Author: selfpublishingadvisor

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 by Midwest Book Review:

16 Seasons in Hell

Daniel Bennett

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN:9781432786649

Any alliance between the USSR and Nazi Germany was a farce; war was simply inevitable. “16 Seasons in Hell” is a perspective of the Eastern front of the war from Daniel Bennett who uses his own infatuation with history to depict the conflict in a new light, a western perspective on the Eastern war. Showing the impact of the western conflict had on Hitler’s surge towards Moscow and how the USSR turned them back, “16 Seasons in Hell” is well worth considering for those who wish to learn more about the lesser known conflict of World War II.

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 Tuesday to find out the hottest news.

Self-published photo books go from last resorts to treasures at MOMA

According to this article,  photo books, particularly self-published photo books, are flourishing. Books sell out in weeks, sometimes even days. This is an interesting read for those considering self-publishing a photo book.

uPublishU 2015 Preview: The Best of Both Worlds

This year’s uPublishU encourages self-published authors to gain insight from both self-publishing and traditional publishing. This is a good read for all writers.

11 Ways to Guarantee a Successful Author Talk

This Huffington Post article shares 11 ways to guarantee a successful author talk. This is a must read.

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.

Today is Memorial Day — a day for remembering those who have died while serving in the US Armed Forces.

I didn’t grow up in a military family, although my father was in Civil Service for 40 years.  When I was 22 I moved to a military base in Germany, where I acquired gainful employment and enrolled in college.  I remained tightly associated with the military for the next 21 years.  Wow, did this change my perspective about those who serve!  I am in awe and so very, very thankful for those who answer the calling to serve our country.

I lost friends to battles, and I make a point of reflecting on them each Memorial Day.  I’ve visited Arlington National Cemetery and had the eerie and yet peaceful heaviness descend upon me as I observed ceremonies for soldiers I didn’t know.  I’ve donned helmet and Kevlar and flown into Bosnia where I observed hundreds of soldiers living without modern conveniences and very little privacy because they were on a mission; a mission they may not return from.  They are all very special people.  I think about them too.

Prior to my close association with the US Armed Forces, when I choose a book to read purely for pleasure, I tended to navigate toward the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres, but during and after my association with the military, my tastes turned to historical and military fiction novels.  I love a well-written book I can read that has the entertainment value of fiction combined with the historical basis that I can learn from.  Many of the novels I read really drive home the statement that, “Freedom isn’t free.”

Maybe some of you have a story to share about a soldier you loved and lost.  Consider presenting the story as fiction based on a true-story. Self-publishing can help you honor that special person and share their story with the world.

ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 25 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order 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, Jodee Thayer can put you on the right path.

COLLIDING PLOT LINES AND CHARACTERS

When character plot lines collide ACTION happens. Today I hope to share a concept about plot and character development that is not in most writing textbooks.  It is something I’ve discovered while reading Best Seller Novels and working with very creative writers who have brought me online with them to get their book projects finished. Most teachers of creative writing divide the elements of developing PLOT and creating CHARACTERS into two separate study/working categories.  What I offer you today is the idea that these novel pieces need to be joined at the hip to the point of quite literally colliding while your novels are written.
What comes closest to my suggestion is discussed by language arts professors as “creating the character’s backstory.” The log illustration I’ve selected is my visual representation of their backstory concept and my altered perspective of Colliding Character Plotlines.

Have you ever been to a logging camp and observed the lumberjacks in the tree-cutting process or witnessed a logger stacking recently cut trees in preparation for transport?

• The lumberjack’s term “widowmaker” expresses the danger of being near a tree that has not yet fallen to the ground yet is about to do so at any moment. This creates “situational awareness” that often means life or death for the L-jacks in the area—and is compared to the situational and observable actions and events that are set in place to move a story from beginning to end.
• Once the trees are on the ground, they are trimmed. Painful though it may be, this is also a necessity when selecting which events (and which characters) stay—or go—in your novel.
• Then the tree trunks are dropped one-upon-the other—often from a significant height—and the landing upon the logs below is anything but soft. Characters colliding to form a specific unit of storytellers for your book will experience similar interactions.
• The bark (their skin) is often ripped off in this process as if creating yet another open wound. IF a tree remains connected to its roots there is the possibility of healing—also a potential with character development.
• The visible tree-rings expose the backstory of each log (character histories) and they are now jammed together on flat-bed trucks, railroad cars, or horse-drawn wagons. Many are rolled down mountainsides into cold rivers for “timber-rafting” travel.

WHERE will these tree-trunk-logs end up? The saw mill or paper mill or possibly a firewood pile. I know there will be conservationists out there reading this blog, and I encourage you to keep writing about the abuses of some logging companies. However, when I joined a friend in doing research about the paper mill industry, we wrote a paper about how several big companies have joined conservationists in re-foresting lands and educating the public about being “responsible environmental citizens.” This in turn encourages me that (for the foreseeable future) I will continue to enjoy holding books made of paper in my hands.

Where will your trimmed and stacked and transported and colliding CHARACTERS end up? Only you can answer that question.  However, I suggest that you might also ask them. They—and their tree-ring-backstory—will be of great assistance in building your plot/story line. And when you reach that last page of the manuscript, PUBLISH! If you don’t, those characters will collide with other stories you’re writing for quite a long time.

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.

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 by Midwest Book Review:

Healthy Shame! …How to Spank Your Inner Monkey
Joseph W Dopp
Publisher: Outskirts Press
ISBN:9781432769420

We torment ourselves because we love ourselves. “Healthy Shame: How to Spank Your Inner Monkey!” is a guide to dealing with our own self-sadism of torturing ourselves and how to turn that into a healthy self-love and use it to make our lives and the lives around us better and more complete. “Healthy Shame” is a strong read for inspirational and self-help collections, highly recommended.