The music…the audience…the joy of the performers….
Hope you have a big smile on your face.
Fun Fridays – Jan 25, 2013
News You Can Use – Jan. 22, 2013
Why Online Book Discovery is Broken (and how to fix it) – Fascinating article by Laura Hazard Owen. This is the first time I’ve heard someone describe it as “broken.” Instead we keep hearing that “discoverability” is the main feature of the online book selling process.
Create a QR Code Campaign to Market Your Book – I have to admit, the picture leading this post got my attention. Brilliant. …
Fun Fridays – Jan. 18, 2013
Please watch this wonderful and inspirational video. While it isn't "funny" it made me smile.
Below is a trailer for "Landfill Harmonic" an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable orchestra from a remote village in Paraguay, where its young musicians play with instruments made from trash.
Landfill Harmonic movie teaser from Landfill Harmonic on Vimeo.
Unrelated to the …
News You Can Use – Jan. 15, 2013
Successful Query Letters for Agents – A fascinating collection of 23 links to actual query letters that sold a book….organized by genre!
Goodreads vs Facebook Ads – an Experiment – A fascinating article by Angela Quarles on two marketing outlets available to every author.
Of Books and Bedbugs – This story is full of the “ick” factor. The article is called “It was a Dark and Itchy Night.” …
News You Can Use – Jan. 8, 2013
Innaccurate BookScan Numbers and the Plight of the Author – Colleen Doran digs into the sales numbers listed in Amazon’s Author Central. These are based on the National BookScan service used as a bible by major publishers to determine the success of failure of your backlist titles if done by another publisher. We have LONG argued that the Nielson BookScan service does not reflect the majority of …
The Writing Book for Your Year
by Steve Laube
Note the title of this post did not say “of the year” but “for your year.” It is rare for me to recommend books on writing because there are so many good ones out there, but this one is an exception.
The spiritual foundation of the writer is critical to surviving and even thriving in the call as an artist. Acceptable Words: Prayers for the Writer (published by Eerdmans) …
News You Can Use – Jan. 1, 2013
Amazon is Ripe for Disruption – Interesting article from Forbes Magazine by Suw Charman-Anderson.
Authors Who Say “I Don’t Have Enough Time for Promotion” Are Doomed to Fail – Toni Shannon encourages authors to become disciplined for success.
Can an Old-Fashioned Non-Interactive Author Survive in the Social Age? – A great counterpart to the previous article. This is from PBS and Felicia …
2012 – A Year in Review
by Steve Laube
With today being New Year's eve we have a chance to reflect, evaluate, and celebrate the events of this past year.
Our agency was extremely busy this year closing on 118 new book contracts covering nearly 200 new books. That meant we averaged a new contract every two business days. Amazing. What makes this exciting is that, despite dour predictions, publishers …
News You Can Use – Dec. 18, 2012
Ornaments for Book Lovers - For last minute online shopping?
Let the Ebook Price Wars Begin: Three Ebook Pricing Predictions - Interesting article from Forbes magazine. The predictions are quite reasonable.
Psy Makes $8 Million by Ignoring Copyright Infringement - Care to see how much a viral video can create literal revenue? Read this article for some behind the scenes discussion of this …