How to Blog Your Way to a Bestselling Book [Podcast]

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IBlog a Bookf you’re a blogger and haven’t discovered the Blogging Your Passion podcast by Jonathan Milligan, you’re in for a treat. Jonathan, a pro blogger himself, has a deep passion for helping bloggers take their blogs to the next level. He’s “been there, done that,” and he’ll show you how he did. Jonathan has become a good friend, even a mentor to me, so I’m delighted to let you know about him and his work.

Interview about Blogging and Publishing

I was honored for Jonathan to interview me about publishing and blogging a book on his podcast recently. If you’ve ever wondered about how to get your book published or how you could turn your blog into a book, I encourage you to listen to our podcast conversation. 

Here are the questions Jonathan asked me:

  • What would you tell a blogger who said, “I want to write a nonfiction book, but I don’t have a clue where to start”?
  • What are the main things a publisher looks for when deciding whether or not to publish a book?
  • What would you tell someone who said, “I have a book concept that I’m passionate about, but nobody knows me. Should I still write it?”
  • You’ve worked with hundreds of writers in your 15-year publishing career. What are the practices you’ve seen writers use that have helped them stay motivated and keep on going?
  • It seems like blogging and writing a book may involve some similarities but obviously some differences too. Is there a way to do both at the same time?

We had a lot of fun, and I feel really good about the content of the interview.

Free Webinar on How to Blog Your Way to a Bestselling Book

Jonathan also asked me to do a webinar with him on Blogging Your Way to a Bestselling Book, and I can’t wait! We’re going to talk about a five-step process for turning your blog into a book, and I think it’s going to be really helpful to bloggers.

The webinar is free, but space is limited, so be sure to grab a spot.

The Quick Start Guide to Writing Your First Blog Post: 6 Steps

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the-quick-start-guide-to-writing-your-first-blog-postIf you recently started a blog, this post is for you.

If you are thinking about starting a blog, this post is for you.

If you know someone who SHOULD be blogging, this post is for you.

I’m talking about a guest post I wrote for my dear friend Jonathan Milligan over at BloggingYourPassion.com 

Here’s how it starts…

This post will you give you everything you need for getting started on the right foot. Obviously there are no rules here, but a great place to begin is to let readers know who you are and what to expect.

It’s important to do so in a way that is both honest and not too limiting. How do you do that? Keep reading!

Interview with Literary Agent, Author, and Blogger Rachelle Gardner, a Living Legend

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gardner-LowRes-2013-444I’m so pleased to bring you this Living Legends interview with Rachelle Gardner, a literary agent with Books & Such. Rachelle started blogging back before it was cool (I started after that) and has served thousands and thousands of writers over the years. She also has written her first ebook, with more to come. I encourage you to check out her blog at www.RachelleGardner.com.

OK, let’s dive into the interview. I think you’ll enjoy hearing from Rachelle.

Rachelle, lay it on us: What sort of author do you love to work with, and what sort would you prefer not to work with?

This is a difficult question to answer because I work with many different kinds of authors, each uniquely individual, and I’m sincerely excited and grateful to be working with each and every one.

That said, I most enjoy working with authors who have a strong work ethic and are serious about their writing careers. It’s helpful when authors have both big dreams and realistic expectations. I like it when authors are well informed about publishing through reading blogs and/or attending conferences. I find authors to be happier with their publishing journey when they trust their own instincts, trust their agent, and are open to discussion at every step of the journey.

As far as what sort of person I’d prefer not to work with, I admit I have a hard time with people whose visions of publishing are pie-in-the-sky and people who come into it with the baseline assumption that their book will “be a bestseller” or “become a great movie.” Everyone has dreams and goals, which I encourage and support, but it’s easier to work with people who are also humble to some degree.

Could you orient us to the kinds of books you’re looking to represent?

In nonfiction I’m drawn to books that encourage readers to look at life and Christianity through a different lens, to question their assumptions. I like books that present ancient truth in a fresh light—in fresh language that reaches today’s audiences in a way that older books might not.

In fiction I enjoy a wide range of genres. It just has to be an engaging, page-turning story. 

You’ve been in publishing for a while now. What are the trends that you find most interesting or challenging within our industry?

I’m enjoying the trend toward memoirs in CBA, and I’m very interested in the trend of books that are more “progressive” or outside the previously rigid boundaries of evangelical publishing.

The most challenging trend is the low cost of ebooks, potentially lowering readers’ perception of the value of a book. It makes it increasingly difficult for publishers, authors, and agents to make the necessary revenue to keep doing what we all do.

Could you talk about the role platform plays in publishing today? How important is it as you shop proposals to different publishers? What advice do you have about building a platform?

People should be aware that “building a platform” isn’t something you can make happen in a few short weeks or months. Generally a platform takes two to three years to grow to a significant size.

Ideally platform grows organically out of who you are and what you do in life, especially for nonfiction authors. It’s best if your book grows out of your platform, rather than trying to write a book full of great ideas and build a platform from it. This means you need to get out there and establish yourself as an authority on your topic. Become a “go-to” person on the subject. Have a blog, a Facebook page, and other social media sites that suit your topic (such as Pinterest). You might write articles or guest posts, or speak to groups. This is how you build a platform around your area of interest; then you can create a book for the audience you’ve already gathered.

For fiction authors, it works differently. Prior to being published, you’ll still want to find ways to build a following, but your main priority is working on your writing.

Here’s a reader question: Where do you start if you don’t have the funds to do all the following that need to be done: blog makeover, taking craft courses, attending conferences, having professionals edits?

Always go back to the main thing: your book. If it’s not publishable quality, then your first priority is to get your writing up to par. Start with no-cost options like critique partners and books on the craft of writing; then figure out if your money is best spent on an editor or a conference. Only spend money on an editor if you are committed to using it as a learning experience—not just paying someone to fix your work. Your goal is to eventually be able to show a complete manuscript that is top-notch without having been edited. You can get there by learning from your editor.

As far as the other costly necessities, they’re secondary to getting your work up to a publishable level.

Another reader question: At what point or for what kind of contract/advance would you recommend an author switch from self-publishing to traditional publishing these days? It seems like the only ones really getting a raw deal these days are traditionally published mid-list authors, who seem to get lost in the middle with no advances and no promo or platform help. Can you give your perspective on this?

I think it’s counterproductive to try and address a question like this in a generalized manner. I have these conversations with clients all the time – that’s why they have an agent! There are no generic answers. It totally depends on the author and what their experience has been, and what their potential is. It also depends on the author’s own values and priorities.

The important thing I’m trying to get across here is that people are always looking for easy, one-size-fits-all answers, but in many cases they don’t exist. You have to look carefully at your own situation to make these decisions.

If you had only one piece of advice for a writer who is just getting started, what would it be?

Understand that this is a process and a journey.

It will most likely take longer than you think.

Success may look different than you originally anticipated.

Keep your mind open to all the opportunities out there.

Don’t believe everything you hear—do your best to seek reputable, qualified sources for your information.

That’s five things, sorry!

~~~

Tweetable

Uber blogger and literary agent legend Rachelle Gardner on platform, industry trends, and more . . . <Tweet that!>

 ~~~

Do you have questions for Rachelle? Leave them here, and they may turn up in a future blog post at RachelleGardner.com.

5 Steps for Getting Your Mojo Back When Dealing with Rejection

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shutterstock_111051755 (1)I’m PUMPED to be guest posting over at Mary DeMuth’s blog today. Here’s what she says at the beginning of the piece…

I normally don’t take guest posts (in fact, it’s pretty rare these days, though you’ll see another one on Monday), but I really loved what my friend and editor Chad had to say in this piece. This is for all those writers out there who face rejection on an ongoing basis. (Here’s a funny/sad truth: the farther you go in the publishing journey, THE MORE rejection you will receive.) So learning to navigate rejection is crucial. It makes the difference between succeeding and failing in the writing business.

Want to read the post? Click here.

The Busy Person’s Guide to Writing a Nonfiction Book (Part 2)

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How do busy people write books? Realistically, how does that happen?

In my last post I wrote about coming up with a concept and an outline. Once these are in place, it’s time to begin writing using what I call the four rhythms of mastery.

Write Using the Four Rhythms of Mastery

I use the phrase “four rhythms of mastery” to describe the practices that make the writing journey sustainable. These practices are essential to staying committed to writing your book, especially if you’re busy. The following practices, which can be remembered with the acronym D. A. R. T., will help you hang in there:

  1. Decision. It all starts with commitment. And then after starting one has to revisit this step many times over. Writers have to recommit again and again.
  2. Action. Decision is one thing, action is another. What is the work you need to keep doing over and over again? How many words do you want to write per day or per week? At this point don’t worry about editing. Just follow the outline, give yourself a daily or weekly word count goal. And go. Blurt it all out.
  3. Relationships. Most writers cannot do this work alone. We need a supportive community to help us. This can look like regular one-on-one sessions, creative circles, mentoring relationships, or online communities. Be intentional about setting up some communal support for yourself. Remember: you and your work are worth it.
  4. Time. “What gets scheduled gets done” is something I heard from Michael Hyatt once, and it stayed with me. It’s true. What goes in our calendars is generally (not all the time, but mostly) what happens. When will your writing time be? Can you take some “extreme measures” to find even more time? Burn a vacation day? Use spring break? Hire someone to do the laundry or mow the lawn so that you can spend that time writing your book?

The hardest part of writing a book is sticking with it for the long haul. These practices will help you do that. One way to approach the above practices is to check in with them each Sunday night or Monday morning. Simply ask yourself, “How am I doing with Decision? With Action?” and so on.

DIY Editing

Once you’ve written what Anne Lamott calls a “shitty first draft,” it’s time to go back through and shape it up the best you can. Spend a good amount of time on each chapter. Does each one do what the outline says it should do? And does each chapter do it compellingly? Is there a good mix of story and information/teaching? Are you showing more than you’re telling?

Enlist Some Editing Help

Eventually you will want to hire an editor. Even the best writers need one. My advice for finding a good editor is to ask around within your own networks who are the best editors for your kind of book. Be sure to interview an editor before you hire him/her. Ask for references and then call those references. Don’t settle on an editor until you think you’ve found one who can do a great job for you.

Another option is to ask some friends to read what you’ve written. I’ll be honest and say the quality of the feedback is not likely to be as good as with a professional editor with years of experience, but don’t let lack of funds keep you from moving forward.

Make It Sing: Rewriting and Revising

When it comes back from the editor, it’s time to work through the feedback and the edits. If you’re working with a professional editor or editorially minded friends who have some experience, you are likely to agree with much of the feedback and edits. Here and there you may disagree, and that’s ok.

The Final Review

After you’ve worked through all the editorial input, it’s time to do your final review. I like doing this with a hard copy. I’m not sure why, but for some reason moving from the screen to paper reveals things that otherwise would not necessarily surface. Mark up the hard copy as you like, incorporate the changes electronically, and that’s it! Congratulations on writing your book!

If you missed part 1 of this two-part series, click here.

Question: What book do you want to write? 

If you think this post would be helpful to others,would you help me share it? I’d be grateful. Here’s a possible tweet: Want to write a book but feeling overwhelmed? @ChadRAllen continues his step-by-step series! <Tweet this!>

 

The Busy Person’s Guide to Writing a Nonfiction Book (Part 1)

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When I was young and got overwhelmed with this or that, my mom had a terrific way of helping me. She’d sit me down and help me think through what I could and couldn’t do to influence the situation.

She led me through a process of deciding how to respond to each anxiety-producing factor, and that was all I needed. I always left our conversations feeling empowered and much more comfortable with life.

Writing a book can be overwhelming. When one is staring at a blank page knowing that a decent-sized book is at least 50,000 words, it’s easy to feel like you’re not equal to the task.

photo credit: h.koppdelaney via photopin cc

photo credit: h.koppdelaney via photopin cc

Many people know deep down they have a book inside them. They have this passion, this innate need to get a book out of them. But if you don’t have a plan for making that happen, this burning passion can turn into burning frustration!

Add to this how busy we are, and it’s enough to blow this book-writing dream to smithereens. In fact, I’d say you may not need a plan if you have nothing else going on. If you don’t have any other commitments—to family, say, or colleagues—you might be able to get by without a plan. But the vast majority of us are not in that situation.

The purpose of this post is to sit you down and talk you through how to write a nonfiction book. I want to empower you and help you feel comfortable with the process of writing a book.

Develop a Compelling Concept and Title

This is where it all starts. The most efficient and effective way I know of to kick around book ideas is to brainstorm titles and subtitles. This gives you a quick look at different ways your book can appear to potential readers.

I encourage a process of individual and collective brainstorming. This can look various ways, but the process should go something like this:

  1. Brainstorm title and subtitle combinations on your own.
  2. Come up with a short list of possibilities.
  3. Ask a group of friends or colleagues you trust to comment on the short list. Ask them which combination is their favorite and what suggestions they have for improving it. I think this step is best done in person, but you can get ideas from your social media networks as well. It’s certainly worth a try to see what kind of feedback you get.
  4. Keep refining the list until you have isolated one title and subtitle combination as the best of the bunch.

Now. How do you feel about this title and subtitle? Excited about it? Is it compelling enough to keep you energized through hours of writing? If so, you’re ready to move. If not, it’s time to do another round of brainstorming and to reengage your friends for input. Once you have a title and subtitle that you and your friends all think is compelling, you’re ready for step 2.

Flesh It Out with an Outline

Keeping your title and subtitle in mind, write out titles of possible chapters. At first don’t worry much about structure and whether a piece of content is a paragraph and not a chapter. Just get all your chapter ideas down. This again is a brainstorming process. You’re trying to get down any and all of the various chunks of content that potentially could fit somewhere within this book.

Once you have a bunch of chapter titles down, scan them. Which ones seem most important? Set those to one side. Which ones seem like subtopics of other chapters? Go ahead and place those accordingly. Which ones seem like they might belong to a different book, a sequel to this one perhaps? Set those in a different place.

Now consider the sequence of the chapters. Place them in a sequence that makes sense. Writing is a linear medium, and so good writing is well organized. Readers like to move from one topic to the next without thinking too much about the transitions.

Finally, write out a 2- to 5-sentence description of each chapter. Doing this at this stage helps you determine what each chapter needs to do in light of the whole.

Once you’ve got this step down, you’re read to engage the four rhythms of mastery, which I’ll cover in my next post.

To read part 2 of this two-part series, click here.

Got a book concept that you’d like some feedback on? Drop your working title and subtitle in a comment, and I’ll do my best to give you some input. And I hope you’ll comment on others’ concepts as well.

If you think this post would be helpful to others,would you help me share it? I’d be grateful. Here’s a possible tweet: Want to write a book but feeling overwhelmed? This step-by-step post will help! <Tweet this!>

Two Chefs: A Parable for Writers

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Imagine two chefs.

One is a world-class culinary ninja who has logged thousands of hours in the kitchen. The other, for the sake of this parable, is me, who has logged about 43 minutes.

Photo Credit: NGI197 via Compfight cc

Photo Credit: NGI197 via Compfight cc

We’re given the exact same recipe for pecan pie and as much baking time as we want.

Whose pie would you rather be served?

Here’s my point: it’s not about the recipe.

Oh, the recipe is important as far as it goes, but we all can taste the difference between an amateur chef and a master.

If you’ve been a writer for any length of time, you’ve heard the recipe for publication:

  1. brilliant concept
  2. massive platform
  3. amazing writing

So what happens is writers try really hard to create a book proposal that follows the recipe.

But it’s not about the recipe. It’s about becoming a master. It’s about improving your craft and building your platform over time. It’s about logging a lot of hours in your writing chair. These days, particularly with nonfiction, it’s about interacting with your audience long enough to know what they really need.

If you want to be an amazing chef, don’t stare at the recipe. Start cooking.

If you want to be an amazing writer, don’t stare at the proposal guidelines. Start writing.

The other thing that happens when I list the three publishing criteria is writers get depressed! Most of us can’t say we have a brilliant concept, massive platform, and amazing writing. We might have some or one of them, but few of us have all three.

The trick is to build practices into your life that help you stay the course.

When it comes to writing, the long view is the only view that matters. Shoot for sustainability. That is ultimately how we’re going to get better as writers and keep making progress.

What practices are you using to sustain yourself for the journey?

~~Tweetables~~

When it comes to writing, the long view is the only view that matters. <Tweet this!>

If you want to be an amazing writer, don’t stare at the proposal guidelines. Start writing. <Tweet this!>

Psssst: Writers, shoot for sustainability. Here’s why. <Tweet this!>

5 Ways to Take Your Writing to the Next Level

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Earlier this year I coached Gary Neal Hansen through the process of writing a book proposal (See here for a post that will take you to the whole series.) It was a great experience. As a way to wrap things up, I asked Gary to write a guest post on the main things he’s taking away from the process.

Gary Neal Hansen is the author of Kneeling with Giants: Learning to Pray with History’s Best Teachers (InterVarsity Press, 2012) and Associate Professor of Church History at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. He blogs at GaryNealHansen.com. You can connect with him there as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Head Shot Gary Neal HansenGuest Blogger: Gary Neal Hansen

Writing a book proposal can be lonely and scary. You slave away in secret. You send it off. You wait. The rejection letter comes and you are no wiser about what would have helped.

Then came Chad’s book proposal coaching project.

Input from an industry insider before submitting it?  I had to apply.

He chose me. I rejoiced! I freaked out.

Let me be clear: my “book” consisted of two things:

First, I had a concept I absolutely loved: an exploration of historical movements with distinctive approaches to Christian community that sparked world-changing mission and service, a book to help Christians and communities rethink life together for a bigger, better impact out there.

Second, I had a bunch of random scribbling on the topic in my journal.

That was it.

I could get Chad most of the proposal in a month as he asked, but a polished sample chapter was a long way off. He agreed. I was (gulp!) over the moon.

It has been an honor and an education. I’ve learned way more than I can fit in a blog post. Here are five key lessons Chad has taught me.

1. Let generosity be your motive.

Chad’s blog shows his own generous soul. He clearly wants to help his readers on real issues. He advises writers do the same, articulating the need their book will address for their readers. I have to fan the flames of my most generous motives. If I focus on helping people, the process will be life-giving.

2. Take a risk to learn from those who know.

Chad’s post on my bio nailed key problems. That was the first of many golden opportunities to hear how my words do and don’t communicate to an expert reader. Every post helped me better understand how to tell the truth about myself and my project to convince a publisher that I really ought to write this book.

3. Plan around the shape of a marketable book.

This includes everything from the quality of the concept to the number of chapters and total word count. It is easy to get all of this wrong. When I proposed my first book I overshot on the size and had to reduce every chapter I’d written by a full third. Getting a sense of what publishers want helps me to aim at the right target.

4. Grow your platform.

Chad emphasized this from the beginning.  If nobody knows who you are it is hard to sell anyone your book. If people are already listening to you on the topic, your book has a place to land.

We took stock of my social media stats, and I went to work. He encouraged me to open a Facebook author page, so I converted my personal account.  I renamed my then-dormant blog to “GaryNealHansen.com.” I aimed for two blog posts per week and four tweets per day, linking them to Facebook.

Results so far:

  • 342 Facebook friends growing to 442 “likes” on my page.
  • 110 Twitter followers growing to 540.
  • 20 or so blog subscribers growing to 117, and about 7000 page views.

This is not stratospheric, but it is moving in the right direction — and was enough to get my blog into the top 100 on Anita Mathias’ “Blogogcracy”!

The blog has been the most effective part of platform building, and the most fun, especially as I started blogging small sections of the project. It pushed me to keep sections short and engaging. It kept me writing during a very demanding season of my day job. And when I pasted the posts into an outline, I was suddenly editing a chapter instead of writing a rough draft.

5. Let your project live in community.

I’ve been amazed to see how friendships developed through conversations on Chad’s blog. I’m deeply grateful to those of you who joined in so encouragingly, and especially Cynthia Herron and Lisa Van Engen who interviewed me on their blogs, and Natasha Crain who gave sterling advice on Facebook issues.

Community really matters in this process. Here and on my blog the community has affirmed that when this actually becomes a book there are people eager to see it. There’s no better fuel for the process!

How can you apply any of the lessons above to your own writing project?

Tweetables

“Plan around the shape of a marketable book” and 4 other tips for #writers. <Tweet this.>

“Let your project live in community” and 4 other ways to take your #writing to the next level. <Tweet this.>