Death of a Pen Name
Whether to write under a pen name or under one’s own real name is a choice authors make early in a career. That choice can have unforeseen consequences. When Facebook blocked his pen name, author Peter Rendell had to relaunch his author platform and reevaluate his marketing strategy. Let’s give him a hand, because what […]
Getting Your Book Into Bookstores
What is the biggest frustration authors face? Getting into bookstores. Authors and independent publishers who produce print books through Amazon’s Createspace confront a nearly insurmountable hurdle. Even though the book has a great cover, bookstores still know the book has been produced by their sworn enemy–Amazon! How can they tell? Amazon places a bar code […]
Book Promotion on a Budget
Book promotion is the biggest challenge all writers face. I face it. If you’ve published a book, you face it, too. Every writer I know confronts the stunning reality that fewer and fewer people are reading books, even though we writers are pouring our souls onto the page. Prior to publication, most of us have […]
Literary Magazines: Insider Tips On Getting Published and Dealing With Rejectiion
I’ve met many writers so focused on their novels that they’ve never explored the world of literary magazines. Did you know that some literary magazines accept novel chapters? Maybe you could convert one of your chapters into a story. When you’re bogged down in a longer work, seeing your name in print will definitely give […]
Journalism vs. Fiction: What’s the Difference?
What’s the difference between journalism and fiction, and why should you care? Well, if you’re a writer in this day and age, you’re likely to do more than one kind of writing. Long-form journalism often pays. Fiction rarely does. Or, at least, it can take time for people to find you and buy your books. […]
Publishing Myths I Wish I’d Known | 10 Misconceptions About Writing and Selling Books
Which publishing myths cloud your vision? By “publishing myths” I mean misconceptions about the world of publishing today. To succeed as a writer, you must write a great book. To succeed as an author (meaning you intend to have a career writing more books) you must educate yourself about the marketplace of books. Publishing is an […]
How Much Should You Be Spending on Book Awards?
Book awards can help your book gain traction. When you’re attending a book fair, having a shiny sticker on the cover draws attention. And when you’re setting up your author’s pages, featuring the “bling” can’t hurt. Several of this blog’s subscribers stand on the brink of publishing first or second books. Every one of these […]
A Productive Rant About Building An Author Platform
How do writers in general, but particularly late-life writers, establish an author platform? By “late life” I mean writers over sixty. By “author platform” I mean a soapbox that is slightly elevated above the crowd and that allows authors to shout to passersby that our books exist. That doesn’t mean the crowd will necessarily buy […]
Metadata Mysteries | 7 Things I Wish I’d Known Earlier
Metadata means the basic information that helps publishers, distributors, libraries and bookstores keep track of your book. It’s like the data on your book’s dashboard: the mpg, rpms, temperature gauge, etc. A few years back, when I first stuck my toe in the publishing pond, I was totally daunted by the term “metadata.” I had […]
Copyright Law | Little Known Facts For New Authors
Copyright law changed forever when Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, broke with convention by wearing a white suit to the 1906 Congressional hearings on American copyright law. In Twain’s day, copyright law didn’t protect authors from piracy. However, Twain, sympathetic to the financial needs of his fellow authors and aware of the need […]
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