by Jamie Chavez | Feb 23, 2013 | The Book Biz
One of the publishing industry blogs I follow is Steven Lewis’s Taleist. Lewis is a ghostwriter, journalist, podcaster, and expert speaker with two Amazon Top 10 best-selling guides to Sydney, among other books. He gives talks and runs seminars and workshops on social...
by Jamie Chavez | Nov 24, 2012 | The Book Biz
I’ve helped more than one friend prepare books for self-publishing, and the question of an ISBN always comes up. I knew the number identifies the publisher, but beyond that I wasn’t much help. I did know, though, that if you ever hope to sell your book in a store, you...
by Jamie Chavez | Nov 3, 2012 | The Book Biz
A few weeks ago I posted an article about the revelation that some big-name authors have been posting fake book reviews to give themselves a leg up. One of those exposed, R. J. Ellory, has apologized, and the book biz is still pretty steamed about it. Newsweek...
by Jamie Chavez | Oct 22, 2012 | Books You Might Like, The Book Biz
A close friend of mine cornered me recently and asked me if I’d read Fifty Shades of Grey. “No,” I said. Smiling. (It’s not the subject matter. I like a little literary titillation as well as the next person. But I’ve seen excerpts. The writing is … well, awful. It’s...
by Jamie Chavez | Oct 18, 2012 | Books You Might Like
I bought Chad Harbach’s The Art of Fielding as a gift for the Irishman. He’s a reader, a fan of sport (there is some baseball in the book), and I’d heard it was good. And oh, kids, it was. Here’s a bit* you writers might appreciate. It’s about a character named Guert...
