Unsolicited Advice for Authors, Agents, and Editors
Any substantial revision—as in a 2nd edition—should be by terms to be negotiated in good faith. More than 10% of the work is a good rule of thumb.
Don’t return a call when you know the person won’t be there to answer it.
Don’t try to pretend a book is a category that it isn’t. Zero in on the core audience like a laser.
If an editor brings an author or project idea to an agent, that editor gets an exclusive for a time to be determined.
Don’t rush to publication a book that is dependent on the read. Make sure there is time to gather blurbs and establish buzz.
Sample interior design pages use dummy text from the pre-copyedited manuscript.
Titles aren’t protected by copyright law (in 99% of cases).
See Protection of Literary Titles at PubLaw.com
A heated auction is not a predictor of a book’s success.
Editors don’t have time to edit during office hours. Editing is done at night and on weekends.
The next publishing phenomenon is sitting on someone’s desk right now.
