All About Booktique

With significant experience in journalism (notably at nationally acclaimed Texas Monthly), the book industry (as the founding director of the Texas Book Festival and as a book editor and consultant), I’m here to share my expertise with you, whether you’re an emerging author or a published author. 

I launched Booktique Consulting as an innovative incarnation of my previous publishing-consulting business to guide you in transforming your career as a writer or an “authorpreneur” by: 

  • Working with you to finish that book you’ve always wanted to write – or the next one you have in mind
  • Acting as your “concierge” in taking your career as an author to the next level
  • Providing the connections to help you build your career
  • Guiding you in getting your book where it belongs – with your ideal readers
  • Any (or all) of the above!

A Bit About Me

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had my nose in books. It started way back when, when I stayed up all night reading Little Women under the covers with a flashlight. From there, I discovered the library (cue the celestial voices chanting “AHHHHHHH!”), where I developed the habit of checking out the fattest books I could find from the adult books section so they wouldn’t end too soon

Eventually, I set my sights on becoming a reporter and majored in journalism at the University of Kansas, where I fell under the spell of one of the country’s legendary editors, John B. Bremner. That did it; that’s when I decided to be an editor. I hightailed it from Kansas to Texas, for my first job as a copy editor and then copy chief for the Features department at the Austin American-Statesman. Then I landed my first dream job as the copy chief and then deputy executive editor at Texas Monthly. Best of all, I only had to move a few blocks north instead of going to New York to work at a major magazine with some of the best editors and writers in the business.

I stumbled into my second dream job as the founding director of the Texas Book Festival, which was established by then-Texas First Lady Laura Bush in 1996. Who would have guessed that such a job existed?! Under my leadership and determination to enhance Texas’s position on the literary map, the Festival acquired a reputation as one of the most prestigious literary events in the United States. In addition to showcasing more than 200 authors from all over the country at the historic Texas State Capitol in Austin, the Festival raised nearly $1.5 million for more than 470 Texas public libraries during my tenure. 

When Mrs. Bush became the nation’s First Lady in 2001, the Library of Congress established the National Book Festival, which was inspired by the Texas event, and I had the pleasure of consulting with the National Center for the Book on its first two National Book Festivals. A few years later, I went back to my home state of Kansas to produce the Kansas Book Festival in 2007, under the leadership of then-Governor Kathleen Sebelius.

So, one of my claims to fame is my book-festival trifecta! 

In between book festivals  I worked as an editor, book coach, and publishing consultant for several years before landing another great gig at the Writers’ League of Texas, one of the country’s largest writing organizations. As the executive director at the WLT, I shifted to directly supporting writers at all stages of their writing career. During my time there, the Writers’ League’s annual agents and editors conference continued to develop a national reputation as one of the best conferences for writers in the country. I also led the WLT in producing a robust annual program of literary workshops and seminars for writers all over Texas.  

From there, I took a detour into fundraising for two different nonprofits, but the literary world continues to my sweet spot. 

One of the side benefits has been speaking at various conferences and interviewing hundreds of authors. I have presented writing and editing workshops for Tsinghua University’s Global Business Journalism Program, Rice University’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, the University of Texas, and the Writers’ League of Texas. I also served on the literary grants panel for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Through it all, I’ve become a tireless cheerleader for authors, books, and libraries. I have been writing my own novels for too many years, and I’m bound and determined to get my first series out by 2022.

Oh, and my literary sidekick is Penelope, my adorable tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. In case you’re wondering what Penny has to do with books, spaniels do have a literary pedigree, starting with Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her spaniel Flush.

My Promise to You

I’m passionate about the intersection of art and enterprise for authors. With all of the innovations in digital publishing, writers have never had more options for getting their books in front of readers. While some publishing consultants offer narrow, specialized services, I’m different. 

Let’s just say I’m something of a publishing unicorn. Surely it’s no coincidence that I was born smack on the cusp of Aquarius and Capricorn, making me an Aqauri-corn! I have all of those creative Aquarian tendencies (yeehaw for writing that first draft!!!), but enough Capricorn practicality in me to guide you in revising and finishing your book, developing production timelines and plans, and implementing marketing plans so you can find your readers.  

I love collaborating with both emerging and established authors to bring their dreams of publishing a book and building a writing career into reality. I have the expertise to help a beginning writer write and launch her first novel or to advise a published author who’s interested in publishing his next book or backlist titles himself. I’ve worked with authors on publicity/media campaigns, book tours and special events, speaking engagements, and various editorial services. 

I promise you this: I’ll give you the personalized attention and bespoke plans for bringing your books into the world and becoming a career author.

One area where I can save you time and worry from the get-go is in helping you decide what path to publishing is best for you and your career:

  • Do you want to go the traditional route of finding a literary agent who then finds you a publisher?
  • Are you ready and willing to maintain control of your creative properties and pursue the indie publishing route?
  • Or are you one of those writers who could follow both paths with different books? 

Once you know what route you’d like to take, we’ll work together to map out your plan and connect you with other experts you can add to your team.

Regardless of which path works for you, I would be honored to guide you and help you maneuver around potential trouble spots so you can put your best book forward. 

In short, I’m here for you, my writing friends!

2 thoughts on “All About Booktique

    1. Thanks so much for getting in touch, and my apologies for being so tardy in replying. Because I have a day job, the best thing to do is email me at cyndi.hughes@hughesliterary.com with a question or description of what you’d like to discuss. So if you could do that, we can go from there.

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