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Thank you to all of our writers, we are quickly on pace for 1,000 titles - arranged in a truly innovative fashion. Keep spreading the word about Nothing Binding!

NB Staff

Also, a message from NB Founder, Jerry Simmons:

The best writers seem to write about what they know. This would be a universally accepted statement of fact by most writers/authors. The stories are written about people, places and things they have experienced or observed in their lifetime. Typically they have visited or even lived in the places they write about. Others write about places they have read about at length, but never actually visited. Either way, they have some sort of strong reference point for their chosen setting.

Many characters in their stories are individuals whom they have encountered during their lifetime. Some have been admired and others despised. Rarely have I found a writer draw a character from something else they have read. Some authors take parts of characters and combine them into someone completely new. For the sake of literary integrity, which, may I add, is a very important component of all writers/authors constitution, characters are created from the minds or experiences of the writer and are never so clearly identified that they can be easily recognized as any real person.

A number of writers find inspiration through significant events in their lives. It could be derived from a loved one, someone they were very close to at a young age, but usually it is someone that has had a strong influence, either of a positive or negative nature. You may immediately think of a tragic event, or even death as a prime motivator, but that may not always be the case. What causes a person to be so enamored with the questions of life, enough to want to turn to writing as a result; is really anyone’s guess. As readers, we are lucky to be able to share in the creative energy that forced the hand of an author to create such a work that just had to be shared with the world. It’s like chasing a ghost to try to figure out what was the pivotal event in a writer’s life that made them decide to write. What a humdrum world it would be without them coloring it.

Whatever the inspiration, whatever the turning point, writers often write to fill a need they are unable to describe. Writing and the creation of stories is a way of examining their own psyche, of releasing the experiences they have a desire to share in their writing. And don’t think you have to experience tragedy, or be exposed to something sinister to start writing. There are many successful novels and works of non-fiction that are not about crime and violence and discovery of the dark side of humanity.

By Jerry D. Simmons
Author and former executive with The Time Warner Book Group

By Jerry D. Simmons
Author and former executive with The Time Warner Book Group

There are big differences between writers and authors. Writers love to write, and they write because they love it. Any writer that has been published is considered an author. And while some authors remain writers, I believe others have forgotten that it was the writing that helped them get published in the first place. The allure of being published has taken them out of the realm of being a writer and into the glitz of being an author.

In my experience from an executive management perspective in the publishing industry, I have seen authors abandon their craft to focus on being a published author. The celebrity status of being a published author became more important to them than being a writer who just happened to get published. And some have gone so far as to concentrate on producing, not writing, another book. Some authors now only draw outlines of their story while the actual words and sentences are written by less well known writers, their so called co-author, or better known in the industry as ghost writers.

The next time you’re in a bookstore, pay attention to the front or back jacket of the books to see who shares authorship. You may be surprised. While this is not uncommon in works of nonfiction, some of your big-money writers of novels also share credit with co-authors. This is what I mean about authors abandoning writing to focus on being a celebrity and on producing yet another book. Ever notice how many of your big name authors produce two and even three novels a year? Who do you really think are writing those books?

In my opinion, the famous writers who are sometimes criticized for taking so long to write the next novel are the true writers. These are the folks who have not forsaken their writing just to fit into their publisher’s schedules. It can be difficult when you work for a publisher and a big name author’s next book, which is scheduled and pre-sold, has to be cancelled because the manuscript is not on time. Book retailers hate this, the sales and marketing groups hate it, but for the author, the focus is on the book and getting it right. You have to admire writers that are not all consumed by the next paycheck.

If you are a writer whose goal is to be published, never forsake your gift of being a writer. You have a responsibility to provide readers with the very best book you can write. Many small independent bookstore owners have told me at industry meetings that readers often complain when they pay close to $30 for the newest hardcover of a best selling author and discover the plot is the same, only the setting and names of characters have changed. Don’t get caught up in the formula of one published work and try to duplicate it in another. That won’t work for long. Stay true to writing and you will be successful.

Jerry Simmons discusses the realities of “getting published” based on his many years of experience at Time Warner Books:

It’s probably hard for any writer to believe that large New York based trade publishers are constantly on the lookout for new product (books). In fact, it’s crucial to the life of a trade publisher to have a constant influx of new product, i.e. new titles, new authors, possibly even new categories. Publishers need product to keep their seasonal lists fresh and well rounded. This means they cannot simply publish best-selling authors, the kind that everyone sees on the New York Times bestseller list. They need to publish a complete list of books.

And booksellers are always looking for what’s new, too. When a publisher presents their list to a book buyer, the typical first question is: what’s new? Books by John Grisham, Danielle Steele, Stephen King and the other well-known authors are exciting but also very predictable. They will sell a predictable number of copies and that of course is a very good thing for books sellers. They need these authors to bring customers into the stores and to generate a large number of sales. But they also need the next sleeper, the newest and different title that has the potential to rise from the bottom to become the next big book.

Agents, too, are always looking for new books and new authors because their existence depends on it. So if the publishers and agents are on the hunt for new and different, why is it so hard to get published? Certainly the intensely competitive nature of the publishing industry is one answer, but the truth is that your four largest trade publishers (Random House, Simon & Schuster, Harper-Collins and Time Warner) are risk averse! In other words they want new, but safe. They’re looking for different, but the same. Make sense? Of course not, and this is why getting a contract to have your book published is so hard and why recognizing these titles are so difficult.

Publishers today are not willing to take financial risks on books that are not reasonably predictable. A first time author of a romance or mystery novel for example, depending on the writing, will sell a predictable number of copies. Books on cooking, business or other related non-fiction categories, for example, will sell a predictable number of copies. Manuscripts that are new, different, and predictable, yet offer the slightest possibility of breaking out of the mainstream, are what they want, what they desire, and what they are constantly seeking.

Because of this, every writer should have a thorough grasp of their genre. Who publishes the titles in their category, which are the best-selling authors, how are they packaged, priced, etc. Then you must ask yourself: how is my writing unique? What makes my book new and different? If you’ve read most of the best-selling authors in your category and you can provide a good answer, then you have what publishers and agents need.

Now you must aggressively market yourself to the agents and be confident enough in your work to say, ‘my writing is new and different’. It is also critical that you have a basic understanding of the business side of publishing and a good idea of what is happening in the marketplace. To summarize, you must write something that is new and different, you must be confident, have a basic understanding of the business, and knowledge of the marketplace, all of which are possible! Who said getting a book published was difficult?

Announcing! After months of planning and beta testing, NothingBinding.com is ready to officially launch. This Saturday, September 1st, is our official send off.

We’ve grown to over 500 authors in a few short months. In the next 12 months, our goal is to increase by 4000 percent, to 20,000 writers and authors. The larger the selection of titles we offer readers, the better our chances to sell your books and grow our site. By increasing the number of authors and titles on NothingBinding.com, we will provide the largest selection of independent titles available to readers.

NothingBinding.com is all about Independent Authors and the creation of a market to sell your books. We offer readers around the world the opportunity to find your titles in one location, then purchase your books through a link to your site or wherever your books are sold.

We need your help. Tell your friends, neighbors, colleagues, members of writing groups, and other readers about NothingBinding.com, and our new and exciting books. Please forward this email to the readers on in your address book, and add this information to your newsletters. Your support is important as we forge ahead to change the face of Independent Publishing around the globe.

NothingBinding.com is officially open for business Saturday, September 1st!