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Jim Cox Report: April 2026
Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:
I recently received a lengthy email from an aspiring author wanting to know if I could help him learn how to get a publisher to take him on -- and thereby become profitably published. I thought I'd share my response for the benefit of anyone else who finds themselves in the same position.
Dear Graham:
Answering questions like yours is why I started up the Midwest Book Review some 50 years ago come September. Helping writers to write better, publishers to publish more profitably, librarians to select the best currently available in a given subject or genre, and readers suggestions of what would make 'a good read'.
You are correct. It is very difficult for unknown authors to get published, distributed, and marketed. If it can be afforded, then the best bet is to get a professional literary agent to get your manuscript published, and when published to get it effectively brought to the attention of its targeted readership.
Here are some on-line resources and instructional tutorials to do just that:
How to Find (and Where) A Literary Agent in 2026
https://reedsy.com/blog/guide/literary-agent/how-to-find
Tips for Finding a Literary Agent
https://literary-agents.com/finding-a-literary-agent
Step By Step Guide to Landing Representation and a Book Deal
https://www.forthewriters.com/post/breaking-into-publishing-the-ultimate-guide-to-literary-agents
How to Find & Query the Perfect Literary Agent for You
https://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Literary-Agent
How to Find a Literary Agent for You
https://janefriedman.com/find-literary-agent
How Do I Get A Book Agent?
https://www.publishingpush.com/blog/how-do-i-get-a-book-agent-a-step-by-step-guide-for-aspiring-authors
Good luck in your endeavors.
Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
Another author emailed me some interesting commentary about his book that I had informed him that I was assigning it to myself and planned to start reviewing it on a Friday and planned to have a review ready for him by Wednesday of the following week. He emailed me:
Jim,
It is a great book, I think, but not one to speed through.
Time is NOT of the essence. If you plan on reading the whole thing, maybe go slow. Maybe take 2 weeks, an essay a day.
I am not telling you how to do your job. I am not. But, it might be overwhelming if you power through it.
I am not in a hurry. Thank you for selecting my book for review. I really appreciate it.
Question the Norm,
John Bliss
Always at Large
I always enjoy explaining the Midwest Book Review and what I do here. And my thoughts about book reviewing and the role of book reviews. So I gave John the following reply which I thought you might find of interest:
Dear John
Thank you for your commentary. It is quite welcome.
Usually when I read a book I do it in one sitting that can run from 2 to 5 hours (or more) depending on the page count. I took a course in college (now more than 60 years ago!) called Study Skills Improvement. It was the single most valuable course I ever took, second only to First Grade in Elementary school where I learned to read, and my Sophomore class in Highschool where I learned to type.
After reading a book (during which I take the occasional note), I let it percolate in my mind for a day or two. Then, again with the book and notes in in hand I craft my review -- which isn't usually that difficult because of the way I structure the Critique section my review which is where I give my opinion as to if I (and why) would recommend it to its intended readerships and as a library acquisition choice.
Incidentally, if I cannot give it a positive recommendation I let the author know of my concerns and suggestions. But I do not feature my negative review in our monthly book review publications. That's because in my 50 years of experience as the editor-in-chief of the Midwest Book Review I am keenly aware of how a book can be seen differently according to the tastes, expectations, and personal preferences of different reviewers/readers.
In such cases I always offer the author a kind of safety net alternative offering them the option that if they have a review someone else that they like, then I'll run that review in their behalf and under the reviewer's byline in our monthly book review publication "Reviewer's Bookwatch".
And there is no charge for this service. It's my way of trying to be fair to the author. Because if I (our one of my assigned reviewers) found the book to be flawed, someone else might well think otherwise.
Thank you again for expressing your views. It really is quite appreciated on my end. -- And so far, I'm on track with your book.
Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
Quote of the Month
I'm never a fan of the sociopathic kind of reviewing, people who are sort of self-immolating and have social problems or whatever, and let it out in literary-criticism form. I just feel like book reviewing should be respectful and calm and not filled with bile. -- Dave Eggers
Website of the Month
Book Review Quotes
https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/book-review.html
Here are reviews of books that will be of special interest to authors, publishers, and hardcover bibliophiles:
Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction
Andrea Barrett
W. W. Norton & Company
www.wwnorton.com
9781324123491, $17.99, PB, 208pp
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Dust-Light-Art-Fact-Fiction/dp/1324123494
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dust-and-light-andrea-barrett/1145603420
Synopsis: Winner of the MacArthur Fellowship, the celebrated novelist Andrea Barrett has for decades reached backward to find inspiration from the past and written acclaimed and prizewinning works of historical fiction. With the publication of "Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction" (the first work of nonfiction of her extraordinary career), Barrett draws from that deep well of experience to explore the mysteries, methods, and delights of the fiction format.
Inspiration found in the past, she argues, can illuminate fiction, just as dust scatters light and makes the unseen visible. Barrett writes of lessons gleaned from the classic work of some of her guiding lights (Willa Cather, Henry James, Leo Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf), as well as the work of such contemporary masters as Hilary Mantel, Toni Morrison, Colm Tóibín, and Jesmyn Ward.
She also reveals how she created some of her own beloved works, taking readers on a fascinating journey into some of the largest questions in the genre: How does a writer find meaningful subject matter beyond the confines of their life? How are scraps of history found, used, misused, manipulated, and transformed into a fully formed narrative? And what are the perils as well as the potential of this process?
Building on pieces originally published in leading literary magazines and featured in The Best American Essays, "Dust and Light" is an elegant exploration of the hazy borderlands of fiction sewn from the materials of history. Filled with profound insights, "Dust and Light" will be a delight for any devoted fiction readers, and of great use to aspiring writers too.
Critique: A simply fascinating, insightful, and informative read from start to finish, "Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction" by Andrea Barrett is an extraordinary and extended treatise that will be of immense value to readers and authors with an interest in reading and writing contemporary literary fiction. Originally published in hardcover (9781324036500, $26.99), this new paperback edition of "Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction" from W.W. Norton is an especially and unreservedly recommended pick for personal reading lists and community library collections. It should also be noted that "Dust and Light: On the Art of Fact in Fiction" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Andrea Barrett (https://www.andrea-barrett.com/) is the author of the National Book Award–winning Ship Fever and the Pulitzer Prize finalist Servants of the Map, among other works of fiction. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and a Guggenheim Award, she currently lives in the Adirondacks.
"The Midwest Book Review Postage Stamp Hall Of Fame & Appreciation" is a monthly roster of well-wishers and supporters. These are the generous folk who decided to say 'thank you' and 'support the cause' that is the Midwest Book Review by donating to our postage stamp fund.
Nola Sweet
Iryna Baybula
Daniel Jimenez
Merida L Johns
Tess Manchester
Terren D. Becker
Amy Rose Herrick
Harrison Rose Tate
Al Villaruz -- "Signposts"
Gregory Rizzi -- "Continuum"
Kate Winn -- "Reliance Road"
Bryan Reilly -- "The Junkyard"
Glenn S. Robertson -- "Seeker"
Mary-Claire Ibarra -- "Alteration"
Meghan Sorley -- "Always, Janie"
Sisi Zhao -- "Tears of the Flames"
Vanish Kumar -- "God Awaits. . ."
Stuart Hotckiss -- "Baker Vaughan"
David Tabler --"Delaware Keepers"
Bogart Woodsdale -- "DAZI-LAND"
Mark Kawar -- "America, but Bigger"
Michael Rabinowitz -- "Win Via Trust"
Tom Bernard -- "The Index of America"
Nancy Meyer -- "What Am I Made For?"
David Goldstein -- "Bullets Over Bourbon"
Rajat Jayanta Roy -- "The Traitor's Bargain"
Nigel Roberts -- "The Leopard and the Moon"
Robert Nakamura -- "Ronin: The Wolf's Path"
Neena H. Brar -- "Beneath Breath and Memory"
Richard Dewey -- "The Boys Who Dared Hitler"
Laura Hulthen Thomas -- "The Meaning Of Fear"
Subir Roy -- "Along the Scarlet River of Destiny"
Brad Stetson -- "Your Faith and the World Today"
Sharay Punisher Hayes -- "In Search of Freezer Meat"
Alexandra Grabbe -- "The Nansen Factor: Refugee Stories"
Matthew P. Bars -- "Smoking Guns-Quitting Just Got Lethal"
Andrew Hannah -- "Into Oblivion: The Preventable Collapse"
Sylvain Le Calvez -- "You Are a Giant Living on Your Knees"
Lesley Mahoney O'Connell -- "Ripple Effects And Other Stories"
James Pylant -- "Family Tree: A Journey of Identity, Secrets & DNA"
James Dain/David Voda -- "The Invisible Worm That Flies in the Night"
John Bliss -- "The False Paradigms of Today and The Timeless Truth of Tomorrow"
IntelliQuit
The P3 Group
SELLBOX, Inc.
Lost Lake Press
Identity Publications
Creative Edge Publicity
Kean University Relations
Elizabeth Frazier -- Waldmania! PR
In lieu of (or in addition to!) postage stamp donations, we also accept PayPal gifts of support to our postage stamp fund for what we try to accomplish in behalf of the small press community.
Simply log onto your PayPal account and direct your kindness (in any amount and at your discretion) to the Midwest Book Review at: SupportMBR [at] aol.com (The @ is replaced by "[at]" in the above email address, in an attempt to avoid email-harvesting spambots.)
If you have postage stamps to donate, or if you have a book you'd like considered for review, then send those postage stamps (always appreciated, never required), or a published copy of that book (no galleys, uncorrected proofs, or Advance Reading Copies), accompanied by a cover letter and some form of publicity release to my attention at the address below.
All of the previous issues of the "Jim Cox Report" are archived on the Midwest Book Review website at www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/jimcox.htm. If you'd like to receive the "Jim Cox Report" directly (and for free), just send me an email asking to be signed up for it.
So until next time -- goodbye, good luck, and good reading!
Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI, 53575
www.midwestbookreview.com
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
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