Essay Online

You want to get your e-mail newsletter started, but you don’t want to be burdened with writing articles every time you turn around. Fact is, writing how-to articles isn’t that much of a hassle once you have a system for it.

Creating short, how-to articles allows you to:

- connect with your audience

- position yourself as an expert, and

- increase sales

Bottom line: Give clients information they need and you’ll be the first person they’ll think of when they run into challenges.

Consider creating a template for your e-mail newsletter articles that will fit the needs of your audience. Ask yourself if they want detailed information, or if they’re happy receiving broad ideas that will allow them to tailor the information to meet their specific needs.

If they want specific info, you could always include a teaser paragraph in your newsletter and then provide a link at the bottom of that paragraph. The link can lead to more detailed information about the subject your that audience is interested in.

Once you understand the needs of your audience, place your information in article format. Here’s a system I’ve often used to produce quick, informative articles.

1. Begin with an identifier paragraph.

This is an introduction to the subject. Just let people know exactly what you’re getting at.

2. Tell them why they should be interested.

This is where you just get into the reader’s world. You will what you’re talking about help them do their jobs better? In essence, that’s all people really want to know.

3. Give short, realistic pieces of advice.

You have so much to say it’s hard to fit it into short bits of info, but do it you must. Otherwise you’ll lose your audience’s attention. Try to stick to the points that have the most impact or the ones that are completely opposite to what people in your industry are currently doing.

4. Wrap it up.

One of my mentors used to always say to me, “Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em. Then tell ‘em. Then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” No, he wasn’t senile. His advice actually worked. At the end of every article I just wrap up what I’ve said by reviewing the key points of the article. It’s called a “takeaway.” What’s the one thing you want the audience to take away from your article and implement in their daily work lives? Once you’ve answered that question, you have your final paragraph.

Whatever you do, keep it short and simple. Sure we may want to use sophisticated language if your audience craves that, but you’d be surprised. When reading e-mail especially, readers won’t mind short, concise words and phrases. And that’s especially true if those words and phrases add more to the bottom line and/or help them become more efficient.

Writing a book is a huge endeavor. It means someone has decided to dedicate a certain amount of time to putting words on paper. But so many people don’t finish what they start. Maybe they’ve run out of ideas. Maybe they lost interest. Maybe they got hopelessly stuck. However I believe the core of all these issues lies in one thing: the writer doesn’t know why he or she is writing in the first place.

All you have to do before you venture into the ever-tangled writing forest is leave a few breadcrumbs behind so you’ll know how you got there and you’ll know the way out! Lay them out by asking yourself the following questions about your work. Use them to challenge yourself, to get inspired, to put your writing front and center in your life. It’s hard to get lost when you know exactly where you are.

What Do You Have to Say?

Here’s another way to put it: what story are you telling? What is your point in writing this story or work of non-fiction? If you can’t answer in a concise way, take some time to think about your message. It can be a huge one, such as a belief about how we all should live. It can be simple such as, “family is important”. The big message in my novel was about the power of love in a family. I think I will always write about families because I believe the story of our families is the story of who we are in our hearts. I find the subject touching, challenging, inspiring.

As you think about your message, realize that ideally you shouldn’t have to write it down. It should come from the core of your being and you understand it because it is a part of your natural thought process: it is who you are. Take another look at what you have written in the past because your message may be showing up already in your work and you haven’t noticed it yet. This is the way August Wilson described the story that was at the core of his whole body of work: “I once wrote a short story called ‘The Best Blues Singer in the World’ and it went like this: ‘The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean, and Balboa was drowning.’ End of story. That says it all. Nothing else to say. I’ve been rewriting that same story over and over again. All my plays are rewriting that same story. I’m not sure what it means, other than life is hard.”

Who Will Benefit from Your Words?

You will find the motivation to return to your desk each day when you think about what may happen when someone reads your work. Will there be women who can be healthier mothers because you are writing about battling post-partum depression? Will there be men who might feel closer to their fathers because you’re writing the next Field of Dreams? When you think of your reader, it takes some of the pressure off of you because you realize the importance of getting the message to him or her. You think less of how you’re coming across.

Are You Writing in a Medium That Best Suits Your Message?

I used to write poetry. I loved it too, but somewhere along the line I felt the things I had to say became harder and harder to fit into the confines of verse. I moved over to prose and never went back. I wrote for magazines and experimented with essays before settling into novel writing. August Wilson had written poetry and was working on a novel, but his talents glowed when he wrote for the stage. If you’re having trouble completing a project, consider whether you are writing in a medium that is right for you and your message. Don’t be afraid of experimenting with other forms. You can always go back to what you were doing before if it doesn’t work out.

Step Down from the Soap Box

Writing is already powerful. The fact that people are reading what you write means they are already interested, maybe even absorbed, by what you have to say. You don’t have to get up on a soap box and belabor your points to get them across. A simple story can speak volumes about the big picture if you let it. Mr. Wilson once told The Paris Review, “I think my plays offer (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans. For instance, in ‘Fences’ they see a garbageman, a person they don’t really look at, although they see a garbageman every day. By looking at Troy’s life, white people find out that the content of this black garbageman’s life is affected by the same things - love, honor, beauty, betrayal, duty. Recognizing that these things are as much part of his life as theirs can affect how they think about and deal with black people in their lives.” Get it? Small story, big picture.

One Last Note

I know I’m waving the “big theme” flag here, but what I really want for you is for you to feel the passion of what you’re writing. You may be passionate about a big message or you may be passionate about the simple question of “what happens next?” in your story (and you really want to know the answer!) Just connect with that passion and go with it because to me, this is how books get finished–when someone really cares enough to want to get to the end.

© 2005 Sophfronia Scott

A long time ago, on a desktop far, far away…

Who hasn’t dreamed of not only writing their own book, but seeing it in print on Amazon.com, having a copy for their bookshelf, buying ‘five copies for my mother?’

Well, now you can do it for a $99 fee and some cybernetic elbow grease. This page will show you how I did it, and chances are you can do it too. I’ve been reading for several years about Print On Demand, the nifty new techology where you put in PDF files on one end (One for the cover, one for the insides) and a beautiful, perfect-bound, bookstore-quality book comes out the other. I’ve even seen the technology in action at an document imaging tradeshow (that’s my profession, by the way.)

I’ve known other people who have used Print On Demand (POD) as a way to self-publish, including my own father. My problem with that is I have no room in my garage for books, I don’t want to get involved in the process of selling and shipping books, handling returns, etc.

Suddenly, while Googling something a week ago, I stumbled on some fantastic Goo. Amazon, the online bookstore, has absorbed a POD publisher named BookSurge, making it a separate Amazon division. Now I could take my book project, upload it to Amazon/BookSurge, pay a fee, and VOILA! my book is on Amazon for everyone to buy. It ships within 48 hours, BookSurge pays me a 25% royalty within 60 days, I can even buy five copies for my mother at a discount!

I emailed BookSurge and was assigned an account manager, who I will call Joseph (since his name is Joseph). I inquired about the details of publishing a book. For $599 I could get the hand-holding, send us your manuscript version of the publishing, or if I was brave, courageous, and could format my own PDFs, for $99 I could use the Author’s Express program to upload my book projects.

Since my book creation project was designed to be the forerunner of many more titles, $99 seemed like the way to go.

I ran all over the site, downloading example PDFs, submission guidelines, and anything else I could find. The site recomends using Adobe -something or another- for text formating, and Adobe Acrobat 6 (not 7!) for PDF creation.

I decided from the git-go that Microsoft Word and PDF Factory Pro would have to work for me, since that is what I had on my desktop, and I don’t want to spend weeks learning yet another desktop publishing application, although I am sure it is a good one.

Besides, I was already thinking about writing this page, and I wanted to come up with a process most anyone would be comfortable with.

The only real shortcut I took is that my cover is plain text, with no images on it. I figured my first book is going to sell mostly if not entirely on Amazon, and a pretty cover is not that important there. In any case, I can always go back and upgrade my edition (The additional fee for resubmitting either the interior or the cover is $50, once the book is published.)

Sample files and a complete step by step description of how I formatted and published my three books (so far!) is at .actasif.com/bookproject

From a copywriter’s point of view, it would be great if clients had a crystal ball that they could use to see which copywriter best suits their project. There are different types of writing and first-hand experience proves that only a handful of people really know there’s a difference. To digress for a moment, we’ve even come across clients who think that web designers are supposed to write the copy for their web pages. Most don’t. It makes sense. Web designers design. Web developers develop or write code, html or php, and build the structure of your site. So… that leaves you with your web content. Who writes your copy, and how do you publish web content that is going to attract web traffic and then persuade your web visitors to buy?

It seems so obvious, but the fact of the matter is, it isn’t. A few years ago, I fellow I met said to me, “What does anyone need a copywriter for?” It’s true. Copywriters were invisible, a behind-the-scene professional. Ad agencies used to be one of the only places you could find copywriters working, or at least working steadily. Look at Hollywood. For years and years, writers were not even recognized. Now, writers are not only recognized, but celebs go the extra mile to praise the writer associated with their project. This change in attitude toward screenwriters — along with the Internet — puts the spotlight on the value writers bring to a project.

When it comes to the Internet, I am happy to report that a professional copywriter is in high demand. The Internet is all about copy. Whether for web pages, email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, banner ads or autoresponders, the words you publish make or break the entire investment. Big companies with inhouse marketing departments and agencies know when and why to call on the copy writer. But, here’s the cause that no one talks about driving small business people to the professional writer. Everyone and anyone sees the words on your website. The world knows if the words on your home page are junk! How embarrassing is that.

With all this, there still comes the novice client who doesn’t have a clue what the value of a good writer is. So from a copywriter’s point of view, I have some tips on when and how to hire a copywriter.

A. When to hire a professional copywriter or scriptwriter

1) When you are in business

2) When you can’t write and might be embarrassed publishing poorly composed text

3) When you don’t have anyone working in your company that is a professional writer

4) When you expect a response

5) When you publish text on the Internet

B. How to hire a professional copywriter or scriptwriter

1) The first step is to hire the right writer for the project. If you want a writer to work on a software manual, look for a technical writer. If you want a news release, find a writer who specializes in public relations. If you want to sell, engage the services of an advertising copywriter or a commercial scriptwriter. By the way, the top two writers in business and industry are the direct mail writer and the scriptwriter.

A writer who is a jack-of-all types of writings is a writer who probably isn’t an expert in the type of writing you’re looking for. After all, even the profession of copywriting includes less than capable writers. Rely on that old adage, if you can write anything, you are good at nothing.

Look for a copywriter who concentrates on one objective and because of that, the writing skills are honed to perfection. Sales copywriting does include several formats, such as direct response advertising, direct mail, mail order, web site pages, email marketing, video scriptwriting - all formats intended to sell - and that’s the domain of the sales copywriter — also known as an advertising copywriter or business writer or just writer.

Advertising copywriters generally don’t accept writing assignments for manuals, directories, books, news releases or short stories. Advertising copywriters write to sell!

2) Review writing samples, but keep in mind that copy is sometimes subjective. What’s good for one may not suit another, but the project was still a huge success. Copywriting samples are not the end all for deciding who is a good writer. They serve to prove that the writer is a professional writer with several projects completed. The goal is to check that the writer has actually done work on the type of format you need. For example, a writer with a portfolio full of short stories is probably a good writer, but may not have the mindset or skills to write a direct mail letter.

3) Calling references is probably not going to bear much fruit either. I’ve made a few calls myself and have never heard one bad word. Actually, I can’t think of one writer who would name a reference unless they weren’t absolutely sure the referral would say glowing things about the writer and the work. But you can look over the company name. When a writer has a Fortune 100 company in their referral list, you’ve hit the jackpot unless writing fees are too high. And that brings me to the topic fees.

4) The thing about fees is that with copywriting like any other service, you get what you pay for. Low fees generally mean inexperience. Top writers are in demand and don’t need to work for $15 an hour. If you want quality copy writing, higher fees are the price. But, that said, consider that in the ‘high fee’ category, there is generally a range. Top copywriter fees may vary from $30 - $120 per hour. The quality of writing may be the same, but the difference might be an independent writer with no overhead, as opposed to a writer who works for an ad agency with hefty overhead. Weigh all factors when considering your investment in an advertising copywriter.

5) Finally, learn about the writer. I don’t mean pry into their personal life. Find out who they’ve done work for. Review a client list. Ask about previous employment if the writer is independent. Where did the writer get the experience.

When you find a copywriter that suits your needs, treat your writer like a valued part of your team. I’m adding this because I have experienced a few demanding clients who exceeded good will. Who hasn’t? Your copywriter is a top salesperson, and should be treated with respect. Provide detailed feedback. Promptly. Pay on time. What you get in return is the best outcome possible.

What’s it like to be a writer AND photographer? ReaderViews sat down with author Vicki Landes to talk about her new book, Europe for the Senses.

ReaderViews: Thanks for talking with us today Vicki. We are interested to hear more about you, and your beautiful photography book “Europe for the Senses: A Photographic Journal.” Would your start off by telling us what your book is about, and what you are trying to convey through the photos?

Vicki: “Europe for the Senses &ndash A Photographic Journal” is a travel/photography book meant to do more than just display European destinations. It’s a collection of photography and creative writing meant to transport the reader to each respective destination with stimulating sensory imagery. Experience the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touch that make Europe a remarkable compilation of uniquely beautiful countries. Whether a novice or a seasoned traveler, EFTS hopes to invoke a craving for Europe &ndash not only for the major attractions that attract so many but the small, much overlooked details waiting to be discovered.

RV: Vicki, where were you born, and where are you living now?

Vicki: I was born in St. Charles, Missouri and stayed there until I left for college. My family hardly traveled so I never considered exploring other places. My husband and I had been living in Kansas City, Missouri for a couple years when he received military orders to Stuttgart, Germany. I was livid &ndash I’d just graduated college, we’d just bought a house and I’d just had a baby so I went to Germany literally kicking and screaming. After about six months, though, I really got into seeing new places and we’ve been living in Stuttgart for seven years now! Since my husband is active duty Army, he had to extend a couple of times (tours are normally three years) and he did so only because I loved it here so much.

RV: Since living in Stuttgart, Germany, you have traveled to 45 countries. Would you comment on your obvious love for travel? And, have these destinations been predominately for your photography pursuits?

Vicki: When I moved over here, I was shocked at how rich the European history was. In the states, we can visit something ‘historic’ which only ends up being a couple hundred years old at the most. In Europe, though you can visit places that are literally a thousand years old…sometimes even older! This is absolutely amazing to me and I can’t seem to get enough of this. I’ve been to thousand-year-old monasteries where you can walk up to the ancient stone columns that are supporting the massive roof and wrap your arms around them to feel the cold stone on your cheek (you couldn’t get away with this in the states without an alarm going off and getting tackled by security). I’ve explored the inside of mines that predate the time of Christ. ‘Newer’ destinations can include gothic cathedrals, baroque palaces, or World War I monuments. There’s no end to what is out there to discover. Europeans really understand the importance of their history and the need to preserve it. No, the photography has not driven the destinations &ndash it’s actually the opposite. I’ll visit something I’m truly interested in and I just always keep a camera in tow.

RV: What inspired you to write “Europe for the Senses”?

Vicki: I didn’t even consider writing a book until my grandparents suggested it. After every trip I take, I send an email with attached pictures out to friends and family describing the places I’d just been. I didn’t just want to share the pictures, I wanted them to feel what I’d felt when I was standing there. I wanted them to get a sense of what that particular place stood for &ndash whether it was a famous place or something nobody had heard of. Europe is chock full of unforgettable things and viewing Big Ben can be just as profound as being the lone soul exploring castle ruins on a mountaintop. I also came to realize that many people are afraid to travel to new places &ndash even other military families abroad. It can be difficult to step outside of our comfort zones, especially in the uncertain times we live in today. I didn’t want to just write a book with travel information &ndash there are plenty of those out there (which I use religiously!). Instead, I wanted to convey Europe in such a way that might make taking that first travel step a bit easier. If you develop a yearning for something, it’s not as scary to do.

RV: Which countries do your spotlight in “Europe for the Senses” and are these your favorite places in Europe? Why do you think Europe lends itself so well to photography?

Vicki: I have 15 different countries spotlighted in “Europe for the Senses”. Germany and Italy are concentrated on heavily because they seem to be the most popular among tourists (and they are my two favorites!). The other countries include: Switzerland, Austria, England, The Netherlands, Iceland, The Vatican (it’s a country all to itself!), Hungary, The Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Romania, as well as a couple from Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Republic of Georgia.

I think there are a couple reasons why Europe lends itself so well to photography. First, Europe is vastly different as you travel from place to place. You don’t have to go far to shoot snow-capped mountains or flourishing vineyards. There can be an entire spectrum of environments and cultures within a short flight or drive just waiting to be captured on film (or on your memory stick J ). Second, as you travel you can visit sites that have survived some of the most destructive forces of nature and man &ndash photographing these places feels like you are preserving a bit of history. No matter what happens, they will live forever in your photographs.

RV: Are the photographs in “Europe for the Senses” of the major tourist attractions? How did you narrow down the ones that you feature in your book?

Vicki: I’ve mixed a bit of world-famous sites with little-known ones. I don’t think you should come to Europe just to see the Big Bens and the Leaning Towers. Even the smallest detail of a little-known place can be ‘the one’ that stays in your heart long after the trip is over.

Picking which destinations would be in the book was very difficult &ndash I’ve thoroughly enjoyed most of the places I’ve been to. I poured through hundreds and hundreds of shots in my collection and found the ones that seemed to sing out. There were a few that I ended up cutting out before we got to the final layouts. I wanted to ensure that there were places that people would definitely associate with vacations (such as Germany and Italy) but a few that would make people stop and say, “Wow, I can vacation there? I’ve never considered this place before!”

RV: When did you discover you had a talent for photography?

Vicki: I started taking photography classes in 4-H when I was in elementary school. My dad was the instructor and a few years into it, I won my first photography contest (much to my surprise). I’ve been taking pictures for most of my life but never considered sharing them until my grandparents suggested the book &ndash that’s probably when I realized I actually had a talent for it J

RV: Your narrative that accompanies the photographs is a significant part of the full-sensory experience of your book. Would you give us an idea of your writing style, and your thoughts about using writing to bring life to your photographs?

Vicki: There are many photography books out there that have a ‘forward’ at the beginning and then use only captions to identify the shots. I wanted my book to be different &ndash vivid descriptions of each section would truly put the reader into the pictures. I wanted people to really feel what it would be like to stand in the middle of an endless tulip field in Holland &ndash touching the soft petals and gazing at the spectrum of colors or savoring the breathtaking Tuscan countryside with all of your senses &ndash not just your eyes. Each of these places can leave you with such a deep, multifaceted memory if you don’t rush through them.

RV: Did you have professional training in photography or creative writing?

Vicki: About 5 years worth of 4-H photography classes and regular coaching and practice from my dad over the years. We had a dark room in the basement so he taught me how to develop film and reduce/enlarge from negatives. I’ve had no formal creative writing training other than through school over the years. I’m currently working on my Masters degree so I’ve taken plenty of writing classes.

RV: Vicki, the senses are a predominate theme for your book. Would you comment on the importance of enlisting all the senses when traveling, and how you’ve personally come to this conclusion?

Vicki: When I first started traveling, I wanted to just see as much as possible &ndash that meant rushing through to cram it all in. The weekends ended up being a blur and my memory of the trip not only included the destination, but the feeling of rushing around, lack of sleep, and a cranky husband and son. I soon realized that although I was seeing quite a bit, I wasn’t left with a profound memory of the destination. When I started slowing down and becoming aware of what I was smelling, how the warm sun felt (or the chilly rain), or how I lost my breath at the sight, the trip became an experience. I don’t just remember what something looked like now &ndash my nose remembers, my skin remembers, and my heart remembers.

RV: Would you explain to us your own personal vision of taking photography that awakens the senses?

Vicki: When I’m viewing a potential site, I see lighting and symmetry as most important. It’s amazing how a tiny step to one side or another can completely change how the light strikes and where the balance lies. I’ll take several shots from several different angles and the LCD screen on my camera lets me check the picture immediately. I’ve been known to sprawl on the floor of a cathedral (I’ve gotten pretty good at a ‘respectful sprawl’ in these places J ) or stand in the middle of a road to get the right shot.

RV: Why do you think a photograph can leave such a powerful imprint on someone’s memory?

Vicki: A photograph is like a piece of the real thing. Those that long to visit a certain destination only need to view a picture to get that heartache. They say that ‘eyes are the windows to the soul’ &ndash if you can see someone’s soul by looking into their eyes, the soul can see out and experience that photograph &ndash that piece of the real place &ndash and be left with an emotional impression.

RV: Which countries would you still like to visit?

Vicki: Plenty! I haven’t been to Ireland yet and I’ve got family roots there (apparently, we come from a line of Irish grave robbers). I also haven’t been to Spain or Portugal yet. I don’t limit myself to Europe, either…I’ve visited 12 African countries so far and I want to see several more!

RV: How can readers find out more about you and your book?

Vicki: Visit my website at .EuropeForTheSenses.com &ndash it’s got book information, reviews, press spots (including my press release and coverage from TV, radio, magazine, and newspapers), and more. I’ve got links to my blog and my online photography galleries where you can view and purchase every single print from the book. I also offer a free newsletter that features a different destination each week! Readers can email me with questions &ndash I get plenty of questions that range from asking about a specific place to how I got published.

Got knowledge? Got an enthusiastic target market? Then there’s no reason to stick to books, ebooks, audios and videos to convey your expertise. Many more creative options abound, and give you the chance to entice an unsure buyer to make an initial purchase as well as have something appealing for followup sales.

Creative packaging also gives you a significantly better shot at magazine and web publicity. Years ago, for example, I reformatted the contents of an audiotape as a 10-installment seminar on colorful postcards. Entrepreneur Magazine thought it was cute, and ran a little story about my inventive new product, “The Procrastinator’s Penpal,” with a photo and my contact information.

For each creative packaging option, I’ve provided links for resources or examples.

1. Reminder Cards

Imagine colorful, well-designed “cheat sheets” that lots of people would find it useful to refer to often, and you have a product. Years ago I repurposed a sidebar from my book Persuading on Paper into a proofreading checklist. I printed it out on one sheet of good quality paper, both sides, laminated it and included it as a component of an information product kit.

Bankers Online sells a colorful, postcard-sized reminder card on the telltale signs of bogus IDs in packs of 50 for easy reference by tellers and other bank employees. The more highly designed such items, the less temptation buyers will have to snitch your idea and duplicate it on their own. You’re best off going with a printing company that specializes in postcard production for this printing this type of card cost-effectively in large quantities.

Laminated Reference Guides - .barcharts.com/

P.L.E.A.S.E. System Reminder Cards - .bankersonline.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=397

2. Posters

Posters are as popular today as they were when you were you were in college and for the same reasons &ndash they can decorate a wall and convey a message better than anything smaller. They can also serve as larger-than-life-sized reminder cards. Nearly anything amusing or educational can be made into a saleable poster.

Special poster printers can create full-color posters for you in bulk for resale, while Cafepress and Zazzle are suitable for creating posters in ultra-small quantities or on demand.

Cafepress - .cafepress.com/cp/customize/product.aspx?clear=true&no=54

Zazzle - .zazzle.com/design/

3. Puzzles

Just about any kind of puzzle you can buy ready-made, you can also commission as a puzzle containing content that you specify. That includes jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, word-search puzzles, Rubik’s cubes, mazes, word jumbles, cryptograms, etc. Sell thematic puzzles with insider clues or content one by one or in a collection.

Crossword Compiler Software - .crossword-compiler.com/

Custom Jigsaw Puzzles - .jardinpuzzles.com/jppuzpic.htm

4. Stickers

Stickers in your product line can be humorous or practical. The category includes bumper stickers, stickers intended as labels, warning stickers, name tags, promotional messages, indicators of credentials or affiliations, reward stickers for kids, business reminders and more.

Custom Made Stickers - .websticker.com/

Personalized Bumper Stickers - .timsbumperstickers.com/

These ideas just scratch the surface of the possibilities! There are at least 97 more options for creative product and service formats in which you can package and sell what you know.

24 million adults in the United States consider themselves creative writers but less than 5% have ever been published anywhere. 172,000 titles were released in 2005. It has been estimated that at any one time there are between 5 to 6 million manuscripts looking for a publishing home. Many writers are turning toward publish-on-demand (POD) houses like iUniverse, AuthorHouse and Publish America to get their books into readers’ hands. About 25,000 titles will be released by POD houses in 2006. Does a publish-on-demand book, sometimes called vanity or subsidy publisher, help a previously unpublished writer get closer to the brass ring of a commercial publishing contract? Or does it bump them down a rung on their climb up the publishing ladder?

Writers often comment that a publish-on-demand book will at least “get their name out there” or that a POD book will show that they are capable of writing a 50,000 to 100,000 word manuscript. But does a POD book really help get a writer commercially published? That question was asked of nearly 60 successful literary agents in the Hill and Power 2006 Survey of Literary Agents.

These agents’ collective opinion is that a publish-on-demand book seriously hurt an author’s chance at being commercially published. Agents were asked to rate their response from 1 - significantly hurt, to 5 - significantly helped. The average rating was 2. 28% declared a POD title to be neutral (a rating of 3) but half of those specified that a POD title would only help if the sales reached a significant level, from 5,000 to 10,000 copies. Just a handful of publish-on-demand titles have reached that level of sales. The average number of copies sold for a POD title is around 100.

The book publishing industry has never been easy to break into and these same literary agents see the environment getting a bit more challenging in the next year or so for unpublished writers. Combine that with the significantly increased number of unsolicited submissions agents say they’re receiving and writers need every boost they can get toward agency representation and the ultimate goal of commercial publication.

Unfortunately, contrary to what quite a few writers think, that boost isn’t going to come from a publish-on-demand book.

The agent issue is such an emotional one for writers. Having one is a huge validation. I was fortunate to sign with an agent while still writing my first novel and it was wonderful being able to work and know that someone was waiting for what I was writing.

But the eagerness to have that feeling often pushes writers to make poor decisions when it comes to the hunt for an agent. With some thinking, solid preparation and research it is possible to hook up with an agent and have a satisfying relationship with him or her. Here are five crucial points to help you with the process.

1. Do You Need An Agent?

You’ve probably heard the oft-cited fact that most publishers these days don’t read unsolicited manuscripts. But that only means that the editor hasn’t been contacted beforehand. If you send a query letter and the editor asks to see your book or book proposal, you can send it without going through an agent.

However, if the editor does want to make an offer, they will suggest that you get an agent. An agent will help you get the best deal possible and, in the best of worlds, an agent will also be interested in helping you develop your career as a writer. If you can get an agent before the submission process, I think that’s even better because the agent can help you put your manuscript in the best shape possible before it gets submitted. As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression. With that in mind…

2. Be Ready.

You have to be writing at a top level to grab an agent’s attention. Unfortunately, a number of writers tend to skip that part. You may be eager to get an agent, but if you’re continually sending out subpar material, you’ll be seen as a writer with poor skills and poor judgment and someone not to be taken seriously.

Granted, I know you want to know that you’re not writing for nothing and an agent would provide that validation, but at some point you have to make the decision that you’re writing for the long haul and working on your craft. If you can do that, getting an agent will not be a problem.

3. Find the Right Agent.

When you’re ready to make the search, DO NOT get a bunch of names and do a mass mailing to anyone with the title “agent”. You’ll only get a bunch of rejections from agents who don’t handle your material or aren’t looking for new clients. If you do a little work, you can find out what kind of writers an agent represents and the type of material they favor. Writer’s Digest publishes the Guide to Literary Agents (see below) where you’ll find complete listings.

Here’s another great tip: if you join Publishers Marketplace, you can get a daily e-mail listing of what deals have taken place in the book industry. You’ll see what kind of book sold, what editor bought it and the agent who represented the author. This is good information because you’ll see immediately who is representing your type of writing and–more importantly–who is buying it!

4. No, You Don’t Have to Pay an Agent!

I get asked about this a lot, usually by writers who have already been taken advantage of by agents who charge expensive “reading fees”. A good agent makes money when you make money (usually a 15 percent commission). You’ll want to ask some questions. If an agent makes most of his money from writer fees and not from actual sales, you’ll want to move on. A good way to weed out this group is by checking out members of the Association of Author’s Representatives (AAR). Members of AAR are forbidden from charging fees.

5. Network!

An agent is much more likely to pay attention to a manuscript from someone they have met personally. I know networking and meeting agents can be hard if you live in the mountains of Arizona or on an island in Puget Sound. But consider it part of your work as a writer to get out to a conference at lease once or twice a year to meet agents, editors and, of course, other writers! I’ll let you know when good ones are coming up.

One last note

An agent is NOT a magic pill. Even the best agent can’t work miracles with mediocre material. It will ALWAYS be your job to do your best writing.