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

“Skinny Little Tree” : A Saturday Self-Published Book Review

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 Between the Pages:

skinny little tree by jayme martin

Skinny Little Tree

by Jayme Martin

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 978-1478708131

Synopsis*:

Author Jayme Martin has created a pretty picture book describing the seasons through the eyes of a skinny little tree. Through questions asked by a curious little boy, skinny little tree shares answers that highlight the passing of the seasons. There is the happiness of summer, the fading of fall, the loss during winter, and finally renewal as spring returns.

Colorful drawings correspond with the text to illustrate the tree’s answers. Martin adds a unique touch by including occasional blank pages offering the reader a chance to try his/her own hand drawing things referenced in the story such as a blue bird, little leaves, and the moon.

The simple story and friendly image of the skinny little tree make reading and sharing Martin’s book a pleasure. Young children can look back at their own additions created in response to the drawing prompts and perhaps imagine further images as the seasons change.

Critique:

I really enjoyed this interactive children’s book. First I want to comment on how special it is that this book allows children to draw on some of the pages, this helps to keep them intrigued. The story was short and simple which is perfect when reading it with young children. I enjoy sharing this book with my daughters because the author takes something familiar to children and creates a simple story which is essential in keeping their interest. My favorite part was the illustrations. I felt as though the artist did a great job conveying the emotions the tree was feeling in the story. This is a great addition to any young child’s library.

[ reviewed by Lynda Coker at Between the Pages ]

Here’s what other reviewers are saying:

At twenty-eight unnumbered pages, this letter-sized paperback is targeted toward preschool aged children and beginner readers, especially those who enjoy interacting with books by drawing as they follow along with the story line. With no profanity or scary scenes except perhaps a few dark-looking trees at night, it is an ideal book to read and use right before nap time or bed time. Artist Clark Andrews Jr. uses full page, colorful illustrations with enough engaging details to keep readers interested.

After fill-the-blank ownership and acknowledgement pages, this imaginative tome is about a little boy who speaks to a tall, green tree that looks happy and contented on the front cover. The boy asks the tree lots of questions such as why it is smiling at him, why is it weeping or worried, why does it dance with glee at night, and why is it smiling again. Promoted as a book discussing all the seasons of life, it is more about emotions like being happy, sad, worried, or cheerful.

With each question the boy asks, the tree responds with reasons such as being tickled by wiggly worms, having a friendly blue bird fly away, shedding little leaves who would rather play with the ground, listening to the moon sing, or having all its friends back, surrounding it.

Also with each answer there is a blank page to have the reader create and draw his or her own wiggle worm, blue bird, leaves, moon, smile, and even a skinny little tree. By engaging readers through artistic interaction, they learn not only how to imagine and draw their own designs, they are educated about a few emotions, what insects and animals are near trees, and that trees shed their leaves.

Although the book is very short in length and there are only six drawing applications for readers, the concept of interacting with the story is helpful and fun. Due to the word repetition, beginner readers can focus on specific word groups and learn new, more complicated words and their meanings.

– Amazon Reviewer Conny

Learning that all seasons of life are worth living is the focus of author Jayme Martin’s delightful tale, SKINNY LITTLE TREE.

A youngster finds a skinny little tree smiling and ask why. It says Wiggly Worms are tickling its toes. Then the tree cries because its friend the Blue Bird leaves.

Next the tree becomes worried when its leaves begin to fall. But then the tree dances with glee under the moon. Finally the tree is happy again when all things return.

With each new find, Martin has left a page for readers to draw what the tree is discussing. This enables the reader to participate in the story in their own way. This enchanting story follows the seasons of the tree with great detail and insight. Martin has a delightful way of showing how life changes giving parents and children a fun way to talk about it.

The beautiful illustrations by Clark Andrews Jr. enhance the fun story. The vivid drawings will capture readers attention as they follow the tree’s story.

Youngsters will learn as they enjoy this entertaining story. It’s a fun read for all ages.

– Amazon Reviewer Mason Canyon

Book Trailer:

* = courtesy of Goodreads reviewer Sally Kruger.

saturday self-published book review

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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Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Editing Your Self-Published Book, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations: 9/2/2016

WRONG WORD vs RIGHT WORD

= Editor Assistant

Are you the Writer whose story is rattling around in your thoughts and never gives you a moments rest? Does it wreak havoc with your daily life? Do conversations with family and friends become punctuated with descriptions of the perfect scene to open chapter eight? Is everyone asking you the question: WHEN will you be finished with that novel? This may be the time to consider working with an editor/assistant—but how do you find the right one? When I posed this question to one of my author/editor friends, she said: “It’s much like picking the right puppy out of a big litter. Go to a writers conference; sit in the middle of the room; and voila. The right one will come to you—eventually.” Well…maybe that has worked for her. Because she’s not just an author, but also an editor who easily connects with people and really does a great job of editing for them, lots of people enjoy talking with her. However, allow me to offer a few other suggestions that might help folks who aren’t quick as outgoing.

frustration

  • Because my editing friend is also a published author (with several book on Amazon and in bookstores), I look for that information in any Editor’s Bio. If someone has never gone through the whole writing process themselves, how are they going to understand what I’m going through—and HELP ME!
  • Whether in-person or by phone, I want to TALK with several Editors about my book ideas and then LISTEN to their responses. I’m hoping to hear a connected-ness to the central concepts of the book and feel a person-to-person (writer-to-writer) connected-ness, too. If they don’t “get” the story I’m trying to write, they are not the Editor for me.
  • Also important is finding an Editor who will compliment a writer’s personality type. Most of the authors I know have utilized personality-type-testing to enhance their understanding of Introvert/Extrovert, Empathic/Detached, etc. “characters” as they are developed in their stories. Knowing the basic personality type of the Editors being interviewed will help select the best person to BALANCE the creative flow.
  • Both Author and Editor must also be adaptable—sensitive—to the STORY being written. We’ve all heard (and eventually understand) that stories and characters take on a life of their own as the book gets closer to completion. Editor and Author must be willing to LISTEN to each other’s ideas about improving plot without making decisions that alter the character(s) and the life they’re living in the story.
  • Finally, ask for references from the Editor’s authors list and be willing to call them. One of my favorite things to do is provide the list of the published books my author/client/friends completed.

Mark Twain is quoted saying, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is like the difference between the lightning bug and lightning.” The same can be said about connecting with the right Editor. There is one more way to find an excellent Editor who will match your needs. Talk with the publishing consultant from the publisher you plan to use. Their experience in connecting Writers with Editors is there for the asking. ⚓︎

Royalene

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.

in your corner, Uncategorized

In Your Corner: Help. It’s Not What You Think.

When we talk about seeking help in the world of self-publishing, we come up against a struggle almost right away—a struggle almost as old as the indie publishing world itself: that inner debate between going it alone and creating the best possible book, a goal which in reality sometimes requires us to go very much not alone. A reality which requires us to seek assistance. And when you face up to that question, what you’re really asking is something else entirely. Something even more important:

What can having an expert in your corner do for you?

There’s great value in seeking personal help when it’s called for, just as there’s great value in considering all of your options and pursuing only those which benefit you more than they cost you. And really, when you think about it, pretty much every option costs you something, even if we’re talking about intangibles like time and energy and creativity instead of tangibles like hard cash. (But even hard cash is largely symbolic, isn’t it? That’s another story for another blog, though.) Often, the costs are ones we don’t think about, beyond the surface-level acquiescence of I guess I have to do this thing or this other thing, so here goes. I’ve spent many an evening on the floor of my living room snipping out shapes from craft paper only to sit back after hours of sweat (and the occasional tear, if I’m honest) with the lightning-strike realization that I could have just ordered these shapes online or something. But for one reason or another, I had already sunk a great deal of labor into the craft while assuming that I had no other option.

Many people have the same kind of AHA! moment when it comes to self-publishing—only, most of them have it too late, after they’ve already agonized through the various minutiae of picking out a self-publishing package, maybe even designing their own book cover or conscripting vaguely interested friends into copyediting, and even chasing down local distribution options to no avail.

consultation

Here’s the thing, though:

Help, in the world of self-publishing, is abundant. And it’s readily available. If you know where to look, and if you’re willing to look.  There’s definitely a bit of resistance to giving up the solo attempt, stemming partly from the legacy of indie being tied to a flat rejection of the traditional publishing model, with its teams of marketing aides and editors with gatekeeping tendencies. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with questioning the need for help. Question away! Just know that it’s out there, and that true to the indie mindset it is as myriad and adaptable as the self-publishing process itself.

Thinking of my own personal experience in the world of self-publishing, I know for a fact you can find help with:

The true value of personal help in the self-publishing process is in knowing you have an ally. Many allies. All of the time. They might come in the form of a Publishing Consultant or a Personal Marketing Assistant, or something else entirely. They’re out there on message boards, email, and of course you can catch them over the phone. They’re even out there lurking in live chats.

You are not alone. ♣︎

Elizabeth

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.
Alternative Marketing Methods, Book Marketing, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Uncategorized

The Book Beautiful: Illustrations

We all started out reading illustrated children’s books; perhaps your parents would read the words as your eyes were captivated by the images of a hungry caterpillar, the Berenstain bears, a Curious little George, etc. As we grow older, however, it’s probably not too often that the books we fill our time with have accompanying illustrations. Nevertheless, it has not always been the case that book for adults went unillustrated. Charles Dickens, for example, was known to have very close relationships with his illustrators, to whom he would give plot outlines before he’d even written the text itself. So while it’s easy to pull up references to colorful children’s books illustrations, that is not to say that they don’t have a valid and important place in other genres of books geared toward young adults and adults as well.

curious george illustration

So you want to write an illustrated book? First of all, don’t look at the illustrations to an illustrated book as supplemental, but as a crucial aspect to the themes you are trying to convey. Images help augment the reader’s imaginative experience, they make a book fun and easier to read, and they definitely help hold on to the reader’s attention.

There are certain genres that illustrations or photographs seem to be an obvious and necessary accompaniment–cookbooks, DIY-books, textbooks, autobiographies and biographies, and as we’ve previously mentioned, children’s books. The illustrations for a cookbook could simply be photographs of the final result of your recipe, and for a DIY-book they could be drawings or photographs of the different steps of the project your book conveys. If you’re writing an autobiography or a biography, photographs of the subject throughout their life or at pivotal moments in their life will help the reader further identify with the subject as a person rather than as a character in a story whom they have to fabricate an image of in their mind. As far as children’s books goes, the adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ doesn’t really apply–kids will always judge a book by its cover and they will be inevitably more drawn to eye-catching, colorful illustrations.

Quantity is another important consideration to make as far as illustrations go. For a young-adult book, one illustration per chapter will usually suffice, while a children’s book should probably have one illustration per page. With a children’s book then, layout becomes another consideration–will your images be a full-page spread, or will they be next to, above, or below the text? If you’re writing a biography or an autobiography, you may want to have your photographs placed at the relevant points in your text–for example, your subject won the Olympic gold medal and here is a picture of her doing just that. OR, you could have a center panel with multiple pages of photographs and use footnotes in the text that will direct the reader to the relevant images that they can flip to easily.

Now, assuming that you yourself are not going to illustrate your own book (not to at all doubt your artistic abilities), the question of how to get your book illustrated become important. Outskirts Press offers custom, full-color illustrations for authors, even if they haven’t published through our company. By using this service, you can be sure that you’ll never have to split royalties with an artist, a cost that is always nice to avoid. Remember, no matter who you choose to illustrate your book, that quality illustrations are going to be a very important factor in the marketing value of your book.

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. ♠

Kelly

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
Kelly Speaks, news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 8.29.2016

And now for the news!

This week in the world of self-publishing:

“When former Farrar, Straus and Giroux editor Jesse Coleman was looking to get back into publishing after spending years building a freelance editorial business,” writes Rachel Deahl in this August 26th article for Publishers Weekly, “he found himself weighing opportunities at Big Five houses against a job at a software company.” Ultimately, it seems, he was able to create his own third way between the two and launched a publishing branch to the Los Angeles-based software company, NationBuilder.  “That a software company would be interested in a book division seems, as Coleman acknowledged, a bit odd,” writes Deahl. But neither Coleman nor NationBuilder were new to the notion of publishing–or self-publishing.  NationBuilder’s cofounder and CEO, Jim Gilliam, gave a viral speech to the Personal Democracy Forum in 2011, a speech he and his fellow cofounder Lea Endres later transformed into a manuscript that Coleman edited and they together self-published. The book’s success, according to Deahl, whetted their appetite and they noticed a distinct synergy between nontraditional publishing models and their own company’s mission. It seemed natural, then, to develop a publishing arm to their own company with the goal of creating “the kind of nonfiction books that have consumer appeal, and extend the company’s brand.” NationBuilder Books, says Deahl, launch this fall when The Internet Is My Religion is officially rereleased on September 13. Says Deahl, “NationBuilder’s titles will be available in both print and online, and Gilliam said he’s currently in negotiations with a major distributor. Veering from the traditional royalty model, Coleman is instead commissioning books as works for hire. In lieu of royalties, authors will be offered flat advances of $20,000 each.” This places NationBuilder somewhere in the grey zone just off center of the traditional publishing houses–albeit a grey zone that has its roots deep in the self-publishing movement. For the full story, follow the link!

A quick update on a story we first brought you news on back at the beginning of the month: FlipHTML5 is officially live and seeing its first users according to this press release published to Digital Journal on August 26th. The Hong-Kong based developer, FlipHTML5 Software Co. Ltd, promotes this software as “significantly useful for self publishers as it allows them to distribute their magazines everywhere in order to reach more people,” but the proof will remain in the pudding until more users have reported back their experiences with the software over time. The demos provided on the FlipHTML5 website, including one for “Dumb Starbucks,” demonstrate the interactivity and potential for the medium–albeit, for very corporate ends. (There are also demos for H&M, WeddingWire, Miss Dior, Apple, Hard Graft, Outside Magazine, Top Gear, GoToMeeting, and a number of others under the website’s “Case Studies” tab.) One could foresee this becoming a new and beautiful way to publish zines, for one. To read the rest of the press release, click here.

Here’s some good news to start your week off on a happy note: the Independent Publishing Resource Center, given notice of its upcoming ousting earlier this summer, is close to finding its next home according to Portland Business Journal staff reporter Ron Bell in this August 24th article. “The nonprofit, which has offered publishing tools, workshops and other resources to writers and self-publishers for nearly 20 years, got word of the increase in July and needs to find a new home to replace its Southeast Division Street location by April 2017,” says Bell, making it one of “handful of recent real estate transactions that have triggered the ousting of Portland artists — including the Towne Storage Building, the Troy Laundry Building and the impending sale of Imago Theatre’s home.” The rent hike of 300 percent may not be feasible for the Independent Publishing Resource Center, but its recent successes in providing support to the self-publishing industry … is. Writes Bell, the organization turned to its friends to help out with the costs associated with leaving its 20-year home and “launched a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of $20,000. As of this past Friday, the nonprofit had cleared that and then some. This morning, the total had hit $20,754, and the campaign still had another 10 days to go.” This is good news for everyone that the IPRC has helped over the years and will help in the years to come! For the rest of Bell’s coverage of the situation, read the original article here.

spa-news

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.

Kelly

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