It (finally) appears the stigmas once associated with self and indie-publishing are disappearing, or at least waning – though in some cases there are new ones arising and there will always be naysayers. Let me clarify that while I think there are pros and cons to traditional publishing, self publishing and Indie publishing alike, I [...]

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The highway to publication overflows with cars: luxury behemoths; sensible hybrids; nondescript, windowless vans with strange dents that protrude from the inside. Each bears the logo of the mechanic who brought it to life. You’ve built a car, too, with good mileage and a cherry spoiler. [Author’s note: The cars are a metaphor for your [...]

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We are so excited that our guest today is consulting editor Alan Rinzler. Alan has edited and published Toni Morrison, Tom Robbins, Hunter S. Thompson, Jerzy Kosinski, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Ludlum, Clive Cussler, Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan and others while working as Assistant Managing Editor at Simon & Schuster, Director of Trade Publishing at Bantam, west [...]

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Back in December we received a note from author Kim Boykin, whose debut novel The Wisdom of Hair was set to release in March. We book WU guest slots far in advance, and had to let her know that we would’t be able to offer anything in March, however something Kim said to us sparked [...]

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Is everyone sick of talking about the piece in the New York Times on David Mamet and his decision to self-publish? I hope not, because I’m dying to talk about it. So I’m going to…I hope you’re not already bored. If you haven’t read it, you should, especially if you’re a traditionally published author, but [...]

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Please welcome Julia Munroe Martin as a new semi-regular contributor with Writer Unboxed! We are thrilled this long-time community member will be with us to share her wit and wisdom with us all. Welcome, Julia! I’m not that attached to my name (or at least I never thought I was). Maybe because I’ve had so [...]

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Please welcome author Sarah Pekkanen to Writer Unboxed today. Sarah is the internationally-bestselling author of four novels. Her latest novel, The Best of Us, releases on April 9th. Following in the heels of her former novels, which have won rave reviews in O the Oprah magazine, People and Entertainment Weekly, The Best of Us has [...]

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Therese here. I’m so happy to introduce you to our new semi-regular contributor, my own agent, Elisabeth Weed. Elisabeth–who is also agent to WU’s Jael McHenry and Allison Winn Scotch–is a wonderfully savvy and well-connected agent, who is constantly evolving Weed Literary. I know that the insights she’ll post here will be valuable to those [...]

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Whether on a book cover, a website design, an ad, or even a whole marketing barrage, graphic design can either materially increase your book’s chances of getting attention or can leave it unrecognized in the mountain of competitors. This goes for the self-published as well as for the commercially published. While it is certainly possible [...]

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I’ve been thinking a lot about how we judge and filter and decide who what where is good online. Seth Godin recently talked about how what you share online becomes your own personal “backlist” as a person. And that, as the years go by, your backlist should help support you, instead of being something that [...]

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Recently here on Writer Unboxed, the lovely Sharon Bially wrote about The Bad PR Hangover (and how to avoid it). A fabulous post – if you have not read it, read it too. You see, I’ve also had a handful of authors recently who have found me and relayed terrible and unfavorable stories of working [...]

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We’re so glad that former WU contributor Jane Friedman agreed to visit today as a guest, to give us some updates on the state of the ever-changing publishing industry.  Most writers are aware that the publishing industry is undergoing a range of transformations, new beginnings, failures, and consolidations. But there’s so much change it can [...]

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