to look at this marketing ploy is that it "pays" the bookseller to look at your product. The publisher who created this approach calls it "reverse shoplifting" in addition to "guerrilla marketing."

Radio and television. Doing radio and television interviews is a good way to create interest in your book. Section 14 deals specifically with getting and doing radio-tv interviews at length.

One Final Thing

There are a number of ways that you can promote your book. Which of them to use depends on the book, its topic, your personality, the time available in your schedule and a lot of other factors. But all of that activity will go for nothing if you don’t give the potential buyer a means for contacting either you or the publisher. Provide an address or phone number. Most publishers have toll-free 1-800 or 1-888 telephone lines that can be used by customers. Give that number in any advertisement that you produce. Don’t be the stealth author!

A best-selling author I know advises writers to "do as many radio and TV interviews as possible" to promote their books. Why? Because radio-TV exposure sells books. When an author whose sales top 450,000 speaks, others listen — if they're smart. Nearly one hundred interviews later I can vouch for that advice! Whether you are promoting a book, a product, a service, or a cause, the talk show interview is a very powerful promotional tool. Between commercial, educational, public radio, and religious stations, there are more than 4,000 talk shows, interviews, or short (5 to 15 minutes) public service shows aired daily — and they reach an audience of many millions of people. According to Broadcast Interview Source more than 350 of the 9,700 stations in the USA are exclusively talk, and those numbers translate into lots of opportunity to promote your work.

The material in this report is directed towards book writers because that is the area of my own experience. It is nonetheless valuable to others who wish to promote a cause, a product or a service.

Is It for Celebrities Only?

Many potential talk show guests are frozen into inaction by the erroneous belief that only recognized authorities or well-known celebrities are invited to appear. That belief is simply not the case! Fame never hurts, but isn't necessary to be booked on talk shows. While a major celebrity would get the approving nod in a heartbeat, there are thousands of opportunities for lesser celebrities — like you. There is a lot of space for the right people.

So who are these "right people?" They are people that talk show producers believe will: 1) interest listeners or viewers, and 2) are a good, reliable interview. Your IQ (Interest Quotient) hangs on whether or not people want or need to hear what you have to say. Depending upon the type of show, you must either be controversial, informative on current events, or be able to offer them something that can change their lives for the better. In any event, you must be entertaining. Above all else, you must be a worthwhile use of the listener’s time. If you can’t answer "because..." when someone asks "so what...." about your appearance, then don’t waste the effort to make radio or TV appearances.

The question of who is invited to appear on a talk show hangs four-square not on fame, but on the nearly indefinable Interest Quotient. Your personal IQ takes a nose-dive, however, if you are a mere poor imitation of someone else; it soars to the heights if you are unique and well-spoken.

That "well-spoken" remark is almost universally the opinion of talk-show experts who believe that how you say it is often much more important that what you say. A well-polished "nobody" will always find a welcome on talk shows if, in the opinion of the host or producer, he or she provides entertainment value that the show requires to survive. Although you need a "hook" (e.g. book or identification as the spokesman for a cause or organization) to establish credibility, you need not be well-known to ride the talk show circuit. Do enough shows, however, and you will become a celebrity in your own right.

Once you establish your credentials as a "Good Talk," then you will find yourself sought after as a talk show guest. Many of my own appearances resulted from a host or producer hearing me on another show. I’ve made numerous repeat appearances on the same show because show producers were happy with the first appearance.

Appearances have also resulted from listeners or viewers writing in and telling the producer that they heard me on another show and suggested that I would make a good guest for that particular show also. It pays to be a "Good Talk."

In summary, you can expect to get on talk shows if:

1. You have a "hook" to hang the interview on;

2. Are interesting to the audience;

3. Have something to offer (either entertainment or self-improvement);

4. Can expand or adapt your topic to a variety of different audiences;

5. Are reliable; and

6. Can talk reasonably well.

Are you a "Good Talk?"

Your stock-in-trade on a talk show is your ability to talk, and thereby entertain the listeners. Although some talk show hosts pompously claim that their activity is not mere entertainment, but rather it is some kind of public service, in reality it is often little more than an alternative to a game show or B-grade re-run movie. While the people in the audience may or may not be a little higher on the intellectual scale than "Wheel of Fortune" viewers, it is still the entertainment factor that attracts them to the show. If you have entertainment value, then you will find it easier to get on shows in the first instance, and a lot easier to book return appearances in the future. Never forget that on a talk show you are first and foremost an entertainer. Period.

A Good Talk is reliable. Obviously, being able to talk good is a real asset, but many good talkers make terrible talk show guests because they are unreliable. A good talk is several things, but mostly he or she is an interviewee who shows up:

1. On the right day,

2. At the right time,

3. In the right place,

4. Sober and un-drugged,

5. Alert, and

6. Ready to work.

Simple logistics? Sure, but very, very critical, and too often overlooked. Attention to small details is the foundation of a large reputation.

For a telephone interview (a "phoner") reliability means that you are at the right phone at the right time — and were smart enough to make it a phone in a quiet location and without the Call Waiting service. After all, your hollering kids and the Bleep-click-thunk-splatz of the Call Waiting signal go out over the air right along with your most eloquent words!

On Talking Good

Remember Calvin Coolidge? A story they tell about the thirtieth president involves an incident that happened at a White House party. "Silent Cal" was a man of few words. A woman socialite approached him during the party saying: "Mister President, I bet Mrs. Smith that I could make you say three words." The dour prexy wrinkled his nose and then retorted in his best murmur: "You lose." Don't be a "Silent Cal" interview unless you want some ticked off host to say: "you lose."

A good interview is one where you do most of the talking. One community affairs show host told me that he sometimes awakens in a cold sweat from a deep sleep because of a recurring nightmare: a whole string of tight-lipped, uptight, "Silent Cal" interviews. After we taped my interview he told me "you're a good talk, Carr, I only had to use four of the seven questions we laid out for the 15 minutes."

A Good Talk is able to carry the conversation because he or she is an expert on the topic, and has lots of material on hand. My eighth grade social studies teacher once scolded me with the remark "...you've got the world's largest store of useless knowledge." She was wrong about that (and a lot more, it turned out) because a large collection of anecdotal material is golden on a talk show.

Another of my teachers — one of the best in the business — taught a public speaking course at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He offered his students one piece of advice that should be tattooed on the forearms of everyone seeking talk show appearances: don't ever speak impromptu, always be prepared for contingencies in case things don't go the way they were planned. Have a talk or line of questioning planned, and be prepared to talk on it at length. Too much preparation is never a problem, but too little is always a disaster.

Prepare a series of questions in advance on 3X5 or 4X6 index cards. Have them available so that a weary, overworked (or just plain lazy) talk show host can select those questions that seem pertinent to his or her audience. A significant advantage of supplying your own questions is that you know the answers already, so will easily appear to be a Good Talk. Another advantage is that you control the show if only your own questions are asked.

Another bit of preparation that will lubricate your talk is a set of information cards for the host to use. These cards should tell the host: a) who you are (name — and spell it phonetically if it does not usually roll easily off English speaking lips); b) the name of your organization; c) an interesting anecdote or quick "blurb" about the topic of your talk (a powerful quote works well); and d) how to get in touch with you (as appropriate).

Another thing to commit to note cards (or other "memory media") is a good intro and a good extro. The intro should be strong enough to snap the listener's head, and convince him to continue listening. The extro is your summation, and should not take longer than a single (60 second) minute.

If you plan to give an address over the air, give it during the extro, but forewarn listeners earlier in the broadcast so that they can rustle up a pencil and paper. You would probably be surprised at the number of letters that don't get written because a broadcaster surprised the audience with an address.

There is a skill to giving an address or other information that must be copied down. One broadcaster told me that giving this sort of information is the difference between a "pro" and a rank novice. Give the address at least twice, and speak it slowly and distinctly (especially if odd words or pronunciations are used). For example, the way I give my address is as follows: "People can reach me at this address: Post Office Box 1099, that's box one-zero-nine-nine, Falls Church, VA., zipcode 22041. 'Falls Church' is two words; that's P.O. Box 1099, one-zero-nine-nine, Falls Church, VA., 22041, that zipcode is 2-2-0-4-1." People who rush through giving this sort of information communicate little more than their own lack of skill. Speak clearly and slowly.

Beware, however, of letting those index cards give you a false sense of security. Be well prepared so that you can handle a wide range of questions. Talk shows have a way of developing different directions on short (or no) notice. Whether from a lack of understanding, genuine interest, or out and out hostility, the line of discussion may take off on a wild, unplanned tangent. Be prepared.

Learning the Skills

The technical keys (other than good preparation) to talking good are training and practice. Not everyone who appears on shows is a smooth, polished speaker. Virtually everyone can achieve at least a minimum level of competence. Very few, if any, polished professional speakers come by their ability through natural ability or charisma. Virtually all of the better speakers got that way through training and practice. I once complimented a professor on the quality on-the-air job done by one of his broadcast students. He told me: "you should have heard his first program. It was disastrous. We routinely scratch the first ten tapes our students make before even considering one of them for airing." In other words, with practice and guidance stumbling novices become professionals.

Talking on radio-TV is merely a skill, and it is a skill that you can learn. Achieving mastery comes through several means (or likely a combination of means): take a public speaking course, join Toastmasters, teach sunday school, seek office in a PTA or other local organization, give briefings to superiors, give lectures to subordinates, teach a college course, preach. The opportunities to practice talking seem endless and the term "oral gratification" can assume a whole new dimension for you.

One word of caution about public speaking courses seems in order. Although most teachers are competent and care about doing a professional job, there are also a large number of incompetents teaching public speaking; only a few of them are true masters of the art. Pick a good master teacher — not a hack. Because speaking is a performance oriented skill, an incompetent teacher not only pollutes the student with bad advice, but also can shatter the student's self-confidence beyond repair. A teacher who uses biting sarcasm, demeans the student's performance, or uses the critique ad hominem is an incompetent fraud and should be shunned by you and fired by his or her school.

The job of a public speaking coach or teacher is four-fold: a) impart knowledge and technique, b) draw the student out of his or her private shell, c) develop and polish speaking skills, and d) promote the student's self-confidence. Any teacher who does less for the student is in the wrong profession.

Overcoming Anxiety and Fright

Two embarrassing reactions are seen when people either get up on stage, or face a microphone in a radio studio. Some will ham it up and make fools of themselves. Fortunately, they can either be counseled to repent or be kicked off the air as needed. Others become so frightened that their performance is compromised. Fortunately for the latter group, experience and training helps overcome stage fright.

But don't expect the fright to go away. It will always be with you, at least to some degree. The difference between a good speaker and a poor speaker is not that the good speaker isn't frightened or anxious, but rather that he or she copes with the fright and overcomes it. The butterflies that get loose in your stomach when you speak also get loose in the experienced speaker's stomach, but they are trained to fly in formation.

A little story illustrates the situation. An English author was lecturing in a public hall right after World War II. He apologized for his painfully obvious poor performance, and said: "every time I speak in public I get a 9x9x9 block of ice in my stomach. A fat, cigar-chomping figure waddled forward on his cane and inquired: "Sir, what did you say were the dimensions of that block of ice?" After the speaker repeated the dimensions, Sir Winston Churchill replied: "amazing, positively amazing. Those are precisely the dimensions of the block of ice in my stomach whenever I get up to make a speech."

Fear of speaking is real and can manifest itself quite viscerally. Having such anxiety is normal, natural and should not embarrass you at all. Almost everyone experiences it most of the times they speak in public. The real professionals learn to cope with and thereby overcome that fear. Some well-known orators will tell you that the "Butterfly Syndrome" is actually useful in "pumping them up" for an event. The well-known Fright, Flight, Fight syndrome will work to your advantage if you let it. Certain facts can help you overcome the fright.

A root cause of the fear of public speaking is the so-called "performance factor." Most people see speaking as a performance, much like ballet dancing, singing an opera or performing gymnastics in the Olympics. In that context, the audience are judging the performance and their acceptance of the performance depends in large measure on the perfection achieved. But that is not the case when speaking. Get over the fear that you might make mistakes. You surely will err, but it doesn't make any difference in the final analysis.

Don't try to be a Daniel Webster, unless you truly possess great oratorical skills. Talk loud and with confidence, but talk naturally without feigned or falsetto style. In other words, be yourself.

Don't try to be a Noah Webster, either. Even if you possess a magnificent vocabulary, your audience doesn't. While using multitudinous polysyllabic words makes you look erudite, it leaves the typical listener bewildered.

In public appearances and on television be sure to look around at different people. Besides making each individual member of the audience feel that you personally addressed them, it also alleviates the boring "talking head" routine. It also keeps you alert.

If you plan to take questions from the audience or by telephone, then be sure to announce that fact (and give the phone number) early in the show or speech. That tactic gives people time to think of questions to ask, and avoids the embarrassing thundering silence that results when you spring it on them.

It helps immensely if a producer or assistant can screen the calls before going on the air. Not only does this process filter the calls to produce a better set of questions (remember the entertainment factor), it also helps eliminate objectionable, obscene and potentially dangerous callers.

Finally, understand beforehand that you will goof up, sometimes seriously. The key to success is not in not stumbling, but in how you cope with the stumble when it happens. Be aware that most of your performance mistakes go unnoticed by the audience. Although you are painfully aware of the problem, the audience never saw it! In one public speaking class, students were asked to evaluate each others' performance and keep a numerical tally of the errors made. All eight students felt at the end of the class that they personally had earned the largest number of "blooper" marks. In reality, when the scores were tallied, each student had approximately the same number! The lesson here is that even a critical audience that was asked to count errors failed to find a difference between speakers.

If you do make a tremendous blunder, then there is still hope. Even when everyone in the audience sees your mistake, a good recovery makes biting criticism evaporate. In that same class a young college woman had earned "C" and "D" grades on her speeches all semester. She was a terrible performer who rocked back and forth on her two feet constantly. During her final examination speech she rocked so vigorously that she over banked and fell over onto the floor. Picking herself up, amidst the raucous laughter of insensitive peers, she brushed herself off, and said rather testily: "...now! Where was I before I was so rudely interrupted!" She finished the speech in good composure. The professor jumped up at the end and shouted "that's what I've been trying to teach you all semester!" She received an "A" for that speech and a "B" for the semester grade.

Don't be too concerned if you receive some biting (and usually unfair) criticism at every event. There is a certain basal antagonism rate of criticism because some people take it on themselves to criticize and rebuke everyone they encounter.

Types of Talk Shows

Talk and interview shows come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. You may be interviewed for a three minute mini-interview on a 500 watt flea-powered station in Podunk, or for two hours in prime time on a 50,000 watt, mile-high, clear channel blowtorch that dominates its spot on the AM dial west of the Mississippi River from Mexico to Canada. I have been interviewed on these types of shows and also for ninety minutes on a nationwide satellite network show which broadcasts over more than 200 stations.

Perhaps the greatest number of talk shows are public affairs shows that last from five to fifteen minutes. Some public affairs shows run longer than fifteen minutes, however, and actually rival the more formal talk shows in format, quality and exposure.

Some shows are listener participation talk shows. Listeners telephone the studio and ask their questions live on-the-air. Although this format attracts its share of nuts and cranks, it is also a vigorous arena that can tax you to the limit. I personally enjoy this format, especially when some of the callers disagree with me ...or know as much about my topic as I do. It's fun!

Another format is the cross-the-table interview with no call-ins. This type of interview is typically pre-taped for airing at a later time, although some shows do it live.

One type of show uses a stand-in for the real host. The shill asks questions and tapes your answer. The "real" host's voice is dubbed in later. The two interviews I did on Rev. D. James Kennedy’s radio show were done in this manner. Always insist on a complete tape of the show beforehand to make sure that the broadcast questions still match the responses that you gave. Some dishonest producers attempt to make the guest look foolish (or somehow guilty) by substituting questions from the "real" host that were not really asked. Television pseudo-journalists are famous for this despicable tactic. You won't always get the tape beforehand (or at all), but at least try. Some experienced interviewees make their own tape of the event.

In some cases the show is a 15 minute public affairs slot that airs shortly after sign-on at "oh-dark-hundred" in the morning, or at other times during the day ...which reflect the blank spots on the station's Price & Availability sheet. Although not prime time, even these "wasteland" shows are usually valuable because people do listen to them and quantity helps in promoting your book. Besides, they are free to you.

The small town or rural station is also worthwhile, but not if the appearance either costs you money or takes time away from higher quality opportunities. An English writer, whose reputation is international in scope, told me of a 3,500 mile promotional tour around the United Kingdom that was a wonderful trip but a promotional fizzle. They had to drive 250 miles between two interviews that each lasted five minutes. If you have to select between a 50,000 watt clear channel blowtorch and a 500 watt soldering iron in the southwest, then the choice is obvious. Not so obvious, however, is when only the pipsqueak station is available ...then the decision is made on the basis of cost and time required. Quantity helps, but quality reigns supreme.

How to Get Invited

Your publisher has a large, well-staffed and grossly overpaid public relations department that is going to work you to death with radio and TV appearances. Right? Yeah, s-u-u-u-re he does! If you believe that one, then I've got a bridge in Brooklyn you can buy real cheap. The truth is that few publishers have aggressive programs to land you on talk shows. Some of them make at least some effort, while others don't seem to know what "talk show" means. Most small publishers cannot afford to have a full-time employee working on talk show promotions, so either have a part-time publicist or ignore the job altogether. Even the largest publishers don't promote every book on their list equally. If your book is on the so-called "A-list," then it might get considerable help. Otherwise, your book will be all but ignored by the publicist. Even heavily promoted books fall out of the "A-list" category fairly fast ...long before all promotional possibilities are exhausted. Face it, you will have to do a lot yourself.

If you are lucky enough to be with a publisher who has an aggressive publicist who has lots of valuable contacts — and your book has their attention — then use their services to the limit. Otherwise, be prepared for a lot of hard work on your own.

First, you will have to identify the shows that fit your project. There are several avenues open for this phase of the campaign. The first step might be to listen to your favorite radio station to find out what shows are aired locally. You could also ask the local station manager for advice. Or you can look in the Style section (or its equivalent) of your local newspaper. When you are finished fooling around with that nonsense, though, get serious and look at some of the standard broadcast industry directories. Although some libraries might have them, in most cases you will have to spend some money to buy your own copies.

Second, you must prepare a press kit. According to Mitch Davis of Broadcast Interview Source, there is a "two-ounce" rule for the press kit. If it weighs more than two-ounces in the envelope, then it is too big. A good rule to remember is that anyone who has the power to do something good for you doesn’t have the time to read a lot of material.

The press kit should demonstrate that you are experienced with the media (list even one little local interview); if clips are available, then include them in the kit. Demonstrate why your topic, or your experience, is timely and newsworthy. Exploit any seasonal or annual aspects of your topic, but be aware that seasonal guests and topics must be scheduled at least three to four months in advance. An October offer for a Christmas topic won't usually be well received unless something else fell through. Expand your topic to include the greatest number of listeners. Always be a primary source: "I'm kinda like So-and-So" won't cut it — they'll go get So-and-So instead of you.

Make sure that both your daytime and evening phone numbers appear at least three places in the press kit. And for crying out loud don't forget that the area code is part of your telephone number! This advice might seem a bit basic, but radio-TV producers tell me that it is often overlooked. If they can't call you, then they won't schedule you! Talk show guest coordinators report that a substantial number of potential guests omit the key information of phone number and address, so cannot be booked.

If you have an Internet E-mail address, voice mail box or a FAX machine, then be sure to give those numbers as well. A surprising amount of business is now being handled electronically these days, so don't cut off any angle of approach for the producers.

In a seminar for Washington's Open University, Mitch Davis and his associate Joe Shafran stressed the importance of a little hype to get the producer to actually open your letter. Many, perhaps most, pitches wind up in the circular file unopened. Use a real stamp, not a postage meter stamp, and a well designed envelope that stands out (but not too much glitz, please). Don't use computer generated mailing labels. The envelope should either have a printed or handwritten head-snapping "teaser" on the outside that makes the producer really want to open it. Davis recommends hand writing the address on the envelope.

Above all, address the press kit to a real person — not just "guest coordinator" or "producer." If you have to call the show or station to find out the correct name, then do it. In fact, it is a good idea to call the person anyway. Ask for about thirty seconds of time, and then use it (and no more unless invited to do so) to tell him or her why you would be a good guest, and state that "some additional information" (the press kit) will arrive any day now.

An exception to the press kit, also recommended by Davis, is the use of a 6X9 postcard that contains enough teasing information to get the producer to call or write for the press kit, a sample book or whatever else you are offering as bait.

Make yourself visible. A press kit, although very valuable, is a temporary asset at best. It dies, if not on arrival, very soon after arrival. The promise "we'll file it against the day when..." is the kiss of death. "The day when..." somehow never comes. One way to achieve visibility is to send out multiple (but different) mailings to producers several times a year. Another way is to buy a listing in one of the broadcast industry directories.

Another method for achieving visibility is to attend broadcast industry conventions. Most of the major (plus many minor) broadcasters have booths at these conventions, and that makes them a prime hunting ground for a presskit-equipped sales rep with enough thrust to make contact.

You will also want to go to booksellers conventions (American Booksellers Association or Christian Booksellers Association), if you can get in. The ABA and CBA are pretty tight about letting in people who are not booksellers. You will have to get your publisher to make arrangements for you to get a pass. Either that, or arrange with a friendly local bookseller to let you buy a pass under his or her company name (be prepared for "sticker shock").

Whichever convention you decide to attend, wander the convention hall with a briefcase full of press kits and a pocket full of business cards. If your publisher has a booth at the convention, then ask about getting a free pass...if not, then pay your own entrance fee and chide the publisher about missing such a prime PR opportunity to make you both rich.

If your publisher has a booth at the convention, then it may be wise to spend much of your time working in the booth. During one CBA convention, I obtained eight interviews (one of them TV) from producers or their assistants who prowled the exhibit hall looking for contacts. Three of the interviews were recorded during the convention, while the others took place over the next few months when mutually convenient. While I don't want to give the impression that these people crawl all over the place looking for authors to interview (although some do), the large concentration of broadcasters makes contact-making a lot easier. As fighter pilots outnumbered by the enemy say, it’s a "target rich environment."

Be sure to have your own business card to give out during conventions and at speaking engagements — and please make it a good one. Do not use a rubber stamp on cut up 3X5 cards as some neophyte authors do. The price of really nice business cards is low enough that seeing anyone use the rubber stamp approach is enough to make a strong person cry. Also avoid sloppy looking laser printer business cards. Printer toner is no substitute for thermoplastic printer’s ink. Acceptable professionally printed business cards cost only a small amount, and pay rich dividends, besides looking more dignified.

Carry a small, pocket notebook with you onto the convention floor. I like the "reporter’s notebook" style. This notebook is like a steno notebook cut into two halves lengthwise. Why? To make notes, of course. Many of the contacts that you make at the convention will pay off later on, so record the critical information and jot down a few notes about each contact.

Much of what you do at conventions, meetings and while doing shows falls under the overused and misused rubric "networking." The proper use of networking is to make and nurture contacts that will prove useful later. Networking is not using people in the selfish sense of the word, but rather developing mutually beneficial relationships in which both parties are satisfied. In other words, networking is like any other fair trade.

The "Three A's" For Talk Show Guests: Availability, Affability, Ability

Being a success on talk shows is really quite simple. There is no magic formula or sorcery; there is no esoteric or arcane knowledge; there is no 'ticket' that needs punching by some accrediting authority in the sky. There is only a bit of basic common sense. The three legs of the triad that hold up the successful talk show guest are availability, affability and ability. Note the order, for it's important.

Availability. You can't hope to land talk show appearances unless you are available. A painfully obvious fact, but very, very important and all too often overlooked. Availability can mean different things. For example, it can mean having a phone number where you can be reached during the producer’s normal business hours. The host or producer who cannot reach you, then they can’t book you. If being by a phone all day is not possible, and for many working people that's the case, then at least have an address where they can write to you, an E-mail address or a FAX number.

Alternatively, and probably better, is to have an answering machine to take the message, phone company voice mail, or hire a telephone answering service. In some cases, it might be possible to order the "Call Forwarding" feature from the local telephone company. Your calls can then be forwarded to where you are at the moment. Most local telephone companies now offer low-cost "voice mail" service.

Your letters and promotional material should list your phone number at more than one place in your literature or letter. A good rule of thumb is to print it at three places in your promo material, and twice in your letters (e.g. in the letterhead and in the last paragraph of the text).

Availability can also mean re-arranging your schedule to accommodate interviews. Doing "phoners" keeps you from having to travel, but you must be available either when the show is on the air, or during their normal taping times for non-live shows. Keep in mind that there are four time zones in the "lower 48" states. In addition, during the daylight savings time portion of the year the state of Arizona and parts of Indiana are not on "DST," so time differences will change from the non-DST months. These facts make for a lot of diversity in talk show scheduling. Even though most talk shows are in either the AM drive time, the noon hour, or evening time slots, you can be busy at other times. For example, a 7:30 AM "drive time" show in L.A. takes place at 10:30 AM on the east coast.

How do some radio show producers spell "availability?" F-L-E-X-I-B-L-E. Not only should you be willing and able to accommodate a variety of show or taping times, you should be able to do it on short notice. I have had several interviews because I could fill in for a missing guest. I once went to a radio station to sell a talk show host on booking my friend, journalist Dan Wooding. He booked Dan for a few weeks hence (when he was going to be in town), but said to me: "We're on live in twenty minutes, and the guest called to cancel only a half-hour ago. Can you stick around and do the show." You better believe I could stick around!

Flexibility also means a willingness to reschedule when it isn't possible for the show to keep the original schedule. Hosts are sometimes sick, equipment fails, all kinds of things intervene to scuttle shows. I rescheduled one show in Denver three times — once because of a plane crash, and once because of the October 1987 stock market crash. In both cases, I was on the line waiting to go on the air when the producer apologized and told me that the interview was off. We actually went on the third time. Taking offense is unprofessional, and loses you interviews. Which brings up the next "A" — affability.

Affability. It would be difficult to understate the importance of affability to your talk show career.

Although many callers and (depending on your topic) some hosts, will appoint themselves Randy Rude Rebuker to put you on their version of the "straight and narrow path," you must never stoop to rudeness. You should remain a friendly beacon of light even when abused. Your chances of getting invited on the show are a lot higher if you are an affable sort of person. Not surprisingly (since even talk show hosts are people too), an affable guest stands a lot greater chance of being invited back. A contentious, curmudgeonly pain in the neck is long remembered negatively, while an affable and cooperative guest is prized.

Ability. Make no mistake about it: ability is very important and is not to be underestimated. But its ranking in the triple-A's hierarchy is dead last. While the incompetent guest won't survive for long on the talk show circuit, a minimally competent guest who is also available and affable can be a gold-plated winner. Ability consists of preparation and knowing how to be a Good Talk. Ability can be learned, it can be practiced, and is achievable ...so don't let a lack of self-confidence ruin your talk show career.

Logistics of the Interview Circuit

One thing ruins more talk show appearances than any other. It is not lack of preparation. Indeed, for the professional preparation is rarely an issue. So what does-in the talk show guest? Inattention to dumb little details.

We have already mentioned the necessity of getting to the right place at the right time. Call ahead and get directions to the studio. Also, buy a good local map beforehand and trace the route to make sure it reconciles with the directions that you were given. One talk show host in Washington, D.C. gave a guest directions from the Marriott Hotel (there were four); "the Marriott by the bridge over the river..." he was told by the out-of-town guest. After a thoroughly confused guest arrived nearly an hour late it was discovered that two of the four Marriott hotels in the Washington, D.C. area were "by the bridge over the river." (Marriott Key Bridge and Marriott Twin-Bridges).

When you start for the studio, leave real early and take the map, your directions, and the name and phone number of the host or other point of contact at the station. You might want to tune in the station on the car radio to listen as you drive. If the studio is co-located with the transmitter (often true for smaller stations, but by no means universally the case) then the signal will get louder as you get nearer. Another advantage of the co-located station is that the tower — several hundred feet high — is a good navigation landmark to help find the place. Allow plenty of travel time so that your interview opportunity isn't scuttled by accidents, traffic, traffic tickets, rain, fog, confusing directions, poorly conceived road signs, and all the other vagaries of traveling by auto in a strange place. If you arrive too early, then you can always sit in the car and read, but if you arrive late the deal is dead.

A Little Talk Show Tip

Traveling to radio interviews at great distances is costly, and often as not the cost is paid by you, not the publisher or the radio station. As a result, a great many interviews are conducted by telephone ("phoners"). Keep a few things in mind as you prepare for a phoner: You need a quiet place away from domestic or commercial hubbub (telephones are amazingly sensitive to background noise);you need to turn off the telephone call waiting feature; you need to keep a glass of water or soda handy; you need to keep cough drops handy; you need to be comfortable. If you do a lot of long phoners, then consider investing in a headset like those that telephone operators use. For about $80 you can buy an instrument that plugs into the line between the telephone and the wall jack...and it pays for itself many times over on long-duration phoners.

Start the phoner interview with an empty bladder! Sorry if you find this subject indelicate, but some interviews run for two-hours or more. On a day when you know that an interview will take place try to minimize your liquid intake until after the interview. If possible, try to have the interview close to a bathroom. If you use the facilities during the interview (don't laugh, it happens!) for goodness sake don't flush (see comment above about telephone sensitivity).

Another Talk Show Tip

Before beginning the interview obtain a glass of water (or whatever beverage is your preference) to keep nearby in case your throat dries out. Talking has a way of messing up throats at the wrong time, and you need to be prepared. Keep a stick of cough drops in your pocket all the time. Even on TV there will be moments when a cough drop can be slipped into your mouth. For radio, any flavor is permissible, but for TV only the colorless "plain" cough drops are usable — unless you want red cherry, blue ice, or wintergreen slime teeth to show up on television screens all over America. The reason for the cough drops is that your throat may more than just dry out: a cough may develop even when you are healthy, and or the throat muscles or tongue may get stiff. Real menthol or "eucalyptus" cough drops work wonders for these mini-emergencies.

Telephone Talk Show Interviews

The most economical way to do talk show interviews is by telephone. It has the advantage of allowing you to remain at home, while still reaping the benefits of the talk show circuit. It is also a lot cheaper than traveling around from city-to-city ...not to mention more efficient. You can, after all, visit a lot of cities in a day by telephone — but only a couple can be visited in person.

Types of Phones. Although you may or may not have given much thought to the type of telephone you own, and probably selected the phone in your home or office from taste considerations, once you spend an hour or two on the line doing an interview you will become a little pickier. The model selected should be easy to handle, and lightweight. Also, be sure that the phone has good tone. Many of the cheaper varieties sound terrible, and have a low volume problem. Some people prefer headset telephones for ease of operation. Experienced talk show guests prefer a phone with a long cord to allow freedom to move about the room.

Some phone stores sell models that have a push-to-talk feature on the handset. In these instruments the mouthpiece microphone is disconnected unless you press the button. The purpose of these buttons is to keep room noise from being transmitted over the telephone except when the user is actually speaking. Such buttons are useful as "cough suppressers," or to keep down background noise, or to allow you the freedom to talk to (or holler at) people who come in the room and try to interrupt you while you are expounding profoundly on coast-to-coast satellite radio.

If you have more than one phone on the line that is used for radio interviews, then it’s quite possible that someone else in the household will pick up the phone and start dialing while you are on the air. To keep them from accidentally making an embarrassing interruption during the interview is to either place a sign on each telephone or disconnect all phones but the one you will use.

Another useful device that keeps interruptions down to a dull roar is a nifty mechanical gadget called a "door lock."

Under no circumstances use a "cordless" or cellular phone. These devices are actually little radio transmitter-receiver sets not unlike Citizens Band sets. Cordless phones suffer several defects from the talk show point of view. First, the cordless phone will pick up other nearby cordless phones of similar designs, the other person's conversation will then be transmitted over the telephone lines along with your voice, and the other party will appear on the radio show along with you. Those phones are not as "private" as you might believe...as listening to other's conversations will attest.

Second, cordless phones are susceptible to local electromagnetic interference, which produces strange noises on the line (some critics may consider your talk to be "strange noise" on the line, but that's another problem).

Third, cordless telephone handsets are battery operated, and it is likely that the battery will fail during a long interview. Finally, the noise level experienced on the cordless telephone is a function of your location relative to the base unit.

Some of those cordless techno-wonders accidentally dial long distance numbers when you think that they are actually hung up. Still another problem is that cordless telephones can be picked up by any eavesdropper who has a cheap "low-band VHF" scanner radio. All in all, the cordless telephone is a losing proposition for the talk show "phoner" guest.

TV Talk Show Tip

Wear subdued color clothing. Most TV producers don't want to see you in bright red, international orange, deep black, or bright anything. Of course, if there is a little mischief in your heart, then you can have a little fun with them by wearing a variegated puke-orange jacket that makes people think their TV set color controls are misadjusted...but that's another story for another time.

Keep cool on TV. The typical television studio set is intensely lighted, and that lighting creates lots of heat. Even on the coldest winter day it is the Sahara Desert in a TV studio. Your corduroy jacket with leather elbow patches, or that nice Harris tweed sport coat, and woolen turtleneck sweater may make you look sophisticated and urbane, but such garments are murder on TV. Besides, urbane or not, sweating like a pig belies that image a little bit. Even in the dead of winter wear lightweight summer garments on the air, even it means changing clothes when you arrive at the studio.

Also, keep a couple of handkerchiefs in your coat pockets so that you can surreptitiously wipe the sweat off your brow when the camera is on someone else. You can tell when the camera is elsewhere because the active (i.e. on the air) camera is the one with the little red light lit up. The other camera is turned off, and not being broadcast at that moment. When the light on the camera aimed at you turns off, then make a quick wipe of the face.

Don’t ever trust a talk-show host or producer to make anything "off-the-record." They are under no obligation to not use the material unless you have a signed contract to the contrary (and you won’t have one!). Any off-the-record comments made off-the-air can be used against you. In one well-known case, a TV crew disconnected the little red "on-the-air" lights on their cameras and started recording while the show’s hostess elicited some off-the-record comments from the guest...comments that came back to haunt her when the show was aired a couple weeks later.

Women who wear makeup should not wear any to the TV interview. Bring the stuff, but use it only with the advice of the studio makeup person. Red rouge has a tint that is right in the middle of the TV camera’s most sensitive range, and that causes makeup to "bloom" hideously on the screen.

How to handle the "Tough" Interview

An old saying asserts: "if you can't stand the heat, then stay out of the kitchen." Inevitably, if you do a lot of interviews then you will at one time or another encounter either a hostile host or a call-in jerk who wants to make life difficult for you. Pioneer TV talk show host Joe Pine sometimes amused his audience by telling his guests to "...go gargle with razor blades."

British journalist Dan Wooding told me that people do not really come of age in the interview business until they have survived an interview on Britain's BBC. According to Wooding, a BBC interview is a vicious rite of passage into the adulthood of the talk show circuit. But Dan also offered advice on how to handle that kind of interviewer. When he or she asks a provocative, outrageous or embarrassing question ...ignore it. Answer in a happy, chipper, confident, comfortable and thoroughly disarming manner, but answer by asking and then answering a question of your own. You can then burn up about five minutes of that broadcaster's verbal bear trap with your own answer to your own question. Politicians do it all of the time!

Dan recalls being invited to a live fifteen minute interview in Manchester, England. He had been told by the producer that they wanted to talk to him about his book. But the host decided to veer off from the interview topic to attack Dan's reporting tactics with some of Britain's infamous tabloid newspapers. Tight lipped, and obviously hostile, the host asked Dan to justify what he called "checkbook journalism." Dan totally ignored the sneering questions, posed his own questions, and spent the entire time talking about his book. Meanwhile the host turned purple with rage, but couldn't force the topic back into the pitfall strewn path that he'd selected. When the interview ended, the studio door opened, and the producer proclaimed "that was the funniest interview I've ever heard!" With that, the producer fell bodily onto the floor and laughed uncontrollably.

When I spoke with Dan on this subject, he said: "they tried to con me by getting me behind the microphone under false pretenses, but I wasn't born yesterday. I turned the tables on them, and forced the interview to my own advantage."

In other cases, the interviewer will ask legitimate questions that, although designed to lead you out onto a shaky verbal pier above a school of man-eating barracudas, are none the less in your best interest to answer. Keep it cool, be amiable, and skewer the rogue with a well thought out answer. After all, you have had a lot more time to think about the topic than that talk show host.

Another tough interview is the incompetent host. Authors on talk shows are a dime a dozen, and author's books come into the station by the box load. Far too many talk show hosts never even see your book until you or the producer hands them a copy five minutes before air time. The interview then degenerates into a discussion of the table of contents ("Joe, what do you mean by..." as he reads a chapter title to 500,000 listeners coast to coast).

The only hope for the table of contents interview is to take command and run away with the host's show: yak it up! I suspect that the host will actually be relieved. After all, if he is too lazy to at least speed read the book then he is probably too lazy to keep the ball rolling: it's your show from the instant you realize that the host is taking the table of contents route. After all, he or she doesn't know what's in the chapter, so you can be as narrow or broad as you desire ...or go off on an unrelated tangent if you please.

A good offense is the best defense. This cliche' contains a tactical truth: as soon as you realize that the interview host is hostile you must take over the show. Don't let him get a word in edgewise, and become as long winded as need be. If you "own" the show, then it is very difficult for the host to make a fool of you. However, never lose the appearance of utmost amiability.

Credibility is very important for talk show guests. Don't let yours slip. If you don't know the answer to a question, then for goodness sake don't try to fake it. Even if the host or caller doesn't catch you immediately, a subsequent caller will. People will forgive admitted ignorance from a supposed expert soon enough, but will despise the fake expert for a very long time.

Two other aspects of talk show appearances make for a "difficult interview." First, is the bozo caller who reduces himself to name calling or worse. Second, is the dangerous caller. If you get a call from some bozo who wants to make you sweat, then decide real early in the call whether you want to ditch him or answer him. Tough questions do not a bozo make, so don't opt for a cop-out just because someone asks a questions that you either cannot answer or find embarrassing. It does great harm to your cause to refuse to answer genuine, if tough and unwelcome, questions.

For the real bozo, however, keep cool and answer in a gentlemanly or lady-like manner, according the fool the same treatment as you accord all other callers. It makes you look real professional — the paragon of reasonableness — and accentuates the bozo's foolishness. Don't ever stoop to their level. If necessary have the host turn them off.

If your topic is controversial, then it is possible that you will get a dangerous caller on the line. It really happens! Don't string them along, argue with them, debate with them, or trade insults with them; speak in the most congenial terms possible. Get them off the line as fast as possible so that their own insane anger at you doesn't have a chance to fester. Because of several articles that attacked anti-Semites posing as Christians, I received a pile of threatening letters from my 1985-86 talk show appearances (one was a death threat). While scary, those experiences let me know a little about handling call-in thugs. And don't assume that they are really only blowhards.

Residual Benefits

Several residual benefits (besides increased hat size) result from appearing on radio and TV talk shows. You can sometimes parlay that experience into several different types of profitable activity. For example, I give my post office box and (where possible) offer listeners something free (like a newsletter) if they write. The address then goes on my mailing list, which is used to sell present and future books.

If you want mail, then give your own address rather than using the show's address and hoping that they will forward mail to you. Do this even if you have to spring it on the host. The show producer wants to get the mail for his or her own reasons, and while perfectly valid the fact that they get the mail means that you are dependent on their good intentions to get yours. While they may faithfully intend to send you the letters that come in, laziness, business or other priorities often conspire to prevent you from getting any mail at all.

Also, you can expect to get speaking engagements through talk show appearances. Again, that's a good reason for giving your address over the air (mailing address only). Service clubs, men's clubs, women's clubs, business groups, professional groups, civic groups, religious groups, churches, synagogues, and other assemblies of people often hire speakers. In fact, it is sometimes possible to piggy-back a speaking engagement (or two or three) with a series of local interviews. For example, you might (in one long day) do an AM drive time talk show, a mid-morning talk show, a noon luncheon, an afternoon service club, a dinner meeting, and then follow (if you're still standing) with a late evening hour-long talk show. Such arrangements are a little hard to effect from long distance, but it is not impossible, and will help pay for the expenses of traveling to the interview. If possible, have a local representative make the arrangements and set up your schedule.

Some people offer seminars around their talk show topic. I met one motivational speaker who does talk shows (and has hosted a few), does seminars for business and religious leaders, and sells books. Of course, he always carries (or sends ahead) a collection of books to sell to the audience at the speaking engagement.

What details do you need to watch when selling books at a speaking engagement? Two things: enough change to do business, and enough felt-tip pens to sign books. I lost a sale once because my paperback book was $7.95 and I lacked a nickel to make change! If you do a lot of this kind of thing, then sign up with Visa and Mastercard to accept charge cards. Some banks will not sign you up without a storefront or other regular business location. In that case, either find an out-of-town bank who will, or make arrangements with a local businessman to allow you to launder the charge slips through his account for a piece of the action.

If your publishing contract contains a clause that prohibits you from selling your own book, then modify it to permit sales: a) at your personal appearances, and b) through mail-order contacts that you develop yourself. Rarely is a publisher foolish enough to deny you this request ...the clause is not meant to protect him from your sales to a few seminar attendees.

Some topics lend themselves to seminars or other similar activities. A motivational book writer, for example, can give seminars for large fees, if he or she is good. The radio interview can then sell both the book and admission to the seminar. Companies sometimes buy blocks of tickets to such events. Similarly with self-help, self-improvement, career development and health improvement topics. Selling the book and seminar are intertwined processes in which the talk show appearance is a primary tool.

If your topic does, in fact, permit you to give seminars, then try having a local person in your distant target area do the leg work and selling in return for a portion of the receipts. One successful seminar owner told me that he usually budgets one-third for expenses, one-third for the local representative who must do all of the "scut" work, and expects one-third for his profit. In most cases, according to this source, the ratio remains relatively close to those figures.

Some General Advice

The most effective way to land talk show appearances is "telemarketing" (nice buzz word, huh?). Just like pushing a product, it helps to call the "customer," that is call the producer, guest coordinator or show host. But these people are very busy, so don't hold them for more than 30 seconds unless invited to do so. A typical scenario goes like this:

1. Tell them who you are and what you do.

2. Ask for about 30 seconds of their time.

3. Tell them what you are plugging and why you would make a good

guest for that particular show (not all guests match up to all shows).

4. Tell them additional information is coming by mail (a press kit).

Conclusion

Radio-TV interviews are one of the most powerful and rewarding methods to promote your book — and promotion means sales. Besides, they are fun. You can't afford to let your publisher do it all. With many books on their list, your book might not loom quite as large to them as it does to you. The success it enjoys may be in large part due to your own efforts. Book marketing is a synergism — a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts — so both the publisher and author must do their respective parts. If the publisher won't do his or her part, then you must fill the void.

The team writing project is the production of a large document with sections written by two or more authors. It may be a report or other business document, or a book that either has two or more co-authors or structured so that each chapter is by a different author. Several documents that I have edited had as many as twenty contributors. The team approach helps break the work into manageable bits, but there are some really serious potential problems that can ruin productivity.

On one large project, nearly 32 hours were spent by one person preparing the master draft of a large document. The master draft was assembled on a computer from files provided by team members either over E-mail or by hand carrying diskettes. Little could be done by other team members until the complete draft was available. Nearly half of the 32 hours was spent dealing with totally avoidable problems caused mostly by inconsistencies in our system.

This Section presents some lessons learned from several large document projects. Following the guidelines below can prevent a lot of frustration and save the huge amount of wasted time that such problems cause. The guidelines below can greatly improve a team's productivity in producing large documents.

Write as a Team, but Appoint an IT

If you want your product to look like it was produced by a smooth functioning team, and you want it to look like a horse and not a camel, then appoint someone — just one person — on the team to be in charge of assembling the final document from the team members' inputs. Call that person coordinator, "stuckee," "editor," "dictator" or whatever you like, but appoint someone to be the "it." Give the "it" the authority to make decisions about the final product, and then stick with them.

The function of the editor is to assemble the final product, and keep configuration control over the document as it evolves.

Another function of the editor is to smooth out differences in the writing styles of the different contributors. Unless a document is intentionally presented as a compilation of different authors, then it needs such treatment. The idea is to make the document read like it has a single voice.

The editor may require expert help from a person knowledgeable in computer graphics or desktop publishing. These skills are not the same as editing skills, and the person who possesses all of the required skills is rare indeed.

Beware of Custom Configured Computer Preferences

Most people now have personal computer word processors available to them. Both IBM compatible Windows machines and Apple Macintosh machines are widespread. Many of those machines are custom configured to personal preferences (e.g. the version of the software used, whether or not hyphenation or word wrap is turned on, default fonts, etc.). When working alone on a document, those preferences can govern the details of your work. However, when a team of people works on a document, those preferences can make a huge amount of non-valued added work for the person who has to bring the entire document together. That person is your customer, and it is your job to make it as easy as possible for him or her to use the work product that you supply.

The job is made much easier if everyone on the writing team uses the same type of computer, the same software packages in the same release version. A major cause of lost productivity is that the computer and software used by the editor is not compatible with the computers and software used by the team members, which could force retyping or often abortive attempts at file conversion. Incompatible computers and software frequently requires the editor to go from desk to desk, office to office, building to building in a potentially fruitless search for the right combination of machines and software used to do small portions of the job. While admittedly not always possible, it is worth the increase in productivity for individual team members to find a machine that is compatible with the editor's machine on which to create their sections, even at the cost of some inconvenience to themselves.

It is often the case that two or more people working together on a project will have the same machine and the same brand software, but use different release versions. These versions are denoted by the numbers associated with the software (e.g. Word for Windows 6.0). It is customary for minor revisions to use a decimal added to the release number (e.g. WordPerfect 5.1), and major revisions to use another whole level of numbering (e.g. WordPerfect 6.0). If the editor uses an earlier release version than is on your computer, then the editor may not be able to read your files. Most software is "upward compatible," i.e. the later version will read previous versions, but rarely is downward compatibility seen.

Many software packages allow you the option of creating files in earlier formats (usually under the "Save as..." option). Some will also allow you to create files in the format of another brand of word processor. For example, Word 6.0 for Windows allows the option of creating a file in many different word processor formats other than its own. Other products have similar features. If that is the case, then provide the editor with files that can be read on his or her machine.

If it is not possible to standardize on the computer and the software version, then at least provide the editor with the latest versions of all relevant software. Because of upward compatibility, the machine equipped with the latest release of all software used to create the document can usually read the files produced by team members who are using earlier releases.

The ability to convert files from one make of computer to another is also important because there are more than one type in common use. The two major basic formats in use here are the Macintosh and the IBM (a.k.a. MS-DOS or Windows). These formats are not compatible with each other even though they use the same basic diskette. It is possible, however, to buy software that will allow Macintosh computers to read or create IBM-compatible files; other software will do the opposite, i.e. allow IBM-compatible machines to read or create Macintosh files.

Many software packages have a conversion feature that will import files created by other software. This feature can be used to convert each team member's product to the format used by the editor. For example, WordPerfect for Windows 5.2 and Word for Windows can detect "foreign" files. The editor can tell the computer which type of file is being read, and it will perform the necessary conversion (maybe, conversions aren't always fully successful). Graphics packages are sometimes a little difficult to convert successfully, so be cautious when graphics or images are being used. Also, be aware that not all style features of every word processor software will convert properly, so you may find some differences in the style attributes of the converted document.

A strategy that sometimes helps overcome the problem of incompatible computers is used by professional publishing houses: provide the editor ASCII files. When a word processor stores text in a file on a diskette, the file will contain a large number of embedded (but usually hidden) codes as well as the text material. These codes are unique to that software package, and will convert as incoherent symbols when read by another software package. While your word processor software needs the codes to format the document (e.g. a hidden code tells the computer to make text boldface), another word processor may be confused by the code. An ASCII text file strips off the codes, and just stores the raw alphanumeric text. The editor can import ASCII and reformat the style features as needed.

When the team members use different computers and word processing software, each one should submit to the editor all of the following: 1. File in the format of the originating word processor software; 2. an ASCII file of the same text on the same diskette; and 3. a paper "hard copy" of the material. It is also useful to send the editor a sample file on a diskette to see if there are any problems. Do this before committing a lot of energy to the project.

Filenames

The filename is how you identify the file containing text or graphics when stored on a diskette or hard drive. Two issues present themselves when dealing with large team projects, especially when different people write the various sections. These issues are: a) common filenames and b) standard filename extensions.

All computers require filenames, but Macintosh computers are more flexible than pre-Windows 95 IBM compatible machines (at least where filenames are concerned). The Mac allows up to 31 letters in the filename, and will recognize spaces as well as characters. The IBM compatible machines allow only eight letters for the filename plus a three letter filename extension. Thus, "YOURFILE" is a valid IBM compatible filename. If you save YOURFILE in Word, it will automatically append a ".DOC" extension, indicating that it's a document file, and you will find it stored on the disk as "YOURFILE.DOC." However, if you usurp the extension space, the ".DOC" will not be added. For example, "YOURFILE.1" will be stored as written, and no indication that it's a Word document file will be present.

The use of a common form of filename for a project is helpful to the editor, especially in cases where some people are doing more than one portion of the overall document. If the document normally has standardized numbered paragraphs, like a contract specification or standard, then those numbers suggest a filename style. If the document is broken into chapters or sections, then filenames like "CHAP1" or "SEC3" are suggested. But whatever the style, stay consistent with each other so that the editor doesn't have to guess.

Some software packages create files that have unique filename extensions, especially on IBM-compatible machines. For example, as indicated above Word for Windows uses ".DOC" filename extensions. PowerPoint uses ".PPT" and Excel uses ".XLS." Other examples can be found as well. These filename extensions tell the software it is dealing with a compatible file type. It can also tell the editor what software package was used to create the file. If you don't use the filename extension, then the editor may waste a lot of time trying to read the file in first one software package, and then the other until a match is found (if a match is found).

Diskettes

Not all machines will read all floppy disks. Macintosh and IBM compatible machines will not read each other's diskettes without additional software, even though the diskettes are physically identical.

The physical size and data capacity ("density") of the diskettes must be considered, as well as the format. The two standard physical sizes are 3.5 inch and 5.25 inch. The density refers to the amount of data (in "kbytes" or "mbytes") that the diskette will store. In both physical sizes, it is possible to buy double sided double density (DS/DD) and double sided high density (DS/HD) diskettes. The following combinations are commonly found in some offices: a) 5.25 inch, 360 kbytes (DS/DD); c) 3.5 inch, 720 kbytes (DS/DD); b) 5.25 inch, 1.2 mbytes (DS/HD); and d) 3.5 inch, 1.44 mbytes (DS/HD)

Occasionally, we also see 3.5 inch diskettes in 2 mbyte and 2.88 mbyte densities.

Generally, a higher density disk drive will read the lower density diskettes of the same physical size, but not the other way around. For example, a machine equipped with a 3.5 inch, 1.44 mbyte disk drive will read both 1.44 mbyte and 720 kbyte diskettes. The lower capacity drive, however, will not be able to read the higher capacity diskettes.

All diskettes must be formatted by the type of computer they are used on before they can receive data. Some offices buy preformatted diskettes, while others buy blank diskettes and each user formats his or her own. On some machines it is possible to format an DS/HD diskette as if it were a DS/DD diskette. Sometimes, even formatting a DS/DD as DS/HD is possible. Please don't do this trick on diskettes submitted to others. Their machine may see the diskette as unformatted, and that makes it useless to them. People who are knowledgeable about the workings of computers can get around this problem, but because the techniques are not in the common base of knowledge that we all share it is a very bad practice. While it is privately enchanting to be able to do such workarounds, it is corporately insane.

Whatever the diskettes you use on your machine, make sure that they are readable on the editor's machine.

When in doubt, send the lower density diskettes of the correct physical size. The higher density machine can usually read both types, but the lower density machine will squawk a "disk error" message if fed with a high density diskette. The standard today is 1.44 mbyte, DS/HD diskettes, but that could change.

Follow the 'Clean Disk Policy'

At some point, you will have to deliver the files you wrote and revised to the editor. If you don't use E-mail to deliver your work product, then always use either a brand new or newly formatted used diskette to send the files. Make sure that nothing other than the files you intend to give the editor is on the diskette. Used disks may contain files that you would just as soon not have the editor see, but the best reason for the "clean disk" approach is that the editor is not confused by a large gaggle of irrelevant files. It is especially frustrating if the other files are earlier versions of the file needed for the document. If those files are left on the disk, then the editor has to engage in a guessing game, or will delay the work until you can be contacted, or, worse still, use the wrong file in the final product.

A previously used, but good, diskette can be re-used if it is reformatted before you add your files to it. The reformatting process destroys the earlier data on the diskette, so many of the problems of supplying used diskettes are overcome by reformatting.

Diskette Labeling

Each diskette should be clearly labeled as to contents. At least the following information should be on the label:

Originator's name. Diskettes have a way of looking alike. If the editor is trying to find Jane's diskette among those of Betty, Tom, Carlos and Ann, then precious time might be wasted calling up the directories of several identical diskettes until the right one is located.

Type of Computer Used. It is not always convenient for all team members to use the same make and model of computer, even though such is an ideal situation. The editor will waste time trying to read a noncompatible diskette. But if that fact is known ahead of time, then a file conversion can probably be done.

Filenames. List all of the files that are found on the diskette. If there are too many files to list them on the label, then consider either using more than one diskette, or placing a separate listing of files in the same dust protector with the diskette.

Software used. List the name of the software used to create the files, including the version number. If you used PowerPoint 4.0 for Windows, then list it as such; don't just say "PowerPoint" but rather list it as "PowerPoint 4.00 for Windows" This rule is needed because different release versions of the same package are not universally compatible in both directions, and for all machines.

Date and Time. The date and time information can be used to maintain configuration control over the document. While not too important on slow moving, long-term projects (where date information alone is sufficient), data and time data becomes critical on fast moving projects that evolve daily. In some cases, the differences between morning and afternoon files of the same material are significant, so both the data and time information are needed to keep the editor sane.

If you reformat a previously used diskette, then please place a new label on it. Using a new label ought to be habitual, like changing one's shirt daily, but too often diskettes are supplied with no labels or used labels with several scratched out titles. It's confusing to the editor, and can cost time or create errors.

Manuscript Preparation

A properly prepared draft manuscript is terribly important to the editor; it saves time and trouble. The draft manuscript should...

1. Be on 8.5 X 11 inch white paper;

2. Be typed or printed single-sided only;

3. Have one inch margins all around; and,

4. Be double spaced between lines.

The last item on the list above is often overlooked by people who are not experienced in document preparation. Too many of us work on single-spaced draft documents out of habit. But editing and commenting is always a lot easier when the paper document is double spaced. A single spaced document lacks sufficient room to squeeze in hand written changes. Even in this day of massive word processor use, there is still a need for hand editing.

The final document may have a special format planned, such as two column or with embedded graphics. These special formats are time consuming, and must often be done on a page-by-page basis. In early stages of a project, keep the manuscript in the standard single column typing style for easy editing. If the final style is used, then it may look like progress is being made, but the editor will find (to his or her chagrin) that any change that crosses a page boundary creates a ripple effect to following pages. This produces a huge amount of non-value added work to correct the rippled problems. Keeping the manuscript in the normal typing style also helps the graphics person work with the material in desktop publishing software such as Pagemaker.

Do not staple the paper copy manuscript pages; instead use binder clips or paper clips to hold things together. People differ in whether or not they like to work with stapled manuscripts. Unless the editor has made it clear what form of binding is preferred, then it's better to use a clip rather than a staple.

Manuscript Typing Conventions

When doing a team project there are several things about typing styles that can be a problem for the editor. One of these is the matter of hyphenation at the end of lines. Many typists were trained to hyphenate words at the end of a line when the word won't fit the line. Some word processor software can be set to automatically hyphenate end of line words in order to keep the margins even. Most word processor software has, at least as an option, the ability to "word wrap" the end of the line. In this mode, a word that is too long to fit onto the line without violating the margins is not hyphenated, but rather it is placed on the next line down.

Non-hyphenated text, that is, "word wrapped" text, is preferred for the draft document. Let the editor decide when, or if, the hyphenation should be turned on. The reason is that the hyphens will appear in the final document, but because of spacing differences between computers they will not necessarily appear at the end of a line! That means words will contain a hyphen at an inappropriate spot. For example the word "command" might turn out to be "com-mand" in the middle of a line. The editor must take out all of the hyphens (and in a large document there might be several thousand spurious hyphens).

So use "global replace" feature of the word processor, you suggest? Nope! Some word processor software uses "soft hyphens" that look the same on the screen, and print the same, as regular hyphens but are not the same inside the computer. That means that "global replace" will not work on that character, so the old, painful "fingerboning" method must be used to replace the unneeded hyphens.

The second typing convention regards double spacing after the end of each sentence. If the document is intended for publication, then do not double space at the end of each sentence, regardless of what your typing teacher told you many years ago. Double spacing after sentences is conventional for letters, memoranda and internal communications, but is not standard for published material. Take a look at a professionally published magazine or book. Note that only one space is used at the end of each sentence. That's how the final published product of your team should look.

It is customary to indent each paragraph, rather than using "block style," but everyone should use the same amount of indentation. On word processors it is generally preferable to use the TAB control, or the Ruler if available, rather than the SPACE BAR to create indentation. The TAB and Ruler can be set once for the entire document, and need not be reset for each section. However, if spaces are used, and the editor changes the font style, then the actual physical spacing is changed and will have to be corrected.

An exception to the indentation rule is used in many professionally published documents: the first paragraph in a chapter, section or major subsection is not indented, while other paragraphs are indented. That convention was followed in this document. While this style element is optional, some people believe it makes a document look better.

Many documents use graphics, and today those graphics can be electronically embedded in the word processor file. Don't do it in draft form, because those embedded graphics can cause severe problems for the editor or graphics person. Provide the graphics as separate files on the diskette. Mark the text where the figure goes:

The editor can then embed the graphics file at the right point later.

Be careful with instructions placed in the text, as in the case of the figure number location above. It is all too easy for those notes to be overlooked in editing and wind up in the final document. Some people prefer to use an odd font, or a large size type, and possibly intentionally misspelled words to call the editor's attention to the fact that this is a "to be removed" note, rather than text. For example:

In other cases, people will circle instructions by hand on the paper copy of the manuscript.

Type Fonts

"Font" is the style of typeface used by the word processor and the printer to create a document. Fonts make it possible to customize the document, and make it look real professional. They should be used to make the final product look better and read easier. But as a team member, you should use either a font agreed to by the team as the "standard" for the document project, or use the universal default font that is standard for your computer (e.g. my Windows machine uses Courier 10 as the default font). Why? Different fonts are spaced differently when printed on paper or displayed on the computer screen. If textual devices such as tables and lists are used, then changing fonts on the editor's machine can completely destroy them. The editor will waste much very precious time putting things back together again. This is called the "Humpty Dumpty" problem.

Writing, Editing and Commenting Conventions

"Good writing is rewriting" is a maxim taught by many professional writers and editors. What that means is that you will have to edit or rewrite not only your own material, but that of others as well. The use of multiple minds on the same text can either make it glow like gold, or make it look like a camel wrote it.

After the editor assembles a working master draft, it should be configuration controlled. Headers or footers containing the version number, or data and time data, or some other convention should be used to keep the document pure. The filenames used on diskettes should, where possible, reflect the configuration control numbering appearing on the document.

The editor should hold "golden copies" of the configuration controlled document in both paper and diskette forms. No one should be allowed access to that document. It is all too easy to corrupt the only genuine file of a document if more than one person has access. Copies can be made for as many team members as need the electronic version.

No version other than the current version should be used for any editing or commenting by team members. It is too confusing to the editor to go back and find the differences between the version you worked on and the current version. When in doubt, ask for a current version and transfer your comments to the controlled version.

It is usually the case that different people will be asked to work on different sections of the document. These individual sections may be incorporated into the master draft and then circulated, or may be circulated independently to others for comment. Please do not write a section that is not assigned to you, even if you feel that your knowledge is superior to that of the person who drew the assignment. It is reasonable to volunteer to help that person, or to comment on their work when it is completed, but to gratuitously decide to write that section is unacceptable. It makes the assigned writer feel bad, and poses an unnecessary problem for the editor. My own policy when gratuitous text is received is to either turn it over to the person assigned to write that section to use as a resource, or ignore it.

One of the functions of the editor is to remove the stylistic differences of multiple writers, and make the document look like it was produced by a single person. What this means to you is that some of your pet phrases, stylistic nuances and individual personality may be removed from the final product. Pride of authorship is a wonderful thing, but in team situations it causes some people to be annoyed by the necessity of editing. You will be edited, but it's not a personal rebuke, so don't expect to see your words published exactly as written. When you realize that the overall product is better because the editing integrated the work of several people, then the sting of heavy editing is reduced.

When commenting on or editing a draft document, use a contrasting color pen or pencil. If you use a No. 2 lead pencil, or a black pen, then you have no right to expect that the editor will find all of your hand corrections. After even a short time at the keyboard, things tend to blur a bit on the page as fatigue sets in ...and that means the editor's eyes might not register on a comma you inserted in black ink.

The color of ink used to make changes can be a factor in editor fatigue. Black or very dark blue inks are generally unacceptable because they are not sufficiently contrasting to the printed type. I find that, for me, when reading large documents with a lot of changes, green ink tends to be easier to read under fluorescent lighting, while red ink tends to be easier to read under incandescent lighting. I don't know whether those preferences are generally true for others, but at least those colors are contrasting compared with black or gray.

Small changes, such as punctuation or single letter corrections, should be indicated in the margin with a tic mark or some symbol. One convention is to place a "carat" symbol (^) at the point where the change goes, and write the symbol in the margin with a circle around it. My own habit is to place the new symbol at the point where it goes, and then put a circled "X" in the margin adjacent to the line where it appears in order to alert the editor to look on that line for a change.

Small handwritten marks, such as punctuation changes, should be written into the document larger than the rest of the text. A comma, a semicolon and a period, when handwritten, can look remarkably similar. Professional copy editors often use circled margin abbreviations such as "com." or "per." to indicate which mark is intended. Handwriting can be highly variable, and subject to much misinterpretation.

Which brings up another (possibly sore) point. You may regard your script handwriting as beautiful, but others may still find it difficult to read. Instructions and text to be typed in by another person should be written in block printing style, but with the upper and lower case letters clearly differentiated.

It is customary to write both changes and notes to either editor or typist in the margin. Notes that are not to be typed should be circled, while new text to be added should be left uncircled.

Of course, the typist should understand that circled text is not to be typed. I once created a document and wrote "more space here" between two paragraphs, and circled the hand written words to let the typist know it was my instruction to her. What was given back to me was a document with a single-line paragraph that read: More space here. It wasn't her fault, but rather mine for not informing her of my practice. She typed what she saw...how could she know otherwise?

Artwork and Graphics

Graphics make publications a lot better looking. Besides breaking up the large areas of cold, drab, black typescript, the graphic can make understanding come easier for the reader; "a picture is worth a thousand words" is an old cliché, but still true regardless of its hoary age. Despite their usefulness, however, graphics are also sometimes the hardest aspect of team publishing. Several guidelines make them easier to handle.

Don't ever embed the graphics in the draft text when you prepare material for the document, unless either the editor or the graphics person specifically asks for it done that way. Provide them with a separate disk file containing the graphic, and let them embed it in the master. This advice is especially critical when working with two different word processors or two different makes of computer.

Wherever possible, settle on a standard graphics file format, or at least a small number of standards that can be read by the word processor used by the editor. Make sure that the editor's version of the graphics software is compatible with the files sent.

We often use graphics from earlier documents; this is called "pick-up artwork." In some cases, the old artwork is electronically scanned into a computer and then treated as a .TIF file, or some other standard graphics file. In other cases, the graphics file will exist in either a standard format (like .TIF), or in some special presentation format (like .PPT).

The electronic graphics files, as mentioned above, should be provided separately on the diskette, not embedded. In order to make things easier for the editor, on a separate sheet of paper for each graphic, provide a copy (even a poor copy), marked with the figure number, so that the correct picture file can be found.

It helps to mark the spot in the manuscript where the graphic will appear (as above), but include more than just the filename. For example,

Or, if the electronic file for the graphic is supplied on the diskette:

No figure should be included in a document that isn't called out in the body of the text. It is not sufficient to simply insert "Figure 3.3 Here" without somehow referencing that figure in the text. For example, suppose you are writing a report in which a key item is the reduction of purchase order processing time. Instead of simply pasting in a graphic showing the decline of purchase order processing time, one might use text such as:

Graphics that are gratuitously inserted into a document without text references lose context. The reader is left to try to figure out just what the figure means. Either that, or the reader will simply skip by the figure and pay it little or no attention.

In nearly all cases, the graphic should bear a figure number (e.g. "Fig. 3.4") and a caption that tells the reader what the figure is all about.

These conventions are not too much trouble for the originator of a document, but help the editor immensely.

Writing Style

Writing styles vary between people, or even for the same person at different times or in different situations. Some writing styles result from bad grammar, but within the rules there is room for wide variation. It is generally better for a person to write in her or his most comfortable style, and then let the editor integrate the style with the overall style of the document. There are, however, some things that will make the editor’s job easier.

1. Obvious bad grammar should be corrected.

2. Don't use jargon, buzzwords or acronyms unless those words are so well known to all members of the intended audience that they are common place.

3. Where acronyms are used, spell out the first usage with the acronym in parentheses. Repeat the spelled out version at first use in each chapter or major section. Some people also prefer to repeat the spelled out version every five to ten pages, or at whatever intervals a reasonably competent reader might forget its meaning and have to look back to find it.

4. Don't use telegraphic style: I write for a magazine called Popular Electronics, not "Poptronics." Spell it out, especially when writing for an audience outside the audience where the jargon is well understood. The telegraphic style became popular in naval and military circles because communications required Morse code radio telegraph and blinker lights, or semaphore flags. Under those circumstances the compressed style was easier to send by hand, and kept the operator from tiring. But in any other venue its use shows the writer to be insular and provincial (or a bit of a showoff).

5. A slash bar (/) concatenation is not a proper substitute for "and" or "or" (e.g. "training/education"), and is especially not proper when used in the manner "and/or." These constructions mark the writer as basically too ignorant to take seriously unless there is a clear, and very rare, reason for using the slash bar concatenation. Most of the time when the "/" is used, the writer really means "and" or "or," so why not use the correct word? In other cases, the concatenated words have similar meanings, and only one of them (or some third word that covers both) need be used.

6. Avoid the use of text emphasis devices in order to bolster a point. It is common to find writers attempting to call special attention to a word by using bold type, italics, underlining, all CAPITALS, or another font to make the point more forcefully. Some lost souls will use ALL OF THESE DEVICES in order to make the point stronger. The general rule is simple: if the point cannot be made strongly enough without such emphasis, then either the point is not really worth making so strongly, or the text needs to be rewritten in order to make the words themselves stand alone without the need for artificial reinforcement.

The italic font, or underlining when italic font is not available, is used only in a few cases. A foreign or ancient word is typically italicized; for example when a Latin word (e.g. ad hoc) is used, it is italicized. Brand names are sometimes italicized, as are the titles of publications. The italic font is also used when coining a new word, especially at the first instance of the word where it is explained.

Some people italicize a word that is used in a highly limited or special way, for example common words used in a narrow professional jargon, but outside the normal professional venue where it is well understood (e.g. legal or medical jargon in popular articles). At the point where the word is first used, it is italicized and the usage explained. The word is then italicized every time it appears in the document after the initial use. This situation is extremely rare, and only applies when a distinct word to cover a meaning is not available, or where the specific, and highly specialized, reader community is well known.

Apologetic quotation marks are sometimes used around a word that is used in other than its ordinary meaning; often in a demeaning, sarcastic or derisive sense. The quotation marks are used to warn the reader that some meaning other than the normal meaning is understood. Such meanings could often be carried by special inflections in spoken language, but in written form need some special help to convey what is intended to be understood.

Where apologetic quotation marks appear necessary, then consider the possibility of selecting a different word that conveys the intended meaning. A dictionary or thesaurus helps in this effort. If your intent is to be sarcastic, then may I suggest being nice instead (civility goes a long way).

Even when the apologetic quotation mark is not used sarcastically, the construction often depends on special insider knowledge. People who are not part of the in-group may not understand the intended meaning. Such usage is generally bad, and should be avoided.

Special Sensitivities

The use of ethnic, racial, gender or any other epithetical terms, or the stereotypes those terms represent, should not be used at all, especially in writing. While it is true that some such terms are often used in a jocular, or almost affectionate way, many of them are never used in such manner (they always connote offense). It's hard to know which is which, and when it is permitted in any given social situation. Even when such terms are used in a truly jocular or affectionate way, the hearer doesn't always understand them the same way.

Or possibly a third party might take offense even when none was intended or received by those directly involved. The benign use of epithets is carried off in spoken language by inflections of the voice, body language and other non-verbal communications. Yet even then they are often misunderstood. In written language it is so hard to use epithetical expressions in a non-offensive manner — nonverbal signs being impossible — that their total elimination is the best policy. Again, a little civility goes a long way.

Some Useful Document Project Management Tools

Two tools can help make the work a lot easier when preparing a large document: Team Member Data Sheet and an Editor's Requirements Guide. Both of these tools are used by professional publishers.

The Team Member Data Sheet is a single sheet of paper that lists the type of computer, the software used (including release version number), the size and density of diskettes that can be accommodated, E-mail addresses or FAX MODEM telephone numbers, and any other pertinent data the editor needs to use the electronic files of the team member.

The Editor's Requirements Guide list the same data as the Team Members Data Sheet, but for the editor's computer. In addition, the editor will list the types of files preferred for both graphics and text. The editor can also list writing conventions, fonts types, margins and other attributes of the document.

Conclusion

Preparing a large document as a team effort is a complex task, but one that can be made a lot easier if the guidelines given above are followed. Without some order in the way we use our high technology offices, the end result may well be less efficiency, not more. But intelligently used, the high technology office can improve things immensely.