With the explosion of indie publishing and self-publishing, there’s a conundrum that was avoided through traditional publishing because there were gate keepers. Now, indie published or self-published authors need to ask themselves the tough questions hopefully before writing, and certainly before releasing. You have a story to tell and you can’t bear not to tell […]
Lit Happens
6 Tips to Make You and Your Books Stand Out!
In the tsunami of books being published, what are some things you can do to really make your book stand out and pop off the shelf? A book absolutely is judged by its cover! Don’t go cheap. Hire someone who has a great track record of creating book covers. It’s a specialty, and your book […]
Long-time Managing Director Marissa DeCuir is Named President and Partner at JKS Communications
Long-time managing director Marissa DeCuir has been promoted to president and partner at JKS Communications, a book marketing and author publicity firm, effective immediately. DeCuir started with the firm eight years ago as a book publicist and has steadily risen through the ranks. During her tenure, she has been a key factor in building the […]
5 Steps to Amazon Search Engine Optimization
How do people search for books? Maybe you used to go to your local Borders (remember them?) and spend hours looking through the shelves hoping they had the next book in your favorite author’s series. And if they didn’t? Well, they would order it and three days later you’d come back to the bookstore and […]
Gifts for book lovers, including new subscription service for kids, Lillypost
With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s never too early to start picking out gifts! Here are some great gift ideas that bookworms everywhere are sure to love!! 20 Thoughtful Gifts For The Bookworm In Your Life 24 Insanely Clever Gifts For Book Lovers The Best Non-Book Gifts For Bookworms 20 Affordable Gifts for Readers 33 […]
It’s Time for Ebooks to Get Innovative and Interactive
I saw something recently that blew my mind: Piotr Kowalczyk pulled together a list of “35 Most Interesting Animated Book Covers,” which left me saying not only, “Wow, these 35 covers really are the most interesting animated book covers I’ve ever seen,” but also, “ANIMATED BOOK COVERS ARE A THING? How have I not heard […]
How Many Books Should I Print?
This morning, a lovely author from Greece and I spoke for over an hour. During this time, she asked many great questions. But it was the last question asked before she hung up that really struck me… “One last thing,” she said. “Is printing 5000 copies crazy?” “Well,” I replied, “it depends… what are you […]
What’s Old is New Again: Book Tours in the 21st Century
When I proposed going on the world’s longest book tour to my publisher, they kindly told me I was nuts. In fact, they convened a conference call to tell me so. My editor, publisher, marketing director, and publicist were all in on it. I remember wondering how I was going to differentiate voices from my […]
Saying “Everyone” Will Love Your Book is Actually Hurting Your Readership
There are three cringe-worthy statements when authors explain “who” will read their book: “My book will appeal to both men and women, ages 10—100. Everyone will love it!” “It’s the next [insert mega-selling international franchise here].” “My book is completely unique. There’s absolutely nothing like it out there, there never has been, and there never […]
What (Not) To Wear for a TV Interview
Have you ever watched an interview on television and couldn’t help but feel that something was drawing your attention away from the person’s message? Perhaps it was what they were wearing. People shouldn’t make judgments based on your appearance, but some will, even subconsciously. Certain colors, patterns and types of clothing can create unintentional distractions […]
