Today we welcome guest Laura Cross to Writer Unboxed. Laura, an author, editor and writing coach, is the author of a new book — The Complete Guide To Hiring A Literary Agent: Everything You Need To Know To Become Successfully Published. We’re happy she’s with us today to discuss something every writer wants to know [...]

The publishing blogosphere has lately been ablaze with posts about ebooks and ebook pricing. A contingent of ebook consumers are crowing that, in light of the recent Amazon/Macmillan standoff and pricing precedent that was set, ebook prices will shoot through the roof. They recently attempted character assassination using a deplorable 1-star Amazon review campaign on [...]

I recently read this advice telling fiction writers not to worry (initially) about online presence or platform.
I run across this advice frequently—and I used to offer up some version of it, e.g., focus on perfecting your work first before you jump into submitting.
While I still believe that to some extent, this view can set [...]

The American Booksellers Association wrapped up their fifth annual Winter Institute meeting this weekend.  The ABA discusses trends that affect booksellers, and their forecast for 2010 is also of interest to writers.  The association commissioned Verso Advertising to conduct a survey of book-buying habits, breaking down demographics, frequency of purchase, and the impact of e-books.  The results are both [...]

Publishers Weekly is reporting that the Buy buttons are back for Macmillan authors’ books on Amazon.com. Says PW:
Although the buttons were not restored to all of its titles by late Friday afternoon, sources said an agreement has been completed and the e-tailer has begun putting back the direct buy option. It was not known if [...]

Still no sign of Amazon relenting to Macmillan, as all of that publisher’s books are unavailable to buy new from the site. In a (generous? mean-spirited?) half-concession, Amazon has been posting links to outside vendors who are selling those authors’ books — you know, like the used ones that won’t earn the author a single [...]

The Intertubes were abuzz this past weekend, and not just because of Apple’s iPad. At least not directly.
Amazon.com, retaliating against Macmillan books for demanding that their ebooks be sold using an “agency model” (where Amazon takes 30% of a seller’s set price for a book) instead of continuing to allow Amazon to set low [...]

Writerly news from around the Internetz:
This is pretty cool.   Stephen Elliott, author of The Adderall Diaries, chronicals what he calls “The DIY Book Tour” in the New York Times.  His experience mirrored mine when I was a guest at a mother-daughter book club chat to talk about CONFESSIONS OF A FIRST DAUGHTER.
The people who showed up for these events had usually [...]

I hate the term “slush pile.” It’s a concept that I find outdated. Unfortunately, last week’s article in the Wall Street Journal, “The Death of the Slush Pile,” did a fantastic job of continuing the mythic symbol of the slush pile in the most unhelpful way.
First, to clarify, “slush” refers to any work that is [...]

Who better to explain how important Voice is in story than someone who not only sees a mountain range of submissions on a regular basis but has the opportunity to receive feedback on those submissions from editors? I asked my fabulous agent, Elisabeth Weed, if she’d be willing to step in today, say hello to [...]

Please welcome Jane Friedman as the newest contributor to Writer Unboxed. Jane is the publisher and editorial director of the Writer’s Digest brand community at F+W Media in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she oversees Writer’s Digest magazine, Writer’s Digest Books, and the Writer’s Market series. (Read her full bio HERE.) This is her first post.
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Editors and [...]

I promised you a post on building Facebook ads, and this is it. I know, I know, you can barely contain your excitement!
So why Facebook ads? Facebook ads are something the marketing team at Shaye Areheart Books recommended I try, since I wanted to contribute to my book’s campaign. They were easy to set [...]