Authors Who Know Too Much About Publishing
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
In addition to the top story,
A peek at Amazon Publishing imprints and round-up of digital presses that are currently open to unagented submissions.
Two great pitches to admire this week from Publishers Marketplace
Battle of the red-carpet ready book releases plus this week’s buzzy release
Who’s chewing up the bestseller list? Also what author went from self-published novel to a book contract in 21 days?
Lots of links includes the lowdown on the Frankfurt Book Fair, a primer on dark academica, what it means when an editor takes too long to respond, how to write scary and more.
NEXT WEEK: What kind of novels had editors swooning in October? (Paid post) Get it at a discount for $5 a month or $30 a year but only if you act now.
TOP STORY: Authors Who Know Too Much About Publishing
When I got an agent and landed my first book deal so many years ago, there was only a trickle of information on publishing available.
Now there’s a fire hose, constantly spraying facts and figures, and, admittedly, this newsletter is part of that deluge. For months, I’ve been doing a deep-dive on publishing deals and book sales. The news was generally negative, and for weeks, it seemed like bowl after bowl of bitter gruel. I needed a palate cleanser.
It finally came in the form of an insight I had on my daily walk. I realized that while I’d been immersing myself in a lot of data, I’d lost sight of something important: my beginner’s mind.
A person with beginner’s mind sees many possibilities whereas an expert sees few. I’d become the expert, and my outlook was narrowing.
Last week, the discussion here was on dying trends and I got a much needed sense of perspective when I read an interview with author Trilina Pucci on
. Pucci said, “‘Nobody buys that’” just means :‘we don’t know how to sell your idea.’” But a challenge wants to be met. And there is an audience for EVERYTHING. The trick is being savvy enough to find your readers.”Yes, you need knowledge of trends to manage expectations. That said, there’s always what I call the “possibility factor,” which is a little bit of unexpected magic that can occur so long as you believe in it.