Do You Consider Traditional Publishing Old-Fashioned?

I self-published my first plot book Blockbuster Plots Pure and Simple: Take the Panic Out of Plot nearly ten years ago.

In 2004, small independent publishers still struggled to separate ourselves from vanity presses.

A vanity press was/is a publishing house an author pays to have her book published. Because anyone could publish any book, a book published by a vanity press was frowned upon and immediately suspected of poor quality writing and no editing. 

Forming my own publishing company -- Illusion Press, taught me a deep appreciation for the inside of publishing enough so I jumped at the chance to have the Plot Whisperer books published by Adams Media a traditional east coast publisher and imprint of F+W Media. I value every bit of their support and attention to detail from their editing and then more editing to the selection of the layout and content, the title and cover to the shipping and distribution and advertising and marketing and more. 

In 2004, I'd been teaching plot for less than a year through UCSC-extension when, because of my background in special education and my "multi-sensory" approach to "show" plot rather than simply attempt to try to tell what plot is, the plot workshops began consistently selling-out. 

Writers in those early plot workshops clamored for a how-to plot book. BBP started out as a spiral bound workbook and quickly transformed into the red light it is today. BBP supports the Plot Whisperer books and is still the best way to learn how to create a Plot Planer and a Scene Tracker to enhance the depth and meaning of your novel, memoir, screenplay at the overall story level and at the scene level, too. 

I no longer publish Blockbuster Plots Pure and Simple: Take the Panic Out of Plot in book form, having moved from self-publisher in general to an e-publisher only.

And I no longer, at least not often, teach plot workshops in person, having moved to the realm of virtual plot workshops. Join me from the comfort of your own home for my live PLOT WORKSHOP Webinar hosted by Writers Digest on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 1p.m. ET.

Learn more and sign up: How to Pre-Plot and Complete a Novel or Memoir in a Month: The Benefits of Writing a Fast Draft from Beginning to End.

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Changing of the Seasons Transition
In the energy swirling around the transition from summer to fall, your 2013 writing goal spins a bit faster in anticipation of year's end. It's not too late to start/finish that novel, memoir, screenplay of yours and successfully achieve your 2013 writing goal.

Join me from the comfort of your own home for my live PLOT WORKSHOP Webinar hosted by Writers Digest on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 1p.m. ET.

Learn more and sign up: How to Pre-Plot and Complete a Novel or Memoir in a Month: The Benefits of Writing a Fast Draft from Beginning to End.

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Take the PLOTWRIMO Pre-Challenge:

You have 2 Months and 5 days to get a draft written in time for PlotWriMo. Beginning December 1st, follow the exercises on the Plot Whisperer blog to re"vision" and redefine the plot arc of your story. PlotWriMo is custom designed to ensure your success even during the busiest time of the year.
Begin 2014 ready for a powerful rewrite.

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The following resources support you in your pre-challenge:
1) Plot your story step-by-step with the help of

The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-by-step Exercises to Help You Create Compelling Stories

2) Read The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master
named BEST BOOKS FOR WRITERS by Poets&Writers. The author provides insight on how to create works of fiction with powerful stories and focuses on how to devise a Universal Plot, plot lines and subplots, compelling scenes, and character transformation.
 
3) Refer to The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing

for writing prompts for scene #1 to the very The End, one prompt at a time.

4) Watch the Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. Scroll down on the left of this post for a directory of all the steps to the series. 27-step tutorial on Youtube

5) Watch the Monday Morning Plot Book Group Series on YouTube. Scroll down on the right of this post for a directory the book examples and plot elements discussed.

For more tips about how to use plot and the Universal Story in your novel, memoir or screenplay, visit:

Blockbuster Plots for Writers
Plot Whisperer on Facebook (we hope you "like" it)

Plot Whisperer on Twitter

Plot Whisperer on Pinterest 

***** Knowing what to write where in a story with a plot reinforces daily writing practice and allows for more productivity in your writing. Whether writing a first draft or revising, if you falter wondering what comes next in a story with a plot, follow the prompts in The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts: Easy Exercises to Get You Writing.

Today, I write.

Plot Your Writing Career: Traditional versus Self-Publishing

A writer who is "sick of agents" and wants to take back control over her own life considers going the self-publishing route. Following is my "take" on the subject.

Writing a book is vastly different than publishing a book. Of the strengths and skills that make for a terrific writer zero prove much help when it comes to self-publishing. Yes, both writing and self-publishing involve hard work. But, writing is creative, artistic, and demands solitude. Publishing is numbers, business, and demands interaction.

Score 1 for Traditional Publishing

To make the leap from writer to self-publisher, what once is your "baby", the project you spend more time with than your own family, what you dream about day and night becomes a "product" for the marketplace. 

Tied

Want to learn the publishing business from the ground up? Then, yes, give self-publishing a whirl. But, get ready to learn everything you can about publicity, distribution, marketing, promoting, oh, yes, and since you are only as good as your last book, make sure you schedule time to write your next book, too.

Score 1 for Self-Publishing

Just because you write a memoir, novel, screenplay, short story, non-fiction book does not mean that anyone will FIND your work. 

Nielsen Books reports that sales in the UK were up 4.4% with 120,000 books published in 2008 over 2007. Bowker reports that book sales in US were down 3.2% with 275,000 books released in 2008 over 2007, but that print on demand and short-run books were up 132% of 123,000 titles produced. 

My point? How is your book going to stand out from all those 500,000 books, more or less, that will come out the same year yours does?

Whether you self-publish or are published by a big New York house, you have to help the book grow "legs", find a readership. Yes, some authors are so big that they do not have to worry about such matters, but they are the exception. Yes, you, too, may be the exception, but self-publishing teaches you about sales. After all, whether self-published or traditional, you only get paid on the # of books sold.

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On a personal note:

Five years ago, too impatient to go the traditional route of New York, I formed Illusion Press, and published Blockbuster Plots Pure & Simple. Illusion Press seemed an appropriate name for the unreal quality of the entire process from inspiration to publication. Five months and the book was in my hands.

What started as a short print-run for my students morphed into BBP. Today, I continue to invite writers to experience the freedom of structure. For most writers, the most difficult part of the writing process is the inability to see the forest for the trees. Blockbuster Plots for Writers dedicates itself to the structure of plot and has helped thousands of novelists, memoirists, and creative non-fiction writers master this elusive craft.

Miracles happen.

Score 1 for Self-Publishing

The real difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing?

Traditional publishers pays you $$ up front. 

Self-publishing, you put the $$ up yourself.