Publishing
| Announcements, Publishing
Late Breaking News
Do the Write Thing for Nashville is raising money to help the flood victims in Nashville. They’re donating the money through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Authors, editors and agents are donating books and services that are being auctioned off to raise money. I’ve contributed a 30-minute phone call. You can bid on it…
Read More | Agents, Publishing
A Splash of Cold Water
Some of you may have read the post from agent Kristin Nelson last week about agents fighting over writers. She wrote that every single time she offers a writer representation lately, she ends up competing with several other agents who want the same client. You can go read her post now: Hot Commodity In response…
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The Purpose of Books
A comment on the blog this week mentioned that one of the functions of books is to reflect our world. That got me thinking. Do books reflect our world? And what other purposes do books serve? Why do we read them? Why do we write them? In the larger sense, what functions do books serve…
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What About Market Research?
I’ve been asked this question several times by various people outside the publishing industry: Why don’t publishing houses do more market research? Most industries that sell to the public invest heavily in things like focus groups, surveys, and product testing. This is even done with TV shows and feature films. But it doesn’t seem the…
Read More | Contests, Publishing
Winners
Our guest blogger from last Thursday, Becky Levine, has chosen the three winners to receive a copy of her book, The Writing and Critique Group Survival Guide. They are: Heather Beth K. Vogt KC Frantzen Winners please email me with your mailing address so we can send you the book!
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It’s Not Like Other Businesses
I get weary of hearing people complain about publishing, comparing it to other industries and saying, “In no other business…” followed by whatever their complaint is. People even go so far as to claim the entire publishing industry is “incompetent” because it doesn’t work like other industries with which they’re familiar. To me, those complaints…
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Do Not Be Afraid
(No regular post today in honor of Good Friday.) After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back…
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How Long?
One of the most frequent questions I get is, How long will it take? How long should I wait before following up with an agent on a submission? If I get an offer from a publisher, how long before they send a contract? How long until I see my first check? When will my manuscript…
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My Approach to Christian Worldview
Lately people have been confused about what I mean by “Christian worldview” and what kinds of projects I’ll consider representing. My experience the last seven years has been in CBA and for the first couple years of being an agent, most of my sales have been to CBA publishers. As many of you know, I’m…
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Common Questions Answered
Thanks for all the questions you sent me on Friday’s post! I answered most of them in the comments, so be sure to check that out. But there are a few questions that I seem to get repeatedly, so I’m addressing some of them here. What is the appropriate length of time to follow up…
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Let’s Hear it For Old Fashioned Books
As most of you know, I’ve been a devoted Kindle fan since soon after it came out, and I’ve waxed poetic about my love for it several times here on the blog. And ever since iPad came out, I’ve been sorely tested in my attempts to avoid coveting. It looks really cool. Every time I…
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Communicating with Your Agent
One of the primary questions my clients ask when I first sign them to the agency is “How should I expect to communicate with you?” This is a GREAT question by the way, and one that should always be addressed in a new agent-client relationship. While each agent will have their own preferences, I believe…
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Q4U: Learning the Biz
Like everyone else in this business, published authors included, I frequently receive emails asking for advice. Not specific advice, but sweeping, general requests for advice like: “How do I get published?” Usually the person writing has just finished writing either a novel or a memoir, and somehow they got my email address, and they want…
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I’m Here to Make Friends
Awhile back, Nathan Bransford linked to this video, which I think is amusing. It’s a montage of all these people on reality TV shows insisting they’re there to win the prize, not to make friends. If you watch any reality TV, you know “I’m not here to make friends” is a common attempt to justify…
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