It’s a good idea for authors to keep track of what’s being said about their work on the Internet, or what’s not being talked about that should be discussed. New tools are always being developed and there are two I’ve found beneficial.

As Google increases its dominance, most writers are probably familiar with “Google Alerts”. The alerts are e-mail updates on a certain topic, be it a developing news story or information on your latest book or you, the author.

The second site is “Who’s Talkin” a social media search tool, again monitoring the blogs, reviews, articles, etc. regarding your latest work or activity. Of the two, www.whostalkin.comcurrently works better than Google Alerts.  Here’s why.

If I enter “Catherine Johnson author of Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace” as a Google Alert, I receive every alert containing any one of those words. So I can get a completely unrelated alert regarding Catherine Watson, author, simply because it matched my first name. The same is true of the title - I receive matches for any book title having any of the words in the title.

Using the same information, Who’s Talkin’ appears to synthesize information better providing more relevant results. For example using Who’s Talkin’ I’ve discovered blog post regarding Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace in French and Spanish, and discovered my own postings written on topics relating to the novel disseminated across the web.

Both options are a good way for authors to monitor the Internet activity their work(s) are generating.

Earlier this week, I posted about purchasing books online. I’d tried it after reading David Streitfeld’s article “Bargain Hunting for Books and Feeling Sheepish About It”. Streitfeld was able to purchase a pristine copy of a hard-to-find book he was searching for, paying a quarter for the work.

I tested this out, purchasing two books, one from Amazon and one from a book reseller. The results: The first book, Old Flames by Jack Ketchum arrived directly from Amazon and that copy was brand new. The second book, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown was to be a birthday gift for my husband.

Both books arrived promptly - Old Flames in three days and Angels and Demons in five. The copy of Angels and Demons was carefully packed (a bomb could detonate next to the package and it would have remained tightly taped inside the delivery envelop) so no complaints there. The book itself was unmarked, but clearly it was used and smelled a bit musty. Had the book not been intended as a gift it would have been perfectly fine. It turned out my husband had a new copy he’d purchased over a year ago, so I found another birthday present.

Overall the experience was a very good one. The reseller contacted me via e-mail thanking me for the order as did Amazon. The customer service in both instances was stellar. Unlike David Streitfeld I felt no guilt purchasing books over the Internet versus driving to a brick and mortar store. Everything related to book publishing changed once the shopping habits of consumers changed.

Would I buy books this way again? Absolutely. Two years ago, my husband ordered a hard-to-find work from Amazon simply because that was the only place carrying the book. So in a way, changing our habits is only logical. There is no doubt there will be tough times and adjustments. We can lament these trends and try to fight them or we can accept shifting habits and patterns, integrating them into our own business and marketing plans.

“Bargain Hunting for Books and Feeling Sheepish About It” is a great article by David Streitfeld on the changing habits of book buyers and their impact on publishers, authors, readers, and traditional bookstores. Streitfeld’s aghast comes from his participation in the very habits that are changing the publishing industry forever - buying a book for little money over the Internet versus shopping at a brick and mortar bookstore.

As an author I certainly understand the negative side effects of Internet technology - publishers are laying off employees, bookstores are closing, and authors are receiving far less in royalties. Even booksellers don’t make a lot of money - there are so many copies available of the most titles pricing is very competitive. These are exactly the reasons I just purchased two books over the Internet.  From the behemoth Amazon, no less.

Without leaving the comfort of my home, I paid under $26 for both titles, which are being shipped to my front door. No wasting gas driving to the bookstore, then spending time searching for the titles, requesting help when I can’t find what I’m looking for, then making the return trip, etc. What would take an hour took less than 10 minutes. Engaging the Internet I saved time, got a decent competitive price, and had my choice of copies to choose from, some used and some new.

I don’t feel sheepish as Streitfeld apparently did. Would I like to get more royalties for my novel? Of course! At the same time, there’s no going back to way books were sold pre-Internet. As a writer, I need to let go of worrying about how many books I’m selling vs. readers who purchase the novel for less money through booksellers, love it, and spread the word.

Amazon has launched Author Stores, a tool that should help promote authors and their books on the Amazon site. The Author Stores are single pages that list all the books from a particular author, as well as other features. The Author Stores launched before the beginning of the year with 2,500 pages; the goal is to have a page for every author who has books available on Amazon.

See how the feature works by searching for popular bestselling authors including Stephen King, J.K. Rowling and James Patterson. Customers access the stores thr ough the normal search box-when a shopper searches for an author who has a store, a link appears at the top of the search results next to Amazon’s Author Store logo. As an example, I’ve used J.K. Rowlings to access her page.

Apple uses a similar feature for popular artists at its iTunes stores. Amazon’s long-time goal is to have an Author Store for every author whose books are available through Amazon.

Note: This is the second part of a two-part article on authors and their rights when entering contests.

Some authors may not wish to sell their complete rights, which is understandable. That makes it even more important to recognize when a contest isn’t really a contest and what the rules actually require, saving writers both the expense and aggravation of entering a contest they were better off ignoring. Signs to keep in mind when considering a contest include:

• Everyone is a winner. By definition, a contest isn’t really a contest if every entrant wins. Make sure the entries are actually judged; and approach with caution if the sponsor will not provide who judges entries. The entry fees are outrageously high. Moira Allen of Writing-World.com provides costs for a typical contest. Be very wary of contests that charge an entry fee of $20 for a grand prize of $50. However, this does not guarantee that a contest is, in fact, legitimate.
• Average entry fees for legitimate poetry, novel, and screenwriting contests range from $5.00-$50.00.
• Just the opposite is true - the entry fee is very low, or there is no cost to enter at all. The question to research is this: Without any entry fee, how does the organization pay to administer the contest, from judges to prizes?
• Every entry is considered for publication. Make sure that the “entry fee” isn’t really a “reading fee.
• The prize is publication in a low-quality periodical, with no respect in the writing or literature community.
• The author of a winning entry has to pay for a copy of the publication.
• The prize actually depends on the number of entries.
• The competition is run by a private individual. According to Moira Allen most legitimate competitions are run by organizations such as literary groups and publishers.

It’s worth noting that while there are a lot of contests posted on the Internet, by the same token there are also a number of resources on the net dedicated to keeping authors aware of contests that are scams and those that are legitimate. Moira Allen of Writing-World.com and Victoria Strauss who oversees the Writer Beware section of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) both offer helpful tips and resources to assist writers in avoiding writing-related scams.

Legitimate contests do exist and they have the potential to get an author’s work noticed. What is crucial is that writers do the necessary research and be sure that they are not giving away their rights for free or getting taken in outright scams.

Blogging is hard. But keeping a regularly updated blog that always relates to your book in some way makes blogging a great way to continue expanding your audience. It’s also a means of passing on information that is useful to your readers and provides them with something of value.

For me, the best way to do this is taking a 12-month calendar and finding topics for each month that relate to issues/themes discussed in the novel. I call this the “Blogging Calendar”. Once you have brainstormed an initial calendar, start researching various possibilities on the Internet. The research process can also be the spark for additional topics you may not have considered.

Some of the themes in Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace were: alcoholism and chemical dependency, politics and voter awareness, divorce and child custody issues, health concerns, particularly ovarian cancer, Minnesota history and tourism, and writing and publishing trends. Some months are going to be easier to fill than others, but here are examples of how I started plotting out my blogging schedule.

March
Women’s History Month

April
Alcohol Awareness Month

September
Labor Day
Ovarian Cancer Awareness

October
Ministry Appreciation Month
Domestic Violence Awareness
Grandparents Day

November
U.S. Presidential Election

Finding topics relevant to your book at least gives authors a starting point. In my case I also keep abreast of current events in the realms of politics and the writing/publishing industry. For example, I posted a blog on the Twin Cities hosting the GOP Convention and tied it together with the Pierson family’s political activism. I’ve also done a number of blog articles on writing and the publishing industry, and I post whenever something of interest to authors happens, such as Amazon’s new policy on Print On Demand (POD) publishing.

Blogging does take work (especially if you have several blogs to keep updated) but think of it this way - you’re not only promoting your book(s), you’re providing reader benefits, and writing regularly which helps you as an author to constantly improve.

NOTE: This is the second of two articles chronicling the experience of two authors who unwittingly became victims of literary agent scams.

The second scam also seemed to start out as legitimate. Carl, a co-worker, announced at a staff meeting he’d obtained agency representation for his novel. When he mentioned the name of the agency, I recognized it as one who had recently rejected me. The agent had offered some suggestions on how to improve the story and mentioned she would be interested in taking another look after I’d made revisions.

Carl had also been told his manuscript needed work and had been offered suggestions for editing and revisions. But the agent went even further. She told Carl he could do the revisions or an editor she knew could do the polish for $1,500. In either case, she claimed with those tweaks she could “definitely sell this book”. Carl declined the editor’s services, and for the next several weeks worked on revising his novel during every free moment. When he submitted the completed manuscript, Carl was then told that because book marketing costs are so expensive, he would need to put up $25,000 to get the process started. The agent promised he would get that money back and much more once the book was published.   

How The Scam Works:
This agent had multiple scams going. Had Carl agreed to let the agent’s “editor” associate polish the manuscript, he would have been out the $1,500. Usually the literary agent and editorial businesses are owned by the same company and make referrals to each other without the author having any idea of their relationship. They’re not interested in improving your work, such agents and editors are only concerned with the editorial fees. At this point Carl realized all of his writing and revising had been for naught. As foolish as Carl felt, at least he hadn’t parted with $25,000.

Finding a good agent can be a very tricky business. Even authors who know better aren’t immune to making serious mistakes when it comes to the “promise” of seeing your words in print. Along with the list of following tips, remember the old adage: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.

Tips:
The agents contained in the Association of Author Representatives (AAR) database must adhere to a Code of Ethics. This is a great starting point for your agent search and some authors contact only agents belonging to the AAR.

Research every potential agent you’re planning to contact. Start with a Google search of the agency and agent. You may have to look at several sites to gather the information you need to make a well-informed decision. Another excellent resource is Agent Query.

How many books has the agent actually sold to major publishers? What was the date of the last work they sold? I’ve found more than one agent still accepting submissions who haven’t sold a book in years.

Use sites such as the Writers Beware section on SFWA and Preditors and Editors who track agents who engage in questionable practices.

NOTE: This is the first of a two-part article chronicling the experience of two authors who unwittingly became victims of literary agent scams.

One of the first things writers seeking agency representation should learn is that legitimate agents DO NOT charge author fees. These include agents who charge reading fees simply to read your manuscript; evaluation fees to review your manuscript; agents who require writers to pre-purchase books; or pay some of the publication and/or marketing costs.

There are a host of agent scams preying on authors desperate to see their book in print. One of the absolute best resources on the Internet regarding questionable agent practices can be found on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) site under the section called “Writer Beware”. SFWA is constantly researching and updating the Writer Beware area to help educate authors to avoid the endless writer-related scams.

However, even writers who do their homework are not immune to unscrupulous agents. These two examples illustrate how even smart authors can get taken.

In the fall of 2003 I heard from an agency offering representation for my novel. The agent provided specific instructions on how the manuscript should be formatted for the best possible presentation. Before I signed anything, I researched the agency which I had found through a reputable author organization. Clearly, I didn’t do enough.

The agency included the six-month contract in their offer of representation, which I thought was odd. But it would get even worse. As I later learned from another author, legitimate agents don’t make representation offers through the mail electronic or otherwise, they call you personally.

The agency then explained they would need approximately 25 copies of the manuscript to send to publishers. I had two options: (a) I could make copies as the agency needed and pay for postage each time, or (b) pay the agency a flat-fee of $250 and let them make the copies. Knowing I should never have to pay an agent money up-front, my gut-reaction was to pass. However two author friends and several family members reminded me I had just paid $125.00 for three copies of the manuscript. This meant my final tally on 25 copies would be much larger than $250. They convinced me to change my mind and pay the fee.

Six months later I received a letter from the agency saying they were unable to find representation for my novel. Attached was a crooked, mimeographed list of the 25 publishers they had supposedly sent the manuscript to. When I contacted the organization where I had obtained the agent’s name, they asked an important question: Had I gotten copies of the rejection letter from every single publisher the agent had contacted? When I said no, the organization explained that’s how legitimate agents work and to ask the agency for those rejection letters. When I did, the agent told me those files had been destroyed at the end of the contract.

How The Scam Works:
Going back to the contract, the agent had already dated the contract for six months which meant I lost several weeks making the requested format changes. My attorney didn’t feel that was unusual, but I had reservations. Second, do the math. Two-hundred fifty dollars times a thousand “clients” is a cool $250,000. Most legitimate agents are inundated with thousands of authors seeking representation every year, so an unscrupulous agent can simply sit back and wait for their “clients” to send that $250 believing they have representation with a legitimate agent. I discovered later that the agency was on a list highlighting the 20 worst literary agents.

Print On Demand (POD) publishing is leading the surge in book output. According to Publishers Weekly, traditionally published books rose by 1% in 2007, while the output for on-demand , short run titles soared from 21,936 in 2006 to a whopping 134, 773 in 2007. For self-published authors such as me this is both good news and bad news.

The good news is that more authors are taking control and publishing their work using POD technology rather than continuing what can be a futile search for traditional agency representation. On the not-so-good side is the sheer numbers of POD titles published, making for a very competitive market.

That means that authors who do self-publish using POD have their work cut-out for them in terms of marketing to set us apart from the crowd. Just as a mainstay of the real estate business is “location, location, location”; authors should get in the mindset of “promotion, promotion, promotion”.  

The new figures also include traditional books printed by mainstream publishers, public domain titles, self-published authors, and small publishers all using the print-on-demand technology. To get a sense of how drastically the print-on-demand technology is affecting publishing, consider these numbers: Between 2002 and 2007 production of traditional titles rose by 29% while POD increased by 313%, for an overall increase of 66% during the five year period.

One of the easiest ways for an author to promote their work is by taking advantage of the social networking sites that support independent authors. I’m a member of four such sites, and Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace is promoted on each of them. Besides promotional opportunities these social networking sites are a great way for writers to meet other writers, exchange ideas, get questions answered, have work critiqued, find writing events, classes, etc.

The four social networking sites I use most are: Authors Den, Author Nation, Nothing Binding, and the Red Room. Each site offers services targeted specifically to writers that help improve their craft and build community. Some of the services include:

Personal Author Page - on most of these you can add a biography, your book’s description, a cover picture, your photo, reviews, and where to buy.
Blogs
Forums
Writing Groups
Author Event Listings
Areas to post your articles, short stories, poems, images, and on some sites audio.

Not every site provides the same author services, so my advice is to visit each one and determine which will work best for you. There is also a bit of a time commitment as you register and add information to each site. Have content that will appear on all sites such as your author biography, book cover picture, description, reviews, etc. already completed so you’re not reinventing yourself for each site (unless of course you want to).

As an independent author these sites also help you promote yourself to different audiences. For example, besides this blog I have three others on the various social networking sites. When I announced the Squidoo page, I went to those sites first and I’m already getting feedback. If you’re taking advantage of blogs offered by such sites, authors can target posts to each site (usually only minor revisions would be needed) or submit the same post because you’ll encounter new audience members on each site.

There’s an old saying that “any publicity is good publicity”. Once the initial marketing push is over, such author supported networking sites are a great way to continue promoting your work indefinitely.