Publishing Today: Promoting Your Work and Branding Yourself as a Writer

Conversations from the Archive
August 2013
UCLA Writers Faire
Los Angeles, California

Michelle Meyering
Maxine Lapiduss
Colette Sartor
Norman Kolpas
Tom Fields-Meyer

Excerpts:

Norman Kolpas: Part of branding is professionalism and producing writing that is engaging and clear.

Michelle Meyering: Read submission guidelines and follow them completely.

Maxine Lapiduss: Find your persona. How are you going to get your book out into the world? Publicity, branding, social media. You’re on your own. Start thinking about this in the beginning, not the end.

Colette Sartor: What are your themes? What is your niche? What is your collection? [Writer Unboxed:] “Don’t go viral. Go human.”

Tom Fields-Meyer: Have a story that fuels you that you have to put out into the world. Be passionate about it.

Kolpas: Do you need an agent?

Fields-Meyer: Yes and no. It is easier to get published than ever before, but to find an audience, you need an agent. An agent is an intermediary that develops relationships with New York publishing houses. An agent is an advocate and a cheerleader.

Kolpas: An agent keeps the relationship with the editor pristine. It removes the business from the relationship [the writer has with the editor].

Sartor: Having an agent to do the negotiating is a beautiful thing.

Lapiduss: I couldn’t disagree more. You get a seven-percent royalty if you’re high up on the food chain. Ninety-three percent goes to the publisher. You pay the agent fifteen to twenty percent. I’m not a big believer in agents. [Publishing right now] is blown wide open. Getting seen drives an audience.

Meyering: Learn to represent yourself.

Kolpas: What are the advantages and disadvantages of publishing types today?

Meyering: Literary journals are a good place to start.

Kolpas: The first things you publish become your calling card. Can you deliver the goods?

Sartor: Be professional, even if you get rejected. Editors and agents read other magazines. They will remember you if you’re professional.

Fields-Meyer: Publish pieces of your book in other publications. Websites need things constantly. Even one good article is good for credibility.

Lapiduss: How do you make a statement about what you’re doing? We all have an essence. People judge you when you walk into a room. Find your point of view. What’s unique about you? What’s your storefront. “I’m the guy who writes about this.” Sculpt your message. Find your platform. Where can people find you and see you? A book can be a one-off or the beginning of an arc. More than one book should have a through line. Build an audience.

Meyering: Submit to literary journals. Choose editors who will respect you well. Research the editors first.

Sartor: Do a lot of research before submitting. They are representing you. Send to people who will get you.

Fields-Meyer: Branding is intimidating, but all of this is part of telling a story. It’s not separate from writing a book.

Kolpas: Who are you telling your story to? Pitch in the voice of the magazine.