William Boggess of Barer Literary is looking for fiction with strong voices and a fresh perspective. He loves Southern fiction and story collections.
In nonfiction, he’s interested in literary memoir, popular science, narrative history, and smart sportswriting.
Last month, Amazon announced that Oliver Potzsch, author of the Hangman’s Daughter series, is their first author to have hit 1 million copies in print, digital and audio combined.
Before you hit the submit button for Amazon’s publishing group, consider that 25% of all books are still sold through bookstores.
Another 23% are sold through other retailers like Costco and other big box stores.
If you’re thinking of giving up on regular publishers just because of all the coverage of digitally published success stories, consider that e-books are one of the biggest changes in publishing right now. Of course the media is seeking out their success stories and covering them in larger numbers right now than traditionally published success stories.
You have a lot of options these days. Be sure to make an informed choice to find the best path for your books.
Titles are important. Any author can agree to that. But are subtitles as important, less so, or possibly more important?
One consideration is how subtitles impact algorithms that help readers find a book. Subtitles that seem unwieldy because they are so long can actually boost sales on websites.
A second consideration has been around for a while: a descriptive subtitle tells readers exactly what they’ll get from the book.
Finally, a subtitle can indicate the author’s voice (funny, academic, etc.) or tone (the emotional quality of the work). That can be attractive to readers and thus generate sales.
Subtitles are clearly not more important than titles…but they are equally important.
Here are quotes from famous authors on writing.
IndieReader is looking for reviewers. They “welcome people who have published reviews in major news outlets, but are also open to those with less high-profile experience.” Payment is $20 per review. Contact Amy: amy@indiereader.com.
Dan Cullen of the ABA says, “Customers are making decisions to patronize locally owned retail stores because they recognize that where they spend their money makes a difference. They’ve seen the closure of important local stores or institutions and kind of woke up to what’s important from that regard.”
Combined with readers making choices based on supporting local businesses, the failure of Borders means many regional markets are suddenly open to smaller shops again. Bookstores are being opened now by individuals who realize a bookstore is a community gathering place. New models are combining books with other things like workshops, meeting spaces and much more than the usual coffee and cookie.
That means better hand-selling for authors of all kinds.
Bridget Smith of Dunham Literary is looking for middle grade and young adult novels in a variety of genres, ncluding fantasy and science fiction, historical fiction, romance, and contemporary. She’s also looking for books that bends the rules of genre or any books with underrepresented or minority characters.
In adult fiction, Bridget especially wants fantasy and science fiction, historical fiction, and literary women’s fiction. For nonfiction, her needs include informational, literary nonfiction, especially science or history written by experts for a general audience.
Sarah Younger of Nancy Yost is interested in romance / women’s fiction: contemporary, historical, Western, sports, regency, inspirational, urban fantasy, paranormal, young adult and any combination. Actively seeking a contemporary military romance, a great/quirky historical, or a fantastic inspirational romance. She also enjoys stories with a strong supporting cast of animal characters: horses, dogs, cats.
When self-published author Ezekel Alan was asked to name the single best thing he’d ever done to help him achieve success, he said, “I wrote the novel the way I wanted.”
While you’re in the creative mode, don’t allow the judge (the logical side) to interfere. The judge will be worried about things like market trends, publisher picks and what agents are taking on right now. Those things can short-circuit the creative flow. Just be with the work until the draft is finished.
Then, once you’ve made the work the best it can be, you can think about those other issues. Logical considerations are important, of course, but write what you want. Adapt your pitch to present the work in the best possible way after it has been written.
The Hyperion adult trade publishing list is being sold to Hachette Book Group. Disney, which is the entity selling the Hyperion list, will now publish children’s and YA books as welll as books based on franchises from its Disney/ABC TV operations.
Keep track of these changes so you know which publisher to approach when you’re ready to send out your work.
Book covers with a single letter removed for fun results here.
The Ender’s Game movie that will be released November 1 is already under boycott.
The reason is that Orson Scott Card, author of the Ender’s Game series, has been vocal about his opposition to gay marriage. While the script has been reviewed by Glaad and found to contain nothing offensive, the petition to boycott the movie has suddenly gained a lot of attention and supporters.
Card himself has issued pleas for potential audience members to overlook or tolerate his views. No matter where people fall in the range of science-fiction fandom, the fact is that every piece of literature is best read with an understanding of the era and society in which it was created.
Fanny Fern’s Ruth Hall, for example, was written when women’s rights were being fought for and won. John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath appeared during a time of great difficulty for the nation. And recent works like Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love reflect the surging movement among women to regain and redefine their needs, goals and desires.
Before, what an author believed personally meant little. Card finds himself in a society that disagrees with his personal views more so than not. Should this alone be enough to support a boycott, or should Card have been more discrete about his personal views while using his platform as an author?
Poets & Writers published a cool guide to literary and writing sites in different cities here. But the list is far from inclusive. If you know some great sites in your area, why not pitch them a round-up from your hometown?
Now the verdict for the Zimmerman trial is in, an interesting development has occured in publishing.
Monday brought an announcement that one of the jurors had signed with literary agent Sharlene Martin to write a book about her experience on the jury. But by early Tuesday, the juror dropped her plans. While sequestered, the juror had not realized “the depth of pain that exists among the general public over every aspect of this case.”
“The potential book was always intended to be a respectful observation of the trial from my and my husband’s perspectives solely and it was to be an observation that our ‘system’ of justice can get so complicated that it creates a conflict with our ‘spirit’ of justice,” she said in the statement.
Now she realizes that the book could potentially cause more harm. Books have long been known for their ability to heal…not just the author but readers. They also have the ability to inflame. Her decision to step back has proven yet again that the power of books to move us deeply is as potent as ever.
Agent Amy Rennert was quoted in Poets & Writers as saying:
“I predict that people will continue to write [books]. I do feel that there is a persistent and insatiable desire for long-form prose–that there is something about the experience of disappearing into a long piece of writing that has enormous appeal to enough people in the world to maintain the publishing industry through the foreseeable future.”
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 