In my last blog post I recommended Writer’s Digest 2011 Guide to Literary Agents. You may not be ready to get an agent if you haven’t already studied The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It…Successfully! (Workman Publishing, 2010).

Writers Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry previously published much of this how-to guidebook as Putting Your Passion Into Print, but in the last five years the game has changed; and so has the role of the author in the book publishing business. This is the most current and relevant set of guideposts in the environment of social media and e-books.

What I really like about this new reference text is that it tells authors what is now expected of them in this whole new ballgame. It answers the question many authors ask: why should I blog? Do you want to get published or not?

Much more is now expected of authors by publishers. This guidebook helps an author navigate the landscape of the shifting sands in publishing today. Being an author today requires more than writing the manuscript. You need to create the market demand for your book and you need to fill that demand by using social media and other digital channels to sell it to your audience.

Most important, this book helps you figure out how serious you really are about publishing your book. It’s a full time job. And it’s a job that requires a lot of computer savvy, a selling personality, and time BESIDES brilliant writing talent.