Many established book awards will not consider submissions from independent presses or self-published authors. My guess is that traditional publishing is still viewed as a quality standard. If the Big-5 publishes a book, there’s a virtual guarantee that it has been vetted, edited, and designed by professionals. While there are many worthy self-published titles, there … Continue reading
As one of my first forays into marketing for my POD (print on demand) title, I took a chance on the Publishers Weekly insert that highlights books from the DIY crowd. It may not generate sales, but still looks pretty neat. At a minimum, it feels pretty good to have finished a project that is … Continue reading
Marketing departments can rack their brains trying to develop a campaign that sells a product, but when a customer makes a suggestion that proves the winning formula–magic! Novelist Alexander Chee happened to mention in an interview that he liked to write on trains. Picked up on twitter, the comment gained momentum in cyber circles, including … Continue reading
Here are a few writing events that I’ve found in the Northeast. Feel free to send me info on others. Connecticut: The Big Book Giveaway, Mohegan Sun, (TBD). SCSU MFA Writers’ Conference: A Gaterhing of CT-Region Writers, March 6 & 7, 2015 (New!) Mark Twain House Annual Writers Weekend, Hartford, CT, April 17-19, 2015. CAPA-U, … Continue reading
Yesterday I mused whether certain bestsellers will (or did) become classics. See my previous post here. I recently came across the list above in the Feb 24, 2014 edition of Publisher’s Weekly. It reveals the year’s top selling backlist fiction titles, which includes books that have been on sale for longer than one year. Four … Continue reading
I’d written a few months ago about my Newtown High School reading lists. We were asked to read a number of books over the summer and throughout the year on our own. At the beginning of the school year, as well as two days each month, class periods were set aside to answer an essay … Continue reading
As I dug through the family albums to find pictures for Hatched in Newtown, it was fun to see pictures that I didn’t remember. Had I seen the pictures before and forgotten them or had I uncovered them for the first time in my adult life? There is no way to know for sure, but … Continue reading
Before I rolled out of bed this morning, I quickly checked email and Facebook on my Kindle. I was surprised when a friend alerted her social followers to our local school system’s closing. A glance outside, and it was no surprise as to why–snow! I must have missed the weather report as my weekend was … Continue reading
I came across the title above, “The Worst Hard Time,” while sorting used book donations at the local library. The cover looked strange, a white border around a shrunken cover image. What kind of book looks like that? I studied the book briefly and noticed the “World Book Night U.S. 2013” at the bottom of … Continue reading
Dani Shapiro’s best-selling memoir “Slow Motion” was published by Random House in 1998. I have not read the book (yet!), but it appears to be a woman’s awakening after a terrible car crash. The book was reviewed by the New York Times during the same year in an article titled “Wake-up Call.” Two years later … Continue reading
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