The surprising part for some admirers may have been that Julia Child’s masterpiece wasn’t entirely her own doing. Two French writers and chefs she met while living in Paris brought Julia Child on to help them complete their masterpiece.

At the advice of a good friend and American author, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle were told to: Get an American who is crazy about French cooking to collaborate with; somebody who both knows French food and can still see and explain things with an American viewpoint in mind.

Enter Julia Child.

After Julia Child signed on, it was nine years before Mastering the Art of French Cooking would hit stores. While the trio knew the entire process would be a major commitment, most writers think it’ll be a few years, tops. Tell them it would take almost a decade like it did Beck, Bertholle and Child, and they’d throw in the towel. However, a few publishing lessons from their journey may help reframe your own and give you the inspiration to push ahead.

It’s Not Personal, It’s Business

Beck’s and Bertholle’s cookbook was 600 pages when they invited Child to be their partner, and they were swimming in overwhelm. A freelance editor had been working with the two for a few years with the goal of releasing a series of recipe pamphlets to build excitement about their full collection. He published a small version of the project without their permission and quickly disappeared — along with their publisher.

With no signed contract, the duo was left to complete “The Book”, as they called it, on their own. Which is why they needed Child more than ever. 

Through an unlikely series of events stemming from a Harper’s column and a set of knives, Child sent their chapter on sauces to Avis De Voto, the wife of a Houghton Mifflin published author. When Beck and Bertholle’s original publisher came back, Child was firm that they owed him nothing and should move on without him.

Houghton Mifflin bought the cookbook, but ultimately decided it was too long to publish in the end. Child and company had previously agreed to condense their work, but the completed work was a staggering 750 pages. However, their champion Mrs. De Voto believed she could have luck sending the manuscript to another publishing house, Knopf. 

Besides that, Houghton Mifflin broke down the cost, and it didn’t make sense on paper. They believed what the three women had accomplished was extraordinary, but they couldn’t justify getting behind such a large project at the moment. 

As much as the publishers had to do what was best for them, Beck, Bertholle and Child also had to keep their interests in mind. They were open to new opportunities and finding the best possible home for “The Book”, which led to their success.

Publishing is All in the Timing

Not everyone is going to like your work, and even if they do, it might not be the right for them at the time. It was 6 years between the time the book was sold to Houghlin Mifflin and when they decided to end the agreement. At the time, Houghlin Mifflin cookbooks were kitschy themed ones, rather than “serious” books for home cooks.

It brought up some valid questions for Child:

• Was it too late for a book of their caliber?
• With simpler cookbooks on the market, would home cooks want to master intricate details?
• Did Americans even care about French cooking?

Some books are breakout hits because they enter the market at the right moment. While others may be brilliant, but not what the public or publishing houses are looking for.

However, at Knopf, they didn’t have any cookbooks slated for release. The manuscript landed on the desk of editor Judith Jones, who brought The Diary of Anne Frank back to life from the slush pile. Jones made a few of “The Book’s” recipes and was hooked. She also had lived in Paris after World War II, so she shared the group’s passion for the project. Another editor who was behind The Joy of Cooking hopped on board too. Finally, the pieces were fitting together.

Timing is a tricky beast. It’s hard to remember when you’re not getting the answers or movement on your project. Knowing what’s happened for other authors though can give you some hope as you’re figuring out the timing.

Be Your Own Publicist

When you imagine your work on bookstore shelves, your dream probably also includes a press tour. You can’t wait to get on your favorite podcasts or local networks to gab about your book and why folks should pick it up. The hosts will find you charming, and the listeners will love it and you. So, let’s get on with it already!

What you probably aren’t imagining is that you should be prepared to make all the above happen — on your own. Depending on the project and contract, publishers may be able to put a solid publicity plan in place for you. However, publishers also want to know that you plan on helping with the marketing for your book. 

In fact, when Mastering the Art of French Cooking was released, Knopf ran some ads, but the rest of the publicity fell to Child and Beck (Bertholle had taken a smaller role by that point). They were clueless as to how to create a promotional tour. So, they bootstrapped their efforts for multi-city pop-up cooking classes and signings with help from friends in said cities. The power of a good network!

Within a month of the book’s release, a second printing was ordered. Yes, timing plays a role in every release, but you also don’t know who could see or share your work. 

This is why an author platform is a key to getting your book sold. As much as you love the craft of your work, book writing is a business. Learn to love promoting your work. Know how to talk about it and pitch it. The worst thing that could happen is someone tells you ‘no’.

Publishing is ever-evolving and can seem hard to pin down. It requires specific amounts of passion and detachment, which become elusive in a long process. Knowing expectations and having a positive mindset can be the difference between success and “failure”.

As Julia Child said best: “…all I know is this—nothing you ever learn is really wasted, and will some time be used.”

Amanda Polick is a writer and book coach for food and entertainment professionals based in Nashville, Tennessee. Her work has been featured by Cooking Light, Food & Wine and Time, and she’s currently working on her first novel. To connect with Amanda or to get weekly writing and life inspiration, you can find her at https://amandapolick.com. 

The post Publishing Lessons from Julia Child’s My Life in France appeared first on DIY MFA.

Creatives, fear not. A budget merely tracks your expenses against your revenue (your income). If you have a budget for your household already, you can apply the same principles to your writing business. Estimate your costs, estimate your income, and trim as needed in order to make the income exceed the expenses. When you get familiar with this simple tool, you’ll appreciate how powerful it can be in helping you achieve your publishing goals.

Jane Friedman’s sample P&L is tailored more to traditional publishing, but it’s a very helpful place to start. Combine it with this more indie-focused sample P&L from TCK Publishing.com to create your own custom statement and get a granular understanding of your individual business.

Self Publishing Budget: Production Costs and Business Costs

For indie authors, your heaviest expenditures will be in your book’s production costs.  On the indie spreadsheet, those line items fall under “development costs” and “design costs.” On Friedman’s sheet, it’s under two line items: “Freelance” and “Art/Photo.”

Many articles already exist that describe the costs to self-publish a book. Those costs can vary widely depending on your objectives. Reedsy crunched the numbers and their blog post does a terrific job projecting realistic expenses for the production-related tasks (editing, composition, proofreading, and cover design) their site handles. Editing costs are broken down by genre, so you can see just how much your competition is spending (hint: to be competitive, be prepared to spend similarly). 

Your manufacturing costs (which the indie sheet calls “production costs”) are the costs to actually produce the individual units. If you’re only producing an e-book, those costs might be limited to setup fees, your ISBN, and your copyright registration. If you’re using a print-on-demand service like IngramSpark or Amazon’s KDP to publish a print version as well, you must add print setup costs, additional ISBNs and bar codes, and proof costs. We’ll assume you’re not going to actually conduct a print run and create a personal book warehouse in your garage—there are better ways to do business, trust me—but if you were, those costs would go in this category also.

The indie spreadsheet breaks out marketing costs in a separate category, which is helpful since they’ll consume a sizable chunk of your budget and will need careful attention. However, that document doesn’t include the business-side costs of being a self-publisher (your overhead) such as the fees for your website, utilities for your home office, or any expenses for legal or accounting services. Training courses might also go under your overhead category, but beware. Such courses abound in the indie world, they’re tempting, they’re expensive, and they’re of variable quality. It’s easy to part ways with your wallet unless you adhere to your budget.

Calculate Your Break-Even Cost

Now that you’ve identified your various line-item expenses, it’s time to calculate your break-even cost. Your break-even cost is the amount you must charge for a product in order for revenue to meet expenses. Understanding your break-even cost can quickly inform other business decisions and help you achieve your goals faster. The indie spreadsheet doesn’t quite go far enough to calculate break-even cost, but a quick tutorial on how to do it can be found here. Just remember that your business costs have to be accounted for, too (mostly in the fixed cost category). 

If it seems overwhelming, begin with your production costs and don’t worry about your business-side costs. Once you become more fluent with the math and more accustomed to tracking your expenses, you can refine your calculations. As with everything at DIY MFA, you must iterate, iterate, iterate. The same principles that apply to honing your writing process can also apply to your business process. Be patient with yourself, but be persistent.

Financial Best Practices for Self-Publishers

As you begin to build your business, observe a few best practices in regards to your finances:

• Don’t go into debt to publish your work. It’s not worth it. The odds of you writing a best-seller and digging your way out of debt are longer than your odds of getting hit by lightning. It’s safer and wiser to start modestly and improve your product over time as money permits.
• Only spend money you’re willing to lose. Publishing, and business in general, is full of risks. There are no guarantees. Don’t spend money you haven’t made or can’t afford to lose. 
• Start small. Especially if your budget is modest, start with a limited product offering. An e-book is the cheapest format to produce. Expand to print and audio as your income grows. 
• Be prepared to lose money until you have multiple books on the market. The costs of production are high, and the fewer products you have, the fewer the opportunities for people to discover you and support you. Many self-published authors employ a loss-leader strategy. They write a short story, novella, or even a full-length novel and give it away for free or for a nominal charge ($0.99) to attract potential readers. Inside the book they link to their sequel or another book they’ve written in the same genre. The second, third, and later books are always charged at full-price. If you’ve calculated your prices strategically, over time you can absorb the costs of your free book in the pricing of your additional books.

Sources of Capital

Need money to get your publishing business started? Here are a few sources that can help you find seed money. 

• Funds for Writers. This resource-rich website offers information on paying markets, grants, and contests as well as ways to generate income from writing.
• Consult your state, county, or city arts council to learn if they offer grants or scholarships for writers.
• Mark Dawson’s SPF Foundation provides scholarships and intensive training to four writers per year to help them launch their self-publishing careers effectively.
• Sources like Kickstarter or Patreon can help generate income, but pay careful attention to your responsibilities towards your supporters.
• The simplest way forward? Start a separate savings account for your publishing business, or keep a jar on your desk for the project, and be as disciplined as you can afford to be. Any time you get change from a transaction, dump the change into that jar. Tape a photo of a book or other image that symbolizes your vision on the jar to stop you dipping into the fund. 

Just because you’re a creative doesn’t mean you can’t run a business. By crafting your own budget or P&L statement, you’ll start thinking like a publisher. In turn, you’ll start making smart decisions for your business, selling more books, and realizing your creative vision. 

Helen J. Darling writes contemporary women’s fiction. Her first novel, I’ll Know Me When I Find Me, was self-published in January 2018. You can connect with her at itshelendarling.com and on Instagram at @itshelendarling.

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What is a Production Calendar?

A production calendar is a schedule for everything that you intend to publish. The calendar can be for six months, a year, five years, or whatever vision works for you. As a new indie author, a one-year schedule may give the best balance of short-term action and long-term vision.

Why Do I Need One?

As we discovered in my earlier post about SMART goals, if you don’t write down your plans and goals, they won’t come to fruition. The amount of information available on independent publishing can easily overwhelm even experienced author-publishers. A production calendar anchors and focuses your work, providing a structure that gives context to all the ideas, strategies, and opportunities that will come your way once you begin working in this sphere.

What Does a First-Year Author’s Calendar Look Like?

Months 1-2: Executive time

1) Block out a day on your calendar where you don’t do any writing at all. Just think about your business, where you want it to go, and how you want to get there. Set the vision. Buy a year-at-a-glance calendar, write your objectives on it, and post it on the wall where you’ll see it every day. Tools like this can really help you achieve your vision.

2) Once you’ve done that, write some SMART goals. This is a good time to consider your production model. Some independent authors work on a high-volume-output model, churning out a book a month. Others opt for a slow-and-steady pace, recognizing that high output can lead to rapid burnout. Decide what will work best for your reality and your goals for your author career.

3) Prepare a budget. If you’re just starting out as an indie author, you may not have much information to work with. At this stage, your budget may consist of a list of projected expenses. From that, you can make decisions about where and how to obtain your financing. Or, if you choose to self-finance, you might start from the opposite direction: You have a fixed amount of money to spend. Break down those projected expenses and determine what you can allocate to each line item. (We’ll talk more about financing in a future post.) In your first year, expect to lose money as your start-up costs accrue. Identify a timeline over which to amortize those costs.

4) Get your baseline business documents in order. Depending on where you live, you may be required to obtain a permit to run a home-based business. Contact your local chamber of commerce, and (in the USA) look on your state’s Secretary of State website for information on setting up your business. Consider how you will file your taxes—will you file as a sole proprietor, or do you need a larger business structure, like an LLC or corporation? Seek advice from qualified legal professionals and certified accountants. Helen Sedwick’s book The Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook is a terrific resource for the new independent author and can help you determine for what purposes you may need professional legal advice.

Ask a lawyer to draw up a boilerplate contract that you can use for all your future vendors (your editor, cover designer, and so on). Get her or his advice on GDPR. This is a major data privacy law passed last year in the EU and has significant implications for your mailing list, the independent author’s bread and butter.

Yes, these professionals’ time doesn’t come cheaply, but the investment, when made thoughtfully, is well worth it. You’re building a business for the long-term. Give it the foundation it deserves.

5) Establish your author website and your social media accounts. You need a presence on the web where people can discover you and your writing, and where you can start to collect a mailing list. An attractive looking website can be had for very little money: WordPress.com, Wix, and Squarespace are just a few sites that can get you up and running in a hot minute. WordPress.org gives you endless flexibility in your site’s design and capability, but it also demands more skill on your end. Decide what social media channels you’ll use—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or others—and grab your accounts. Get consistent usernames or handles to create a recognizable brand identity.

Months 3-9: Develop your product

6) Oh yeah…write your manuscript! Give yourself a deadline and stick to it. Use SMART goal techniques to fit writing in to your already-packed schedule.

7) Once that first draft is finished, celebrate! You’ve reached a major milestone that many would-be authors never realize.

8) Hire a development editor. Use that contract you drew up, and give her or him your first draft.

9) While your editor is working, keep yourself busy. Draft your book’s synopsis, your cover copy, or gather your thoughts on cover design with a mood board on Pinterest. Start working on a marketing plan.

10) Get the manuscript back from your editor and revise. When you’re done, send it back to your editor for a second read. Give it to some trusted friends or some beta readers (more on beta readers in a future post).

11) See  #9. Review your draft of your synopsis and cover copy, as you may have made revisions that affect these documents. If your editor’s feedback indicates your manuscript is nearly market-ready, you can hire a cover designer and begin to write your design memo.

• 11a) Repeat steps 9-11 as needed. Listen, it’s okay if at this point you need to revise your timeline. Take the time to get your manuscript right. Just be sure to give yourself new, firm dates to aim for, so your goal doesn’t slip from your grasp.

12) Make your final changes to your manuscript. Hire a copyeditor and give him or her the manuscript.

Months 10-12: Prepare to launch

13) Create a marketing strategy and plan your launch. Now is when you need to research and make decisions about product offerings (the formats you’ll offer your book in). Will you have a print book, or just an e-book (do you need a MOBI file, or an EPUB as well)? What about an audiobook? Who will handle the production? What prices will you charge for your products? Look back at your budget—what can you afford to produce, and how many units do you need to sell to break even?

In what channels will you sell your book? Will you “go wide” or restrict your book sales to Amazon? You’re a publisher now, so read that boring Terms and Conditions document and make sure you understand it—it’s a contract. The self-publishing world has endless debates over the merits of wide vs. exclusive. We’ll dive deeper into the pros and cons of each in a future post, but for now, The Alliance of Independent Authors offers a good primer.

Marketing is a key responsibility of the independent author (and—surprise!—it’s an important skill for the traditionally published author, too). Plan to invest some time researching different tactics and discerning what makes sense for you. As you execute your plan, make notes about what works well and what doesn’t. We’ll talk more about marketing plans in a future post, but in the meantime, Jane Friedman offers a terrific bird’s eye view of a marketing and launch plan for a new independent author.

14) Get your book’s ISBN (and barcode, if you intend to have a print product). In the US, ISBNs are obtained from Bowker. Don’t be tempted to get the free one from Amazon—you’ll want your own. And if you’re publishing in multiple formats, you’ll need an ISBN for each one (EPUB, MOBI, paperback, hardcover, large print, audio, etc.).

15) If you haven’t done so, hire your cover designer. Then write your design memo.

16) Get cover concepts back from your designer. Seek feedback from your mailing list.

17) Get your manuscript back from your copyeditor. Make the copyeditor’s corrections to your master file, then page up the book. Reedsy has a free tool, or you can go with a product like Vellum or Adobe InDesign.

18) Hire a proofreader to review your page proofs. Make final corrections.

19) Do your production pre-flight—this is the process of preparing your digital files for manufacture. If there are any problems with your cover or interior files, you’ll find out at this stage and correct them.

20) Upload your files to your chosen vendors. If you’re printing a book, order a proof copy from each vendor (Amazon, IngramSpark, etc.).

21) Launch your book! Again, take a day to celebrate.

22) File for copyright protection.

23) Review your notes of the past year. Plan version 2.0.

24) Write your next book.

Being an author-publisher can be an overwhelming job, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools, some thoughtful preparation, and a bit of personal discipline, you can realize goals that you’ve always dreamed about.

Helen J. Darling writes contemporary women’s fiction. Her first novel, I’ll Know Me When I Find Me, was self-published in January 2018. You can connect with her at itshelendarling.com and on Instagram at @itshelendarling.

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You can’t leave it all up to Amazon. If you want to make a success of independent publishing, be prepared to work. Independent publishing is a business. You need to treat it that way.

It’s all about mindset

Successful independent authors split their time between thinking like writers and thinking like publishers. There’s time to be creative and artistic, but there’s got to be time for clear, business-focused thinking, too. If you take the time to set up your business properly, it can help support you and your heirs for a long time.

If that seems daunting, or if you don’t think of yourself as an entrepreneur, don’t worry. Go slowly and stay focused on your goal. Here are five key steps to making a good start in indie publishing.

1) Write first

You can’t run a business without something to sell, so take your time and write the best manuscript you possibly can. Rushing a book to market is a waste. Read books on writing craft, but also study other authors you like (traditionally or independently published). Analyze their style. When you notice a phrase that grabs you, stop and ask yourself, why does it grab me? Pick it apart.

One classic exercise is to rewrite a page of your own writing in the style of a famous author. You’ll learn a lot about how and why good writing works. Apply what you’ve learned as you revise your work, then revise it again. Treat writing like a job and show up on a schedule that’s sustainable for you.

2) Do your homework

Read up on the publishing industry and on successful marketing strategy. Independent authors are often generous with their knowledge and experience. Blogs and podcasts like Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn or Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing Formula can give you helpful insights into this vast creative world. And be careful of anyone who promises overnight success.

Indies can reach global audiences with the click of a button. But it doesn’t matter if your office is a humble desk in the corner of your bedroom, you’re still running a global business and you must understand its legal implications, so include those topics in your research.

GDPR is one example. Those Terms and Conditions agreements you’ll be asked to sign are another—they’re binding contracts. Research the markets you want to reach, and let the complexities of those markets guide your strategic plan. I’ll write more on legal considerations in a future post.

Don’t freak out. Yes, the volume of information can get overwhelming, and at times you’ll feel like you’re eating an elephant. Just take it one bite at a time (see also #5: Be patient with yourself.).

3) Draft a business plan

Even if it’s nothing more than a list of goals and a paragraph about your vision, write it down and post it near your desk where you’ll see it every day. Better yet, share your goals with a supportive friend. Research by Professor Gail Matthews of Dominican University demonstrates that people who write down and share their goals are more likely to achieve them. As you grow in your experience, your business plan can grow in scope and detail. Plentiful resources on the internet exist to help entrepreneurs create and update business plans. Do some searching and find one that works for you. Remember, you can always update it.

If you want to go deeper than a simple list on a scrap of paper, draft a few SMART goals. SMART goals, a well-known technique from the business world, are  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. “I want to be the greatest author of all time” is not a SMART goal. “I will publish my first 40,000 word e-book on Amazon by January 31, 2019” is a SMART goal.  This blog post by Emily Esposito is a solid resource on how to write SMART goals. In a future post we’ll look at writing goals and mapping out our own paths to publishing success.

4) Spend money strategically

Yes, you have to spend money to make money. But just as in other kinds of business, nothing in publishing is guaranteed. The advantage of indie publishing is that you have more control: you can test, tweak, and tailor all aspects of the business—even after your book is published—to improve your success.

But it’s also easy, especially as you’re getting started, to spend large sums of money very fast. It’s important to be strategic in the way you spend what money you have available to you.

If there’s one ironclad rule of thumb in indie publishing, it’s this: Invest in the quality of your books. If you have only a small amount of money to spend, invest it on two things:

1) Professional editing

2) Quality cover design

These two factors will do more than anything else to present a professional product to the world. You may be a gifted and visionary storyteller, but if your grasp of grammar is tenuous at best and your artistic training topped out when you made a turkey from your handprint in kindergarten, no one is going to read your work.

In future posts we’ll consider how to find and hire quality professionals for your publishing team, but for now, understand that you’ll need these professional services. If your current budget limits you to accepting a self-made cover and the proofreading help of a sharp-eyed friend, that’s okay. Plan to use your first profits to upgrade your cover and your editing. It will always, always pay you back.

5) Be patient and honor your reality.

At DIY MFA, we talk about “honoring your reality.” Independent publishing works beautifully with this philosophy, because you are in control. You can take all the time you need, working at the pace that your schedule permits, with the budget you have available to you, and in a way that plays to your strengths.

• Schedule: Assess your situation. What time do you have available, not only to write, but to manage the business? You may be working a day job (or two). Maybe you have family or community commitments as well.  As you start out, business may need to take a back seat to writing. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to hold off on launching your independent publishing business until you have three books to promote. (I’ll address why in a future post).
• Budget: How much money can you invest in this venture? Keep in mind that going into indie publishing means taking a business risk. Don’t spend money you’re not prepared to lose, and never, never go into debt to launch your publishing career. If you must choose between paying your bills or spending money on your book, for heaven’s sake, pay your bills. There are ways to work around a tight budget, and we’ll examine those in a future post.
• Assess your strengths and weaknesses so you can assemble a good team: We can’t all be good at everything. If balancing your checkbook induces a migraine, you may want to hire a bookkeeper or accountant for your publishing business. If social media bewilders you, plan to consult a publicist. Great at coming up with catchy or memorable lines? You might make a brilliant copywriter. Some independent authors build their businesses by trading services. You write their marketing blurbs while they copy-edit your book, and so on. As always, if you’re low on funds, take your time and do tasks yourself. As you learn where your skills lie, you can make strategic decisions about which professionals to bring onto your team.

Bonus tip #6: Have fun.

All this talk of strategic plans, legal obligations, and global markets can sound scary, but it shouldn’t. Take it slowly and treat it seriously, but don’t let it frighten you away. Resources are out there to help you make informed decisions. The indie community is endlessly supportive. With the right mindset and a willingness to learn, you can do it.

Helen J. Darling writes contemporary women’s fiction. Her first novel, I’ll Know Me When I Find Me, was self-published in January 2018. You can connect with her at itshelendarling.com.

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