Two agents at conference. Along comes a writer!
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Blog
Discoverability
One of the buzzwords you hear in publishing today is discoverability. Authors must be discovered by potential readers. To that end, even though obviously selling a car is much different from selling a book, I still think we might be able to learn some lessons from Maserati. I hadn’t thought about this automobile company except with the vague idea that they are an iconic Italian race car …
Writer, Know Thyself!
I recently spent four days with a wonderful group of writers. We meet every year to pray together, brainstorm each other’s books, and laugh uproariously. I always come home feeling like I’ve had a major ab workout from all the laughter! In the course of our discussions, I realized that with publishing changing in so many ways, writers can sometimes lose their focus on what they’re really …
8 Things Authors Should No Longer Ask Their Publisher
Publishing is changing faster than ever before. Book publishers have been wrenching to find new business models that make them more flexible, efficient and adaptable to the realities of the digital publishing age. Within this fast-change world, another group who has felt the pain of shifting tectonic plates are authors who have been around publishing for ten or more years. Some issues that used …
Fun Fridays – August 8, 2015
Today’s video is a smile maker. A great reminder to say “thank you” to someone today. Your words may be a blessing to one who needs it. Last week I had some rough days personally and professionally…and then a client’s brand new book arrived in the office. In it, on the acknowledgment page, she thanked me for my hard work on her behalf. It was just the right thing at …
Creativity I Enjoy
Last week, I promised to share with you how I am creative other than writing. Well, I don’t write much now except for this blog. If you see a “new” book with my name on it, at this point in time, it’s a repackage. I am grateful for repacks! I appreciate the creativity of my writers. I can’t think of a better career than being a literary agent! But as for my …
When Did You Know You Wanted to Be a Writer?
Yesterday was my birthday. 57 years of life. It struck me yet again how quickly the days goes by. I swear it was just yesterday that I was a kid, canoeing on Diamond Lake, walking my dog to the used book store to buy my Thor comics (which I collected until my senior year in high school, and which, when I sold my collection, financed my first year of college), gathering with my pseudo-cousins after …
Etch-A-Sketch Living
Like everyone else in the world, I had an Etch-A-Sketch when I was young. When my wife and I had kids, we bought one for them as well. (You really only need one in the house) I have great admiration for anyone who could draw anything resembling anything identifiable on it, since the only thing I could draw were stairs. The best part of an Etch-A-Sketch was also its worst. If you messed up on a …
Fun Fridays – August 1, 2014
Proof that there’s been a problem in publishing since the stone age! B.C. by Mastroianni and Hart
Creativity
We are so thrilled to have our family from overseas visiting with us this week. Our son-in-law brought us a gorgeous vase made by hand from a solid piece of Korean oak. His sister, Jung Im, took three months to fashion it, and modeled it on a vase from the Choson Dynasty. Although Jung Im is not a writer, her care and craft made me think of how writers are creative in many ways. Not only do …