August is for Reading
by,
August 9, 2022

Judith Rossner’s 70s novel, August, is about a psychoanalyst and the young adult client she sees during the month when all therapists take vacation. Someone needs to write the novel about an agent and the young adult novelist who pitches in August and hears crickets. Is everyone on vacation in August? Yup. August is about beach books and cabin reads. Swinging in a hammock with a… [Read More]

Positioning your Product
by,
March 20, 2018

Publishing is a business. Books are products. When you want to publish your book you need to understand that you are introducing a new product into a crowded market with decreasing demand. The number of books published each year has exploded. The average number of sales for each book continues to decline, despite the increasing number of titles published. For every spot available in bookstore… [Read More]

How Studying Comp Titles Can Help You Develop a Marketing Plan
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November 21, 2017

Where should your book be reviewed? What literary journals and magazines should you submit excerpts or adaptations to? Which bookstore events will be worth your while? Are there podcasts or radio interviews you should book to promote your new release? These and other questions you may have when you begin to put together a marketing strategy are not easy to answer. Studying your comp titles… [Read More]

Blurbs and asking for endorsements
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January 12, 2016

It is the author’s responsibility to seek endorsements for their books and publishers expect you to get them. Blurbs – often only a few words or phrase of praise from a high profile author, celebrity, or expert  –  appear on a book’s cover or dust jacket flaps. Blurbs are also used in query letters to agents, on tip sheets to booksellers, in marketing materials and… [Read More]

The Importance of Reading Comparable Works
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October 20, 2015

Agents and publishers in their submission guidelines often ask for a list of comparable titles. By identifying these books, they can estimate the size of the print run and a P&L (profit-and-loss statement). Identifying the current books on the market which serve the needs of your readers helps you with the business of being an author and your bottom-line, too. The comparative title analysis identifies the authors… [Read More]

Managing the business of being an author
by,
September 8, 2015

To be an author is a status many work hard to attain. Most of that work is invisible to the reader’s eye. Much of it doesn’t involve creative writing. The roles and responsibilities of an author go far beyond producing a wonderful manuscript. Writer is one role and the manuscript is one important responsibility. There are other roles besides writer and many more responsibilities. The role… [Read More]

Reading is your Job
by,
June 9, 2015

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that,” Stephen King wrote in his memoir, On Writing. When I hear from aspiring authors they don’t have time to read, I think about Stephen King’s observation. The likelihood of publication plummets when a writer doesn’t read. It IS that simple. As a developmental editor… [Read More]

Blurbs for your book
by,
March 28, 2014

It is the author’s responsibility to seek endorsements for their books and publishers expect you to get them. Blurbs – often only a few words from an endorsement from a high profile author, celebrity or expert  –  appear on a book’s cover or dust jacket flaps. Blurbs are used in letters to solicit book reviews, on tip sheets to booksellers, in marketing materials and press… [Read More]

Building an audience platform isn’t all about social media
by,
September 21, 2013
Swenson Book Development, LLC- Art Image 18

More than any other reason, acquisition editors use the lack of an audience platform to reject a book project. They look at more than the numbers of followers, friends, tweeps and subscribers to assess the size of your reading audience. Social media metrics are one indication of an author’s potential customer base. There are many others. Here’s a list of what an agent or acquisition… [Read More]