Our Publishing Toolkit = Jen and Kerry in a binder!

Did you know you could get all of our publishing insight and guidance in one crisp white binder? It’s true!

The Business of Books’ Publishing Toolkit made its debut in February to rave reviews. Chock-full of information on researching your idea, developing the key sections of a proposal, honing your submission list, sending out your proposal, and navigating contracts and the business of publishing, the Toolkit is a resource that can stand in for us and keep you focused and inspired. As one attendee said, “The toolkit has been extremely informative and helpful. It is an anchor that I’ll refer to again and again.”

We’re excited to share this material with other burgeoning authors, namely you. So, for a limited time, we’re offering  the Publishing Toolkit to our mailing list and blog followers at the special rate of $79 plus shipping. This binder provides 100+ pages of insider information and includes worksheets and two actual proposals (rarely seen outside of publishing circles) to guide you on your path to publication. Click here to purchase the Publishing Toolkit through PayPal, or email us at jenandkerry@gmail.com if you have questions. Write on!

30 Day Book Proposal Series a Resounding Success!

We are still on a high after wrapping up our “30 Days to a Winning Book Proposal” series with one of our most dynamic groups yet. As always, we leave these talks feeling energized by all the creative energy in the room–and happy to help these ideas get heard! We are excited to hear what’s in store for these burgeoning authors as they go forth and submit their polished proposals. Here’s what a few of our attenedees had to say about the series:

“Jen and Kerry, you deliver! I really appreciate your down-to-earth, practical approach, with endless insider information. This has been so helpful!”

“This series made the process seem so manageable…I now have new book ideas that I didn’t even know I had.”

“I can’t say enough great things about the classes provided by The Business of Books, offered by Jen and Kerry. They are both such knowledgeable and friendly people and completely demystified the process of publishing. Thank you for giving us the keys to this unknown world.”

We truly appreciate this terrific feedback, and we want to continue to support people with great ideas. To that end, we’re working hard on new offerings, including online classes, so that more people can benefit from The Business of Books. Stay tuned!

Series continues with “Craft Compelling Copy” on Feb. 15

Two talks in, we are thrilled to see that our attendees are doing the homework and assembling smart and focused book proposals that will soon be ready to send out into the world of publishing. The room is chock-a-block with enthusiasm, savvy, and creativity; we are truly inspired by the abundance of great, viable ideas these folks bring to the table. And we expect to continue to be impressed next week, when we get into the meaty, juicy part of the proposal, such as the sample text.

On Feb. 15, we’ll be discussing how to “Craft Compelling Copy.” Learn to focus your proposal with a great title and introduction, and reel in editors and agents with compelling text. This talk will help you to pique interest with a strong opening pitch, and to knock it out of the park with a complete, detailed outline and on-point sample text. Single tickets are still available here, so join us and move your project closer to publication.

Next Up: Sell Your Book–and Yourself

We had a blast on Feb. 1, when we kicked off our series, 30 Days to a Winning Book Proposal. The room was positively buzzing with creative energy, and we loved hearing all those intriguing, marketable book ideas from our attendees! As always, we left feeling inspired–and excited for next week’s class.

Sell Your Book–and Yourself is our topic for Feb. 8′s talk, and we’ll be covering the vital topics of author platform and marketing. There’s still time to join us! Click here to purchase single tickets and make this the year you write your winning book proposal.

New Series Begins Feb. 1!

Imagine having your polished, marketable book proposal out in the world by the end of February! Yes, the launch of  30 Days to a Winning Book Proposal is almost upon us…and there are a few spaces left if you’d like to join. We are so excited about these new seminars, which will be more results-oriented and hands-on than ever before. Plus, we’ve gone from 0 to 60 on our classroom materials; offering a 100-plus page Publishing Toolkit to our series subscribers. Packed full of insider information from honing your idea to negotiating a royalty, this is a great resource for your entire publishing journey. You can check out full descriptions of the talks and purchase your ticket here. Or, drop us a line if you have any questions on whether the series is right for you. Make 2012 the year you get published!

Introducing our Publishing Toolkit

We’ve been teasing you for months with talk of a massive Publishing Toolkit that will be a one-stop shop when it comes to developing your idea, writing a compelling proposal, and submitting it to a targeted group of publishers or agents (or self-publishing if that’s your preferred route). We’ve included 5-minute challenges, worksheets, and two actual proposals, not to mention more information than you can shake a stick at. We just signed off on the corrected pages today and frankly, we’re feeling pretty good about ourselves. It, in a word, rocks! We are including the Toolkit as part of our new 4-week series, 30 Days to a Winning Book Proposal, and plan on rolling it out as a stand-alone resource in the next few weeks.

In the mean time, here are a few images from the interior. Sweet, right? And have you gotten a load of our amazing new logo? We have Eliza Mayo Bullock of Lush Design to thank for the gorgeousness.

Seattle Mag picks our series for its Essentials Must List

Seattle Magazine features us on its Essentials Must List in the February issue. Along with the Rat City Roller Girls and vitamin-enriched chocolates by Vibrant Chocolate, our new series, 30 Days to a Winning Book Proposal, is a must for Seattlites looking to get published. Check out the issue (on stands now!) and check out our series, which kicks off Wednesday, Feb. 1: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/214575