Just Write

New this week at the Logan library:

The Autobiographer's Handbook:  The 826 National Guide to Writing Your Memoir edited by Jennifer Traig, introduction by Dave Eggers.

Starred review from Publisher's Weekly:  Put out by 826 Valencia, the San Francisco-based nonprofit Eggers started to provide creative writing instruction for middle and high school students, this book presents straightforward, practical ideas and advice from a double-handful of contemporary writers. Edited by memoirist Traig (Devil in the Details), a longtime 826 Valencia tutor, it's comprised largely of excerpts from wide-ranging, insightful round-table discussions among nonfiction practitioners like Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love), Nick Hornby (Housekeeping vs. the Dirt), Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes) and Sarah Vowell (Assassination Vacation). To find the right topic, for example, Gus Lee (China Boy) suggests you "write about the biggest, scariest darn elephant in the living room of your soul." To decide which elements to edit, Laura Fraser (An Italian Affair) says, "nobody cares if you go to yoga on Tuesdays... unless it will contribute to the story or to the character that is you." Besides lessons on celebrating the ordinary and the importance of humor, contributors also offer ways to push through the inevitable writer's block and handle miffed family and friends. Their guidance, complemented by writing exercises and work plans, should prove useful, informative and motivating for writers at just about any level.

1. Identify your motives.  Think about why you want to get published.
2. Think about a title.  Give it the speech test (speak it), Google test (research it) and consider whether the title can be made into a website.  Make the title positive as well as easy to spell and remember.
3. Write a three paragraph description of the book then condense it to a single paragraph and then into a single sentence. This helps the writer focus on what he/she wants the book to be about.
4. Create a proposal with a table of contents, an overview, and bio about the author.  Indicate the method of promotion, competition, and the market.  If the book is not yet written, add a schedule for how the book will be written.  Also include a good cover letter and a sample chapter.
5. Make sure that the book is read by as many people as possible ensuring it’s not just family members and friends.  Make the audience diverse, including people outside your target group.

Publishers and agents:

1. Shop for a publisher or agent, keeping in mind that larger publishers will drop the book if it isn’t making money by a certain time.  Big publishers can also be very competitive.  In researching publishers, consider the publisher size (big, regional, small) or if print-on-demand (self-publishing) is better for you.
2. An agent will be needed for a big or mid-size publisher.  Send the agent a query summarizing the cover letter.  Look for agents that handle the same type of book as the one you’re writing, but never pay an agent.  If you have to then that person is really an editor.  To find an agent, look at a book similar to the one you’d like to publish and find out who was the agent. Visit sites like www.publisherslunch.com or a attend an inexpensive writer’s conference to look for agents.
3. Go to the library or bookstore and look for publishers among the books where your book would be shelved.
4. Visit the publisher’s website to assure you have the right person and spell their name correctly.
5. Remember in contract talks that you have no true negotiation power so don’t get caught up in this part of the process.
6. Complete your manuscript and show it to as many people as possible.

While your book is in production, formulate your marketing plan and work on:

1. Business cards
2. Your website
3. A list of speaking engagements
4. Start planning your second book!