Social media marketing of books is an extension of the tried and true method of word-of-mouth advertising. Reviews and personal recommendations have historically played a more fundamental role in a reader’s decision of what book to read than traditional advertising. Today friends and family share what they are reading on Facebook, GoodReads, Twitter. What technology adds to the mix is a way for authors and… [Read More]
Jill Swenson: Cathryn Prince, this is your fourth book of historical non-fiction. Death in the Baltic: The World War II Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is a featured selection for the Military History Book Club this spring, advance reviews are positive and Amazon sales rankings impressive.. How does your experience working towards publication on this fourth book compare to a decade ago with your first, Shot from… [Read More]
When you write a book, it needs to be about something. When someone asks what your book is about, how do respond? Do you stumble over your words trying to describe your book? Time to pin down your premise. Premise: The central idea, situation, or set-up which provides the foundation and pushes the narrative forward. What happens as a result of actions is another way… [Read More]
Do you have a non-fiction work-in-progress? Are you in search of structure to your manuscript? The organization and order of information in a non-fiction book is every bit as important as plot is to fiction. Immersing yourself in the subject matter is no guarantee that the structure of a book will reveal itself as self-evident. So how does a writer of non-fiction move from the… [Read More]
“Every first draft is perfect,” wrote Jane Smiley, “because all a first draft has to do is exist.” Her words soothe like balm on a writer’s spirit. This simple truth about the process of writing a book is that every author starts with a first draft. Smiley’s words carry the weight of wisdom since her best-selling A Thousand Acres received the Pulitizer Prize for Fiction in… [Read More]
As a book development editor, I help writers’ books take flight. In order to do that, I ask potential author clients to answer a list of questions that an agent or publisher wants to know about a book project before they read one word of a manuscript. The questions are about your book, about your audience, and about you. Your answers to these questions provide… [Read More]
Horst Woit, a young boy, snatched his uncle’s jack knife from the kitchen table as he and his mother walked out the door of their home. They trudged through the snow and freezing weather toward the Baltic harbor where they boarded a ship named the Wilhelm Gustloff to flee from Nazi Germany while Stalin’s soldiers advanced on the Eastern Front in January 1945. When Alexander… [Read More]
“Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed… Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonder,” Henry David Thoreau. Heirloom pink poppy seeds sprouted this week indoors. I am prepared to expect blossoms this July. Much depends on what happens between now and… [Read More]
If you’re an author with a book concept to pitch for publication, know thy market. This means understanding the marketplace and keeping up with the news in the publishing business. If you are serious about getting published and getting paid in today’s publishing environment, it’s a good idea to keep up with current events in the book world. I mean much more than reading the… [Read More]
Memoir is a genre of non-fiction written in the first person about a slice of life. There are subgenres of memoir and literary narrative non-fiction with which a writer should know and see where their own writing fits. These subgenres are rather fluid and change across time with readers’ interests and current trends. Celebrity, athletic, political or public figure Travel Spiritual Food Grief Farmsteading Mommy… [Read More]
