Articles from September 2006

Lazy Daze Of…Fall

September 26th, 2006 · Comments Off on Lazy Daze Of…Fall

We are just now getting around to taking our summer vacation. There’s an excellent chance that we’ll feel the urge to post from our undisclosed location…if that’s the case, expect nothing from brilliance, if not, well, we’re in a bad mood this week anyway. Nothing worse than a cranky blogger, right? And, yes, we were […]

File Under: Square Pegs

In Which The Publishing Industry Continues To Exhibit A Profound Lack Of Understanding Of The Real World

September 25th, 2006 · Comments Off on In Which The Publishing Industry Continues To Exhibit A Profound Lack Of Understanding Of The Real World

There is a saying that, if we recall correctly, suggests that closing the barn door after the horse escapes is rather foolish. Unless you are really trying to protect hay, in which case, you may ultimately be seen as practical. We are not sure the latest scheme initiated by publishers will be seen as practical, […]

File Under: The Future of Publishing

Make Her Laugh Make Her Cry

September 20th, 2006 · Comments Off on Make Her Laugh Make Her Cry

Once upon a time, you could write a book and that was that. Somehow — magic, probably — customers found the books and fortunes were made. Hmm, not entirely true. Authors have always been part artist, part salespeople; it’s simply that the marketing thing wasn’t mentioned in public. Bad for digestion, you know. At Three […]

File Under: Publishers and Editors

Contest Emptor

September 18th, 2006 · Comments Off on Contest Emptor

Let us all be honest for a moment: writing contests are often fundraisers. While you, the writer, might get a critique and maybe your work will make its way to an editor or agent’s desk, the contests are often a way for organizations to make money. No shame in that, by the way, but those […]

File Under: Square Pegs

If Content Is King…

September 15th, 2006 · Comments Off on If Content Is King…

We’re going to do something dangerous. We’re going to make an assumption (yes, yes, we know): we’re going to assume that a few of you are old enough to remember the olden days. Those halcyon moments of yore, when watching television meant taking what they wanted to show you, when listening to the radio meant […]

File Under: Marketing For Introverts · The Future of Publishing

In Which A Publisher Speaks Openly

September 13th, 2006 · Comments Off on In Which A Publisher Speaks Openly

We do so love interviews with editors, but so often they are politically correct. You know how it goes: good story, strong writing, make me happy. Always helpful, but not always realistic. Publishing is, after all, as much a business as an art. Maybe that’s why we found MediaBistro’s interview with Richard Nash of Soft […]

File Under: Publishers and Editors

More Web Advice For Writers

September 12th, 2006 · 7 Comments

Let us start the day by returning to a topic near and dear to everyone’s heart: your website. For reasons that shall remain private, we have been doing a worldwide tour of author websites for the past several weeks, and can say that there’s something rotten in the state of websites. First, the tough love. […]

File Under: Back To Basics · Marketing For Introverts

Analyzing Penguin’s Marketing Strategy Because We Can

September 8th, 2006 · 2 Comments

We are admittedly a bit a slow side this morning — the coffee maker is taking its sweet time, the slacker! — so perhaps we’re completely missing the punch line here. But we doubt it. See, Penguin is seeing a return to the magic of serialized novels as a way to build online buzz. Naturally, […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs · Marketing For Introverts

How To Sell A Book

September 6th, 2006 · Comments Off on How To Sell A Book

The BS household is celebrating a return to a life of DSL and electricity today. It is a thrilling, thrilling morning. You don’t realize how much you depend upon, oh, lights until you don’t have them. Turns out they’re quite useful, and the little pluggy thing that goes into the laptop serves a purpose. It […]

File Under: Books/Mags/Blogs

Suspension Of Belief

September 4th, 2006 · 2 Comments

The current trend in the blogging community is analysis and discussion of lonelygirl15, and we are ever-indulgent of trends. Hmm, no, that is not true. The fact of the matter is that lonelygirl15 is an example of our current thought process. Hey, you said, “BS, we really want to know what goes on in your […]

File Under: Marketing For Introverts · Non-Traditional Publishing