Occasionally professional writers will come up against the situation of clients who are late in paying or don’t pay at all. With many businesses, including publishing houses and independent book stores, struggling in the last years, writers are just as likely as other small business persons to find that their payments are delayed or not coming at all.

Of course we all hope this doesn’t happen to us, but if it does, there are ways to handle it.

What you can do:

• Give ’em the benefit of a doubt. Send a polite letter requesting payment. Assume that the publisher or client simply forgot to send the payment.

• Give a reminder. If you haven’t heard back in two weeks, send another letter, with a copy of the first letter. Make a copy of the contract or purchase order (never send the original) and enclose it. Reference it in your letter.

• Give ’em a ring. If you don’t receive payment in two weeks following the second letter, call. Again, keep it friendly and polite. Keep a record of your calls and what was said on both parts. Ask if there is any reason why you haven’t received payment. Acknowledge the reason, but remind the editor or publisher that payment is owed. Refer to the language of the contract. Don’t adopt a threatening tone. No one reacts well to that.

• Immediately after the phone conversation, send another letter, this one by certified mail, requesting return receipt. Certified mail requires and receives more attention than regular mail. It provides legal proof that you mailed the letter and that the other person received it. Remind the client of the conversation, repeating the points made in it, and the person’s promise to send payment.

• If you are uncomfortable calling, try sending an email. Many editors prefer that method of communication. Be careful here. Email can seem cold and impersonal. Keep your message brief but conciliatory.

• From this point on, if you still haven’t received any payment, use a series of certified letters, phone calls, and/or emails. This tells the editor or publisher that you are not giving up.

• If you are still unsuccessful, send a final letter, by certified mail again, stating that you have no choice but to take action. What this action is depends upon you and what results you desire. Obviously, you want to be paid for your work. If the publisher has gone bankrupt (a not unusual occurrence in these days), you may be out the money. If this is the case, you are free to send your manuscript elsewhere.

• You can turn the matter over to a collection agency or attorney who will charge a percentage to use every device to collect the money. Be aware that unless a large amount of money is concerned, you may not get any takers. The more paperwork you have—a contract, copies of a purchase order, etc.—the better chance you have of collection.

• You can take the publisher to small claims court if the amount owed is below that allowed in small claims court. This varies from state to state.

Obviously, a writer does not want to resort to these last two measures. They take time and will probably cost money. You may decide to cut your losses. Chalk up the experience to the price of doing business and learn from it.

What can you do to prevent finding yourself in this situation:

• Do your homework. Before signing any contract or accepting any writing assignment, check out the publisher. Go to their web site. Check out the quality and ease of use of it. If it is sloppy or amateurish, take a second thought about signing with this publishing house

• Network. Attend writers’ conferences and seminars. Ask around about the publisher with which you are thinking of signing. Writers are usually a generous bunch and will share whatever information they can with you. Don’t expect them, however, to divulge specific details of contracts. Keep your questions general.

• If anything seems “off” about the contract or assignment, run, don’t walk. No promise of future money is worth the aggravation and annoyance of trying to collect payment.

Remember, you are a business person. If you face late or non-payment from a writing job, treat it as you would any business dealing. Don’t take it personally. Conduct yourself professionally.

Jane McBride Choate is the author of 32 books and a Contributing Editor to Children's Book Insider. Her latest book is Larrabee's Luck from Avalon Romance. Read an interview with Jane at Avalon Authors.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? (For those of you who don’t know, pantser refers to those authors who write by the seat of their pants.) This is a common discussion among writers. Those who are plotters defend their position of outlining complete with Roman numerals and letters and writing out thirty page synopses. Pantsers feel equally strongly about their more free-wheeling techniques and love the spontaneity of writing whatever comes into their mind at any given moment.

Where do you fall? Are you a logical and precise plotter or an emotional and intuitive pantser? Or do you fall somewhere in between?

Not sure what you are? Let’s examine the differences between plotters and pantsers:

You are probably a plotter if you:

• Like to plan out most aspects of your life. You like to schedule your day down to the hour or even the half hour. Your vacations are planned a year, or at least six months, in advance.

• Don’t work well with distractions.

• Tend toward linear or step-by-step learning.

• Zero in on details rather than the overall pattern. (You see the trees rather than the forest.)

• Like a structured environment.

• Make decisions based on logic, facts, and reason.

• Like to do one thing at a time.

• Enjoy learning when facts and numbers are presented.

• Learn best when new information is presented in sequential form.

You are probably a pantser if you:

• Have only the most general of ideas of where your story is going.

• You are spontaneous in how you live your life as well as in how you write. Read more

Probably the most oft-asked question a fiction writer has to answer is “Where do you get your ideas?” Along with writer friends, I have struggled to answer it and, occasionally, struggled to find ideas. Even the most experienced writer can find the creative well dry.

So, WHERE do we get ideas for a short story, a picture book, a first chapter book, or a full-length novel?

The answers are as varied as writers themselves.

Let me share with you some suggestions that I and other writers have tried.

Journaling. If you don’t keep a journal, start. If you already are writing in a journal, look to it for things that are important to you. Chances are you will find ideas right there among your own words.

Read the phone book. Or a “name your baby” book. Sometimes a name can ignite an idea. Discover the origin of the name, what it means, when it became popular. Ask yourself what kind of person an “Alex” or a “Byran” would be.

Imaginary dialogue. Do you remember how you used to play “make believe?” Revive that pastime. Pretend that you are an eleven-year-old girl and are having a conversation with a friend. Write down everything you and your “friend” say to each other. Perhaps you decide to be a six-year-old boy dealing with the death of his mother. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Eavesdrop. I have put this forth before as a way to improve crafting dialogue. Eavesdropping is also a great way to pick up ideas. Hang out at a fast-food place. Visit the playground. Pick a spot at the mall, bring some snacks and a notebook, and prepare to be entertained.

Become a news junkie. Newspapers and magazines are a great place to find germs of ideas. I based one of my romances on a small article I found in the back page of our local paper. The article told of the transplanting of the gray wolf in selected areas of Colorado and the controversy it roused between ranchers and naturalists. Advertisements in magazines and on television can also spark ideas. Marketing people are experts on what children, teens, and young adults are interested in.

Tune in to social networking. Listen to what others are talking about. Pay attention to how people communicate with each other.

Volunteer at your children’s schools. If you don’t have children in school, volunteer anyway. You can’t help but pick up on what is current among children when you listen to their banter and conversations.

Make nice with a teacher and/or librarian. These individuals are on the forefront of working with children. They hear and see everything. They can steer you away from subjects that have been overdone and give you a fresh set of eyes from which to evaluate ideas..

Check out the calendar. Look at upcoming holidays. Does the memory of a Christmas past stir a memory within you that you can turn into a story? What about the Fourth of July? Can you picture yourself when you were a kid staying up far past your bedtime, waiting for the fireworks to go off? What about Labor Day? Did your family take a trip before school started? Tap into those memories and the emotions they produce. Then use them as a platform for a story.

Brainstorm. Do you belong to a writers’ group? Suggest a brainstorming session. (The other members will thank you as they are probably struggling to find story ideas as well.) Listen to the ideas of others; contribute some of your own. The only rule is that no idea is treated with ridicule.

Make a list and check it twice. Make a list of things that interest you, including your hobbies. Do you collect dolls? Do you like to hike in the mountains? Do you volunteer at an animal shelter? Find the core of that interest and ask yourself why you find it fascinating. Choose a character who would share that interest and start writing.

Finding ideas is much like going to a garage sale. You have to sift through a lot of junk before finding a treasure. When you discover that treasure, you will feel a zing of excitement like no other. Your job as a writer is to be aware of the world around you and then to write about one small element of that world with sensitivity, humor, and compassion.

Jane McBride Choate is the author of 32 books. Her latest is Larrabee's Luck from Avalon Romance. Read an interview with Jane at Avalon Authors.

Writers know the importance of outlining. A good book starts with a strong outline or plan. But do you know the importance of outlining your social media marketing?

Of course you have a website. You’re on Facebook, you tweet, you blog. You’re familiar with MySpace, YouTube, Tumblr, Linked In, and other social network sites. Do you have a plan to make your efforts work together toward your goal?

Unless you are one of those rare creatures who have never procrastinated or even been tempted to procrastinate important tasks, you’ll want to have specific time to reach the goals. Just as you break down writing a book into small steps, so you should break down your social media marketing plan into small steps.

A reasonable time frame to get a basic plan up and running is two to three months, depending upon how many elements you plan to implement. As you grow more familiar with the use of a marketing plan and develop a comprehensive career plan, you may want to take a more long-range view and create a plan for six months to a year or even more. Clearly, this is something you should start while you're writing your manuscript, in order to establish a social media presence. Once you've sold your book, you can instantly plug book promotion into your existing online platform. The following outline pertains to promoting a newly-published book, but many of the elements (such as creating a website and blog) can be started when the book is still a work-in-progress.

You’ll first want to identify your target audience. That’s obvious, you may say. I write for children so children are my audience. That’s great, as far as it goes. What about reaching your readers’ parents and/or teachers as well?

The number of social media outlets continues to grow. Use those with which you are most familiar and comfortable. As your skill and comfort level with these grow, you may want to add more.

Some of the most common social networks are:

LinkedIn

Tumblr

YouTube

Yahoo Groups

Twitter

MySpace

Blog Talk Radio

Facebook

Start with the basics. Is this your first foray into social media marketing? If so, you will probably want to begin with the basics to lay a strong foundation for future growth. Goals should define what your efforts will yield at the end of your chosen time frame.

Break them down. You know the goal-reaching routine. Break each goal down into a series of specific tasks. Have you ever watched the Bill Murray comedy What About Bob? Richard Dreyfuss, Bob’s psychiatrist, counsels him to break his goals down into baby steps. Apply this same advice to your social media marketing program. For example, if you want to increase your blog's presence by both offering to write guest posts for other blogs, and by scheduling guest writers on your blog (all in exchange for linking to each other's blog and promoting each other's books), you'll need to contact at least two to four other bloggers per week to meet your goal. Let’s look at how a sample eight-week plan would come together. If this seems like too much, spread it out over 12 weeks.

Week One:

- Create a series (three to five is reasonable) of 30-second videos previewing upcoming releases.

- If you haven’t joined Yahoo Groups allowing author promotion, do so. Search Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/) for keywords like author promotion, book reviews, children, author promo, novel excerpts, etc. Many Yahoo Groups have been established for readers to read excerpts, interviews, book reviews, and news of giveaways or contests hosted by authors for children.

- Look at your website.

o Determine if your website encourages reader participation. Does it need updating or to make it more easily navigable?

o If you have determined that it needs updating, design a new site, making certain you have included links to your other social media efforts.

- Blogging.

o Schedule guest blogs by other authors for your blog and link it to your updated website

o Blog on your own and other authors’ websites. Read more

Do you believe that your job as a writer is to write a great book? If so, you’re half right. Do you believe that your job as a writer is to write a great book AND to market it to the best of your ability?

Congratulations! You’re on the right path.

Publishing has some dirty secrets. One of them is that nobody cares about you. A second is that nobody cares about your book.

Does this leave you depressed? It shouldn’t, because you can make people care. How?

At a recent writers’ conference, I was fortunate enough to meet Randy Ingermanson. Randy, a master of marketing and the author of Writing Fiction for Dummies, listed the false impressions or pipe dreams that sometimes keep writers from achieving their dreams:

False impression number one: My publisher will do it all.

• Publishers only market the winners.
• Your book won’t be a winner unless it gets marketed.
• That means you need to market your book yourself.
• Marketing your book means marketing YOU!
• To quote from the television show Monk, “It’s a jungle out there.”

False impression number two: My publicist will do it all.

• A publicist can only help you if you are publicizable. A publicist can help you become publicizable by asking:

1. How can you connect your novel to the news?
2. What’s your platform?
3. Who cares about what your novel is about? 

• Many authors face these questions only when it’s too late (after their book is published), so hiring a publicist turns out to be a waste of money.

False impression number three: Great writing will do it all.

• Best marketing is a great story.
• In some cases, that’s all it takes, but not always.
• Don’t depend on the brilliance of your prose to take care of your marketing needs.
• Be proactive.

False impression number four: Word of mouth will do it all.

• Word of mouth is best, but it doesn’t start on its own.
• You, the author, have to start a brush fire or a buzz.

False impression number five: My brand will do it all.

• Your brand is “what people think when they hear your name.
• Your brand is not your tagline or logo or picture.

Okay, we’ve talked about the pipe dreams or false impressions under which writers operate. What can we do to work in the real world?

My mother comes from Tennessee. Those from Tennessee don’t have ancestors, they have “people.” Upon meeting others, someone from Tennessee will ask, “Who are your people?”

So what does this have to do with writing?

Every writer needs people. Or a tribe. A tribe is a set of people who know who you are and who love your work. Your tribe is the people who know your brand and will work hard to spread the word about it.

Randy listed four channels of communication necessary if your tribe is to help you grow your brand:

• You must have a way to talk to your tribe.
• Your tribe must have a way to talk back to you.
• Your tribe wants to talk to other tribe members.
• Your tribe needs a way to talk to outsiders.

Tribe-based marketing is all about opening up these four channels of communication wider and wider. This does not happen all at once. It takes time and effort. Fortunately for today’s writers, technology makes it easier and quicker.

Now that we’ve discussed why having a tribe is so important, let’s talk about how to build a tribe.

• Post an article on your web site.
• Join an online community and post on the loop.
• Launch an e-zine.
• Create a podcast.
• Start a blog and post on other writers’ blogs.
• Build a set of lectures on the organization, craft, and marketing of writing.

Obviously you won’t be able to do all of these things at once. Start small, then build upon that beginning. Keep adding to your marketing efforts until you reach the level at which you feel comfortable and can keep up.

Jane McBride Choate is a Contributing Editor to Children's Book Insider, and an author. Her newest books include Bride Price and Eden's Garden from Avalon Romance.

Like many people, writers are searching for ways to supplement their incomes. Some have turned to giving workshops and speaking to libraries, school classes, and other groups to earn extra money. An added plus is that speaking to such groups is a great way to promote your book. Consider having a friend or family member critique your presentation. You may even ask someone to tape you. Listen to the feedback and made any needed corrections. After all, you want to be invited back. Physical appearance

• Are your clothes appropriate for the setting? You will probably not be dressed “to the nines” for an informal chat at an elementary school or the local library. You want to look approachable and friendly.

• Could you dress in some kind of costume that relates to your book? Is your chapter book about a young girl’s journey west on a wagon train? Could you dress in pioneer garb? Have you written a “tween” novel about a Civil War era girl who befriends a slave? Could you fashion some kind of Civil War costume? (If you aren’t handy with a sewing machine, try visiting a thrift shop. I find thrift shops a great place to look for costumes or special clothing.)

Props

• Do you have props or visual aids? Children respond to things they can see and touch. A poster of your book (provided by your publisher) is always good, but can you incorporate something else? What about having something to hand out, such as bookmarks or some other token that is a reminder of your book? (There are companies who specialize in making giveaways for authors.) Younger children love to have something to take with them.

• If your book features an animal, can you make arrangements to bring one to your presentation? Use your imagination to come up with intriguing ideas.

Special considerations for speaking to a school class

• How many children are expected? You will want to know this before you show up so you can have the necessary number of bookmarks or other tokens to give out.

• What is the age of the children to whom you’ll be speaking?

• Will a microphone be available?

• How much time will you have?

• Will you be sharing the time with other speakers?

• Can you make a power point presentation on how you created your book? Children love “how-to” presentations.

• Can you find a way to involve the children in your presentation? Could you have them act out a scene from your book? Or could you read a passage from your book?

• Have you left time at the end of your talk for questions? Chances are you will be peppered with questions from your young listeners.

Miscellaneous

• Do you give your note cards an occasional glance rather than reading them?

• Have you given in to nervous gestures, such as fingering your hair, stuffing your hands in pockets, or scratching your nose? These are common behaviors, ones that you may well not be aware of.

• Do you maintain eye contact with the children?

• Do you occasionally sweep the room with a glance?

• Are you smiling?

• Are you clearly enthusiastic about the subject? Children sense when a speaker is enthusiastic about her subject.

• Do you project your voice?

• Do you vary your pitch and tone? A monotonous tone will likely lull your listeners to sleep or, at the very least, bore them.

Speaking before a group isn’t for everyone. However, even the most reclusive writer can learn a few simple techniques to improve her presentation skills and become a sought-after speaker. Jane McBride Choate is a Contributing Editor to Children's Book Insider, and an author. Her newest books include Bride Price and Eden's Garden from Avalon Romance.

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children’s book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!