Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: Abe’s Lucky Day

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:

Abe’s Lucky Day

Jill Warren

 Illustrations by Kalpart

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432773052

“Abe’s Lucky Day” is the first kid’s book I’ve encountered to have as its main character a person who is homeless. Warren and artist Kalpart illustrate very well the statement “What goes around comes around” with Abe, who even though he is homeless, thinks more of others than himself. By the end of the book, something positive happens to him that bears out the statement. “Abe’s Lucky Day” is an affirmative message for readers of all ages.

Cheri Speaks

The Importance of Genre

The genre of your book is one of the most important decisions you will make when self-publishing. It will impact who buys and reads your book as well as how reads it.

The most important to thing to remember when choosing a genre is to not pick a genre too soon. Too often, authors set out thinking “I want to write children’s books” or “I want to write adult mystery novels,” but writing often takes on a life of its own and your book may not best fit in the genre you originally intended.

Once the book is finished, it is important to consider the audience you hope to reach. Are children your target audience? Are professionals in a certain field your audience, or do you want your book to appeal to a wide, general audience? A narrow genre can limit the readers who find your book. This is one of the few cases where general can be better.

Finally, think about how readers will find your book. Will they primarily search online, or will they visit a  bookstore? If your readers will be searching online, consider keywords when choosing a genre. This will ensure that your book shows up in the search results.

If you are still unsure about the genre of your book, talk to other writers and people who work in the publishing and book distribution industry. Visit your local bookstores to look at the titles in your genre and talk to the sales people. Seeing and hearing what other writers are doing and what readers are buying can help make this difficult decision easier.

Cheri Breeding ABOUT CHERI BREEDING: Since 2005 Cheri Breeding has been working as the Director of Production for Outskirts Press. In that time, she has been an instrumental component of every aspect of the Production Department, performing the roles of an Author Representative, Book Designer, Customer Service Representative, Title Production Supervisor, Production Manager and, Director of Production. She brings all that experience and knowledge, along with an unparalleled customer-service focus, to help self-publishing authors reach high-quality book publication more efficiently, professionally, and affordably.
Wendy Speaks

Make Your Publishing Dream Come True

Have you dreamed about publishing a book since you were a child? Do you spend countless hours perfecting your craft and hope to one day share your story with the world? Are you a professional who wants to improve your platform by publishing a non-fiction book?

Whatever your dream, you can make it come true. Too often, people think of the endless rejection notices and years of disappoint associated with traditional publishing with thinking about professional writing, but this doesn’t have to be your story. You can see your book in print without years of heartbreak and rejection.

Self-publishing lets you decide if and when your story is ready to be shared with the world. You call all the shots, including how the book looks and how much it costs. By deciding to self-publish, you are deciding to make your dreams come true. Everyone has a story to share, and everyone deserves to see their writing in print. If you are ready to stop dreaming and start celebrating your accomplishment of writing a book, start the self-publishing process today. You deserve it.

ABOUT WENDY STETINA: Wendy Stetina is a sales and marketing professional with over 30 years experience in the printing and publishing industry. Wendy works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; and 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, Wendy Stetina can put you on the right path.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: Corinthia Falls

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:

Corinthia Falls

Kim Hutson

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN:9781432771676

Reviewer: Olivera Baumgartner

There was little to make “Corinthia Falls” appealing to me at first glance. The book opened with scenes of two warring factions in a small church in Corinthia Falls and a bunch of the town’s teenagers, their ruminations, and pranks. While they were certainly funny, I was afraid that this would become one of those preachy reads on saving souls and superiority of their religion over any other. I could not have been more wrong. Sure, there was plenty of soul saving, but none of it ever became preachy or even remotely boring. I found myself totally engrossed in the little town of Corinthia Falls and the stories of its dwellers, particularly the newcomer, traveling evangelist Pavlos Lincoln Armstrong. As colorful as his name and truly multi-layered, he became a catalyst for a major change in the formerly rather sleepy congregation. Helped along by his bear-like canine companion Silas, as well as a posse of the town’s teenagers, Colonel Armstrong managed to bring together the “Standers” and the “Setters” as well as the former observers.

I’ve truly enjoyed the story and the wonderfully quirky characters in it, particularly the teenage cast. The narrative had a nostalgic, nearly dreamlike feel to it, and I found myself looking forward to each new chapter and each new victory that Colonel and his helpers managed to achieve. Timber, TJ, Anthony the Ant, the Sam’s boys – what a wonderful cast of young men to help change the dysfunctional course the church found itself on. And let’s not forget Becky and the tender love story developing between her and one of the main characters – what a treat! There was so much to enjoy in the first part of the story that I actually wished the story would have ended there.

While I understand the rationale about the “30 years later” second part of the story, and the showing of how goodness will bring positive results in the end, part of me wished that the author would have left that part unsaid. It felt slightly rushed, slightly forced, and not completely convincing. I guess that at times I would prefer to keep wondering how a certain character – or characters – fared later in life, and I found this second part of the story less heartfelt and less persuasive than the first one.

I would recommend “Corinthia Falls” to any lover of good fiction, particularly those readers who enjoy Christian and inspirational books. Corinthia Falls is a place they will enjoy getting to know

Cheri Speaks

Other Writers Are Your Best Friend

In some industries, professionals are highly competitive, and they treat their fellow professionals as competitors rather than peers. Not in the publishing industry. Sure, it is competitive, but most writers respect other people’s work and want to see other writers succeed. When you considering publishing, befriending a fellow writer is the best thing you can do.

There are so many decisions that impact the success of your book: the cover, the price, the marketing efforts, and so on. Before you make those decisions, you should find out about other writers’ experiences. Most likely, they would be more than happy to share.

Look for writers in your writing group or classes, or reach out to a published writer in your area. You can also connect with other writers through online forums and social media. Most likely, the writers will feel honored to share their stories. Before talking with your new friends, come up with a list of questions. Here are a few to get you started.

Looking back, what would you do differently?

What was the best choice you made?

What were your goals?

What would you recommend to a writer considering publishing for the first time?

After your conversation, be sure to thank the writer for helping and consider staying in touch. It is great to have fellow writers to share ideas and stories with. It cannot only help you with publishing, but it could improve your writing.

Cheri Breeding ABOUT CHERI BREEDING: Since 2005 Cheri Breeding has been working as the Director of Production for Outskirts Press. In that time, she has been an instrumental component of every aspect of the Production Department, performing the roles of an Author Representative, Book Designer, Customer Service Representative, Title Production Supervisor, Production Manager and, Director of Production. She brings all that experience and knowledge, along with an unparalleled customer-service focus, to help self-publishing authors reach high-quality book publication more efficiently, professionally, and affordably.