From Our Blog
The Ins, the Outs, and the Uh-Ohs of a Series: Writing Connected Books
Early in my writing career, I took a lot of world-building workshops. At the time, I was writing contemporary romances set in quirky small towns, so I would carefully build and populate my world. Then, I would turn in the manuscript and start all over again. It took years before I thought, “Wait … what if I stayed in one fictional place and explored more of its stories before moving on?”
Part o…
Add Print to Your Sales Plan with IngramSpark
What is IngramSpark? IngramSpark (IS) is a service by Lightning Source, the print-on-demand division of Ingram, part of Ingram Content Group. IS distributes to more than 40,000 locations around the world, including libraries, independent bookstores, big box stores, and airport retailer Hudson.
Even if you are exclusive to Amazon for ebooks, you can make print books available through IngramSpark…
Pondering the Pursuit of an MFA? Consider the Pros, the Cons, and the Worth of Your Why
When Black & Published podcast host and author Nikesha Elise Williams queried 12 agents in November of 2022 with her latest manuscript, The Seven Daughters of Dupree, she told herself that if she didn’t receive representation, she would pursue earning an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree.
She had plenty of options to choose from; there are 256 low- and full-residency MFA programs across the …
Authors are always on the lookout for ways to garner more publicity for their books. One way that’s been around for quite a while is to enter a contest. But there are many contests out there, and some of them charge high fees to enter, or require that you mail printed books to judges at your cost.
The first thing to consider is what you want from the contest or award. Is there a cash prize, whi…
Finding Your Sweet Spot as a Hybrid Author
Traditional publishers offer the whole gamut of getting a book to market. Certain titles can receive attention from everything from editorial crews to marketing departments to teams devoted to online and digital sales. There could even be the boost of imprint-wide campaigns as well as outreach to influencers. The author, however, drives few, if any, of these decisions.
On the flip side, publish…
You Got Your Rights Back: Now What?
In the early days of my publishing career, I worked as an editor for a publisher based in Ireland. While it started as primarily a digital-first romance house, it quickly grew into a multi-genre powerhouse.
During that time, two of my titles were accepted by the publisher. The first was a little military thriller called Stray Ally, a story about a not-so-great guy who meets a dog in the wildern…