“First, it got my book published,” says Kirstin Scott, whose novel Motherlunge won the 2011 Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award. “And with that, the prize gave me readers.” There’s no doubt that winning a well-respected competition can help validate your work with agents and publishers. It proves someone thinks you’re good and helps [...]

“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 [...]

Many authors I’ve worked with have written books that promoted and enhanced their professional lives. Some have written a book precisely with this hope in mind: to advertise their special skills and passions. Other writers have enjoyed the surprise of being propelled in their careers with major elevations of their workaday status and financial potential. [...]

That’s the first question to ask yourself, writes Guy Kawasaki in the opening chapter of a definitive new book on self-publishing, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book, written with co-author Shawn Welch. Kawasaki is passionate about writers creating worthwhile books for principled reasons. To make a difference in people’s lives, to [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

“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 [...]

Do you have a short story work-in-progress that just doesn’t want to fit into 10,000 words or 25 pages? Is it bursting at the seams? Does it feel incomplete and frustrating to read? Then you may have a recalcitrant short story that could be transformed into a successful novel. A case in point A writer [...]

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 [...]