Let me give you an example of some of the reviews I will be writing by letting you read reviews I have written. First, though, a little background. Book publishing is a difficult business, and getting harder every year. It is another exercise in “follow the money.” Book publishers, of course, only get paid when they sell books, so they are on the lookout for a book they think will sell. It may be a topic that is currently on people’s minds (follow the news for what people are currently reading), may be similar to a current book that is selling well (follow the books for what is selling), but can’t be too similar or it will delute the sales of both books. It has to be distinct enough that a publishing house will be interested.
That being said, getting the attention of a publisher is not easy. An author can’t just send a manuscript to a publisher in hopes that they will read it, like it, and publish it. An author who wants a book published through one of the major publishing houses needs an agent, who understands how to get the publisher interested, and represents the author in all the contract negotiations. Now, it is about getting the agent’s attention
Agents are deluged with proposals for books. Once again, an author cannot just send the manuscript, and author must have written a proposal that catches an agent’s attention and makes them want to read the book. If the agent likes the proposal, they will request your manuscript. If they think they can sell that manuscript to a publisher, the agent will take you on.
Complicated? Yes. Learning the ropes, how to not only write a good book, but write a good proposal and position yourself in the market to get an agent’s attention takes a lot of time, attention, and learning. That is how I have been spending my time since finishing my book. I have heard from authors who queried agents for as much as 10 years before getting a contract!
That is why many new authors turn to small presses. Those presses publish good books, but do not have the publicity dollard or machine built to give the books all the publicity they need. It is up to the author to do a great deal of the publicity.
I believe in these authors. I believe in their good, interesting, well-written books, and I would like to help them promote their work.
I hope you will join me in reading, celebrating, and enjoying these books while I help get the word out there about their existence.
To know what the reviews will be like, here is a link to one I wrote that was published in the Brevity Blog, which, if you are interested in writing, is an excellent resource and full of interesting stories. Here is a link to my book review of ALL THE LEAVINGS by Laurie Easter and here is a link to the Brevity Blog if you are interested. (P.S. you will find two other posts by yours truly on that blog.)
Also, please sign up for my newsletter to get reviews of good books to promote new authors, and please ask your friends to sign up to join me on this journey of reading and reviewing.
