I follow a number of blogs for writers, and, recently, several people have posted articles about rejection. Instead of sharing my thoughts on the subject, I’ll point you to theirs.

• Dr. Dennis Hensley’s new blog, Doc Hensley on Writing.
• Nine-part “rejection” series, Cecil Murphey’s Writer to Writer.
• Alton Gansky’s “Cowboy Up: Dealing with Rejection.”
• “Handling Rejection,” Henry McLaughlin, Christian Writers Guild blog.

I’ve posted about rejection on Blog4Writers previously. Check it out here.

Selling your writing is not exactly like selling chickens, but there are some parallels.  Bear with me! You may be trying to sell chickens when your readers would prefer the eggs. Of course, to get the eggs, you have to raise the chickens, gather the eggs, and package them for transport before you can sell them to your customers. To sell your writing, you need to know the answer to three questions.

1. Who needs your information? In other words, “Who is your customer?” Have you already written a book on home-schooling? Do you have an idea for an article or series of articles on Internet safety? Get your market guide and look for publishers who cater to readers interested in your topic. Be specific. “Home-schooling mothers” is a specific target. “All adults” is not. If you have a group of devotions written, you can tweak them for a specific age group like grandparents or teens.

2. How will you package it? Book or articles? Most beginning writers think they must write a book. But, I’ve heard editors say that most “first” books would be better presented as a series of articles. If you are an unpublished writer, it’s not likely that you will land a book contract. If you are truly motivated to get your work published, you’ll be willing to package your message in a format that sells. More people will read your work if it is published in a magazine. Devotional magazines and Sunday School papers are good starting places. You might find a devotional magazine at your church that is open to freelance submissions. The Christian Writers Market Guide contains information on such publications and where to find writers’ guidelines (see below). Your final decision on packaging your message will depend on the specifics in the publisher’s guidelines.

3. Who will publish it? Make a list of potential publishers based on the guidelines you’ve collected. Most publications have websites where you can download the guidelines or find out how to get them. For example, the guidelines for The Secret Place devotional magazine are found online here. Some magazines require query letters. Book publishers usually want a written proposal rather than your book manuscript. Here’s an earlier Blog4Writers post containing general information on how to write query letters and book proposals (and a wealth of other information on writing and publishing).

Then, send it in! Whether you’ve decided to try to sell your chicken (book) or you’ve opted to re-work your material and sell the eggs (articles), the next step is: start submitting!

Market Guides:

• Sally Stuart’s Christian Writers’ Market Guide
• Writers’ Market Online: http://www.writersmarket.com/

On Blog4Writers:

• Query Letters, Bio, Book Proposal How- to
• Marketing: Developing Your Brand

Other Online Resources:

• http://www.right-writing.com/
• http://www.marketingforwriters.com/
• http://www.absolutewrite.com/

First a little guidance. All posts on Blog4writers fit into one of the categories shown in the survey. Before you respond to the survey, please visit the website and browse the categories.

• First, go to the site and try the top menu. The main categories have sub-categories that “drop down” when you hover your mouse over a main category. Try Writers’ Resources, and you’ll see that there are three sub-categories.
• Click on either a main category or sub-category, and you’ll get a list of all previous posts on that subject. Example: clicking on Marketing gives you this.
• Then, try the Categories drop-down menu in the sidebar. Click on the arrow on the right side of the Categories bar, and the entire category list will show. Clicking on Freebies brings up this.
• Is there a subject not included in the categories that you would like to see on Blog4Writers? Be sure to enter that in the “other” box on the survey.

Note: If the survey box does not appear in your e-mail or on your RSS reader, click here to go the survey on my site.

Next time I do a survey, I’ll let you rank the topics. This time, I just wanted to know what category you’re most interested in. You’ll can see the results after you do the survey, but I’ll update next week on the final result.

Image source: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1152

It’s time. You finally have your work ready to submit. You’ve written, edited, and re-written. You’ve formatted according to the publisher’s guidelines. Now, before you send it off, what rights are you selling if this publisher should want to buy it?

Somewhere on your document or in your cover letter, you should state what rights you offer for the manuscript. The most common rights purchased for articles are:

• First rights. This work has never appeared in print or online. The publisher will be “first” to publish it. Sometimes, the publisher who buys first rights will require that you not sell the material as a reprint for a specified period of time after first rights publication.
• Reprint rights. The work has been published before. When submitting a reprint, it’s helpful to state when and where the work was published previously. It’s also advisable to mention if this is a simultaneous submission (you are submitting to multiple publishers).
• Non-exclusive rights. The publisher will have the right to re-publish the work at any time. You will have the right to sell it as a reprint also. Often a publisher will buy first and non-exclusive rights. In that case, you will have to wait until the piece is published on first rights before you can use it as a reprint.
• Work for hire: I include this term because you should be aware that, if you do work for hire, you have no rights to the material ever again once it’s sold to the publisher. Work for hire is usually assigned, and the publisher provides a written agreement before the work is written.

Some publishers will ask you to sign a contract or writer’s agreement stating exactly what rights the publisher is buying and what the conditions are under which the rights revert to the writer. Others include rights information in the guidelines. Sample Guidelines: Light & Life Magazine.

You definitely need to know what you’re selling when you submit your work.

If you still have questions about copyright, the best place to learn more is the government website, www.copyright.gov.

More Information:

FAQ page on Copyright.gov

First Rights Means First Rights by Roger Palms

Know Your Copyrights, published in Writers’ Digest

Image source: jscreationzs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to the Chicken Soup for the Soul  website, 88.7% of the public recognizes the Chicken Soup brand.  The statistics are impressive—112 million books sold, 200 titles, 40 languages. What better way to get your name out there as a writer than to be published by Chicken Soup?

Submission guidelines are on the website here. Needless to say, you must follow them to the letter. Payment is currently $200 (on publication) plus 10 copies of the book your work appears in.

Take a look at the Possible Books page on the website for upcoming topics. Spend some time on the site exploring previously published books. Go to your public library and browse the Chicken Soup books to get a feel for the type of story they want.

They receive numerous submissions, so it takes a long time to hear back from them. Sometimes, your work will make the first cut but not the second. The key is to keep trying.

After studying the guidelines, if you feel like you need help, check out WriteLife Workshops. WriteLife is run by Tracy Crump and Marylane Koch, who offer workshops and webinars on writing for Chicken Soup and other compilation books. Sign up for the WriteLife Newsletter here.

Subscribers, have you submitted to other compilation books? Please share titles and submission info by commenting on this post.

 Further Information:

5 Reasons Authors Should Be in Compilation Books

Examples of Compilation Books

I can think of three reasons you should buy the 2012 market guide.

• You want to have to your work published, and all the major publishers in the Christian market are listed in this book (complete with contact information). Where else can you get everything you need to know about the Christian market in one resource?
• Your old version is out of date. No, you shouldn’t get one every other year.  People often asked Sally if they needed a new book each year. She told them, “Yes.” She also added that, if there were not enough changes to warrant a new book each year, she wouldn’t bother to publish it annually. Not only do you need the right tools. Your tools must be up to date.
• Everyone who uses the information in the Guide should not try to skimp by getting it every other year or by buying old versions at reduced cost. Buy the new one each year. During her conference keynote at Southeastern Christian Writers Conference 2011, Stuart said that she published about 5,000 copies of the Guide each year. For major publishers, that is not an impressive number. So, to insure the survival of this valuable tool, the people who use it need to support it!

Don’t be without the Christian writer’s primary marketing tool. Order your copy from CWG, from Sally Stuart, or from Amazon at this link: The Christian Writer’s Market Guide – 2012.

Previous Blog4Writers posts on marketing:

Learn to Love Marketing

Marketing: Selling and Re-Selling

“I don’t write books. I write articles,” I said. I stopped myself before I preached him a sermon. Most unpublished writers want to write a book. But, think about it. To assume that you can start your publishing career with a book is like taking an entry-level job in a corporation and expecting to start as the CEO. Climbing the ladder of success involves taking your turn on the bottom rungs as you ascend to the top.

Get your name in print with articles and other short pieces first. If you write enough of them on one topic, you might have enough material for a book. A good example of this is Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress’ book, Taking Back Christmas. Writing articles, you can establish yourself as an expert on a topic. Readers, and therefore editors, will be more interested in your eventual book after you’ve established your reputation.

There are a number of advantages to writing articles instead of books:

• Articles are short, so they don’t take so much time to create. You can experiment with various topics while you decide what you want to specialize in.
• You are more likely to get a short piece published. Once you build your article portfolio, you will have credits to show potential publishers of your book.
• Articles can be sold more than once. As long as you don’t sell all rights, you can sell unlimited reprints of every article you write.

Don’t give up on your book idea. Just take your time developing your material and your platform. That’s the recipe for publishing success.

How-to’s for Article Writers:

Terry Whalin’s article writing page

“Success with Writing Articles” on agent Chip MacGregor’s Blog

My review of two books on article writing

Article Writing Tutorial

• For the definitive article on why you should consider writing devotionals, visit the Florida Christian Writers Conference blog and read what Mary Lou Redding, editorial director of Upper Room has to say.
• Read my “How to Write Devotionals” article, which includes links to other how-to articles.
• Write and submit. Choose your target publications. Follow the guidelines. If your denomination publishes a devotional magazine, start with that one. The Secret Place and Upper Room are great for unpublished writers. Download a PDF handout from my devotional writing workshop here. It includes links to online and print devotional publications, plus links to other how-to information.

 Need More Information?

Mary Lou Redding’s 8-Point How-to List on Writing Devotionals on Susan Titus Osborn’s blog

Kim Sheard’s “Writing and Selling Devotionals” on Writers’ Weekly

See Upper Room daily devotional online here. Or, subscribe to daily e-mail devotional (same as print edition) at this link.

Sally Stuart at Southeastern Christian Writers Conference 2011

Sally Stuart literally wrote the book on marketing for Christian writers. I’ve heard her speak in person twice, the most recent instance being Southeastern Christian Writers Conference, October 14-15, 2011. In her keynote addresses, Sally concentrated on selling your work and publishing industry trends.

She made three statements that I had heard her make before. She repeats these statements because she knows we don’t always get it the first time we hear it.

The market guide is published every year because there are numerous changes in the listings. Time and again, newbies ask if they can’t get by with an old market guide. They’re so much cheaper, you know? “I wouldn’t do a new book every year unless there were enough changes to warrant a new book,” Sally said. It’s crucial that you have the latest information when querying and submitting your work. A writer without a current market guide is like a lumberjack with a dull saw.

Your work must be crafted for the market if you expect to get published. “Many writers write first and then try to market,” said Stuart. You’re more likely to get your work published if you research the markets first. Then you can write with your prospective reader in mind. Editors know their readers, and they only buy work they think their readers will like, no matter how great the writing is.

Everyone wants to write on assignment. Well—I thought I was the only person who wanted to write on assignment! What a great way to write. My editor would give me a topic, a word count, a deadline, and suggestions on how to approach the topic. No more scrounging around in the market guide trying to figure out who would want my work. No more queries or submitting work on speculation. It truly never occurred to me until Sally mentioned it that probably every writer wants the same thing. I’ll still dream about writing on assignment. But, I’ll have to accept the fact that I must get a lot more work published before that happens for me.

Subscribers, have you heard Sally speak? What did you learn from the Christian market’s authority on marketing? Please comment on this post and tell us about it.

CWFI: Christian Writers Fellowship International (CWFI) Yahoo group was established by Sandy Brooks for subscribers to Cross & Quill. After the magazine ceased publication, the group was opened to non-subscribers. Weekly discussions are based on a Question of the Week, moderated by Donna Clark Goodrich. Overt promotion is discouraged on the group, but members are encouraged to report publishing successes.  Apply for membership in the group at the link above.

CWGI: You must fill out an application form for Christian Writers Group International (CWGI), also a Yahoo group. There is no fee, so this is a much larger group. The last time I checked there were about 800 members worldwide. Discussions are made more interesting by input from members in places like Australia and South Africa.

TWV1: the Writers’ View 1 is for “advanced and professional writers in the Christian market. Topics are advanced and explore the entire publishing process.” Owned by Mary DeMuth, this group requires a membership application and there are a number of panelists covering a wide variety of genres.

TWV2: The Writer’s View 2 is “for beginning/intermediate Christian writers serious about taking their writing to the next level.” Membership application required for this one, too. You must choose which TWV you want to participate in, because you are not allowed to participate in both. Mary also owns this group, but the list of panelists is different.

ACFW: The groups mentioned in this blog are ones that I have participated in or investigated for myself. If you are a fiction writer, check out American Christian Fiction Writers. Member benefits include forums that might be helpful to you.

These groups not only help you improve your writing, but they help you get to know people who can introduce you to others in the industry. I invite comments on this post from people who have participated in other writers’ groups.