Your Book May Be Too Long (or Not Long Enough): Suggested Word Counts for Genres
When you start submitting your book to agents, publishers, or editors, they will all ask the same question: what is your word count? As a new writer, this may seem an odd question. After all, you may know off the top of your head that your book is 250 pages long. But...
Next Steps for First-Time Authors
By Jori Hanna You’ve written “The End” on your first draft, and you’re filled with an incredible sense of accomplishment. You did it! You finished your book! You’re proud, and you should be. Of the millions of Americans who say they want to write a book, very few...
Post-Publication Checklist for Authors: What to do After your Book Launch
By Jori Hanna Congratulations! You launched your book into the world! Now what? As you may already be aware, your work has only just begun. After all, marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. But beyond the everyday marketing items, what else do you need to do? This...
Ask the Author: Reflections of a Narrator & Author on Producing an Audiobook
How are audiobooks changing the publishing industry? What is involved in the production of an audiobook? What is it like for an author to have her book narrated by someone other than herself? This month we interview author Kate Rademacher and audiobook narrator Becket...
Industry Standards Checklist Raises the Bar
To give both authors and book industry professionals an at-a-glance method by which to gauge the professional presentation of a book, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) – ibpa-online.org – has released a 2-page Industry Standards Checklist for a...
Stop the Presses—DON’T Publish that Book
By Elizabeth Turnbull As the Senior Editor for a small publishing company, I see a lot of potential books pass through my hands. To be honest, most of the manuscript submissions we receive have great potential. The themes are creative and timely, the information is...
Authors – Do Not Read This At Home
As an author, you've probably been told time and time again that great authors read great books. You can't write if you don't read. And as an author, you probably always have a book by your bed, one on the kitchen table and another in the living room. Books lined up...
How Do You Know You Are Ready To Publish?
Sometimes, knowing when you're ready to publish is as hard as writing the manuscript. There are always final edits, and you could have a thousand final drafts. (FinalDraft.doc, ReallyFinalDraft.doc, ReallyReallyFinalDraft.doc, OkThisOneIsItFinalDraft.doc.) Sound...
How to Get a Book Published – Exploring the Paths to Publication
Most authors, after typing “The End” for the first time on their manuscript, very quickly learn there’s a lot more to the publishing industry than meets the eye. After all, their cousin is making decent income from the book they published on Amazon, and authors like Steven King and J.K. Rowling have brought publishing into the public eye. Why shouldn’t they have that same type of success?
But the deeper they dig, the more there is to learn about the publishing industry, and it turns out there are a lot of ways to get a book published.
How to Give Yourself the Best Chance at Landing a Publishing Contract
The internet is full of suggestions for how authors can make their work stand out. Some advice is often repeated—grow a platform, develop your craft, spend money on ads, start a blog, start a podcast … The list goes on.
How much of that do you actually need? And when should you start it if you want the best chance at getting published?
How to Get a Book Published – What to Prepare Before You Submit Your Book
Submitting your manuscript can be a hard thing to do. It’s risky to put yourself (and your work) out there, so before you do, there are a few things you should have to make the process easier.
A Beginner’s Guide to Publishing Jargon
Publishing, like any industry, is full of its own jargon. When you’re first getting started, knowing a few of these key phrases and acronyms may help you get past those first stages of confusion.
5 Ways to Make Your Manuscript Stand Out to a Publisher
If you’re not doing these 5 things, your manuscript risks ending up in the dreaded slush pile.