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Minority Voices & the Power of Podcasting

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By Tyler B. Nelson   

Every Thursday morning, I go for a walk. I put on my shoes and pop in my headphones and take a couple of laps around the neighborhood. On Thursday mornings my favorite podcast, Revisionist History, airs new episodes. The host, Malcolm Gladwell, digs into overlooked and misunderstood bits of history. I learn and I get some exercise at the same time!

Revisionist History is but one podcast in the vast multitude of podcasts available today. Statistics from Apple, Spotify, and other streaming services that produce podcasts suggest that there are around two million podcasts active today.1 There are hundreds of topics for podcasts. Food, sports, behind the scenes, DIY—you name it. As I mentioned before, podcasts are versatile. You can listen to them on walks, while you commute, or even while you garden. Doing dishes? How about a side of True Crime? My wife and I even use a podcast for our weekly family study.

Podcasting is dynamic. It is powerful. And podcasting is part of a growing force of rising voices all around the world.

The History of Podcasts

Other forms of media spurred the growth of podcasting. Social media rapidly expanded through the 2000s. First Facebook appeared. Then Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.2 Facebook recruited its billionth user in 2012.3 As these platforms grew, people had more and more to say. But only so much can be reasonably put into a social media post. Podcasting’s ability to cover a wide range of subjects while simultaneously going in depth about those subjects was appealing.

Apple introduced podcasts to Itunes in 2006. At the time, tech savants and a few forward-thinking comedians were the only ones using podcasts. But podcasting’s popularity rapidly expanded. Politicians, sports teams, and history buffs soon got into the game. The famous/infamous Joe Rogan started a podcast. George Bush gave weekly updates from the White House via podcast.4 Even Buckingham Palace got in on the action, releasing a Christmas speech from Queen Elizabeth as a podcast.5

The power of the spoken word spread in popularity until reaching today’s levels of an estimated two million podcasts filling people’s ears. Fun and games and entertainment aside, podcasts quickly became the medium for tackling serious issues. One of the most amazing things that podcasting has done is give a voice to those who haven’t always had one. In recent years, the number of minority groups and people podcasting has surged. With the platform provided and important issues on the table, these groups have stepped up. They have raised their voices.

Minority Voices in Podcasting

If you spend some time looking around on streaming services, you will start to see podcasts with titles like Pod Save The People or Code Switch. These are podcasts that are run by Black creators. They discuss the role that race plays in Black American’s lives, Black heritage, and how to unpack the uneasiness that we often feel when it comes to discussing race. Whether or not you agree with what is being said, these podcasts utilize the medium to start conversations that otherwise would not be had. They allow racial, political, and geographical lines to be bridged as easily as putting in headphones. These podcasts reach millions of listeners across races, ethnic, and even political lines.

The Black communities are not alone in raising their voices through podcasts. La Brega, a Spanish word that means “struggle,” is a podcast published in both Spanish and English that details the Puerto Rican people’s experience both in and out of the United States. Judaism Unbound’s hosts interview everyday Jews and examine the current issues for American Jews. And #Good Muslim Bad Muslim takes time to discuss the everyday ups and downs for Muslim Women in the US. 

As these podcasts continue to grow, their influence reaches further and further. No longer does an individual have to go to a different neighborhood, or another country, or even a mosque or synagogue to hear and learn from the words of other cultures and religions. The gift of technology blesses millions of lives around the world, and even within our church. Podcasting is being used in wards, for missionary work, convert retention, and connecting members across the world.

An Interview with Eriene Oh

I run a Podcast called Mission Report where I interview missionaries about their experience serving for the Church of Jesus Christ. A few weeks ago, Eriene Oh reached out to me on LinkedIn to ask a few questions about starting a podcast. She wants to interview Chinese converts about their experience joining and staying in the Church. I found the idea fascinating and asked Eriene if we could talk more about it. Eriene graduated from BYU in the spring and now lives in Seattle, so we were able to sit down together over Zoom and I got to ask her a few more questions. 

Can you tell me a little more about yourself?

I am originally from Malaysia. I was born and grew up there. I grew up in the Church, which is kind of rare, since I am from Malaysia. My parents are converts. I moved to the States when I was fifteen. I did high school here, went to BYU, and then served a mission (California, Arcadia), came back to BYU, and now I am graduated and here in Seattle. 

So your parents are converts; what is their story?

It’s actually pretty cool, because it shows the power of member-missionary work. My dad actually grew up Christian. His family was Protestant. My mom grew up Buddhist. But my mom growing up went to a Catholic school, and she wanted to become a Catholic. Her mom was really against it. She gave my mom one condition: she had to marry a Christian boy, or she could not convert. If my mom had a list for marriage, that was her one thing.
When my mom met my dad, he was investigating a lot of churches, including the Catholic church. My mom thought that was great. She could marry him and convert! Then one day, my dad was at work and he saw a coworker (who was a member) reading a Teachings of The Prophets book. My dad was kind of curious and asked what she was reading. She said “This book is from my Church—would you like to know more?” And my dad began to meet with the missionaries. Every time he came back from meeting with the missionaries my mom would ask him questions. It got to the point where she had so many questions that my dad couldn’t answer. So that is when she came to the lesson with my dad. And she stayed faithful ever since.

That’s amazing! So, where did the idea for a podcast come from?

When I was teaching at the Missionary Training Center (MTC), we were having a work meeting. One of the trainers asked us what we could do to push missionary work forward now that we were back from our missions. I was thinking about it and I was like you know what? A podcast would actually be really helpful! My parents are converts, and even though they have been in the Church for almost thirty years, I feel like their conversion to the gospel isn’t all the way there because I think there are cultural things that are preventing them from embracing the gospel wholeheartedly whether or not they know it. On my mission, I saw that a lot of cultural barriers came up that would lead to them not being able to endure to the end. 

What do you hope to accomplish with this podcast?

Another catalyst that made me want to reach out and figure out how to get this thing started is that I had a friend reach out to me. She is from China. She asked if we could talk about something spiritual. She had been a convert of about 7 or 8 years by now. We talked and she brought up examples of people who had been so strong and then left the Church, and about converts she knew that weren’t strong in the Church anymore. She was hesitant to reach out to them about spiritual things because she didn’t know if they were strong in the Church anymore. That got me thinking: if that is such a big, not-problem, but enduring to the end is such a big topic, it’s what we really are about right? At the end of the day, it is to get people to exaltation, to the Celestial kingdom, and if she feels hesitant or she feels like she can’t reach out to people around her, that’s kind of sad. So I think at least for the converts that I have met, for that friend that I know, I hope that this can be a tool that they can use to look at successful converts, or people who were not born in the Church and had to adopt this whole new culture and how they successfully did it. I think those real world examples would be invaluable.

Why did you specifically choose a podcast as your platform?

I think that it’s the easiest medium to reach the audience I want to reach. I want it to reach people who may find reading hard. Or people who, maybe if one day China opens up it can strengthen the converts there. I want it to not have any barriers. 

That’s a great goal. Do you have any last thoughts you’d like to share?

I have one scripture that I love. It’s 2 Nephi 5:27, “And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.” I think that is the gist of the gospel. At the end of the day, it is to have true joy. 

Incline Thine Ear to Wisdom

One of my favorite scriptures is in Proverbs 2:2. “…incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding.” In this day and age the Lord has provided miraculous tools for connection. The power of podcasting is immeasurable, because it is the power of voice. It can educate. It can uplift. It can inspire. Podcasting allows us to sit down and spark the needed conversations about topics that are crucial to this day and age. Hopefully someday it can bless those who need it in China. For now we can listen and learn. Maybe you could even start your own podcast! What we call all do is use this power for good, by speaking, and by listening to those who finally have voices to raise.

Sources
  1. https://www.podcastinsights.com/podcast-statistics/#:~:text=Also%2C%20a%20common%20question%20is,and%20it’s%20currently%20over%202%2C000%2C000.
  2. https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/
  3. https://money.cnn.com/2012/10/04/technology/facebook-billion-users/index.html
  4. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/podcasts/
  5. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16322845  or https://www.royal.uk/

Tyler Nelson is an English Major at Utah Valley University, and will graduate with his Bachelor’s degree in English, Creative Writing this fall. He is the author of five published short stories, including Letters From Bahati which can be found through Owl Canyon Press. He is also the host of Mission Report, a podcast all about interviewing returned missionaries and letting them share their experiences and advice for future missionaries. Tyler and his wife currently live up on a hill in Provo, UT.

7 Ways To Help Readers Discover Your Books

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By Karlene Browning

When you publish your first book, you aren’t just putting a story out there. You are launching a brand and an identity that will travel with you over the course of your writing career. If you do it right, it will help lead readers to you in a natural and organic fashion. If you do it wrong, it will confuse readers and they will get lost on their way to finding you.

While each of these tips has its own set of pros and cons, whys and wherefores, rules, and reasons to break the rules, this tip list will help your readers find YOU when they’re looking for a good book to read.

1. Pick your name

As your brand, your name needs to be unique enough to differentiate you from other authors with similar names. Do a Google search. If you happen to share a name with another author or a famous person, consider adding an initial, using a middle name, or using a less common pen name.

When a reader finds an author they like, they will Google the name on the cover of the book. You want them to find you online wherever you are. Whether you’re Jane Doe, Jane S. Doe, or Jane Smith Doe, that is your brand and you need to use it on every book cover and on all your online author accounts.

2. Claim your name

Before your name is set in stone, make sure you can get it as a .com, a Google ID and gmail address, and on the social media platforms you prefer. You want identifiable and consistent name branding across as many platforms as possible.

Here again, Google is your friend. If the .com is taken, adjust your name until you find a variation that you’re comfortable with, then grab the URL and social media account names as fast as you can. Even if you aren’t quite ready to publish, get them NOW!

3. Avoid too many pen names

There are several valid and legitimate reasons for having multiple pen names. Just know that for each name, you start all over from scratch to build a brand and platform. You’ll need a website, social media accounts, and emails for each one. Is it worth it?

In most cases, differentiating genres is not a good reason to create a new pen name. Readers usually find you through the genre they like best. If they like you, they will give your other genres a try. A good website will let them know what to expect in each genre.

The only time it truly serves you to use a second (or third) name is if one area of writing would offend established readers or damage your reputation. For example, if you write both Middle Grade and soft porn, use a pen name. Or if you write academic papers on quantum physics and Regency Romance, use a pen name or your academic peers will snicker behind your back.

4. Get a website

You need an online presence with a permanent URL and an easily searchable website or blog. (Facebook and Twitter are add-ons, not adequate author sites.) Unless you know you are only going to write one book, your URL should be your name (see tips 1 & 2), not your book title. Not only will a website help people find you, but it gives them something to link to when they want to share your books with their friends.

While you can start with a free site, I recommend a hosted domain as soon as possible. Free sites can change policies or close down at any time. At the very least, point that URL from tip #2 to your free blog, and use that URL on business cards and book bios.

5. Post your books on your site

You would think this is one of those “duh” statements, but you would be surprised at how many author sites and blogs I go to that have absolutely no mention of their books. At all.

Somewhere on your site, you need a tab or button that says BOOKS. A simple list of each book and/or series in suggested reading order is the minimum. Ideally, each book would have its own page with a large cover image, title, release date, publisher, ISBN #, genre category, description, and links to where the books can be purchased. Keep this information current!

6. You need an About Page

Readers want to know who you are, not just what you write. A good website always has an About page with a photo, a short professional bio that bloggers and news media can use, and perhaps a longer bio just for fun. It also needs to include links to all of your active social media sites and a way to contact you.

Your photo should be a nice image that will clearly identify you everywhere. Use this same image on your Amazon, GoodReads, Facebook, Twitter, and all profiles where you are acting as your author identity. Even if you’re camera shy, you can come up with something.

This isn’t to say you can’t change it up sometimes or use more casual photos on social media. The goal is to have your readers recognize you, no matter where they find you.

7. Email

You MUST have a way for people to contact you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to reach an author for an interview, presentation, or tell them they’ve won an award, only to discover there is no way to contact them.

As to the email address itself, no self-respecting author would use missfancypants@whatever.com. If at all possible, it should be your name as it appears on your books, JaneDoe@whatever.com.

These seven simple tips will make it easier for readers, new and old, to find your newest releases.

Karlene Browning is a publisher, editor, typesetter, and book designer at www.Inksplasher.com

How To Build A Book Launch Team

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By Bradley Salmond

Before your book is published, one of the best ways to generate sales is to build a book launch team. This is a group of people who commit to you to read your book and promote your book by:

  1. Posting a review of your book.
  2. Potentially sending out a social media post to promote your book.
  3. Calling book stores to request that they carry your book.

Amazon will promote your book by moving it under the “books you also might like” section the more reviews you have. Reviews also boost book sales. If you can get over 20 reviews in the first week, it will create serious momentum for your book rankings. It is great social proof that you have written a good book and people are taking interest in it.

How to Build the Team

Build your team by making a list of 20-30 people that you can contact directly. These can be business contacts, online relationships, or subscribers to your email list. Keep in mind that not everyone on your team will follow through. This is why you have to communicate clearly to the book launch team what actions you want them to take, when, and how.

From the beginning, your expectations should be clear.

What to Expect of Your Team

Here are some things you could ask them:  

  1. Read your book before the date of your book launch.
  2. Give feedback if they find errors.
  3. Write an honest review of your book and post it to Amazon during the launch week, preferably within the first 72 hours of launch.
  4. Share their review of your book on their social platforms. This could also include in tweets, Facebook posts, or Goodreads reviews, or they could post the cover to Pinterest and Instagram.
  5. Share promotional ideas within the launch group. A private Facebook group would work well for this. Members can easily post ideas and swap strategies for promoting the book.

It is important that you reach out to each one of them personally. Resist the temptation to send out huge group emails to them. Their commitment to you and your book will be stronger if your interactions are done on a one-to-one communication level. It will be a lot of work, but it is 100% worth it.

A pile of books with a bright red "sale" sign on top. One of the tactics of a book launch includes putting the book on sale for $.99.
Incentives for Your Book Launch Team

To incentivize your launch team to act, you can offer them a free PDF of your book before anyone else sees it.  You might also consider some of the following ideas.

  1. Provide a free hardcopy of the book delivered right to their door.
  2. Host a webinar or a Facebook Live Q&A session: this allows you to get close and personal with your team by hosting a live webinar where you talk about the book, get into behind-the-scenes strategies of the launch, and share inside tactics that nobody else can get.
  3. Exclusive access to a private Facebook group. Here you can post videos, share posts, and converse with your team in real-time as they get excited about the launch.
  4. Send them training videos based on the content of your book.
  5. Provide an advance copy of a workbook that you will be offering to subscribers.
  6. Provide early access to course material that won’t be available until the book is launched.

You want to provide them with as much value as possible in return for their help in making your book launch a success.

Launching the Book

In the first week of your launch, offer your e-book for ninety-nine cents in the first week to give your launch team a chance to buy the book at a discounted price. If they buy your book and then leave a review, Amazon will consider the review “verified.” The review will also be stronger in Amazon’s eyes if they scroll through the first 50% of the pages after they buy the book.

A launch team can be crucial to the success of your book. If you have already published a book, it’s not too late. You can re-launch your book and give it a fresh start. Build your launch team and make your book a success.

————————–

Bradley “BJ” Salmond is a native of Utah. BJ, and his wife, Stacey, have six children and live in American Fork. He authored the book Grudges and Grace from the Trial and Triumph series. He enjoys family history research, old-fashioned music, and chess. BJ also loves Church history and American history. He received his MBA from the University of Phoenix, a BA from Southern Utah University, and two Associate of Applied Science degrees from the Community College of the Air Force.

How to Start a Blog

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By Oakli Van Meter

Knowing how to start a blog is one of the hardest things, at least for me. My junior year at BYU, one of my professors said that we all should start a blog. She said it would be a great portfolio tool later on. I went home that day and started a blog. I wrote on and off for a while, then life happened. At the end of my senior year, I revived the blog for a class assignment. It felt great to have a required weekly post. Then once again, life got in the way and Wise Ole Oak is sitting quietly in the corner waiting for me to get back to it.

Why, you ask, does anyone care about my sad excuse for a blog? Why does it matter? Because I’m a classic case of “what not to do.” That being said, I feel prepared to share my advice on how to start a blog—advice sown from the fields of my failure.

First, choose a hosting platform.

Do you research, but don’t overstress it. There are plenty of free platforms that are virtually the same. Choose one that’s easy to use. My personal favorite is WordPress, but there are plenty of other good options that you can learn about here or here. Keep your site simple but professional. You don’t want text boxes of filler text from the template still lurking, but you don’t have to fill everything up with stuff.

Second, decide what your blog is going to be about.

You want to focus on what would benefit your potential clients. Editors could focus on writing or self-editing thoughts. Social media gurus could post about how to use social media. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you’re passionate about. Something you can write about pretty much every week. 

A woman planning a blog post.
Third—and this is crucial—make a plan.

When to post, how often to post. (Hint: Monday mornings are a great internet traffic time.) Without a plan, you’re going to struggle to keep up. Trust me, I know. Create a spreadsheet with dates and topics. Set reminders. If you can, write several blog posts over the course of a few days. Then you don’t stress-write two hours before you want to get it posted. 

Speaking of posting, make sure you’re sharing your blog posts to your social media channels. (And if you don’t have any of those, create some!) If you have an email newsletter, include the link there. Anywhere that your desired audience could see it, post it.

Finally, write. And enjoy it.

Blogging shouldn’t be stressful. It should be an additional, fun way to engage with your audience or clients. If it’s becoming stressful, step away for a bit. The inspiration often comes away from the keyboard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oakli Van Meter is a wife, mother, and a freelance editor, writer, and blogger.

A Quick Primer on Starting Your Own Home-Based Business

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By Amy Collett

Entrepreneurship is a lofty goal, but one many aspiring business owners can easily reach by starting small with the home-based business. By getting your venture established in this manner, you can maximize flexibility and minimize overhead. But how do you get started? Is it really possible to market yourself and make money? Answers are found below.

In the Beginning

One of your first steps before applying for your business license or putting up a website is to determine what you want to do and what type of business structure you’ll have. Most home-based businesses are run as sole proprietorships. However, if you need to protect your personal assets, you may want to establish yourself as an LLC.

Next, take a look at your funds. When you do not want to dip into your savings, you have plenty of options from the Small Business Administration Bridge Loan program to raising funds via friends and family. Financing your business venture can give you working capital to buy inventory or equipment. Further, by not dipping into your personal nest egg, you won’t be quite as stressed out about money, and you’ll have cash in hand to reach your professional goals. There are non-governmental funding sources available as well, and Zen Business notes that many larger companies have even taken it upon themselves to provide grants for SMBs.

Getting Started

Now that you are ready to go and have the funding to do so, you may want to look into hiring a helping hand as you establish yourself as a leader in your industry. The type of assistance you need will depend on what you do. If you are a book writer, for example, you’ll want to find an experienced editor, and the Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association notes that you can start by looking for recommendations from other writers.

You might also need help with administrative, technical, or other tasks outside of the scope of your expertise. In this case, hiring a freelancer may be a smart choice. First, an independent contractor will cost you less overall, even if you have to pay slightly higher hourly rates. But more importantly, you will have access to a global platform of people with the types of experience you need. There are downsides, however, and it makes sense to review the pros and cons of hiring freelance help before you recruit.

Customers Are Key

One of the most intimidating aspects of running your own business is putting yourself out there and finding customers. It requires a high level of confidence, and you have to be ready for rejection. Start by developing a plan, which might include scouting for potential clients on social media or sponsoring local events to draw attention to your business. Make sure to price your products or services competitively, taking into account everything from your local economy to the value that you bring. You do not necessarily have to be the least expensive option but the one that provides the very best for the money.

Once you begin bringing in customers, remember the importance of customer service. No matter what you do, there will always be competition, and if they are perceived as more customer-centric, you can bet that is where consumers will go. Focus on quality, and remember that getting things right the first time is the best way to make a good impression. This, in turn, will convince your customers to tell their friends and family about you, which equates to more revenue.

The above tips can help you get started. Ultimately, however, the success or demise of your business is something only you can determine. It might be a daunting endeavor, but entrepreneurship is one that comes with many benefits—ones that you have to experience for yourself to appreciate.

7 Steps for Hiring a Good Editor

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By Victoria Passey

  1. Understand the different types of editing.

There are several types of editing: content/developmental editing, substantive/deep-line editing, copyediting, and proofreading, as well as edits for style guides and fact-checking. Together, they create a funnel of sorts, progressively narrowing down to your finished, publication-ready manuscript.

Since there are many different terms for the different phases of editing, we’ll simplify them into four major categories so you can determine the type of editor you need for each phase of your project. 

  • Content editing takes a big-picture look at your manuscript. This stage reviews your manuscript’s major strengths and weaknesses regarding plot issues, organization, pacing, structure, etc.
  • Substantive or deep-line editing looks at your writing. The primary goal at this stage is to address the artistry, clarity, word economy, voice, and emotional impact of each sentence and paragraph (which can include any last little issues with the developmental points above, like pacing, dialogue, and rhetoric).
  • Copyediting is that final, fresh set of eyes where the editor catches any last issues that might trip up readers. This stage includes all the fine details, from clarity, to grammar and mechanics, to consistency issues and typos. Generally, it’s also concerned with style-guide issues, like bringing things in line with The Chicago Manual of Style.
  • Proofreading is a second quality control round and, depending on whether you are traditionally or self-publishing, will happen before or after a book is in the galley stage—when the interior layout is completed and it looks like a “real” book. You may also want a separate or related galley proofread, which addresses the aesthetics and consistency of your book’s typography.
  • Understand your budget and goals.

Your budget, goals, and publishing path will drive what kinds of editing will serve you best and how many rounds of editing your manuscript will go through. Sending your manuscript through each of the phases is the ideal for traditional-pub quality, but if you can’t afford it, at a minimum, you’ll want a developmental edit, followed by a solid copyedit. An experienced developmental editor can discuss the industry, market, and which editing phases would make sense for your genre and individual work. 

  • Search within your community.

Though it may be tempting to rely on online searches to find an editor, word of mouth is your best bet. Ask your writer friends (writing groups or other communities you’re a part of) for recommendations for editors.

Your editor should be vetted by the writing community. Look for strong reviews and community recognition or involvement.

  • Know the qualities of a good editor and of good feedback.

Your developmental editor should have a solid understanding of writing craft, particularly story structure, pacing, and character arcs. 

Your line or copyeditor should be very familiar with The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary because these are the standard guides for style and usage within the publishing industry. It’s also important that your copyeditor respects your authorial voice and has an impeccable understanding of modern grammar and usage.

The ideal editor will provide firm, honest, kindly phrased feedback—not just empty praise.

As an author, you want feedback that helps you improve your manuscript by giving you a candid look at its strengths and weaknesses. Empty praise may inflate your ego, but it won’t help you grow and improve as a writer.

  • Understand a developmental editor’s genre specialty.

It’s important that your developmental editor understand your chosen genre, especially as you progress in your writing career.

Any good content editor can edit and give feedback on general story structure and craft, which can be beneficial for writers who are just starting out, but as you progress in your writing career, an editor who understands your genre is increasingly important.

An editor who understands your genre also understands the tropes, audience expectations, and what’s already been done (what you’ll look cliché for doing) within that genre.

For example, if you want to become a well-known romance author, an editor who isn’t an expert in romance plot structure and doesn’t know the difference between romance subgenres isn’t the right fit for you.

  • Get a sample edit before moving forward.

Before you decide on an editor, ask for a sample edit of a short selection from your manuscript. A sample edit will help you understand the editor’s skill level, as well as how they’ll approach your work and your feelings as an author. Make sure to compare the different sample edits you get from all the editors you are considering. Price is not a good comparison point—if you don’t get a quality edit, you’ve wasted your money, regardless. 

By the way, most editors use Track Changes in Word to record their line edits and comments. Understanding this feature will ensure that you can view your editor’s notes and accept or reject their changes.

  • Discuss details.

Once you’ve decided on an editor, be sure to discuss the details of your project. Laying out the details (in a written contract) early on will save both of you many headaches later.

Some of the details you’ll want to discuss are deadlines, costs, payment arrangements, and a work-for-hire contract where your work is protected and the editor is under an NDA (nondisclosure agreement).

You should be able to discuss these details over the phone—either with someone in the company you’ve hired, or the editor themselves if they are an individual freelancer. And make sure you get it in writing!

Getting a manuscript ready for publication is a collaborative effort based on a mutual love of books, respect, and creative effort. If you and your editor respect each other’s time, effort, expertise, and vision, the resulting product—and partnership—will amaze you!

A few editorial recommendations to get you started:

  • Eschler Editing: This award-winning, experienced team of editing and publishing/promotion professionals has editors for most every genre and every type of editing—specializing in fiction and nonfiction (plus poetry, dissertations, essays, web content, etc.) Find them at EschlerEditing.com.
  • Joshua Essoe: Joshua is a skilled content editor who does sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, YA and adult, and their subgenres (but no lit fic, romance, or children’s/MG). Find him at JoshuaEssoe.com.
  • Josh Vogt: Josh is a highly experienced editor who can work with most fiction genres (though maybe not super-literary fiction, as he prefers plot-driven works); he also does gaming lit and loves speculative fiction. Find him at write-strong.com or joshrvogt@gmail.com.
  • Precision Editing Group: This experienced team of editors and best-selling authors tackles many genres. (They just don’t do poetry or dissertations.) Find them at PrecisionEditingGroup.com or editor@precisioneditinggroup.com.
  • The Manuscript Dr.: A team of story-savvy fiction editors. Find them at  TheManuscriptDr.com.

Advice from the Experts: Steve Piersanti (Former Publishing CEO, Founder of LDSPMA, Acquisitions Editor)

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By Lessa Harding

In high school I had a homeroom-type class that contained a mix of students from every grade. There were a number of classic high school characters, as well as some who broke all the molds. There was the kind, handsome senior who’d fit in any Hallmark movie. There was the beauty queen who thought she was better than everyone else. There was the Christian girl who stood up to every attack on her beliefs. There was a soccer star, a basketball champion, a physics wiz, and a math nerd (that last one helped me solve homework problems using dry erase markers on the window). And there was the guy everyone wanted to be. He had a successful business, good grades, and a confidence that somehow removed him from the social hierarchy that is high school. We all knew he’d succeed at whatever he did, and we all looked up to him for it. Recently, my thoughts turned back to him. The reason? I was interviewing Steve Piersanti.

I know nothing about Steve’s high school experience, but I have to admit I felt like I was a freshman again looking up to that most-likely-to-succeed senior in my advisory class. Steve is the kind of guy who gets back up every time he gets knocked down, who accomplishes everything he puts his mind to, and who then helps others do the same. I was amazed to learn that he not only founded LDSPMA but also founded and edited a student scholarly journal while attending BYU, graduated with highest honors, began his career as an advertising copywriter at Jossey-Bass Publishers, and worked his way up to the position of president at the same company. Later, he founded Berrett-Koehler Publishers and served as CEO while also working as an acquisitions editor. He somehow also found time to play basketball, lead an annual gardening workshop, prioritize family functions, and go backpacking. The best thing about him, though, is that unlike the senior in my advisory class, Steve is approachable, is kind, gives encouragement, offers praise when it’s due, and is willing to help others who want to follow in his footsteps. Let me share some of his advice for traveling along the path to success:

  • “Most authors are primarily focused on how their books are written. That is important, but what is equally important is the marketing of your book.”
  • “The number of books being published annually in the US has tripled in 12 years, while total book sales have not grown.[1] . . . The only way publishers have kept afloat is by shifting more and more of the marketing to the authors. An author today must come to their publisher with a marketing plan…. What publishers look for now is the author’s so called platform. When you submit a proposal to the publisher, you need to include a strong section about what you are willing to do to help market your book.”
  • “If you want to get up to speed on how to get your book published, here is how you get started:
    • Go to the annual LDSPMA conference, and learn about how to market books.
    • Learn what successful authors do, and do it yourself.
    • Figure out what your potential assets are (e.g., blogging, social media, connecting with audiences, and speaking).
    • Get involved with groups and associations in your genre.
    • Then think about publishing your book.
  • “You have to pick the right publisher to pitch your book to. Most have a particular area they are interested in. You need to do upfront research about the publishers you would like to pitch to.”
  • “When a publisher asks, ‘What are the competing works,’ don’t say, ‘It has no competition’ or ‘My book is unlike any other.’ Those kinds of statements work against you.”
  • “Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up. Figure out what you want to do, and actually start going after it instead of going on your current inertia.”
  • “Everyone has many setbacks. I suppose [the best response] is going back and revisiting what you are really trying to accomplish. What really matters and what doesn’t matter? . . . [After a failure] you have to come up with a new game plan and come at it with a new perspective.”
  • “Some things are going to take decades. You just have to accept that. You can keep going!”
  • On how to balance family and work: “Family commitments that I make, I always came through on them. If I said I was going to be somewhere, I did it. Don’t let something ‘come up.’”
  • “Don’t work on Sunday. That is a day for family and church. Same thing with Family Home Evening. . . . Build [your schedule] around [those important family obligations].”

[1] See the article titled “The 10 Awful Truths about Publishing,” https://www.bkconnection.com/the-10-awful-truths-about-book-publishing.

So You’ve Written a Book. What Now?: 3 Steps from Lisa Mangum

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By Lisa Mangum, Managing Editor at Shadow Mountain

So you’ve written a book. Now what? Well, after revising it and polishing it and reading it through one more time, you’re probably ready to send your book to a publisher. Here are three things to get you started on that journey.

1. Do your research. Not every publisher publishes everything, so make sure the publishing house you’re submitting to is actually looking for the type of thing that you write. A house that doesn’t publish children’s picture books will not publish your children’s picture book, no matter how well written it is. You’ll need to research publishers online, look at their backlist titles, and perhaps even follow them or their editors on social media.

Another way to narrow down your list of publishers is to look at other books in your genre. In addition to looking at who the publishers are, check the acknowledgments page, since authors often thank their agents and editors by name.

2. Follow the guidelines. In your research, you’ll likely have found submission guidelines posted somewhere on each publisher’s site. The best thing to do once you’ve read through the guidelines is to follow them exactly. If the guidelines specify to submit 10 pages, do that. If they say to send the pages in the body of an email (as opposed to an attachment), do that. If they say you must have an agent in order to submit, get an agent.

As a general rule, agents, editors, and publishers like to see manuscripts formatted with the following specs: double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins.

3. Write a query letter. Writing a query letter is one of the hardest steps in the process, but the document is required by agents and editors alike. There are a lot of resources online that can help you learn how to write a query letter (a great place to start is AgentQuery.com), but here’s a simple overview of how to structure your first draft:

A basic query letter has three paragraphs. The first is the “hook”—the premise of your story summarized in just one or two sentences. The second paragraph is where you can elaborate on the storyline, introducing secondary characters, plot points, and themes. The final paragraph is a short bio of who you are and why you wrote the book you’re pitching. Somewhere in the letter, you also need to mention the book’s title, genre, and approximate word count.

It can be hard to distill the entire plot of your book in one paragraph, so I recommend focusing on the four Cs: character, conflict, choice, and consequence. Introduce me to your main character. Explain the conflict he or she is facing—the goal that needs to be accomplished and some of the obstacles that are standing in the way. Focus on the choice your main character has to make at the end of the story. Make it clear what is at stake for the main character by presenting the consequences of that choice.

Finding a publisher for your book can feel like a marathon at times, so don’t panic if the path feels long and a bit unpredictable. Just keep moving forward and working on your craft, and you’ll find the path that is right for you.