Hens Lay Eggs
food for thought
And … crickets
I’m big on basic good manners. It’s something my mother drilled into me, reinforced in my youth by teachers who did not hesitate to correct me when I veered from the path of polite behavior or speech.
Therefore, you may understand why ghosting infuriates me.
I received in inquiry last week, a message from a potential client referred to me by a colleague. I thanked him for the message and thanked the colleague for the referral and answered the question posed in the potential client’s message.
And … nothin’.
In another instance, I contacted a person regarding registration as a vendor for an event. That person was quick to provide me with the URL for registration and to take my payment, but further communication has been lackluster and begrudging, to say the least.
Someone who contacts me and isn’t trying to sell me something usually gets a polite response. That response may be not what that person wants, but it does establish a connection via an electronic conversation. Engagement imposes the duty of polite manners upon the parties so engaged.
When there’s a monetary transaction involved, that duty becomes inescapable. That’s not only good manners, it’s also good business.
The job or project application differs. In such a circumstance, I will submit a cover letter and fill out the application form and attach my resume and whatever else is requested to be considered for a gig. In short, I am responding to a broadly cast, open-to-the-public announcement. Submitting the requested information generally results in an electronic form letter stating the hiring company received my application.
That’s all that’s needed. The company has no further obligation to engage with me unless they decide to interview me and/or hire me. Then the duty of polite manners applies.
Today’s definition of good manners seems to be based on the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The imperative of efficiency takes that and flings it to the wayside.
Businesses that prize efficiency above all else forget that people crave that human touch. We are social creatures, even those diehard introverts who work from home in glorious solitude. The little time it takes to act with kindness and courtesy makes a huge difference to the person at the other end of the communique or the connection.
Good business mandates courtesy.
What self-publishing really means
“What are the steps to getting my book published?”
I frequently see this question or some variation of it posted in the writing forums in which I participate. For those writers who are finishing up their manuscripts and eager to launch their stories upon an unsuspecting public, what I have to tell them is not what they want to hear.
You see, there’s a process to publishing. That process isn’t chiseled in stone and not following it won’t break any laws, but following it will help an author produce a better quality book. In a nutshell, here it is:
- Write the story.
- Edit the manuscript. Always. First, you’ll self-edit and revise. This phase may or may not include using editing software and/or beta readers. When you’re finished, it’s time to hire a professional editor. Yes, really. A professional editor’s objective eyes and experience will catch copy errors, plot holes, inconsistencies, and other flaws you missed during self-editing. This is the proof that the author is too close to the story to see what’s wrong with it. Depending on the quality of your writing, your manuscript may need multiple rounds of editing.
- Format your book. When editing is complete, your book has to be formatted for publication. Formatting for print differs from formatting for e-book. If you’re not experienced in page layout, then hire a pro who is. Don’t discount the importance of good page design; it directly affects the reader’s experience.
- Proofread your book. Formatting reveals copy errors that slip through previous rounds of editing. Hiring a proofreader ensures those errors are caught and corrected.
- Design the cover. Your book’s cover is its most important marketing tool, so it should align with other books in your genre while also being distinctive. That’s tough to do. Unless you’re expert at graphic design, hire a pro. Know that the dimensions of your full cover (front, spine, and back) depend upon page layout: the number of pages determines the spine’s width.
- Write the back cover copy. In Amazon, this is called the book description. Informally, it’s better known as the cover blurb. The cover blurb is copy writing, a much different style of writing than the story. Its purpose is different, too: it is supposed to sell your book, not tell the story. Writing an effective cover blurb may require you hire a professional copywriter.
- Plan and execute your marketing strategy. Your book will compete with millions of titles, so marketing is necessary to bring it to the your audience’s attention. If you’re not experienced at marketing, then hire a pro.
You’ll have noticed a theme running through all but the first step: Hire a professional. I’m not kidding.
If you think about it, you’ll see this makes sense.
When you self-publish, you are the publisher as well as the author. It’s your responsibility to do everything a traditional publisher does. A traditional publisher hires or employs professionals for editing, book design, cover design, copywriting, and marketing. Professionals don’t work for free. This is why a traditionally published author receives such a small share of royalties. (A few decades ago, a traditionally published author could expect to earn a measly 7% of royalties—and a literary agent would get 15% of that!)
Self-publishing nets authors much higher royalties, but also puts the onus of quality on them, too. The reading public wants, expects, and deserves high quality books. As a self-publisher, it’s your responsibility to provide them with that quality, and providing them with that quality means hiring professionals.
So, why not do it all yourself?
Let’s consider another anology: construction. Pretend you’re an architect who has designed a wonderful house. You hire a general contractor to build the house, but that contractor doesn’t do all the work himself. He hires subcontractors, each specialists in their own fields: electricians, plumbers, etc. These specialists take care of the foundation, the wiring, the water and septic systems, HVAC systems, roofing, siding, framing, cabinetry, flooring, drywall/plaster, and more. The construction budget must accommodate all the specialities that go into building a quality home.
These professional editor(s), designers, proofread, and marketing professionals know their jobs: they’re specialists. Your budget to produce a great book must stretch to accommodate their fees. How much do they charge? It depends. The Editorial Freelancers Association offers an excellent and realistic guideline to rates.
Are there ways to economize? Of course!
Editors typically charge less for manuscripts that are in excellent shape. That means self-editing pays off in lower editing costs. If you’re skilled in graphic design and/or page layout, then do that yourself. But for whatever task is necessary, don’t subject your readers to amateur efforts. Feel free to learn how to do for future books what you cannot do or cannot do well now.
So, what does self-publishing mean? It does not mean “do it all yourself.” It means you assume responsibility for everything a traditional publisher does—and that includes hiring professionals.
Hen House Publishing offers author support services: ghostwriting, editing, proofreading, and book design. Let me help you share your story with the world.
COMING SOON!
The latest book by Holly Bargo, Single Stroke, will be released on December 15, 2023. Available on Amazon in e-book or paperback format, Single Stroke is the third book in the Triune Alliance Brides series and may be read as a standalone novel. As always, there’s never a cliffhanger!
Don’t fall for it!
One of the job sites/freelance platforms to which I subscribe sent me an alert for a gig that sounds right up my alley: freelance fiction prose writer (forbidden romance, new adult romance) with an estimated salary of $1,250 to $1,300 per month. Whoo hoo! That sounds like decent money and a lot of fun.
Then I read the details.
If hired, the writer is obligated to complete 10 chapters at 1,200 to 1,500 words each per week. That’s 12,000 to 15,000 words drafted, self-edited, revised, and polished each week.
Yep, once again, I’ll get into the numbers.
The average writer takes approximately three hours and 20 minutes to draft, self-edit, revise, and polish 1,000 words of content. Let’s pretend I’m better than average and can produce 1,000 words of good content in a mere three hours. Fifteen thousand words a week will take 45 hours to complete.
Now here’s the kicker: the company will pay $15 per chapter.
So, to work 45 hours per week to produce the minimum required 10 chapters in that week, I’d receive the princely wage of $150. In order to earn that estimated salary of $1,250 per month, I’d have to produce 125,000 words of content in that month. To produce 125,000 words in a month, I’d have to generate 31,250 words each week (assuming a 4-week month). That’s more than twice the amount of content required per week, meaning I’d have to work nearly 100 hours per week to earn that estimated salary.
The company hiring desperately hungry writers for poverty wages is Above Story Limited. Another company offering equally terrible terms is Dibbly. Companies like this make money hand over fist while the writers writing for them are burning their candles at both ends.
Before applying to any such opportunity, it behooves the prospective applicant to run through the numbers and decide whether the terms are reasonable. I do not consider the terms of this particular gig reasonable. I’m better off writing for free and publishing the book myself.
Publishing is a business, and the writers who produce work-for-hire treat it is as a business, then the bad actors taking advantage of writers will be quickly revealed.
Know your value and don’t fall for these exploitive schemes.
Author
Hard boiled, scrambled, over easy, and sunny side up: eggs are the musings of Holly Bargo, the pseudonym for the author.
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Karen (Holly)
Blog Swaps
Looking for a place to swap blogs? Holly Bargo at Hen House Publishing is happy to reciprocate Blog Swaps in 2019.
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