Pop-up book club. Literary trading post. Community book swap. Wrap your head around this growing global phenomena: Little Free Libraries. In 2009 Todd Bol built a wooden box, made it look a bit like a schoolhouse, mounted it on a post in his front yard of his home in Hudson, Wisconsin, filled it with books, and stuck a note on the front door to take one, leave one. Bol started this as a tribute to his mother, who was a book lover and school teacher. His partner Rick Brooks in Madison helped to spread the idea of Little Free Libraries. In 2013, all 50 states and 40 nations have registered sites. The original goal was to create 2,150 libraries which would surpass the number Andrew Carnegie built in his lifetime. Today there are almost 6,000 around the world. And the numbers continue to grow. On a visit to Madison more than 18 months ago, I had the pleasure of discovering one after another of these way stations for word-lovers on walks through neighborhoods. When I returned to Ithaca, I knew the seed of this idea could take root here. I sent off for registration materials. Three Little Free Libraries have since popped up in Tompkins County. Ellen Bonn is the steward of #4787 at 110 Penny Lane in Commonland in east Ithaca. Teresa Porri is steward of #2086 at 1039 Hanshaw Road in the Cayuga Heights neighborhood where sidewalks are being installed. And between East Shore Drive and Pyramid Mall,…
Go ahead, file your complaints! Starting now, we’ll be blogging only once a week here. And we’ll be posting on Friday mornings instead of Saturday. Swenson Book Development llc provides custom services to a select clientele and this change in blogging schedule reflects our commitment to serve these authors first and foremost. We plan to continue to provide helpful information and links to resources to… [Read More]
Filed Under: Amanda K. Jaros, Change in blogging schedule, Little Free Library #4094
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While the rest of the working world looks forward to Fridays, if you are an author whose proposal and/or manuscript is under review with a publisher there may be dread for this day of the week. Rejection letters are often sent out on Fridays. You might wonder why Friday. Rejection letters are never welcomed and often unintentionally inflict emotional injuries. The urge to respond and… [Read More]
There are no shortcuts on the path to publishing. You need a brilliant manuscript, a winning book proposal, and an organic platform. Getting “found” by a publisher today includes some new avenues. Here are 10 ways some writers have found their way to a publishing contract. 1. Write and publish a personal essay for Modern Love, published every Sunday in the New York Times style… [Read More]
Biu Ling, a data-mining expert at the New York Times, estimates one in three book reviews is a fake. More than a year ago, the New York Times reported on the best book reviews money can buy. Further investigations into how authors buy their way onto bestselling book lists resulted in the Wall Street Journal publishing a news report earlier this year on how the… [Read More]
Filed Under: Amazon, Fake Reviews, Fiverr Report, GoodReads, NY State Attorney General, Paid Book Reviews, Payola
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]