Writing and Publishing News

You’re told over and over again, during the process of writing, pitching and promoting your book, that you must determine your target audience.
You can no longer get away with the mindset that your book is for “everyone.” Your mentors, advisors and teachers all tell you that you must write for a specific audience. [...]

When you started writing, you probably were interested only in writing for yourself. You were keeping a journal, writing a story for fun or jotting down your life story. Now that you want to share your writing—you are writing to be read—you need to start thinking of your audience.
This concept seems like a no-brainer. Of [...]

I have two recently published articles I’d like to tell you about. Over at Publishing Basics, you’ll find my article, How to Get Published in 2009 posted at
http://www.publishingbasics.com
Scroll down and you’ll see my picture along with those of some of my friends, Pete Masterson, Wendy Weiss, Brian Jud and, of course, Ron Pramschufer (site [...]

Check out Carol Denbow’s blog site, A Book Inside. She has written a great article called “The Twelve Days of Christmas for Writers, Poets, Authors and Book Lovers” in which she offers tons of resources and recommendations for anyone interested in books. She even mentions my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell [...]

Ahhhh, communication… Humans definitely have the edge when it comes to succinct, concise, clear, lucid, on-target communication, right? After all, we have so many modes of communication available to us. We can text, fax, email, chat, blog, videotape, record and speak in real time via cell or computer from anywhere at any time. We can [...]

I frequently get suggestions from authors and freelance writers for blog subjects:
“I want to see more about promoting fiction.”
“What is the best book promotion idea?”
“How can I make money through my writing in this financial downturn?”
“What does a publisher really want in a book proposal package?”
“Do I have to write a book proposal?”
And I [...]

I started this blog three years ago this month. This is my 357th blog entry. I’ve averaged nearly 10 entries per month. Actually, I was posting closer to once a week at first. This year, I’ve added posts almost daily. My intent with this blog is to continue my mission to help educate and inform [...]

It’s interesting how different people approach their book projects in different ways. While some are fanatical about following an exact protocol and doing it right, others just want to get their books out the easiest and fastest way possible. The former author has many questions, does tons of research, speaks with experts and makes educated [...]

I’m preparing, this morning, for a consultation with an author duo. They’re driving a considerable distance to get my opinion and ideas on some of their burning publishing questions. I thought I’d share with you some of my responses to some of the questions they sent me.
Q: How do I get my book edited and [...]

What is a platform and why do you need one?
Maybe you don’t need a platform—let’s see:
• Are you working on a book?
• Are you a published author?
If your response was, “YES,” then you need a platform.
So what is a platform?
• Your following
• Your way of attracting readers
• Your level of fame or recognition
• Your expertise, credentials, skills related to your book [...]