I’m spending six weeks in Pickens, SC working on my new novel. Here’s the first blog post to the Rensing Center’s blog on my experience. This one is about feral daffodils I found while walking the roads around the rural center.
Author Archives: Laine Cunningham
Great News in Publishing
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In 2013, more new titles landed on the bestseller lists than ever before. That year beat out 2012, which also had more new titles than any previous year. That’s great news for authors who are interested in approaching traditional publishers with their manuscripts.
Mass market again saw the most first-time titles, with 290 books. This category was followed by hardcover fiction with 251 and trade paperbacks with 187 new titles. Nonfiction had 269 in their hardcover category.
Funding for Events
Poets & Writers offers funding for readings and workshops in New York state and California as well as Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, New Orleans, Seattle, Tucson, and Washington, D.C. Details available here.
New Publisher Info
Bestselling authors Victoria Christopher Murray and ReShonda Tate Billingsley have teamed up to launch Brown Girls Publishing. The books will cover a variety of genres and, while the authors have focused on the African American community, their house’s titles will be for a broad audience.
They already have a number of titles lined up. They are looking for good stories that are well written.
Most Sought-after Out of Print Books
USA Today lists one reporter’s top ten choices for most sought-after books that are no longer in print. Number one is Sex by Madonna, followed by Stephen King’s Rage and My Pretty Pony.
B&N Exclusives Program
Several years ago, Barnes & Noble launched a program that offers exclusive content to readers. Often the project rereleased books with additional content like author comments that were available only through B&N.
Now the program is really taking flight with exclusive content for teen and tween readers. The extra content extends the storyline, provides more backstory, and answers readers’ questions. The books under this banner are receiving exclusive marketing campaigns and in-store signage and enhanced placements.
Publishing Trend: Content Bind-up
Bind-ups, collections of previously published short fiction, novellas, and the like, is being viewed in a new way. Before, publishers released collections as an afterthought, mostly as a way to enhance sales or increase revenue using items from their existing catalogues.
Now, publishers are realizing that ebooks are offering new ways to engage with books. Waterbrook Multnomah is releasing three novellas in a single book as an experiment. HarperCollins Christian Publishing is revamping a series by releasing a series specifically under this format. A Year of Weddings will come out every three months with seasonal themes; each release will bind together three novellas.
Publishers are reaching into new arenas by recasting old ideas. They aren’t dead yet…not by a long shot.
New Agent Assisted Publishing Option
Literary agent Steve Laube has bought the Christian sci-fi publisher Marcher Lord Press. Open since 2008, the press has a backlist of 40 titles. Laube plans to release 4 to 8 titles per year through Marcher Lord.
Self-Pub Unit Closes
WinePress Publishing, a Christian self-pub company, has closed. It was plagued recently with complaints from authors and accusations of fraud. It has directed its authors to try Amazon for republishing their books.
When you’re deciding which printer or self-publisher to use for your books, be sure to check out the company closely or rely on a referral from someone in the industry or a fellow author. Keep your intellectual material and your career safe from this kind of upheaval, and avoid any interruption in your efforts to reach readers.
Book Agent Info
Connect with an agent and work on your book at the Texas Writing Retreat. Held August 5-10 near Houston, you’ll have an opportunity to connect with Elizabeth Kracht of Kimberley Cameron & Associates. This five-night writing retreat is all-inclusive (food, drinks, and board) with the attendees limited to 7 to 15.
Book Agent Info
Connect with agents face to face at the Missouri Writers Guild Conference April 25-27 in St. Louis, MO. Meet with Ken Sherman of Ken Sherman & Associates, Laura Biagi of Jean V. Naggar Literary, Sorche Fairbank of Fairbank Literary, or Gina Pantettieri of Talcott Notch.
Book Trailer Effectiveness
The importance of book trailers can’t be understated. Video has proven effective in boosting blog followers and selling products of all kinds. Books can connect with more readers when a trailer is created for that particular book.
They don’t have to be fancy. Even a simple trailer can increase a reader’s likelihood of buying by 5 times. Sales can increase as much as 64%, and 90% of viewers find videos useful when making their purchasing decisions.
For help with your trailer, contact Kristen Eckstein at Imagine! Studios. Tell her Laine Cunningham sent you! She does a fantastic job for all my clients.
New Book Awards
Bookslut has launched a new award that intends to right past wrongs.
The editor feels that the Pulitzer and the National Book Awards have often (if not always) gone to the wrong book. The reason is because it takes years if not decades for a book’s true impact to be felt.
You can submit your own nominations for books published in 1963 that truly deserve an award by emailing the editor at jessa@bookslut.com.
Just for Fun: Marketing
This is an amusing list of defintions of common marketing buzzwords by Book Business.
How Many Agents Should an Author Query?
Authors who are interested in submitting to a traditional publisher often ask about the best route. I recommend that authors query agents first. Whenever you approach a publisher yourself, you are closing the door for an agent to submit on your behalf with that publisher. So spend some time looking for an agent before you submit to publishers.
The question then becomes, how many agents should I query before shifting to publishers? Generally I recommend no less than 50. It is actually more difficult to get an agent than a publisher these days. Because they can do so much for an author, though, it is worth the effort.
Authors who have been picked up by traditional houses often recommend 80 queries! This is because an agent’s opinion can be as subjective as that of an acquisitions editor. So don’t give up after a dozen or so. If finding that number of agents sounds too tiresome, consider an agent list tailored to your needs. Writer’s Resource offers lists generated anew for each person (and even each book) that average 60 to 80 agent names. Some lists produce over 100 names for authors working in popular categories. Visit the website and look at the Agent tab for more info.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 