I wrote this blog post in 2009. Because so much of it remains true today, I thought I’d retread it with updates and take it out for another spin. After all, the quest to find an agent still goes on. …
A Social Media Platform that REALLY Sells Books: TikTok
I need to start out by apologizing. I know writers are weary of being told to build their platforms, to promote their books on social media, to, well, work magic at something most don’t particularly enjoy. I’m one of those …
A Social Media Platform that REALLY Sells Books: TikTokRead More
QR Codes: What’s Old is News
A few weeks ago I boarded a plane for the first time in 20 months. Heading out to visit my Colorado family, I was surprised to discover that QR codes, which were popular in 2010 or so and old news …
Publishing Culture
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about how important it is for an author to understand the culture of a publishing house or the culture of a literary agency. What do I mean by publishing culture?
I’m not …
Types of Literary Agents
I wrote this blog post several years ago. Somethings remain the same over time, including the various types of literary agents a writer can choose from. Here’s the post:
Yesterday I had a conversation with Dee, a potential new client. …
8 Ways to Make Your Book More Accessible
While an author hopes that the text of his or her book is all that’s needed to clearly communicate with the reader, in actuality, sometimes ancillary parts of a book can add much to the reader’s engagement with your book. …
A Writing Contest and Some Hints on How to Win
How Book Buyers Decide What to Stock
I find it helpful to read articles written for book buyers. Gaining insight into how they think about what to stock in their stores helps me to understand the supply chain. The more I understand what stores are choosing to …
How Readers Discover Books
One of the biggest challenges for an author, a publisher AND readers consists of the increasing difficulty of matching a wannabe reader with the type of book he or she is looking to buy. A new survey recently was conducted …
What Is Over-Editing and What to Do About It
Author Dies While Reading Edited Manuscript
Such a headline might well echo the feelings an author experiences when, much to his horror, he discovers his editor has–ahem–done some pretty creative work on the manuscript sent into the publishing house. (An …