Pitching

News You Can Use – June 18, 2013

By Steve Laubeon June 18, 2013

Self-Published eBooks Account for 12% of the Entire Digital Market – Watch the stats for trends.

How People Read Online – Does this mean I have to shorten my blog posts? And if I do will you still skip the last 2/3rds of what I write anyway?

Three Scriptural Cautions Against Self-Publishing – Do you agree or disagree? (and then read the next link below)

Three Reasons to Support Self-Publishing – A rebuttal to the previous link. I appreciate careful discourse and debate that does not devolve into chaos. This point-counterpoint is a wonderful example of how to conduct this type of conversation.

Did You Forget to Pay Royalties for Singing “Happy Birthday”? – A fascinating article which tells of a company who is suing to get “Happy Birthday” declared public domain. Ever wonder why restaurants all have their own song for celebrating birthdays? They don’t want to receive an invoice from the copyright holder who makes $5,000,000 a year in royalties.

3 mistakes to avoid when following up on a pitch – This article can be applied to pitching editors and agents too.

10 Blogging Tactics To Maximize Long-Term Results – Excellent advice from Heidi Cohen. I get this kind of question a lot from authors trying to use their blog to market their books.

The Overwhelming Force of “Gradual” – Seth Godin talks about building low and slow for maximum success.

Do You Have Perfect Pitch?

By Karen Ballon June 13, 2012

Thanks so much for all the ideas for my mini-conferences. I’ll put those together soon.

Speaking of conferences, while I was at a writer’s retreat awhile back, I was struck, as I always am when in the company of writers, by the power of the right word used in the right way. On the first day of the conference, I had group meetings with the writers. This is where a group of writers come in, sit …

Category: Book Proposals, Conferences, Get Published, Karen, PitchingTag: Conferences, Pitching, Proposals, Query Letters

News You Can Use – April 10, 2012

By Steve Laubeon April 10, 2012

Pew Research Findings on E-Reading – If you want a sense of what’s happening, read this article. Then once you’ve digested it, read Mike Shatzkin’s evaluation of the data. Together the articles may take an hour to absorb.

The Perfect Elevator Pitch for a New Job – Interesting article with applications for a writer creating the perfect pitch for their book idea

Five Best Bluetooth Headsets – …

Category: News You Can UseTag: Facebook, Internet, pitch, Pitching, Twitter

Why Do I Have to Jump Through Your Hoops?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 23, 2012

Recently, my assistant had a conversation with an author who did not send a complete proposal. The author was referred to our guidelines and gently reminded that we needed more material in order to make an evaluation. But instead of saying "thank you" for the guidance, the author declared they did not have to jump through any hoops, and took the opportunity to aggressively express their complaints …

Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Book Business, Editors, Get Published, Pitching, Proposals, Tamela

Charmed, I’m Sure

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 16, 2012

Dear Editor:
You really should meet this author! He knows all the best places to dine. I couldn't believe the fabulous meal we were served at a hole-in-the-wall place I'd never heard of until I made his acquaintance. He has also been quite generous and charming to my family. My husband and my kids have nothing but great things to say about this wonderful author!
In our meetings both in person …

Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Pitching, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Editors, Pitching, Proposals, Rejection, Tamela, Writing Craft

Study the Market

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 20, 2011

What is the best way to find out what is successful in the current market?

This is a good question because while as an author, you don't want to chase the market, you also don't want to write books that are so far off from the current market that they have no chance of selling. First and foremost, marketing advice from any source assumes that authors submit their best, most polished, highest …

Category: Get Published, Marketing, Tamela, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Get Published, Pitching, Tamela, Trends, Writing Craft

Conference Proposal Requests

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 6, 2011

The recent ACFW conference (attended by nearly 700 writers and industry professionals) has writers, agents, and editors in overdrive as we all attempt to follow up on conference proposal requests. Writers are working feverishly to get proposals to editors. Some are thinking, "Surely the editor who seemed so excited about my proposal is checking email at least once or twice a day looking for it. I …

Category: Conferences, Get Published, Marketing, TamelaTag: Book Business, Conferences, Pitching, Rejection, Tamela, Writing Craft

Loving to Laugh

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 29, 2011

At least once a week I'm asked if romantic comedy is currently marketable. While sometimes this category seems hot and then cold, I'd say that sharp, witty, well-executed romantic comedy can find a good home no matter what the publishing season. Note that I take the adjectives I used seriously. This is not a category that most writers can whip off with little effort. Successful writers of romantic …

Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Genre, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Ideas, Pitching, Romantic Comedy, Tamela, Writing Craft

One-Sheets versus Queries

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 22, 2011

A recent post inspired an excellent question. "Is a one-sheet the same as a query?"

Yes and no. There is some overlap, but the differences are significant.

A one-sheet gives writers a document for talking points about a project at a conference. The one-sheet can help authors be sure they convey the information they want to the editor or agent without forgetting anything critical. In turn, …

Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, TamelaTag: Pitching, query, Tamela, Writing Craft

En-TITLE-ment: Finding the Perfect Title (Part One)

By Karen Ballon August 17, 2011

One of the most difficult—and important—things we did when I worked in the publishing house was come up with titles for our authors’ novels. Sometimes it was a breeze, either because the author’s title was spot-on or because the story lent itself organically to a certain title. But more often than not, it was a long process of back-and-forth with the author, marketing, and sales. So how can you, …

Category: Get Published, Karen, Marketing, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Craft, Karen, Pitching, Titles, Writing Craft