Prepared by Kathleen Sexton Kaiser
This month’s Market Update has news and resources for small publishers and authors to get their books to a broader market and several website with articles on the latest for book promotion. Plus, ways for authors to find an agent.
As always, WPN does not endorse any business and everyone should investigate before using.

Looking for More Markets?

Have you ever been to the Toy Fair at the Javits Center in New York City? Walking the aisles brings out the child in anyone, no matter what age. Now the fair has expanded to include more publishers of children’s books. And why not? This market is alive and well. Here’s a wrap-up from last month’s expo.
Publishers Get Personal at Toy Fair

Large Orders for eBooks

Author Guy Kawasaki is a noted speaker who has become an indie-publishing phenom over the last three years. When his big New York publisher couldn’t fulfill a bulk order of ebooks, Guy, a techie, decided to find out why and in the process wrote one of the best books ever for self-publishing, APE: How to Publish a Book.
If you are a speaker whose clients buy books in bulk for your appearances, you might want to look into bulk-distribution companies. One company specializing in bulk sales is Entrill. Here is information from their website:

“Sell and deliver ebooks in bulk to groups, corporations, institutions, and events. Getting started is easy. We ingest your books to our platform, then create codes you send to your clients or customers. Codes are redeemed for books on our platform and delivered to ANY device—in minutes. With this kind of power, the sales opportunities are endless.”

Visit http://www.enthrill.com for more information.

Young People Still Want Books

For all of us who love our print books and fear that youngsters will be reading only on screens, here’s an interesting story from the Washington Post that says young people still like holding books. Very interesting numbers.
Why Digital Natives Prefer Reading in Print. Yes, You Read that Right.

Christian Fiction Sales Drop 15%

The Christian publishing market is huge and this is a significant drop. However, the article claims there’s no panic. If you are in this world, you should read.
No Panic Over 15% Drop

Book Promotion Tips

How to Get More from Amazon

People buying a book on Amazon from a new author often rely on the book description that appears on the page. This space has become the back cover description. Those 130 or so words can often make or break a sale. Do you put a real effort into front-loading this? Here’s a great article on why you should.
The 130 Most Important Words

Keyword Searches are Vital to a Book’s Success

While on the subject of the ten-ton Amazon, here is a great booklet from BookBaby on how to harness the power of search terms to help readers find— and buy—your ebooks.
Unlock Your Amazon Keywords—Click to Download

Tools for Indie Authors

I recently found a great website filled with articles and resources on the publishing industry. The site, www.DigitalPubbing.com, is run by Sabrina Ricci, a freelance writer and ebook developer with an M.S. in publishing from New York University and a creative writing certificate, emphasis nonfiction, from the University of California, Los Angeles. I asked Sabrina for permission to link to her articles. If you want a valuable resource, I suggest you sign up for her newsletter.
Here is an excellent article that has current links to tools and help for indie authors looking for readers and reviews. It lists top online resources where you can spread the word about your book. As a book publicist, I found several new resources that I’m adding to my lists.
Seven Strategies and 94 Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers

LOOKING FOR AN AGENT?

Here’s a great article on how to get in contact with an agent without a query letter.
Four Ways besides Query Letters

Two New Agents Seeking New Clients

1. Heather Flaherty of The Bent Agency
She is seeking authors who write children’s, middle-grade, and young-adult fiction and nonfiction, as well as select new adult fiction, and pop-culture or humorous nonfiction. “Currently I’m looking for YA fiction across the board, though my heart does sway toward issue-related YA with humor and heart—not depressing or mopey. I also love, love, love hard, punchy, contemporary YA that has no hesitations when it comes to crazy. I’m always up for seeing contemporary stories with sci-fi or fantasy elements, as well as a clever re-spin of an old or classic tale. And then, last, really good horror and ghost stories…not gore-for-gore’s sake or overly disgusting, but cringing, dark, bloody, twisted, and even lovely. That said, the one thing I love above all else in a YA novel, regardless of sub-genre, is a strong and specific character voice. A real person, not another ‘every-girl.’ As for the middle-grade I’m looking for, I want it stark, honest, and even dark, either contemporary or period, as long as it’s accessible. Coming-of-age stories, dealing-with-difficulty stories, witness stories (adult issues seen through the child’s POV kind of thing), anything that makes you want to hold the narrator’s hand…for your own comfort as well as theirs. I am also okay with these stories having slight magical or fantasy elements as well, as long as they’re subtle. In new adult, I like to see story…not just romance and/or erotica. For me, it should pretty much be a great YA novel for an older audience. On the nonfiction side, I’m looking for strong teen memoirs about overcoming crushing situations.”
Learn More about Heather and Her Submission Guidelines.
2. Sarah Nagel of Writers House
She is seeking psychological thrillers (those that mess with your head rather than high-speed cross-country chases), horror, mystery, suspense, and literary fiction. Sarah is especially interested in strong character-driven fiction and stories that explore the dynamics of a dysfunctional family unit/relationships. Sarah also represents realistic young adult and middle grade with a hint of magical realism. On the nonfiction side, Sarah is interested in medical ethics, true crime, humor books, and memoir with a distinctive narrative voice with universal resonance. Sarah is not looking for straight sci-fi, high fantasy, romance, or picture books.
Learn More about Sarah and Her Submission Guidelines.

Finally, Looking for Inspiration to Write?

Pinterest has a page titled “Am Writing” with lots of signs, memos, and thoughts on writing that might inspire you.
https://www.pinterest.com/search/?q=amwriting