Newsletter and Grammar Coach

One song that resonated with Americans in the waning but uncertain months of World War II was a toe-tapping, uplifting tune in which lyricist Johnny Mercer encouraged people to “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate [Accentuate] the Positive.” Versions by the Pied Pipers with the Paul Weston Orchestra, as well as by Artie Shaw’s Orchestra and Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters all rode the charts in the spring of 1945.

The message of that 80-year-old song remains just as relevant today, with its catchy lyrics “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative….” That’s good advice for writers and speakers. Latching on to the affirmative is a good way to invite support and to help make statements welcoming and persuasive.

For example, instead of telling your supervisor or your client, “I’m sorry, I’m unable to schedule any time this week to work on that project,” eliminate the negative and illuminate it in a positive light: “I’ve scheduled time to work on your project beginning Monday.”

The declaration that “entries submitted after the June 20 filing deadline will be rejected” is intended to produce compliance, but it had a stern, foreboding tone. That sense of urgency can be expressed in more engaging terms. “Entries must be submitted no later than June 20 to be considered” is better, but “no later than” still conveys a hint of hostility. “Submit your entry by June 20 in order to be considered” is more welcoming, yet still clearly articulates the deadline.

A father’s prodding nudge “Don’t forget to set your alarm for 6:30 a.m.” can sound belittling because it subliminally conveys his lack of confidence in his children’s sense of responsibility. He can give his reminder a more affirmative tone by beginning with a contrasting word: “Remember to set your alarm for 6:30 a.m.”

Words that can strike a sour note in a sentence that begins with a disingenuous positive note are “unfortunately,” “however,” “until,” “unless,” “without” and “but.” Those words aren’t inherently bad, but they take on a forbidding, dark character when they’re prefaced by an innocuous or seemingly positive statement. It’s like someone giving your sled a supposedly helpful push down a snowbank — and then you suddenly notice a large unavoidable rock right where you’re heading.

Most people develop a sixth sense about when they’re on the verge of running smack into a big “but.” Feeling the forbidding tone oozing from Tanya’s sentence that began “I’m sure you made a sincere effort on your proposal,” Alex knew what was likely to follow: “BUT, it missed the mark” or “BUT, it fell considerably short of my expectations.” Such a statement inevitably leaves Alex feeling inadequate or irritated. “But” is a spoiler alert. Tanya could have reduced the harshness of her statement by leaving the “but” out. “Alex, your proposal made several good points. I have a couple of ideas to refine and strengthen it…” has a much more optimistic tone that will help instill the enthusiasm that Alex needs to improve his proposal.

An autoreply email response that instructs “Do not reply to this message because this account is not monitored” essentially tells recipients “Don’t bother us anymore. We’re not interested in you or what you have to say.” Instead of slamming the door, keep it open by telling the recipient, “We’re here for you. If you need clarification or have any questions, you can reach us by phone or email at….”

The response “I don’t know the answer” is another conversation dead-end. Instead, keep the conversation going: “You raised a good question. I will do some checking to find out more about that and either I will get back to you, or I’ll connect you with someone who is familiar with that and can help.”

We’ve all heard, “I’m sorry, but our policy forbids that” and “That model has been discontinued and your unit is out of warranty.” Placing blame on a policy for inability to rectify a problem is bureaucratic and impersonal. Be creative and steer toward the bright side: Instead, try “Here is what we can do for you right now” or “I know of a couple of alternatives. Let’s discuss them to see which would be best for you.”

When you accentuate the positive, you tell people what is possible and what can be done for them rather than saying what can’t be done. Illuminate alternatives and find ways to enable people to make choices.

Since 2016, our BookPrep service has helped more than 50 authors self-publish their books. Some were first-time authors, while others previously had written books that were produced by traditional commercial publishers as well as academic imprints. They chose to publish themselves after careful consideration of options.

Both traditional publishing and self-publishing have advantages and disadvantages in 10 key aspects of book publication. We’ll familiarize you with the alternatives here so you can make an informed decision about which approach will best serve your needs and circumstances.

1. Rejection

Traditional publishing: Writers need nerves of steel and egos that are conditioned to withstand the battering of form-letter rejection slips from literary agents and publishers. Expect to spend a lot of time to craft a proposal infused with strategic selling points, as well as copy center and postage costs to mail those proposals.

Self-publishing: No one can reject your manuscript when you self-publish it. Although developing a proposal isn’t necessary for self-publishers, you may find the time spent in conceiving strategic points worthwhile as a means to sharpen the focus and marketability of your planned book. But your strategic planning document can remain a Microsoft Word file on your computer for you alone, requiring no expenditure of printing or mailing costs.

2. Control over the written narrative

Traditional publishing: You relinquish most or all control over many key decisions when working with a traditional publishing house. Of greatest concern, traditional publishers commonly dictate which written material a book will contain, and which will not make the cut. They typically assign an editor, with results that may not necessarily be satisfying. In our own experience with a traditional publisher, an editor who was assigned to our manuscript introduced grammatical and factual errors that were rectified only after we intervened, thereby creating additional work for us.

Self-publishing: You retain absolute control over editorial content as a self-publisher. You decide which chapters to include, their order of appearance in the book, key messages you want to convey and other considerations.

3. Literary rights

Traditional publishing: When you sign an agreement with a publishing house, you’re also licensing away the rights to publish your written work — primary publication rights, and often subsidiary rights to publish the content in e-book form or license it to a filmmaker. The publisher retains control over those publication rights for the duration of time specified in the contract.

Self-publishing: As a self-published author, you own and retain all intellectual property rights associated with your creative content. But some firms that help authors self-publish may have contracts with small-print wording that transfers copyright or ownership of digital files to them. In contrast, BookPrep clients retain full copyright ownership throughout the process and may obtain their digital files upon request at no additional charge.

4. Book title

Traditional publishing: The title you chose may not necessarily resonate with traditional publishers, who can exercise the option to adjust or even completely change the title of their signed authors’ books.

Self-publishing: As a self-publishing author, you have full reign to choose the title of your book.

5. Visual content — Imagery and design

Traditional publishing: Decisions about key design elements may be made with or without your consultation when working with a conventional publisher. The eventual cover design, imagery and page dimensions that a publisher chooses for your book may be appealing — or conversely, may not necessarily be to your liking. Either way, you may not have a vote in the matter.

Self-publishing: When you self-publish, either entirely on your own or with a design and formatting service such as BookPrep, you make all the key determinations about the appearance of the book: its cover and interior design, illustrations to include and exclude, and typographical choices, including font, text size, line spacing, page margins and the type of cover for print editions.

6. Publication schedule

Traditional publishing: Patience is required when pursuing the traditional publishing route, which typically takes two to three years or more to bring a book to market. Most conventional publishers accept submissions only from recognized literary agents, requiring authors to seek, solicit and gain the acceptance of a literary agent — which is itself a long, competitive process during which your manuscript will be read and critiqued — and then you may be required to make modifications.

Self-publishing: If you’re eager to bring your book to market, self-publishing offers the greatest efficiency. Once work begins, BookPrep typically can complete formatting, design and uploading of a book file to make it available for sale within two to three months.

7. Expenses and earnings

Traditional publishing: While reputable literary agents do not charge a reading fee to review submitted manuscripts, they are compensated by collecting a commission on all author earnings, including advances as well as sales royalties. The most common commission rate is 15%, but some agents may assess a 20% or 25% commission when negotiations for foreign publication rights or motion picture rights are involved. The structures for royalties that publishers pay authors against retail sales vary widely, with differing tiers of compensation depending upon sales volume. In general, authors with track records of success are paid more generously than rookie authors, for whom royalties range from about 5% to perhaps 15% of the list price of each book — which may amount to cents rather than dollars per book sold.

Self-publishing: If you choose to publish entirely on your own, for example through Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) platform, authors’ expenses are minimal but so is their level of control over various elements, including retail price and royalties. The formatting and uploading process is complex and the technical specifications are demanding to the degree that numerous authors enlisted the aid of BookPrep to work through that process for them. BookPrep’s reasonable fees are structured to accommodate various author needs, and authors have a hand in determining the suggested list price and in establishing their earnings per sale. Contemporary print-on-demand technology has eliminated the need for self-publishing authors to buy and stockpile their own books. The manufacturer-wholesaler that we recommend produces and ships books overnight and manages all transactions with retail outlets, then subsequently pays royalties to authors for accrued sales. Most authors working with BookPrep set their royalties at around $2 per e-book sold, and commonly more per print book sold. The royalty amount influences the list price, and BookPrep authors make those determinations.

8. Publicity

Traditional publishing: Under most circumstances writers can expect publicity support from traditional publishers — but only within a brief window of time, as little as two or three months. For unproven authors, PR support may consist of little more than preparation and distribution of a formulaic news release sent to the Publishers Weekly trade magazine and a few select news outlets. While book publishers may arrange interviews with journalists, they may not necessarily be scheduled at convenient times. After the publisher closes the publicity support window, authors are left entirely on their own to maintain the momentum by contacting and pitching journalists, bloggers and talk show hosts.

Self-publishing. Whether you work with a traditional publisher or self-publish, you will be responsible for the bulk of public relations activity, including developing a strong set of talking points. Initiating contact with journalists and bloggers is not difficult, but it is time-consuming and it requires persistence. The more committed you are, the greater your chances are for making impressions with prospective readers.

9. Error correction

Traditional publishing: Authors whose books are published with conventional letterpress technology inevitably find one or more errors after the press run of their book is already in circulation. They have to live with those errors until they can be corrected in a second edition — which may not necessarily be published.

Self-publishing: One of the greatest benefits of digital on-demand printing technology is the ability to accommodate error correction on the fly. If you spot an error in your book after it has been published, a rectified file can be made and uploaded without missing a beat. If it’s a simple change to correct — for example, a name misspelling or other typographical error — that can usually be done within the first 30 days of publication at no additional charge for BookPrep clients.

10. Shelf life

Traditional publishing: Writers with traditional publishers may be disappointed to learn that their books may be removed from circulation far sooner than they had anticipated — sometimes 18 months or less following publication. Books that are slow in attracting the attention of prospective readers soon are unceremoniously dumped on the discount table.

Self-publishing: As a self-published author working with BookPrep, you can keep your book in active sales in perpetuity if you wish. The choice is entirely yours.

If after weighing the options you decide that self-publishing is the right approach for you, contact us for information about the various BookPrep options. As part of the BookPrep package, EditPros professionally formats the interior pages of each book, designs the covers, and readies them for print publication. If you prefer, you can restrict distribution of your book, making it accessible at wholesale cost only to family members and friends. For authors who want to make their books available commercially in both print and digital editions, BookPrep formats and converts the book files into e-books for sale through Amazon (Kindle), Apple (Books), Barnes & Noble (Nook), and Kobo.

With BookPrep, authors determine retail pricing, they retain all rights to their books, and they collect 100% of sales royalties. EditPros’ BookPrep service has helped writers publish 65 books since 2016.

We invite you to LEARN MORE about the EditPros BookPrep service.

Colin G. wrote:

“I always wonder why some people say things like ‘I would agree’ or ‘I should think so’ when they really mean ‘I agree’ or ‘I think so.’ Is there some kind of grammatical justification for that phrasing?”

The grammar coach replies:

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Are you perplexed by some aspect of grammar or word usage? Don't be shy! Ask the "grammar coach" at EditPros and we'll try to help — at no charge, just for the sport of it.

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