Let’s be honest, everyone dreams of getting a big, fat, advance for their book project. Wouldn’t it be fabulous? To be paid, say, a hundred thousand dollars for your work? You could re-do that bathroom, upgrade that car, plan a family vacation… Not so fast! First, a quick history: the “advance” in book publishing was […]
An important part of the publishing process is to take a good look at what kind of person you are, and then figure out your goals. This is an essential first step so you start down the right path to either traditionally publish, or self-publish. Here’s a list of ten questions you should ask yourself […]
Traditional Publishing: My Two Cents I’m a literary agent. My job is to find book projects that I think have a viable market. I then edit them, use my contacts and charm to get the project sold to the right publishing house, negotiate the contract, and represent the authors’ best interests through the whole publishing […]
Content is King Are you getting a little sick and tired of cheerfully being told again and again that if you want to succeed, you better have good content? This is what I have been telling writers day in and day out for quite a while. But for the first time, I’m realizing it ain’t […]
Query Letters: A Love/Hate Relationship If you’re a writer shooting for a traditional publishing deal, one of the most important things you will tackle is your query (or submission) letter. It is said that a good query letter is harder to write than a symphony in C minor for the tuba. But it IS possible, […]
This is a section of my blog that I will be adding to regularly. ISBN Everybody knows what an ISBN is, right? Probably, but I came across some interesting facts other than it stands for International Standard Book Number. In the United States, a company called R.R. Bowker assigns them all. Each version of a […]
There is a pervasive illness in writer-land that is very bad for your health. And highly contagious. It’s called Agent-ous Contempt-ious. Onset is approximately two weeks after a writer has sent out query letters (or earlier if they’re in a writing group where other writers regularly grouse about literary agents) and presents as a chip […]
From The Mouths of Babes Let’s talk about the most effective way to sell books. Of course there are the conventional marketing methods; various publicity angles, promotional materials, advertising, appearances, etc. But I don’t want to talk about any of those. Social networking is what everyone is hanging their hats on these days, and is […]
Top Ten Mistakes Writers Make When Trying to Get Published 1. Starting the publishing process too soon. Your synopsis, bio, marketing ideas, and content of your book ALL need to be in a state of perfection before you even THINK about starting the process! 2. Figuring (hoping!) that your book will sell without a lot […]
There are various aspects of the book publishing industry that make for interesting conversation: e-book royalty rates, bestseller lists, content marketing… but when push comes to shove, the most interesting aspect of the industry, by far, are the writers. Where does the passion start? Where does the inspiration start? Where do the great ideas start? […]