Posts

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview: Is your book too long? Does it feel a bit wordy, perhaps slightly bloated? Or . . . does it feel perfect but it’s a little high in word count? There comes a time in every writer’s life when the need arises to shorten a…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview: 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, so you want to avoid making it even…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview: I have a lot of conversations with clients about their writing careers. Often they tell me, “I want to be in this for the long haul.” It’s given me the opportunity to have some great discussions about what helps a writer accomplish this goal –…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview: The business of publishing gives us frequent opportunities to feel like a success or … not a success. At every step of the journey, we receive feedback and results that tell us whether our efforts are working. It’s an uncertain path riddled with possibilities for…

I’ve posted on this topic numerous times, but since I’m going to a conference this week and will be hearing dozens of pitches, I wanted to go over (once again) some tips for pitching to agents and editors. We can probably all agree on the “don’ts” of pitching your project. Don’t pitch in the bathroom.…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today.   The publication journey isn’t easy, no matter how you approach it. I’m always encouraging people to be patient, persevere through the obstacles, and doggedly pursue their dream. For some people, this means persistence through years or decades.   But… is there a time when you should give…

The title of this post is a bit exaggerated — but not as much as you might think! I’ve always loved both fiction and non-fiction, and I have a hard time understanding people who say they don’t read novels because they prefer to read things that are “true.” I try to explain that sometimes, fiction…

I don’t know a single writer whose publishing dreams included being a full-time marketer for their books.   The writing and publishing dream usually includes visions of spending several hours a day at the laptop, sending manuscripts off to a publisher, receiving big checks, getting fabulous starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, hearing from awe-struck fans…

Have you noticed that email volume is reaching crisis proportions? It’s true for many people regardless of the business they’re in. The ease of email causes people to be careless about how they use it. It’s just SO easy to dash off an email to someone the moment you think of it. And then three…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview: Writers’ conference season is in full swing, and many of you are preparing for the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference in September. One of the most anxiety-provoking parts of a conference is knowing you’ll need to verbally pitch your book (which I’ve previously covered…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview: One of the things that always generates excitement among authors is the prospect of an “auction” between publishers for their book. But there’s also a mystique surrounding auctions, and many writers wonder how they actually work. So let’s pull back the shroud of mystery and…

I’ve been thinking a lot about how things are changing so fast these days… technology is obsolete the moment it comes to market, there’s a new “must participate” social network every week, and publishing, well, after a good 100-year run, publishing is finally being forced to enter the 21st century. It all feels a little…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview: I do a lot of reading around the web and I devour business-related books and blogs. One of the themes that is arising again and again lately, in all the business literature, is resilience. More than ever, employees, entrepreneurs, and entire companies depend for their…

I am a reader of memoirs. I love them as much as I adore good fiction. I love the way great memoirists unflinchingly bare themselves to us, showing the good and the bad, the admirable moments and the shameful ones. I just finished reading an unusual memoir (Walden on Wheels by Ken Ilgunas) which is…