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Connect with Readers: Knowing who you’re writing for helps create stories that resonate emotionally. The story becomes more relateable.

Guides Your Writing: It influences your tone, language, themes, and even the structure of your story. The story has a more complete style and does not feel like a first draft.

Improves Marketability: Agents and publishers are more likely to pick up stories tailored to a clear audience. They don’t want to see a MG author writing picture book length stories. They want 80k+ word manuscripts if you write for MG.

Steps to Identify your Audience

  1. Define Your Genre
    • Ask yourself: Is your book a romance, fantasy, thriller, or another genre?
    • Look at bestsellers in your genre and analyze their audience demographics.
  2. Create a Reader Persona
    • Imagine your ideal reader: their age, gender, interests, and lifestyles.
    • For instance, a YA fantasy reader might be a 15-year-old who loves magic and adventure.
  3. Research Reader Preferences
    • Join online communities (like Goodreads, Facebook groups, or Reddit) where readers discuss books. *Hint: I am a part of all of these communities and find a lot of help there.
    • Take note of what readers love and dislike about books in your genre.
  4. Analyze Successful Books
    • Read books similar to yours and study the reviews.
    • Identify recurring praises and criticisms.
  5. Understand Trends, Not Fads
    • Trends are long-term reader preferences (e.g., strong female leads).
    • Fads are short lived (e.g., vampire romances at their peak). Aim for timeless appeal with a sprinkle of trend awareness.

Tools for Audience Insights

  • Social Media Polls: Ask your followers what they like to read.
  • Beta Readers: Gather feedback from readers who fit your target audience.
  • Surveys and Questionaires: Use tools like Google Forms to ask potential readers what they want in a book.

Balancing Authenticity and Audience Needs

While understanding your audience is essential, don’t lose your voice. Write what you’re passionate about and find a way to align your story with what your audience craves. Authenticity shines through and helps your work stand out.

Happy Reading! And good luck in the New Year!

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As of March 2024, I gathered a list from Lime Light Publishing’s blog, and searched each publisher to see which are still open for unsolicited submissions. Out of the 15 there are still a few that are open. ABDO is not accepting submissions along with Black and White Publishing, Tor/Forge, Quirk, and Seven Stories. Most of those not accepting want represented authors. What you do with this information is up to you. Good Luck, everyone!

1. DAW1
DAW is an imprint of Penguin books. They publish science fiction and fantasy books. DAW has published authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley and Roger Zelazny. DAW has published many bestselling books, including Hugo award winning books. 

2. Persea Books
A respected publisher of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and literary young adults novel. The work they publish receives good distribution, particularly in academic circles. 

3. Source Books
A large independent publisher based out of Illinois, they also have offices in Connecticut and New York. They are open to unsolicited submissions of a wide range, including non-fiction manuscripts and romance manuscripts.

4. Turner Books
Turner publishes books in a wide range of categories and formats—fiction and non-fiction. They publish mainly in print but have electronic options as well. They are a major independent publishing house that has a number of imprints. 

5. ABDO Books
ABDO Books is a publisher that focuses exclusively on educational books for children between the ages of four and twelve. They sell a lot of books to schools and appear to be rather good at niche marketing. 

6. Black & White Publishing
Black & White Publishing was founded in 1995 and is now one of the largest Scottish publishers. They currently have over 200 books in print. They have good distributor and are starting to break into the eBook publishing world. They publish general non-fiction, biography, sport, and humor, as well as selected fiction, young adult, and children’s books. 

7. Tor/Forge
Tor/Forge publishes science fiction and fantasy books. Run by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, Tor/Forge is an imprint of Macmillan, one of the big five publishers. Tor is one of the most established science fiction publishers and they have won the Locus Award for best SF publisher 26 years in a row. They offer advances. 

8. Lyrical Press
Lyrical Press is an electronic only imprint of Kensington, a large independent publisher. Kensington and Lyrical both publish mainstream novels and seem to put a fair amount of pressure on the author to promote their books. They publish a large number of books per year. 

9. The Totally Entwined Group
The Totally Entwined Group is an eBook and print publisher that was successful in its own right, before being purchased by the Bonnier Publishing group. There have been some shifts in focus since Bonnier purchased it in 2015, but the group still has a good reputation and its focus is still on its two flagship established imprints – Pride and Totally Bound. 

10. Quirk Books
This Philadelphia based press publishes 25 books a year in a whole range of genres, including children’s books, nonfiction, and science fiction. Unlike most publishers that tackle a large range of topics, Quirk books has a clear marketing plan for all of their books. To a certain degree their books have a cohesive feel, because they all are quirky.

11. Baen
Baen is one of the best known publishers of Science Fiction and Fantasy books. They are one of the few established publishers that will accept full length manuscripts from authors who do not have an agent. They do not need to see any history of publication either. As long as your book is Science Fiction or Fantasy they will consider publishing it. 

12. Chicago Review Press
Chicago Review Press was founded over 40 years ago. They are an established independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction and memoir. They also publish books for children (but not picture books). They were founded by Curt Matthews and his wife, Linda Matthews. Curt was the former editor of the literary journal the Chicago Review. 

13. Hotkey Books
Hotkey Books is an imprint of Bonnier Publishing which is part of the much larger international Bonnier AB, a large media group. They publish Children’s books and Young Adult fiction. 

14. Seven Stories Press
They focus on producing books that have a social conscience. They have published some big name authors and bestselling books. They publish literary fiction and non-fiction. 

15. Chronicle Books
Chronicle is an established and respected publisher of children’s books, cookbooks, gift books, anthologies, and various other books, most containing a strong visual element. They are based out of San Francisco. Their books receive a lot of positive attention and acclaim.

  1. This link will take you to Astra Publishing House because they acquired DAW books in 2022. ↩︎

https://www.limelightpublishing.com/blogs/news/15-major-book-publishers-always-open-to-submissions

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I love to hear other authors ideas about writing or publishing. In a setting where you can bounce ideas of each other and get great feedback, there are many places to do this. There are writing forums, writing critique groups, and of course writers conferences.  So which one is right for you?

Do you like to get together with large or small groups? If you answered large groups than a writers conference sounds like the place for you. How do you get started with attending a writers conference?

  1.  First, join a writing group or organization. If you don’t want to pay annual fees that’s fine. Most conferences allow non-members to attend but pay a little more for the event.
  2.  Check out local, regional and national writers conferences. Many are in New York City. But hey that’s where all the publishers and editors are mostly at.
  3. Subscribe to newsletters so you can keep apprised of the conference dates.
  4. Attend a conference and make connections. This is your moment to have fun and make friends. If you are shy that’s okay because most writers are also shy.

Writers Digest publishes a lot of great information about their conferences. Here is the date of their annual one: August 10-12, 2018 at  New York Hilton Midtown

1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10019 . Look up more about this event at http://writersdigestconference.com/   
Besides Writers Digest there is SCBWI (Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators). They also have a large conference in New York City and one in Los Angels twice a year. Find more information about them on their web page at https://www.scbwi.org/
If you feel that a large conference is too much well, there are other options.  Now you can attend virtual conferences. Here is one I found recently that will be happening soon.
If you’re just not ready to attend a conference than start small. Build yourself a small community of fellow writers or lovers of books. Follow the organization, you want to join, on social media. Find any other publishers or agents on social media and follow them too. This is a great way to see if they are a right fit for you. Being informed is the best thing in this business.
Have fun and enjoy the creative process of writing.

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After much anticipation of the finished product, my book is live on Amazon!

Here is the link:   http://amazon.com/dp/B06Y6C8687

If there is a problem with the link or anything else please let me know.

Thanks everyone for being so patient.

download (1)

 

 

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There are some books I love to re-read just because they were so much fun the first time like Harry Potter, The Last Apprentice, and The Sword of Shannara.  But what makes your all time list of favorite books?

 

 

Which book have you read the most times? | Nathan Bransford, Author.

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Why is your manuscript being rejected?  Mike Wells, a bestselling author, lists some reasons why.

Mike Wells Official Website: A Dozen+ Reasons Books are Rejected by Agents & Editors, and Set Aside by Readers.

 

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In  previous posts I have discussed the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus self-publishing.  Here is an update to help clarify any misconceptions about the topic.

One route is DIY for tech savvy people.  The other is for royalty, where the butler waits on you hand and foot.  I would rather have the butler, but we all cannot be born with a silver spoon in our mouths.  DIY also costs money and time.  With traditional, if you are picked up, you could see an advance.  The down side to traditional is you could spend years in the rejection zone.

A pro for DIY is you keep the creative rights of your book.  With all the different companies to help you publish your dream book it seems easier now to see your book in print.  Another pro for DIY authors is that some publishers (Penguin) picks up indie authors to publish.

The list goes on and on with both sides.

If you cannot decide which route is best for you then check out some tips below.  This article was first published on Forbes.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/juliapimsleur/2014/11/04/traditional-publishing-vs-self-publishing/

Another great article, about an author who is a “hybrid” author ( self-published and traditional), on the topic of the pros and cons of DIY versus legacy (traditional) publishing.

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2014/04/self-publishing-vs-traditional-some.html

Some authors like both routes and choose to use them on separate book projects.  It’s whatever works best for you.  Don’t limit your decision on one factor. Take everything into account and ask advice of others.

So which route will you choose?

publish

 

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Cover of "Ender's Game (Ender Quartet)"

Cover of Ender’s Game (Ender Quartet)

Being a fan of Orson Scott Card I have read many of his books.  So how did I miss this one?  Or the fact that it is a series?  The only reason I even knew about it was because of the movie coming out later on this year.
I loved this book and was shocked at the end.  Who would have guess?  But I kept wondering. Card takes a young child and puts him in adult situations making serious decisions. Very thought-provoking and intense scenes with bullies and fights.  Children are so innocent and usually make decisions based on what they have seen other children do.  Ender Wiggins was a genius and did things that some adults would never even thought of doing. I was glad in the end when Ender was able to reconnect with his sister.  It would have been a sad life if not.
Now I can’t wait to read the next books in the series. Card has a way with words giving them a deeper meaning.  Philosophy classes or even theorists could spend years psychoanalyzing his work.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3252247-jessica-wilson”>View all my reviews

 

Does anyone have a favorite Orson Scott Card novel?

 

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Learning by internet is so fun! Not only do you get to come as you are but you can do whatever else too. I have taken college courses online and now I attended a webinar online. It was hosted by Writers Digest and featured agent Jennifer Laughran. She gave great advice about what is hot now in Middle Grade children’s books. Lots of facts about what is selling and what is not. Also we were told what to expect from agents in general to query letters.
I have lots of new websites to check out like Queryshark and Preditors & Editors.
Jennifer Laughran also will be giving those that attended a critique on the first 500 words of their middle grade manuscripts. That’s exciting!
Now I am off to a library to check out some middle grade books like “When You Reach Me” and “Penderwicks”.

Cover of "When You Reach Me"

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Oh my heck! This is great. Now all my books I read and buy on Amazon will be linked to Goodreads. I already have an account with Goodreads and share my reviews with readers everywhere. This is big news for book lovers everywhere.

Nathan Bransford, Author.

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