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UPDATE: APRIL 26, 2022 THE WINNER IS SIMPLY THE BEST BY CATHERINE YANG Catherine will receive an introduction to an agent or publisher appropriate for Simply the Best . Listen to the announcement. Listen to the winning pitch and our feedback. Read the winning pitch. OUR FAN FAVORITE GOES TO THE POWER OF SHADOWS BY ABBY GEIGERMAN Abby will receive a free one-hour consult with us (worth $250). Read the Fan Favorite winning pitch. [...] more

We hate writing synopses for our novels, and we're not the only ones. We regularly hear from writers who are stumped about the dreaded synopsis. How do you write a synopsis for a novel? What even is a synopsis? How long should it be? We answer viewers' questions about synopses in this week's video. Keep reading for an example synopsis for a famous novel. WHAT WE COVER IN THIS VIDEO What happens if a literary agent asks for a synopsis? Don't panic. Here's a beginner's guide [...] more

A great title and/or subtitle can land a book sale. Your title must make readers want to pick up your book, buy it, and read it. Play our Title Word Pool Game with your friends to find a brilliant title for your book. INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSERTING POLLS 📊 Facebook https://www. facebook. com/help/1575289. . . 📊 Instagram Stories more

Writers ask us, "How much does it cost to self-publish? " You can self-publish for nearly nothing or spend thousands. Can you self-publish on the cheap? Yes. But you could need to spend money to make money. Spend too much on the wrong thing and MAKE becomes LOSE so fast your head will spin. Here's how to spend money the right way and avoid scams. Self-publishing costs could include Editor/copy editor Proofreader Cover designer Interior book [...] more

Author David Henry Sterry and literary agent Arielle Eckstut give you step-by-step instructions to spot if a "publisher" is legitimate or a scam. Don't let scammers bilk you out of your publishing dreams. WHAT WE COVER Writer beware! Unscrupulous operators prey on writers' publishing dreams. They might promise to publish your book, but theyre really only interested in getting your money. RELATED VIDEOS Self-Publishing Scams or Legit Publishers? https://youtu. be/gG2px2KD91A [...] more

A book blurb is an endorsement from a famous author or well-known expert. It's shocking how a quote from the right person can lure an agent, editor, or reader. Here's HOW to get blurbs and WHEN you need them. BLURBS: WHAT WE COVER 📘 WHAT IS A BOOK BLURB? 📘 Why book blurbs matter 📘 How to get book blurbs 📘 When to get book blurbs RELATED VIDEOS Query Letter Webinar & Critique with The Book [...] more

Just because an agent hasn't responded to your query letter doesn't mean she's not interested. Arielle (a literary agent) and David (author) explain why agents are silent and what authors can do about it. RELATED VIDEOS How to Follow Up with a Literary Agent https://youtu. be/HP_6RkTbXNs Check out our QUERY LETTER PLAYLIST https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=L7Ncx. . . [...] more

Times are hard. The Book Doctors share how to keep writing while you're home during the COVID-19 pandemic. How are you handling changes due to coronavirus? Tell us in the comments. WHAT WE COVER 0:05 Checking in with The Book Doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic 0:48 Our tips for working from home 1:08 Use your commute time for [...] more

Ask us any question about publishing in this free one-hour workshop. Make the most of your time at home and get your work ready to get out into the world! UPDATE: Click here to view the recording of this webinar. Join us Click this link to view the webinar live on YouTube and ask us anything. Ask questions Sign in using a YouTube/Google account to chat with us and ask questions. Tech trouble? If you have any trouble, email our web guru at [...] more

UPDATE: Congratulations to our 2020 winners! Thank you to every writer who participated and the fans who voted. The 2020 NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza winner is The Eighth Wonder of Pine Mountain by Jenny Murray. Fan Favorite goes to Operation Polar Revenge by Tara Erredge. You can watch the full NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza 2020 below. ? 10 years. A decade. A tenth of a century. Thats how long The Book Doctors and Nano Nation [...] more

? Writers always ask, "How long will it take to publish my book? " Learn the hard truth in this week's video. Then position yourself for success. WHAT WE COVER 0:13 How long does it take to publish a book? How long does it take to get a book deal? How long does traditional publishing take? 1:17 How long does it take to publish a [...] more

We've said before that publishers can make BIG mistakes . Then came AMERICAN DIRT . Here's our take on controversies rocking publishing in 2020. Links mentioned in the video are below. WHAT WE COVER - REASONS PUBLISHERS ARE STUPID 0:49 An overview of the AMERICAN DIRT controversy. 4:22 There are many books by Latinx authors. So why aren't Latinx [...] more

Write Articles to Help Get Your Book Published, Build Platform, & Promote Your Work. The Book Doctors are proud to announce were starting an exciting new partnership with Shawna Kenney, journalist, author, writer, coach and teacher. We regularly tell our clients that writing and publishing short pieces is a great way to build your brand and resume, get your work into the world, prove to a publisher that there's an audience for your work, become a better writer, and publicize your book when it comes out. Weve brought Shawna onto the team to show you how to [...] more

UPDATE: Our winner is Michelle Reynoso! Thank you to everyone who participated. Keep watching to learn how to write your book, sell it, and market it successfully. We look forward to chatting with you in the YouTube comments. After months of tutorials and interviews, vlogs and voice-overs, we've reached a milestone on The Book Doctors' YouTube channel: We shared our 100th video! To celebrate, we're running a giveaway, and one lucky winner will get a free 30-minute consultation with us (a $150 value). Here's how [...] more

The dramatic coastline of Tunnels Beach offers outsanding views of the iconic Mt. Makana (Bali Hai). [/caption]Aloha! The Book Doctors are headed to Hawaii. Pack your swimsuits and manuscripts and join us at the Kauai Writers Conference , November 4 - 10, 2019, where we'll be presenting with a cavalcade of world-class writers, agents and editors. Do yourself and your book a favor and come to the Garden Island, where bestselling and award-winning writers will help you get your manuscript ready for the world; where top agents and publishers (not the typical young [...] more

Authors, do you need to hone your presentation skills for your next speaking engagement, pitch, or interview? Maybe you're joining us for Pitchapalooza? In today's video, we share simple public speaking tips for authors. Do authors need public speaking skills? As an author, you're called upon to do live performances or appear in media. As Truman Capote counseled young writers: "Socialize. Don't just go up to a pine cabin all alone and brood. You will reach that stage soon enough anyway. "And when you're [...] more

We met up with our dear friend Grant Faulkner, executive director of National Novel Writing Month , at BookCon . Grant talks about fostering the right creative mindset, building a writing community, and his writing advice. Filmed at BookCon 2019. WHAT WE COVER 0:15 What is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? 2:14 NaNoWriMo success stories & NaNoWriMo Pitchapalooza winners3:43 Opening up the publishing gates: NaNoWriMo crashes through the gatekeepers and encourages everyone to embrace their identity as a writer. 5:58 Writing advice: writing is about persistence and [...] more

Waytu Moore, author of SHE WOULD BE KING and founder of the nonprofit One Moore Book, shares the publication journey for her debut novel and reflects on art, writing craft, commerce, and more. Filmed at Succeed2gethers Montclair Literary Festival 2019. WHAT WE COVER 0:35 Writing a draft of SHE WOULD BE KING and exploring identity as an African in America and as an African-American2:19 Pressures writers put on themselves, writing craft, and not resenting your art3:26 Writing discipline and respecting your art4:01 Publishing industry trends4:23 Waytu Moore's next novel is about mermaids5:32 Publishing SHE [...] more

We sat down with award-winning thriller author Brad Parks atSucceed2gethers Montclair Literary Festival. We picked his brain about how being a journalist influenced his fiction writing, the mistakes he made on the path to publication, and how he found the right literary agent and set himself on the road to publishing success. Watch the video or read the transcript below. David: Hello. We're the Book Doctors. Brad: I'm not a Book Doctor. D: No. We're talking to Brad Parks, who just told us that he has all his own teeth, and I [...] more

Roxanna Elden is one of our favorite authors. We met her in a class atMiami Dade College where we were teaching. From the very first time she raised her hand and opened her mouth, we knew she was something special. One of the consistent things weve found in our years of teaching and doingPitchapaloozas is that teachers make the best public speakers. Anybody who can wrangle a class full of kids and live [...] more

The Book Doctors first met May Cobb at the 2011Texas Book Festival in a town that is one of our all-time favorites: Austin. For those of you who havent been, youre doing yourself a great disservice. Its one of the great book festivals, in one of the great cities in America. May was one of the brave souls who pitched her book to us in front of a packed house at our [...] more

Nano Nation: You are all WINNERS! We had such a blast with this yearsNational Novel Writing Month Pitchapalooza. So many pitches with AWESOME imagination and an ASTOUNDING display of talent. Thank you so much to all the writers who participated in this years NaNoWriMoPitchapalooza! AND THE WINNER IS This years Fan Favorite is CLARE VATERLAUS BIRD for her bookThe Cost of Silence ! Her pitch is timely, full of stakes, and has a terrific title. She gets a free one-hour consultation [...] more

? So many writers, unpublished to bestselling, are networking-phobic. They didn't become writers to schmooze, mingle, and hobnob. If this is you, and you want to NOT get published, and NOT find readers, by all means, continue to ignore this seemingly heinous but totally essential part of the publishing business. Lucky for you, dear friends and writers, we have anew Book Doctors video to help you stop being allergic to promoting and marketing . When [...] more

We first met David Gilmore many years ago during a writing conference in Tucson, Arizona. He stood out among the other attendees in part because he was just so smart, funny. He had already done so much work as a writer, and he was a fantastic listener. When we saw that he had a new book out, [...] more

We were absolutely delighted when we got a request from editor extraordinaire Peter Ginna to write something for a new book he was putting together called What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing . Because Arielle is an agent and writer, and David is a writer and book doctor, we have a very different perspective than most people who make money editing books. We thoroughly enjoyed writing our piece, but it was much more fun reading some of the amazing pieces in this book. So now that What Editors Do is [...] more

We first metJane Friedman online, which is where she is a lot. And quite brilliantly, shes carved out a very cool corner of the publishing world by taking deep dives into analytics and numbers revolving around the Internet and books. We subsequently got to hang out with her in person recently at theErma Bombeck Writers Conference ? ? which is, in fact, one of the great writers conferences in America! She was a panelist on our [...] more