A great book cover, a marketing plan, and a cool author website are all important, but if an author hasn't spent the time and money for a solid editing job, it's all just wasted effort.
Indie authors all agree: hiring an editor to work on your manuscript is one of the best and most necessary investments an author can make. Editing takes both time and money and can encompass anything from a substantiative (i.e. Read more
There are different types of book editing - including proofreading, copy-editing, and developmental editing - for different stages of the publication process. You should be aware of what kind of editing your manuscript needs and what is involved in each type.
Whether you're completely new to the publishing process or an old pro, it can be helpful to have a to-do list to guide your self-publishing project to completion, to ensure you don't miss any important steps, and also to help you plan well enough to hit your target pub date. Read more
Should I get the book I'm going to self-publish professionally edited, or can I rely on a well-read relative or friend to do the job for nothing?
This question is as perennial as daffodils, and deserves to be answered honestly, even if the answer isn't what any particular interest group, be it authors or editors, wants to hear.
A book I copyedited a handful of years ago included these snippets from Franklin Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, which was delivered the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The author was setting the scene of a young boy listening to the radio as the speech was given, and he used these snippets to add authenticity. A nice touch, right? Read more
'How do you become a writer? Answer: you write. It's amazing how much resentment and disgust and evasion this answer can arouse. Even among writers, believe me. It is one of those Horrible Truths one would rather not face. The most frequent evasive tactic is for the would-be writer to say, But before I have anything to say, I must get experience...
At the US Book Show the energy was palpable; panels were sharper, more diverse, more geared to practical applications; and speakers were good, with costs, discoverability and AI under discussion.
A missile strike at a Ukrainian printer Factor-Druk has led to the deaths of seven employees, 22 people being injured, and the halting of all work at "one of the largest industrial printing facilities in eastern Europe".
The annual "What Kids Are Reading Report" has shown a drop of 4.4% in the number of books being read by children with "reading decline particularly acute in secondary schools". Read more
For decades, the Romance Writers of America (RWA) served as a champion for the mostly female authors of one of the country's most popular - and denigrated - genres of fiction. Read more
Caleb Carr, the scarred and gifted son of founding Beat Lucien Carr who endured a traumatizing childhood and became a bestselling novelist, accomplished military historian and late-life memoirist of his devoted cat, Masha, has died at 68.
Why are some authors and books iconic? Why do other authors and books tank? It's tempting to say that William Shakespeare is uniquely talented, and so is Stephen King. But, of course, there are plenty of amazing writers out there that you haven't heard of them.
Three years ago, Erin Decker was a middle school librarian in Kissimmee, Florida, increasingly frustrated by the state's book bans and worried that she couldn't make a difference remaining in her job.
So, she and fellow librarian Tania Galiñanes thought of a way to fight back.
Around the world, it's common for fiction writers to moonlight as translators. Even in places where there's a robust network of governmental support for writers, translation work provides, at least in theory, a welcome injection of income. Since it's difficult to make a living writing novels or stories, collecting an extra source of funding is important. Read more
For first-time writers, it's harder than ever to break out. That poses an existential crisis for publishing-and disturbing limits on your access to exciting new voices.
'It is true that publishers try to stop me from writing anything but mysteries, but whenever they do, I go to another publisher. And they know I'm going to do that, so they have to make some kind of room for me.'