This document provides an overview of a class on getting published. It discusses establishing an online presence, including making online material unique, beating competition for views, balancing content and entertainment, and deciding whether to build a website yourself or hire someone. It provides examples of successful author websites and tips for finding more examples. The document emphasizes consistently providing new content, using social media to drive traffic, and making one's website their professional online persona over time. The next class will cover challenges and opportunities of social media.

1. Getting Published Now!
Coronado Adult Education
Spring 2015
Establishing an Online Presence
February 10, 2015

2. Recap of What
We Covered Last Week

3. “The Great American Novel”
• Great or not-so-great? What you need to know
getting started
• Mainstream or genre? Which way should you go?
• Defining your audience and picking a “voice” and
point of view
• Getting the sale with a publisher

4. This Week:
Establishing an Online Presence

5. Establishing an Online Presence
• Review of weeks one through four
– Why write – writing skills in general
– Writing for and selling for publication
– Writing and selling non-fiction
– Writing and selling novels
• What makes your online material unique?
• Beating the competition for “eyes”
• Balancing content and entertainment
• Doing-it-yourself…or…?

6. Why Write?
• History is what writers say it is
• Picking your medium
• A building block approach
• Due diligence the easy way

7. “History is what the historians and writers
say it is.”
Norman Polmar
(Forty books – and counting)

8. Recap of What We Talked About
• Telling stories is what we humans do
• Determining the “Five Ws” of writing
• Evaluating the universe of outlets for your writing
• It usually starts with what you read
• Due diligence – the internet and your library
• Do write that “family pass-down”

9. First - and Essential - Steps
• Content-hungry media
• Recycling and building content
• Building relationships with editors – a win-win for
both parties
• Solo or with a wingman? The pros and cons of
collaboration

10. “Writing has to have a purpose; it’s meant to
communicate something to someone. If you’re not
ready to write for the general public, then try writing
for a very specific audience, one you know will be
happy to hear from you.”
Robert Masello
Robert’s Rules of Writing

11. Recap of What We Talked About
• Written and online media can’t exist without content
• Above all else – write what you’re passionate about
• John Boswell’s “rules of what to write”
• Getting started and “building up”
• Recycling content and growing your expertise
• Doing something old & familiar and new & exciting

12. Non-Fiction - The Hungry Market
• Being - or becoming - the expert?
• Pursuing a subject - or letting life happen?
• Scratching itches - or entertaining?
• How much to tell and what’s next?

13. “A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how
hard it is to be God.”
Sidney Sheldon

14. Recap of What We Talked About
• The majority of published books are non-fiction
• The market is easier to enter than fiction
• This medium returns you to John Boswell’s “rules”
• Being of becoming the expert
• The art and science of query letters
• The full-on book proposal – your audition

15. “The Great American Novel”
• Great or not-so-great? What you need to know
getting started
• Mainstream or genre? Which way should you go?
• Defining your audience and picking a “voice” and
point of view
• Getting the sale

16. “For me, I gotta write, and it’s the adventure of it that’s
hooked me. As the writer, I can do it all. I get to be the
National Security Advisor who recommends the action
to the President who must commit the forces. I’m the
senior officer who sends his men into action and who
feels the pain if they don’t make it back. I’m the enemy
and the defender; logistician and staff planner. But
most of all, I’m a young man again, that fresh
lieutenant who must lead his men into battle.”
Dick Couch
“So you Want to be a Writer”

17. Recap of What We Talked About
• Non-fiction is mostly the “what”
• Fiction is primarily the “how”
• There are essential elements to any work of fiction
• We know what readers demand from a novel (DK)
• Plot and character should be your primary focus
• But you weave your style around that!

18. Let’s get into some
specifics of the online “you”

19. But first, what are you trying to
accomplish with the online “you?”

20. “There is only one recipe for a bestseller and it is a very
simple one. If you look back on all the bestsellers you
have read, you will find they all have one quality” you
simply have to turn the page.”
Ian Fleming
How to Write a Thriller

21. What Makes Your Online Material Unique?
• Are you providing something people can’t get
anywhere else or get as easily?
• Are you aiming at the right attention span of online
tourists?
• Determining the right level of effort in refreshing
your online content
• Balancing what you give away online and what you
want to sell to visitors

22. Beating the Competition for Online Eyes
• Above all else, when someone “Googles” your name
your website must pop up at the top
• It’s not just about getting that initial visitor – it’s
about getting him or her to keep coming back
• Most online visitors are taking a break from what
they have to do at work or home
• Think of your website the same way as what you
write – tell people a story

23. Balancing Content and Entertainment
• People will tire of the monotonous “professor”
telling them “like this damn you” (from Ian Fleming)
• People will tire of dancing bears, dwarfs throwing
rose petals and fireworks
• Achieving the right blend and balance is your online
presence style
• Take the same approach Urban Meyer has during his
coaching career

24. Doing It Yourself Or Having It Done
• Your website is “you” to people you will likely never
meet – but who you want to entertain
• There are cottage industries of books, seminars, tools
and coaches to help you build your own website
• There are legions of people and businesses who will
do it for you
• If you have the time and energy and want to use
your left and right brain – try doing it yourself

25. Let’s look at some examples of
websites of people who write….

26. Some Writers Who
Have Done It Themselves
• Jeff Edwards
– http://navythriller.com/
• Larry Verria
– Site lapsed!
• Janice Steinberg
– thetinhorse.com

27. Some Writers Who Have Had Someone
Else Build Their Website
• Dick Couch
– www.dickcouch.com
• Larry Bond
– http://www.larry-bond.com/
• Your guide for this course
– www.georgegaldorisi.com

28. Other Websites
With Some Cool Features
• Native Custom Stone - Manufactured Stone Veneers
www.nativecustomstone.com
• Waggoner Hastings LL - Family Law Attorney
www.whfamilylaw.com
• Don Turner Legal Team - Criminal Attorney
www.donturnerlegalteam.com

29. Some Ways to Find More Examples
• “Google” writers you enjoy
• Go online for advice on going online
• Check with local businesses in Coronado
• Our library has additional resources

30. Website Constants Regardless of Who
Builds and Maintains the Site
• You will need to provide the content
• You will want to add content frequently
• You will want to use social media to drive people to
your website
• The longer you have your website the more it will
become your “professional persona”

31. “You are the CEO of your own career.”
David Sona
Navy Transition Course
Circa 2000

32. Slides Posted:
http://www.georgegaldorisi.com/

33. Next Week

34. Social Media-Challenges and Opportunities
• Everyone is doing it
• Vote early and often
• Building a following
• Sustaining momentum

35. Backups

36. “Being a comparatively successful writer is a good life.
You don’t have to work at it all the time and you carry
your office around in your head. And you are far more
aware of the world around you. Writing makes you
more alive to your surroundings and, since the main
ingredient of living, though you might not think so to
look at most human beings is to be alive, this is quite a
worthwhile by-product, even if you only write thrillers.”
Ian Fleming
How to Write a Thriller