Author: selfpublishingadvisor

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

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: “The Trouble With Peer Pressure, A Simple “My ADHD Story” for Young Teens”

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 the Midwest Book Review:

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The Trouble With Peer Pressure, A Simple “My ADHD Story” for Young Teens

Darlene R. Wood (author)
Victor Guiza (illustrator)

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781478734468

Synopsis:

Do You Have ADHD? You Are Not Alone!

If you have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), you already know that sometimes, everyday life seems like it’s too much to handle. And probably you’ve already experienced the fact that when you’re already overwhelmed, peer pressure seems to compound any situation. The Trouble With Peer Pressure is a friendly, practical guide to help you navigate the challenges of peer pressure. Author Darlene R. Wood provides information you can use, including ways to think about the consequences of your actions, and strategies to feel less isolated by the label of ADHD. You may feel that figuring out how to deal with peer pressure is hard—but guess what? It doesn’t have to be. Like any other issue, it just requires that everyone step back, evaluate, and design a thoughtful and respectful solution. The Trouble With Peer Pressure is a valuable resource for you and your family that will make life easier for you, both in school and at home.

Critique:

“The Trouble With Peer Pressure” is a moving story about a real young man who grew up suffering from problems with peer pressure. Some of his problems were diagnosed as ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and he was prescribed medication to help with some of his symptoms or problem behaviors. However, taking the medication did not solve all the problems for this young man. He continued to feel hurt by other kids and the experience of peer pressure. He also got attention for negative behavior, which led to more impulsive, risk taking behavior, including taking drugs and alcohol. In an effort to understand himself, he arrived at the observation of experiencing pressure at different circles of life, such as family pressure, neighbor pressure, law pressure, and peer pressure. Ultimately, after many painful experiences, he concluded that life improves when he works hard to cope with every day simple tasks, hoping to make his own unique contribution to society. He concludes “Success is the only option,” with the added hope that one day the trouble with peer pressure will go away, one person at a time. An effort to increase empathy, “The Trouble With Peer Pressure” is an experiential book for young adults and teens that attempts to explain the feelings experienced by a young man with ADHD who tries hard to fit in with the rest.

[ reviewed by Children’s Bookwatch ]

Here’s what some other reviewers are saying:

I was drawn to this book for a few different reasons. The first of which is because I’m in school to be a teacher, so gaining any additional insight into the minds of young people is a great help. The other reason is because my girlfriend has ADHD, and I often fail at learning to step into her shoes. She was only recently diagnosed in adulthood, though she’s struggled with school and learning for a long time. So, I thought I’d check this book out in order to learn a thing or two.

The first thing that really draws the attention is the illustrations. They’re really well done, with good, vibrant colors. This is good for keeping the attention. And I found that each illustration was well corresponded with whatever topic was being discussed in the book at that present moment.

This book is written in choppy, short sentences, but I think that’s a good thing considering the subject matter and intended audience. It’s also written in a first person narrative, so those who know what it’s like to live with ADHD can easily relate, and those who do not know this life are forced to put themselves in that position. There’s a lot of questions narrated in this book, making it easier to think out loud and to formulate a discussion.

That’s actually how I think this book is best used- a discussion starter. It opens the doors to have a bigger, more meaningful conversation but leaves something to be desired in the actual story itself. I don’t think that the themes of ADHD and peer pressure always blend together in this book, but I understood the point well enough. I think this is the type of book best shared between parents and children, used as a communication or educational tool. It’s a solid book that I’m sure parents and educators alike will find useful.
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– Amazon Reviewer Jill

The young teen years are when most people first experience the development of cliques, where you are defined by your social standing within the group rather than anything else. For many, although they may have gone to school with some other children for years and been friends, that has vanished and they are no longer friends.
While every child experiences feelings of loneliness and wants to be noticed, those whose behaviors differ from the norm are especially troubled, specifically if they are considered as suffering from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Most aspects of society are designed to pressure people into conforming to often ill-defined and sometimes fluid social norms and no place does this more than public schools. A teacher has a class of twenty or so students and they are all doing the same standardized lesson with little room for individualization of the curriculum. While part of this is peer pressure (from people your own age), there is also social pressure being applied to achieve at the general expectations of performance.
This book is a simple story written for the child that does not fit in, whether or not that oddness is due to a medical condition or simple circumstances. The story is presented from the perspective of a child diagnosed with ADHD where the medication did not seem to make a significant difference. He is a boy that wants to be part of the group, yet ended up responding by consuming drugs and alcohol and eventually had trouble with the law.
Humans are social animals and from our ancient tribal roots we have the ideas of social conformity deeply embedded into our mental structures. This means that there will always be peer pressure to conform to the social norms for the good of the group. Success cannot be defined by avoiding peer pressure but by how well we are able to cope with it
Expressed as a series of events and questions that he asks himself, the main character responds that he just wants to be himself and have friends without feeling pressure to move outside his core being. One of the best therapies for humans to work through their difficulties is to know that they are not unique and that other people have previously and are currently suffering through the same problems and difficulties that they are. The main character is one that all young teens will relate to, they ask themselves the same questions as they try to establish their core identities. This book is a good starting point for a conversation about being a young teen and taking your first strides towards individual identity.

– Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer Charles Ashbacher

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

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Advocacy in Self-Publishing, Royalene Speaks, Writing

Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer: 10/23/2015

THE NOAH WEBSTER LEGACY – PART IV

Following Webster’s legacy path, we discover that ESSAY and ARTICLE writing are a great way to exercise your creative muscles while dropping bread crumbs that will encourage Readers to discover the books you’ll write. Noah Webster wrote many such pieces which he says (in the preface of his Collected Essays) will naturally allow the writer to “give himself up to his feelings and his manner of writing will flow from his manner of thinking.” How might that translate into today’s world?

 copyright

  • Webster took a season of his life to edit periodicals—the American Magazine for one year (1788–1789) and the pro-federalist American Minerva (1793–1798). Is this a skill you have, a natural talent that could build your portfolio? Seek out both paper and Internet magazine formats that interest you and begin submitting articles (400-700 words in length) to them. Follow their guidelines to a “T” while maintaining your natural and unique manner of writing and thinking to flow.
  • Webster continued to write and publish (self-publish) pieces that he knew to be valuable to the general public. Between 1802 and 1806 he issued the first three volumes of Elements of Useful Knowledge, schoolbooks to enlighten and educate the growing population of the United States of America. What subject matter interests you to the level of being passionate about it? Have you accumulated a level of knowledge about it that you could be labeled an “expert?” Too many people shy away from writing on a topic because they cannot see or accept themselves as a knowledgeable person in that subject matter when, in fact, their unique perspective is needed to advance deeper understanding.

Also, Webster wholeheartedly believed that writers—and the ideas presented in their work—needed protection from “theft.” He had experienced firsthand, and witnessed the works of other writers become plagiarized, misrepresented, and “hacked to bits” too often. In the fledgling United States “national copyright protection” for Webster’s SPELLER was limited to a period of fourteen (14) years. Although that seems like a very short time, it worked out well for him because at the end of that interval he sold the entire rights to the American Spelling Book (for its third copyright period 1818 to 1832) to Hudson and Company of Hartford, Connecticut. Those finances allowed him to focus on his major work: An American Dictionary of the English Language, which was published in New York in 1828.

ALL AUTHORS need to keep themselves informed about current copyright law. Best source: www.copyright.gov. Copyrights DO expire after the death of the author (—plus 70, 95 or 120 years), so our heirs need to be aware that when that time comes, they may be able to sell that copyright as income to support our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Our friend, Noah Webster, Jr. continues to teach us about this challenging author/writer career. His persevering work ethic not only kept him and his family fed and housed, it has sent ripples into all future generations. Your work is just as valuable! Whether you’re creating textbooks or books of poetry—cookbooks or photography books—car manuals or political speeches—the words that you are placing together in concise structures of communication are necessary elements of life. Keep writing! Then…PUBLISH! ⚓︎

RoyaleneABOUT 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.
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The Current State of E-Readers | An Author’s Guide (Part IV––the Samsung Galaxy Tab)

Last week, I examined the dedicated e-reader designed for use with Barnes & Noble’s stores, both digital and brick and mortar––the NOOK.  And if you read that post, you’ll recall that I mentioned Barnes & Noble will no longer be producing a dedicated e-reader, and in fact is no longer producing an e-reader at all; it is, however, lending its name and all of the might of its online platform to the latest incarnation (or should I say “one of the latest incarnations?”) of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.  The resulting hybrid will give Barnes & Noble customers the necessary continuity to keep using the interfaces to which they have become accustomed, while also lifting the burden of production and distribution (at least, partially) from a company that is still, ultimately, struggling to keep its foot in the door of print book distribution.  Amazon’s Kindle store and Apple’s iPad have collectively changed the course of ebook distribution and consumption, whether we like it or not––and like so many others, Barnes & Noble and Samsung are hoping to create the next best thing, or a near-approximation of the iPad that still gives the bookseller an edge of control over the end user.

(There are altogether too many options on the iPad for a bookseller’s tastes––too many apps and too many readable file formats within those apps.  The more options, the less easily a bookseller can drive sales in a particular direction––and profits.)

Samsung Galaxy Tab

But we’re not here to talk about the new tablet (although you can read a most thorough CNET review here).  We’re here to talk about the original Samsung Galaxy Tab series, which is now up to at least its tenth iteration … if not a higher number (they throw in variant names, with the “Galaxy Tab S” and “Galaxy Tab Pro” and so on complicating a neat and orderly numbering system).  The entire line is noted, however, first and foremost for being the first (or among the first, depending on who you ask) to embrace a full Android operating system––and as such, it became a solid, distinct, and direct competitor to both the iPad (which runs on Apple’s iOS) and the Kindle (which varies a bit from iteration to iteration, but for the most part employs a heavily modified and limited version of Android).  I think it’s worth mentioning both tablets like the iPad and dedicated e-readers like the Kindle in the same breath when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy, because the relationship between the two is hybridizing so quickly as partnership projects like the Samsung Galaxy NOOK become the new normal.

Here’s the thing with the Samsung Galaxy Tab series that gives it an edge over the Kindle and the original NOOK: it’s a fully-fledged tablet, with a far wider range of capabilities as a device than a dedicated e-reader.  You can access the Google Play store, and run a whole slew of apps that have little or nothing to do with books, and yet the reading-related apps you can download are beautifully designed and presented, so the e-reading experience is still highlighted and underscored as important to app developers.  Many people rate the average Samsung device as somewhat less responsive and intuitive than the iPad, but Apple is famously canny about using software to create closed loops around its hardware (that is, the average iPad has to be “jailbroken” before it is “hackable”––you have to actually tamper with the operating system to render it more adaptable).  Basically, Android-based operating systems like the ones the Samsung Galaxy Tablets run are way more easy to customize, tinker with, and generally geek out over.

Samsung Galaxy NOOK

And there are a lot of Samsung Galaxy Tabs out there.  There are no hard and fast numbers for me to quote to you, but it’s safe to say they’re not hurting too badly if they have the capital to launch “boutique” or specialized lines like the NOOK hybrid.  (Each iteration costs a lot of money and time and talent capital to design and maintain and run support for.)  Some recent reports do, however, indicate that sales were not quite as high as they should have been––and as the company supposedly reported them to have been––and this is a matter of great concern.  Samsung has the benefit of a large support network and a diverse portfolio to fall back on if one project or device doesn’t sell well; Barnes & Noble had no such safety net, and thus lost its ability to respond effectively to rapidly shifting market demands.

Here’s what you need to know as an author when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy Tab: it’s not going anywhere.  Oh, iterations come and go the way my love of rain comes and goes (and boy, does that one fluctuate a lot).  But the great thing about a series like this one is that Samsung will continue to make new additions as long as the market exists and as long as there is a demand for Android-based devices that aren’t locked into being dedicated e-readers like the Kindle.  Customers want variety and customizability, games and work and literature all in one device, without the need to untangle multiple cables or swap out chargers on the nearest wall outlet.  And as long as there are Android-based operating systems, the Google Play store will remain an important distribution point to keep an eye on.

Are you selling through Google Play?  I personally hope so, and if you are and would like to share your story, please (please please) drop me a line in the comment section with all of the details.

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. ♠

KellyABOUT 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.
Advocacy in Self-Publishing, distribution, from the archives, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Self-Publishing

From the Archives: “The Importance of Distribution in Self Publishing”

Welcome back to our new Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years.  What’s stayed the same?  And what’s changed?  We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.

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[ Originally posted: April 6th, 2010 ]

If a publisher focuses on discounts to an author who buys their own book in bulk, that often communicates two things. 1) That publisher is more concerned with selling to you than to other readers. 2)  The publisher is charging you too much for lower quantities. Do you really want to be forced to buy 100 books at a time just to get a fair price? “Bulk” discounts simply trick the author into buying more books than they need, which defeats the whole advantage of on-demand printing.

I’ve seen many authors go down that road, and then end up with lots of books sitting in their garage or basement that no one knows about, because the distribution piece is missing.  The power of the on-demand printing and EDI distribution offered in custom self-publishing take advantage of wholesale availability via multiple sales channels including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Baker and Taylor, and Ingram—North America’s largest distributor.  Look also to see that your book is available through I-Page, the book ordering system available at over 25,000 bookstores and retail chains world-wide.

Do look also for a publisher that will sell your book to you at a special author discounted price as well.  It’s never a bad idea to have access to an inventory to compliment your virtually endless on-demand inventory.

The power of distribution when paired with flexible pricing creates an advantageous sales combination for the self-publishing author.

distribution

There’s no easy way to sell books, but as this post back in 2010 points out, there’s no point to purchasing in bulk if you can’t actually move the copies into the hands of your readers.  And as the original post expounds, an effective means of distribution remains absolutely essential in order to steer clear of stocking your basement and not those same readers’ bookshelves.

So how do you distribute books?  Word-of-mouth can work, certainly, as is illustrated by the extraordinary case of Christopher Paolini, although one might argue that his case is only extraordinary because it was eventually “discovered” by the traditional publishing industry and afterwards became a massive hit.  Paolini only relied on word-of-mouth and his own ardent self-marketing methods for a short while, when looking at the total “life cycle” of his Inheritance series.

It seems that selling through an online distributer is perhaps the way to go, especially when those distributers (namely, Amazon and Barnes & Noble) come with all of the might and power of a massive international company.  There are certainly some extraordinary benefits to taking advantage of their systems, toward which end many hybrid publishing companies (such as Outskirts Press) provide packages geared specifically to exploit.  And their digital distribution platforms, while perhaps too bulky to be truly “cutting edge,” do have all of the perquisite customer support and technical maintenance that you could wish for.  There’s always an upside to walking down a path that many others are also walking down.  (I’m thinking specifically of user how-to guides and FAQ forums, here––since I take advantage of those, and often.)

The ultimate point is, however, not to rely on making bulk purchases of your own book as an author, even with the possibility of an author discount.  You want readers to be connecting some of the dots themselves, and buying through these (socially networked and easily findable) ecommerce platforms instead of only through you.  If you are the only person who is selling your book, then that creates a kind of bottleneck for sales.  Diversifying who sells your book and where it can be found is a vital component of any effective self-marketing strategy.  ♠

KellyABOUT 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.
Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Self-Publishing Week in Review

News From the Self-Publishing World: 10/19/15

This week in the world of self-publishing:

This week, the interview that caught our eye was one between Sussex author Fiona Cane and Argus news editor Lucy Pearce, published on October 16th.  In the interview, Cane reveals that Peter James and Eddie Izzard had a hand in her choice to pursue self-publishing her latest book, The Other Side Of The Mountain.  “It’s just so difficult now; publishing companies take on maybe one or two authors a year,” says Cane.  But she didn’t want to become bogged down in the politics of publishing––she wanted to get her book out there, despite encouragement from other quarters to chase after a more traditional route to publication.    The Other Side of the Mountain is not Cane’s first book, but it is the one she is most proud of: “It is much more the book I have always wanted to write but was never sure if I could.”  Lucky for us that her childhood schoolfellow Izzard happened to stop by with some sage words of wisdom at just the right moment!  “He told me that I had to really push, and want it, and believe,” says Cane.  And now we have yet another stellar entry into the canon of self-published geopolitical dramas; The Other Side of the Mountain takes place in Haiti in 2001, and amidst the political and social chaos of that year.

Ever wondered where exactly AmazonCrossing stands in respect to the world of self-publishing?  How about self-publishing abroad?  Just last week, on October 15th, Porter Anderson of The Bookseller published an article with some of the much-needed details––but he admits that it wasn’t easy to put together the material: “As more indie authors focus on opening international markets, more questions than answers are at hand. It is early days in the deep field of foreign self-publishing.”  According to Anderson, the matter of translation remains a huge stumbling block for foreign authors seeking self-publication; AmazonCrossing has, however, been taking steps to help ameliorate the difficulties.  Quoting Chad Post, director of the University of Rochester’s (New York) Three Percent translation project, Anderson reveals one key detail: “With more than 150 books translated now, this Amazon Publishing traditional imprint has become the US’ most prolific translation publisher.”  That’s a lot of books, but it’s nowhere near, in our humble opinion, enough!  (Though let’s face it, there will never really be enough….in our opinion.)  Throughout the remainder of his article, Anderson attempts to unspool some of the complicating factors that surround self-publishing a translated work (or, more correctly, finding cost-effective ways to translate your already self-published book).  Well worth a read, we think.

It’s an exciting time to be a Green Bay Packers fan!  Daniel Kramer, son of the legendary Packers player Jerry Kramer, recently revealed his plans to fund and self-publish a book of his photography and essays to PRNewswire in an October 15 press release.  The project, which is being funded by a Kickstarter campaign (ending on October 20th), reached its funding goals days before its deadline … and then some.  The book itself, which takes a close look at the 1996-1997 football season, will include material co-written with award-winning author Dick Schaap and feature Jerry Kramer’s own photography, taken on the ground with a privileged insider’s view of the goings-on.  The book will be released on the 20th anniversary of the season it documents.  And even if you’re not a Packers fan, any self-published, crowd-funded project that reaches this kind of stratospheric public acclaim is very, very good news.

In more news from across the pond, celebrated Blues scholar Adam Gussow is releasing his first piece of fiction––a novel, to be precise––through BookBaby.  In an October 15th article for HottyToddy, senior managing editor Callie Daniels Bryant writes that Gussow’s book is already receiving stellar reviews on Kirkus, where the book is said to be “a fast-paced, enjoyable one, with the harmonica blues angle putting a unique spin on the European trip narrative.”  If that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, consider the fact that Gussow is “noted for his longtime partnership with guitarist Sterling “Mr. Satan” Magee as the duo Satan and Adam.”  As a self-publishing author, Gussow has found success through alternative means of self-marketing, and has captured the attention of many potential readers through his carefully curated YouTube channel.  Gussow’s own experience as a street performer, or busker, provided much of the fundamental texture of his novel––Busker’s Holiday––so necessary to conveying the actual and authentic experience.  If you’re looking for something to take away from the news this week, here it is: the pairing of authenticity with a tech-savvy approach to social media may just be the start of something great.

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.

KellyABOUT 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.