Giant sale on new subscriptions for 2025
Let's get you closer to having an ISBN number in the year ahead!
Happy Friday and Happy New Year!
Popping in quick to let you know I’m starting 2025 off with a big sale on new subscriptions. Whether you’ve been lingering in the free posts and are tempted to upgrade or know just the person who would benefit from having a gift subscription to “Before and After the Book Deal”— from now until Sunday at midnight EST, new subscriptions are 50% off. Better yet, all money raised from this sale will go toward funding partial scholarship(s) to the October writing retreat I run in New Mexico called Turning Points. (Applications open for the program in February, so more on that later!)
What do we have on deck for 2025?
I’m going to do more Friday Office Hours with workshops of query letters, loglines, book titles, memoir subtitles, author bios, oral pitches, email subject lines and synopses in the pipeline.
On the topic of synopses, this is the year I’m finally going to write a post I’ve been avoiding for three years: “How to write a book synopsis.” I hate writing synopses. I hate being asked for them. I hate how common it’s become for agents to ask for a book’s synopsis. But enough of you have asked for a post on this topic that I have to rise to the challenge.
I’m going to launch a new segment called “Storytime” where I’ll do soothing out-loud reading that you can listen to like a podcast while you go about your day. I’ll read some old work of mine, I’ll read from books I love. I’ll include a little breakdown of why I’m reading what I’m reading. It will be relaxing and cozy and mostly on Fridays.
If there is enough interest, I’ll launch a seasonal community bulletin where subscribers can send in advertisements for things they’re offering, promoting or requesting for a reasonable price (like $12 per ad). All money raised will go to a charity—one charity per season.
I’m also going to compile a breakdown of everything I wish I’d known about publishing before I started publishing. I’m currently tallying my mistakes to craft them into individual essays—I made a lot of them.
And of course, more real talk about publishing and writing on a nearly weekly basis, discounts to my craft classes and the occasional dispatch from my home life. I have a new pet, so you might hear more about him. Also, my mother sent me a wig for Christmas, I know not why. We’ll unpack this later.
While I have you, and since it is the New Year, I wanted to remind everyone that this Substack is an extension of the guidebook to publishing I wrote by the same name, published by the indie press Catapult:
Available everywhere you buy books—makes an excellent New Year’s present, all of that good stuff! This photo is from my publisher’s Instagram—love to see publishers promoting a backlist title. (Thanks, Catapult!)
Alright, I have to go back to attempting to work today after ten days of not working at all. Before we leave each other, don’t forget to take advantage of today’s New Year sale on new subscriptions. The discount will stay active until midnight on January 5th, EST. All proceeds will fund partial scholarships to Turning Points New Mexico, 2025.
See you all next week!
xoxo
Courtney
I love the idea of Storytime! Maybe you could also do bedtime stories designed to lull us all to sleep...
Y'all, do not sleep on this offer!