The music…the audience…the joy of the performers….
Hope you have a big smile on your face.
Fun Fridays – Jan 25, 2013
Blog
Taking Your Questions
In my ongoing quest to address the needs of our blog readers, I am answering more questions authors have posed in the comments section of past blogs.
What publishers do you generally work with, and with which ones do you have the closest working relationship, or usually contact first? Which ones do you avoid? And why?
What I think you really want to know is, "If I sign with you, where will I …
Editing 101 – My Turn
Thanks for all the great comments and conversation on what needed to be edited in the text I posted in my last blog (Editing 101 - Y0ur Turn). You all made some great observations!
Below you’ll find the edited text. I tried doing it in Track Changes, which is what I usually use to edit a manuscript, but the blog server didn’t like that much. So I’ve made the edits red (think the dreaded red …
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 …
Questions About Editors, Countries, and Awards
This blog is a continuation of my question-and-answer session in response to queries posted on a recent post.
1) Would you be able to get access to briefs from editors on what they are looking for and suggest to the author if there are any mutually interesting topics or genres?
Yes. Between the three of us, our agency has 81 years in publishing experience. During this time, we have forged …
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.” …
Answers from the Mountaintop
(Or, from my desk in Virginia, where I am fueled by bold, rich coffee)
Before Christmas, when I posted about having a serious talk with your agent, a couple of you asked more questions. I really appreciate you! Over the next few weeks, I'll provide my perspective on various questions. I want my posts to be a source of good, helpful information, so feel free to make more queries in the …
Editing 101 – Your Turn
I’ve had a number of writers ask me if I can show an edited page from a manuscript, so they can learn from it. So that seems a fun way to start out the New Year. But what I want to do is let YOU take a turn as an editor first. So here, for your editing pleasure, is something I wrote just for this occasion. Print this out, put on your editing hat, and go for it. I’ll post the edited text next week, …
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 …