When I first joined the Writer's Digest community in 2001, I had the great pleasure of having Jessica Strawser as a colleague on Writer's Digest magazine. Our paths diverged after a couple years, but now we're working together once again on this publication that brings out our most heartfelt enthusiasm and creativity.

During her first turn at Writer's Digest, Jessica contributed and edited monthly magazine columns about writing successes, critiques, and careers, and also served as executive editor of multiple special issues (such as the ever-popular Writer's Yearbook). Since her leave from the magazine, she's had experience in marketing and public relations, online writing and editing, and book publishing, most recently as managing editor for North Light Books.

Fans of Writer's Digest magazine, as well as future fans, have much to look forward to. Jessica has a passion and expertise for the writing community that's accompanied by a fresh perspective and a curiosity essential for our continuing mission to be the most informative and trusted source for writers.

Please join me in welcoming Jessica: a fellow writer and a fellow editor (and, it must be said, fellow book lover).

I recently stumbled upon 101 Reasons to Stop Writing while surfing the writing blogosphere. I love it.

This past weekend, I spoke about the art of query letters at the Northwest Ohio Writers Conference. Download my query letter handout as a PDF: NovelQuery.pdf (80.05 KB)

At Writer’s Digest Books, we’re in the process of updating our popular title Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript and are looking for insight from agents/editors on how the industry is changing. Here are a few things we’re interested in knowing.

1. How have queries and submissions changed for you in recent years? Do you request different information? Do you accept email queries? If so, do you prefer electronic or paper queries? How important is format and formality in electronic communication?
2. What are your pet peeves and turnoffs?
3. What are your do's and don'ts for writers?
4. Have you changed how you select authors? How many of your authors are found through queries, and how many through other means? Do you want to hear about an author's platform?
5. What recent changes in your market do you want writers to know about?

Writers are also welcome to comment and offer tips.

Click here to e-mail me directly!

There's a blog offering the best explanation ever of how your book gets sold into bookstore chains, by the marketing manager at John Wiley & Sons. Here's a brief snippet:

But bookstores are businesses, not public conveniences. No store has the responsibility to carry every book published -- although, to be honest, that's a straw-man argument, since no one is asking for that. (They're just wishing that their books, the books they like, and the books by their friends be spared the chopping block.) I market books for a living, so I can tell you an unpleasant truth: the order for any book, from any account, starts at zero. The publisher's sales rep walks in the door with tipsheets and covers, past sales figures and promotional plans, to convince that bookseller's buyer to buy that book. In many categories -- SFF is still one of them -- the chain buyers say "yes" the overwhelming majority of the time. But not all the time. Sometimes, that buyer is not convinced, and the order stays at zero.

Everyone has offered such wonderful comments on the magazine covers that I wanted to share/review some of them:

Mary Ulrich comments:

I would think you have two audiences, the subscribers and the people who will buy WD off the shelves.  The first sample has more of the "Entertainment tonight" appeal and might hook the McGafferty fans to an impulse purchase. As a subscriber I like number 2 or 3 because I am most interested in the "craft" articles and like a creative drawing. …

In the Dec. issue of WD, in the small print on the bottom of page 2, it says that WD is "a bimonthly publication".  Last issue I was confused to receive the December issue at the beginning of October. So WD is published bimonthly, 6 X a year, or quarterly?

First, to answer Mary's question: WD magazine is published 6x/year. I'm not sure why, up until this point, we haven't clarified this by labeling the cover with "November/December", "January/February" and so on. Something for me to research!

But to get to the real point: Mary hits on a perplexing issue that Writer's Digest magazine faces: the difference between what would be appealing to many of our subscribers (usually more advanced writers) and people who buy the magazine off newsstand—the type of person we usually label as the "aspiring writer" or the "dreamer," though all great writers are dreamers (even still aspiring) to some extent.

WD's circulation department has sales information that supports using an author photo on the cover because photos perform better than illustrations on the newsstand. Of course, what subscribers would prefer is a gray area, but based on the small sampling of comments here, it does appear that people who have read the magazine for a while tend to favor the illustrated cover.

However, it's hard to overlook the truth behind these comments:

A writer on the cover makes me connect as opposed to some abstract art. (PatriciaW)

The picture on the front cover of real people who struggled to write and enjoyed every bit of their struggle, touches my heart most and gives me the motivation I need as an aspiring writer. Their success to be featured on the cover speaks more words than any art could reflect. Art and cartoon could work for specific topics inside the magazine, but real people appeal more to the majority of would be writers. (Amina)

The first one absolutely caught me. I didn't know who Megan McCafferty was, but it didn't matter to me, as the "Write Your Novel in 2009" was much the clearest on that page, and that was what grabbed me. (Deb)

I generally tend to believe that writers who buy off newsstand are initially pulled in by the photo (they connect with the human face -- this is probably subconscious -- even if they don't recognize the face), but don't buy the issue unless the cover lines really deliver on a benefit or dream the writer has -- in this case, to write a novel.

As for subscribers, I can only hope they continue to renew because of great content, and generally overlook covers meant to appeal to newsstand buyers?

It's a big challenge for us to tackle in 2009 and beyond.