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About $30,000, in the case of Jeff Chu, a Fast Company editor and newly published author: "This is the first time I've run these numbers," Chu writes. "I didn't realize I've spent more than $30,000 on this thing. It hasn't become a best-seller, and who knows if I'll ever get a royalty check? Even after you factor in my advance (after, of course, my agent's cut and those pesky taxes), it's doubtful I'm doing better financially than if I'd just stayed at my day job."

Kelly James-Enger lists some reasons why pitches are rejected or go unanswered. She lists rookie mistakes like misspelled words, but also this: "You didn't provide enough detail about how you'd approach the story. How long will the piece be? What kinds of sources will you interview? How will your structure the article? Will you include a sidebar or two? The more detail you provide, the easier it is for your editor to envision your piece — and say yes to you."

Joel Friedlander writes on The Book Designer that too many bloggers neglect, benignly or otherwise, their calling card, the "About" page: "It’s your readers’ needs you should be thinking about when you write your About page. But it seems most bloggers have never thought about this. Instead, we get About pages that tell us where the blogger grew up, how they love to make caramel apples, who their favorite authors are, and that they love waterskiing with their dogs."

Ruth Ann Nordin has had it with aspiring self-published authors who solicit money or free work from others to support their endeavor. Nordin writes on Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors: "There are two things the self-published author is entitled to: 1. To write the book they are most passionate about. 2. To publish that book when they want. That is it. You want someone to do the cover, editing, formatting, and some promotion? Find a publisher."

NASW member Dennis Meredith has taken both the commercial and self-publishing routes and discusses both in a series of posts. A commercial publisher provided sound editing but meager royalties and harsh contract terms, Meredith writes. Self-publishing meant less support but fewer hassles. And "given the sad economic state of commercial publishing, particularly fiction, the reality was that my novels would likely not see the light of day unless I self-published them."

The used bookstore may be a thing of the past, and so may the legal principle behind it — that once a physical work is sold, it may then be resold without violating its creator's copyright. CJR's Sarah Laskow writes about efforts to extend that practice to digital media, and what that means to both creators and consumers: "As scholars and advocates look at reforming copyright law, updating the first sale doctrine could be one of the more contentious issues."

Even if you plan to self-publish, writing a book proposal is an essential step, Jennifer Lawler writes. It can help collect your thoughts and analyze your market: "A book proposal lets you explore whether you want to commit to writing a book. If you get bogged down and lose interest as you work on the chapter outline, no harm done, you can file it and forget it. Or maybe you realize that you really do want to write the book. The proposal can help guide you on the way."

Revising a book for a new edition is hard, and research and writing is only part of it, writes NASW member Mark Pendergrast, author of a Coca-Cola history now in its third edition: "You would think publishing a third edition would be a no brainer. My editor at Basic Books agreed. But it’s not always so easy. In some cases, re-publishing an older book may mean getting the publisher to let the rights revert to you and publishing it on your own."

This should prompt some knowing nods. Walt Kania has compiled a tongue-in-cheek list of Freelancing Rules of Thumb addressing such details as pay rates, deadlines, expenses, and of course pitches, such as this nugget: "For every ten new people you talk to, five will call you back. Three will try you on an assignment. One will turn out to be a long-term client with a decent budget. Somewhere in there will also be a lunatic. Just hope it’s not the one with the money."

It's becoming a freelance economy, which means trading a certain paycheck for the uncertainty of sending out invoices and waiting by the mailbox for your payments. Writing for CNNMoney, Anne Fisher channels advice from Freelancers Union founder Sara Horowitz: "Send each invoice by snail mail, email, and with a phone message saying the invoice was sent," Horowitz advises. "If this is what you do on Round One, let them imagine what Round Two and Three will be like."