Industry News

 

On Tour With Best-Selling Suspense Writer M.J. Rose

by Lynn Neary

"Nobody would even talk to me," she says. One local bookstore owner actually told Rose she would never even look at a self-published book.

But Rose kept at it. Through industrious self-promotion she managed to get enough media attention to catch the eyes of The Literary Guild and the Doubleday Book Club. Within a few weeks, she had a book deal. Since then she's seen more success than a lot of writers — her book Reincarnationist had a brief second life as a TV show — but she is not a household name. And that means she can't rest quite yet…READ MORE

Judging Books by Their Covers

By CBSNews

A good cover tells you what kind of book it is - without giving too much away.

. . . Which is why a romance novel often has the clinch.

Books aimed at women (Chick Lit) may feature some article of clothing, a shoe, a dress . . . while jackets on crime novels are usually dark, with a shadowy character or weapon as part of the design.

Tastes differ around the world - and so do book covers. There are variations in the cover of Stephenie Meyer's vampire novel, "Twilight."

But ultimately, says Raab, it comes down to what sort of statement the book makes.

"I have what I call the subway test," Raab said, "'Will a man be comfortable carrying that book?' And it can go the other way. People are conscious of what they're reading and what people see them reading."

In other words - dare we say it? - we DO judge a book by its cover.

And in a changing industry like publishing, a memorable one just might make the difference… READ MORE

How I Became a Best-Selling Author

Self-publishing is upending the book industry. One woman's unlikely road to a hit novel.

By Alexandra Alter | The Wall Street Journal – Fri, Dec 9, 2011 3:27 PM EST

This summer, Darcie Chan's debut novel became an unexpected hit. It has sold more than 400,000 copies and landed on the best-seller lists alongside brand-name authors like Michael Connelly, James Patterson and Kathryn Stockett.

It's been a success by any measure, save one. Ms. Chan still hasn't found a publisher.

Five years ago, Ms. Chan's novel, "The Mill River Recluse," which tells the story of a wealthy Vermont widow who bestows her fortune on town residents who barely knew her, would have languished in a drawer. A dozen publishers and more than 100 literary agents rejected it.

This past May, Ms. Chan decided to digitally publish it herself, hoping to gain a few readers and some feedback. She bought some ads on Web sites targeting e-book readers, paid for a review from Kirkus Reviews, and strategically priced her book at 99 cents to encourage readers to try it. She's now attracting bids from foreign imprints, movie studios and audio-book publishers, without selling a single copy in print...READ MORE