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| Marketing
Book Marketing Disappointment
I hear a lot of writers complaining about their book promotion, bemoaning how their publisher didn’t do enough marketing or PR for their book. They say things like “publishers don’t market books anymore.” But I’ve been in publishing since 1995, and this has been the single most common writer complaint for as long as I…
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| Agents
Missing Out on a Bestseller
Agents frequently hear questions like: Have you let many books slip through your hands that went on to be bestsellers? and… How do you feel when a book to which you said “no” goes on to success? Most editors and agents have passed on books that went on to success (if not bestseller lists), and I think we…
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| Submitting, Writing
How Important Is Your Book Title?
I was talking to a writer who mentioned she hadn’t worked too hard to come up with a great title for her book. When I asked her why, she said she’d been to a workshop taught by an editor at a major publishing house, who said, “Don’t get too attached to your title — there’s a good…
Read More | Publishing
When Agents Edit
Before I became an agent, I’d been editing and writing books for years, so I naturally approached agenting from an editorial perspective. Meaning I look for excellence in the craft of writing, and I also use my editorial skills to help polish a proposal or a manuscript before we send it out to publishers. Because…
Read More | A Writer's Life, Q4U
Q4U: A Room of One’s Own
We writers tend to make a big deal about the physical spaces in which we write. There are countless blogs and websites that feature photos of writers’ workspaces, and I admit I love looking at them. There have even been entire books full of photos of writers’ desks. I guess it’s fun trying to see…
Read More | Q4U
Q4U: How Do You Decide?
One of the questions I get asked most often is, “What makes you say yes to a book?” I usually try to evade the question because (1) it’s so subjective and (2) there are so many possible answers, depending on the book. Plus, sometimes I’m not even sure. I start reading and I like it.…
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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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How Do You Become an Agent or Editor?
Believe it or not, I occasionally get emails from people who are interested in becoming a literary agent. (Don’t laugh, I’m not making this up.) Why anyone would want to join the ranks of the hated and maligned poor stepchildren of the literary world, I don’t know. Maybe the same reason some people become lawyers.…
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Email Protocol
Since we all deal with so many pieces of email everyday, I think it’s important to be able to use it efficiently and effectively. Many people don’t use email in a professional capacity very often because their job doesn’t call for it; if this is you, it might be helpful to go over the basics…
Read More | A Writer's Life, Writing
Read, Read, Read
As a follow up to what I wrote last week about getting away from your computer and getting to a bookstore… today I want to simply say this: Read. Yes, it’s that simple: You gotta read books! You hear it all the time. As writers, we need to first be readers. I know most of…
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Afternoon in a Bookstore
Last week my youngest daughter turned 9, and one of the things she wanted to do for her birthday was go to Barnes & Noble. (Cool, huh?) So my girls and I spent part of an afternoon hanging out in the bookstore. They love to browse the stacks, grabbing books off the shelf, sitting on…
Read More | A Writer's Life
The S Word
I’m excited but not surprised at the lively discussion that’s been taking place in response to yesterday’s Q4U. Anytime we bring up the issue of “safe” in Christian writing and publishing, opinions abound. I’m impressed with the thoughts you’ve expressed here and I don’t have much to add that’s any different from what you’ve already…
Read More | Agents
Ask the Agent: Rejecting Bestsellers
“How many bestsellers have slipped through reputable agents’ hands? I am curious to know how an agent deals with such a loss when a bestseller was in their hands and they rejected it.” This is an interesting question, because most editors and agents have passed on books that went on to success (if not bestseller…
Read More | Publishing, Writing
How Long is Your Book?
The question of “how long your manuscript should be” is sometimes hard to answer because different publishers have different guidelines. I’m going to give you some information here, but first I want you to know WHY this is important. It’s pretty simple: If your book falls within the standard preferred word-count range, it’s one less…
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