Monthly Archives: January 2014

Just for Fun

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Check out this entry on IndieReader called Help Me, I Love a Writer!

Contest with $5K Prize

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The AARP and the Huffington Post have teamed up to offer a memoir contest. You must live inside the U.S. and have been born before Dec 31, 1964 to enter.

The official rules are here. If you’ve been sitting on a memoir all this time, here’s a great opportunity to make a splash financially and with the recognition awards can bring!

What a Rejection Really Means

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This is a great article about how to change one agent’s no into another agent’s yes. I love the list of what each comment actually means…it’s realistic, and is something every author should understand.

Contest Final Notice

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The 5th annual Laine Cunningham Fiction Contest is closing January 31. Prizes are $1,000 for first place, $500 second place, and $250 third place. Also selecting an honorable mention.

The contest accepts ALL book-length fiction, including YA, New Adult, adult, contemporary, historical, literary, experimental, sci-fi, fantasy, short story collections, novella collections and single novellas.

All winners receive coverage in The Blotter Literary Magazine (circ. 10,000 nationwide print plus website). Send synopsis and first 20 double-spaced pages to the gang at The Blotter. Guidelines available at http://www.WritersResource.us under Contest tab.

$25 entry fee includes a subscription to the print magazine.

Book Publisher Info

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Ripple Grove Press is a new children’s picture book publisher. Authors should submit a cover letter with the story summary, age range for audience, brief bio, contact info (all the information in a submissions packet), and a PDF of the manuscript. 

Book Publisher Info

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Gryphon House Inc handles teacher/parent resource texts. The acquisition editors prefer a query with a book proposal that includes the title, purpose of the book, table of contents, introductory material, and 20-40 sample pages.

The Advantages of Short Books

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Short books have gained a lot of credibility in the publishing arena. Still primarily the purview of self-published and indie authors, shorter books are having an important impact on writing careers.

Shorter works allow authors to generate more titles in shorter timeframes. Since algorithms and search results are going to be pushed in part by the number of titles available, this is no small point.

Shorter works also allow authors to constantly offer readers something fresh and new.

Short works can provide an opportunity to work in a new genre or category with less risk than creating a longer work.

How do you use short books to your advantage?

Publishing Trend: Self-help

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We all gripe now and then about how well celebrity bios sell. Well, 2014 is projected to be the year when a different category outsells that standby.

The self-help category is poised for another huge boom. Works that are intellectually “credible,” meaning those that are reflective and offer something readers will find meaningful, will fuel this boom.

If you have something in the works or an idea for a project that fits this category, get cracking! Now is the time to grab for your breakout success.

Free Houses for Authors

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Yes, you read that title correctly: If you’re an author and you’re willing to move, you could get a free house.

Write-A-House takes the usual idea of a writer’s residency and adds a new twist: the residency is forever, because the authors chosen for the program receive a house.

All right, nothing is forever. But you do have to agree to live in the house for at least two years. The program is intended to revitalize areas of Detroit that have been blasted by the economic downturn.

The primary repairs have been done but you should be willing to paint and do a few minor things here and there on your own. Otherwise, check it out!

Smashwords Continued Growth in 2013

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Smashwords, one of the largest self-pub sites, continued growing in 2013. The company added 25,000 authors. The number of titles it offers has nearly doubled to over 275,000. Its authors earned $20 million in just that year.

Changes on tap for 2014 include better marketing opportunities, enhanced reporting tools, and better trending information feeds.

Goodreads Doubles Again

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2013 was a banner year for Goodreads, the reader review site. It doubled its membership again (just as it did during 2012). It now has 25 million members, many of which are interested in fiction much than nonfiction.

Here’s a cool infographic with other tidbits about the site’s activities over the previous year.

Book Publisher Info

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The Career Press publishes books for adults that helps readers improve their careers, businesses, and related topics. Prospective writers can submit a book proposal with sample chapters. Note that unlike other publishers who accept partial manuscripts for many types of nonfiction, this publisher notes that a complete manuscript is preferred for all its subject areas.

New Publisher Info

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Shebooks, http://www.shebooks.net, launched as a new publisher. It focuses on books written by women for women. All its titles are available on a subscription basis, so be sure that kind of payment structure is acceptable to you before submitting.

Amazon’s Top Reviewers

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Reader reviews are an important to boost book sales. On specific sites, you’ll find lists of top reviewers…individuals who are so prolific with their reviews that they have achieved top ranking on that site.

It might not sound like much but it’s important. Top reviewers have followers…some of them tens of thousands of followers. When one of the top reviewers pays attention to your book, their followers discover your work. Good or bad, the review can introduce you to individuals who otherwise might never come across your stories.

Over the holidays, one of my novels was reviewed by an Amazon Top 50 reviewer. The post is fairly long and detailed, and can be read here. The reviewer is Grady Harp, who commands spot number 41 in the reviewer ranking. I’ll be following the sales numbers and will report back in a month on any developments.