Rebecca Cornish Talley

Posted By Rebecca Talley on October 28, 2009

I’m glad you’re here. Kick off your shoes and stay a while. I hope you will find it interesting as well as useful.

Come back and visit often. Happy writing!

Category: Uncategorized | Comments Off
Tags: Children's Author, LDS Author, Rebecca Cornish Talley, Rebecca Talley, Rebecca Talley Homepage

Posted By Rebecca Talley on January 5, 2010

Category: Writing Fiction | Comments Off
Tags: Awards. LDS Publisher Cover Contest

Posted By Rebecca Talley on February 8, 2010

You’ve written your book and you have a publisher interested in it. The next thing you know, you have a contract in the mail.

If you’ve never signed a publishing contract before, you’ll want to research the language specific to this type of contract.

Your contract may include:

Rights Granted to the Publisher. This assigns the copyright to the publisher as long as it is in print with this publisher.

Author Warranties. The author warrants that the work is original and belongs to the author. The author also warrants that there are no libelous statements and that he/she has the right to enter into a contract.

Delivery of the Manuscript. The author will deliver the manuscript in its final form (not a rough draft) by a specified date.

Agreement to Publish. The publisher agrees to publish the manuscript in a timely fashion, usually specified in the contract (60 days is typical) after the publisher receives the corrected proofs from the author. It may take months, or even years, to get to the proof stage so don’t confuse the time frames.

Royalties. The contract will stipulate your royalty structure as in what percentage you receive and when those payments are made. It’s typical to receive 10% on the publisher’s gross receipts, minus returns. Publishers may pay out royalties every month, every quarter, or twice a year.

Copies to Author. Generally, authors receive a certain number of copies to use for promotional purposes.

Proofs. The publisher will provide proofs to the author for the purpose of correcting any errors. Some publishers will charge authors who insist on massive changes after the proof stage.

Future Manuscripts. Many publishers require rights of first refusal, which means you must submit future manuscripts to this publisher. If the publisher rejects the manuscript, you are then free to submit elsewhere. Some publishers require not only the rights of first refusal but also the right of last refusal which means if they reject your next manuscript you are free to submit it elsewhere, but if it is accepted by another publisher, you will then be required to take it back to the first publisher and allow that publisher to make an offer on the manuscript.

Special Provisions. The author can insert any special circumstances under this heading. For example, if you want to exclude a certain manuscript from this contract because it is already in circulation or you want to exclude your magazine writing.

Not all contracts are the same. Yours may or may not include these provisions. The best course of action is to carefully read your contract and then contact an attorney experienced with literary contracts and ask him/her to review it (this may cost you money).

Category: Business Part of Writing, Writing Fiction, writing a novel, writing for children | No Comments »
Tags: Author, Book, business of writing, Manuscript, publishing, Royalties, writing a book, Writing Fiction

Posted By Rebecca Talley on February 1, 2010

“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” – James Michener

That’s editing in a nutshell.

Some writers prefer writing the rough draft and feeling the creativity as it flows through their fingers. Other writers enjoy the editing stage and believe that’s where the real magic lies. Which do you prefer?

Writing the first draft can be fast and furious. You may find it difficult for your fingers to keep up with your brain as your brilliance pours out on the computer screen. Unfortunately, for most writers, the first draft isn’t always brilliant. In fact, very few writers can produce a saleable first draft. That’s when editing becomes a writer’s best friend.

Once that story is down on paper, or on the computer screen, it’s time to edit it. How? There’s as many ways to edit as there are to write. No one way is right for everyone and you must find what works best for you.

Here are some different ways to edit:

One Pass. Some writers get their first draft down as quickly as possible and then let it rest for a few weeks, or a month. After the rest period, they go back and edit every single word, phrase, and paragraph to make sure it says exactly what they want it to say. This pass through their manuscript is grueling, but it only takes the one time and then it’s ready for submission.

Several Passes to Add Layers. Other writers edit their manuscripts multiple times. In each pass, they specifically add a layer to the story. When they feel they’ve added enough layers, they’re finished and ready to submit the manuscript. Some writers may edit their manuscript dozens of times.

Edit While You Write. Another possibility is to edit while you’re writing. Some writers won’t go to the next scene until they feel the previous scene is in its final format. These writers want to get each sentence right before they move on to the next sentence. When they’ve completed their manuscript, it’s ready for submission because they’ve spent so much time editing while writing.

Which works best? It depends on your own unique writing style. The important aspect is to make sure that the final manuscript is the best that it can be before you submit it to a publisher. Whether that takes you one pass or many, or you edit as you go, it doesn’t matter which process you choose as long as you find the process that allows you to submit the very best manuscript you can.

Category: Writing Fiction, writing a novel | No Comments »
Tags: Editing, Manuscript, Writer, writing a book, writing a novel, Writing and Editing, Writing Fiction

Posted By Rebecca Talley on January 28, 2010

You may think that once you’ve written your book and it’s been published, all of your work is done. Wrong.

Your work is only beginning. In the United States, well over 150,000 books are published each year. That’s a high number of books to compete for consumers’ attention. Of course, we’re well aware of the breakout novels like, Harry Potter and Twilight, but what about all of the other books published each year?

Though it may seem daunting, you can increase the visibility of your book within your target market. One way to do so is to schedule a virtual book tour. In years past, publishers sent authors on book tours around the country to promote their books. Not all authors merited a book tour, only those whom the publisher felt could return money on their investment. With the creation of the internet, those boundaries have been eliminated, and any author that can access the internet can set up a virtual book tour.

Basically, a virtual book tour is having readers post their reviews of your book on their websites or blogs on an appointed day.

This is how it works:

1. You contact your publisher and ask how many review copies are available. Generally, publishers set aside a number of books to send out free-of-charge to reviewers.

2. Once you know the number of books you have to work with, you will then need to contact reviewers/bloggers who might be willing to participate. They receive a free book in exchange for posting a review. You can ask for volunteers on email lists you’re on, forums you frequent, or on blogs you regularly visit.

3. Collect the physical addresses of those willing to participate and have your publisher mail out the review copies.

4. Give the reviewers time to read your book—usually a month is sufficient to compensate for delivery time and reading time, depending on the page count of your book.

5. Determine the time frame for your book tour and allow participants to choose a day to post their review. Keep track of the web/blog addresses and dates. Post this information in the sidebar of your blog so readers can follow your tour.

The purpose of a virtual book tour is to create buzz on the internet. The more people who post reviews, the more Google, Yahoo, and other search engines will pick up information about your book. Be sure to visit the blogs/websites and leave comments.

6. When the virtual book tour concludes, be sure to thank all of those who participated.

Virtual book tours are the future for authors wishing to promote their books.

Category: Business Part of Writing, Writing Fiction, writing a novel, writing for children | No Comments »
Tags: Author, blog tour, publishing, virtual book tour, writing a book, writing a novel, Writing Fiction

Posted By Rebecca Talley on January 25, 2010

I’ve discussed doing a virtual book tour. What else can you do to promote your book? (more…)

Category: Business Part of Writing, Writing Fiction, writing a novel, writing for children | Comments Off
Tags: book promotion, Facebook, Google Alerts, promotion, Shelfari, Social network, Twitter, Website, writing a book, writing a novel, Writing Fiction

Posted By Rebecca Talley on January 21, 2010

Let’s do a fun quiz. See if you can fill in the blanks. (more…)

Category: Writing Fiction, writing a novel, writing for children | Comments Off
Tags: cliches in writing. cliches, original writing, writing fiction. writing a novel. writing a book