I’ve been reviewing book proposals for well over a decade, and I’ve noticed that for the most part proposals fall into one of two categories. Either publishers fight each other to publish your book, or they don’t give it much
When my wife read my blog post about the importance of platform and Google search ranking for writers, she replied, “It makes me sad. I wish platform/Google weren’t so paramount.” She spoke for legions of writers, I expect. “Why can’t I just write a
I just noticed something I have been doing habitually for well over ten years. Whenever I review a book proposal, one of the first things I do is Google the author’s name. I do this because a book deal is
The first thing realtors tell you when you’re preparing your house to go on the market is this: declutter. Not paint or redo the bathroom or update your windows. Get rid of the stuff, they tell you. Why? Because when we’re making
As editorial director for a major trade book publisher, I regularly receive questions like this: Is it okay to blog content that I want to use in my book? Will publishers mind if my blog content ends up in my
If you have ever known a clean-shaven man who quickly grew a beard, you have a clue about changes in the publishing industry over the past five to ten years. Publishing today looks very different from how it looked a
A lot of other people have written about this. Is there room for one more? Does it make sense for me to write about it too?” As editorial director for a book publisher, I get this question a lot. In fact, I’ve
Editing is a tricky business. What I want more than anything is for your book to hum. I want it to be such an engrossing experience that a reader would sooner take a bus than drive, just for a few
Later today I’ll be discussing about fifteen book proposals with my editorial colleagues. We’ll review them with an eye toward deciding which ones should move on to our publishing board (where publishing decisions are made) and which ones should be
The key to getting a book contract is looking way beyond the book contract to when your book hits shelves. The key to getting a book contract is pairing a great idea with a significant platform and compelling writing. The
In the world of nonfiction publishing, the book proposal is king. Writers, agents, and editors may have conversations before the book proposal. But all the real action takes place when the proposal hits publishers’ inboxes. If you’re a nonfiction writer who wants
I’ve just returned home from the ReWrite writers conference in Austin. It was a great time of listening to and connecting with numerous talented and passionate writers. I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I can’t help thinking about the fact that