Here are some cool book links and why they are cool

The first link is a book blog, to be more precise, a literary agent book blog. It is authored by Kristin Nelson, an outstanding literary agent. Kristin formed the Kristin Nelson Agency in 2002 and has made her mark on the publishing world having sold more than 80 books. Kristin describes herself as follows:

A nice Midwesterner breaks free of her genteel upbringing and says what's on her mind--politely of course--some habits are really hard to break. And one last thing, Pub Rants is shorthand for Publishing Rants. No Irish Pub involved--unless you want one to be!

I am impressed with the generosity she has shown to unpublished authors, like myself. If you are writing a book, thinking about writing a book or just interested in what it takes to write and publish a book, this is the place to go. Thank you Kristin.

Another cool link is called "Shelf Awareness." Here are a couple of things about them.

Welcome to Shelf Awareness
Welcome to the Web site for Shelf Awareness: Daily Enlightenment for the Book Trade, the free e-mail newsletter dedicated to helping the people in stores, in libraries and on the Web buy, sell and lend books most wisely.

Find knowledge.
Recognize what customers and patrons refer to when they ask for "the book with a red cover that everyone's reading" or "the book Oprah talked about yesterday."

Expand consciousness.

Find out which books are hot, which are warming up, which will break soon--whether because of media exposure, brilliant publicity campaigns, movie and TV tie-ins, or current events.

Have heart.

Know which books have been slow to find an audience and deserve another look.

And as a personal note, I was mentioned in Shelf Awareness a couple of weeks ago and received dozens of phone calls and emails from friends and customers. It is the place to get noticed in the book publishing business. Reading on Walden Bookstore.

So you want to write a book and have it published too, well here are a few more tips

Try this book to help you send a winning "book query" and a winning "book proposal."

The book pictured to the left, Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman.

Publishers Comments about this book:

Charismatic authors and literary agents Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman have successfully sold hundreds of titles and learned--through trial and error--how to write a flawless book proposal that publishers can't resist. Now you can benefit from their hard work and publishing savvy. In this new edition, they offer guidance and advice that will inspire, educate, and, most importantly, give you the necessary edge to get your book published. They explain:

- How to shape your idea and create a title

- Ways to get to know the market and competition

- Tips on writing an effective outline, query letter, and sample chapter

- The art and science of fiction and nonfiction book proposals

- How ten actual proposals (included were successfully sold to publishers--and why

It is not enough to just write a book. You may have written the next great American novel. While that part is important (and essential), you must also sell your book to a publisher. While it is not essential, having a literary agent represent your work is a plus. Most of the major publishing houses do not accept book queries, proposals or manuscripts from unagented authors. It is no impossible to have a "major" publish your book. you must have a way of getting your foot in the door. A celebrity has a very good chance of picking up the phone and saying for example, "This is Brad Pitt and have I got a story for you."

The bottom line for the major publishers is the bottom line. Will the book sell? Why would I buy the book? Why would I be excited about your book?

My own selling points are compelling. I am a bookstore owner with a wealth of contacts with bookstore owners.

It is just as difficult to get a literary agent to represent you as it is to have a publisher even consider your work. The great majority of cases publishers will either reject your work or ignore your work. If a publisher likes your work, you will hear from them quickly. They will then pass it around the office and make a decision. I had the good fortune of having several agents and a couple publishers take a look at my work. I received a positive response to my "first query," which spoiled me. The book was ultimately rejected and the reason is that it was not well-written or thought out. Upon closer inspection, the book I submitted originally was literary garbage. But the query and the proposal were adequate enough to draw interest. The idea is to induce them to want to read more.

I have since improved my product and have every confidence I will find the right venue for my book. I have since re-read my own work and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. We will be discussing this next time. Reading on Walden Bookstore.