Just a quick note on this blog post by Rick Rofihe. My first novel, Message Stick, was given the nod as one of the top entries to this year’s contest.
The story follows Gabriel Branch, a biracial Australian Aborigine, as he searches the outback for his best friend. He is stalked by a powerful Pitjantjatjara shaman who leads an artifacts smuggling ring. The novel won two national awards and now has been honored by this latest contest.
Check out his blog to enter your own novel!
B&N announced that it plans to close about 10 stores every year for the next ten years. Publisher’s Weekly provides a little more detail on the announcement.
Now, before everyone panics and thinks that bookstores are going to disappear entirely, think. Whenever there’s a gap in the market for something people want, others swoop in to fill it. In this case, small, locally owned bookstores are poised to profit from every closure of the megastore in their area.
This could mark a new Renaissance in reading. Some of my associates are already looking at buildings they can buy and convert into bookstores. I, for one, am glad to see this happening. Readers everywhere will reap the results!
Just to prove that no reviews are bad reviews and bad reviews can be good, check out this article.
I can’t tell you how many of my clients have called right after reading a bad review of their books. Some are mildly bad while others rip through every word as if the reviewer was bullied too much in high school. In every case, I say:
–Take a deep breath.
–Cut out the review.
–Add it to your file.
–Forget about it…or think only about how ANY coverage is good coverage.
If people never see the title of your book, they won’t remember it. Marketing studies tell us that people have to see something 15 times before they pay attention to it. They do NOT remember a bad review here or there…they only remember the book title or your name.
And that’s GREAT news!
Here’s a literary magazine that has become a publisher of ebooks.
In the past few years, I’ve noticed several kinds of organizations entering the ebook arena. Most notable are the handful of book agents who have opened publishing companies.
This is one of those indicators of how large the shift is in traditional publishing these days. When agents, and some of the nation’s top agents at that, are shifting where they spend their time, nearly anything can happen.
Keep this in mind as you consider whether to approach traditional publishers, self-publish through print and/or ebooks, or do both at once. These days, it pays to play your cards across a wide spectrum.
Writers know that they have to help readers suspend their disbelief. It’s also critical that viewers watching a film do the same. This interview comes from the corporate world but if you read it with your author’s eye, you’ll find some great advice.
–Present your story in their context. That is, connect with readers where they are, not from your lofty position as all-seeing author. Use concrete details to evoke emotions, paint images and usher readers into the fictional world.
–Be curious. Ask questions. What if the plot twists here? Why does this character act that way? Where does this one plot point happen? When in his life does the major turning point come? How can the character grow, change, develop?
–Weaknesses are irrelevant. Focus more on your strengths. That doesn’t mean ignore the weaknesses; just don’t get so hung up on them you forget your strengths.
Here’s a round-up article on why it’s all right for individuals to blog about topics that are covered in other people’s blogs.
I want to point out the third point in this article. Authors of nonfiction know they should be recognized as experts in a specific area. But fiction authors often are never told that they, too, should present themselves as experts!
This can be a key component in your marketing. A mystery with a cat as the protagonist means the author can blog about everything cat related. The author of a medical thriller can write about how to avoid the next flu epidemic. Works set in exotic or unique locations allow the author to write travel articles for different sites.
And every time you write an article, blog, essay or service tip about that topic, your bio can mention that you cover the same topic in your book. Yes, it’s unconventional and yes, it works!
This is a great excerpt from James Scott Bell’s book on writing. The title? The Art of War for Writers.
That’s a perfect title to encapsulate the struggles we all go through every day. In the excerpt, he talks about taking the long view toward success.
This simple lesson is profound. Read it, remember it. Especially the next time doubt strikes.
Here’s a pretty good overview of how to approach blogging as an author. Of course, it’s equally valuable to anyone who blogs for any reason!
If you’ve been following the recent controversies about Amazon’s reviews (and the reviews that show up on other sites), you know the problem: marketers and/or authors are paying for good reviews to help boost their ratings at Amazon and/or sales.
Here’s the flip side of that review process. This article talks about how fans of Michael Jackson are hitting a new biography with one-star reviews to sink the book’s ratings.
The author calls the attack a way to use the right to free speech against the right to free speech. The reviews themselves aren’t flawed. But the engines that rank according to the number of stars on the review clearly is flawed. Any author who’s works are sold on Amazon or other e-retailers needs to be aware of the kinds of social movements that can impact their sales.
Here’s a very brief overview about book contracts.
One thing to keep in mind when reviewing your contract is when the book is considered out of print. Make sure that you are able to produce ebooks (or even printed books) within a reasonable amount of time after the printed version is no longer available. If publishers retain all the rights through the creation of an ebook version, you can be hung up forever waiting on their publicity department to do anything.
Here’s a post that lists 5 ways to generate story ideas. One of the tips is to read your junk mail…um, OK.
Now, I’ve been writing and editing for twenty years. In my experience, it’s pretty rare that writers actually need ways to come up with story ideas. It’s actually more of a problem to decide which of those ideas is strong enough to support a story, what format that story should take, and how best to put it on the page.
However, the same article suggests taking a small scene from one story or book and expanding it into an entirely new story. I’ve had clients do this with classic works of mythology to great success. And of course there’s the retelling of Gone with the Wind and other classic novels from different points of view that recently have become bestsellers.
So…what’s your take on story ideas? Do they come in a flood or a trickle? What helps, what hinders?
Very good overview article on thinking about your writing career. When the time is right, my clients and I discuss the business aspects of writing. This ranges from our first contact when they’re wondering whether their work is marketable to considering their audience’s needs during editing or rewriting. When the final product is done, we then discuss market trends that will impact their choice of agents and publishers.
Publishing is a business and, as the author, you must consider yourself the CEO of your book. From start to finish—the germ of a book idea to publication (and beyond)—you must take charge. If you make good business decisions, you will surely experience greater success. If not, then, you could be one of the nearly 78 percent of authors who fail.
Writing the Perfect Query Letter with Laine Cunningham, presented by Alice Osborn
Location: Center for Excellence, 3803-B Computer Dr. Suite 106, Raleigh, NC 27609
Saturday, March 9 Time: 1:30-4:30pm
Fee: $55 (Early Bird till March 1st)/$75 after
Registration: Click here
Your query letter is every bit as important as the opening pages of your novel. It’s your first opportunity to show your writing skills to a prospective agent or editor. Make it count! Make it shine! A good query letter should make that editor and agent want to read your material…and it should grab their hearts in the thirty seconds or so they give each query in their pile. In this class, publishing consultant and owner of the Writer’s Resource Laine Cunningham will discuss the three important elements to inject into your query so you can get published. Fiction and nonfiction authors writing books, stories or articles will benefit from this class.
Laine Cunningham’s clients consistently garner attention from the nation’s top publishers and agents. Several of her clients’ books have been shopped around Hollywood and have received film options. She has been quoted on CNN Money, Media Bistro, and The Writer Magazine for her opinion on the end of the Harry Potter series, the “Oprah Effect,” and Sarah Palin’s ghostwriter. She has presented workshops and lectures for The Loft, the nation’s largest independent literary organization; the National Writer’s Union; The Writer’s Workshop in Asheville and writing conferences across the country.
This article from Review Review is probably familiar to those of you who write short stories. Too often authors hear from agents and publishers that their collection is fantastic in so many ways…but they aren’t interested unless the author also has a novel.
I’ve sponsored a writing contest for the last four years. When I first approached the literary magazine that administers the contest, the publisher and senior editor both agreed that short story collections, linked or not, would be accepted and encouraged as submissions.
Last year a collection won first place, and in previous years, collections have placed second, third, or as honorable mention. The Blotter and I are very clear in our support of short stories as viable, living art.
This article talks about the Man Asian award, which is now in its last year. It’s unfortunate that we’ve lost so many awards for novels and novellas in the last several years. Awards for book length fiction really haven’t numbered all that many to begin with, at least not ones that offer such a substantial prize or influence. But the committee has decided to put their efforts into supporting the Man Booker award. So at least there’s still support for an art form that is truly one of the most important to people from every walk of life.
Writer's Resource/Sunspot Lit 