5. Write about a subject that you know well. Don’t write about something that you can’t talk about without effort. Write about a subject with which you are very familiar and that excites you. Writing book will establish you as an expert in your field, so choose topic that causes everyone you know to come to you for advice. The publicity will then be so easy that you will love being “star”.

6. Know who will buy your book. So many authors think that “everyone” needs and should buy their books. Not so. Perhaps “everyone” needs their books, but not “everyone” will want to buy. Research and know WHO will actually WANT your book and market, market to them. They will buy!

7. Look for non-bookstore markets and do not be afraid of large discounts. Bookstores are a hugely important market for most authors, but they are far from being only place to sell books. There are many non-traditional markets that buy books in large quantities with no returns. This is a great market – sales made are guaranteed sales not consignment sales. Do not be afraid of larger discounts when you make those large volume sales. The books you sell are actually SOLD.

Think how much more pleasant a journey is if you know which fork in road will lead you to smooth driving and which fork in road will lead you through potholes. Knowing most effective publishing steps before you print will make your publishing career fun and profitable.

© Copyright 2004 Ink Tree Ltd. Ink Tree Ltd. helps authors publish, market and sell books. From "101 Things You Need to Know About Publishing" to our Ultimate Book Marketing Kit, we will help you make your book a success. http://www.inktreemarketing.com

Payment on Acceptance vs. Payment on Publication -------------------------------------- You’ve written an article and editor has approved it. Now comes time to pay you. Well, not quite. Many publications prefer to pay their writers on publication, meaning when article appears in print. In established magazines, time between acceptance and publication can be months, so you may write an article in January, and be paid for it in June. Always try to get paid on acceptance.

Clips ------- When you write a query, editor wants to see more than just a good idea. She wants to know whether you can do it justice, whether you’ll be able to carry it through or not. For this, she needs to see samples of your writing. Published samples are termed as clips. Simply stated, you photocopy pages of approximately three magazines in which your articles have appeared and send them to editor.

If you haven’t been published, you’ll still need to send in samples of your writing. For this, write out an article or two related to subject of magazine, and send them off with your query.

Lead Time ----------- A magazine usually asks writers to submit their work well in advance so that there are no last-minute goof-ups. Magazines, especially reputed ones, cannot risk delaying an issue because of a single writer. This period is usually termed as lead-time. Although most magazines have lead times of approximately three months, many have periods of more than six months.

Kill Fees ----------- Editors are always “killing” articles that they’ve assigned. To writer, this could mean wasted time, as well as money. To reimburse writer for her research and hours put in, magazines usually have a 20-50% kill fee. Simply put, if your query has been accepted, but your article isn’t published for some reason, you’ll be given a kill fee for your work.

Expenses --------- For your article, you may have to interview a subject. In some cases, you may have to make long-distance calls or spend a few bucks on travel, lunches and other expenses. All such expenditures incurred for assignment are usually paid for by publication. You should be very clear on this before you get on assignment. Usually, editors will agree to reasonable expenditure refunds.

Bios and Photos ----------------- Haven’t you sometimes noticed how author’s picture or contact information appears alongside article? Yours could too. Although this isn’t always done, sometimes editors may agree to put up a photo or a short bio beside your article. It never hurts to ask.

Simultaneous Submissions -------------------------- Although this is something magazines advise against, it isn’t always feasible waiting three months for your hot idea to strike a note with editor you’ve submitted it to. This is where simultaneous submissions come in. Although I truly warn you against submitting same article to more than one publisher (I did it, and I regretted it), I do advocate simultaneous queries.

Now that you’re armed with basic knowledge, you’re all set to go out into big, bad world of publishing, and show them what you’ve got. Good luck!

* This article was previously published on www.WritersCrossing.com