blog.saltpublishing.com

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There are almost no agents in poetry and short story publishing, this is because they can’t make any money out of the genres. You’ll have to work as your own agent in finding the right press. A common mistake in pitching books is poor research. Sending books to publishers you’ve never bought [...]

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If you?re not on the Web, pretty soon you won?t exist in the minds of readers. Only networked writers will survive. This is an issue of discoverability and of consumption. Being a writer has a lot to do with the three Ps: profile, publicity and presence. That?s Web presence. Out of thousands [...]

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Most books have less than a minute to sell themselves to booksellers. A buyer in a store tends to ask a small range of vital questions. Have I heard of this writer? What?s special about this book? Why would anyone buy it? A sales rep will need some answers to these questions: [...]

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There are three questions I always ask myself when considering a new writer. 1. Is this work any good? 2. Can I sell this book? 3. Can I work with the writer. The answer to the first question is a given. The second question asks whether this great bit of writing has [...]

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Great writing doesn’t always make for great books. Lots of great books fail. In fact, commercially, most books fail. But some don’t. Those that don’t often have shared characteristics. The author has an anonymous audience (i.e. she or he doesn’t know everyone who reads them), the book is publicisable (i.e. it has [...]

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The best way to beat the slush pile is to avoid it in the first place. Unsolicited submissions are the worst way to reach an editor, less than 1% succeed. Most editors are receptive to recommendations (some ask their writers to be on the look out for talent). In a people business [...]