Many thanks for your excellent comments! The more ways publishers can see making money from a book, the more they will want to buy it. Writers do indeed have to be prepared to promote their books. Great spending time with you!

Mike

1. Every author, regardless of whether they want a publisher, should consider spin-off products such as wall calendars and board games. Some books lend themselves perfectly to these things. But authors miss the opportunity because they aren’t thinking beyond the book.

2. Also, how willing are you to contact the media, do talk show interviews, write op-eds, follow journalists on the social media sites, build a relationship with those journalists, comment at their blogs, and be actively involved in your own publicity campaign? Too many authors, even those who have publishers, are surprised to learn that the publisher’s publicity department won’t do all the work. Authors and publicists can work together without stepping on each other’s toes.

I’m glad I reconnected with you… this time through your blog. Thanks again for all your advice and for taking the time.

Nowadays connecting/reconnecting with somebody is easier because of the Internet. Most of us are ‘living’ online. But that also means that we sit in front of the computer screen way too often and long. Add to that the amount of time it takes writers to type their manuscripts and everything else directly on the computer… 24/7 only starts to describe our living online. It is easier, of course, and I do it all the time. But standing/sitting in one spot and looking at that spot (say, for example, a blank Word Document screen) can hardly be (always) inspiring. Therefore, I find myself going somewhere else (outside, if the weather is nice) with an old fashion pen and paper (or pencil and paper). Yes, my terrible handwriting (which once used to be pretty nice) needs improvement, but the process of changing our writing habits (for example, write on paper) makes a big difference. It’s like sometimes the muse is still stuck in its pen-and-paper days and does not want to show up unless we revisit that kind of way of writing. I think we should try it more often. I also think that, just by moving away from our computers (from work) and changing the setting, so to speak, we can allow ourselves to think freely and to come up with fresh ideas. (I always do my brainstorming on paper… I find it more… fun).

Over the years I’ve written:
* in the car (I wasn’t driving)
* on the beach
* while using any means of public transportation
* in the garden
* while exercising
* while flying to/from different places
* in bed, before going to sleep sleep

Thank you and look forward to reading your posts.

Sincerely,
Alina Oswald
Author of Journeys Through Darkness: A Biography of AIDS
B: alinaoswald.blogspot.com

Thank you for posting the Top 10 Tips from Elfrieda Abbe, publisher of The Writer!
San Francisco Writers Conference just gets more exciting each year. Thank you & Elizabeth for inviting us to co-present 2 interactive sessions.

Tip #1 Study the markets and target your submissions & Tip #4 Polish your work – that would be this session:

Thurs. Feb. 16, 6:00pm Teresa LeYung-Ryan & Mary E. Knippel

BEING YOUR OWN EDITOR: Ensuring Your Work is 100% Before Taking the Next Step:
Attend this session if you want to Polish Your Manuscripts before:

• hiring book doctor/developmental editor OR
• pitching to agents or acquisition editors OR
• self-publishing

Also, Mary and I are scheduled to give one-on-one 10-minute consultations & at Ask-a-Pro at THE Conference!

Tip #2 Make a good first impression & Tip #7 Platform counts. – that would be this session:

Fri. Feb. 17, 9:00am Teresa LeYung-Ryan & Elisa “Sasa” Southard

BLOWING UP YOUR BALLOON: Writing a Tag-Line That Will Sell You and Your Book
Attend this session if you want to:

• hook agents, acquisition editors, readers, media attention
• make your name synonymous with the themes you write about
• have fun building your writer’s platform & fanbase

On Feb. 2, 2012, 6:15-7:30pm I’ll prepare conference attendees by presenting “What is a Platform and How to Build Yours” at San Francisco Main Library on behalf of Women’s National Book Association.
Please arrive early, I’ll start promptly at 6:15pm. Must RSVP 24 hours before meeting by emailing writingcoachteresa (use @ sign) gmail.com Put “RSVP Feb. 2, 2012″ in subject line please.

I encourage writers to go to the 9th San Francisco Writers Conference / A Celebration of Craft, Commerce & Community, February 16-20, 2012 http://www.sfwriters.org

Sincerely,
Writing Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan

Writing Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan has helped over 1,000 writers. As author of Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she coaches writers on making their names synonymous with the themes/subject matters/issues they write about. As editor/story consultant, Coach Teresa identifies themes and archetypes in her clients’ manuscripts. Her novel Love Made of Heart is used in college composition classes. http://writingcoachteresa.com Read Coach Teresa’s blog.