Guest Post: J.W. Nicklaus

 

Today I am pleased to share my blog with the new to me author, J.W. Nicklaus. Yesterday, I reviewed his new book of short stories, The Light, The Dare, & Ember Between. If you missed it, be sure to go back and check it out! I am pleased to have 2 days on this blog tour so that J.W. can share a part of you with him.

First, a little about the author:

J.W. Nicklaus resides in a place not entirely fit for human habitation about five months of the year. No pets to speak of, only the apparitions from which all romantics suffer.

An Arizona native, he’s been from one coast to the other, and a few places in between. College brought an AA in Journalism with a minor in Photography, and a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications. His work experience has run the gamut from Creative Director for a small advertising firm in Tucson to a litigation support bureau in Phoenix (and assuredly some awkward stuff in the mix).

Snow has been featured prominently in his stories, perhaps because of the seasonless climate he lives in. Nature was meant to be enjoyed and experienced, not hidden from the senses. So to that end, he hopes someday to live amongst those who are able to live through four true seasons, and not just blast furnace and warm.

He enjoys the occasional Arizona Diamondbacks game with his son, as well as watching him grow up. The experience of being a single dad has taught him far more about himself than he ever thought possible.

Within the expanse of every waking moment, he hopes his guardian angel keeps its arms open wide and heart ever watchful, for there but for one true Hope goes She.

For more about J.W. visit www.avomnia.com.

Now, let me turn it over to J.W. so that he can tell you some publishing misconceptions.

The Top 3 Misconceptions About Being Published

Holy smokes . . .where to begin? I’m sure many a correlation could be drawn between being published and celebrity. From all outward appearances it looks fantastic and like a lot of fun. Behind it all, however, is a whole lot of work that the consuming public doesn’t get to see.

The most prevalent misconception might be that with being published comes vast wealth and calls from friends you never knew you had. Unfortunately, wrong on both counts. To a large degree the amount of money made from your book directly correlates to how much time and effort you put into promoting it. But don’t lose sight of the potential peripheral opportunities that may grow from your efforts: speaking engagements, ghostwriting offers, and the rich vein of people you’ll encounter—you never really know who you might run into. Timing and hard work can reap dividends far outweighing strictly fiscal rewards.

The next, and not too distant misconception, is that the publisher will pick up your book and run with it once you’ve polished the manuscript to a fine sheen.

So very not true.

Publishers are a conduit, a vehicle for getting your manuscript from electronic form into bound pages with a cover. Just about everything else will be up to you: sending out review copies, talking up your book, promotional materials (posters, flyers, bookmarks, etc.), setting up book signings and other events. Some publishers may be of assistance, for instance providing marketing copy for the book or letterhead to use for mailing, maybe even a list of market contacts. Some will even insist that you provide a marketing plan. Your book truly is your business, and while you assuredly feel passionately about it you also need to bottle some of that passion for when times get a little tough.

How to counteract the lack of publisher support? Interact, network, talk to anybody and everybody whom you feel may have some interest in your subject matter. Do not overlook the dynamics of the online community. Sites like GoodReads.com provide a great way to get in touch with other like-minded authors and readers. Catch that little detail? Readers are your audience; they’re your main goal. You absolutely need to communicate with authors and writers, but nurture those who not only offer to read your book for review, but those who you might gain as ‘fans.’ Just because you can’t see them doesn’t make them any less important. Consider the speed at which communication happens over ‘the wire’— almost instantaneous. You think bad word-of-mouth about a restaurant experience can travel fast, imagine how much damage a terse e-mail could do if you rebuff or otherwise ill-consider a reader. Getting your book to your audience is far more Author than Publisher.

Another myth draws a picture of published writers as either hermits or ivory tower occupants. Most authors are avid readers which itself does entail a substantial amount of preferred solitude. But that largely doesn’t hold true for the vast majority of authors who have been published. Many of us still work full-time jobs, coach our children’s sports teams, attend church, go to parties, participate in reading or writing groups, and on and on and on. Frankly most of us relish the attention given to us as modern day scribes. It affords us the chance to get flattering feedback from readers and meet face-to-face with the very people we’re writing for.

It’s not so much being published that we crave, rather the desire to get our respective stories out in front of you, the reader. Each of our perspectives is unique and something we can’t help but want to not only understand but also toss into the greater pool of ideas and see what happens. We’re curious people, we writers and authors. Talk to us—we like that. We need it. We want it. Without you, the reader, we’re tossing words into thin air . . .a pretty futile activity.

Being published is, indeed, terribly exciting, even exhilarating. But don’t fool yourself into believing it’s all chocolates and sunshine. Writing the book, in many ways, is the easy part—getting published is when the real work begins.

It's so great to have an author willing to write a post for my blog.  I love to hear their thoughts on the writing biz!  Thank you, J.W. Nicklaus, for stopping by today and sharing your thoughts with us.

GIVEAWAY!!! 

Mr. Nicklaus actually sent me 2 books for this tour; 1 to review and 1 for you!  That's right, you can read J.W.'s short stories.  Just leave a comment on this post for your chance to win.  I will end the giveaway on Saturday, May 2 and post the winner on Sunday, May 3.  US and Canadian addresses only please.  You may earn extra entries, as usual:

+1 follower

+1 tweet about this (leave the link in the comments)

+1 comment on my review of this book

+2 blog about this giveaway (leave the link in the comments)