For the Love of Bringing Books to Life: Write, Publish, and Be Known
How to Get Published by Gateway Publishers: An Interview with Author Ginger Moran
When my colleague, Ginger Moran told me her novel, The Algebra of Snow, was being published by a gateway press, I was curious–and knew my readers would be interested, too. What is a gateway press? What’s the advantage over self publishing? Here are Ginger’s answers and a bit more about her edgy novel which I absolutely loved (I ordered 5 copies as gifts!). Lisa: Before we get to the gateway press that’s publishing the Algebra of Snow, can you tell my readers a bit about the history of the book? It was nominated for the Pushcart Editor’s Choice Award—a special[...]
How to Fund Your Book Project
Years ago, photographer Scott Indermaur told me of his dream of putting his photographs from the REVEALED Project into a book. Not easy getting a publisher for a photography book in this competitive market and economy. And, of course, self publishing a photography book full of photos on high quality paper is a much more expensive endeavor than self-publishing a how-to book. So, that seemed out of the question, until Scott discovered KickStarter and put together his own funding campaign to underwrite the project and make his book a reality. Last fall I received the request that went out to[...]
Winning Book Awards: Tips from a four-time winner
Amy O’Brien, author of Stuck with Mr. Wrong: 10 Steps to Starring in Your Own Life Story has won four awards for this powerful, creative and fun book. I asked Amy to share some of her secrets to winning awards: Lisa: What process did you go through to identify the awards? Amy: When a friend who works for a consulting firm told me that the firm’s owners wrote and published a book that won several awards–and that the award winning book gave the firm and authors such credibility–I realized I should enter Stuck with Mr. Wrong in some contests, prompting[...]
Self-publishing Stigma: Is is Real? What’s it Mean for My Book?
On the phone with a new client the other day, I waffled back and forth in my mind. On the one hand, his book has the potential for a bestseller: His groundbreaking information affects a huge number of people. If he can build a big enough platform, I can envision a major publisher picking it up. On the other hand, he wants to have the book soon to help develop a new program–and sell it. He’d like to get national publicity for the book and the program. Once upon a time, it made a huge difference that a book be[...]
Book Covers: How to Design a Book Cover that Sells
Your book cover can make or break book sales. I recently recommended a book to a student in my book writing class and she said later, “I never would have bought that book without your recommendation. There were so many visually appealing books and this book had neither title or cover to entice me. ” I was struck by that statement, which reinforced the importance of a book cover. People often ask me what goes into a bestselling book cover and to recommend a cover designer. I’ve seen some mixed results with covers. When Sandra Zimmer recently recommended book cover[...]
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