Ways for You and Others to Cyber-Market Your Book

• Write a review on Amazon
• Blog about it
• Put something on your FaceBook status
• Tweet about it
• Post something on MySpace
• Post to an e-group that you are part of
• Send emails to people you know about the book
• Post something about it on your website
• Run a contest to win a free book on your blog

Reduction in Publishing

"Lately, the word of the day in publishing has been 'reduction,' be it head counts or acquisitions."

~ Quote from Publisher's Weekly

Acknowledgements

Agent: Joe Veltre
Editor: Cassie Jones of William Morrow

Both highly praised by Stephanie Klein

Reading and the Appeal Factor

Framework of Appeal: Capture the essential essence of the book that a reader enjoys

Eight interdependent essential elements of appeal:

1. Pacing: The speed at which the book moves through the story arc and how the reader experiences that movement. Both what it feels like to read the book and the rate at which the story unfolds.

Dialogue speeds things up, while excess details, description and exposition can slow things down. Length of chapters and paragraphs, changing scenes and multiple points of view read more quickly. Some genres have more predictable story arcs than others.

2. Characterization: The number and type of characters, and how the reader interacts with them. Can the reader identify with the character, like them and understand their motivations? Or does the reader prefer to stay objective and detached?

What kind of personality does each character have? Do characters remain stagnate, or do they grow in change throughout the course of a series or story? Are the characters heroes and villains, or is there moral ambiguity?

3. Storyline: The blueprint of the book. What is its context? What genre does it represent? What is the topic and theme of the story?

4. Language: Some readers simply cannot enjoy a book that they feel is poorly written. Example: Ana Grey series – bad moral choices, but so well-written that I couldn’t stop reading!

5. Setting: Where is the book placed? How much of the setting is brought to life? How well-incorporated is the landscape in the work? Example: Sister Mine

6. Detail: All the added extras that authors put into their books to bring the story alive.

7. Tone: How the book feels when it is read. What kind of story is the reader in the mood for? Does the reader prefer a story that will make them sad, make them laugh or scare them?

8. Learning/Experiencing: How motivated is the reader to learn and understand another perspective? How well does the author meet that expectation? Example: Notes from Nethers

For every reader, some of these elements matter far more than others.

What’s My Reader Profile?

1. Learning/Experiencing: I read memoirs solely for this element – and it’s nice when the mysteries that I listen to weave in expository information (setting, job, family background) as well. I believe in universal truths and principals, and am always happily surprised whenever I find a quote that resonates with me.

2. Pacing: I prefer a book with dialogue and character interaction to an introspective monologue. If I have to listen to someone ponder their navel too long, I will stop reading.

3. Characterization: It’s important to me to be able to identify with the main character and to respect his or her decisions. I don’t like moral ambiguity.

4. Tone: I don’t like stories that end on a note of hopelessness (e.g. White Oleander, Back Roads)

Link between burnout and perfectionism

Source of this chart, with additional information.

Reviews from Publisher's Weekly

Nov. 5, 2007: There is a brand-new site www.writersarereaders.com where writers review books by other writers.

Oct, 29th interview with Charles Bock about his first novel, Beautiful Children:
"It took me ten good years to write, nine years with no agent... It kept growing and I kept evolving as a writer... The book's root's really lay in my parent's pawnshop, the things I saw as a child. I hope it can be eye-opening, but not in an exploitive way."

Oct. 29, 2007 review of Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy:
"Kennedy's prose walks the line between sparse and lush, and she trusts that her readers welcome well-articulated ideas balanced with reassuring doses of mystery."

Dec. 31, 2007 review of Ten Points by Bill Strickland:
"Alternating between present-day life and dispatches from his horrible childhood... Stickland juxtaposes these episodes with scenes of his own shortcomings... It's only through (bicycle racing) that he learns to tame the inner demons that threaten his new family.

"Strickland's lyrical prose and swift pacing lighten the material's weight, but it remains a necessarily brutal read that goes shades darker than most memoirs."

Dec. 31, 2007 review of What Becomes You by Aaron Raz Link and Hilda Raz:
"A blend of essay, memoir and intergenerational memoir... The result is oddly moving, more illuminating and memorable than a straightforward memoir could have been."

Oct. 29, 2007 review of Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge:
"In this memoir of a decade spent in foster care, (the author) illuminates the horror of a system"
Criticized for being obsessive and imbalanced.

Oct. 29, 2007 review of Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy:
GOOD: "The story unfolds in present time with flashbacks blended seamlessly into the narrative, neatly fueling the growing suspense. Then (the climax) is revealed, the moment is shocking in its simplicity."

BAD: "(The author) consistently demonstrates that the abuse inflicted upon (the protagonist) during her childhood has left her detached, incapable of experiencing a full range of emotions and doubting herself as deserving of happiness and love. While psychologically astute, this portrayal keeps readers at a distance."

GOOD: "It falls instead to the novel's structure, with its well-times revelations, and to a finely-tuned storyline, to keep the audience's interest."

Dec. 31, 2007 review of The Courage to Survive by Dennis J. Kucinich:
"(The author) is a natural writer; moreover, he wisely avoids any type of preaching, judging or politicking, allowing the story to speak for itself."

Dec. 31, 2007 review of Diagnosis of Love by Maggie Leffler:
"(The author) infuses Holly's spiritual search with liberal doese of humor, exquisite insight and rich detail about the U.K. medical profession."

Anyone wise enough to publish Jaclyn Moriarty...

From the very beginning, Arthur A. Levine Books has been committed to searching for "authors and artists who will make books that are emotionally true and beautifully crafted."