Simon451 is a new imprint from Simon & Schuster. The imprint will release sci-fi titles in both print and digital with an ebook-first approach well suited to this target audience.
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Author Archives: Laine Cunningham
Norway’s Free Books Pay Authors
Norway has placed over 135,000 books online for free.
The books cannot be downloaded but they can be read in their entirety online. The website is only accessible by citizens of that country, and every book on the site offers payments to publishers and authors.
The project is intended to help boost print sales for books that were published before 2000. The country feels that titles need to be given more exposure over a longer timeframe than is usually allowed by publishers.
This experiment hits all the right notes: authors and publishers are paid for their work, readers get to sample an author’s work without worrying they won’t like the book, and readers are then driven to buy the print book (and more recent ones from the same author), which further supports publishers, authors, and of course bookstores.
Put Your Writing First
On a typical day, I work on my own novels and novellas, ghostwrite or revise a business book or novel for a client, edit a memoir or collection of essays for a client, write back cover copy and query letters, research publishing trends, and perform administrative tasks like answering email and filing.
Often fellow authors ask me how I get everything done…but most often they ask how I keep my own novels on track considering that I’m basically working three jobs (writing novels, writing/editing clients’ books, and marketing my own work and the works of clients).
My answer is simple: Do the most important work first. That means I write my own books for the first hour of every day.
The rest of the morning is dedicated to high-level client projects (ghostwriting, rewriting, and editing, all of which require a fresh mind and a sharp focus).
After lunch, I research and market.
By the end of the day, I can clean up all the administrative items like filing that don’t require a lot of mental acuity.
What is your most important task? Put it first!
S&S has International Appeal
Simon & Schuster’s president and CEO Carolyn Reidy said the company’s top growth is coming from international sales. Foreign markets are hungry for American books of all types.
To take advantage of this trend, submit to S&S. If you have any works self-published, make sure you’re offering them on digital platforms that have a presence in foreign countries. You don’t have to have a translation; it’s possible to make sales in English-speaking countries as well as India, Scandinavia, and other areas where English is spoken widely as a second language.
Indie Distribution
One of the biggest issues facing self-published authors is distribution. IRIS is a new service from IndieReader that helps resolve this problem.
The service gets the books onto the shelves of indie brick-and-mortar stores. In tandem with other marketing efforts, this might be a big step forward for authors of every genre.
Book Review: Seven Sisters, Messages From Aboriginal Australia
Here’s a very nice book review for my nonfiction book. Click on the link below to read about it.
Book Review: Seven Sisters, Messages From Aboriginal Australia.
Traditionally Published Authors Moving
The 2014 Digital Book World survey found that among 9,200 authors surveyed, those that had been traditionally published were moving in number to self-publishing.
The authors felt their experiences with publishers were less than anticipated, and so felt the publishers had underperformed with their books. This might of course be a case of authors who don’t understand the industry expecting too much of any company that offers marketing services but is more likely due to a number of factors like lack of creative control, the long production schedule, and the short shelf life publishers are willing to offer.
For those who turned to self-publishing, only about 16% regretted their decision and decided to return to traditional publishers. For the rest, the trade-off they made in lack of distribution and marketing support was made up for in other ways…including the amount of royalties they gained.
Book Agent Info
Meet over 50 agents at the Writer’s Digest Conference East. Held Aug 1-3 in New York City, the Pitch Slam allows you to connect one-on-one with a number of high-level agents.
Book Agent Info
Meet Carlie Webber of CK Webber Associates at the Southeastern Writers Conference June 13-18. Held at St. Simon’s Island, GA.
YA Author Opportunity
If you write for young adults, check out the YALITCHAT group at yalitchat.ning.com. The site supports reading, writing and publication of YA literature.
Libraries as Publishers
Here’s a new idea: Libraries publishing their own books.
Libraries have been struggling for a long time. Funding cuts have reduced their hours, higher print costs have reduced the number of books they can purchase, and ebooks have been difficult to loan because publishers don’t always want to release them to libraries.
IngramSpark, an imprint that focuses on self-published authors, is joining the Williamson County Public Library in Tennessee to create Academy Park Press.
The unit will release a children’s book as their first title. Bucky and Bonnie’s Library Adventure was written by the library staff. They feel that it’s another way libraries are transforming just as the rest of the publishing and media industries are changing.
For three months, they will be open to submissions by local authors.
Guess the Classics
A fun quizz from Buzzfeed that asks you to match the opening line of several classic books with the title in a multiple-choice format. How well did you do?
Anticipated Book Adaptations
Check out this blog entry for 2014’s most anticipated book adaptations, including Far from the Madding Crowd, Serena, The Fault in Our Stars, and Gone Girl.
Just for Fun: Book Publishing Infographic
Very funny infographic…because it’s true! I connect with the pathway that works with corresponding with friends according to your favorite genre.
Book Agent Info
Meet face to face with an agent at the Wyoming Writers Conference June 6-8. Held in Sheridan, WY, the conference offers Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown Literary and Jessica Sinsheimer of Sarah Jane Freymann Literary.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 