Words of the week seem to include “heat dome,” “intractable impasse” and “Google+” but we’ve got work to do, and some great writers to help us do it. Whether we’re re-orienting our marketing, creating e-book covers, thinking about self- vs. traditional publishing, or polishing our pitch, there’s some great reading here for you today. Grab a cold one, and have fun.
Seth Godin on The Domino Project
Strangers and friends: understanding publishing
“There are dozens of businesses, that like book publishing, focus on strangers. What happens to your business when you switch gears and focus on your friends instead?”
Maria Zannini on Kristen Lamb’s Blog
Creating Cover Art: Down & Dirty Tips
“It would take a whole book to explain all the subtleties of good design, so instead I’m going to share some down and dirty tips to get you started.”
Pamela Olson on Self-Publishing Review
Why I Turned Down Two Publishing Contracts
“I tried my luck with smaller publishers, and two offered to publish my book. I hired a consultant to look over the contracts, and I gave them both a great deal of thought. But in the end, as a first-time author with a genre-bending book about which I am deeply passionate, I decided it didn’t make sense to publish on their terms.”
Rachelle Gardner on Rachelle Gardner
10 Tips for a Winning Elevator Pitch
“The purpose of your elevator pitch is to get someone to want to hear more. That’s IT. There is no other purpose.”
Joe Konrath on A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
One More Nail in the Coffin
“This message needs to be repeated, over and over and over, because there are still thousands of authors who spend their hard-earned $$$ on conventions that supposedly teach them how to write killer query letters.”
Photo by Orchidgalore
