I make my living in part by helping writers craft compelling book proposals to increase their chances of landing a book deal with a traditional publisher. So it might seem strange for me to devote a blog post to a method of impressing agents and publishers that does not center on the book proposal. Book […]
She was about the coolest girl I’d ever met. And she’d invited me, still in high school, to hang out near her college campus about an hour away. That’s right, friends. This was the big leagues. I was relaxed, though; you would’ve been proud of me. In the days leading up to my big date, […]
Baby names are a multi-million dollar business. A quick Amazon search for “baby names” yields over 5,000 products that promise to help you name your newborn. And if you’re really concerned, you can hire a baby-naming consultant for a measly $29,000. Well, you may not drop that kind of cash on a moniker master. But […]
For a lot of people book proposals are intimidating and scary. I wonder how many books don’t happen just because the prospect of a book proposal is so daunting. Often writers don’t know what goes into a book proposal. What are the different pieces? How long should each section be? How should I organize the […]
I remember meeting with an unpublished writer in a Nashville coffee shop years ago. She told me in no uncertain terms she was a writer and was going to be published. That writer was Rachel Held Evans, and she meant what she said. Evans worked hard on her craft and nurtured an audience. She honed […]
Publishing is legalized gambling.” That’s an aphorism I’ve heard several times from publishing professionals, and there’s some truth to it. Publishers place a bet on an author and her manuscript, meaning they pay an advance as well as all the costs of production (editorial, marketing, printing, paper, glue, etc) and marketing (advertising, mailings, publicity, exhibit […]
This has been a year of transition for me! That coupled with author James Clear’s advice to do an annual review are enough for me to take up the task. Following Clear’s example, I’ll cover what went well, what didn’t go so well, and what I learned. Here we go! What Went Well This Year? […]
Recently I asked readers of this blog, “What’s your #1 question about publishing or getting published?” Below are some the questions I received with my responses. I’ve tried to order these in terms of the chronological process of deciding how to publish, picking a publisher, submitting, and so on. I hope you enjoy reading through […]
We all know Amazon is the biggest bookseller in the world by far, but marketing on Amazon is still a mystery to many authors. Most writers don’t understand what makes a book an Amazon bestseller. And they’re confused about how to work with the Amazon platform to market their books and increase sales. That’s why […]
Below are questions I received recently about how to build a writer platform followed by my responses. My hope is that these questions are broadly representative of those many writers have about this often vexing topic. Before I jump into the questions, let me first define what I mean by platform. An author’s platform is […]
