Industry News

Megan DiMaria is Novel Rocket’s industry news columnist. An author and speaker, she enjoys cheering on writers and loves to encourage others as they journey through life’s demands and delights. Megan is the author of two women’s fiction novels, Searching for Spice and Out of Her Hands. 

Welcome to the September issue of Novel Rocket’s industry news.

Queue the hats and horns!

Happy birthday, Novel Rocket!

We’re turning 10 years old! September of 2005 was our very first author interview with Deborah Raney. To celebrate this milestone, we have 2 announcements:

First: we hired a VA to go back and catalogue all the interviews from the past 10 years. Now you can access those by going to the Interviews tab on Novel Rocket. There you’ll find a linked alphabetical listing of every author, agent, publicist and publisher we’ve interviewed. And for 10 years, it’s quite a substantial list!

Second: September is Giveaway Month. Every week, one lucky winner will receive at least 5 autographed novels (unless they’re e-books) by some of the Rocketeers. Every comment you leave will give you one chance in the drawing. If you leave one every day, you have seven chances that week.

So get ready to celebrate Novel Rocket’s 10^th birthday with us!

And on to the news . . .

• The Christian Book Award program is accepting submissions starting today through the end of the month. For more info  . . . 
• The first Mississippi Book Fest was a success. For more info . . .  
• $10 million set aside for settlement in “Fifty Shades” lawsuit. For more info . . . 
• Is there gender bias in publishing? For more info . . . 
• And along those lines, “the literary publishing and small press world has been buzzing with accusations . . . ” For more info . . .  
• Hoorah! Adult fiction print books bouncing back. For more info . . . 
• Scribd to offer a two-tiered audiobook service. For more info . . . 
• Know what science says about fiction readers? For more info . . . 
• Clever. Harlequin Teen engages Twitter readers with a “digital oracle.” For more info . . . 
• This savvy independent bookstore, Fiction Addiction, is taking hand selling to a new level. For more info . . .   
• The “flat design” is a recent cover trend. What do you think? For more info . . .  
• Publishers are thrilled and hopeful now that the Family Christian Stores will remain open. For more info . . . 
• An interesting perspective from literary agent Chip MacGregor, “Why are you picking on Family ChristianStores?”  
• SparkPoint Studio acquisition of hybrid publisher She Writes Press providing to be a success. For more info . . .  
• An interesting list of the “The 100 best novels written in English.” For more info . . . 
• Now this is how you support the authors in your state. Colorado bookstore Local Editions deals only in books written by local authors. For more info . . . 
• Feeling stuck? In a rut? Overwhelmed? Check out the upcoming writers’ retreats: the Northern California Writers’Retreat and the Nourishing the Writer’s Spirit Retreat.
• Increasing numbers of people are reading on their phones. For more info . . . 
• June bookstore sales rose. For more info . . . 
• Sales at Penguin Random House rose over 16% for the first half of 2015. For more info . . . 
• Harlequin boosts the bottom line at parent company, HarperCollins. For more info . . .  
• A strong first quarter for Indigo Books and Music. For more info . . . 
• Second quarter sales down for Books-A-Million. For more info . . . 
• And second quarter sales also down for Regnery. For more info . . . 
• However, adult book sales rose 2.3% in April. For more info . . . 
• Sales were down, but profits were up in the second period of 2015 for Simon & Schuster. For more info . . .  
• The Girl on the Train led first quarter e-book sales. For more info . . . 
• Interesting (IMHO). Six authors share tips for aspiring writers.
• And five writing tips from C.S. Lewis.  
• Check out these authors whose e-book's have been extremely successful on Kindle “without a book deal or agent, and despite a stack of rejection letters from publishers.” For more info . . . 
• An interesting tale, are traditional publishers doing enough to support established authors? For more info . . . 

Have a great month, friends. Write on!