Is it any wonder, I reject you first?
Fame, fame, fame, fame.
Is it any wonder, you are too cool to fool?
Fame.

—David Bowie, “Fame”

In the writing world, several published superstars exhibited matchless stamina with stunning results. Here are a few FAMOUS REJECTIONS:

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck was returned fourteen times, but it went on to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Mary Higgins Clark was rejected forty times before selling her first story. One editor wrote: “Your story is light, slight and trite.” More than 30 million copies of her books are now in print.

Roots author Alex Haley had received 200 rejections.

Robert Persig’s classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, couldn’t get started at 121 houses.

John Grisham’s first novel, A Time To Kill, was declined by fifteen publishers and thirty agents. His novels have more than 60 million copies in print.

Louis L’Amour received 200 rejections before he sold his first novel. During the last forty years, Bantam has shipped nearly 200 million of his 112 books, making him their biggest selling author.

At Jack London’s estate in Sonoma County you will see some of the 600 rejection slips that London received before selling his first story.

Eight years after his novel Steps, won the National Book Award, Jerzy Kosinki permitted a writer to change his name and the title and send a manuscript of the novel to thirteen agents and fourteen publishers to test the plight of new writers. They all rejected it, including Random House, which had published it.

MORAL TO THE STORY— in the words of Winston Churchill—Nevah, nevah, nevah, nevah give up!

—Lowry McFerrin, Proforma Mactec Solutions

We’ve all heard the phrase, collected it, perhaps bought some. In many marketing circles, it is almost as important as writing a book. What is it?

Swag was originally associated with pirates’ or thieves’ booty or loot. Goods gotten unlawfully. Leave it to the 21st Century to transform that into booty gotten lawfully—in fact, given away. For authors, offering swag to audiences is an effective marketing method to keep themselves and their product (like a book) foremost in the audience’s mind long after a book launch, reading or signing is over. Other terms to describe swag are giveaways, take-aways or promotional items—familiar marketing terms.  Typical swag for authors can be t-shirts, hats, buttons, matchboxes and, as today’s graphic illustrates, postcards and bookmarks. Proforma Mactec Solutions produced them for Christi Phillips’s paperback version of The Devlin Diary.

Pens, mugs, notebooks, notepads, book lights and t-shirts are also ways to help advertise a book. If someone wears a t-shirt printed with your book cover and name, you’ve got a walking billboard. And, more often than not, awareness ultimately equates to more sales. Oh yes, backpacks make good swag too, as they can carry a book, a pen, a mug, a button and many of the thousands of items that can be branded with your book title.  One thing to remember when considering swag as part of your marketing plan—that it is associated with you, your story, or your book, so make it the best it can be.

Be sure to contact us with your swag requirements.

—Lowry McFerrin, Proforma Mactec Solutions

Greeting Authors,

By request – a new Publishing in the 21st Century workshop has been scheduled for a Sunday instead of a Saturday to accommodate extremely busy schedules!

You’ve plotted, planned, revised, edited, re-written and agonized over three books to finish the ONE… Now the question is – do you search for an agent and hope they match you with a publisher or, maybe you’ve considered self-publishing – do it or research it? If so, this is the perfect time to make a commitment to yourself and sign up for Publishing in the 21st Century and learn the ins and outs of getting your work into print. You would not be alone in that pursuit! Many notable writers self-published:

Edgar Rice Burroughs: Tarzan
Benjamin Franklin: Poor Richard’s Almanack
Beatrix Potter: The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Henry David Thoreau: Walden
Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
James Joyce: Ulysses
Richard N. Bolles: What Color is Your Parachute

. . .and scores of others, some of whom got noticed and eventually picked up by major publishing houses because of their self-published books.

The advent of the Internet (not to mention the other mind-boggling computer advances as represented by the Kindle and Ipad) has revolutionized the options for publishing, PR, and marketing. Self-publishing is no longer a dirty word; it’s simply another way, a viable and as valuable way, to get your work out into the world…but how do you do that?

At Publishing in the 21st Century, we’ll discuss manuscript file preparation, book layout & design, cover design, printing methods (including print-on-demand), binding choices, ISBN, marketing and distribution, fulfillment services and the associated costs. We’ll also review and discuss the role of new marketing opportunities such as social media, websites and other online marketing tools for self-publishing writers.

Lowry McFerrin learned to love the smell of printers’ ink as a teenager while working for his family-owned, San Francisco-based lithography company. He has served as VP of Distributor Sales for a barcode label manufacturer and today is President/CEO of ProForma Mactec Solutions, a printing and marketing services provider. In addition to supplying these services to publishers such as Lonely Planet Press, Travelers’ Tales, Hunter House Books, Birdcage Books, and Left Coast Writers, Lowry has helped numerous authors self-publish and market their books.

Any successful publishing journey begins with a small investment in the basics.

$95 (includes lunch)

Space is limited. To reserve a place please respond by return email to easeintoprint@pacbell.net:

Comments from past workshop participants:

I…wanted to personally let you know how much I enjoyed the class and your honesty about the whole process. I can see I have a lot of work ahead of me, but it’s better than watching re-runs all night!

Dorothy C., Writer

What fun to be your student! I really learned a lot and your guidance will be invaluable as I (cautiously) make the leap from the wee chair to the brave new frontier of cyber-self-pub, or whatever of the dizzying combinations I end up choosing. It did just what I wanted it to: it gave me a good overview of the options and a sense of the pitfalls for various kinds of “do-it-yourselfing”.

Joanna B., Teacher/writer

Very, very useful and inspiring! All my questions were answered.

TC, Author

Helped my understanding of  the publishing process and the nitty gritty of all the parts.

Lone S., Writer/photographer

Tremendous. I knew very little about the process and the session filled a lot of blanks. Lowry was dynamic and enjoying.

Bari B., novelist

You’ve plotted, planned, revised, edited, re-written and agonized over three books to finish the ONE… Now the question is – do you search for an agent and hope they match you with a publisher or, maybe you’ve considered self-publishing – do it or research it? If so, this is the perfect time to make a commitment to yourself and sign up for Publishing in the 21^st Century and learn the ins and outs of getting your work into print. You would not be alone in that pursuit! Did you know that many notable writers self-published:

Edgar Rice Burroughs: Tarzan
Benjamin Franklin: Poor Richard’s Almanack
Beatrix Potter: The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Henry David Thoreau: Walden
Mark Twain: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
James Joyce: Ulysses
Richard N. Bolles: What Color is Your Parachute

 . . .and scores of others, some of whom got noticed and eventually picked up by major publishing houses because of their self-published books.

The advent of the Internet (not to mention the other mind-boggling computer advances as represented by the Kindle and Ipad) has revolutionized the options for publishing, PR, and marketing. Self-publishing is no longer a dirty word; it’s simply another way, a viable and as valuable way, to get your work out into the world…but how do you do that?

At Publishing in the 21^st Century, we’ll discuss manuscript file preparation, book layout & design, cover design, printing methods (including print-on-demand), binding choices, ISBN, marketing and distribution, fulfillment services and the associated costs. We’ll also review and discuss the role of new marketing opportunities such as social media, websites and other online marketing tools for self-publishing writers.

Lowry McFerrin learned to love the smell of printers’ ink as a teenager while working for his family-owned, San Francisco-based lithography company. He has served as VP of Distributor Sales for a barcode label manufacturer and today is President/CEO of ProForma Mactec Solutions, a printing and marketing services provider. In addition to supplying these services to publishers such as Lonely Planet Press, Travelers’ Tales, Hunter House Books, Birdcage Books, and Left Coast Writers, Lowry has helped numerous authors self-publish and market their books.

Any successful publishing journey begins with a small investment in the basics.

$95 (includes lunch) 

Space is limited. To reserve a place please respond by return email to easeintoprint@pacbell.net

Comments from past workshop participants:

I…wanted to personally let you know how much I enjoyed the class and your honesty about the whole process. I can see I have a lot of work ahead of me, but it’s better than watching re-runs all night!

Dorothy C., Writer

What fun to be your student! I really learned a lot and your guidance will be invaluable as I (cautiously) make the leap from the wee chair to the brave new frontier of cyber-self-pub, or whatever of the dizzying combinations I end up choosing. It did just what I wanted it to: it gave me a good overview of the options and a sense of the pitfalls for various kinds of “do-it-yourselfing”.

Joanna B., Teacher/writer

Very, very useful and inspiring! All my questions were answered.

TC, Author

Helped my understanding of  the publishing process and the nitty gritty of all the parts.

Lone S., Writer/photographer

Tremendous. I knew very little about the process and the session filled a lot of blanks. Lowry was dynamic and enjoying.

Bari B., novelist

I was able to really broaden my base of knowledge about self-publishing.

Tamara W., writer

Your explanation of the timeline from beginning to end of process was very helpful.

Gema W., writer