Barbara Linn Probst, featured at Jane Friedman

A debut novelist surveyed readers on Facebook. The result? In publishing, as in life, first impressions matter—and we do judge books by their covers.

There are a lot of publicists out there. How can you pick the right one? This is a crucial decision, so it needs to be approached with care.

Use of beta readers is widespread, but surprisingly little has been written about how writers actually use them and how they help—or if they do.