Seeing your book on the silver screen: it’s a universal dream, one that nearly every novelist I’ve worked with has confided that they harbor. Barely a day goes by when an author does not ask me whether I have any Hollywood connections who could help them get a foot in the door. Sure, I have
In a few weeks I’ll be leading a session with independent editor Nicola Kraus at Grub Street’s annual Muse and the Marketplace writers conference, on “Outsourcing for Writers.” When we first pitched the idea to Grub Street, the conference organizer confessed that the idea “freaked [him] out a bit.” After all, writing is such a solitary
At the risk of making everybody’s eyes glaze over, today I’d like to talk a bit about one of those hands-on, practical issues that’s key to any book’s life cycle but totally unsexy: Galleys. No, this has nothing to do with seafaring or food. The truth is, there’s a lot about writing and publishing that’s
When approached by self-published authors for help with book promotion, I used to ask a single question: “Do you have blurbs from at least two established authors?” If the answer was no, I’d suggest they gather some before we speak. Blurbs are an essential piece of the vetting process and vetting is crucial to gaining
“What can I do to get my book onto a bestseller list?” If I had a dime for each time an author has asked me this question, I wouldn’t need to be a bestseller myself to be rich. Until recently though, my answer has always been a disappointing, “I have no idea.” Or, “There’s nothing
Yes, Valentine’s Day has come and gone in 2016, but the tips and sentiments from the following post originally published on Writer Unboxed in February ring true for any holiday season: Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, which for couples everywhere means ramped up romance complete with gifts of roses, chocolate, jewelry —