Category: Kelly Speaks

Kelly Speaks, Self-Publishing Week in Review

Self-Publishing Week in Review: 8/20/13

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.

Why is self-publishing still scorned by literary awards?

This reporter brings up a very interesting, and true, point: as an increasing number of self-publishing authors climb the bestseller lists, book prizes will have to rethink their entry criteria. Currently, most literary awards are closed to self-published books.

Self-Published Author Takes Two Spots in iBookstore Top 10

Supporting the point that self-publishing authors produce quality, in-demand books, this article talks about a self-published author who recently took two spots on a top 10 list. That is a major accomplishment for any author, self-published or not.

Cozy Mystery Rises on Self-Published Bestsellers List

Here is yet another self-publishing success story. This mystery author recently took three spots on MediaBistro’s Self-Published Bestsellers List. If you are planning to self-publish a book, you should frequently check out the list to stay up to date on industry trends. It is helpful to know which books readers are enjoying and what other authors are writing.

Self-published author wins $25,000 PEN prize

Sergio de la Pava’s self-published book “A Naked Singularity” recently won the PEN/Robert W Bingham award, winning the author $25,000. The Robert W Bingham prize is the most lucrative award given by PEN, and it is often awarded to writers published by small or unconventional presses that take risks on unfamiliar names.

If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

Back to Writing: Poetry Challenge

August is here and as summer is winding down, it’s time to get back to your writing and publishing goals.  Each week this month I will present you with a writing challenge for the week.  Come back every Wednesday to join the challenge and get back into the habit of writing on a regular basis. As Desiderius Erasmus once said, “The desire to write grows with writing.”

Last week I wrote about the short story challenge and asked you to write a 500 word story inspired by your summer. Hopefully, the challenge got you back in the routine of writing, and you are ready to take the next challenge. (If you missed last week’s post, check it by clicking here.)

This week, your challenge is to write a poem about summer.  Start by brainstorming: Do you have memories from the summers of your youth?  Does something about summer have a special meaning to you or inspire you in some way?

Feel free to play with different formats and poetry techniques. Perhaps, you could take the same topic and write about it in several different formats such as haiku, free verse, epic poem, and sonnet.

The key is to let your creative juices flow. Poetry is not about perfection; it is about expression. You never know, these poems may spark an idea for a larger project such as a poetry book, or you may decide poetry isn’t your thing but you’d love to turn the piece into a short story or novel. Just relax and be creative.

After you complete the challenge, feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear about the poem(s) you wrote this week.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, Self-Publishing Week in Review

Self-Publishing Week in Review: 8/13/13

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 in self-publishing this week.

Linda Gillard on self-publishing: ‘I market myself, not a genre’

Successful self-published author Linda Gillard talks about her self-publishing experience, including pricing, marketing, and working with editors and designers. She also shares why she never plans on going back to traditional publishing.

Hoffman: Should a self-published book be your next business card?

This writer suggests that books are the next business card and are just as important as having a website and social media presence. Self-published books are a great way to build your credibility as a professional and to promote yourself. Self-publishing isn’t just for novelist. Many writers self-publish non-fiction books, and ghostwriters can provide assistance to those who need it.

Complimentary Kindle Edition for Authors Self-publishing With Outskirts Press in August

Authors who order Outskirts Press Diamond or Pearl book publishing package any time from August 1 through August 31 automatically qualify for the free Kindle Edition with the valid promotion code. Authors not only save hundreds on self-publishing services by bundling them with one of these two popular publishing packages, but receive a $199 Kindle Edition free.

If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

Back to Writing: Short Story Challenge

August is here and as summer is winding down, it’s time to get back to your writing and publishing goals.  Each week this month I will present you with a writing challenge for the week.  Come back every Wednesday to join the challenge and get back into the habit of writing on a regular basis. As Desiderius Erasmus once said, “The desire to write grows with writing.”

If you have had a busy summer, it may have been awhile since you sat down to
write, so we’ll start with an easy challenge — write a short story this week based
on something you experienced this summer.

Start by brainstorming:

Did you travel somewhere new this summer?  Did you have a scary, strange or funny experience while camping?  Did you participate in an event that you don’t want to forget?

Now, write a 500 word short story about your experience. Don’t worry about perfecting the story. The goal of this week’s challenge is to get back in to writing. You never know, the short story may spark a larger project idea such as a self-published book of short stories or a novel based on your short story.

After completing the challenge, feel free to comment below. Tell us a little bit about the short story you wrote or how the challenge has helped you get back to your writing goals.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Kelly Speaks, Self-Publishing Week in Review

Self-Publishing Week in Review: 8/06/13

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 in self-publishing this week.

Six Self-Publishing Surprises

This writer shares six noteworthy self-published books with the goal of dispelling the myth that finding great self-published work is difficult to impossible. The review includes books in a variety of genres, including poetry, art, YA, and flash fiction. Interestingly, the writer discovered many of the featured authors on Twitter. It shows that social media truly is a powerful way to market your self-published book and to connect with others in the industry.

How Print-On-Demand Is Transforming Self-Publishing

This article talks about print-on-demand and the many benefits it offers as well as the impact it has on the publishing industry. The key points include more books and author control.

Bella Andre, Romance Author, Talks Self Publishing And Writing (VIDEO)

In this video, a self-publishing author shares parts of her new book, and she shares her self-publishing success story. One of the highlights is her comment that she now makes more per month than she did from an entire traditional publishing advance.

If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.