“Editors still love a chance at debut fiction,” says Manhattan literary agent Michelle Brower. “If the book is unique and meaningful, the debut author doesn’t yet have a bad sales track record so we can look at their book with all of the rosiness of potential rather than reality” Good news That’s some of the [...]

Strategic timing of your book’s publication date can give it a jet-propelled boost and have a major impact on its long-term success. Commercial publishers and booksellers have known this forever. Christmas and beyond Retailers rack up between 25-35 percent of their annual revenues during the holiday shopping season in November and December. Smart publishers start [...]

Was it just a matter of time? The news came recently that Penguin Group, one of the largest book publishers in the world, has acquired Author Solutions Inc (ASI), a leading provider of services for self-publishing writers, for $116 million. Penguin’s CEO, John Makinson, waxed rhapsodic in remarks made at the time and quoted this [...]

EBook buyers read more books. They’re the future! We’re in the midst of a fantastic transition. Words from another outsider advocating the overthrow of legacy publishing? Nope. Not this time. Instead, these bullish sentiments come from a consummate insider, John Glusman, editor-in-chief of W.W. Norton, a mainstream highly regarded traditional house that publishes bestselling authors [...]

It’s inspiring when a successful author goes out of his way to help others in the craft of writing. Barry Eisler is one of those good guys. Though he’d probably rather be known as one baaad dude. He’s a one-time CIA operative, a judo black belt and an intellectual property attorney, who’s also a bestselling [...]

“When I was first starting out, I dreamed of being sent on a book tour. I’d travel around the world—at my publisher’ expense, of course—and hit the major bookstores, where I’d do readings and signings for standing-room-only audiences,” says Jackie Morse Kessler, the author of a four-book YA series with Houghton/Graphia: Hunger, Rage, Loss and [...]

A smart marketing consultant can be the secret weapon in an author’s campaign to market and promote a book. That’s according to Adrienne Biggs, one of three experts interviewed for this post. Since not all authors are experienced or even comfortable selling themselves, professional consultants can help with customized marketing strategies to reach your targeted [...]

“Barbara Rose Brooker is fearless. The Viagra Diaries does for single seniors what Helen Gurley Brown’s Sex and the Single Girl and Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying did for the women’s sexual revolution in the sixties and seventies.”  – Entertainment Tonight It’s a blurb to die for, and well deserved. I’ve known Barbara for more than [...]

Literary agents are still the gatekeepers for authors seeking traditional book deals. That’s the bottom line, despite all the big changes in publishing, says Candice Fuhrman, an agent with many New York Times bestselling authors in her corner. “As long as publishers are buying books and paying advances, agents have a role.” It’s still true [...]

Q: Is it ok to write a book that crosses genre lines, like a mystery with time travel, or a romance with extraterrestrials? A: The short answer is “Yes, absolutely!” That’s the truth, despite the fear that agents and publishers will avoid a book that falls into more than one genre. But since this question [...]