3 Important Tips to Increase Your Chances of Getting Published

If you’ve been sending out your manuscript for months or even years, you may feel like you’re beating your head against a wall. And it may comfort you to know that you’re not alone. It’s no easy feat to get published these days, but rest assured that hard work does pay off.

You can also use these top three tips to increase your odds of getting published:

1. Spend the majority of your time reading and writing. As a rule of thumb, make it a priority to read more often than you write. How can you expect to become an expert author in your genre if you haven’t read hundreds and thousands of related books? The more that you read and absorb, the better that your manuscript will be. It’s also important to stay informed in your industry so that your work remains relevant and fresh.
2. Write what you know. This may seem like a complete no-brainer, but your work will not be authentic and relatable if you are not writing about what you know. Even though you do need to stay aware of trends in your industry, you can’t follow trends exclusively; a trend will probably be over by the time that you complete your manuscript. If you write what you know and stay true to yourself, you can be a trend starter inside of a trend follower.
3. Submit your manuscript strategically. If you want to see your manuscript in print, be smart about who you submit to. You will probably find that some publishing companies and agents will be interested right off the bat, with strings attached… Don’t waste your time submitted to companies that want to sell you a publishing package or push you into self-publishing if that is not what you are interested in. A good agent or publishing company will be selective and may take time to get back to you. Make sure that you research a publishing company or agent before submitting to ensure that they represent your genre. There is no bigger waste of time than submitting your romance novel to an exclusive publisher of children’s books. All you have to do is do your homework beforehand and submit to agents and publishers that will be legitimately interested in your work. Problem solved!

Bethany Ramos is an author and full-time freelance writer with experience in Internet marketing, social media marketing, and SEO. She is passionate about writing captivating children's books and witty chick lit. For more information, you can visit her blog at chicklit-books.com.

Imagery and Your Story

Probably, one of the most difficult aspects of writing is providing content that your reader can turn into pictures or imagery. You may know exactly what you’re trying to convey, the image you want your reader to see, but does your content translate into effective imagery for your reader?

Stephen King discusses this topic in an informative article in the August 2010 Writer magazine. Obviously, any advice from this author is valuable, but I especially like his views on imagery. A key tip that struck me is, “Imagery does not occur on the writer’s page; it occurs in the reader’s mind."

The question that follows is how does a writer transfer what’s in her mind into the mind of the reader?

The answer is through description. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it sounds. What many writers may tend to do is offer too many details that aren’t necessary and may weigh the story down. According to Mr. King, you need to pick and choose the most important details and descriptions that will allow the reader to understand what you’re conveying, but also provide enough room for the reader to create his own unique image.

To accomplish this task Mr. King says, “Leave in details that impress you the most strongly; leave in the details you see the most clearly; leave everything else out.”

The strategy in this is to look carefully at what you want to convey. Picture an image in your mind and focus on the key aspects, the aspects that give you a clear picture of what it is. Then, write what you see. Again, this may not be easy to do, but Mr. King suggests that there is another vision tool to use, which he calls “a third eye” of imagination and memory.

What we see is translated to our brain. Once there we need to interpret that image and transcribe it into content that will provide the reader with a strong gist of what it is, but also allow the reader to fill in her own details. And, those details should convey what you’re targeting.

For example: The house stood dark and dreary.

While this simple sentence provides imagery that should enable the reader to create a picture, there are probably not enough details for the basic image you might want. What color is the house? Is it in disrepair? Is it a new or old house, big or small?

A possible alternative to the above example that adds a little more detail, but not too much is

Cracked shingles hung on the dingy grey house; chipped paint and missing caulking on the windows further emphasized its disrepair.  

Another example of imagery is from my children’s middle grade fantasy book, Walking Through Walls:

Wang bound the last bunch of wheat stalks as the sun beat down on the field. Sweat poured from the back of his neck drenching the cotton shirt he wore.

The two sentences provide sufficient imagery for the reader to understand the situation, while not giving too many details. If you notice, the content doesn’t mention the color of his shirt, or if Wang kneeled on the ground or hunched over the bundle. It’s also missing a number of other details that aren’t necessary and would weigh the story down.

Interestingly, along with concise details, your characters’ names might also add imagery to your story. When you read my character’s name, Wang, what image comes to mind?

You might think of your story’s imagery as an outline or sketch, rather than a colored and finely detailed painting. The basic idea is there for your reader to enhance with her own imagination and memory.

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Karen Cioffi is an author, ghostwriter, and freelance writer. For writing and marketing information visit http://karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com and sign up for her free newsletter, A Writer’s World. You’ll get 2 free e-books on writing and marketing in the process, and two more just for stopping by.

"If you love what you do you wouldn't charge money to do it."

by Aidana WillowRaven

I had planned on continuing the What does the Art Director mean by “I need you to clean-up your work for print”. But, I've decided to continue that next week while a pet peeve of mine is on my mind.

promotional illo for Aldric & Anneliese

Social networking has changed a multitude of things for the freelance illustrator/artist/designer (as well as any type of freelance career). It has broadened our exposure and our job prospects. This is a good thing. But as with every good, there is a bad. It also means you going to run into more of those types of "clients" that think you should work for them for free proclaiming that if you love what you did you'd do it for free. 

I encountered another such wanna-be-client this morning on Twitter. Check out the two day exchange (it started last night):

(anonymous): Bro Do You Use Illustration? Are You Proficient?. My Brother (anonymous) Need Some People For a Project

*Being very familiar with Twitter lingo, I immediately got the vibe it's most likely a CD cover or something of that nature*

WillowRaven: I'm an illustrator if they are looking at several people ... http://WillowRaven.weebly.com

(anonymous): @WillowRaven You Chargin?

WillowRaven: Lol. Of course. I am a pro and it's how I make a living. Don't you charge when you work?

(anonymous): @WillowRaven Not If You Love What You Do.. :-p lol.. Could You Just Work With Him And See Where It Takes You... It'd Be Helpful

(anonymous): @WillowRaven I Actually Don't Charge

WillowRaven: i'm willing 2 negotiate a fair rate w/ him, but I cnt volunteer my time, supplies & years of training & experience.

WillowRaven: Loving wht I do doesn't feed my kid ... lol. I luv wht I do enough 2 protect my industry & charge 4 illustration/design.

How many times do you see this kind of exchange on Twitter or Facebook? Somebody requesting free or almost free art work in exchange for nothing more than "credit".

Being an artist of any tradition, whether it be illustration, design, animation, fine art, or crafts (whether it's digital or traditional) has rather high expenses high time consumption. It takes years of training &/or practice to gain proficiency. Requesting someone to work for free, though, is highly unprofessional and should be unacceptable. Especially when the requester actually has the audacity to condemn or insult the pro for expecting compensation.

Working pro bono is fine if the return is just as beneficial, or more so, than what a fee would have given you (I've done so on several occasions for various reasons). But we need to be aware and careful about what spec projects we accept.

Another way people will profit from you working for free will be to announce a "contest". Oh, there are legitimate and prestigious contests that the winning artists get a great deal of exposure and acclaim, and most of them you have to not only submit free work, but also pay an entry fee. Those are fine too, if you can afford them. But the ones you need to look out for, however, are the ones where the contest host will benefit personally (like a book cover or T-Shirt design). Those are just ploys for someone to benefit from your skills and abilities without having to pay for them.

If you are a newbie or trying to expand into a new style or genre, it is understandable that you may have to "pay some dues" and do a few projects purely for portfolio and publicity building. Just make sure those dues don't hurt you or your industry. Try to remember that every time you take on a spec project, that it lessens the value of the industry as a whole and people begin to expect that low rate more and more, making it tougher to raise your rates and expectancy later. 

Always make sure the "client" understands the value of what he/she is getting and that your willingness to work for less than standard rate "this time" is because it benefits you in whatever way, but it at least educates them as to what is standard and expected in the future.

Of course, there are always those who will chastise you for "pushing your opinion on them" (another Twitter exchange response when I pointed out how shamefully the free work was being requested), but those are the ones you want to avoid anyway if you ever hope to make a livelihood out of doing what you love, rather than only enjoying it as a hobby. After all, shouldn't we love our work?

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operation

4RV Publishing

Time Management Woes by Katie Hines

Right now, I am both a writer and an editor, a wife, and a mom who is an empty-nester. Of course, that doesn’t mean family matters don’t come between me and my writing/editing, because they definitely do. In some ways, I feel like my children are young again as I spend time babysitting my two preschool grandchildren--boys, and my are they busy! I also have the regular duties of things that must get done. You know, the obligatory cleaning, cooking, shopping, and laundry, etc. Whew, and you thought staying at home was a cinch.

I’ve read on the internet and in emails different ways to manage your time, from making lists, to mental lists, to setting aside blocks of time, and so forth. Whichever I decide to try first, I’ll just dump some laundry in first. Slacks needed for tonight go in the dryer, and my husband’s permanent press shirts go in the washer.

Now I can concentrate. At first, the whole list thing sounds good, so I try that. Excited about the possibilities, I dutifully create a list and record on it all the activities I want to accomplish. Then I promptly get overwhelmed by the length of it! What to do? I decide I will make two lists: one for the writing/editing, and one for household and wifely stuff. But I still get overwhelmed because now there are not just one, but two lists staring at me.

What to do? I decide that I would put one of the lists in the drawer, so I don’t have its beady little eyes piercing me all day long, and its mouth yammering for me to pay attention to it. Problem is, whichever list I am working on, I am still conscious of that one whose priorities I haven’t even touched upon.

Forget the lists.

How about blocking out times for writing/editing, and another for family/house related activities? Sounds good, doesn’t it? But herein lies the question: Do I concentrate on household things first, or write first? No matter whichever one I choose, the other is going to hover in the back of my mind. Then I get serious. And doggone it, I am going to write first, then work on house and family.

But here comes another problem: Do I read my writing emails first, or actually write or edit first? If I read through my emails first, then I don’t feel like writing at the end of it because I take the time to read the articles and blogs, all of which can consume a lot of time. Scratch the emails. I decide to write first. Open computer, open Word. Open document. Sit and stare. Where is my muse? Turns out, I haven’t had any coffee, so I go make some and drink it thankfully.

Sit back down, open my computer again. Open document. Am sitting and staring again. Geesh, muse, just show up, okay? So, in order to jump-start my muse, I backtrack in my document one chapter, and reread what I’ve written. Fortunately, that is enough to get me going again, and I begin to write.

Then another problem occurs to me. I haven’t set a specific amount of time to write. So, how will I know when I am done? I could just write until I got “written out,” but that’s not always good because sometime you have to persevere to get past a tough spot. Sigh. I decide on a time frame, and begin to write again.

My cell phone rings.

The dilemma: Do I answer the phone and stop writing for a little bit, or do I ignore it and keep writing? I peek at the screen. It’s my eldest daughter. My fingers hover over my keyboard. The phone keeps ringing. What if she has an emergency? What if she just wants me to keep the boys? What if she’s just saying “hello?” I agonize. I have voice mail. I decide to not answer it, but wait for the voice mail signal to come through. Nothing. Guess it wasn’t important after all. I turn off the cell phone. I reread the last paragraph.

I hear a buzzer. It’s the dryer, letting me know its cycle is finished. If I don’t get the clothes out now, they will wrinkle, and I’ll have to do them all over again, or worse, iron them. Okay. I leave my computer, and head to the laundry room. The clothes are dry and I’ve averted a wrinkle catastrophe by hanging them up. Unfortunately, it takes longer to wash the clothes than it does to dry them. It took me about five minutes to hang the clothing up, so in about five more minutes I’ll need to go put the freshly washed clothes in the dryer.

Back to my computer.

Now where was I? I reread the last couple of paragraphs, check a detail earlier in the story, and am in the middle of typing a new paragraph when the washing machine beeps. Doggone, I HAVE to have those clothes dry and ready for our evening out tonight. Harrumphing just a bit, I leave my computer and go put the wash in the dryer.

Back to my computer. Again. I’m staring cross-eyed at my document, wondering what is going to clamor for my attention next. All of the sudden, a Skype picture pops up, superimposing itself over the document I’m working on. It’s my youngest daughter, checking in from college. I haven’t talked to her in two weeks. I chat with her a few minutes and we catch up.

Looking at my document. What can go wrong now? I stare at it. My muse has disappeared, along with my desire to even try to write. So, I work my way through my emails and associated blogs/articles.

I glance at the clock, and realize my favorite daytime show is about to come on. Deciding to further manage my time, I take a TV break. I’ll get back to my story later today, after things have settled down. Maybe. Whatever. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm sure it will go better than today.

Closing my computer, I head to the living room. Surely, nothing else can disrupt my schedule now. I’m worn out from such a busy day of writing...

Writing the Picture Book

by Ginger Nielson

Many illustrators are asked by self publishers to illustrate their picture books.  There are reasons why many of them decline.

In all fairness to the authors, the process of writing a picture book is not something that takes place quickly. Illustrating a picture book is also time consuming. If the illustrations are going to help "sell" the book they need time, care, and appeal.

This is a craft that has many thinking it is easy.  Take a look at what goes into a good picture book.

It will be under 1000 words.  Perhaps, if it is really polished it will be 500 words or less.  Each word must be chosen carefully and must belong to the story.  Because picture books are usually read to younger children the type of word does not need to be "readable" by the child.  But with the combination of words and great illustrations, a young child can "read" the book to him or herself after hearing it once.  The words may not be the same but the essence of the story is there and the pictures lead the child from page to page and event to event.

If the author has read their book to their family, children in the neighborhood, their own children or grandchildren and everyone "loved" it, there is still more to do. Maybe it is a great book. Maybe not.  The advice many illustrators will give is to submit the book to a traditional trade book publisher.  Yes that may mean rejections, long waits, and disappointment.  But, it is really the first step that should be taken.  The author does not need to submit illustrations with the book unless  they are also a  professional illustrator. The job of choosing an illustrator for any book is the job of the art director and editors of the publishing house. Some few houses will allow an author to request or suggest an illustrator, but that is up to the editors not the author.

Some authors really do want to self publish.  If they do, then there needs to be a reality check.

They need to know that they will be paying the illustrator a fair market fee for the work.  Normally it will be a flat fee that can be divided into smaller payments at each stage of the work. An ISBN number and perhaps a Library of Congress number will need to be purchased.  The self publisher needs to know that they will be paying a printer to prepare the books.

Some will choose a Print on Demand book publisher. This usually drives up the price of the book in order for the author to make a profit.

If they are using a printer who prints many books at a time, they will most likely need to commit to at least a run of 1000 books. The price per book is small, but there is shipping and storing to be considered. And still the author is not done with the self publishing process.  There is marketing to be considered.  How this is done and whether a PR firm is hired will determine the cost of marketing.

Once all those costs are considered the price of the book needs to be determined.  Too high and it will not sell, too low and the profit margin is dismal.

If truly determined, truly talented, and all of the above are considered carefully the self publisher is still not ready to launch their book.  Why?

Because there needs to be one more element in the process.  A good editor, proof reader or professional needs to take a look at the manuscript.  It may be hard to do but words will most likely have to be sacrificed.  Scenes may have to be truncated or moved around.  It might be a really good idea to put that manuscript away for a month or more and come back to it with fresh eyes and see if improvements can be made.

There is magic in a picture book that holds the attention of a young child and appeals not only to them but to the adults that may have to read that same story over and over, night after night.  That's what you want from your picture book?

Ginger *:)

Keeping It Easy For Kids by: Stephanie Burkhart

My son, Joe, in his kindergarten class

I volunteer in my son's kindergarten classroom each Thursday. The experience is especially rewarding because I love watching my son interact and grow with his classmates.

The children love having books read to them. Their eyes really light up when its reading time.

After reading my story to them this past Thursday, my son's teacher began asking questions. It was a nice reminder to me, as a writer, how important it is to keep it easy for kids. Most five-year-olds appreciate how you, the author, put story elements together and the proof is in their smiles. Some elements to keep in mind:

Setting

The setting should be a place that children have some experience with – a house, backyard, forest, lake, or beach.

Characters

Characters should be easy to relate to. For example: Mom, Dad, a dog, a cat, or bugs. What makes them easy to relate to? Heartwarming qualities such as kindness, sharing, and giving. Characters should embody emotions children see everyday including sadness, confusion, and anxiety.

The Problem

The kids in my son's class had a harder time indentifying the problem of the story when the teacher asked, but when she stated what it was, a lot of them said, "Oh, yeah!" The problem should be one the kids can understand. For example, frustration or loneliness.

The Solution

The solution has to be something they can identify with. Examples include an act of kindness, sharing a toy, or even a smile.

Being a children's writer can be challenging, but hanging around children, reading to them, and even watching a children's show with them can help to give you the perspective needed to craft a special story they can relate to.

My children's book, The Giving Meadow, was released with 4RV Publishing.
Publisher's Link
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Find me on the web at:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Burkhart-Author/149938795021166

What does the Art Director mean by “I need you to clean-up your work for print”.

by Aidana WillowRaven

In the world of book illustration, you’ll typically find two types of artists: those who are fine art trained, and those who are graphic design trained. I am seeing more and more artists crossing and blurring those lines and performing tasks in both the “fine artist” and “graphic designer” traditions (often calling themselves ‘‘graphic artists’’ or ‘‘graphic illustrators’’ or some other combination), but the basis of the training for each is very different. Each approaches an illustration in a different manner and from a different perspective. They may sometimes use the same tool, but the way they use that tool can differ greatly. 

Understanding this difference is essential in my dealings with the artists at 4RV, and I assume it’s much the same with most ADs (Art Directors). I often have to explain to a fine artist what I mean by “I need you to clean-up your work for print,” where as a graphic designer usually knows what I mean already. This need to explain what “clean-up” means can frustrate an AD or publisher because to him or her, it seems stupid-basic-simple, unless they have a background in both traditions.

Hopefully, this post will help a few fine artists feel less flustered when their AD says, “I need you to clean-up your work for print.” It may also help your AD’s sanity if you already know what they mean when they say it ... lol.

Why does the AD think my work is “dirty”?

Let’s start with showing you what the problem is and why. When working with traditional mediums on artist papers, there tends to be a little bit of “dirt” surrounding the main elements of an illustration, especially if it has a lot of negative space surrounding it. 

When an artist uses lead or charcoal, for example, there is usually telltale dust from the medium that scatters on the paper surrounding the main elements in the drawing, or maybe there are faint sketch lines that were used in the building of the work.  In the graphic design world, these things would absolutely need to be removed unless the telltale dust or sketch lines were somehow desired for the work’s final effect; so most designers already know how. In the fine art world, these faint attributes add character and charm to a piece. It’s simply part of the art, and really isn’t even noticed or given much thought. Go to a gallery that has framed drawings (not prints, but originals), and you’ll see what I mean. You’ll notice similar bleed or run “dirt” on original watercolor or pen-n-ink work, as well.

 But, to get a fine art piece into a book, it must be scanned and made into a digital file. The scanning process involves a high intensity light to basically shine through your work and catch every bit of color, shade, and variance on the paper and interpret it in pixels on the screen. That means it picks up every finger print, every dust particle, every line, every smudge, then visually emphasizes it like a sore thumb. To make matters worse, once the finished layout goes to print, the printers emphasize that “dirt” even more, making the illustrations look muddied and unrefined. Can you see how art “dirt” could be a problem with the look and quality of a finished book?

So artists, don’t get offended when an AD asks you to clean-up the work. Nothing is wrong with it, other than it’s not ready for print, okay? So, if you’re not willing to pay a graphic designer to clean-up your work for print (designers in my area pull $45 an hour or more), then here are a few tips on how you, the fine artist, can do it yourself with the help of a photo editing program (like Photoshop) and a little patience and time. I’ll be using Photoshop for my examples and descriptions, but most photo-editing software does primarily the same thing; so edit these tips according to your own needs.

First step: cleaning-up the negative space.

If your illustration is not a “full bleed” illustration (which means full color or imagery goes past the edge of the trim line), then there is going to be some degree of negative space (area where these is no color or shading). Clearing these areas from medium debris and "dirt," even dust particles that got transferred from a dusty scanner, is the first and easiest step, though it can be quite time consuming.

In the chapter heading illustration below, you can see a lot of “dirt” surrounding the main elements. By the looks of it, the upper left quadrant is possibly due to scanner streaks left over from the last time the scanner was wiped down. On the three other quadrants, you can see paper edge. For the book’s purposes, all we want to see is the bat, ball, and chapter number. Everything else has to go. There are many ways to do this, but I am forever in a rush trying to meet a deadline, so I look for the fastest, yet effective ways to use the many tools PS (Photoshop) provides.

*Illo: a3 chapter 1*

 If you look on the left, you’ll see I’ve started with the polygonal lasso tool. This tool allows me to surround the main elements in a loose fashion (not to close to the image, just yet) by clicking at key spots and creating a series of straight edges. I then go to the top and Select-Inverse, which selects everything but what I surrounded, then I either erase or delete the space, or, if I want to be sure I don’t have varying shades of white, I’ll use my eyedropper tool to pick-up the paper's color and paint the selected negative space with a big brush size to ensure I fully cover the space. 

You can also use the paint bucket tool to dump large amounts of color at once, but sometimes the computer reads darker shades as separate colors, and it won’t cover as well, needing several dumps or odd variations, which is what we are trying to remove to begin with.

Once the bulk of the negative space is clean, now it’s time to refine the elements. Zoom in to get a better look and avoid potential damage to the illo (I should say now – SAVE OFTEN – I’ve lost hours of tedious work because I was too involved and focused to remember to save every few minutes. Unlike some other programs, PS does not auto-save nor does it keep a temp file that remembers what you were doing).

I am still using my digital pencil tool, but this time with a smaller brush or head size. I carefully paint over the remaining “dirt” so that the only thing my eye wants to stray to is the scene elements. 

Second step: adjusting brightness and contrast.

As I get to the upper bat section, I realize that this illo is really too faint to transfer into print well, so next, I adjust the brightness and contrast. A soft image is appropriate at times, but not in this instance. We really want the reader to see the bat, so it has to pop. Go to Image-Adjustments-Brightness/Contrast to get the pop-up window that allows you to adjust smoothly along two dials. In this instance, I darkened it by -50 and upped the contrast to 100.  Compare the before and after: *

before ~ after

Since this is a more personal sense of aesthetic, the settings will vary for each piece. Do try to remember, however, that all of the illos in a book should complement each other. So although each will have slightly varying settings, at some point you’ll want to view them side-by-side in groups to make sure they are set at similar contrasts and brightnesses.

In my next post I’ll cover what clean-ups need done in the positive space (in the area where there is actual art work).

Aidana WillowRaven

Art Director & VP of Operation

4RV Publishing

*This post is meant to be a basic tutorial, not an in-depth course. Not all aspects of clean-up are covered here, just some basic ones.

*Today’s illustrations were drawn by the late Kipp Davis, for the soon to be released 4RV publication Girls Love Softball, and cleaned by WillowRaven since he passed before he could complete the task himself.