Business is booming at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. Eleven new major book deals nailed down and that was while Sandy was vacationing in Europe. So look out, now that she's back! Widely considered the most powerful agent on the West Coast, Dijkstra has been called "tough" and … [Read more...]
The blog for writers
The Book Deal
When the author isn’t a writer: bringing in a ghost
Many successful books are written by ghost writers, co-authors, and other, often uncredited, collaborators. If I sign up an author who's a highly regarded expert in the field but not a professional writer, I bring in a ghost who's a pro at getting under someone else's skin and producing a … [Read more...]
Publisher to author: Web marketing? You’re on your own
B ook publishers expect authors to take charge of their own online marketing. That means writers need to use Carrd homepage builder to create their own clever websites and build active blogs and hopefully they're also out there whirling on the social networks. I hear companies similar to Ram … [Read more...]
“Books are not dead!”
“Reading and writing go on, in new forms, forever!” That’s the rallying cry at Stanford this week, where book and magazine publishers from around the globe have gathered for the 33rd annual Professional Publishing Course. It’s my 12th year on the faculty, and I’m witnessing a new level of … [Read more...]
Choosing a title for your book
Editors pray for the perfect book title: a tight high-concept combination of words that crystallizes the content and intention of the work. A title so scintillating and irresistible that millions of readers want to run out and buy this book immediately. Eureka! It happens. Think of Chicken Soup … [Read more...]
How Guy Kawasaki got his cover for Art of the Start: Q&A
Like many authors, Guy Kawasaki has struggled with his publishers to get the cover designs he wants for his books. But unlike anyone else before him, he decided to take matters into his own hands and hold an online contest to recruit and select the best possible jacket for his book The Art of the … [Read more...]
Eulogy for Cody’s Books
The sad demise of Cody’s Books, the iconic independent bookstore in Berkeley that closed this week, is a loss for readers, authors, booksellers and publishers everywhere. The reasons for this unfortunate event are many and complex – Amazon, over-expansion, fiscal mismanagement, the negative impact … [Read more...]
Build your author platform: 10 tips from a pro
As an acquiring editor, one of the first things I look for in an author's proposal is the "platform", that is, the writer's reputation and public visibility – and the ability, willingness, and experience to promote themselves in the marketplace. What we publishers all hope for when opening a … [Read more...]
Print-on-demand book boom: up astounding 514%
W ho says print is dead? The book industry reported a colossal 514 percent surge last year in print-on-demand titles, giving a much needed boost to traditional publishing which was flat overall in numbers of books produced in 2007. Print on demand (POD) is a digital technology and business model … [Read more...]
Emerging novelist a Starbucks hit: Q&A with the author
Garth Stein's new book The Art of Racing in the Rain posted extraordinary sales of 15,215 copies the first week out. Of these, 3,515 flew out the door of retail bookstores, 2,217 were ordered on Amazon, and a whopping 9,483 sold at Starbucks stores throughout the country. The relatively unknown … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- Next Page »