Writing and Publishing News

Do you have more than one writing project on your desktop? Do you sometimes debate with yourself, which one to get behind? Which one will be most interesting to a publisher? Which one has the most potential for sales? Which one do you favor—would you enjoy pursuing? Hopeful authors come to me frequently with this [...]

I received a letter yesterday from a concerned parent. She said that her ten-year-old son has twice brought home books from the library that were not appropriate for children. Both times, he found the books in the juvenile section at the public library. The mother spoke to the librarian about this and she took the [...]

Are you an author who is confused about what direction to go with your finished manuscript? Have you published your book and you are now stuck in book promotion hell? You don’t understand it, don’t want to understand it and would rather spend the day in the dentist’s chair than to have to go out [...]

Your new book has just gone to the printer or publisher. You’ll be holding it in your hands within three to eight weeks. What should you be doing in the meantime? Well, promoting it of course. Here are some ideas for promoting your book while you’re waiting for it to become a book. You should [...]

When should you start promoting your book? I say, while you’re writing it. That’s right; you should be building promotion into your book during the writing process. How? 1: Include a lot of people in your book. Most of them will purchase your book and tell their friends and acquaintances about it. For nonfiction: • [...]

It’s nice to find your blog listed among another author’s favorites. I happened to visit James Moushon’s blog at http://hbspublications.blogspot.com yesterday and found that he lists my blog as one that he reads regularly. Thanks James. Then I decided to see what else I could find that points readers in the direction of this blog [...]

I love it when one of my posts or articles strikes a chord with an author. It is heartening when my message is timely—when someone reads it on the brink of making a major publishing decision, for example. Over the years, I’ve met numerous authors who acted before gathering the information they needed. As soon [...]

I notice that folks are still getting confused about the term “self-publishing.” Most hopeful authors who use this term are actually signing a pay-to-publish agreement. They are going with one of the one-hundred or so companies that provide publishing services for a fee. They are signing with AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Dog Ear Press, Booklocker or Outskirts [...]

I believe that the Market Analysis (or competition) section of your book proposal is one of the most important for you (the author) and for a potential publisher. Why? It helps determine whether your book is needed. Does it fill a void or will fit into a known popular genre? Is there a market for [...]

Some authors are still confused as to when they should hire a proofreader and when they need an editor. And I think, in some cases, it is because they are simply trying to save money. They seek out a proofreader and hope that this person will simply read through the manuscript quickly, correct any blatant [...]