Do Writers use Twitter? You bet your tweet, they do.

MediaBistro.com analyzed what many of us call "meaningless chatter" on Twitter and found, among all the celebrity nonsense, there are plenty of us out there too:

Using highly unscientific methods (a simple TweepSearch to find all the people who included the word "poet," "novelist," or "writer" in their Twitter profile), GalleyCat has compiled a year-end census of the literary Twittersphere.

According to simple TweepSearch queries, there are 1,790 novelists, 9,139 poets, 19,490 journalists, 28,529 authors, and a staggering 99,082 writers on Twitter. The publishing world latched on to the microblogging site in 2009, as Twitter writers scored book deals, serialized stories, and saw their work adapted to film. Finally, GalleyCat opened its Twitter page for business.

Source: MediaBistro.com

Holiday gift ideas: Not too late to ask for these...

Friends and family don't know what to buy you for a holiday present. Why? Because they observe you hunched over your computer, or writing in notebooks. They can't buy you time, they can't buy you inspiration or courage, so they might buy you a new journal, pen, or another mug.

Besides suggesting all the wonderful books written by writers for writers, here are a few other great ideas that don't require wrapping! Ask for a subscription to an online writers organization. They'd never think of it, but you would so enjoy getting grounded in such a group.

Drop these ideas around the house so you can connect with writers of books, blogs, business and lucrative freelance venues.

links:
American Society of Journalists & Authors
asja.org

Freelance Success
freelancesuccess.com

MediaBistro (with the AvantGuild add-on if you've been very good)
mediabistro.com

SPAWN - Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network
www.spawn.org

Please comment below to add your ideas for the writer's dream holiday gift!

Storytelling

The latest Writer's Digest has a terrific piece by Mitch Albom, in which he attributes his writing success to one thing: storytelling.

Read it here.

Motivation... whatever it takes

I'm delighted to have the pleasure of reviewing Maeve Binchy's newest book. It won't be out until March 2010 but you're sure to like it. The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club is a sweet series of weekly letters to the reader from Maeve. Along the way, she invites successful friends to share their point of view on some of the issues that are puzzling to all authors. Not surprisingly, her friends themselves are skilled writers, editors and publishers.

I thought you might enjoy a peek into her letter from Week 6, in which the author bribes herself to keep writing:

"If I get the first four pages of chapter seven done today, I will have a huge glass of Chardonnay...

...If I don't get four pages done, I will sit down and make three telephone calls I have been putting off for weeks."

She ends by saying "... We must remember this is where the losers give up. We will not be among them."

Hope this helps you whether you're slogging through the final hours of NANOWRIMO, writing in your journal, creating a blog post, or the next best-seller. Write on, friends.

Helen Gallagher
(excerpts from Advanced Reader Copy subject to change on publication March 2010.)

NANOWRIMO Week 4

Gosh, the month of activity for National Novel Writing Month is winding down and there's a big, fat holiday this week, so don't lose focus.

The Chicago NANOWRIMO group has put together some spectacular free writing events all over the city and suburbs this week. You have NO excuses.... there is even an invitation to a Thanksgiving potluck and major writing day at someone's home. email me if you want the contact info.

Full details of the weeks events in cafes, shops, libraries and other parties can be found at my author marketing blog: pajamamarketing.wordpress.com. Jump over and find an event where you can write and writhe with NANOWRIMO this week!

BookSurge either shrinks or expands

Amazon, owner of the BookSurge print-on-demand company, is merging Book Surge with CreateSpace, its Lulu-like publishing option.

Amazon doesn't make many visible mistakes but this seems like a big one. BookSurge has, to the public, a very good reputation as a high-end POD firm. CreateSpace is, well... a lot like Lulu. I think they could get the same resulting cost savings, synergy, unified brand, if they went with the Book Surge name, but we'll see how well they do.

For now, will BookSurge shrink into the lower-level product or expand into more products, more avenues, more market share. POD is a thriving, dynamic business, so stay tuned.

And baby makes three

I've written elsewhere about the ease of developing a blog, and letting it morph into whatever you and your readers seem to respond to. But bloggers never need to feel penned in (pun intended) by having a single blog. Branch out if your interests or your audience grows in a new direction.

In addition to this blog, I started Pajama Marketing as a blog in June, with specific aspects of author marketing tips and strategies. There is a new post each Saturday morning, so you can work in your P.J.'s and still do something productive to move your work and your visibility along.

And now... baby makes three: I'm growing the Pajama Marketing blog into a web site as well. PajamaMarketing.info will now share marketing strategies, as well as links to resources, info on upcoming seminars, observations and interviews with other authors. And, you'll still be able to concentrate on your weekly marketing mojo at the blog.

Ebooks, as discussed in Manzanita, Oregon

Last weekend's Dark & Stormy writing workshop in Manzanita, Oregon lived up to its name. Despite the temporary wet weather, the event was filled with terrific energy. The audience especially came alive discussing ebooks and their multi-faceted role in publishing:

1. augmenting print sales of your book.
2. creating visibility for your work in multiple online retail channels.
3. converting your book to Kindle, Nook and Sony formats, and uploading to Smashwords.com, where you can earn 85 percent of the ebook price on each sale.
4. providing a way to print excerpts, chapters, small books for a limited audience.
5. using the free digital printing services such as lulu.com and createspace.com to print one or two copies of your book to see how it will look when published in softcover.

The great energy over potential of ebooks shows the vast potential of this untapped publishing outlet. Here's an excerpt written by Adam Hanft on Huffington Post on exactly this topic:
(you can read full article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-hanft/brave-new-chapter-the-sim_b_347585.html

"Beyond the publishers, this is a great forward step for consumers, too. Being able to quickly and cheaply download a range of book chapters will expose readers to the potential of more great books, give them the chance to discover new writers, themes and subjects, on an affordable, low-dose, chapter-by-chapter basis. It's the highest and best use of impulse selling.

Writers win, too. Big time. Because more authors will get the chance to get introduced to new readers, and open up new markets - which they desperately need. At it's most basic, it's sampling, like Whole Foods Market giving away tasting cubes of aged gouda. And it works.

So if the idea of a book being sold as piece-goods upsets you - remember that it didn't trouble Charles Dickens, who serialized his novels in newspapers.

In fact, all in all, this is one time where the much-abused cliché "a new chapter in publishing" may turn out to be just that."

No Women In Top Ten List?

With hundreds of great books opting for the coveted "Top Ten" spot on any book list, chance are something will be neglected, and not make the list. When Publishers Weekly released their Best Books for 2009, though, they may have stopped too soon. There are no winning books by female authors. Ten top books of the year, all written by men...?

In their selection criteria, Publishers Weekly's 11/02/09 news item states: "We ignored gender and genre and who had the buzz. We gave fair chance to the “big” books of the year, but made them stand on their own two feet. It disturbed us when we were done that our list was all male."

Let's make it a point to buy the books further down the list written by women, like those who almost made the list:

Fiction
Dark Places
Gillian Flynn (Crown/Shaye Areheart)

The Man in the Wooden Hat
Jane Gardam (Europa)

The Believers
Zoë Heller (Harper)

and in non-fiction:
Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America
Barbara Ehrenreich (Metropolitan)

Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape
Edited by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti (Seal)

NANOWRIMO: Don't worry about getting it right, just get to it.

Keep going with National Novel Writing month. If nothing else, it reminds you that you CAN find time to write every day. But don't worry about being perfect:

"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile."
Robert Cormier

Quote freshly pilfered from WorldwideFreelanceWriter, worldwidefreelance.com

A novel approach to visibility and pitching an agent

Carolyn Howard is a well-known non-fiction writer. She has partnered with another author to do advance marketing for their upcoming book by creating a site for their book proposal here.

It includes their excellent agent query letter here. Their Fiction Marketing site also promotes Carolyn's ebook on making a good first impression. They also include a sample of their blogging chapter, which builds interest for the book, draws visitors to the site, and increases their chances of attracting serious inquiries from agents.

Take a look at it and consider this unusual method of making your work more visible, and showing both your readers and potential agents that you can deliver an unusual approach to marketing today.

Manzanita Rocks

These folks really know how to write. This is a demo blog post done live in our workshop. It is a great weekend to learn about writing projects on genealogy, memoir, medical issues and history, fiction and travel.

How's NANOWRIMO going for you?

Hand cramp or burgeoning book file on your computer? If you're writing well for NANOWRIMO, you've got 4,000 or 6,000 words done by now - over ten percent of your goal. Write extra each day to ease the pace when you have a day where you run out of time.

Reading a HuffPost blog by Steve Ross, former president, Collins Division at HarperCollins and Sr. VP, Crown Division at Random House I found this, which I hope inspires you to find the time, find the time, find the time, find the time each day for your writing.

"Between midnight and 3:00 am each day--after his Senate and family obligations were put to bed--Barack would write, then send his work to his editor for her comments. As the deadlines grew tighter, she would give us regular updates about the progress of the manuscript and sometimes share drafts of chapters for a few of us to read. It was a rare pleasure to watch as the distillation of his message and his vision took shape on paper. Even as a senator Barack continued to care about his work as a writer."

You can read the full article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-ross/the-writer-in-chief_b_342242.html -- but not til you're done writing for today!

Helen Gallagher

Wake up: Daylight Savings and NANOWRIMO today

Good morning,

Today gives you an extra hour to write, and it is Day One of National Novel Writing Month.


If you need motivation to write every day - this is the month to do it. Read more about it at my marketing blog: PajamaMarketing.wordpress.com.

Nov. 7th is National Bookstore Day

Hundreds, if not thousands, of bookstores will be celebrating the first National Bookstore Day on Nov. 7, 2009. This is a day devoted to celebrating bookselling and the vibrant culture of bookstores. You have a bookstore in your community, and Saturday, Nov. 7, is your day to stop in and say Hello.

At The Book Stall of Chestnut Court web site, you can read an essay written by Alan Cheuse, author of To Catch the Lightning, and a favorite book of mine: A Trance After Breakfast, which I reviewed online here.

I'm fortunate to have a speaking opportunity in Manzanita, Oregon that day, and will be selling books at my sister's shop, Ekhani Books after the workshop. Wherever you are that day, please stop in a local book shop, celebrate them, and make a purchase.

Illinois Arts & Humanties Month

It's AH! month again in Illinois and the State has made a big splash for Arts & Humanities month with presence on Facebook, Twitter, and oh look... even on Release Your Writing.


Join in the fun, and celebrate the arts together. Note we are in good company with Gov. Quinn and Pres. Obama speaking in favor our our dedication and passion for the arts:

Gov. Quinn: (after several "WHEREAS" paragraphs):

THEREFORE, I, Pat Quinn, Governor of the State of Illinois, do hereby proclaim October 2009 as ILLINOIS ARTS & HUMANITIES MONTH and call upon our citizens to celebrate and promote the arts and culture in our state and to specifically encourage the greater participation by those said citizens in taking action for the arts and humanities in their towns and cities.

read the rest here

Pres. Obama:
(Too articulate to excerpt: read Proclamation here)

We really should write every day, even for a few minutes.

If you don't believe me, here's research from the Univ. Missouri that says its true: Writing is good for you:

Twenty years ago, University of Texas psychologist James Pennebaker concluded that students who wrote about their most meaningful personal experiences for 15 minutes a day several days in a row felt better, had healthier blood work, and got higher grades in school. But a new study from the University of Missouri shows that a few minutes of writing will also suffice.

Researchers asked 49 college students to take two minutes on two consecutive days and write about something they found to be emotionally significant. The participants registered immediate improvements in mood and performed better on standardized measures of physiological well-being. An extended inward look isn’t necessary, the study concludes; merely “broaching the topic on one day and briefly exploring it the next” is enough to put things in perspective.

Source: Utne & veryshortlist.com

Pen to Press workshop success

Yesterdays symposium "Pen to Press" at John Marshall Law School was a well-run, well-attended event, with perhaps 80 interested writers in attendance. Let's hope this is the first of many future "Pen to Press" events they sponsor.

Despite all the talk in the industry about the difficulties in getting published, the rumored death of publishing, and worries over ebooks and ebook reading devices (Kindle, Sony, etc). none of this will cause publishing to vanish. The enthusiasm among yesterday's conference attendees was palpable. Folks went home and wrote, I'm sure, and reconsidered their options in getting published.

For, above all, the conference conveyed the sense of hope and purpose for writers to continue along their path to publication. No one is stopping you from publishing your book, but also no one is pushing you forward to accomplish it either. You need the internal drive, motivation, and energy to take the next step.

So take that next step. Happy publishing days are ahead...

I'm pleased to have met so many who stopped by my booth and wish you all tremendous success.

Chicago event: "Pen to Press"

Lawyers for the Creative Arts and The John Marshall Law school are hosting this one-day workshop “Pen to Press": The fine print in self-publishing.” Deadline to sign up is September 12. The event is Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. Cost for the full day workshop is only $75.

I’ll be an exhibitor there, so please stop by and say Hello if you’re there.

Special Event Announcement

Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 8 pm
Celebratory Readings in the Snug ~ Remembering Frank McCourt ~ (1930-2009)


Friends with deep Irish roots will share laughs in a night of reading selected passages from the works of Frank McCourt, who passed away recently.

With well-chosen excerpts, full of life and his self-deprecating humor, we share the best of his work from Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man.

Featuring Irish Authors:

Helen Gallagher (Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way),
Carol McCarthy LaChapelle (Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Stories),
Marguerite O'Connor (Griefstruck and Leading Change & Navigating Success),
Jack O'Keefe (Brother Sleeper Agent and the forthcoming Famine Ghost).

LOCATION INFO:
The Celtic Knot Public House
626 Church Street
Evanston IL 60201
(847) 864-1679
www.celticknotpub.com

**PLEASE NOTE** Seating in the Snug is very limited. Come early to reserve your seats, have a meal in our dining room, and then retire with your drinks for the reading!

NO COVER. Reservations strongly recommended.

Double your miles: Blog mentions blog about blogs

Two weeks flew by....

Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to be a post-less blogger for the past two weeks, but I've been traveling a little, speaking to writers about publishing and marketing their work, and seeing the fabulous Julie & Julia movie. I also moved. Just two blocks away but hundreds and hundreds of books came along with me. Laid end-to-end they surely would have traversed the move like dominoes if I stacked them in the street and nudged them a bit.

The result is lovely: A lifetime of books to pack and unpack, shelve and re-shelve, read and re-read!

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.

Charles W. Eliot (1834 - 1926), The Happy Life, 1896

Put yourself out there. It's the write thing to do...

As you may know, I write online book reviews. It keeps me reading, and writing, and lets me choose to share opinions on books with special appeal.

I happily reviewed "My Life in France," the memoir Julia Child wrote at age 91. In that review, and in my recent workshops to writers in the Chicago area, I explained the significance...
A girl named Julie Powell decided to "borrow" her mother's copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

In her small New York apartment, Julie fulfilled her commitment to cook every recipe in the book.

She blogged about it to friends.

An agent read her blog. That's right: An agent read her blog.

And next week, you'll be seeing Meryl Streep play Julia Child in the movie version of Julie Powell's book "Julie & Julia."

My review also earned this badge of honor at BlogCritics, so I'm sharing both the review and the incentive to write, so you'll continue to do as Julie Powell did, and get your work out into the world.

"The Price is Write" - another favorable article on self-publishing

If you had your head up in the clouds in May, flying on United Airlines, you might have enjoyed the Hemispheres Magazine article "The Price is Write.:

In it, author Willa Paskin says:

"As the chances of landing a book deal dwindle, even tweedy literary elites are whispering that self publishing might be an acceptable path to legitimacy." She then explains the reasons why self-publishing and print-on-demand can be the best choice for an author, and that sometimes "it's the only game in town."

So, don't wait your life away. Release your writing this year!
Helen

Read the full article here.

Author Gay Talese on s-l-o-w writing!

excerpt from a Paris Review interview, posted at Utne.com 7-14-09:

PARIS REVIEW: You never write directly onto the computer?

GAY TALESE: Oh no, I couldn’t do that. I want to be forced to work slowly because I don’t want to get too much on paper. By the end of the morning I might have a page, which I will pin up above my desk.

PR: Surely there must be some days in the middle of a project, when you’re really going, that you write more than a single page.

GT: No, there aren’t.

* * *

There you have it. One page a day, and yet, looked what HE accomplished:

* A Writer's Life (2006)
* Origins of a Nonfiction Writer (1996)
* Unto the Sons (1992)
* Thy Neighbor's Wife (1981)
* Honor Thy Father (1971)
* Fame and Obscurity (1970)
* The Kingdom and the Power (1969)
* The Bridge: The Building of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (1964)

So the question is, what could WE accomplish with one page of prose per day?

Let me hear from you as you release your writing.

Helen

A Chicago Tribute to Frank McCourt

Frank McCourt, we will miss you. Thank you for your friendship.

Gather with us at The Book Stall at Chestnut Court, 811 Elm in Winnetka, for a special reading of selections from Mr. McCourt’s books on Monday, July 27, 2009, from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Friends of The Book Stall (with deep Irish roots) will read from Frank McCourt’s memoirs Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, and Teacher Man.

Irish readers so far will include:

Helen Gallagher
Carol LaChapelle
Bill McGrane
Marguerite O'Connor
and more.

Those who'd like are welcome to join us following the reading at a nearby pub to lift a pint or two in Frank's honor.

Agent auctions her service on EBay? (Yes, for charity.)

This news item comes from Karen Dionne at Backspace.org:

Ms. Irene Goodman, president of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, will auction a single spaced, half-page critique for 25 partial manuscripts (approximately 50 pages and a synopsis). This will be done on Ebay from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15, 2009. The 25 highest bidders will win. The critiques will all be done personally by Ms. Goodman. They will not be farmed out. Ms. Goodman will email the completed critiques to each of the authors within one month after the auction closing date. ... All starting bids must be $100 or more.

All proceeds will go directly into one of two foundations: the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Deafness Research Foundation. Both foundations are well established, and the research in each area is incredibly promising. If the necessary funds are obtained to continue research, effective treatments can be expected in the next several years.

Booktour.com walks on the moon!

Okay, maybe not that far out, but the folks at Booktour.com have done something great. They combined an author's upcoming event calendar with the author's Amazon free blog page, making a stunning place to promote your events with exposure to your books at the same time.

More details are posted [naturally...] on my Amazon blog page here.

Want to read one like the one you just read?

You know the feeling - you read a really great book and want another one just like it, either from the same author or a similar writing style, or topic. Now you can visit Book Army http://www.bookarmy.com, a social networking site for readers. At the site you can browse titles by category, read book reviews, visit author pages to learn more about their work. and participate in discussion.

Upcoming Chicago-area event

You're welcome to attend, invite friends, or pass along this timely workshop notice.

Helen




You're welcome to attend, invite friends, or pass along this timely workshop notice.

Helen

The state of freelance from a newsman's perspective

"The combination of waiting and rejection used to drive writers to drink; now it drives them to blog. The blogosphere is an editor-free zone, a lawless, all-embracing realm from which uncertainty, disappointment, and standards have been banished. Anything goes and everyone, it sometimes seems, is there, even the talented, which is proof of the painful universality of rejection. (We all need a place safe from putdowns.) The blogosphere is the hack's idea of heaven."

Read more about the insights of Thomas Blick, a former newspaper travel editor, now a freelancer again.

Writers write... Even when they are on the force!

My favorite moment at the Printer's Row Lit Fest this weekend...


No, he's not writing a ticket, but he is a writer, and purchased Release Your Writing to get motivated. The festival was terrific, and packed! Hope you got downtown to enjoy it. Don't take these Chicago resources for granted, folks. We are incredibly lucky to live in a city that supports the Arts.

Chicago: City of Big Writers

The writing community in Chicago is best described as a self-propelled engine of change.

From Chicago's earliest writers: Nelson Algren, Theodore Dreiser, Stuart Dybek, James T. Farrell, and Studs Terkel our path was set. They made it easy for us to rest on their shoulders. We're a city of big writers and boast this weekend's Printer's Row Lit Fest, the autumn Humanities Festival, and dozens of powerhouse writing groups around the city and suburbs.

We even have a writing style manual to call our own: The Chicago Manual of Style. So write well in the history of our city, but get out and support writing groups and events too. You never know, you might meet one of our local celebs.

The incredible Encyclopedia of Chicago has marvelous research on Chicago's Literary Cultures.

Dear Reader

Suzanne Beecher is a writer and the founder of DearReader.com, an online book club where over 365,000 people read together. Sign up for the free service and Monday to Friday you'll receive a 5-minute portion of the featured book of the week.

Twelve genres to choose from, meet authors, win books, and be one of the four lucky readers each month to receive a batch of Suzanne's homemade chocolate chip cookies. Visit DearReader.com, sign up today, and start reading tomorrow. Go to: www.DearReader.com.

And, if you run out to buy all those great books, please remember to support YOUR local independent booksellers. Some of Chicago's wonderful indie bookstores are:

57th Street Books
The Book Bin
The Book Cellar
The Book Stall at Chestnut Court
Centuries & Sleuths
Women & Children First

2009 Chicago Humanities Festival promises laughs! Oct. 3-Nov16, 2009

One of the richest resources in the nation, The Chicago Humanities Festival, pays tribute to the arts with a city-wide celebration each year. The city is at its peak in autumn and the literary world lives on every corner.

This year, the 19th Chicago Humanities Festival lightens up a bit from the past few years of war and gloom. Now it moves toward The Big Idea, considers the sweep and scale of human ambition: the grand gesture, the great scheme, the Big Idea. Make the most of your Festival right here!

The 2009 schedule is not posted yet. But, if you're not familiar with this rare Chicago gem, click here to view last year's list of programs and presenters.

2009 Printer's Row Lit Fest

It's time! It's here! Chicago's very own 2009 Printer's Row Lit Fest promises to be the biggest and best ever. Don't even think about not going. You know you'll be there, June 6 and 7, 2009.

Some events are already sold out. Check the schedule here. And visit the many vendor booths, Chicago book stores, and free workshops. I'll be at Midwest Writers booth Sunday from 10 a.m. til noon. Stop by for a free publishing consultation.

Helen Gallagher

Another good agent research site

After learning one of my agent-finding recommendations was charging about $12/month for a subscription, I hunted around for an alternative.

I'm happy to recommend LitMatch (what a great name!). With free registration, you can:

* Track the queries, proposals and manuscripts you send to literary agents and view your entire submission history at a glance.

* Store information for multiple titles and track your submissions for each one independently.

* Use our matching search to find the agents who will be most receptive to your work.

* Save literary agents and agencies to your Hotlist for future reference.

If you're seeking representation for an upcoming book, sign up now at LitMatch.

BlogHer Conference in Chicago: July 23-25, 2009

Here are the details on the BlogHer Conference for Chicago this summer.

BlogHer '09 will be at the The Chicago Sheraton and Towers from July 23-25, 2009. We will kick off on Thursday July 23rd with out third annual BlogHer Business Conference, and will continue with the two-day 5th annual BlogHer Annual Conference on Friday and Saturday, July 24-25.

If you're a semi-pro1 blogger, and you are if you've paid attention to my workshops these last few years!) come and see what the online blogging life does to people once they show up in a group of thousands enjoying all Chicago has to offer. It's a chance to "celebrate blogging, whether personal, professional or political, has brought us real work, real friends, real satisfaction and is most definitely a significant part of our real life!" - Read more on their site.

Cross-posted at CClarity.blogspot.com

A Rising Tide Lifts All Books

We've all been reading about the rise in book sales, partly because Amazon's Kindle making people lust for bedtime reading, as an instant download for a flat $9.99. And, partly because more people are choosing Print-on-Demand to bypass the rejection channels, and have a book published in months rather than years.

Today, Salon.com pulled this from the AP Wire...

May 19th, 2009 | NEW YORK -- A shrinking economy and rising technology have transformed how, and how many, books are being published.

With publishers cutting back new releases in response to declining sales, an estimated 275,000 traditional books were released in the United States last year, a drop of about 9,000 from 2007, according to Bowker, a New Providence, N.J.-based company that compiles industry statistics.

Categories with the biggest reductions included travel, religion and biography, Bowker said Tuesday.

But the number of "on-demand" books, a category featuring works with tiny, digitally stored print runs, topped 285,000 in 2008, the first time they outnumbered traditional texts. In 2006, there were fewer than 22,000 on-demand titles, which have become an increasingly popular way to bring old books back in print or keep recent releases from going out of print.

Today is Writers Worth Day

Lori Widmer launched the 2nd Annual Writers Worth Day.

Here is her press release promoting fair pay for writers:

United States of America (Press Release) May 6, 2009 --
May 6, 2009 (Valley Forge, PA) – The Second Annual Writers Worth Day has been scheduled for May 15, 2009. This online event, the brainchild of Lori Widmer, a Philadelphia-based writer and editor, is designed to promote the fair market value of writers through education, awareness, and ongoing support.

“Writers Worth Day was established in response to the increasing amount of job postings that offer little, if any, compensation for the amount of work expected,” says Widmer, a veteran writer and editor, who has seen a decline in market rates. “More beginning freelancers accept abominable rates. The message of Writers Worth Day is every writer has marketable skills, and those skills should be compensated fairly and within industry-acceptable standards.”

All this month, Widmer’s weblog – Words on the Page – is highlighting numerous career tips for new writers and extending into the blogging community to inspire other established writers to educate and offer guidance to their followers and all within the writing community. Numerous other bloggers have already joined Writers Worth Day and will be posting their own tips and inspirational posts to extend the reach of the Writers Worth Day message.
source: FPR

“While we cannot change the rates job posters offer, we can educate our ranks to accept no less than we are worth. It hurts all of us when writers devalue themselves and operate on the mistaken notion that they must accept nonpayment or low payment in order to establish a portfolio. It sets an unreal precedent that makes it difficult for professional, educated writers and editors to earn reasonable wages for their skills.”

For more information, please contact Lori Widmer at lwbean AT gmail DOT com.

Writers write & Bloggers blog

At a blogging panel this week, the audience, comprised of sophisticated journalists and serious freelancers, learned the value of having a blog. It's a vehicle to create visibility, share your voice and your opinions. If you need a reminder to begin or update your blog, use this image as a reminder. You're free to download it, by right-clicking and choose to save it to your computer. Why not make it your desktop background instead of last year's family photo?

Have you seen BookTour.com lately? WOW

Take another look at BookTour.com. A major surprise overhaul has it looking fantastic. As a reminder, BookTour.com is where you find out all the author events coming up in Chicago, where you can follow you favorite author and of course, where you can keep up with my events...

Social networking sites: You may already be out there...

Things move fast in the online world. A few days ago I learned of a site that profiles authors, and when I went to make a page, my books were already there. Maybe you're out there too:
Go to filedby.com and search for your name.

The firm built a site in March, with over 1.8 million pre-assembled author pages, according to a report in the Wall St. Journal.

ObamaRama debuts on BlogCritics.org new site

BlogCritics Magazine launched a new site yesterday, loaded with great reviews and commentary on books, music, movies, culture and more.

BlogCritics publisher, Eric Olsen, compiled an long, thoughtful article here, with contributions from many of the BlogCritics.org team, looking at the relationship between President Obama and our popular culture. It's a fascinating article, including an analysis on how Obama affects book sales, contributed by Tim Gebhart. It's astonishing!

Especially for you writers, I'm pointing out my own contribution to the article here:
The Power of Words, Helen Gallagher

NPR audio on 3 inspiring writing books

Heard this on NPR and thought you might enjoy the audio essay by an author who succeeded in getting her novel published... Link

How shall I blog thee? Let me click the ways...

Today is Shakespeare's 445th birthday, and here in Chicago, our Mayor Daley wants everyone to talk like The Bard today.

Here is a resource to give you the complete works of Shakespeare's 38 plays on your Windows computer: Follow link thusly, to New York Times article.

The European version of our new world digital library

Referring to my most recent post on the World Digital Library, Europe now launches Europena, where you can search cultural collections of Europe's greatest treasures from libraries and museums.

That means millions of digital items provided by Europe's museums and galleries, archives, libraries and audio-visual organsiations, available to you at home. What a marvelous boon to American writers and researchers.

Spring Writing Reminder

Reminder - get out from behind your keyboard and desk. Join fellow writers at some of Chicago's fantastic writing resource groups:

Chicago Women in Publishing
International Women's Writing Guild (Chicago critique groups)
Independent Writers of Chicago
Midwest Writers Association
Off-Campus Writer's Workshop

The World Digital Library will be a reality on April 21, 2009

Until now, I always loved the U.S. Library of Congress for its majestic reading room.

Since 2005, the LOC has been working through the National Archives & Records Administration to create a digital archive and share it with the works of other countries in what is now being birthed as the

World Digital Library

The U.S. images contributed to the World Digital Library are now available at www.archives.gov/research/arc/topics/world-digital-library.

The entire project lives at http://www.worlddigitallibrary.org


The World Digital Library will make available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from cultures around the world, including manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, architectural drawings, and other significant cultural materials.

The project’s goal is to promote international understanding and to provide a resource for use by students, teachers, and general audiences.

Writing!

It's a great life when you have the desire and talent to write. It opens up a world of ideas and creativity. The next time you lose your edge, and feel that the writing process is a grind, visualize writing in a whole new way:



Release Your Writing...

Image: VisualThesaurus.com

Print-on-demand magazines!

Have you always wanted to launch a glossy print magazine, but been daunted by the start-up money needed to fund it and to print it? well, there's nothing holding you back now.

Hewlett-Packard has been developing futuristic ideas for a long time. They've now announced MagCloud, a facility to print magazines, glossy high-color gorgeous magazines, on demand, just like print-on-demand books we all know have become commonplace.

Read today's New York Times article and view the MagCloud video demo here:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/30/technology/internet/20090330-MAG-AUDIOSS/index.html

Book Review: "Other Colors" by Orhan Pamuk

I first read Pamuk's novels after returning from a visit to Istanbul in 2000. I continue to read, and re-read his work, for his lyrical prose, introspection, and beauty. If you're new to this author, Other Colors is the perfect way to get acquainted.

You can read my full review here:

Book Review: Other Colors: Essays and a Story by Orhan Pamuk

"The starting point of true literature is the man who shuts himself up in his room with his books."

Royalties or Fairy Dust

One of the things I discuss in publishing workshops is my concept: "The Myth of Royalties." I do so to set realistic expectations for authors. I explain the math to help them decide on their path to publishing. Successful print-on-demand books pay royalties from the first book sold, and many authors, like myself, receive a check monthly, yet sales of Release Your Writing and Computer Ease, are well under 3,000 copies.

I know it is true that some books do earn out their advance, and begin paying royalties to the author. But the math indicates few reach that level, and that the royalty may result in only one or two dollars per book. As an optimistic friend of mine said over breakfast one day: "Yes, but a book can sell 100,000 copies." That's the only way the dollars add up, but it does happen, and that sparks hope in every writer.

On March 20, 2009, Jeff Zeleny of The New York Times wrote:
"The power of President Obama’s pen is $8,605,429, and counting.

"Four years ago, Mr. Obama became a millionaire through the popularity of his autobiography, which was quickly followed by a second book, “The Audacity of Hope.” It is a gift that keeps on giving: $3.89 in royalties for Mr. Obama for each hardcover, $1.03 per paperback and $4.50 for an audiobook. (emphasis added).

... "When Mr. Obama wrote “Dreams From My Father,” which came out in 1995, he did not sell enough books to pay back the advance of $30,817. But when it was reprinted after his speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2004, sales flourished, which led to another book deal worth $1.9 million…"

Full article

Book Review: One Year to a Writing Life: Twelve Lessons to Deepen Every Writer's Art and Craft

Susan Tiberghien returns to Chicago for a day-long writing workshop, sponsored by the Intl. Women Writers Guild (iwwg.org) on April 25, 2009. She'll also be appearing at The Book Stall at Chestnut Court that evening.



If you haven't read One Year to a Writing Life, here's an excerpt from my recent review.

In One Year to a Writing Life, you might dive into the section that piques your interest, and enhance your skill at your genre, or begin as many of us do, with journal writing - meaningful journal writing, which Tiberghien calls "the most natural opening into a writing life."

Tiberghien invites readers to work through One Year to a Writing Life at their own pace. The "year" metaphor can keep you motivated, delving into one chapter each month, or like me, you can buzz through the book and the generous resources, come up for air, and be a better writer, on the fast track.

Full review

Susan Tiberghien's works

Creative Chicago Expo: April 4, 2009

Several members of Midwest Writers will be manning the MWA booth at the Creative Chicago Expo held at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington Street, on Saturday, April 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.



The Expo is a free event that connects writers, artists, musicians, actors, dancers, and other individuals and organizations that are part of Chicago’s arts community. More than 3,500 artists attended last year.

Support independent artists & writers. Stop by and say hello.

Garrison Keillor on writer's rights

This from the March 11, 2009 issue of Salon


excerpt from Garrison Keillor's essay: "Where's my disability check?"

"The Authors Guild, of which I am a member, has done zilch to secure disability protection for writers. In my line of work, disability comes down to two things: memory loss and something else, I forget what. You lose the vocabulary retrieval skills you had when you were 30 and interesting words such as "parietal lobe" and "sedimentary rocks" flocked to your brain, and now you sit inert at the laptop for a number of horrendous minutes trying to remember the word for the thing that if you picked it up and dropped it on your foot it would be very, very bad -- anvil! This is a disability, and a writer should be able to receive payments, and also for the other thing, whatever it is."

Book review: A Writer's Paris

A Writer's Paris, a guided journey for the creative soul, is by Eric Maisel, the prolific and thoughtful writer, a San Francisco-based creativity coach and author of more than 25 books.



This soft, lovely, illustrated book reminds us why we love Paris. In part, it is the allure of the intellectual traditions, of the time when George Sand, Gertrude Stein and Jean Paul Sartre roamed the cafés, when the life of a starving artist in a garret, eating one small café meal a day, was a reality for many famous writers. "Virtually any idea you can think of has been birthed or batted about in the studios, classrooms and cafes of Paris – it is the birthplace of the humanistic tradition," writes Maisel.

Read my full review at BlogCritics Magazine

Using Google Alerts to find your work online

If you've read "Release Your Writing," or are generally web savvy, you already know that setting up a free Google alert lets you find any reference to your book, or your other writing online. You'd be surprised where you might turn up.

Today I receive this Google alert:



I followed the link and was pleased to see it is imported from my publisher, not reprinted locally.

I was delighted to find my books, and those of some of my clients there. Set up a Google alert for your own name or that of your books, and request a daily email. You never know where you might turn up next.

Online Journaling Class from UIC

The University of Illinois at Chicago is offering an online Journal Writing course. Topics include areas that take you far beyond ordinary journal writing, including:

* Understanding Your Journaling Goals
* The Basics of Modern Journaling
* Discovering the inner you through "Letters That Can't Be Delivered"
* Naikan, a Japanese practice that blends meditation and gratitude
* Haibun, a Japanese practice that blends journaling with poetry
* Keeping a "DiVinci" Notebook, a multi-purpose journal and scrapbook
* Theme Journals, keep a separate journal to track a special occasion, situation or hobby
* Future Journaling, turning your journal entries into something more

Registration information is here. Let me know if you want the full invitation, with more information. Cost of $260 includes a $65 discount, and runs March 9 through April 10, 2009.

View a preview of "Letters That Can't Be Delivered" an online lecture by instructor Cynthia Gallaher.

Speaking of turning journals into something more, (unrelated to UIC), Susan Tiberghein will be speaking April 25 for the IWWG on this topic. Her workshops are always amazing.

Book Publishing: Who gets the money?

In traditional publishing, an author may earn, for example, a 10 percent royalty on sales, the agent gets 15 percent and the publisher keeps the rest. When an author receives an advance upfront, no royalties are paid until the publisher recoups that advance.

With self-publishing, the author deals directly with a printer and distributor, and produces a book at much lower cost than print-on-demand, perhaps $4.00 per book. At a selling price of $20, the author might gross $16 for each book sold. But then the distributor takes about 35 percent, warehousing and advertising costs vary but are unending. So the take-home, after managing the business of being a publisher, is still not grand.

Print-on-demand (POD) requires upfront payment to the printing firm, and they also take a percentage of each sale, to cover cost of the book, making it available to online retailers, and the POD firm processes and fulfills orders. Their fee also covers your presence on their web site, online catalog, and their profit. What's left for you depends on the firm and on your contract It is usually about 35 to 40 percent of the book's retail price, paid to you monthly or quarterly, on all sales, from the first copy sold.

You don't earn royalties on books that you purchase for resale, but you can buy them for about 50% off list price. So you have a low start-up cost, fast production and you earn back your cost from the very first book sold. Using POD, your book need never go out of print.

Ebooks cost almost nothing to make from an existing manuscript, and profits are upwards of 80 percent on each sale.

Isn't it time you release your writing?

Book marketing: Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

Here are a few resources to help push your book along toward Spring. Market to keep your name visible, to share your work with readers, and to keep yourself motivated. .

authorbuzzz.com
authornation.com
booktour.com
dearreader.com
goodreads.com
published.com

The internet is your most effective marketing tactic. Use it well.

Write a chiamus

If you do no other writing today, challenge yourself with this

A chiamus is a sentence that mirrors itself. e.g.,

“Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”

“Success in not the key to happiness; happiness is the key to success.”

So, write one in the Comment section here if you're clever enough...

Thanks,
Helen Gallagher

If you write books for children... Part 2

Per my Jan. 14, 2009 post, here is a helpful update from SPAN (Small Publishers Assn. of North America) regarding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, and its decision to include children's books in the list of products requiring testing for lead.

First the date has been bumped from February to August:
"The most important issue that was clarified for the book
word was that the deadline for third party testing of
books is August 10, 2009 not February 10, as repeated
in the press (including information from SPAN).



After February 10 the printers need to provide "only" a
"general conformity certificate" (GCC) with every shipment
of a book title. The GCC can be either a paper copy or
available on a Web page. These certificates are provided
by the book manufacturer/printer.

And about books already on store shelves?

There have been questions about books on shelves and in
storage that were manufactured. General conformity
certificates are not required for these books, but retailers
are liable and could get fines and or imprisonment under
the Act if any of these products show illegal levels of lead.
This paradoxical situation is driving many retailers to require
certificates on books already produced. Again, check with
your distributors and retailers to find out what they need.

The SPAN website at www.spannet.org has more information.
And here's a link to a Publisher's Weekly article on the topic: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6631645.html

Purchase "Release Your Writing"

Sometimes the obvious is right in front of us, but impossible to see.

I had a nice note from a fellow who said he enjoyed "the depth" of my blog, but just went there to buy my book. He asked for a direct link to purchase. so ...

Release Your Writing at Amazon.com Amazon.com

Release Your Writing direct from the publisher

Release Your Writing autographed copies - Email Helen@releaseyourwriting.com

Thank you.

Presidential advice to writers

Doesn't this Pres. Obama quote resonate with us as writers, and with those desiring publication?

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some
other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the
change that we seek."

If your time and your writing are not taking you where you want to go, change something.

Books as Video

Think new media can ever replace books? I sure don't. Here is a two-minute video composed entirely of book images!

If you write books for children, you need to know this...

The Consumer Protection Safety Information Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requires items sold
for children, manufactured after February 10, 2009 be tested and certified for lead levels by an independent lab.

It seems unbelievable, but that includes children's books!



A Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)letter, dated December 23, 2008, affirmed children's books are included in category of products that need to be tested for lead.

Products in inventory (in storage and on bookstore shelves) do not need to be tested, but retailers can be fined if the products are found to have excessive
levels of lead.

Testing and certification takes place at the book printer level. Publishers of children's books need to check with their printer if they have books in the
printing process.

You can contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission here:
www.cpsc.gov/about/contact.html

Author House * IUniverse * and now Xlibris

I guess we should be glad, in a tough economy, that print-on-demand (POD) firms are doing well. The three largest POD firms are now one.

Under its new name, Author Solutions, the conglomerate now boasts 100,000 titles.

Publishers Weekly reports that Keith Ogorek, Authors Solution spokesperson, said

"even with the recession, business remains strong, noting that November and December were the best months ever for the Author House, iUniverse and Xlibris brands."

If you're a POD author, our side of the publishing industry never looked better. If you currently have a book in the works with Xlibris, watch your contract for any change in terms, or move to a smaller POD firm if you don't want to get lost in the shuffle.

Selling your books on Amazon Kindle

If you want your books available on the Kindle ebook reader platform, you need to:
upload a PDF of your book on Amazon, and set the Kindle selling price. Ask your publisher for a PDF of the final book if you don't already have it.

Here's the hard-to-find link to the digital text platform upload area:
https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin.