Category: The Business of Publishing

Whoever knocks persistently, ends by entering. :Ali (A.D. 600?-661), Maxims of Ali Finding an Agent Finding an agent is only one step (after writing a great book) in the challenging process of building a career as an author. My experience taught me that the industry adage No agent is better than the wrong agent is completely and unequivocally true. I was completely green when I started taking my writing career seriously. I’d written a book that I thought was pretty good, with characters that I loved, but I was afraid to send it out to agents. One day, after my hard-written book had been sitting untouched in my computer for untold months, I had the good fortune to come into contact with a semi-retired literary agent who agreed to read my book. I jumped at the chance to get some authentic feedback. Several months, and a few revisions later, Agent X agreed to take me on as a client. Needless to …

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The Differences between Marketing and Promotion & Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone (This was first released in the RWA PROspects Newsletter as part of a larger joint article with Nikki Duncan.) It’s never too early to begin marketing yourself and promoting your stories, but knowing how and where to begin can be tough. In this series of articles over the next few months, Misa and I will discuss the differences between marketing and promotion and share tips that we’ve learned along our paths to publication and things we’ve picked up since our first sales. What’s the difference between marketing and promotion? ND: Marketing is when you spread your name far and wide. Promotion is spreading the message of your product, your book, far and wide. MR: Marketing and promotion work hand in hand. I see marketing as keeping me, the auhor, in the minds of readers. This is where branding comes into play and is a valuable tool. You can brand yourself, brand …

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