The World of Writing: According to Authors Dave and Lillian
Brummet
Question:
What was it like as new authors in the publishing world?
Answer:
As free-lance writers of informative articles, we had no prior
experience with book publishers. We did a lot of research and
were aware of some basic contract and publishing procedures, yet
there were many things we were not prepared for. For instance,
there was the book cover design to conceive of - which our good
friend Brian McAndrew created. The back cover text had to be
developed, an author's bio written, photos to have taken and
lists of nearly 2 hundred contacts to sort out. The marketing
research took weeks to do, but it resulted in a 12-page plan to
ease our way. Then there were formal things like dealing with
the Library of Congress and Copyrighting. For instance, copies
of the book had to be sent to the Library of Congress at our
expense. There are rules to be aware of as well. The rights for
free use (using quotes from other people) is so gray that we
opted out of including this kind of text. Unfortunately, that
meant more editing. We were disappointed because there were some
very good quotes that would have added a great deal to the book.
Question:
What were some publishing experiences or unexpected turn of
events?
Answer:
While Lillian was browsing the Internet looking up information
on other publishers, she came upon Publish America's website. It
inspired her to send a query in on the spot. Within 3-days we
received a request for a sample manuscript. Now, these
publishers only accept 20% of the thousands of queries that
cross their desks, so we were excited to have such a good
response in a very short time. Unfortunately, we were also
relocating our home from one part of town to another, finishing
a garden year and working as well. Time was short and stress was
high. We got that sample manuscript off in a timely fashion,
however, and we received an acceptance within a few days. The
heady sensation of signing the 7-year contract flew by us in a
blur.
Question:
What time and resources do we put in for promoting the book?
Answer:
Every day we put in 2-6 hours into some aspect of the book. The
Internet has proven to be a powerful tool where an immense
amount of information can be found from newsletters, publishers,
forums and authors. Every on-line communication we have is an
opportunity to plug our book by simply attaching an auto
signature. We developed promotional materials (flyers,
mini-posters, large posters, bookmarks, labels) and, of course,
galleys and sample packages for editors and booksellers. Most
importantly, we had a great website built for us by Brian
McAndrew of Beyond Graphix.
Question:
What did you learn in researching the book?
Answer:
We thought we were committed to the concept of the book in our
lives, but when researching and writing this book we found we
became much more motivated, more committed and more informed
about waste reduction.
Question:
As a writer, what have you learned about staying organized or
motivated?
Answer:
Having a plan of action for every project is vital. Every
project should have an outline starting from the title through
to the end. There should also be a market plan laid out. Who are
you marketing to? How you are going about it? What will you do
first? These are the most important tools of a writer. Most
people think of a writing career being one where you have lots
of leisure time and creating with words. On the contrary, most
of the time is spent marketing and organizing projects. For
instance, we might write an article and query it to a market.
That market may take a few days to get back to us, but it may
also be as long as a year before we hear from them. That article
is idle and we do not get paid until after it is published. A
writer may have hundreds of pieces of their work at various
stages of writing and marketing at one time. They need to know
where it is and its status, at a glance. We use the Excel
program to take care of this. For the book, plans were
indispensable. The market plan alone is a book in itself and
will take us years to complete. That is normal, actually. A
writer must spend much of their time promoting the book for
years after publication in order to keep sales happening.
Unfortunately, promotion and writing time are unpaid hours in
the meantime.
Question:
When do you write?
Answer:
We have to do a bit of juggling to manage our business, day job
and writing career with some kind of balance. Usually, We work
as a team, though we write separately and then conglomerate and
edit the work together. Because we share one computer, this can
be a bit of a juggle. Dave works shift work so when he is at
work or sleeping Lillian will use the computer to research and
promote.
Question:
What is your professional background?
Answer:
Dave and Lillian began their (paid) writing career working as
staff writers at Openminder Newsletter where they experienced
the harried pace of getting several articles and even feature or
interview articles ready for a by-weekly deadline. It was our
start in the writing world and plunged us head-first into the
community, interviewing unique and enterprising people. The
concept of Trash Talk was already developed and this market
snatched up the column immediately. When Openminder closed shop,
we started a free-lance career. Our articles have since appeared
in a variety of magazines including Seeds of Diversity, Country
Connection and ISKRA.
Question:
Have you won any awards or contests?
Answer:
Yes, Dave has recently won first prize in the Nature category of
BC Cottage Magazine's 2004 Photo contest. Lillian has won
several editorial awards for her poetry and has had her work
published in 5 hardcover anthology books of poetry through
contests.
Question:
What is the most important lesson in your writing career?
Answer:
Research. If you know something is coming up, research it and
make a plan of action well ahead of time. If we did not start
the market plan and develop a plan of action and estimated
schedule soon after finding out the manuscript was accepted, we
would have never been ready for the myriad of work ahead of us,
much of which is time-sensitive. Doing it right is essential -
there is but little chance to make an impression with a
reviewer, reader or publication. Even with the best of
preparation you will be caught off guard or unprepared. Don't
sweat it too much if you make a mistake. Think of it as a lesson.
Question:
Have you any advice for new writers?
Answer:
We hate to sound redundant, but again, do your research. Join
forums and research the previous messages for several months
ago. You will find many novice questions are thoroughly answered
with many different people contributing ideas and opinions.
Always research your market and query them in a professional
manner before sending a finished product.