ISTC 0A9-2010-12B4A105-7 and may appear on the back cover but is more likely to be referenced just on the copyright page and will be listed in database information about the book.

Learn about self publishing your book from the experts. Available @ Amazon.com

In this way, you will be able to tell instantly whether a trade paperback, a hardback, an audio book or an ebook have the same content.

It should also help end the confusion on whether different presentations of the same book should have the same ISBN. They should not. They should have the same ISTC.

The issuers of ISTCs will almost certainly be the same as the issuers of ISBNs, in other words the biggest players will be Bowker and Nielsen under the supervision of the ISTC Agency using a single, global XML database system.

Items covered are described as “creative works” such as prose, poetry. lyrics, original screenplays, audio and stage scripts. Photographs, although they can be part of such works, are not in themselves covered and while graphic novels would be, the registration would cover only the text elements of these.

The registration agency will run a computer test to check whether the content has already been registered. Works can be registered by an author, publisher, agent, library, rights management or collection agency or distributor.

It is not yet clear what the fee structure is likely to be. The present ISBN structure is commonly a price per code which reduces with quantity, although there are provisions is some countries for free issue of ISBNs, especially single registrations.

The ISTC identifier is a 16-character code (using numbers 0-9 and letters A-F, i.e. the hexadecimal system) in four sections to identify the registration agency, the year of registration, the identifier and a check digit. It has no section for registrant, so the same content can be published by different publishers but would have only one ISTC. That’s a major difference to the ISBN which identifies primarily a publisher.

A work that is translated, abridged, annotated, a compilation, criticism, excerpt, expurgated, revised or adapted, will get a new ISTC but the metadata for that must state the original ISTC and just what its relationship is. This will also be a problem for authors and publishers of non-fiction works which have frequent editions. New ISBN are usually adopted if there is anything but superficial changes but often there are substantial changes between editions, and all degrees in between. It seems it will still be a matter of opinion with the publisher making the decision whether to use the same ISTC or gain a new one with a reference to the original.

There will be internet search engines to identify works from the ISTC and for prospective publishers etc to search on title, author etc to establish whether a work has been registered. They will not link to ISBN data and it would be normal for a work to be registered for an ISTC well before it gains an ISBN, such as that an author might register it before submitting to an agent or publisher, or an agent might register a work before submitting it to publishers.

No one will own any single ISTC once it has been created and an ISTC will not imply any rights to the material. (To my mind, however, it may discourage plagiarism).

It may help in book searches, since once a particular example of a work has been found, that will provide the ISTC which is what is needed to identify the work in other formats, even if they have a different title. It may also help avoid duplication of acquisitions by libraries.

The usefulness of ISTC will increase with time, more rapidly if the registration agencies and especially those who already maintain databases used extensively by the book industry decide to start entering past works. There seems to have been some indications that this will happen though that may depend on what they see as possible financial benefits.

For an author or small publisher ITSC is not something they need to act on instantly, but they do need to watch what is happening. Once the codes start to appear for new works by major publishers in your genre then that will be the time to act. In the meantime you may like to delve further:

Book Industry Study Group discussion paper: http://www.bisg.org/contentweb/papers/the-international-standard-text-code-istc-a-work-in-progress/

You can also find “A 2009 overview” by Andy Weissberg, VP of Identifier Services at Bowker: and the ISTC user manual on the ISTC International resources page http://www.istc-international.org/index.php?ci_id=1820

About the Author

Gordon Woolf is the author of several books including Publish Your Book, How to Start and Produce a Magazine and (jointly) Success in Store: How to start or buy a retail business, enjoy running it and make money, which has been reissued in a second edition which is being printed concurrently in both Australia and the USA. His blog is at http://www.gordonwoolf.com

Before signing an agreement, you may wonder what things you need to consider. Many literary agents may not be legitimate. You should evaluate terms and contents stated in the condition the agency offers you.

Find the right agent to represent your work with the Guide to Literary Agents. Available @ Amazon.com

1. Duration

The term or duration of your agency agreement is a critical factor. The range of terms varies from thirty days to the whole duration of your work’s copyright.

Most authors don’t want to be bound to an idle agent for a long time; on the other hand, literary agents are reluctant to sign short-term contracts with book authors. The best arrangement is one that allows any party to use a 30-day termination provision. This serves as a trial period to determine if your professional author-agent relationship can work.

If you have already signed a long-term deal, make sure you retain the right to terminate your agreement if your agent has not helped you sell your book within a certain period of time.

2. Scope

Most agreements grant the literary agent rights to represent your work internationally, in all types of media, and in all formats. All of your existing works during the contract period is covered.

This agreement may not always work for you, so consider negotiating your agent’s control to specific projects, especially when you are starting out. If things go smoothly with your agent, you can always adjust and broaden his or her scope of control.

You may want to use a different literary agent to handle subsidiaries like film, audio, and foreign deals. This may be applicable if you feel your agent lacks expertise in a specific market.

3. Commission

Usually, this part of the agreement is non-negotiable. Most agents charge a fifteen percent (15%) commission from your royalties. You can expect an additional five to ten percent (5-10%) for international distribution, as your agent may need to compensate his sub-agents in foreign countries. You should expect to pay as much as a twenty-five percent (25%) fee for a foreign sale.

There are exceptions: if you discover a foreign publisher and you want your agent to negotiate the deal for you. In this case, some agents may lower their usual commission.

4. Disbursements

Since the literary agent will receive royalties and advances from the publisher, make sure your contract includes an agreement that requires your agent to deposit all funds on your behalf into a separate and private account instead of your agent’s account. Make sure your contract grants you to receive your regular payment within 10 business days.

5. Expenses and Accounting

Negotiate with your agent as much as possible, especially if you incur any excessive and unusual expenses. Such expenses should not exceed a specific amount without your permission and should not be taken directly from your pocket, but should be deducted from future royalties instead. If your agency agreement absorbs most client expenses as a part of their commission, then this would be a better deal.

Make sure your agent is willing to provide an accounting report along with other IRS documents at least once a year. You need to ensure that cash flow from your royalties is going to all the right places and your agency is not scamming you.

6. Powers and Assignment

Beware of agreements that give your agent different powers that originally only you should have. Such powers may include signing checks and contracts on your behalf. Your contract should also not be transferred to a publisher or agent without your permission.

If you granted your literary agent with too much power, then you should negotiate to decrease them, especially if you have not yet earned trust with your agent.

7. Bankruptcy, Disability, And Death

Check if your contract includes the clause that all your royalties may be transferred directly to you, in the event of bankruptcy, disability or death to your agent. The prevents your royalties from being tied in court due to events that your agency may have experienced.

A literary agent’s job is to help you voice your concerns between you and the book publisher. Always review your agency’s contract to determine if you have the right representation that supports your best interests.

Some literary agents may scam you with your creative abilities. These people make themselves rich at your expense; the only way they could do this is if you allow them to do so. Be smart in signing any contracts and stay true to upholding the value of your intellectual property.

About the Author

Brian Scott is founder of Book Proposal Writing ( http://www.BookProposalWriting.com ), a free website that teaches you how to write a book proposal. Download your free sample book proposal today.

There is a lot of confusion lately regarding the definition of “self-publishing.” Many authors think they have self-published, when in fact they have not.

Subsidy Publishers often refer to themselves and “self-publishing” companies, and offer “self-publishing” services for authors. They intentionally obfuscate the definition of the word, because they are running from the term “vanity press.”

Subsidy Publishers take money to publish your book for you. They act in many ways as a traditional publisher might, however, they do not put their own money on the line and their primary customer is the author, not the book buyer.

Learn about self publishing your book from the experts. Available @ Amazon.com

When you publish via a Subsidy Press, they are technically the Publisher of Record because they own the ISBN number. They cannot (and will not) sell you the number, give you the number, or assign ownership of the number to you. As long as they own the ISBN, they are the publisher. You did not self-publish. You paid someone to publish you. The only way for you to own the ISBN is for you to buy it from the only ISBN broker in the US; Bowkers.

One major disadvantage of Subsidy publishing is the Price Per Unit of the final product. Subsidy Publishing is not efficient, and the cost per individual book printed that you will pay will be so high so as to price it out of your market. You must have the flexibility to price your book based on a competitive market, not based on production cost.

Another disadvantage is the negative effect a Subsidy Publisher owned ISBN will have on your chances of getting reviewed by the major pre-publication reviewers. It is very difficult to get a book reviewed by the major reviews. If your book is subsidy published, your chances become zero. They will not consider it.

This is not to say that there are not situations where subsidy publishing would not be a suitable choice. If you have a book of local, or family interest and you know you will be able to sell a certain number to a group of people regardless of the cost, then it may be the way to go. Also, if you are just looking to see your book in print and aren’t worried about selling them to large numbers of people, then you might also select a subsidy publishing (this is, by definition, vanity publishing. If that is your interest, it’s probably best to accept it and publish accordingly).

However, if your intentions are in any way to market your book and make money as a publisher, I urge you to consider “true self-publishing.”

Some subsidy presses include: PublishAmerica, AuthorHouse, Lulu, Xlibris, and many others.

Self-Publishing

A self-published book is one that has truly been published by its author. There is a long tradition of very successful authors who have gotten their start by forming their own imprint and publishing their own books.

Self-publishing entails more work, but in the end the results will be much more satisfactory. You will have had control over the creative process, as well as all budgetary concerns.

You will have purchased your own ISBN, and will thus be the Publisher of Record. You will have sought out a cover and layout designer whose work you like and respect. You will have hired a printer that is able to offer a Per Unit Cost that will allow you to set a cover price that matches your market. You will make an actual, reasonable profit on the sale of your book. You will own your own imprint, and will be considered a “small press,” or and “independent publisher,” and so will have a chance of getting reviewed in by the major publications.

Self-publishing is not to be taken on lightly. It is, in essence, starting a new business. This can seem like a daunting task, when done concurrently with the release of a new book. However, as compared to subsidy publishing, it is the only way to publish your book in a way that will give it a chance of success in the extremely volatile publishing world.

There are many really great books on self-publishing. You should select a few and study them before making any decision as to how you are planning on publishing.

POD, or, Print On Demand

There is also some confusion as to the term POD, or Print On Demand. Many authors refer to subsidy publishers as “PODs.” This is entirely inaccurate, and will cause you some embarrassment when talking to the indie publishing community.

Print on Demand is a printing technology used by many publishers of all stripes. Indy presses, small publishers, subsidy presses, church cookbooks, even some of the traditional publisher’s backlogs, all utilize Print On Demand technology.

About the Author:

Brad Grochowski is the founder and owner of AuthorsBookshop.com. He is also the author of The Secret Weakness of Dragons.

But as you look at your work you think about where it is going, you may even be asking yourself a very common question. “Should I register my written work with a Copyright Office?” I mean seriously, you’ve put a lot of work into this written masterpiece.

Jane Friedman answers your questions about writing and publishing. Available @ Amazon.com

As a matter of fact, your writing gets automatic copyright the minute it is created by you. In other words, you automatically attain legal ownership of your written work once you’ve made it accessible in a tangible form such as writing it down on paper, typing it into your old typewriter, or keying it into your computer and saving it as a file.

Here is all the proof you need once your written work leaves your hands and goes through the submission process:

1. A copy of your written work
2. A dated record of your submission

If you are still leery about submitting your prized writing and wish to register it, by all means do so. That is still your prerogative. You may obtain a copyright application with instructions at:

Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Ave. S. E.
Washington, DC 20559-6000

Or go online: copyright.gov/forms

Please note that as of this writing (2009) registration for copyright fees are $45 (print) and $35 (online). If you decide to register your unpublished manuscript with a Copyright Office, be advised that you must inform the Editor, who later accepts your manuscript for publication, of your copyright protection.

If you decide not to register your writing, you are automatically protected under the Copyright Term Extension Act which protects your created works written during or after 1978. So, let’s thank our copyright-based business and keep those creative juices flowing. Let’s keep on writing!

Learn about self publishing your book from the experts. Available @ Amazon.com

That is what happened to me. I got tired of the commercial publishers slowing down the process and then taking too much of the money. I got tired of having to play by their rules because that is the way it has always been done. Instead of just continuing to accept such a raw deal, I decided in 2009 to self-publish my own book. It is actually my seventh book. The other six were published by commercial publishers, along with dozens of printed and online articles.

And here I am, struggling to get people to read my book, which by the way has received outstanding reviews. True, I have to do all the marketing and promotion, but these days, any author that wants to see their book be successful has to do the same; regardless of who the publisher is. There are just too many books out there for any of them to stand out without a lot of effort on the authors part.

So, should you self-publish too? Well, I don’t know. That is a tricky question. There are lots of options out there, ranging from vanity and print-on-demand publishers to creating your own small publishing company. I personally chose the latter, but it means a lot more work and money on my part. The best choice for you depends on your particular circumstances.

What I suggest you do is sit down and think about what you want to accomplish. If you just want to publish a single book in a an effort to get your name out there and you could care less about how much money you make and how much control you have over the process, then I would suggest going with a commercial publisher, if you can. However, if you know you are sitting on a great idea and the commercial publishers are not giving you the shot you deserve or interfering too much, then I say go for it. Throw yourself into it and hang on for a wild ride. Just whatever you do, always believe in yourself and your dreams. As long as you do that, anything is possible; even selling a million books, which is what I plan to do one day.

If you thought that piracy was just for ships at sea, think again. Every day, people purchase ebooks and then freely share them with friends and family members. Some do not realize that this is wrong while others just don’t care. While it may seem insignificant for a book to be shared between one or two additional people, think of those one or two sharing it with a few more of their friends and so on and so on. As time progresses, the popularity of a book may surge while the loss of income on these freely distributed copies can be pretty significant.

Aside from people freely sharing ebooks that they’ve purchased, others will pass it on to interested parties with a price tag attached. That’s right. Unless your ebook is properly protected, some unsavory person can purchase it from you and then repeatedly resell your book to others. Usually these conniving resellers offer your book at a lower price, which pulls customers away from your sales, thus affecting your overall profits.

Copyright Infringement

Other times, ebooks are stolen because authors do not obtain an official copyright on their work. As many are aware, once something is written down an assumed copyright is automatically attached. However, an assumed copyright is quite different from an official copyright in that the latter goes a step further in actually registering the work with the U.S. Copyright Office showing the original author as the copyright owner. In so doing, the owner has added protection, which is more easily enforced by the courts should a dispute ever arise concerning a work’s true ownership. When it comes to ebooks, authors are particularly vulnerable to copyright infringement, as there are some who will plagiarize the information contained in an ebook and sell your book with their name on it, instead.

Early Ebook Protection is Best

To protect an ebook against either of these scenarios, attention must be given to protecting your work as soon as it is completed. To protect against free redistribution or reselling, specially designed computer software programs and Internet services do exist that will track IP information in order to monitor who is accessing an ebook or will require a unique registration code in order to access it. The costs of these programs vary and, in general, they work very well for their intended purpose.

A Few Cons About Ebook Security Software and Services

However, as an ebook author, you should be aware that many such programs and services require you to log into a control panel and regularly check the status of the ebooks you are tracking. The more popular your ebook is, the more time-consuming this can be, albeit worth it in most cases. Also, careful attention should be paid so as not to accidentally flag an ebook for removal from a person’s computer after they have paid. These days, most people own more than one computer. Therefore, noticing several different IP addresses attached to the same book may or may not be a case of thievery. It could very well be that a paying customer has simply downloaded the book on multiple computers for their own access.

Copyright Your Ebook

To protect an ebook from plagiarism, it is highly recommended that ebook authors take the time to visit Copyright.gov in order to register their completed works. For a minimal fee, works can be registered online or via a hardcopy form with the United States Copyright Office. Afterwards, should anyone steal your work, proof exists that you are the legally registered owner. Also, by having an official copyright, should litigation ever ensue, this protection provided may also result in legal fee reimbursement, as well as statutory damages.

Many would-be ebook authors shy away from publishing electronic materials, as they fear the ease in which their work can so easily be duplicated, resold or freely distributed. However, as more and more consumers turn to ebooks to satisfy their information cravings, it is clear that the ebook industry is one that is enormously popular and not likely to wane anytime soon. Those who have concerns about ebook piracy needn’t let that concern stop them. It is far better to turn that concern into investigating opportunities and educating ones self on the many, very good options which are available to them for better ebook protection instead.

Can you imagine that?

Learn about self publishing your book from the experts. Available @ Amazon.com

If you could write and publish books for a living you could work from anywhere in the world. You could sit by a swimming pool and write, or sit on a warm tropical beach or hide away in a snowy log cabin while you churn out one great book after another, knowing that every single one of them will be published.

How fantastic would that life be?

Well you can now stop dreaming and make your life as a successful author a reality. And if you think you can’t afford to publish all your own books, you’re wrong. Because it’s now possible to write and publish all your books for free.

So if you’ve written a book, edited and proof read your manuscript, then it’s time to turn it into a published book. And there are several different ways that you can go about it. The easiest way is to sell your book electronically (an eBook) as an instant download over the internet.

If you already have a web site you can sell your book from there by creating a sales page and a ‘thank-you’ page that includes the download instructions. You can then set up the payment process using an online payment company such as PayPal.

PayPal allows you to set up an account with them for free. Through this account you can set up a ‘buy now’ payment link that you can simply copy and paste onto your sales page. Once a customer has made a purchase they are then directed to your ‘thank-you’ page where they can download your book.

If you don’t have a web site, you can sign up for a free blog and sell your book from there the same way. Or if you’re really not that savvy at creating web pages, you don’t have to have a web site or blog at all to sell your book.

You can use an online eBook company called MobiPocket who will supply you with free software so that you can upload your book file to their web site. You can then set your own price and book description, etc, and MobiPocket will sell your eBook for you and take a percentage of each sale.

MobiPocket is owned by Amazon.com and so if you sign a publisher’s agreement with MobiPocket, your book will also be available as an instant download through the Amazon stores too, as well as through over 100 other online eBook stores.

And if you want your book to be available in print form too, you can use LuLu.com.

LuLu.com is a free online POD publisher who will sell a printed copy of your book On Demand from their web site, as well as help you design a free book cover. All they ask in return is a percentage of every book sale.

So if you want to publish your book for free, try these simple ways and you can publish your book easily in only one afternoon and have it available as an eBook and printed book. And then it’s time to begin writing your next book, and the next, and the next…

Find RavenTree Press books @ Amazon.com

Thanks for being here today, Dawn. Tell us, how did Raven Tree Press get started?

The publisher knew a group of talented writers and artists in the Midwest. That pool of regional talent helped launch the initial list. With the success of the books the talent pool spread through the US and now we proudly work with talent around the world.

Who is your primary audience?

Our picture books are focused on children grades preschool ­ third grade. Because our book are co-released as bilingual books in English and Spanish the word count is traditionally low and the artwork must tell sub-stories for us.

What genres do you publish and for what age group?

We are a juvenile fiction publisher exclusively. We have one series that blends fiction (postcards written by a child) with non-fictions (facts and photos about specific locations in the United States).

Is there a big market for bilingual books?

Children’s books in general is a huge market and highly competitive. We needed something to differentiate ourselves and there were no high quality bilingual books in the market. We focused on keeping production quality high, artwork beautiful and excellent translations. These books can then be used in schools for language learning in either language, in a bilingual home where the parent may speak one language and the child is learning a second in school, and by children and families that are curious about a second language. They can use a picture book in the learning as the illustrations help to cue the words in many cases. We end every book with a keyword vocabulary list to aid in learning. These books help make language learning fun.

Are your books available in Spanish-speaking countries outside the US?

That has been a challenge for us. We have translators that blend those types of Spanish most often used in the United States and try to blend the translation to suit this blend. Spanish in Spain and sometimes the Spanish in Latin America do not match the translation in our books. We do offer our books for rights purchase so that the publishers in those countries can retranslate for their market and then reprint the books for their needs. That is true for not only Spanish speaking countries, but any company that may want a dual language presentation.

What do you look for in a picture book manuscript?

We look for a story that is easily illustratable. We look for family oriented, universal storylines. We do not need culturally specific or multicultural stories as we believe a good story is a good story in any language. In the editing process we lower the word count and choose words that can be translated.

Do you accept unagented submissions?

Yes, but we always ask an writer or agent to view our website before any submission. We want them to become familiar with our books and guidelines. It will save everyone time and resources.

Are you looking for English/Spanish translators at this time?

We are not looking for translators.

Sometimes the tone of a book is lost in a translation. What do you look for in a translator?

Tone is so important. In a children¹s book specifically we want the children to be educated and entertained. We need translators that have had experience translated creative writing and specifically juvenile fiction. Those that portray the voice of the characters in our books is critical to us. We also want that sensitivity to blend discussed earlier and that is tricky sometimes.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers?

Please visit our website. We want writers, readers and translators to know who we are and what we produce. If you have children, share one of our books with them and see them light up seeing a second language in the book. It is so interesting that children love to experience the new language when adults are sometimes hesitant.

Thanks for the interview, Dawn!

“I’m thrilled and honored to receive this wonderful award (though by rights it belongs equally to Ann Crispin, Writer Beware co-founder and co-conspirator, without whom Writer Beware wouldn’t exist–or be nearly so much fun). Ten years ago, when WB was just getting started, I could never have imagined how much we would accomplish and how far we’d come,” Strauss said. “Beginning as a two-person committee and a modest subsection of the SFWA website, we’re now a major Internet resource that has warned thousands of writers about schemes and scams, and has helped to put literary scammers out of business and into jail.

“I’m deeply grateful to SFWA for its unflagging support, and for its commitment to the importance of educating writers about the scams, schemes, and pitfalls that make the publishing world a dangerous place,” she said. “Thank you, and here’s to ten more years (at least) of scam-busting!” (link)

Read more over at her blog or read the press release for yourself.

***

A few days ago, Tess Gerritsen blogged about an email she received from a reader expressing disappointment at the fact that she does not write medial thrillers any more. Essentially, the reader enjoyed her books in that genre and decided to stop buying her books because she was now writing crime drama.

While the email is painful to read, it does raise an interesting question. How do we balance our artistic aspirations with reader expectations? And should we even try? While some writers, such as John Grisham, find that writing on the same subject over and over again works for them, other writers, such as myself, are like drunken prom dates and flirt shamelessly with any genre that catches our eye.

Ms. Gerritsen explains that she had become bored with the medical melodrama plots and wished to move onto something else more interesting. She also offered up the ever practical business reason that the genre has finally lost its steam causing her book sales to stall. While it is certainly a romantic thought that writers should write what is in our hearts, the reality is that if we want to sell books so we can have something more interesting than macaroni and cheese to eat, we need to remain cognizant of what is selling and sometimes reinvent our writing as necessary.

While I have a great respect for readers, I think our only obligation as writers is to tell a good story to the best of our ability. Ultimately, we have to remain true to ourselves as well as our business goals. It is unfortunate that our evolution as artists sometimes cost us readers but at the end of the day we have to live with ourselves and we should strive to be happy with the face that looks back at us from the mirror.

What do you think? Have you ever stopped reading a writer because they switched gears and began writing something different that what you were used to?

***

Borders pick the 2008 Original Voices Award winners.

According to the press release:

[…] Original Voices Awards recognize fresh, compelling and ambitious written works from new and emerging talents of 2008 in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, young adult/independent reader and children’s picture books.

This years winners include The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner, I am Apache by Tanya Landman and Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri.

The winners were selected by a group of Borders employees in December via an online voting process. Each winner received $5000 will be featured in the company’s brick and mortar stores nationwide.

Get tips for formating and submitting your manuscript to publishers. Available @ Amazon.com

What they fail to realize is that agents and editors are eager to discover new talent, but not talent self-proclaimed by the author or by relatives and friends whom the author selects in an effort to secure impressive comments for inclusion in their submission. You would be surprised to discover how many writers proudly proclaim their output is guaranteed to be a best seller. After all, brother Tommy and pal John both said it was superbly written. Aunt Susie, a retired English teacher, called it the next great American novel.

Editors and agents certainly expect authors to have a great deal of enthusiasm for their output. It would be sad if they, of all people, did not. That would be interpreted as a guarantee the book would fail, for it is the author who is the key to proper and widespread promotion once the book comes off the press.

Common Mistakes

The mistake that is so easily avoidable, yet underlies so many rejections is the lack of researching the targets of your submission. Agents constantly complain that authors submit manuscripts that aren’t part of the agent’s standard repertoire. By that I mean, they are subjects and genres the agent doesn’t handle. This can be avoided simply by reviewing the agent’s web site. Some specialize in fiction; others in non fiction. All list the categories they represent, and these can range from cookbooks to travel guides to literary novels.

Many agents point out very clearly on their sites that they do not represent a category, and yet submissions in that category arrive anyway, wasting the agent’s time and the author’s money and effort. Some accept simultaneous submission, while others insist upon exclusivity. All require a SASE or you will never receive a response.

When you are researching, don’t forget that there are several agents that function in a single agency. Take the time to determine which of those handle the type of book you are submitting. Direct your submission and all related correspondence to that specific agent by name. That personalization distinguishes your submission from those that are sent randomly to a number of agencies and will guarantee you a faster and more careful review.

Ego Errors

The only opinions about your manuscript that agents or editors value are those you obtain from publishing professionals or well-respected experts in the topic you are writing about. Your own praise for your book is meaningless. In fact, it can be a turn off because you are in essence saying to the recipient, “Listen to me. I know better than you how good this book is.”

Some authors neglect to do their homework when preparing the sections of their book proposal dealing with competition, marketing and promotion. They assume the quality of their manuscript is such that they don’t need these special sections to gain acceptance. They foolishly overlook selling points that can make the difference between success and failure. The income of an agent or an editor depends on the success of your book. If the market is saturated with identical books and yours offers no special insight, chances are few will buy it.

If you haven’t carefully analyzed your proposed market and planned a fairly extensive promotional program to reach it, no publisher would be foolish enough to accept your proposal because the chances of sales success have been undermined from the start.

A number of novices think they can draw attention to their submission by dressing it up with color and fancy typography and graphics, none of which impress
an agent or editor. They are interested in just three things: Is the book of a quality to attract readers? Are you qualified to write the book? Will the book sell? Publishing is a business and agents and publishers are astute businesspersons.

Lastly, if you are fortunate enough to find a qualified agent, listen to him/her. These folks have proved their understanding of the industry through long experience. Their criticism is always constructive and will help sell your book to a publisher and later to the public. They know what they are talking about. Listen to them carefully, and follow their recommendations.

With your awareness of these simple points, you will probably double your chances of success in your search for an agent or publisher.