Hi Phoebe! Thank you so much for all the wonderful articles! If it interests you, I’d love to explore more self-publishing and freelancing next year – I believe the universe is pushing me towards the freelance path in 2026! Happy holidays 🩷
This is very much how I've found it to be. Changing genres, and a creative writing MA in my mid 60s, have made all the difference. Better, is that authors can continue to flourish into old age, so no getting pushed out to grass!
Merry Christmas Phoebe! Thanks again for another fascinating article. I have a few questions:
1) If social media doesn't meaningfully increase an author's sale, what can authors independently do/how can they partner with marketing & publicity if they're not the top priority book? How does marketing and publicity vary across targeted audience?
2) In the last few years, has the industry gotten better at supporting diverse/marginalised authors?
3) There are a lot of special edition books with beautiful covers and spines. What do you think will be the next big thing so books continue to feel special?
4) Since editors are under a ton of constant pressure, is there anything authors can reasonably do/be aware of?
Super enlightening read, thanks. Overnight success does seems to be a buzz word used by the media when there is a big hit from an unknown.
Thank you for reading!
Super post with much food for thought, thank you. I'm always confused about the pitch and the hook, are they the same?
Thank you for reading! No - not quite - I’ll incorporate this into a post next year :)
It’s a great Substack and soooooo helpful to everyone in the industry. Thanks so much for sharing it. ☺️🎄❤️
Thank you so much!
Hi Phoebe! Thank you so much for all the wonderful articles! If it interests you, I’d love to explore more self-publishing and freelancing next year – I believe the universe is pushing me towards the freelance path in 2026! Happy holidays 🩷
Thank you for reading!
Love your pieces Phoebe. They are always enlightening.
Future topics:
Author mid-list blues.
I've had five novels published: four by Head of Zeus and one by Bloodhound Books.
Is it true that publishers lack interest in mid-list novels?
Happy Christmas 🎄
Thank you! I’ll see what I can incorporate in the new year.
This is very much how I've found it to be. Changing genres, and a creative writing MA in my mid 60s, have made all the difference. Better, is that authors can continue to flourish into old age, so no getting pushed out to grass!
Glad it resonated!
This is a super helpful round up! I particularly love the point you make about how there’s no overnight success
Thank you for reading!
So many great posts. So little time. Merry Christmas
You too!
Merry Christmas Phoebe! Thanks again for another fascinating article. I have a few questions:
1) If social media doesn't meaningfully increase an author's sale, what can authors independently do/how can they partner with marketing & publicity if they're not the top priority book? How does marketing and publicity vary across targeted audience?
2) In the last few years, has the industry gotten better at supporting diverse/marginalised authors?
3) There are a lot of special edition books with beautiful covers and spines. What do you think will be the next big thing so books continue to feel special?
4) Since editors are under a ton of constant pressure, is there anything authors can reasonably do/be aware of?
Thank you for reading, Erica, and for the great suggestions!
Useful points to remember! Have a merry Christmas ☺️🎄
You too!