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What Happens When a Book Publicist Becomes a Book Author
After years of hearing authors ask about getting on Oprah, a book publicist experiences the other side, and wonders, “What about Oprah?”
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Remembering Mickey
I’d been talking too long with American Booksellers Association CEO Oren Teicher about the success of the Winter Institute and was late picking up my author Lynne Truss.
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After Publication, the Book Isn't Yours Any Longer
Lessons a memoirist learned from his poet father about life and literary criticism.
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Why I Never Wrote for Money
One of the greatest biographies ever written was James Boswell’s "The Life of Samuel Johnson."
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More than Money: Learning What A Book Is Really Worth
I made my name—or “built my brand,” as the saying goes these days—writing how-to books.
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Enduring Value
One of the many things I love about my work as a ghostwriter is the astonishing cachet that books still have, despite all the predictions of the medium’s demise.
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How To Master Your Book's Amazon Description
The most important words you'll write are not your book’s opening lines. They are your book’s description on Amazon.
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Condemning the Return of Blasphemy Laws
It’s disconcerting for a publisher to discover that a horrific tragedy has made one of its current titles more relevant.
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Why I Wrote a Novel in Second Person
I was six months and 60 pages into my novel, 'The Sweetheart,' when I knew I had a problem.
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‘Cosby,’ and Other Cautionary Tales
Twelve years ago, I signed with Random House to write a biography of Bennett Cerf, its cofounder, who lived a big life and changed American culture.
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Coming Home to the Books of Childhood
The winter I moved home to Wisconsin, after living in the West, the East, and abroad, was the worst Wisconsin had seen since I left for college 12 years before—or at least that’s what everyone said.
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Space Travel: The Perils and Prizes
Of all the major news stories that have broken during my lifetime, the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo disaster in late October was the first that made people eager to hear my opinion of a big event.
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How a Bestseller is Made, According to a Sales Rep
One major rule of selling books is that once you have the order, shut up. The other important rule? If you love an author and no one is paying enough attention, never shut up!
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At the Sharjah Book Fair: A Lot of Deals and 1 Million Visitors
Ever since I started Interlink Publishing 30 years ago, I’ve been a passionate advocate of literature in translation.
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Self-Publishers on the March
I have been a literary agent since 1987 and have written 25 editions of the book currently titled Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents.
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The Science of Writing a Memoir
A science writer moves out of her comfort zone to write a memoir.
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The Cure for Literary Melancholy
By the time I was 23 years old, I had written five unpublished novels and received more than 500 rejections.
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The Advent of a Bestseller
If you’re an independent publisher in want of a bestseller, you need 1) an extraordinary book that everyone else in your territory has overlooked or passed on, 2) a well-respected advocate, and 3) a willingness to have lunch at the Union Square Cafe twice a week for six months.
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Facing the Monsters
One need not read very far into the stories of H.P. Lovecraft to find themes of xenophobia and eugenics.
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Less Boring Art, More Diversity
It makes me cringe that, in 2014, I have to make an argument that we need more diversity in fiction.
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