The publishing industry will not save you. Here’s what actually works. There is a fantasy that many first-time authors carry into publication: the idea that once the book is out, the publisher takes over. That publicists make calls, reviews appear, bookstore events fill up, and the work of writing is replaced by the more glamorous …
Neither path is the right one. Both paths are the right one. Here’s how to think about it. The question gets asked constantly, in writing workshops and online forums and conversations at book festivals: Should I self-publish, or should I try to go the traditional route? It’s the wrong question — or rather, it’s the …
What consolidation, crisis, and a few stubborn independents tell us about the future of books In 2022, the Department of Justice blocked the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster on the grounds that it would harm competition — and, more pointedly, harm authors. The government’s expert witness argued that the merger …
A guide for writers trying to get published — without losing themselves in the process The rejection letter arrives, and you do what writers do: you read it once, close your laptop, and make tea you don’t drink. Then you read it again. Then you spend twenty minutes parsing the phrase “not quite right for …
