Self-Publishing News: 4.11.2016

This week in the world of self-publishing:

Local author finds possible new evidence in 20 year old murder case

“Tammy Malinowski O’Reilly of Union Dale has loved crime stories since she was 6 years old,” writes Regge Episale for the Independent Weekender––a web-based newsletter that comes out of the Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania area––but her love of solving crimes continued into her adulthood, prompting her to pursue entry into the Pennsylvania State Police Academy. Despite having to leave the Academy to devote more time to other things, her passion for solving crimes stuck with her, and between 1989 to 1991, she published a series of stories in True Detective Magazine under the name “Tammy Mal.” “At the age of 47,” writes Episale, “40 years after she first fell in love with her genre, she self-published her first book, Little Girl Lost: The True Story of the Vandling Murder, a well-researched book about the murder of 9-year-old Mae Barrett in 1945.” And that was only the beginning. After a number of successful true-crime novels and other works, O’Reilly turned her attention to the 1994 Katrinak murders in Catasauqua:

From more than 10,000 official documents including Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) reports, FBI Files, forensic lab results, and the 6,500-page trial transcript, four years of intensive research, countless interviews with those involved, and hundreds of letters, phone calls and personal visits with Patricia Rorrer, O’Reilly found details that didn’t add up, had never been made public, and that raised serious questions about the case and Patty’s guilt.

Her book, working title Reasonable Doubt, details the original story as presented in the press and the story as found in the files and reports.

Through her research, O’Reilly has been instrumental in getting the Philadelphia Innocence Project to take a closer look at the evidence and has gained the support and cooperation of Appeals Attorney Craig Neely.

How’s that for lasting impact? While the case in question is still under appeal and therefore details in O’Reilly’s book can not yet be made public, one hopes that Reasonable Doubt will hit bookshelves in the not-so-distant future. To read more about how this self-publishing author is making a real difference in the world, check out the full article here.

Book Deal For What? How To Self Publish Your Book

It’s official: self-publishing has reached the glamor market! As Ashley Coleman writes for Essence magazine on April 7th, “there used to be a time when aspiring authors were simply at the mercy of literary agents [… h]owever, with the growth of self-publishing platforms, so many more authors are able to get their work from the pages of their notebooks to the world.” A self-publishing author herself and friend to other self-publishing authors, Coleman spends the rest of her article combining tips and advice for how to get started with tidbits of encouragement for those still wavering between pursuing indie or traditional modes of publication. “Although in self-publishing you will have to put a lot of thought into not only creating the work but how to get it out there, the return on the investment may be well worth it,” she writes. She advocates for outlines, deadlines, discipline, and professional editing. She also weighs the benefits of designing a book cover or having it designed for you by a paid professional, as well as the pros and cons of Print on Demand (POD) options. Her closing words hold a life lesson for us all: “Your book can literally go as far as you are ready to take it!” For the rest of Coleman’s how-to (succeed in self-publishing) article, follow the link.

Howard County authors make the leap into self-publishing

“It started with a routine procedure,” writes Valerie Bonk for Howard Magazine, syndicated through The Baltimore Sun on April 6th. Connie Bowman’s path to self-publishing started with a procedure, and with tragedy–the death of her daughter due to a botched catheterization. She self-published her book Back to Happy, through Amazon’s CreateSpace program, and says that she chose the self-publishing route “over a major publisher like Penguin Random House or HarperCollins to ‘get it done.'” Another local author, Patty Sroka of Woodbine, chose a similar path after taking her Girl Scout troop on a trip along with a copy of Nora Roberts. She now publishes under the pen name P.J. O’Dwyer, Bonk reveals. Says Sroka:

Back then, when I would run into authors and they said that they were self-published, I would kind of stick my nose in the air and say, ‘Oh no, I don’t want to be self-published. I want a major publisher.’ But then I realized that it doesn’t mean you have a poorly written book. It could be that publishers don’t have room on their lists that year or they already have reached their quota of books like yours.

But with the success of her Fallon Sisters Trilogy of romantic suspense novels, Sroka was struck by the idea that ought to share what she had learned in a more systematic way. And so she approached Howard Community College “with an idea for teaching a course to help others in the area navigate the world of self-publishing. She now teaches a series of noncredit classes focusing on writing fiction, self-publishing and marketing fiction,” writes Bonk–and her students are already finding their own ways to success. For the complete story, including snapshots of where Sroka’s students are now, check out the full article on The Baltimore Sun‘s website.

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.

Book Reviews, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week, Uncategorized, weekly self published book review

Saturday Book Review: “The Frog That Lost His Croak”

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of Literary Litter:

The Frog That Lost His Croak

by Anne Toole

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 978-1478764137

Synopsis:

A little frog who loved to croak night and day, was very sad when his croak suddenly went away. While waiting and hoping for his croak to return, what valuable lessons did the little frog learn?

Critique:

A little frog who loved to croak night and day,
Was very sad when his croak suddenly went away.
While waiting and hoping for his croak to return,
What valuable lessons did the little frog learn?

(taken from the back of the book)

I like the pictures because it helps you understand what they’re saying in the text. I like that it rhymes because it’s easier to read. Then again, it’s also more fun to read.

There aren’t too many words per page, but there are some pages that have a little bit more than others. This book didn’t take very long to read.

I think kids about five or older would enjoy this book. Possibly younger children, if their parents read it to them.

You can predict what’s going to happen in the story from the title. I liked it because it gave you a heads up on what the book was going to be about.

How the little frog lost his croak, well he was croaking too much but he was also croaking in the rain. So the rain could have been how he lost his croak. I think the frog learned that he was noisy because he was croaking all the time and I think he was upset because he learned that he wasn’t listening to the other animals.

In my opinion, you can learn from books that have life lessons. This book was good because it had a life lesson in it.

[ reviewed Ashlee of Literary Litter ]

Here’s what other reviewers are saying:

We’ve all known people who couldn’t stop showing off or bragging about themselves, and it happens with characters in stories, too. In this instance, it is a little frog who has a loud croak that he uses all day long. All the other animals are very tired of listening to him, but he is oblivious to their feelings and indulges himself all the time. When he loses his voice, he is forced to listen to the world around him and notice things like the beauty of birdsong or the sound of the wind whispering through the trees. By the time his croak is restored, he has learned to appreciate the sounds around him, to croak less and listen more.

This is similar to Marcus Pfister’s Rainbow Fish with the proud character so taken with himself and his abilities (or appearance), that he has no time to make friends or listen to anyone else. And just like the Rainbow Fish, the little frog has to learn his lesson before his situation can change. The story is told in rhyme and supported with brightly colored illustrations. Some of the wording may seem a bit awkward to adult readers, but the target audience of beginning readers will probably not notice.

Author Anne Toole was a first grade teacher and ESOL instructor before she began writing children’s books. She understands the issues that children deal with on a daily basis – making friends, what makes them special, fitting in, etc. This is the type of story that parents, teachers, and guidance counselors can read with a child (or a group), and then discuss the moral of the story.

– Amazon Reviewer Suzanne R. Costner

There was very little about the book on Amazon. It would be nice if a little more was entered about the book and author. The little paperback has 26 pages (unnumbered). It would be suitable to those learning to read or the little ones you read to. It has a lesson to be learned about boasting. The illustrator made some colorful and bright pictures to go with the story. The story, like most of Ms. Toole’s is in rhyme. This is nice, since it keeps the little one’s attention. The little frog that had a lesson to learn finds out that no one likes him since he has bragged too much. He learns to listen instead of croaking and discovers a valuable lesson. This is a easy to read book that will help teach the little ones that not everything is always about them but to think of others too.This is a great little book for your child’s bookshelf to be read and re-read.

– Amazon reviewer gayle pace

Thanks for reading! Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space every Saturday!

Self Publishing Advisor

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 4/8/2016

THE MUSIC OF WORDS part TWO

I REMAIN AMAZED by the productivity potential of poets (such as Lois Beebe Hayna—see last week’s blog) who have that unique ear and perspective that other writers work so hard to develop. I’ve gleaned a few pointers from her regarding the creative process of writing poetry. I also believe these concepts apply to writing well in all genres. Here are the main tools she’s given me:

“You must have a good sense about words and their definitions, in order to be a good writer. However, you must be in love with words in order to be an excellent writer.” Truer words were never spoken! If I’ve learned nothing else from Lois it is this: know the definition-s of the words—the dictionary definitions, the slang definitions and the social/cultural definitions. That is where true creativity comes in play—knowing which definition fits best in the specific spot you’re placing it, or the play of multiple definitions that allow the reader a variety of ways to interpret what is on the page.
Write about the things that interest you: what you care about, what you know about and/or what you might be considered an expert in. There is no substitute for being passionate about your subject matter. If you are bored with the topic, your readers will also be bored.
Don’t be afraid to research! Even though you are comfortable with what you know about a subject, there is always more to learn. In this day of instant information what was accepted as fact yesterday may be totally inaccurate today. Readers will catch authors in misstatements very quickly and that is not the desired reputation to build.

With these three key components you, too, will create music with the words you write. Because Lois is willing to release her work to literary journals, chap-book editors, contests and university publications, her poetry (and perspectives) have reached into thousands of homes. Yes, there were the rejections to deal with, but she did not let those stop her. Today there is a Library Room at Regis University (Denver, Colorado) named for her: The Lois Beebe Hayna Creative Writing Center. In it you will find several binders of her published and unpublished writings and young poets sitting at desks or curled up in a cushioned chair—writing!

Lois Beebe Hayna Creative Writing Center, courtesy of the Regis University website

I’ve heard writers groan about being “stuck” or experiencing “writers’ block.” Lois Hayna never let us use those words around her, always directing us to discover something new about the things that interest us and then “just let the words fall onto the page. Once they’re there, you can enhance the concepts, cut what doesn’t work, and fine-tune the piece to speak to you.”

SO, where are you in the process of creating your next—and best—piece of writing? Are you researching a new and different subject matter that caught your eye on last night’s TV-news? Did you hear someone use a word in conversation that didn’t fit—triggering discord in your writing ear? Or, have you been writing pages and pages on your favorite topic and are ready to talk to a publisher? Wherever you are—don’t stop! Keep going! You may just be the next author to have a Library Room of creative inspiration named after YOU! ⚓︎

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.

elizabeth speaks, in your corner, Uncategorized

In Your Corner : You Don’t Have to Wait for May

You’ve probably heard the old idiom a hundred–or a thousand, or a hundred thousand–times:

But here’s a fact worth reminding ourselves of: April brings other apart from rain and waiting. Things that you don’t have to wait a whole extra month to enjoy the benefits of? (Who wants to wait for May for those flowers, anyway?)

Not only is today, for example, National Caramel Popcorn Day as well as National No Housework Day–I kid you not! I wouldn’t joke about popcorn and chores!–but coming up this month we have National Walk on Your Wild Side Day, which coincides with National Library Day (4/12) and National Library Week (4/10-16). Later on in the month comes World Book & Copyright Day (4/23) and Poem in Your Pocket Day (4/28). We will also be celebrating Week of the Young Child (4/10-16), National Park Week (4/16-24), and National Princess Week (4/24-30). It’s Autism Awareness Month, Celebrate Diversity Month, Financial Literacy Month, Keep America Beautiful Month, and Library Snapshot Month.

Why do I mention these days? Because it’s a myth that there’s nothing worth celebrating about April. And as self-publishing authors, we’re always hungry for opportunities to celebrate–not just because we like cake and ice cream (and caramel popcorn), but for the very practical purpose of promotion.

Aha! You didn’t know I could turn Spring Astronomy Week (4/10-16) into some sort of practical application for you as a self-publishing author, did you? But here’s the thing: if you’re looking for a reason to kick your marketing campaign into gear, you both should not and very much should look to the calendar for inspiration. You should not look at the calendar as an excuse to wait for some perfect day in the middling or distant future to launch a promotional event. You very much should look to the calendar to see what’s already happening in the immediate future and take advantage. If you’ve written a Young Adult space-faring novel, then Spring Astronomy Week seems like the absolute perfect time to host a reading or giveaway, doesn’t it? But consider this: there’s always a way to tweak a “National Day or Week or Month of X” to your own needs:

“Wishing upon a star for Summer to hurry up and get here? Take a moment in celebration of Spring Astronomy Week to enter this raffle for an Advance Reader Copy of my upcoming book!”

Simple. Easy.

Maybe it’s a little mercenary to work this way. If you want to market with a conscience, as I certainly recommend doing, here’s my hard and fast rule of thumb: if it’s going to be fun and funny for everyone, don’t hesitate! But if it feels like you’re co-opting a day meant to commemorate a serious event (like Ellis Island Family History Day on 4/17) or condition (Autism Awareness Month) then I advise steering clear–unless, of course, your book specifically tackles the subject in question.

The really great thing about looking to the calendar–in the month of April or any other month, for that matter–is that you have the opportunity to tie your marketing work in with a larger conversation. Look for Twitter hashtags and Facebook groups that touch upon your day or week or month theme, and start conversations with other people invested in celebrating it. National celebrations are all about building connections and conversations!

For a more complete list of upcoming dates of note in April, check out this website!

You are not alone. ♣︎

ABOUT ELIZABETH JAVOR: With over 18 years of experience in sales and management, Elizabeth Javor works as the Manager of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable publishing consultants, pre-production specialists, customer service reps and book marketing specialists; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Elizabeth Javor can put you on the right path.

Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized

Marketing Missteps Episode 3 : Waiting till the book is done to start marketing

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been delving into some of the marketing mistakes I’ve made or seen made over my many years of experience in the self-publishing industry as an author who works alongside other authors to bring books to fruition. The first mistake? Devolving into a self-centered campaigner. And the second? Confusing the sales message with the marketing campaign. I’d like to stress that both of these mistakes–in fact, all of the missteps I’ll be unfolding over the course of this blog series–are incredibly easy to make, and have more to do with the vast numbers of authors flocking to indie publishing each year, with little to no experience in marketing to start, and no easy way of filtering through the noise of the countless resources available online. A blog post like this one is only helpful if it actually cuts some of the clutter, right?

Which is why, as we tackle the third most common misstep I see self-publishing authors make in marketing, I am reminding myself of one very important fact: No grandstanding. Just deliver the facts, with exactly the right amount of necessary context, and shine a little light on the path forward for busy authors with limited time to spend marketing much less researching new marketing strategies. And with no further ado, I give you:

He Who Waits To Finish–May Never Really Get Started

I speak with authors on a regular basis who are just one month–or one week–or one day away from having their book out, but who haven’t yet launched a website. “I’ll get around to it when the book’s actually ready for people to read,” they often say. And when’s that? When it’s already on bookstore shelves but there’s no buzz to sell it? But the fact of the matter is, if an author waits that long, anything they try to do after the fact will be too little, too late–no matter how much time and effort he or she pours into the attempt.

Don’t wait to launch your website, your social media platforms, your blog, and other aspects of your digital strategy. I want to repeat that: DON’T WAIT for your book to come out before you start marketing in earnest. Sometimes, a delay can’t be avoided–and I get that, really I do–especially since self-publishing authors are carrying a heavy burden on top of already busy lives. But in most cases I’ve run across, maybe eight out of ten, the delay is artificial, not practical. And it’s usually because the author in question underestimated the months and even years it can take to generate traffic on a website.

The instant a website is live, it can be paired with all of your existing online interactions. If you’re already blogging, fantastic! If you’re already on Twitter and Tumblr and Pinterest and Facebook and YouTube and Goodreads, great! Start shepherding your existing followers in the direction of your official website for updates. Get them used to turning to your website as a resource before your book is out–and that way, they can become advocates for your book even before its publication. One of the toughest things to do as a book-lover is to recommend a new book without having either the actual book in hand or some easy-to-find website to point new readers to. But if your website is live, then you leave room for anticipation and that much-desired “buzz” you’ll need to start selling books on the day of your book’s release. And don’t forget, you are the most undervalued tool in the toolbox. New readers don’t just fall in love with books; they fall in love with the people who write them, too. They will (understandably) want to know more about you, and when your next book is coming out, and where they can contact you for media and review inquiries–all of which is made 500% easier if you launch a website … and early.

One more time for those in the back: don’t wait!

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line at selfpublishingadvice@gmail.com. And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of marketing musings from one indie, hybrid, and self-published author to another. ♠

Share this:

Synopsis:

Critique:

Here’s what other reviewers are saying:

Share this:

THE MUSIC OF WORDS part TWO

Share this:

“Wishing upon a star for Summer to hurry up and get here? Take a moment in celebration of Spring Astronomy Week to enter this raffle for an Advance Reader Copy of my upcoming book!”

You are not alone. ♣︎

Share this:

He Who Waits To Finish–May Never Really Get Started

Share this: