Blog Archive
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The Definition of Platform
Jul 26, 2007
We hear the word all the time, but I realized today, while talking with an author, that we don’t always know what it means. As anyone familiar with nonfiction knows, a platform is critical to selling a book. I hear it all the time from publishers: “We’re looking for great new business/health/parenting/finance/spiritual/sex/etc. books, but of […]
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The Anatomy of a Submission—to Publishers
Jul 25, 2007
I recently did a post on the Evolution of the Rejection and was asked if I could talk from the publisher’s perspective. Well, I can. Having spent six years as an editor I have a pretty good idea of the travels your submission makes once it’s shipped off to the publisher. Keep in mind that […]
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More Five Word Pitches
Jul 24, 2007
Wow! Last week’s post on What I Learned at RWA certainly had people talking. And I loved it! Believe it or not I read through all of your posts and was really impressed. Some of you nailed the five word pitch making me very confident that you’ll be able to nail the book as well. […]
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Idea versus Execution
Jul 24, 2007
Recently I had the strangest experience while reading a book. I was reading an ARC (advance reading copy) of a book scheduled to be published later this year and I couldn’t shake the sneaking suspicion that I had read it before. Not only couldn’t I shake the feeling, but I knew when I had read […]
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Multi-Book Contracts
Jul 23, 2007
Let’s say a new author signs a two or three book deal. Are books two and three for the exact same terms (advance, print run, percentages, etc.) or is everything renegotiated upon acceptance of the second MS. I would like to think if the first novel sold well that at the very least there would […]
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Agent Communication
Jul 20, 2007
Not too long ago I received the following email: I write to you, not as a perspective client, but as a young writer in need of counsel. (I find your blog most illuminating!) Last summer, I sent out a number of query letters for my new nonfiction book. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount […]
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Using Pseudonyms
Jul 19, 2007
I got a lot of questions from authors wanting to use a pseudonym. When should it be used and how? Is it something the author decides or the publisher? And the answer is . . . it depends. Often authors make the decision to use a pseudonym because they don’t like their own names, they […]
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Agent Feedback
Jul 18, 2007
In a comment recently I was asked to explain further why agents do or don’t give feedback and when it should be expected, if ever. Honestly, feedback should never be expected and is never owed an author. Not when the material is unsolicited, and not even when it’s a requested full. I know, I know. […]
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Susie Isaacs on Passion and Persistence
Jul 17, 2007
Susie Isaacs Queens Can Beat Kings: Broad-Minded Poker for Winning Women Publisher: Kensington Pub date: June 2007 Agent: Jessica Faust (Click to Buy) Susie Isaacs is a world-class poker player and the author of 1000 Best Poker Strategies and Secrets (Sourcebooks), MsPoker: I’m Not Bluffing, Books One and Two (Mimi Mc Corporation), Queens Can Beat […]
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What I Learned at RWA–UnSappy Version
Jul 16, 2007
Okay, enough sap. See. I need sleep. I always say, and have always said, that you can hear something and be told something millions of times, but it isn’t until it clicks that it’s all going to come together. I’ve heard authors say this and I’ve seen it in action. Just because someone tells you […]
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What I learned at RWA–Sappy Version
Jul 16, 2007
***WARNING! SAPPY BLOG ALERT*** I’m back from RWA with a lot of information I’m sure I’ll be sharing over the course of the week. On the plane though, exhausted after only 3+ hours of sleep I was thinking about what a great event it is and how wonderful conferences are in general. If you’ve never […]
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Our Inspirations
Jul 16, 2007
I was thinking recently of how lucky I am to have had so many inspirations in life. I truly wouldn’t be where I am, working a job I love, if it weren’t for those people who always inspired my love for books. In their own unique ways they gave me a passion that I’ve been […]
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