While some folks like to read about the lives of celebrities, athletes, and politicians, and how they put their pants on just like you and me. I don’t. Apparently I am not alone. The new trend in small farm memoirs began in earnest when Storey Publishing, known for its how-to guidebooks for small animal farmers, released its first memoir in 2008. Jenna Woginrich began as… [Read More]
Too often I hear an author say their social media efforts will come after the book is out. Too late. Authors, especially if they are working on their first book, need an audience platform built before they can interest an agent or an acquisition editor in their book concept. If you are a talk show host, national sports figure, political candidate, or star on stage or… [Read More]
Last month, I reviewed a graphic novel/interactive documentary called KENK: A Graphic Portrait. This journalistic comic was the first release for Toronto-based multimedia production and publishing company Pop Sandbox, and it was met with a hoard of accolades and reviews within its first three months of release. I was lucky enough to snag an interview with Alex Jansen, the owner and operator of Pop Sandbox,… [Read More]
What’s the buzz about? It’s just another social network and another way to waste time on the Internet, right? Not quite. A few weeks ago, GalleyCat shared a post on how writers can use Pinterest. Then they followed up last week by collecting several fun reader-themed boards, proving the speed of the network’s growth as publishers like Vintage Scholastic and Chronicle Books hop on board and… [Read More]
If a man in a boat is crossing a river and an empty boat drifts along and bumps into his, he won’t get angry. But if there is someone in the other boat, then the man will shout out directions to move. …If a man could make himself empty, and pass like that through the world, then who could harm him? Mark Salzman’s ebook The… [Read More]
If you have a have a nonfiction book project or a completed fiction manuscript and you want to publish it traditionally, you need a book proposal. To get a publisher’s interest, you need to provide information about your book, your audience, and yourself. Though introduced by a query letter, the book proposal explains the nuts and bolts of your book: number of chapters and their… [Read More]
I begin with two confessional caveats. One, Harriet Goldhor Lerner is my second cousin; we communicate by email, but have never met. Two, I am not Marriage Rules’ (Penguin, 2012) target audience even though my husband of 16 years and I have been in marriage counseling for two years. In 1985, Harriet (she’s family, I can call her by her first name) took the world of… [Read More]
Agents talk. Editors talk. Publishing is a small world and your book proposal only gets one shot at success. Learn which mistakes to avoid while preparing a winning proposal that will command a contract from an agent or publisher. Last November, Swenson Book Development, LLC offered a workshop outlining what to include in a book proposal. This February, we continue the adventure with an intensive,… [Read More]
