Managing the business of being an author
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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]

Recommended. Summer. Reading.
by,
June 23, 2015

Two novels. Both are set during the Second World War and yet neither is a war story.      Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See, won the Pulitizer Prize for fiction this year. Read it to gain an appreciation for what editors mean when they say “character-driven plot.” This is much more than a story about WWII. Marie-Louise is a blind 14-year-old girl… [Read More]

Top 10 Books of 2014
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December 16, 2014

It’s December and I reflect back on the books I’ve read this year which stand out above all others from my vantage as a book development editor. Here’s my top 10 list of great new books and why I think these works will stand the test of time. Fiction #1 A Tale for the Time Being  by Ruth Ozeki – March 2013 In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old… [Read More]

Writing a book review and maintaining your dignity in the digital era
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November 18, 2014

Typically written for new releases 30 days before publication date or up to 90 days afterwards, book reviews are 500-750 word essays which give other readers an idea of what the book is about so they can decide whether or not to read it. I blogged about the reasons to consider book reviews a couple of weeks ago. Here I provide suggestions on what to… [Read More]

Who will review your book?
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November 4, 2014

As an author, this is a critical question to ask yourself as you begin to plan and write your book proposal. You’ll need to provide a list of reviewers as part of your marketing and publicity plans. Book reviews come in all sizes, colors, and styles these days. Once the purview of literary critics, many book reviews have turned into book reports. Remember fourth grade?… [Read More]

Book Expo America 2014
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May 30, 2014

Today Swenson Book Development LLC is in New York City at the Jacob Javits Center attending Book Expo America 2014. The largest annual book trade show in the U.S., BEA provides booksellers with opportunities to network with colleagues, preview publishers’ upcoming titles, and discover new vendors. Programming includes a multitude of education and information sessions, as well as author breakfasts, lunches, and other special events. In… [Read More]

Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature
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May 23, 2014

Tina Welling’s new book, Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature, has just been released from New World Library. Tina Welling will be at Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca at 4PM on Saturday on May 31st. “Writing Wild is an impressive guide to feeling, seeing, thinking, and writing about the beauty, sadness, and wonder of life. Tina Welling has created a gift for us all.”… [Read More]

Blurbs for your book
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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]

Veterans Day 2013 in Ithaca to include Absent Narratives from War History
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October 11, 2013

Award winning author, Cathryn Prince, will be in Ithaca for two events during Veterans Day weekend.  Cathryn Prince is the author of four books of non-fiction history, a frequent contributor to The Christian Science Monitor, The Weston Forum, Weston Magazine, and Ridgefield Magazine, and has taught journalism at Quinnipiac, Columbia and Boston Universities. Military Writers Society of America recently awarded Cathryn Prince its 2013 Founders Award for Death… [Read More]

Kindness for Weakness
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July 6, 2013

Kindness becomes weakness as boys become men in a place where violence is the solution to every problem. In Shawn Goodman’s new novel, 15-year-old James finds himself in an upstate detention center after his brother recruited him into drug trafficking. It’s a coming of age story set in a second chances plot. More Fight Club than Catcher in the Rye, Kindness for Weakness captures the… [Read More]