This is such basic advice I thought it would go without saying. But at least half a dozen times in less than a year, I’ve encountered writers who no longer had a word processor document containing the manuscript for their book. These are all folks who had their book published …
Category: Publishing
Where to Find Professional Editors
As I said last time, if you’re self-publishing, you need a professional editor. But where do you get one? There is no licensing standard for editors. Anyone with a fondness for reading and a bent for grammar can declare themselves an editor and start seeking clients. Many sites exist to …
Digital publishing does not impair sales
Pardon me while I take a break from the Elements of Fiction series to address this article published by the New York Times: “I Was a Digital Best Seller!” The writer, Tony Horwitz, calls his story “a cautionary farce about the new media and technology we’re so often told is …
Awards for Christian Speculative Fiction
In the run-up to the Realm Makers conference, the Christian SpecFic community has two awards programs going to celebrate our genre. Both awards will be presented at the conference. The Clive Staples Award is presented by a group of fans led by writer and editor Rebecca LuElla Miller. It is …
Writers need professional e-mail addresses
When you’re just starting out, it doesn’t matter what your e-mail address looks like. But when you reach the point of submitting to publishers or even self-publishing, you need a professional e-mail address. Make that especially if you’re self-publishing. The self-published author is a businessperson, and needs a businesslike address. …
Marcher Lord Press sold
The Christian Speculative Fiction community is a-flutter today over news that Jeff Gerke, founder of Marcher Lord Press, sold the five-year-old company to Steve Laube. Laube is a literary agent with an appreciation for Christian Speculative Fiction, having represented Bryan Davis, Sharon Hinck, and Tosca Lee. Gerke intends to focus …
New marketing podcast for novelists
My Rating: ★★★★★ Thomas Umstattd of Author Media teamed up with author James L Rubart, owner of Barefoot Marketing, to produce a great new podcast: Novel Marketing. Within the first hour or so of walking into any writers conference, you’ll hear someone complain about marketing. People bemoan the loss of …
The best times to post to social media
Q: I belong to a bunch of social media networks, including Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google+. When is the best time of day to post my content if I want to get noticed? A: I have no idea. So I’ll turn this answer over to the folks at fannit.com, who …
Take your book proposal above and beyond
In the past few weeks, we’ve talked about putting your proposal together: What to include in a book proposal How to write your author bio How to write a synopsis of your novel How to write a synopsis of your nonfiction book That covers the minimum you can include in …
How to write a synopsis of your nonfiction book
The synopsis for a nonfiction book differs from that of a novel because it needs to be broken down into more detail. In nonfiction, even if you’re telling a story, as in a history book, you are building a case using facts that need to be aligned in logical order. …