How To Set Your Publishing Goals—This Survey May Help

Because publishing is a long and challenging road, an essential strategy is to create goals, large and small, to act as key milestones along the way. Simply pushing ‘send’ on your query letter is a great first milestone. Every publishing journey is unique, and that’s why I wish to hear from you personally in this quick survey, where you can share your goals, challenges, and the best writing and publishing resources you’ve encountered. Three randomly selected participants will receive a free 15-minute group consultation with me to discuss your most pressing publishing questions.

Maybe you’re having trouble finding useful writing resources or locating agents and/or publishers to submit to. Or maybe you’ve finally landed a book deal but now feel lost as to how you should promote and market your work in advance of publication.

Wherever you are in the process, here are a few tips:

• If you are new to querying, approach your query letter by imagining the Amazon description for your book.
• If you’ve been submitting your work for a long time, don’t shy away from approaching the same agents with a revised manuscript or letter.
• Brainstorming a nonfiction book? Your first goal is to craft a killer elevator pitch of no more than three sentences. Be sure to clearly state your idea and how it will impact your intended audience in a significant way. As you develop the table of contents and chapter summaries for your proposal, refer to your elevator pitch as a means to stay on course and avoid digressions.

I hope our survey crystallizes your biggest challenges and goals, and that you’ll share it with your friends, family, and writing community— I want to hear from as many people as I can so I can develop resources to meet your needs.