Counting over 13 million books sold, Free Spirit is the leading publisher of self-help books for children and teen readers, parents and educators. The press has 300 titles in print to fulfill its mission of providing youth with the tools they need to achieve success.
Lisa Rodgers of Jabberwocky Literary is seeking science fiction, fantasy, YA and middle grade of all genres, and romance.
A roundup from Publisher’s Weekly about the top ten short story collections.
Amy Cloughley of Kimberley Cameron & Associates is seeking literary and commercial fiction, mystery/suspense, narrative nonfiction, travel or adventure memoir.
Loretta Caravette of Sadler-Caravette specializes in middle-grade fiction and early readers, and will focus on film rights management.
A list from BuzzFeed Books on the last words of luminaries like Aldous Huxley and Voltaire. The short descriptions with each quote tell you a bit about the author’s live and death. Interesting and illuminating!
Longreads, a platform that curates fiction and nonfiction over 1,500 words, is starting a big push to increase membership. It’s free for users or you can buy full access to the site for a nominal fee. Longform works are experiencing a resurgence, so the time is right to find works that mirror your own.
Publisher’s Weekly offers a list of the top ten horror books. How does your writing compare?
Simon & Schuster is preparing to launch a new imprint dedicated to science fiction, fantasy and horror. The unnamed imprint will publish books “for readers of all ages.”
Larry Kirshbaum, the head of Amazon Publishing, will step down early next year when his contract is up so he can return to agenting. The program had difficulty gearing up to meet Amazon’s expectations and failed to attract any major bestsellers.
The future of the program is uncertain. Distribution into bookstores has been an issue all along despite their contract with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for distribution through their channels.
Amazon still remains big in self-publishing but for authors interested in a physical bookstore presence, they might be better served elsewhere.
Loretta Barrett Books, Inc. accepts both fiction and nonfiction projects.
Ripple Grove Press is looking for picture-driven stories for children aged 2-6. No early readers, middle grade, or YA manuscripts. No religious or holiday themed stories. Desires unique, sweet, funny, touching, offbeat, colorful, charming, different, creative ideas.
Because Amazon is very closed about sales information, it’s difficult to really judge what’s going on behind their algorithms. Publisher’s Weekly recently studied a few titles and determined that it takes about 300 sales of a single title per day to hit that marker.
Note, however, that these numbers are for the primary categories. The rankings also placed the titles in the top 10, not just the top 100. If you set your book into a smaller category, you need far fewer sales to hit the top 100. You’ll still need hundreds of sales per day to get into the top 10 but in the top 100, you’ll receive the additional benefits of Amazon’s algorithms.
Quercus Publishing, Inc. seeks an associate director of publicity. Five to seven years direct publicity experience, superior writing skills, and familiarity with print, broadcast, and online media is required.
A list from Publisher’s Weekly on the top ten mystery books. How does your writing stack up?
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 