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Advice from Hollywood, part 1 Back in the early ‘90s I was an L.A. girl working in television and writing screenplays on the side. Every single Saturday morning our screenwriting group would meet at my home (50 feet off the beach—it was a rough life) and critique our weekly ten pages in excruciating detail. We took…

If you have some laundry to fold, or shoes to shine, or possibly some pencils to sharpen… whatever busy work you need to do this weekend, set your laptop next to you and play this video. It’s totally worth it. At the O’Reilly Tools of Change conference, amidst techies and marketing people and CEOs, Margaret…

Katie asked: I was wondering, what if I get an agent and she tries to sell two or three of my novels, all in the same genre, and nothing sells. What would happen in this case? Well Katie, sounds like you and your agent will be at a crossroads and need to make some decisions.…

(or…Get Your Info From Knowledgeable Sources) A client wrote me sounding a teeny bit worried: A friend of mine who used to be a bookstore manager mentioned the “X” that shows up after my ISBN number. She said it might be a problem when ordering books for the store because it indicated my book was…

It seems like every week there’s a new story of an author having terrific success with self-publishing. (Two examples from just this week: Amanda Hocking and Alisa Valdes.) I’ve had quite of few readers comment that they’ve gone the self-pub route, and many authors who’ve been published traditionally now have out-of-print books they’re selling via…

Richard wrote:Could you explain “remaindering” in a future post? I wish I could recall the poem I’ve heard Jim Bell quote that begins, “The book of mine enemy has been remaindered, and I am glad.” “Remainder” means that the publisher has too much stock of a book, so they sell it off at a very…

(and Returns) Today I want to explain some publishing terms that sometimes get confused: sell-in, sell-through and earn-out (and I’m reluctantly throwing in returns at the last minute.) SELL IN: This is the number of copies ordered by retailers (or any other entity) prior to publication of the book. Sometimes this number is called the…

I’m taking the day off for some good old fashioned Rocky Mountain skiing. Ever notice how it’s sometimes so much work to have fun? Sheesh, just getting the gear together, including enough clothing to keep us warm in single-digit temps, can be enough to scare us off sometimes. Then there’s the 2-hour drive. The expensive…

John said…Do you welcome queries from England in the same way as you would from America? I welcome fiction queries from everywhere. Non-fiction is tougher, because most non-fiction books are more dependent on the author being able to promote the book here in the US, but if I loved the book I wouldn’t say no…

Last Wednesday I received an email containing three brief sentences saying that the writer was inquiring about my services, wanted help, and would not tell me anything else until I responded. I set the email aside thinking that later when I had time, I’d respond with a link to my blog and website, and some…

I was out with my husband hiking the Manitou Incline here in Colorado – it’s only a mile to the top but 2,000 feet vertical gain. Then it’s about a 4 mile hike on a gentler trail to get back down. A nice morning’s workout. I got to thinking about all the ways I try…

or… A Platform is More than a Bunch of Twitter FollowersPeople are always asking me, “What constitutes platform? How many Twitter followers? How many Facebook friends?” Listen, a platform is not all about those numbers. Take a step back, look at the bigger picture, and ask yourself: What have I done to bring potential book…

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” ~Ancient ProverbI frequently receive emails from writers asking me if the process they’re experiencing is “normal.” Maybe they’re seeking an agent, and they’re in the midst of a convoluted and confusing…

I have a few clients who are very prolific. As soon as they’ve finished a manuscript (including getting outside feedback and going through a few rounds of revisions) they’re always excited to move on to another. They immediately brainstorm a new story and get going on it. They can write two or more terrific manuscripts…