by Jan Yager
How many authors admit their second manuscript under contract was rejected after their first book with a major or even an indie commercial house was accepted and published? I do in my new memoir, Looking Backward, Going Forward: Reflections on a Writer’s Life. Here is an excerpt from that section in Chapter 12, “Raising a Family, Teaching, Writing, Publishing, Nashville, and Back to Connecticut:”
By Jan Yager, Ph.D.
Fortunately over the years I have been published by such major houses as Simon & Schuster, Doubleday, Scriber, Grove Press, prentice-Hall, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins India, and others, as well as through my own small press, Hannacroix Creek Books, Inc. I have also interviewed or surveyed more than 100 book authors on their varied publishing experiences. Based on my own experiences, as well as the research I have conducted, there is no ”one size fits all” when it comes to publishing. If you read my blog, “The Ten Best Reasons to Self-Publish your First or Next Book,” to offer you a balanced “other side of the coin” perspective, here are ten reasons to consider signing with a traditional or commercial house (if you are offered that option, of course): Continue reading Ten Top Reasons to Publish Traditionally with a Commercial House
by Jan Yager, Ph.D.
What do Irma Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking, Andy Weir’s The Martian, Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad, and Lisa Genova’s Still Alice have in common? All those bestselling books were originally self-published!
Fortunately, in addition to coaching other book authors, I have had a publishing career that encompassed both types of publishing, self-publishing through my own press, Hannacroix Creek Books, Inc., since 1997, and publishing with commercial houses, beginning at age 27, through presently, such as Scribner, Simon & Schuster, Doubleday, Grove Press, Prentice-Hall, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins India, and many others! Continue reading Ten Best Reasons to Self-Publish Your First or Next Book
By
Jan Yager, Ph.D.
If you ask someone why he or she has not read a book, either a novel or non-fiction, in a while, the answer is usually “Because I just don’t have enough time.” That same person would have no trouble finding the time when asked to read a book or article for work. It’s what we might call “reading for pleasure” that falls by the wayside because work and other personal commitments seem to take up all our time.
What some of us fail to realize or simply forget is how much reading can enrich our lives.
Yes, reading a novel, a short story, a biography, a political nonfiction book, a self-help guide, a memoir, a children’s book, or even a poem or book of poetry, can be pleasurable. But it’s also much more than that. Continue reading 15 Tips to Making Time to Read a Book
Techniques for overcoming your procrastination about finishing your book.
Note: This blog is a shortened and edited version of a longer article on this theme, originally posted at www.indiereader.com
Yes, there are lots of valid reasons to take more time to finish your book. You’re really still writing it. You need to do more research that is vital to your book. You need to put it aside and return to it with a fresh eye. You’re exhausted from working all week and need to relax on the weekends, not work on your book.
But there comes a time when you have to face the music and realize that you’re actually putting off finishing your book because you’re procrastinating.
If that’s the case with you and your book, here are some suggestions that might help you break through your “finishing block” so you can go to the next step with your book, e.g. getting published: Continue reading 10 Steps to Finishing Your Book