In the June issue of Forbes, the author of the 1970 best-seller, What Color Is Your Parachute?, doles out job search advice. Lucky for us, we got a sneak peek of the Dick Bolles interview on their site.

He tells the publication, “I never dreamed the job hunting problem was so widely faced. The book would have sold 10 copies if you got the help you needed at school.”

He truly tapped into something in the ’70s and beyond. Bolles’ book has gone through 42 annual editions and sold 10 million copies in 20 languages. In 1994, the Library of Congress named his tome one of the 25 books that “have shaped readers lives.”

And he hasn’t given up his mission. The 86 year-old spends approximately four hours every day responding to the 6,000 e-mails and letters he receives each year.  Read more

For the countless number of books published each year, there are only a few that become true breakout successes, selling millions upon millions of copies, hijacking the bestsellers lists and becoming permanently etched in American pop culture.

While great storytelling is at least partly responsible for their success, there is also an expansive team behind the scenes, working diligently to ensure that every plot twist is meticulously crafted, that the cover is so well-designed that readers drop $25 for the hardcover without blinking, and that those same characters will hopefully transcend the pages and end up on the big screen.

Think you’ve got what it takes to make it at one of the Big Six publishers? Learn how to break into the industry in How To Get a Job in Book Publishing.

– Sherry Yuan

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In Tiger Eyes, Judy Blume’s new movie based on her 1981 novel – check that, her first movie - the best-selling author collaborated with her son and filmmaker, Lawrence Blume, to bring it to the silver screen.

After a recent screening concluded in Manhattan, she explained to the audience, “We always said if we were going to work together on a project, it would be Tiger Eyes. It was Larry’s favorite.”

There were some concerns, however, about translating one of her books onto the screen. She revealed, “It just needs to be emotionally true to the story and the characters and we didn’t want to make a schmaltzy movie.” Read more

Last night at the New York Public Library’s Yorkville branch, authors Jennifer Weiner, Sarah Pekkanen and Elizabeth LaBan spoke candidly about their new books (The Next Best Thing, The Best of Us and The Tragedy Paper, respectively), their writing and revision process and advice regarding whether or not people should write for free.

For starters, they talked about the writing process. “I like to write in coffee shops,” said Weiner who’s active on Twitter, especially during The Bachelor. “I like to be around noise and have people around me. That’s my process: Coffee shops.”

As for LaBan, who has a background in journalism like Weiner and Pekkanen, she prefers commotion as well. “I can write with a lot of distractions.”

Pekkanen agreed. When she pens a novel, there are “notebooks everywhere.” In fact, she’s been known to bring her laptop to Chuck E. Cheese!

Fitting it in when you can is particularly critical if you’re juggling a day job. As for their take on how to balance writing a book while working another gig that consumes a lot of time and energy? “Do it when you can,” Pekkanen advised.

“If you’re going to be a writer, nothing is going to stop you,” added Weiner. “There is a story inside you and only you can tell it. You’re going to have to, you’ll explode!”

Rage also helps, joked Weiner when she recalled writing in the late 1990′s. “I had just been dumped so I had rage to fuel me. Rage is great!” Plus, there weren’t very good TV shows around 1998-ish so she wrote a lot on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights – not on Thursdays because Friends, Seinfeld and ER were on, she confessed.

Switching gears to revisions, one audience member asked about the aftermath of writing your first draft. Weiner suggested finding people you trust who’ll be honest with you but getting distance from it helps as well. In fact, the bestselling author recalled putting a manuscript she wrote in a box for six weeks, taking it out and then perusing it as a reader asking herself, “Will I like this? If I bought this would I want to read it?”

“Get some distance,” she advised. “Put it physically out of sight and put it away….Anything can be made better.”

And then ask people you trust for their honest input. LaBan incorporated the same advice and asked for other sets of eyeballs to read her work — including Weiner’s! LaBan turned to her quipped, “Well, I asked you to read it.”

And what if you’re not quite at that stage yet? As in, still typing away. “For fiction, you gotta finish,” mentioned Weiner. “Agents are busy and they’re not going to take you on unless they know you can bring it.”

You may already have a full plate if you’re active on social media and blogging away, too. That said, what were there thoughts about people considering writing for free?

It depends on the individual but Weiner indicated people should size up their own situation and ask themselves, ”What is this going to cost me and then ask, ‘What are the benefits?’ You have to do what’s right for you, not only where you are now but always with an eye of where to go next.”

Brian Stelter, who launched TVNewser almost 10 years ago, is now a published author. “Top of the Morning,” out today, lays bare a tumultuous year of network morning news shows which saw one anchor pack her bags, another face a serious health issue, a ratings leader fall — and lose a quarter of its audience — and an entirely new show launch.

In his first interview for the book, Stelter tells us about the secrecy behind “Top of the Morning,” the access he got, and what he thinks about being called Matt Lauer‘s nemesis.

• Part II, tomorrow: What happens when Brian Stelter Tweets something he shouldn’t?

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

We caught up with Peter Shankman, founder of HARO, entrepreneur and soon-to-be-father, regarding his new book, Nice Companies Finish First. The principle hits close to home for Shankman; after all, he makes it his business to be nice. Literally.

He told MediaJobsDaily in an exclusive phone interview, “I’m starting a new company with someone — a very high level person at a PR firm – a start-up and we’re going to create a company that teaches companies how to create these moments of niceness that can actually generate some revenue and cut their marketing budget by half.”

Planning to launch by June 1 at the latest, Shankman already has five clients lined up. The name is yet to be announced but in the meantime, he’ll include updates on his blog. “It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said.

Okay, as for being nice itself, think about the impact being nice can do. Not only is it about the sake of being nice for being nice, being cordial and respectful bodes you and your company well.

“It’s not just a book about business. This is life altering,” he explained.  ”It can not only get you the good employees and the good bonus, it can also get you the good car upgrade at the rental car, the best table at the restaurant, the girl.” Read more

He makes his living scaring children and has been called the Stephen King of children’s books.

“Goosebumps” author, R.L. Stine sat down with mediabistroTV to talk about how finding a typewriter at the age of nine started him on his journey to becoming one of the most successful children’s book authors in history.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

We got so excited about the Freelancer’s Bible, we just had to share. And then we realized it’s not being officially launched until November 13th but guess what? We’re too excited to not share at this point! (Amazon’s release date is today so I suppose it’s all semantics at this point, yes?)

Written by Sara Horowitz and amassed from her nearly two decades of work on behalf of the freelance workforce, it seems this book provides steps to become more flexible in an ever-changing journalism landscape.

Some sections to highlight include the following: Seven start-up steps, building your portfolio, getting clients, marketing yourself, managing your work and your life and 10 steps to retirement planning.

In her blog post on The Freelancers Union, Horowitz wrote, “I’ve learned a lot about what makes a successful freelancer. It’s about networks, contacts, contracts, kindness, and so much more.”

We’re all about inspiration here at MJD so we really dig the fact that the inner author in all of us can truly make it big.

And so what if you’re scraping by right now? You’re definitely not alone.

Several famous authors proved they never gave up their craft while sucking it up doing menial jobs to pay the bills. Stephen King was a high school janitor after graduating from the University of Maine! In fact, according to Business Insider, his first book, Carrie, was inspired by his time spent cleaning girls’ locker rooms. Read more

Now that Kate White is no longer the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan to focus on speaking engagements, digital media and her books, White’s been dishing advice to women in her new book.

The author of I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This: Success Secrets Every Gutsy Girl Should Know explained to The New York Post:

“We’ve made incredible strides, but I think there are challenges that women face that are not the same for men. I think sometimes we can still have that good-girl tendency not to grab the seat next to the boss at a meeting or not to talk on that project. We sometimes worry about what other people will think. I think men are maybe not as prone to that.”

As for her top ways women can get ahead in the working world, here’s a succinct version. Although her tips are specifically geared toward women, men may likely benefit from her sage words as well. Read more