Blogger: Rachel Kent
Last week, Wendy’s client Kathryn Springer received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly for her new book The Hearts We Mend. A review like this in a significant magazine can really help a book to sell, …
Readers
Presidents as Readers (and Writers)
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
In honor of President’s Day, it occurred to me that it would be fun for us to learn a bit about our presidents’ reading habits.I learned, as I did a bit of research, that many of …
Reading the Market
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Anyone out there feeling like a book marketing guru? We often hear from writers that knowing the potential competition for their books is the hardest thing about doing a proposal. But reading the market is an important …
Forecast Failure
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Several years back I remember attending workshops on ebooks and the promise of new e-readers at BEA. While most of us could hardly wrap our heads around the promised technology and the plethora of proposed delivery systems, …
Book Reviews: The Good, the Bad, and the One-Star
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Book reviews can feel like a loose cannon on a storm-tossed ship to an author. You know that you can’t control what others think and say about your work, but, man, to put that opinion …
Where to Find Readers
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
If you’ve known me for long I’m sure you’ve heard me whine about writers who spend their social media energy connecting with other writers. I keep ranting “go to your readers, not your writing friends.” But of …
Tapping into the Power of Word-of-Mouth
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Studies consistently show that word-of-mouth–one person advocating to another to try a product– is the most powerful marketing tool that exists. We employ others’ recommendations especially to select books, movies, and TV programs. But more than …
What’s a Book Blurb Worth?
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Blurbs, which are short celebrity endorsements or excerpts from a review that appear on a book’s cover, are viewed by publishers as an important element in promoting a book. But are they as valuable as we’ve …
How Important is a Writer’s Social Media Presence?
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Publishers care about your social media presence. They care a lot. Actually, they probably care too much. Here’s why: The majority of them don’t know how to judge if your presence will actually result in book …
What Readers Want in a Book
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
About a month ago, one of our regular commenters, Andrew Budek-Schmeisser, pondered why readers buy a particular author’s books (beyond name recognition).
Here were some examples Andrew gave, along with his opinions of the books:
* …