New Speaking Topics

by | Oct 4, 2018 | Author Promotion, Book Editing, Book Promotion, Marketing, Ned's Blog, Public Relations, Public Speaking, Writing Fiction and Non-Fiction

New Speaking Topics

I’d like to share some new speaking topics I’m offering to writers groups and others.  Recently, I’ve presented programs on:

  • Five writing myths and how to overcome them
  • ‘Old-fashioned’ analog writing promotions that still work
  • How to adapt effective non-fiction promotion techniques for novels
  • Four ways to profit from your books without ever selling a copy
  • The care and feeding of a literary agent (from my 15 years as owner of a literary agency)

Myths:  Writers have real or self-imposed barriers to actually writing

* Writer’s Block

  • When Your Imaginary Friends Won’t Talk To You
  • When Your Muse is at the corner bar, trying to get laid
  • When your rent is due and you’ve got a buck-twenty-seven to your name …
  • Or maybe …
    • It’s a bookstore in Las Vegas
    • It’s an excuse
    • It’s a state of mind
    • It’s curable

How to Cure Writer’s Block Number One:  Retype-to-Rewrite-to-Writing, By Lawrence Block (Credit where Credit is Due)

  • Grab the last page of what you wrote yesterday (or the last day you did write)
  • Start retyping it
  • By a quarter-page, you’ll be editing what you type
  • By the bottom of the page, you’ll be writing new stuff

How to Cure Writer’s Block Number Two: The Cliff-Hanger:  Credit Unknown

  • Stop in mid-sentence, at a cliff-hanger
  • If you’re afraid you’ll forget what’s next, make notes – but don’t type them into the story
  • Pick up where you left off

 

 

 How to Cure Writer’s Block Number Three: Write Everyday:  My Solution

  • Write every day
  • Repeat as needed
  • If you don’t feel like writing, see First Point (Write every day)

 How to Cure Writer’s Block Number Four: The Lysistrata Gambit:  Credit: Aristophanes

  • Get your life partner, significant or insignificant other, or casual fling to with-hold “favors” until you start writing
  • Hey, if it stopped the Peloponnesian War – it can cure Writer’s Block

 Proven ways to Not Cure Writer’s Block:

  • Try drinking it away (or, given the new laws, smoking it away)
  • Talk to everybody about Writer’s Block
  • Talk to everybody about your book (you’ll sap your creative energy)
  • Call your muse a cheap tramp and get her to sulk for the whole weekend
  • Refuse to try any of the four proven techniques

Next Critical Writing Myth:  Pantser or Plotter?

  • Do you exhaust it to death?  Do you run panting through your manuscript with no plans?
  • Do you plot it to death?  Do you create such a detailed outline that you squeeze all the juice out of your idea?
    • As the breath mint ad said (sort of):  “Stop – Your Both Wrong!”
  •  Pantsers should at least have a rough plan
  •  Plotters should leave room for creativity
  •  Here’s one step-by-step method of planning without sucking the life out of your idea (credit to Hollywood)
    • Log-line – Create a one-sentence description of the entire book – the way TV Guide (which created loglines) described a 2-hour movie in one sentence
    • Elevator Pitch – Create a 30-second description of the book that you can memorize and use to dazzle your friends
  • Treatment – Borrowing a page from Hollywood, describe the book as a story in three acts.
    • The first act is the Set-Up – the first 25% of the story
    • The second act is Complications – 50% of the story (it can be divided into two equal sections)
    • The third act begins with the Ultimate Crisis and ends with the Conclusion – it is the final 25% of the story
  • Beat Sheet – index-card-sized description of every key scene in the book – ideally, use post-it notes and a white board, so you can move them around
  • Remember, this is a draft – it’s not hand-cuffs (change it as needed)

The Final Myth (for today): You Can Self-Edit Your Book

  • No, you can’t:
    • Your brain sees what’s supposed to be there
    • Your brain sees what’s supposed to be there
    • Your brain sees what’s supposed to be there
  • If you’re too cheap to hire an editor, try these work-arounds:
    • Listen to someone read it out loud to you (try recording it) and make notes
    • Read it out loud yourself (try recording it) and make notes
    • Use software that will read it for you (unsatisfactory, but better than nothing) and make notes
    • Print it out and edit it with a sharp pencil (or a red pen
  • Do NOT try to edit it on the screen:
    • Your brain sees what’s supposed to be there
    • Instead of editing it, you’ll wind up rewriting it (again) and then you’ll still need to edit THAT version

Ways to Succeed in Writing Without Selling Any Books

  • Anecdote – How I did it
  • How you Can Do It:
    • Become a News Media Subject Matter Expert
      • Identify Your Topics
      • Google Key-Word Searches
      • Blogs – How You’d Explain Breaking News
      • Media Pitch
      • Success
  • Become a Well-Paid Speaker
    • Be Paid to Speak
      • Do a few sample videos – 90-second to 3-minutes
      • Contact conventions coming to town
      • Death, Taxes and Last-Minute Cancellations
      • All the way to the bank
  • Make Money Other Ways
    • Have them buy your book for all audience members (put their name on the cover)
    • Have them set up an autograph table
    • Have them provide a “volunteer” to take $
  • Use Your Book Like I Did – As a Great Calling Card
  • Become a Legal Case Expert Witness

Marketing & Promoting Your Book Without A Platform – More Ideas From My Master Marketing Plan & Forthcoming Book

  • Create Tools
    • Media Lists
    • Virtual Platform
    • Use Someone Else’s Platform (Richard McCartney)
    • Real-World Groups (Laurence Block’s Hit Man)
  • News on Demand – More on Surveys
  • News Media Publicity
    • Press Releases – Threat or Curse?
    • Press Tips & Media Advisories
    • Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak (Diana Forbes)
  • Hand-outs
    • Blogs
    • Video Blogs
    • Newsletters
    • PDF Goodies
  • Platform-Building Freebies (yes, go ahead and build it, but don’t count on it)
  • Website – all the features described this morning
  • Line-Extension – (Faith-based examples):
    • Small group study guides
    • Sermon contests
  • Video contests (based on the Great Barrier Reef example)
  • Tchotchkes: Coffee mugs, baseball hats & branded goodies
    • Café Press or alternatives
    • Better quality / Self-Fulfillment
  • Launch with Press Events (Washington Example revisited)
  • Using non-fiction techniques to sell novels
    • You’re an expert in your novel’s topic – prove it
    • Examples:
      • Clive Cussler
      • Tom Clancy
      • Brad Thor
      • Vince Flynn
      • John Gresham
      • Lawrence Block
  • Launch Party – Alexis Glazer’s Story
  • Volume Sales via Non-Profits
    • Clancy sold Red October by the thousands via US Naval Institute
    • Block sells via stamp collectors groups & media
  • Churches (as noted above)
  • Your Alumni Association!!!
  • Book Topic Summit

Literary Agent:  Here are some key points I make when talking about literary agents:

  • More books than ever before are being traditionally-published – 338,990 in 2015
  • Literary Agents are increasingly a core necessity to becoming traditionally published
  • More publishers than ever require literary representation
  • If you want traditional royalty-based publishing, you need an agent
  • Your agent needs you, too – but she needs you IF and ONLY IF:
    • You can produce salable books
    • You plan to write more books, on a regular schedule
    • You’re ready to market your books
    • You’re professional in your expectations (of the Agent)
  • How to find a Literary Agent
    • Writer’s Market, Guide to Literary Agents & Writer’s Digest
    • Publisher’s Weekly & Literary Market Place
    • Other writing magazines
    • Hollywood Reporter (for Hollywood Agents)
    • Best of all – Referrals from clients
  • How to court Literary Agent – what they look for
    • Professionalism
    • Low Maintenance (i.e., you’re not demanding)
    • Writing quality and writing history
    • Self-Marketing skill – primarily, a strong platform
    • Long-term writing plans
  • How to land Literary Agent
    • Introduction from an existing client
    • A professional pitch that is EXACTLY what they want
    • Non-annoying persistence
    • Great writing
  •  How to work with a Literary Agent
    • Do exactly what they say
    • Do it exactly when they expect it
    • Ask reasonable questions
    • Control your expectations
  • What to expect from a Literary Agent
    • If you want a friend, buy a dog – your agent is not your friend
    • Timely reports on progress – but at reasonable intervals
    • Professional pursuit of editors
    • Your financial best interest (because it’s also their financial best interest)
    • Skillful review of contracts offered by publishers
    • Savvy advice that’s worth listening to
  • How NOT to Expect from a Literary Agent

    • Don’t expect to be charged service fees beyond pre-agreement reading fees
    • Stick to business hours – don’t expect 24/7 availability
    • He’s not your banker – don’t ask for or expect loans
    • He’s not your psychiatrist – don’t cry on his shoulder
    • He may be friendly, but he’s not your friend – like you, he’s in business to make money
    • Don’t expect her to edit your work – that’s your job
    • Don’t expect her to format your book for submission – that’s your job, too
    • Don’t expect him to create your book’s pitch kit – that’s your job, too – so read Michel Larsen’s classic book: How to Write a Book Proposal, Fifth Edition – and if you just can’t do it, hire somebody who can – but not your agent

Conclusion

  • The right agent is your successful gatekeeper to royalty publishing contracts
  • The right agent is your best avenue to Hollywood
  • The right agent does not charge you service fees beyond a pre-contract reading fee

These are presentations I’ve given recently, and I look forward to giving your group any one of the same presentations.