8 Unexpected Lessons From Working with a Literary Agent by Brian Klems

With self-publishing becoming more widely accepted and Amazon waging wars with publishers, more and more I get the sense from aspiring authors that they don’t think landing an agent means as much as it used to. ____________________________________________________________________________ Writers' Digest Guest post by Bethany Neal, who writes young-adult novels with a little dark side and a …

WHEN SHOULD WE SELF-PUBLISH? WHY? WHY NOT?

To a novice fiction author, platform means everything.

5 Things Writers Should Ask Potential Agents by Brian Klems

Here’s a list of the five most crucial questions you should ask any agent before agreeing to join her client list.

Agent Queries and Publisher Proposals – Why You Should Use Links, Not Attachments

Contacting an agent or a publisher is not simple or free of risk. As your author platform constitutes everything positive about you as an author, the way you deliver that platform is absolutely critical. In essence, you have a few sentences to sell yourself.

Fraud Artists: Scamming Authors

We read every day about one company or another scamming novice authors, stealing their hard-earned money for a vague promise and delivering nothing in return except misery. Often the new author who pays the most to an alleged "publisher' can least afford to lose that money. Yet, every day, hundreds, if not thousands of novice …

Proposal Power: What Publishers Desire in a Proposal

"As resume writing is a path to a successful career, the publishing proposal is a gateway for being published, especially for fiction. Publishing proposal writing is a science and an art form. It must contain, at a minimum, one section each on: the author, a concise synopsis, a market analysis, a competitive analysis, promotional and marketing concepts, a chapter outline; and sample chapters. Explain how you are creating an author platform that will be increasingly valuable to that particular small publisher. If the publisher has some interest in your book, they will be more willing to finance its publication. And if the publisher believes that more of those high quality books in the same genre are on the way, they will be more likely to donate several thousand dollars to print your first book."

Book Marketing 101

Book Marketing 101. Everything you need to know about author marketing!

Being Published

There are several keys to being published. First is the quality of your writing. The second key requirement for being published is having a book that is marketable. Third, you must create a terrific book-publishing proposal. Fourth, you must know the difference between traditional (trade) publishers and POD, vanity and other forms of self-publishing. Beware of scam-artists. Fifth, be prepared to contact hundreds of smaller trade publishers that focus on your particular genre. Fifth, create a killer e-mail cover page that will demand the attention of the publisher or agent. Sixth, be ready to create web site proposals for publishers that won't open attachments. Seventh, never accept the first offer, unless it's the best offer.

Book Marketing 101

Congratulations! You have found a publisher well suited to your book. The contract has been signed. You are a published author! What’s next? What will your publisher do? What should you do to enhance the publisher’s efforts? Because of the changing nature of the publishing world and the revolution in electronic book purchasing, someone needs to market your book throughout the Internet world. Because this work is extremely labor-intensive and detail-oriented, few publishers have the time, workers and enthusiasm to make it happen. This is where the author must step in, with the motivation to work hard on behalf of his or her book.