Literary Promotion Quotes

I wrote a novel, Ghost Road Rules, and as soon as it was done and polished, I began reaching out to agents. I ignored the frequent advice to 'shoot low and try for a low-level agent because they're the only ones that will take a flyer on a new author.' That sounded like bad advice to me.

You know, in the old days, you might be able to slowly sort of build an audience for your work by publishing two, three novels before you hit it big. You know, now, there's much more of an emphasis in the publishing houses on making sure that every book makes money.

I am honored to have served as our great nation's first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. I will continue to serve as Ambassador Emeritus. And I will make good on my Ambassadorial promise to my wife to stop playing the 'Fanfare' every time I walk into or out of a room.

The most important thing... was to change their spirit; and since at that time I felt that literature was the best means to this end, I decided to promote literary movement.

Buying new books supports the writer by providing both a royalty and an audience; a writer whose book sells well has a better chance of selling another.

As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.

To encourage literature and the arts is a duty which every good citizen owes to his country.

Not only do I recommend Wendell Berry to anyone who will talk to me for more than seven seconds, but I buy his books in quantity and send them to people. I bought a few dozen of his newest, "Our Only World."

I read my books to writing workshops and friends, and I'm often focussed just on keeping them entertained. I never think about marketing at all.

Write the best book you possibly can, then dedicate yourself to getting people to read it.

I think that Oprah's on a mission to improve the lives of the average American in various ways. And one of them is to bring literature to people who would normally not be quite as demanding in their reading tastes, to show them writing that can be more than just entertainment.

What is difficult is the promotion, balancing the public side of a writer's life with the writing. I think that's something a lot of writers are having to face. Writers have become much more public now.

If Shakespeare had to go on an author tour to promote Romeo and Juliet, he never would have written Macbeth.

I've been dreaming about having a press forever, like the '90s. I've always known so many great writers who aren't as connected to the publishing world as they should be, and I have the energy and the enthusiasm to sort of gather and promote people, so I've always thought someday I might embark on a big project like that.

One of the things I like about publishing is that you don't promote the editor - you promote the book and the author.

I've always viewed myself as a brand. When I started 10 years ago, that was very controversial. 'Marketing' and 'PR' were dirty words for the literary world, but that has changed. Once the book is finished, I want as many people as possible to read it.

I call myself a literary agent simply to distinguish myself from actors' agents.

Each new book that comes out kind of pulls up the old ones a little bit.

There are tons of really good writers out there, but for one reason or another, they just have not had the support that allowed them to build audiences.

I sold 'Hattie Big Sky' without an agent but quickly realized a writing career required an agent.

Book tours are almost designed to beat out of an author any affection he has for his book.

To be poet laureate is to try to spread the love and the accessibility of poetry to young people.

No one was interested in picking up a midlist series, even though I have a decent fanbase and respectable numbers.

You have to remember that in addition to running a literary agency, I am also an ebook publisher.

To discuss a Martin Amis book, you must first discuss the orchestrated release of a Martin Amis book. In London, which rightly prides itself on the vibrancy of its literary cottage industry, Amis is the Steve Jobs of book promoters, and his product rollouts are as carefully managed as anything Apple dreams up.