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I was talking with a client who has a book releasing in about a year, and she was concerned about how to begin building her blog and increasing the traffic. At the moment she doesn’t have a great deal of time to devote to it, since she is still writing her book. We brainstormed and…

1. Begin well in advance of your book launch to build an email list of people who “opt in” to your newsletter or monthly email. 2. Avoid the “Buy my book!” tweet or Facebook post. ALWAYS offer value to your reader… Tweet a quote, a question, or something fun, along with a link to your book online.…

I just finished reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, a memoir by Cheryl Strayed. This is an incredible book, a bestseller since its release in March, about the author’s 1,100 (that’s eleven hundred) mile solo hike through California and Oregon. She undertook the hike as a way of coping with devastating…

If you read the publishing blogs and follow industry Twitter feeds, you’ve no doubt gathered that there’s a firestorm of controversy over Pearson, the parent company of Penguin Books, purchasing a company called Author Solutions (ASI), a well-established self-publishing company. You can read numerous diverse opinions on this acquisition and plenty of astute commentary (links…

Over the past month I’ve had the opportunity to review and negotiate five separate publishing agreements for different clients, each from a different major publisher. Each one has taken some time, and my clients frequently write me wondering and worrying, saying things like, “How is the contract coming along?” I’m not always sure what they’re actually…

Over the last year or so, I’ve been re-reading some Ernest Hemingway. The more I read, and the more I learn about his approach to writing and his work habits, the more I’m in awe of his genius. I’ve come to see him as a remarkable example that serious writers would do well to study…

Recently I’ve placed several projects with publishers, and each of these projects had the good fortune of having multiple publishers interested in them. So my authors and I were in the position of being able to choose the best publisher among those who were interested. Most people think these situations get resolved purely on the…

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about My Love/Hate Relationship with Social Media, and the vocal response in the comments confirmed that many of you feel the same way. Some of us love it, some of us hate it, most of us are just trying to keep up. We all recognize the potential hazards of…

I often have conversations with my clients about the ups and downs of the writer’s journey. It can be a rollercoaster, even for those with the strongest character. It’s important not to underestimate the power of the psychological and emotional aspects. People will tell you not to take things personally, but you know it IS…

Guest Blogger: Jane Friedman @JaneFriedman Editors and agents (EAs) feel guilt all the time. Why? Because it’s never fun or a completely neutral act to reject someone. Sure, we know it’s a business—and we tell writers that over and over again to relieve our guilt—but we’re still human, and we know that rejection stings. This has…

One of the most common complaints writers have these days is how hard it is to write a query letter. I agree, it’s a difficult task. You may not realize that agents have to write query letters (“pitch letters”) too. Whenever we send a manuscript to an editor for consideration, what do you think accompanies…

1. We really hate getting bad news and we hate sharing it with you, but we trust you’re adult enough to handle it. 2. If we say we don’t want to submit a particular project to editors, we’re probably trying to protect both of our reputations (the writer’s and the agent’s). 3. While many of…

More and more, I get emails from people who have self-published, asking me whether I take on self-pubbed authors, or whether they even need an agent if they’ve already gone the DIY route. This is a topic that will require several posts to completely cover, but I’ll get it started today by answering a few…

Many of you are looking forward to the day you sign your first publishing contract. But you also wonder… what the heck is in a publishing contract, anyway? Below is a brief overview of some of the important contract clauses. This is *NOT* by any means comprehensive—contracts vary and are typically 12 to 20 pages…