The question of blogging is often a question over whether the writer wishes to get the constant attention of a large audience. Whether for business or personal reasons, simply put – a blog is a wonderful idea. As an author or hopeful-author, this can be an important step to take as it helps you stay in touch with your audience. Knowing who your goal audience is can be difficult and time-consuming, but with the help of a blog and a bit of work, you may find your audience coming to you for updates, extra information and more. In addition, you will be able to reach a much wider audience base than you would through the process of only advertising your writing or name.
Marketers will tell you that the single largest obstacle that any person faces when trying to either sell a concept, service or product, is that the people you are trying to reach do not know who you are or what you have. Overall, a blog can be very beneficial to anyone. Even readers can write reviews of novels and have their opinions known, furthering the grapevine of who will come to know your name and writing. Some reviewers with top-notch blogs are even sent copies of a novel for review, which would make an excellent opportunity for you to get to know fellow bloggers and increase your audience.
Although blogs can be time consuming, it is very important to get the word out about you. Post your blog on search websites, use online tools to help spread the word, hold contests and make frequent announcements about your blog to your audience. If you don’t let people know you have a blog, they will likely never learn that it or you exist. The more the world knows you are out there, the more you will succeed in your endeavors.
Remember – you will succeed as an author only if you work hard, go the extra mile and believe in yourself! If you have the dream of making it as an author, you have everything you need to make that dream a reality.
Best of luck!
The Bokheim Chu
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While many publishing houses choose to accept only solicited manuscripts, Bokheim Publishing is open to all submissions. Although agents are sometimes needed for very large publishing houses to sort through the slush pile, we like to give every manuscript our personal attention and consideration. While agents do carefully review queries and take them into consideration we feel that an actual portion of the writing needs to be seen to be able to properly judge a novel.
Many novels that get lost in the slush pile do not belong there. While some novels rejected might not have been something that could do well, others are actually well written and thought provoking. A person may have his or her first, or even their first few novels, turned down before notice or attention is given. This can be due to how a query letter is written or merely luck. What catches the eye of one may not catch the eye of others. Unfortunately, this is how the market for submissions operates.
We feel the hard work of agents is valuable and seeking an agent is advisable, especially if you intend to publish more than one book and want to receive the best deal possible. However, we will continue to keep an open door policy with our submissions for as long as we can. Remember, you can make it as long as you keep your heart and faith in your work and continue developing your skills.
Best of luck!
The Bokheim Chu
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For every writer who dreams of becoming a published author, there is a process. This process is long, difficult and can leave your heart the worse for wear. You finish and sit there, holding your manuscript in your hands and you sit back, realizing that someone is going to be reading your work. This means others will see what you have written. This can be the hardest part of taking the first steps to becoming published, especially if you are concerned about a possible rejection.
If you have already gotten to this stage and sent out your work, we at Bokheim Publishing appreciate what you have done, regardless of where you sent your submission. It takes inner strength to be able to let others see your work. Many novels go unread because writers do not wish for others to reject their work, especially after having put in so much effort.
We believe every manuscript deserves a chance to be read. This might mean by an agent, editor, publisher, etc. If you are worried your manuscript might not have what it takes, then don’t fear submitting it. Ask yourself why you think this, but allow your manuscript to have a chance. Even if you are discouraged, all it means is that there is more room for you to grow as a writer.
Every rejection or piece of advice is something that you can use to help yourself grow as an author and a person. It can be hard to receive a rejection, but taking the time to listen and learn can pay off. It has been said in the past that every person has at least one great novel within him or her. Learn from everything you are told and never be afraid to grow.
I remember one author who received over a hundred rejections for his first book long before Bokheim was born. During this time, e-mail submissions were a ridiculed idea. This meant he had to print out his manuscript and pay postage every time he submitted. Then one day, he wrote a second novel without success on the first manuscript and he was accepted on his fourth try. Now he is one of the most well known authors in the U.S. and most of you have probably heard of or at least seen his books in bookstores.
Remember, with faith in your heart, and the determination to go forward, anything is possible.
Keep on trying!
The Bokheim Chu
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The internet has offered more to businesses and individuals than any other previous industry in business history. Bokheim Publishing understands what the internet can offer readers and authors. When you purchase our books directly from our website, you will see this understanding brought forth in every aspect of our service to you. At Bokheim, we extend a warm welcome to anyone who visits our main website.
At the request of our readers, we have implemented a new ‘bonus points systems’ for each purchase. This means that for every book you buy, you will receive a point towards any book of your choice on our website. In addition, by visiting our website or joining our newsletter subscription list, you will be kept appraised of new sales, special offers and our monthly contests for a free book.
Bokheim sells books all over the world because we offer only high quality literature. Our readers and authors alike appreciate this service and seek us out. We offer high royalties, environmentally friendly services and personalized one-on-one attention with our readers. In addition, we endeavor to offer our books in every format our readers want to have available. If there is a format you do not see but wish to have available, please let us know.
Although not everyone prefers to use the internet to purchase their entertainment literature, as of 2008 there were over 1,463,500,000 internet users according to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. We are now 2010. This number will doubtless grow with time and we wish to offer a high quality website to match our literature. To this end, if our readers or authors wish to see a specific feature available, let us here at Bokheim know and we will do our best to make it happen.
Enjoy the reading!
The Bokheim Chu
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Editing is essential. When trying to have a manuscript published, manuscripts will be evaluated and scrutinized. If it appears that a would-be author has not taken the time to have a potential book edited, it can be assumed that the entire manuscript is in a similar state. Editing a manuscript will allow it to be easily read and understood. As a reader, if you find mistake after mistake, it will take away from the enjoyment of the reading experience. Editing can help you make sure that others will be able to enjoy your novel to the extent it deserves.
Editing is also important because in order for every author to grow they need to understand what parts of their writing could use some improvement. Improvement can cover getting better with plot fluidity, details, sentence structure, spelling or any number of additional factors. Each time a person edits, he or she is learning what they could improve in the next novel, making it even more enjoyable and well written.
For many readers and reviewers, seeing an author grow and improve in his or her stories can help their appreciation and love grow. Editors and publishers will also appreciate editing that has been done on a manuscript, allowing them to do their jobs more efficiently and to publish the books more quickly. Editing is always important to everyone in the publishing industry, but always remember, the person it can help the most, is the potential author submitting the manuscript.
Best of luck!
The Bokheim Chu
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There are few experiences more crushing for a writer than his or her first rejection. The first rejection is bad enough, but when he or she begins to receive rejections in the dozens, it is possible to begin to question whether the manuscript is ready to be published. This is especially true for writers who may not have previously received publication.
Do not take a rejection personally. Although receiving a rejection is a painful experience, the publisher or agent does not mean a manuscript is not worth being published. It means that they are not the right person to help you with your publishing experience. It is important to research agents or publishers carefully before submitting. Agents and publishers look for manuscripts they know are well written and have high marketability.
One of the more common causes for rejection is because the guidelines that the agents or publisher have set were not followed while submitting to them. Many individuals start to wonder when they should start revising their manuscript or query again, or if they should give up hope. If enough rejections are received, try to identify the cause (i.e. the query letter or first ten pages or equivalent of the manuscript). However, any writer submitting should make sure they do not change their manuscript because of rejections if only a query has been viewed and not the actual manuscript itself.
There are many reasons that a manuscript may be rejected. Properly identifying the reason behind a rejection may help in future endeavors. The market is controlled by the readers, and as companies and businesses, agents and publishers, have to find what those reader will want and release it with proper timing. Researching the market can be very important, but even more important is finding the niche of that market that your novel fits into and the agent or publisher that can help you get there.
If proper preparation has been taken including writing classes, proper editing, professional workshops, and there is 100% confidence in the manuscript, keep that confidence. Know your genre and keep faith in your heart. Keep in mind that often the individual you are submitting to is not necessarily the one doing the initial evaluation. Therefore, never give up and continue to try with confidence while learning along the way.
Best of luck!
The Bokheim Chu
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When writing a first novel, the experience is similar to having a child or a beloved pet. You write the words and suddenly something completely extraordinary blooms from the once blank pages. Suddenly it is your baby and you put all of your love into it. You dream of its future and setting goals. Unfortunately, many author’s first novels never reach publication. Do not let this discourage you. It is not a negative thing to experience, only a stepping-stone to improving your writing, plot structure, etc.
Some individuals may try to get their first novel published and find that it is far more difficult than they had imagined. This is usually true for every individual. A writer’s job does not finish once the last page has been penned or typed. Instead, the quest for the perfect query begins. Many publishers now refuse to accept unsolicited queries because of the grueling process so many have to go through. As a result, many with talent have gotten lost in the ever-growing slush pile.
When a novel is finished, an author is then asked to write a query letter – a synopsis covering the full range of the novel, including any additional information and qualifications. For some authors, they begin to wonder if they are selling their novel, or their qualifications. At Bokheim Publishing, we prefer to allow your novel to speak for itself. What we need is a well-written manuscript that fits our guidelines and preferences.
This can mean anything from a Young Adult Urban Fantasy to Christian Memoirs. We try to give a fair chance to every submission that follows our guidelines and we make sure that accepted projects receive the attention they deserve. This might not mean your first novel is published, but hang in there, because with each finished novel a writer can grow. Before you know it, just as with the transformation of those blank pages you watched bloom into something new and amazing, you may find yourself blooming into a published author.
If you have any questions concerning the process, or merely a question you have always wanted to ask a publisher, please do not hesitate to let us know here or e-mail us at submissions@bokheim.com. We will even post your question along with our answer anonymously in order to allow others to benefit who may have the same questions.
Check out our submission guidelines at http://publishing.bokheim.com! Best of luck with your writing!
The Bokheim Chu
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