Kelly Speaks

4 Reasons to Be Thankful for Self Publishing

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you have a wonderful holiday as you celebrate all of the things in your life that you are thankful for. One of the things I am thankful for is self-publishing. The shift in the publishing industry from traditional publishing to print-on-demand has changed the lives of so many writers. Here are four reasons I am thankful for self-publishing this holiday season.

1. Freedom of Speech

Authors who submit to regular publishers are at the mercy of editors. The editors decide what types of books to publish based on what is most likely to sell to a large audience. With self-publishing, you, as the author, decide if and when your book is ready to be published. You don’t have to change your story or writing style to fit a mold. Just because a certain type of story, such as paranormal romance, is popular at the moment, doesn’t mean every author has to write for that audience

2. Quicker Timeline

Traditional publishing is very time-consuming. The author must do extensive research on publishers, agents and the market. Then the author must write query letters to the editors and/or agents. Some editors and agents don’t allow for simultaneous submissions, so the author can only submit one letter at a time. Once the letters are submitted, it can take several months to get a response from the editor. Even if an editor or agent accepts your manuscript, it can take over a year to see your book in print. Self publishing takes much less time. While authors still need to do research, they don’t have to wait for editors to accept their manuscript, and the publication process typically can take just a few weeks.

3. Control

If you choose to go the traditional publishing route, you have little control over your book once it is accepted by an editor. The publishing house will determine the artwork, cover design, and price point. They may even choose to change entire sections of your book. With self publishing, you get to control the entire process. You make all of the decisions.

4. More Profit

Traditional publishing houses pay a royalty for published books, and some publishers will pay a small advance. These royalties are typically very low and don’t generate much income for authors. With most self publishing companies (such as Outskirts Press), the author receives 100% of the profits. The profit is determined by the selling price and printing cost. Therefore, there is potential to earn more royalties from your self-published book.

These are just a few of the reasons I am thankful for self publishing. I’d love to know, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

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.
Jodee Speaks, Uncategorized

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers. I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family. This is one of my favorite times of year because it gives me a chance to reflect on all the things I am grateful for and to appreciate all of the blessings in my life. On a common day, most of us rush through our schedule without much thought for all the wonderful things in our lives, but we each have so much to be thankful. Even if you are struggling to get through a difficult situation, there are many blessings in your life.

This week, I challenge you to take time to reflect on things you are grateful for and to write down your thoughts. You may choose to write poems for the special people in your life or write an essay. You could even write personal letters to people you want to share your thoughts with. This exercise is not only a great way to express your gratitude, but it can be a wonderful foundation for a self-published book. Many people enjoy self-publishing books with the goal of sharing it with their family and friends rather than to make a profit off of a commercial audience. These types of books are often filled with personal stories about the author’s life and the people in it, so it is a great way to express your emotions and share how grateful you are.

I’d love to know, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? How could you turn that into a self-published book?

ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 20 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Manager 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.
Kelly Speaks, NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo Check-In: Day 19

I can’t believe it has been almost a month since the NaNoWriMo Kick-Off Party I attended.  I honestly wasn’t sure if I was even going to participate in NaNoWriMo until the night of that event.  In October I had been kicking around the idea of using NaNoWriMo as an excuse to finish the non-fiction (gasp!) book I have been working on a long time, but I had read a comment on a blog post that was making me feel guilty about doing that.

This person suggested that “participating” in NaNoWriMo but using the time to work on a non-fiction book was cheating because that wasn’t the true purpose of NaNoWriMo.  Although I don’t totally agree with this person, the guilt she instilled in me was enough to convince me that if I was going to partipicate, I needed to do it right.  I personally wouldn’t be able to show off my non-fiction book at the end of the month and tout that I had finished it while participating in the National Novel Writing Month.

SIDE NOTE: However, I do personally believe that the true purpose of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing, so even if you’re not a “fiction writer,” you can participate in whatever way that means to you.  In fact, my new writing friends at the Kick-Off Party told me about a NaNoWriMo forum just for rebels like me: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/nano-rebels.  If I participate again next year, I just might go this route.

So, my new friends at the NaNoWriMo Kick-Off Party told me I could “cheat” if I wanted to, and they would still like me, but I was just so inspired by the writers I met that night that I decided I was going to write a novel!  Some of them had participated in NaNoWriMo before and some were first-timers like me, but we were all in it together.

Fast forward to today – November 19th – and I now have 33,138 words on “paper”!  My novel is almost 2/3 complete and I have made it my goal to always stay slightly ahead of the daily goal to give myself some room in case I get behind over the Thanksgiving holiday. Now there are 12 more days and I have 16,862 more words to go!  I can do this!

Whether or not you are participating in NaNoWriMo, I’d love to know how you are doing so far with your writing goals this month.

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.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: Sudden Moves: A Young Adult Mystery

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:

Sudden Moves: A Young Adult Mystery

Kelli Sue Landon

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432767136

Reviewer: Theresa La

“Sudden Moves” is a young adult mystery novel. The novel immediately captures the reader’s interest, just from the short summary on the back of the book. From the first page, the story has a very interesting plot; however, during the middle of the book, the storyline fell a bit flat. This was mainly because the romantic aspects of the story overtook the mystery aspects of the story, just after the mystery was heating up. However, the story soon picked up once again and the ending was interesting and appropriate to the reading level.

Katie Brashers has disappeared after spring break. She told her friends that she was vacationing in Florida but when everyone else returns to school, she does not. No one knows where she is, including Katie’s boyfriend and Michelle Martin, one of Katie’s friends. Michelle and Katie’s boyfriend become amateur detectives of sort.

The characters are average high school students and very believable, which adds to the believability of the story. The book was not very long, only about 207 pages – a good size length, not too short that the reader felt rushed reading the story but not too long that the reader would want to flip pages to find the ending to the mystery more quickly. The cover picture was interesting and fit the story appropriately. This book would be appropriate mostly for preteens and early teens, from twelve to fifteen-years-old, but anyone older who enjoys a light mystery read would also enjoy “Sudden Moves” by Kelli Sue Landon.

Contests, Kelly Speaks

Self Publishing Author Contest: Reader Views Literary Book Award 2012

As a self-publishing author, it is important to constantly market your book and improve your credibility. One of the best ways to accomplish both of those tasks is entering your book into contests. Winning awards shows potential readers that your book is worthwhile and that you are a serious author, and it often results in great publicity as well. One of my favorite book award contests for self publishing authors is the Reader Views Literary Book Award. Here are all of the details.

What is the Reader Views Literary Book Award?

The annual literary awards were established to honor writers who self-published or who had their books published by a subsidy publisher, small press, university press, or independent book publisher.  POD books are accepted.

Who is eligible?

Reader Views Literary Awards are open to all authors  regardless of residency; however, the books must be published in the English language and targeted for the North American market. Works published by major book publishers are not eligible.  Books must  have a 2012 copyright date.  Submission for more than one category or more than one title is acceptable.  Books that have racist themes will be not be accepted.

Three finalists will be chosen in each fiction and non-fiction category. First and second place winners will be awarded in each category. Third place will receive an honorable mention. One finalist, the top score in each area, will be chosen in each regional and global category. Each winner will receive a certificate.

Finalists will be announced in Reader Views’ weekly e-mail newsletter on March 4, 2013 and the winners on March 25, 2013.

For more information, visit http://readerviews.com/Awards.html.

I’d love to know, have you entered your book into the Reader Views Literary Awards before or are you planning to do so this year? Tell us about it in the comments 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.