Where will YOUR book get reviewed?
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March 12, 2019

Book reviews can be enormously helpful to an author. Those who decide what new titles to order for a bookstore or the library often consult reviews first. Readers, too, may be persuaded to pick up a book based on what they read in a review. And we’ve all heard the urban legend that you need to have 50 or some magic number of reviews on… [Read More]

Happy Holidays
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December 21, 2018

Happy Holidays from Swenson Book Development LLC. It’s been a wonderful year in new releases! Our next newsletter and blog will go out on New Year’s Day! Sign-up for our monthly newsletter of insider info and our bi-weekly blog about the business of being an author and the writing life. Here’s to more great books in 2019. Merry reading and happy writing.      … [Read More]

Who is Your Reader?
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December 11, 2018

Every writer hopes to captivate an audience. But who are you writing to? When you write a letter, you address your reader directly. When you write a speech, you anticipate a particular group of listeners. If you write a news article, you have a strong sense of who the readers will be, and your writing reflects your grasp of how best to address their subscribers…. [Read More]

Advice for Authors
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October 23, 2018

Whether you are an aspiring author or on your sixth or seventh book, professional development comes with the territory. The business of being an author can be overwhelming for many people who don’t have the background. How can you best prepare for today’s marketplace? I’ve worked with writers on their craft for decades and these are the secrets to the success of their writing and… [Read More]

Authors Guild offers channel for author complaints with Amazon
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August 21, 2018

What do you do when a review of your book appears on Amazon that is fake or abusive? Or when you find copies of your book being sold on Amazon that infringe on your copyright? Worried someone has pirated your book? Have a problem with your product listing? Third-party sellers set as the default setting to buy your book? You discover someone selling Advance Review… [Read More]

Book Festivals
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August 7, 2018

Around the country there are a variety of book festivals which bring authors and readers together. Book festivals are different than literary festivals which are intended for writers instead of readers. They are opportunities for authors to promote and market their book directly to their audience. Readers find them celebrations of their favorite books and authors with readings, signings, presentations, special events, and performances. While… [Read More]

August is for Reading
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July 10, 2018

From now through August, Swenson Book Development LLC offers a special package for editorial feedback on the first ten pages of your manuscript. I want to read what you’ve been writing. One of the most frequent requests I get from writers is a simple answer to the general question: is this any good? In order to answer any questions about a manuscript, you need to… [Read More]

The Perfect Pitch
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June 5, 2018

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. The perfect pitch means you need to hone your premise statement. Premise: The central idea, situation, or set-up which provides the foundation and pushes the narrative… [Read More]

New Strategy for Social Media
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May 15, 2018

Has your inbox been full of messages related to new privacy policies? Have you read them? Why is this happening now? On May 25, a new law goes into effect across the European Union. The General Data Protection Regulation strengthens individual privacy rights and has teeth for enforcement. Each notice is a result of legislation to protect citizens in other countries. This is not a… [Read More]

Memoir as Synecdoche
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May 8, 2018

If you are an author of memoir, then you know the story isn’t entirely about you. It’s about the reader. Taking the “me” out of memoir is important if you seek publication for your story. If you use the pronoun “I” in every sentence you actually create a division between you and the reader. Imagine the difference between these two passages. The trees formed a… [Read More]