Writer’s Digest has a list of the odd jobs taken by some of the best writers of all times.
My own strangest jobs included working on a production line at an egg factory and, later that same year, processing raw deer hides, heads and tails that arrived at a junkyard before being sent on to a leather processing facility.
What’s the strangest job you’ve ever held to support your writing career?
Quite a bit of chatter is going around these days about how self-publishing is shaking up traditional publishers. In some ways it is a war between sides that are battling for attention from the same pool of readers. WIthout going into all the other elements, let’s remember one key fact:
Self-published titles represent 10% of the current market.
This means that a number of places where books traditionally are distributed–brick-and-mortar bookstores, big-box retailers, shopping clubs and the like–aren’t paying very much attention at all to self-published titles.
When considering your career, take all the details into account to find the best path for you and your work.
A study published in Science found that “literary fiction often leaves more to the imagination, encouraging readers to make references about characters and be sensitive to emotional nuance and complexity. They theorize that reading literary fiction helps improve real-life skills like empathy and understanding the beliefs and intentions of others.”
It’s nice to know that even in today’s busy, disconnected world, literature is still having a substantial impact on society.
Here’s a link to a blog post about punctuation marks that are no longer used. Do you miss any of these? Which ones?
I might miss the virgule the most. Not because of how it was used but because the Latin root of the word could mean “rod,” “staff,” or…ahem…a certain portion of the male anatomy.
Who said proofreading can’t be fun?
Chronos Books is seeking historical nonfiction and historical biography. They are looking for real history for real people; imaginative, easy-to-digest and accessible text. Topics cover ancient times to the Second World War, and should add to a reader’s understanding of people and events rather than reading like a textbook.
With a growth rate over 400% in the past 5 years, self-publishing is actually turning out to be a benefit for traditional publishers.
More publishers than ever before are signing authors who self-published their books. Indie authors have finally found their ways onto some of the top bestseller lists, which is eye-opening considering that many lists are compiled by newspapers that still refuse to review indie authors.
Nowadays, I tell clients that they can self-publish at the same time they are querying agents and publishers. If the self-published route doesn’t work out, no harm done. If they hit it big, though, they have even more appeal for traditional publishers to take a close look.
Book Business and Publishing Executive blogs are currently seeking outside contributors for BookBusiness.com and PubExec.com. Experts and industry professionals can share their wisdom with their readers. They seek lessons learned, tips, advice, anecdotes and commentary on industry news and trends.
Bowker, the ISBN provider, found that the number of self-published books in 2012 rose 59% to over 390,000 titles. Ebooks have led the charge, although print books still accounted for about 60% of self-published titles.
The analysis also found that more than 80% of self-published titles came from just eight companies, including Smashwords and CreateSpace. Fiction is the most popular self-published genre followed by inspirational/spiritual works, books for children, and biographies.
At the Frankfurt Book Fair, Publisher’s Weekly encapsulated the event by saying “The self-publishing discussion is the only conversation we need to be having today.”
The Virginia Quarterly’s web editor backed that up.
Books on Demand pointed out that 60% of self-published authors see no difference between their efforts and those provided by traditional publishers. At the same time, 75% saw marketing as the biggest advantage offered by traditional publishers.
And that’s no small point. Self-published authors have to take very broad approaches to marketing to see what works for them at that moment in their selected category. Traditional publishers already know what works and are able to focus a team of individuals on those efforts.
VQR pointed out that the element connecting both groups is that they are both reaching out to readers. And that should be key for you no matter which publishing route you take.
The Best American Nonrequired Reading contest finds stories appropriate for young readers that aren’t going to make any required reading lists in school. Selected by a handful of high school students, the collection is published by Houghton-Mifflin. Contact the committee at nonrequired@gmail.com. They read every week, and they read every piece sent in.
Claire Anderson-Wheeler of Regal Literary is seeking YA with a strong voice (realistic or high-concept), narrative nonfiction and pop culture/pop psychology, literary fiction, and commercial women’s fiction driven by contemporary issues.
Andy Ross of the Andy Ross Agency represents books in a wide range of subjects including narrative nonfiction, science, journalism, history, current events, and fiction. For nonfiction, he looks for big stories about culture and society. Also seeking literary, commercial, and YA fiction.
USA Today reports that ebooks are changing reading habits. Here are the highlights:
–Readers who buy ebook readers report that the amount of reading they do has increased in a big way, sometimes doubling the number of books read in a year.
— The top genres being read were sci-fi, romance, mystery/crime fiction, and nonfiction.
–Having read a particular author before and word-of-mouth were the top two ways readers made their selections.
Jennifer Brehl at HarperCollins’s William Morrow imprint bought North American rights to Tina Seskis’s novel, One Step Too Far. The amount hasn’t been revealed but is rumored to have been $500,000.
The book was originally published in April as a Kindle e-book that hit #1 on Amazon. Seskis, who grew up in New Hampshire and now lives in London, followed the e-book publication with a paperback release. The print edition then went on to hit the bestseller list of the British bookstore chain, W.H. Smith.
It’s long been known in business that 20% of your existing customers generate 80% of your sales. The same can be said of book fans. When someone reads a novel or nonfiction title they enjoy, they will actively seek out additional works by the same author. Keep these tips in mind as you reach out to your fan base.
–Keep in contact through social media or your email lists. Let people know what you’re working on as well as opportunities to find older titles you might not be actively marketing.
–Serve your fans. Why are people reading your novels: for entertainment, for a deeper social message? Is your nonfiction a vehicle for inspiration or concrete tips? Be sure to address these components with every outreach.
–Reward return readers. Find a way to say thank you to fans who keep coming back. Offer to provide free ebooks to anyone who sends in a receipt for a particular printed title. Host a lunchtime Skype session where you chat with readers about their burning questions about your upcoming book.
Keep these ideas in mind and you’ll build loyalty to you, the brand behind your books.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 