Free books for life giveaway and Book Angel program helping kids in need

My November articles (so far) for Forbes.com are below, where I've been covering all things books, publishing, libraries, authors, literary agents, book clubs and more since November 2018, are about some cool things independent bookstores are doing. You can follow me there so you don't miss anything, and I'm now working on January 2021 articles and beyond, so if you're a book publicist, editor, agent, bookseller, librarian or book club organizer or anyone else doing something new and unique in the book world, feel free to pitch me (rachelkb at gmail dot com with "Forbes" in the subject line).

Having this beat has totally changed my freelance writing career and given me a great way to focus my interests, and cover books for other outlets like Publishers Weekly and Washington Post Book World.

Here are two articles I hope you'll appreciate. You can nominate someone to WIN A BOOK A MONTH FOR LIFE from London, UK bookstore Heywood Hill through Sunday, November 8, and you can donate a book to a child in need with Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, New York, either in person or online. More details in the pieces.

"Why UK Bookstore Heywood Hill Is Giving Away A Book A Month For Life"





"Bookstore’s Book Angel Program Ensures Kids In Need Receive Books For The Holidays"

February Forbes articles on book publishing

Here's a roundup of my February 2020 Forbes.com articles on books and publishing, from why a bookstore isn't stocking a New York Times bestseller to a romance bookstore's business strategy to an Amazon Prime book purchase with inappropriate writing in it (find out what action Amazon took about it), Colin Kaepernick's memoir and publishing company and revamped classics. You can follow me there to see them as they get published. These are in reverse chronological order. For Forbes.com and outlets I freelance for, I'm always on the lookout for forthcoming books, trends in publishing and more, so if you're a book publicist, literary agent, editor, librarian or bookseller with a story idea, feel free to send me all the relevant details to rachelkb at gmail dot com with "Forbes" in the subject line and if it's something I can cover, I'll be in touch. I prefer to deal with people in those roles vs. authors but if it's something extremely timely and relevant, feel free to reach out.

"Penguin Vitae Series Reissues Hardcover Editions Of Classics By Reinaldo Arenas, Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Nella Larsen And Audre Lorde"

"Why Mocha Books Is Crowdfunding To Open A Mobile Bookstore To Sell Children’s Books By Authors Of Color"

"Why Maine Bookstore Hello Hello Books Won’t Be Stocking Bestseller ‘A Very Stable Genius’"

"Colin Kaepernick To Release Memoir With Audible And His Own Publishing Company"

"How Chicago Area Romance Bookstore Love’s Sweet Arrow Grows Their Business"

"Rep. Ilhan Omar And U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo To Headline BookExpo Adult Book & Author Breakfast"

"Amazon Prime Order Of Book ‘Feminist Cross-Stitch’ Arrived With ‘Trump 2020 MAGA’ Inscribed Inside"

2019 Bad Sex in Fiction Awards nominees

Find out who the 2019 Bad Sex in Fiction Awards nominees are in my latest Forbes.com article (hint Elizabeth Gilbert's novel City of Girls is one of them), and read excerpts!

How to get a literary agent for your nonfiction book

If you write memoir or other nonfiction, I think you'll appreciate my interview with literary agent Iris Blasi of Carol Mann Agency, and part two focused on memoir specifically. Each part links to the other so you don't have to worry about missing any of it. While she delves deep into exactly the types of books she is and isn't looking for, and how authors can position themselves to get signed by a literary agent, I think much of what she says could be applicable to other agents, in my layperson opinion. This is my first two-parter for Forbes.com, which I did for length.



And please follow me on Twitter or Forbes, because I have agent and editor interviews coming up and all sorts of interesting bookish content. October marked 12 months for me of having books as my beat there, which means a total of 84 articles. I'm so proud and excited to get to focus on one of my favorite subjects, and branch out for other publications, like my article on why book subtitles are so long for Washington Post Book World and curse word book titles for MEL Magazine. There's more book pieces coming soon too!

NOTE: I am NOT a literary agent or in any way employed in the publishing industry. The last time I wrote about how to get a cookbook literary agent and get your cookbook published I received many emails asking me what cookbook authors should do. The point of these articles is: I don't know so I'm asking the source! That's what I recommend you do: read the guidelines of the agency, submit accordingly, ask questions if they aren't answered on the site. But I'm not some magical publishing genie who has the answers, nor am I someone who can afford the time to dole out free advice.

In the erotica and sexuality nonfiction realm, I do consult with authors and offer professional manuscript critiques based on my work as a writer and editor, and can help with writing book proposals, market research, and advise on social media, author branding, getting articles and essays published to bolster your platform, etc. My consulting rates are going up January 1, 2020, though you can book me in 2019 at this year's rates for services to be completed in 2020. There's more information about what I do here and student and client testimonials here. I have room for one more client in December, and then any other work would have to be done in January.

New at Forbes: Cedella Marley interview, Million Copy Print Run for Guts, Book Designer Process and More

I've been busy over at Forbes.com writing about book publishing, with lots more great stuff on the way. You can follow me there and/or @raquelita on Twitter to see the latest. And as always, if you're a publicist, editor, agent, bookstore staffer, publishing company staffer or anyone else related to books with a newsworthy idea, you can pitch me by emailing rachelkb at gmail dot com with "Forbes" in the subject line. I'm especially interested in covering more visual news like the book cover article, and photography books and other photo/art-driven books, since I haven't done as much of that, as well as issue-driven books like The Warehouse but am open to anything new/notable/newsworthy.

"Why New Raina Telgemeier Graphic Memoir ‘Guts’ Has A One Million Copy Print Run"

"Cedella Marley On Adapting Her Father Bob Marley’s Song “Get Up, Stand Up” Into New Children’s Book"

"How This Doubleday Art Director Designs Book Covers, From ‘Frankenstein’ To ‘Fitness Junkie’"

"10 2019 Children’s Book Recommendations From Children’s Bookstores"

"Why Authors Are Holding Book Events At Museums And Other Nontraditional Venues"

"How The Death Of A Minimum Wage Dunkin' Donuts Worker Inspired Thriller 'The Warehouse'"

My February Forbes book publishing articles

If you're interested in books and/or the business of books and/or my writing, I hope you're follow me at Forbes online, where I'm writing seven articles per month about everything from book deals to book covers to author innovations and more. As you'll see, I've covered everything from drawable book covers to the enduring popularity of books by veterans to how to open an independent bookstore. To follow me, just make a free account at Forbes.com and then click the link above and click the "Follow" button and answer how often you want to receive emails about my new articles. I started in November and have learned so much about publishing as well as Wordpress, and which bookish subjects people want to read about and which they don't.



I write both more in-depth pieces about subjects like what authors can do when their publisher closes to breaking news, such as the Nora Roberts/Tomi Adeyemi book title story. I have a lot of great topics I'm covering in the next few months, especially more service-oriented pieces that I hope are helpful to aspiring authors, like the literary agent cookbook Q&A below. February was exciting because one of my articles got double the traffic of my previous high traffic piece, and continues to do well and may even hit 100,000 views soon. I get paid a flat fee based on how many articles I write per month, with the possibility of a pageview bonus, so of course I pay attention to my pageviews, but I also pay attention to who's linking to these articles. One of my upcoming pieces profiles a website that I found out about because they linked to me. So check it out, and if you're a publisher, editor or literary agent and have timely book publishing news or details about a growing trend in publishing, feel free to email me about it. I can't guarantee I'll cover it, but I'm always on the lookout for new topics my readers will appreciate.

Here are my Forbes online February 2019 articles in reverse chronological order:

"Katie Couric Memoir 'Unexpected' To Detail Her Struggles With Bulimia And Insecurity"

"Michelle Obama To Discuss Bestselling Memoir 'Becoming' On YouTube 'BookTube' Special In March 2019"

"How To Get Your Cookbook Published, According To A Literary Agent Who Specializes In Them"

"11-Year-Old Boy Lands Book Deal About Crocheting After His Creations Go Viral"

"Comic Book About Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Inspired By Her Quoting Alan Moore, Coming Out In May"

"What To Expect From 2020 Book 'White Feminism' By Former Jezebel Editor Koa Beck"

"Kim Kardashian West To Write Foreword To Memoir By Alice Marie Johnson, Convict Who West Helped Free"

My latest at Forbes on an 11-year-old with a book deal

My latest article at Forbes online is titled, "11-Year-Old Boy Lands Book Deal About Crocheting After His Creations Go Viral" and since posting it yesterday, it's now the most-read of all my articles there. I believe that's partly because the star of it posted it on his Facebook page, which has a lot of readers, and people are interested in children who become authors. Read it to learn more about the Wisconsin publisher who moved quickly to secure the book deal and what they're looking for from future kid authors (they are open to submissions).

Get the scoop on the new comic book about Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Over at Forbes online, I wrote about the forthcoming Devil's Due comic book about Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez titled Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Freshman Force: New Party Who Dis? I interviewed the founder of Devil's Due and two contributors and even have an exclusive sneak peek at the comic! Hope you'll check it out, and if you want to read seven articles a month from me about book publishing news and trends, follow me at Forbes (make an account at Forbes.com and then click that link and the "Follow" button under my name and select your preferred frequency.

New articles: Somali refugee Congresswoman Ilhan Omar memoir and US tour of The Bookshop Band

My latest articles for Forbes online, which I didn't get to post last week, are about Somali refugee turned Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's memoir book deal and The Bookshop Band doing their first U.S. tour. I interviewed Representative Omar's literary agent and her editor, who said, "Her voice on the page is very much as it is in real life—fresh and positive even when she is tackling serious issues, with real empathy and deep knowledge. Her story counters everything we keep hearing from the current administration and the right-wing media about refugees, immigrants, Muslims and women. This memoir presents an urgent and important counter-narrative."

Hope you'll check them out and follow me on Forbes if you want to be emailed when new articles drop. I write seven each month.

New at Forbes: Why this book dedication is going viral

The humorous dedication in Ben Philippe's debut novel, The Field Guide to the North American Teenager, is going viral. Why? Find out in my latest article at Forbes online.

Why there are so many New Year/New You self-help books out in January

I've been on a roll at Forbes online, writing about everything from the writing career of American Book Award winner MacKenzie Bezos, who's getting divorced from world's richest person, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, to the controversy over Kathleen Hale Is a Crazy Stalker and have lots more in the works over the next few months. One I'm particularly proud of (and was excited to see Goodreads post on Twitter and Facebook) is about why so many self-help books are published in January. If you're curious, check it out. I'm really enjoying getting to geek out about books and learn more about the industry. And if you visit my Forbes profile page you can follow me there and get emailed whenever my new articles are posted. You just have to make an account with the site (for free) and then click "Follow" under my bio.

Read my new Forbes article if you dream of opening a bookstore

In case it relates to your New Year's plans (or future business plans or retirement plans), I wrote about how to open an independent bookstore over at Forbes.com. I interviewed owners of four recently opened independent bookstores, including two going the popup store route, about their career paths, steps and advice.



Hope you find it useful (and if so, I'd love if you shared it). I have lots more articles in the works relevant to authors, such as a few about how to get book deals (here's one I already did about getting published based on your Instagram account), so stay tuned.

You can follow me at Forbes after you make an account there to receive an email when a new articles posts. I write 5-7 per month. This has been a wonderful addition to my freelance writing, especially since I started in November after a year in which I had very few other writing gigs. I get to learn from authors, editors, publishers and bookstore owners, and generally geek out about books. If you're an editor, publishers, publicist or literary agent with an idea for an article you'd like to pitch me, or a standout title and why it's newsworthy, email me at rachelkb at gmail.com with "Forbes" in the subject line. Note that I cover publishing news and trends, and generally not individual titles or series unless something about them makes them stand out, like you can draw on the covers.

Bookstores' Most Wanted Books for 2019

For Forbes.com, I wrote about the 10 books that independent bookstores are most excited about for 2019. They include new work by Margaret Atwood (the sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, Marlon James, Pam Houston, Helen Oyeyemi and debuts by Dana Czapnik and Stephanie Land, among other books. Obviously, I didn't have time or room to survey all indie bookstores but I tried for a good cross section of ones across the U.S.

The Great Big Romance Read is reading Pride by Ibi Zoboi in December

For Forbes online, I wrote about The Great Big Romance Read, a month-long worldwide event in December where in-person and online book groups are meeting to discuss Pride by Ibi Zoboi, a Pride and Prejudice remix (it even says so on the cover). You can even join yourself. Book groups are happening at events such as bookstores and libraries and elsewhere, and online book discussion groups, podcasts and YouTube channels are participating, which is one of the things that drew my attention.

The event was organized by romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice and you can learn more in my article. I happened to buy a copy for a teenage cousin of mine before I'd heard about The Great Big Romance Read and since I won't be seeing her until January, I'm hoping to read it myself this month, although sadly, with all my writing about books and some other new assignments, I haven't had as much time to read. I'm hoping I'll have some more time this month.

What happened with Nora Roberts and Tomi Adeyemi and their similar book titles

I've been busy over at Forbes.com and yesterday wrote about the Nora Roberts Tomi Adeyemi book title plagiarism accusation of Roberts' Of Blood and Bone and Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone. Get the scoop and then follow me at Forbes.com (or on Twitter) because there will be a followup article this week.

Me on how to get a book deal by using Instagram at Forbes.com

I hope you'll check out my latest article at Forbes.com on "How to get a book deal from your Instagram account". I interviewed Stupid Fit Couple, Emma Lee of Hidden Heartbreak (and author of the book of the same name), publishers Andrews McMeel and Knock Knock and two literary agents to give you the scoop on what it takes to go Instagram to book.

It's the first of several articles exploring book deals and social media (including podcasts), so follow me at Forbes.com so you don't miss anything. I'm aiming to cover multiple service articles like this so if there are things you want to know about book publishing, let me know and I'll try to explore them. Email me at rachelkb at gmail dot com with "Forbes" in the subject line. I obviously can't cover everything but am always open to topic suggestions (though individual titles are less useful unless they're part of a trend or current events/publishing news).

New Forbes.com on what happens to authors when their publisher closes

For Forbes.com I interviewed four authors who've been through publisher closings, Kellye Garrett, Mollie Cox Bryan, Bonnie Vanak and Alexa J. Day (or a publisher not taking new submissions or publishing new titles, in the case of Midnight Ink). If you've been through this or know someone who has, I hope it's helpful. As always, if it's useful, please share it, and bookmark my Forbes.com profile for multiple articles per month. A few in the works are about how to get book deals and there's lots more coming in December and the new year. If you're an editor, publisher, publicist or literary agent with suggestions on book publishing trends or news, especially anything pegged to holidays, current events, celebrities, etc., please get in touch by emailing rachelkb at gmail dot com with "Forbes.com" in the subject line.

Me at Forbes.com on Michelle Obama memoir Becoming, veterans' books and drawable book covers

As I mentioned, I'm now have a regular freelance writing gig at Forbes.com where I cover trends in book publishing. This includes everything from book covers to book titles, author names, bookstores, literary agents, editors, book deals and more. That sounds vague but I promise there's interesting stuff and helpful takeaways. In the veterans' books article, I include what the publisher and literary agent and manager I interviewed want to acquire, and there will be lots more of that coming.

I'm always on the lookout for anything timely, so if you're a bookstore staffer, publisher, editor or literary agent, please reach out to me at rachelkb at gmail dot com with "Forbes" in the subject line. I'm generally not covering individual books or authors unless there's something especially noteworthy about them, like drawable book covers or a famous celebrity major title like Michelle Obama but I'm on the lookout for any and all new releases for common connections or links that might make an interesting article. Here are my first three articles, and you can follow me there to see the latest. I've only ever had regular sex columns in the past, not a regular beat per se, so I'm looking forward to diving into my favorite subject five to seven times per month.

"Why Michelle Obama Memoir Becoming Had High First-Day Bookstore Sales"

"Why War Books By Veterans Will Always Be Popular"

"Meet The Mystery Author Who Wants Readers To Draw On Her Book Covers"