Don't do it!

Never, ever release any of your rights. Here's why.

The Writer's Goal

Winning writing game means becoming an established author, one who sells a new book every year or two. One who earns enough to live comfortably from his or her writing alone.

The first step toward achieving this goal is to be published by a major house in real world. That is, offline. Most will not even consider your book if you've muddied water by releasing or selling any rights to it.

Sure, there are exceptions. Some have self-published, then later made a deal with a major house. And stories make grand reading. But there are not a lot of them.

The Better Plan

If you are serious about writing, grab a copy of "Writer's Market," then read and follow rules. While many publishers buy an occasional manuscript directly from an author, your best bet is to find an agent and leave manner of presentation to publishers in capable hands. (An agent is worth his or her weight in gold in helping you decipher a contract!)

It will probably take some time to find an agent. Begin another tale while doing so. And once you find one, while waiting further and hoping for great news, continue writing. If agent you found can't make it happen, look for another. But keep writing.

Again, there are success stories of those who bypassed agents and went directly to a publisher. But unless you're one heck of a salesperson and really in tune with what each publisher is looking for, leave it all to an agent, and do what you do best. Namely, write.

How Rights Released Can Bite

Bingo. You've made a sale. A good house, too. You and your agent are jumping with joy. Hey, you're on your way!

But wait one. A few years back, electronic rights were negotiable, and often retained by author. So you released these rights, or part of them, to gain some exposure on Web. But now your publisher-to-be wants them. What for?

Books by major authors are selling in electronic formats. The entire publishing industry is closely tuned in to this rapidly changing part of book arena.

Studies have shown that while 75% of people read headlines, only 25 % keep reading "the rest of story". Breaking it down even further, you have about 4 seconds to convince that reader to read on!

When writing, two most important elements are your headline and your opening statement. These two elements must stop your readers in their tracks!

Headlines must grab your readers attention. Just as you only get one chance to make a good first impression, you only get once chance to grab your reader's attention!

For example, when you read an ad, you don't read it just to be reading, you read it because you are interested in it. Something about it grabbed your attention.

Since your information will be read only by interested people, purpose of your headline is to pick out those who are, or can be, specifically interested in what you are talking about.

You want to grab their attention and if you can create curiosity, that's even better. Curiosity your reader can only satisfy by reading your information! People are so hurried and they are not going to give you their time unless you make it worth their while.

Make your headlines draw your readers interests. Emotions motivate and sell. Use words that invoke emotions and that clearly describe benefit to reader in terms of action! Reinforce major benefits and points. Your headlines should either conceal an interest or reveal an interest.