When I first found out that I was expected to write a piece for the Big Bad Book Blog, I was stumped. As I sat staring at the blinking cursor on my computer screen I realized I could use this to my advantage. I decided to write about writer’s block. We’ve all had it dozens of times: the feeling of blank impossibility in the face of a writing project.

It’s time again in the publishing industry to start preparing for industry trade shows. There are easy ways for authors to exhibit even if they don’t have the time or money to travel or invest in a full-fledged booth. Combined Book Exhibit can display your book for you at a number of regional shows and some of the industry’s largest shows, such BookExpo America (BEA), the American Library Association annual conference, and the Frankfurt International Book Fair. For a single fee, you can tap their expertise to show your title or titles for you; interested attendees will be given catalogs with all contact information should they be interested in the book, and you can buy full-page ads in the catalog if you choose. You’ll also be included in the CBE searchable online database for a year. Visit this page for details on registration.

2007 was fun, wasn’t it? Between Judith Regan, O.J. Simpson, Amazon’s Kindle, the AMS bankruptcy, and James Frey vs. Oprah redux, there was plenty of shock, titillation, and Schadenfreude to go around. (We’re pointedly excluding a certain boy wizard. Months later, we’re still fatigued.) But bigger than any one of these stories was the […]

According to some estimates, 20 to 30 million trees are harvested each year for paper and paper products, and the US publishing industry is one of the biggest culprits. On average, only about 5% of the paper used by US book publishers comes from recycled paper or paper managed in an environmentally friendly way. What’s wrong with this picture?

It’s that wonderful time of year again–time to give your sales a little jolt by positioning your book as a gift for the season. Email your platform a reminder that there is still time left for holiday shopping, and that your book would make a great last-minute gift. If you sell through your own website, offer a discount or free shipping (or both). Otherwise, simply link them directly to your book on Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, BordersStores.com, BookSense.com, or an independent bookstore near you (if you know they have your book in stock). Holidays present a great opportunity to find a creative sales hook for your book.

Amazon.com is the hands-down leader in the online bookselling marketplace. And—although it’s notoriously difficult to speak with a living, breathing human being—Amazon prides itself on meeting its customers’ needs. What’s the easiest way to drive sales for your book on Amazon? Easy: maximize the content on your product page and optimize your chances of coming up in search results via Amazon’s internal search engine.

Fact: Helvetica turned 50 this year. Yeah, people celebrated and everything. Okay, that may be an overstatement, but when there’s actually a feature film named after and about a font, there must be something interesting going on, right?

And there is. But it doesn’t really have to do with Helvetica—or even fonts, per se.

The Worst-Case Scenario Tip

Most storage facilities will carry some degree of insurance in the event of loss or destruction of inventory, but be sure to carry your own coverage to doubly protect yourself. Small publishers commonly add a rider to their homeowner’s insurance policy or business insurance policy or business insurance policy to insure their stored inventory. Be prepared to provide your insurance company with the location of the storage facility, year of construction, type of construction (wood frame, steel, etc.), whether there are hazardous materials stored on site, and details on the facility’s security system.

Forget all that business about checking a publisher’s submission guidelines before you send your manuscript in. The most important consideration when you’re preparing to take a project to the next level is whether your work itself is ready, fully conceptualized and mature. Who cares about typeface and font size if the content is half-baked? There’s no setting for “masterpiece” on my egg timer, but these guidelines will help you know when to call it done.

Writers: Put away that inkwell and feather for a while and get hip to podcasts. We’ve already shown you the elements of a superb podcast; now we’ve prepared a list of podcast resources to a) strengthen your knowledge of the book industry and the writerly craft on an ongoing basis and b) give you ideas to cop for your own syndicated series. We hope as you explore them you’ll get a feel for the wide range of uses these little audio phenomena can be put to, and—if you’re one of those obsessed, reclusive, technologically clueless writer types—pick up some valuable new-media skills.