blogger: Cynthia Ruchti
Marketing or madness? They don’t have to be synonymous.
Did I ever tell you about the high-pressure fudge salesman who accosted my daughter and me with marketing gone mad? One would not think high-pressure and fudge would …
Business of writing
Minimize the Obstacles to Publication
Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
When you’re a debut author trying to break in to traditional publishing, one of the most important things to remember is this:
Minimize the obstacles.
You already know it’s not going to be easy to break in, …
The Value of the Backlist
We often hear people in the publishing industry talk about backlist vs. frontlist. Today I want to talk about the value of the backlist in building an author’s career..
First a couple of definitions. The terms, backlist and frontlist came …
I Only Cheated a Little
I recently read in the daily online newsletter Publishers Lunch about a cavalier cheat that landed UK thriller writer Mark Dawson on the Sunday Times bestseller list. The author not only admitted he bought hundreds of copies of his book …
A Virtual Writers Conference–Good or Bad?
A couple of weekends ago, Wendy Lawton, Cynthia Ruchti, and I served on the faculty of the Northwestern Christian Writers Conference, which was conducted virtually. Being on the faculty of a writers conference was nothing new, but a virtual …
How to Shape a Proposal
Most times my clients’ proposals are constructed not just by the author but also by me. I thought it would be helpful for you to see how that type of teamwork unfolds.
Consider the Challenges
This particular nonfiction project was …
Authors’ Magical Thinking
I’m sympathetic regarding what a pain it is to create a proposal. When I was writing books, I felt grumpy when I had to do a proposal. That’s when I dipped into what I call Authors’ Magical Thinking.
That’s when …
The 10-Novels Rule
In the past week I’ve read more than 650 pages of royalty statements for our clients from a variety of publishing houses. Such an activity gives me a bird’s eye view of how the industry is doing, as I’m looking …
When the Story Ends Too Soon
blogger: Cynthia Ruchti
“My story’s finished, but it’s way too short for its category. What do I do now?”
Some writers have never experienced that particular brand of panic. They might well know the tremors that come from needing to …
Are Agents Prima Donnas?
As I read agents’ blogs, tweets and Facebook comments, I’ve been wondering if we’re a bunch of prima donnas. You might have noticed that we’ll often utter such directions as:
Don’t call me, don’t write me, but here are the …