As part of the 2012 Missouri Writers Guild conference faculty, I did a Q&A for their conference blog that discusses many topics, including:
- How I got started with social media
- The difference between marketing objectives, strategies, tactics, and tools
- How perfect your manuscript must be before submitting to an agent or editor
Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing.
Is this the post to comment on? I hope it is. And thanks Jane for shining your light on social media and tools for writers.
Sorry, Deborah. If you have to comment on the interview itself over at the MWG conference blog. See you over there!
Thanks. I think I already did that. Will check now.
The thing I appreciate about your approach is applicable to all writers using social media. Look at the social media landscape and think about what’s not being said, then talk about that. That’s the definition of a thought leader and why you have the following you do. My own Twitter stream is filled with fun, wordplayers who delight me every day; to me, it’s akin to a curation task to find good people (around the world who think and challenge me to think harder. The platform building is important, but not the greatest reward of social media.
Confession re drinking: on occasion I’ve been know to have a glass of wine and tweet. Now I have an excuse; it makes me loose and lively per Jane Friedman.
LOL! Yes, please use my reasoning as excuse any time. 😉
[…] How Perfect Does Your Manuscript Have to Be? (janefriedman.com) […]
How perfect does your manuscript have to be?
I would say that it has to be as “perfect” as you can make it before you submit it to an agent or editor. Since none of us is perfect, take your best shot but check and re-check your manuscript first!