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 press releases. You need to demonstrate others have found your work worthy of publication to convince an agent or editor you can help market your future publication. Does the prospect of asking for blurbs make you cringe because it requires a level of narcissism you can’t quite muster into self-promotion? Remember, Narcissus is a gorgeous yellow spring blossom. The perennial flower takes its name from the Greek myth of the hunter renowned for his beauty who fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water and dies there unable to leave his own reflection. The moral of the story? It’s not about you, it’s about the book. Asking for blurbs should be as easy as growing daffodils. Set the bulbs in the fall for spring blooms. It’s up to you to plant, fertilize, weed, water, tend, and harvest the bounty of book blurbs. In the seasons of publishing, now is a good time to plan ahead for the year so you can give readers an opportunity to know your work-in-progress. Endorsements add credibility to your work in the eyes of readers. If someone…

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 who reach your readers. You will want to get to know them. And their readers. And your best strategy is to pay it forward. The books you read and consider comparative titles in your proposal are ones you should write a thoughtful review and post it on GoodRead or Amazon. Authors read these and so do readers. If you want your book to be reviewed by readers, then you need to review books your readers are reading now. Consider this a form of guerrilla marketing. On Amazon and GoodReads you can meet your tribe of readers. Get to know your customers and what they like and dislike about the books they are currently reading. How can you write a better book to fulfill the expectations and needs of readers? Perhaps you want to write book reviews for publication in a journal, magazine, or newspaper. For example, if you write for women and hope to publish your own work one day then you might consider spending a year becoming a book reviewer for Story Circle Book Reviews. If you write nonfiction and belong to a professional…

Recently I finished teaching a six week workshop where one participant asked a tough question that has haunted me. “What shouldn’t I do as a writer? What mistakes can you help me avoid making?” I stumbled through an answer. I like to focus on the positive things writers can do to improve their writing and yet the question was a legitimate one. And in my line of work I’ve seen a lot of mistakes. So I thought I would share a short list of do’s and don’ts. Know your genre Many writers suffer from genre confusion. Fictional memoir doesn’t exist. Knowing your genre is important because bookstores need to know where to shelve your book. As a writer, it’s even more important because each genre has its own literary conventions. Within the genres of romance, mystery, thriller, suspense, and science fiction there are well-defined subgenres. Know precisely where your book fits because readers bring certain expectations to each. There are lots of love stories, but not all of them belong to the genre of Romance. Know your reader There is no “general reader.” Have you ever gone into a bookstore and library asked for a book that could be for anyone? No, me neither. Write with a specific audience in mind. Read I often hear writers say they don’t want to be influenced by what they read. Do artists avoid museums and galleries? Do musicians surround themselves with silence? Do you know any chefs who ignore their passion for food?…