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Lisa Tener’s Writing and Publishing Blog

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Find articles on your most pressing writing & publishing questions. Plus, creative support for your inner muse!

Publicity Day 4: Virtual Media Training: How to Rock Your Interviews

Guest Post by Rusty Shelton, managing director, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists There are few things more painful than watching or listening to an interview gone bad. For celebrities, those interviews-gone-wrong become the most famous moments of their careers (Tom Cruise bouncing on Oprah’s couch or staring down Matt Lauer). For unknown or up-and-coming authors,…

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We Interrupt this Broadcast…

I’m thrilled with the education in publicity that Rusty and Katie are providing to my blog readers. I have to say that after peeking at Rusty’s planned post for Friday, I am blown away by how much I’m learning about social media and social networking from his post and the articles he links to. You’re…

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Publicity Day 3: Press Releases & Pitches: How to get the word out about your book

Guest Post by Katie Andrews, project consultant, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists You’ve crafted your picture perfect strategy and it’s time to start contacting the media. Proceed with caution. Contacting media members is a fine art. Let’s talk about how to do it. I should preface today’s post with a few words of caution. If…

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Book Publicity Series Day 2: The Publicity 411: What to Know Before Getting Started

Guest Post by Katie Andrews, project consultant, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists “Hello, Phenix & Phenix–how can I help you?” “Hi. My book has been out on the market for a few months and not much is happening—I’m thinking about developing a publicity plan. What should I do?” Don’t.Be.This.Author. You’re way too smart to wait…

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Publicity Week Day 1: Why Publicity is Your New Best Friend

Welcome to the first annual Book Publicity Week on Lisa Tener’s blog! Special guest post by Rusty Shelton, Managing Director, Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists When Lisa invited me to guest blog about book publicity, I thought back to five years ago when P&P ran a national publicity campaign for Lisa and her co-authors, Jane…

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Book Publicity Week Official Schedule: Feb. 2- 6

Looks like next week’s Book Publicity Blog series is creating lots of  buzz: thanks to everyone who’s been checking in and spreading the word. I’m blown away by the great content our friends at Phenix & Phenix are providing. And I can’t wait to hear what you end up doing with the information you learn…

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Book Publicity Week Starts Feb. 2 on this Blog – Free Course

Many of you have asked questions about using social media, Twitter, Facebook and other internet media for creating  a powerful author platform and/or publicizing your book successfully. My friends at Phenix and Phenix Literary Publicists have agreed to guest blog all of next week. These won’t be your typical blog posts, but more like a…

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How to Choose an Editor

As a comment to an earlier blog post, Deb Scott asked what kind of editor to hire before self-publishing her book. I recommended hiring a good copy editor, because you want to edit for style, organization and format, as well as grammar and punctuation. It seemed to me though, that I shouldn’t give you some advice…

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Questioning Your Book

I received an e-mail today from someone who was looking for an editor–sort of. In her e-mail she complained that she’d already spent thousands of dollars on a book proposal that agents told her was terrific but that there was no market for–unless she was someone famous. [Note: I had not helped her with the…

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Author’s Platform? What’s That and How Do I Get One?

If you’ve spent any time around people in the publishing industry, or attended a conference about getting your nonfiction or how-to book published, you’ve probably heard the term platform. An author’s platform refers to your fan base, and the media vehicles you already use to reach people with your message. Your internet platform includes your…

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Too painful to write. Too painful to read.

Guest Blog by Daniel Tomasulo, author of Confessions of a Former Child: A Therapist’s Memoir My first popular press book came out earlier this year. Confessions of a Former Child: A Therapist’s Memoir was published by Graywolf in May and was well received. In the six months since it has been released I have received…

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More Ghostwriting Advice: 10 Things You Need to Know

Yesterday, Jeannie shared in this writing blog that she’d been asked to ghostwrite a memoir and asked some advice about what to charge and what she might negotiate. Ghostwriting is a great way to write books and get paid right away. But it’s also easy to get burned when ghostwriting a book. Here are 10…

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The Squirtgun Approach to Motivation

Many writers find it challenging to sit down and write at will. They might schedule the time in their calendar to write, but when the time comes, they suddenly notice the grimy buildup inside the stove (time for some steel wool) or they head to the fridge to fix themselves a snack–anything to avoid writing….

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Is 2009 the Year for Your Book?

How to Write a book in 2009: You’ve pictured yourself on Oprah and run through the interview a million times. Now it’s time to actually write the book that’s going to prompt the interview. 1. Make the commitment: Hey, if you don’t commit, it won’t happen. Good intentions are like snowflakes. They eventually melt. Commitments…

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Are You Writing the Next Blockbuster?

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article this weekend addressing the huge advances that publishers will pay for a title that goes to auction. Why, in this economy, are they taking such risks? And how can you have it work to your advantage? Anita Elberse, author of the article and associate professor at the…

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Small Publisher or Work on My Platform & Hold Out for the Majors?

What would you do in her shoes? Today I received an e-mail from a client asking me “writing coach” advice. I’ve changed a few details to protect her anonymity. It’s the kind of question you might be asking yourself, even if you don’t have a publisher yet. “Lisa, I was offered a “direct” publishing contract…

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Free Publicity to Expand Your Platform or Promote Your Book

I have a great free publicity tip for you today and it can work whether you’re working on creating more of a fan base and platform before your book is even published, or you’re looking to promote your just-published book. A new client recently called me for help with his book–an MD with prestigious credentials…

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E-books, Websites, Publicity: Answers to John’s Questions

John Perini asked a number of great questions about e-books and publicity as a comment to another post. I am answering them here as a post, because I thought the Write Your Book community might find them enlightening: 1. Do you feel it is OK to write a book for publication as an e-book and…

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Is it Harder to Sell a Book to Publishers in a Recession?

The unfortunate answer to this question is, “Yes.”  Yet, sometimes, “Obstacles can be turned into opportunities,” as my friend Patricia Raskin is fond of saying. I sent an e-mail to an agent two days ago for a very exciting how-to book, with a clear audience, from a first time author with some regional (but not…

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What if My Memoir Can Hurt Others?

Mary Beth asked, in a recent comment in response to my blog post Too Painful To Write: “I know that some day I will write a book that will help ME, but I’m terrified that people reading this book would be very hurt by it.  Just by telling my story from my point of view,…

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