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The Publishing Business

Agents, publishers, and publishing paths. Sample topics: traditional and self-publishing issues, e-publishers vs. agents, what platform “numbers” mean, small publishers, trends, understanding fan fiction, etc.

Book Promotion: Getting Out the Word

Product tag with text: Book Promotion Beyond "Buy My Book!"

Many groups and forums for self-published authors compare notes on what works (or doesn’t work) for promoting our work. I’m not a promotion expert—at all. But I’m sharing my experience on what I’ve tried so we all have another data point to consider.

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July 6, 2017

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The Silver Lining of Bad Reviews

Clouds with a glint of sunlight and text: Are Bad Reviews *Always* Bad News?

Whether we pursue traditional publishing or self-publishing, rejection is a given for writers. Our choice simply comes down to how we’ll handle it. Will we let rejection hold us back, or can we see it as a sign that we’re doing something right?

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May 2, 2017

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Writing Goals: Discovering What Works for Us

Dirt path through trees and ferns with text: Discovering Our Path

Several debates have come and gone on the publishing landscape. Plotters vs. pantsers, self-published vs. traditionally published, etc. I’ve always said that people should find whatever works for them, but what if we don’t know what that might be?

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January 10, 2017

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Should Published Stories Be Set in Stone?

Letters carved into stone with text: Should Books Be Set in Stone?

In traditional publishing, authors (and their readers) are often stuck with errors, but with ebooks, POD, and self-publishing, files are easy to fix and upload. Should authors make changes, or should books be set in stone?

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October 20, 2016

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Self or Traditional: Choosing Our Publishing Path

Pile of screws with text: Publishing: Thinking of Doing It Yourself?

Over the years, a sharp division has split the writing community into two camps: traditional publishing and self-publishing. However, the current us-vs.-them attitude doesn’t seem nearly as bad as it used to be. When writers research their options for which path they should take, what advice do they encounter now?

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August 16, 2016

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RWA16: Industry Insights from Data Guy and More

Strings of 0s and 1s with a heart overlay and text: Data Insights from RWA

This year at RWA, I was eligible to attend special published-authors-only workshops geared toward those with more experience, and I want to share some of the highlights from those workshops, as I think we can all benefit from many of the insights.

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July 26, 2016

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Egos in Publishing: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

Big close up of a head with text: Egos in Publishing

Everyone has an ego, a sense of how they fit into the world. In the publishing world, that “everyone” includes the newbie writer and the multi-published NYT bestseller, the professionals of traditional publishing and self-publishing. Sometimes egos are healthy and helpful for getting things done. Other times…not so much.

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March 22, 2016

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