I’ve edited quite a few book proposals lately, and am noticing a common thread among them. Some authors are so passionate about their projects that they tend to lose their focus when attempting to pitch their books to agents or publishers. Sometimes an author is so in love with the concept of her book and the way she presents it that they … [Read more...]

Have you discovered that the road to publishing success is rather bumpy? It’s not easy to locate the freeway, is it? I’ve spend quite a bit of my time trying to steer authors and would-be authors toward the onramp. I’m working with clients, of course, but I also get a lot of random questions via email. This week, I received emails from 2 … [Read more...]

Every creature seems to be in competition this year—even the hummingbirds. Where there used to be two or three hummingbirds fighting for the right to eat at our house, now there are dozens of them swarming around the feeder outside my office window. Likewise, the competition for writers and authors is greater now than ever before. There … [Read more...]

Are you one of the growing number of individuals who has just one book in them? You have something to say—information to share—but you aren’t a writer and you don’t want to get involved in a complicated publishing process. Most likely, you have a niche audience. You know who they are, and you can envision the book or booklet that you … [Read more...]

I just finished compiling another issue of the SPAWN Market Update for the member area of the SPAWN website. That’s Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network, http://www.spawn.org. In so doing, I had occasion to check publishers’ guidelines, their announced calls for submissions and their press releases telling about some innovative new … [Read more...]