Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Happy New Year ~ 2009

This blog has attracted over 4,500 readers in its first year. Thank you all for your interest. We're all happy to bid goodbye to a year full of sour news, bad weather and a sinking economy. Here's to a new President, a renewed hope in America, and good times in 2009 with friends, family, great books and movies to enrich our spirit.

Wherever you are, please remember to support your local economy. The merchants and stores support you with tax dollars, employ your neighbors, and invest in your community. Show your appreciation by supporting their business. And remember to support your fellow artists & authors in their endeavors. The entrepreneurial spirit thrives in America and around the world.

Read globally ~ Shop locally

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Google Book Search

As you may be aware, Google created a book database, including generous excerpts of most author's works. On October 28, 2008 the Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and Google announced the landmark settlement of Authors Guild v. Google.

If your books are available at google.com/books, you might want to go to the lawsuit settlement page, and fill in your contact information. That's how you'll be notified and compensated for any copyright infringement.


Read more about how the settlement works here.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Good excuse of the week...


This from Poynter.org:

The "best" of 2008's media errors and corrections


It's Regret the Error's annual round-up, with this year's "correction of the year" award going to Dave Barry for this explanation:

In yesterday's column about badminton, I misspelled the name of Guatemalan player Kevin Cordon. I apologize. In my defense, I want to note that in the same column I correctly spelled Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarak, Poompat Sapkulchananart and Porntip Buranapraseatsuk. So by the time I got to Kevin Cordon, my fingers were exhausted.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Ann Patchett essay in The Atlantic

EXCERPT:

"And then there’s this: if my house were burning down, the one thing I’d rush in to save would be my copy of The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, which I had signed at the first author reading I ever attended, the year that I was 16 and the author was 70. I could discourse endlessly on why my books are in no way improved by my signature, and my words are just the same on the page whether or not I’ve read them aloud. And while I know better than anyone that I am no Eudora Welty, I know how profoundly I was shaken to see her, how I felt that my book had been transformed by the touch of her hands."

--- Ann Patchett

The December 2008 Atlantic has an excellent essay by Ann Patchett on book tours.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Taking Obama's "Yes We Can" to new heights


MediaBistro.com reports Obama Campaign Photo Book Is Pre-Sale Hit
The first printing of Yes We Can: Barack Obama's History-Making Presidential Campaign, the book of Scout Tufankjian's campaign trail photos, is a pre-publication hit for powerHouse Books. The publisher reports that it has sold out the 55,000-copy first edition of the book nearly a month before its scheduled mid-December release date. A second printing of 25,000 copies has been ordered to arrive at the same time.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Self-publishing in a big way: Trader Joe's cookbook

Why didn't we think of this? A Trader Joe's cookbook.

A Wall St. Journal article by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg notes:
"Two women who know their way around the aisles at Trader Joe's have borrowed the supermarket store's name and are making a splash with a cookbook that treats the retailer's offerings as a prep line for working moms who want to serve home-cooked meals.

Few self-published books amount to much commercially, but the authors say "Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's" has already sold 20,000 copies since its first printing in November 2007. Borders Group Inc. helped arrange for national distribution and stocks the title in nearly all of its 522 superstores.

Now the two authors, who met as undergraduates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have restocked another 50,000, of which they have shipped 15,000. They hope to strike it big this holiday season. Cookbook sales are primarily driven by chefs featured on the Food Network. The number of cookbook titles declined to 2,673 in 2007 from 3,062 in 2005, according to Books in Print, which is owned by R.R. Bowker, a provider of bibliographic information.

"People laugh at how many we printed, but we didn't want to run out," says Wona Miniati, who co-wrote the book with Deana Gunn. Both women have two children and live in California. The book was originally Ms. Gunn's idea; she initially shipped orders directly from her garage in Encinitas, north of San Diego.

The cookbook was picked up by Borders after it received a mention in the Sacramento Bee last December. Readers began asking for the book at a Sacramento Borders store, and the staff ordered some copies. When sales took off, news filtered back to company headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich.

It's unclear how many books are self-published in the U.S. these days, although Lulu Inc, a print-on-demand publisher based in Raleigh, N.C., claims to have printed 475,000 titles in the U.S. since 2002."

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Another nice award for "Release Your Writing"




Release Your Writing was chosen as a finalist in the
National Best Books 2008 Awards,
Business: Writing & Publishing category,
sponsored by USA Book News!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Author victory over Google

There's money coming your way...

Similar to Amazon's 'search inside the book feature,' the ambitious people at Google have been busy making electronic copies of OUR books, and making them available for full online searching. It's part of their very aggressive program of digitizing all the print content, from the British Library Archives, to Harvard, to our books. Having Google creep toward becoming THE repository of all printed matter makes many of us uncomfortable, but now the courts agree they owe us something for the rights they "borrow" to our works.

This from ASJA.org
"Some of the books were in the public domain but many others were not. Google digitized the lot, without so much as a nod to authors' copyright protections. The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and several individuals filed suit to stop this blatant piracy.

Yesterday the parties announced a settlement that will serve both writers and Google. Terms of the settlement still have to be approved by the court, but assuming it happens, writers who own the rights to scanned books should get at least $60 per work, depending on how many authors make claims. (The total settlement amount is $45 million.)"

Details on how authors can file claims will be available in a few months. In the meantime, it's all good news for us.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

National Novel Writing Month is upon us


The fun never stops over at nanowrimo.org - that's the home of National Novel Writing Month and that's where you should be if you really want to write. The month of November is dedicated to helping writers write, by logging your daily production and racing through the month. Can you write 50,000 words by the end of November?

While the goal is to write a nove, you can use it anyway you wish - an article a day? outline for a non-fiction book? character development? It's waiting for you ... Give it a try... Release your writing!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Does your book need a "do-over" for 2009?

One advantage of print-on-demand (POD) is that you can change your book if you wish. You might want to issue a new edition, correct a serious problem, or re-do the cover. POD offers you that flexibility. Depending on the firm you use, you may incur a new set-up charge, and of course, you'd pay a small fee for a new cover layout. But if you feel you're missing your target audience, it's better to spruce up the book than have regrets. By using POD you're not locked into a 2,500 copy print-run, or sitting on a lifetime supply of a book that doesn't address the market's needs.

Keep in mind, your book was issued with an ISBN, the number which makes it a unique registered object. So you can not alter these features under the same ISBN:
title
binding size
trim color
interior color

Also, if you change text, move or replace chapters, or change the cover, it is considered a new edition requiring a new ISBN. With most POD firms, the cost of the new ISBN is included in the set-up fee.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

What will you be known for?

There are a lot of famous writers in the world, known for outstanding works, but one obituary in the Chicago Tribune today cited a writer for quite a distinction.

Mr. [James] Crumley published eleven books, the best-known of which is "The Last Good Kiss" (1978), whose opening line has been widely called the best in crime fiction:

"When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonora, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon."


Those 38 words, according to Crumley took him eight years to write.
So before we all leave this world, let's take the time to make our writing memorable.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Track your blogs & books

Do you know which words and phrases will drive traffic to your blog or website?

You can find out by using www.freekeywords.wordtracker.com to see what results come up when people search for sites like yours.

If you want to come up with a new domain name that will be readily found, or even better - if you are choosing a book title - use this free service to see how well it would rank.

I've been told again and again that I did the right thing by having a domain name and book title match: Release Your Writing and releaseyourwriting.com works double-time driving traffic to my web site, to this blog, and to steadily growing book sales.

To use www.freekeywords.wordtracker.com, type in the search phrase you expect people would use when looking for your site. It then calculates the average number of expected searches on that term per day.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

More options for self-publishing and print-on-demand

This excerpt is from the 9/03/08 New York Times. I've placed a link to the full article below.

By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: September 3, 2008

Hundreds of small, independent publishers will have easier access to digital book technology under a new service offered by Perseus Books Group, the result of agreements between it and more than a half-dozen technology companies, Perseus is expected to announce on Thursday.

The new service, called Constellation, will allow independent publishers to make use of electronic readers, digital book search, print-on-demand and other digital formats at rates negotiated by Perseus on their behalf. Unlike large publishers, small ones typically lack the resources to use digital technology and as a result often bypass it altogether.

David Steinberger, the president and chief executive of Perseus, said that by using Constellation independent publishers could make their books quickly available in several digital formats, allowing them to compete on the same technological level and with the same speed and flexibility as larger companies. Many publishing analysts see digital technology as one of the few major growth areas in the book industry.

Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com have features that allow consumers to read or search inside a book, and such tools are known to improve sales; digital printing technology allows publishers to produce books when they become suddenly and unexpectedly in demand.

... read full article

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

October 2008 Events

Confirmed events:

Chicago-area Mensa conference
Saturday, October 25, 10:30 AM
Find out how smart you are at a weekend Mensa conference. I'll be speaking on book publishing for smarties.
Sheraton: Arlington Heights IL
More info | Email to a friend

Getting Your Book Published
Tuesday, October 28, 7:00 PM
A hands-on workshop on book publishing. Register at 847-367-1581.
Space is limited.
The Gathering Place
521 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, IL
More info | Email to a friend

Release Your Writing full event schedule at BookTour.com

Friday, August 15, 2008

Seven ways to get your book reviewed

After the initial rush of praise for your newly published book, don't overlook the opportunities to continue getting reviews. Here are a few suggested options. Let me know what other ideas work for you.

1. Get reviews from midwestbookreview.com, bookpleasures.com and other firms that support independent publishing.

2. Ask a syndicated columnist for a review. Give them a relevant slant and you'll be doing them a favor by suggesting a fresh column idea.

3. Local newspapers

4. Associations: All the groups you belong to, including your college alum magazine

5. Bookstore newsletters

6. Your local library newsletter

7. Local media

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Being a writer...

I don't usually spread unattributed quotes, but if you need a nice nudge, enjoy this:

... from an interview with a recently laid-off travel editor for a newspaper.

"The wonderful thing about being a writer—and there aren’t that many wonderful things, as you know—is that if you have a job and you lose that job, you can still write."

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Don't let August be your slump month

Have you written and submitted your work yet this summer? June and July have blown away, leaving only the dusty days of August. When the sun glares through your windows, and steam rises from your tomato plants, don't glare back in exhaustion. Park yourself in a cool spot and write so darn fast you'll generate a breeze.

In the July/August 2008 issue of Poets & Writers, Joshua Bodwell writes on The Art of Reading Andre Dubus. The essay refers to senior, the father of Andre Dubus III, who is most known for House of Sand and Fog. The son is quoted as having said this about his father's story entitled "Waiting."

The story, "... about the hollow ache experienced by a woman widowed by the Korean war, took fourteen months to write and was more than one hundred pages in early manuscript form. But when the story was published in the Paris Review, it spanned a mere seven pages."

Supports my theory of overwriting: Just keep producing. So go sit in the shade and write til August ends.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Meet Maggie Ball, a friend from down under...

One of my many online friendships is with Magdelena (Maggie) Ball, an energetic writer and host of Compulsive Reader: www.compulsivereader.com.

I've sent soon-to-be-authors to Maggie's site to study the reviews and learn what makes a book stand out, and what gets mentioned in goods review. Now Maggie Ball has authored her first novel Sleep Before Evening, and has been named as a Finalist in the the Regional Fiction category of the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards were established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books for the year and is presented by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group in cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen O'Shea Literary Agency. Additionally, Sleep Before Evening will be listed as a Finalist in the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards catalog, distributed at Book Expo America in Los Angeles.

Talking about her book promotion, Maggie says: "I'm actually based in Australia myself, so all of the in-person promotions I've done have been here in Aus -- that includes the book launch, library talks, giving ancillary talks on subjects the book touches on like addiction, self-actualisation, art and bi-polarity.

"With Angus & Robertson, Australia's biggest independent retailer, I basically visited them in person and made a lot of phone calls -- can't beat that face to face stuff. But I have a pretty big online presence, and tend to work in a worldwide venue, and probably from a network point of view, I have many more colleagues and contacts in the US than in Australia. Also Australia is a much smaller market, and the book is set in the US, while the publisher is in the UK!"

When you think it's difficult to write fiction, try writing a novel based in New York, when you're living in Australia, while running the successful Compulsive Reader site at the same time.

The marvel of this online friendship and my reason for sharing this with you is: In all this time, knowing Maggie online and enjoying her Compulsive Reader site, I never knew she was based in Australia. It shows you both how global the "world-wide" web is, and how you must listen when I urge you to think globally in your own promotions. Living in Chicago doesn't limit your market. Use the web to target readers far and wide, and let me know when YOU are the one to win an international prize.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

"Release Your Writing" is on sale at Amazon Kindle


Gee, maybe Amazon read my recent post about Readius. Nah, that couldn't be. If you do have Kindle, you'll be glad to know Amazon is offering my book, Release Your Writing on sale, for $7.99 to download for your Kindle.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

In 2009, Readius takes on Kindle


How cool is this? A 7/06/08 New York Times article cites the upcoming competitor for Amazon's ebook reader. It's the "size of a standard cellphone. Flip it open, though, and a screen tucked within the housing opens to a 5-inch diagonal display. The screen looks just like a liquid crystal display, but can bend so flexibly that it can wrap around a finger."

For the full story, read the Times article or learn more from the Readius' maker Philips Polymer Vision.
If you haven't purchased a Kindle yet, even at the new lower price of $359, you might want to hold on to your money and see what other bright ideas come along.

Cross-posted on Computer Cclarity's blog too.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Ways to Write, Going Against the Grain

If you read Dan Poynter's newsletter, you already know this. If you don't read his powerful free advice and news, you can subscribe here:

His June newsletter included Five Cool Ideas for Speed Writing by trainer and coach Michael Angelo Caruso, of Edison House.

He offers five tips for writers to work faster without sacrificing quality:

1. Write to micro deadlines.
Try to generate x pages an hour or a chapter a week. Faster isn't always better, but faster is definitely . . . faster.

2. Don't worry about punctuation or spelling.
The idea is to correct the grammar later. Get the pages done, then proofread.

3. Write out of order.
Instead of writing pages in sequence, work on modules in any order. Then piece them together and provide continuity.

4. Write backwards.
It can be easier to begin when you know the end.

5. Work from an outline.
Get the main parts down first. Think of it as creating a skeleton and then "fleshing" out your work.

More 5 Cool Ideas topics at http://www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com

Friday, June 27, 2008

Revision, revision: Save those drafts

A witty post on RedRoom.com today, by Ashira Goddard mentions something of note: "saving the edits."

I always save drafts and revisions, sometimes labeling them as "Draft3 1876 words," or "Draft4 cut," etc. When you feel you really can't let go of your work, whether good or bad, it makes sense to save your article or manuscript under another name and keep the old drafts until you're really done.

It paid off recently when an editor requested a short article, and I over-wrote, as usual. After lots of good reader feedback, she wanted a longer piece with a broader slant. Right from the start, I was halfway done, because of all the excess material I'd saved.

If you need a bit of inspiration to do the same, read Ashira's June 3rd post on RedRoom.com today.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Atlantic's take on Google

Make yourself read this lengthy article at The Atlantic web site, if you're not a subscriber or don't want to go to the library and read it:

If you fret over your inability to concentrate when reading, if you are tired of being busy but not getting anything done, then multi-tasking and a world of sound bites may be to blame.

This Atlantic article, by Nicholas Carr, is the perfect antidote for writers, Luddites, and everyone in betweeen, who's wondering what technology has done to the written word, and our comprehension of same.

Go ahead - read it now: Is Google Making Us Stupid

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

"Release Your Writing" now available on Amazon Kindle

Take me with you! Release Your Writing is now available as an Amazon Kindle book. So if you have a Kindle ebook reader, you can download my book for $7.99.

Then what? Well, you can read it on planes and trains, refer to it when you're in a high-powered agent meeting, or take it to the beach. Now you can practice my "Pajama Marketing" techniques when you wake up in the middle of the night, and bookmark your favorite passages without turning the entire book into yellow highlighter!

Monday, May 26, 2008

How nice: Elizabeth Gilbert explains all

The woman who wrote Eat, Pray, Love raised the bar for all writers. But you need not feel that faint twinge of jealousy. Turns it took Elizabeth Gilbert a looooong time to be accepted:

After more than five years of sending out work for publication and collecting only rejection letters, she finally broke onto the literary scene in 1993, when one of her short stories was pulled from the slush pile at Esquire magazine and published under the heading “The Debut of an American Writer.” (excerpt from Elizabeth Gilbert's bio).


Click here for a wonderful essay sharing her thoughts on the writing life.

So, let's spend the summer writing well. As Elizabeth Gilbert says, "PUT IT OUT THERE."

Helen Gallagher
Release Your Writing






Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Award winner: "Release Your Writing"


I'm shamelessly following the Doris Lessing post with my own award news:

Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way is a Nonfiction-General award winner in the 2008 IWPA Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest. My client and colleague, Francine Friedman also won in the Non-fiction Autobiography category for her memoir Match Dot Bomb.

Enter contests. You never know if you may win, and the ability to have your work judged by professionals is always rewarding. For Release Your Writing, the judge said:

"A fabulous work and a must for anyone trying to understand the complexities and options for publishing in the early 21st century. The organization is grand and the explanations clear and concise."

Doesn't that make you want to run out and buy a copy? Click here for purchasing options.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Attention writers: "Don't imagine you'll have it forever"


Let's get that mojo moving writers, as Doris Lessing says: "Don't imagine you'll have it forever."

Lessing: Nobel win a 'disaster'

The increased media interest in her has meant that writing a full novel was next to impossible, she told Radio 4's Front Row.

Lessing, 88, also said she would probably now be giving up writing novels altogether.

Her latest book is the partly fictional memoir entitled Alfred and Emily.

Since her Nobel win she has been constantly in demand, she said.

"All I do is give interviews and spend time being photographed."

Speaking about her writing, she said: "It has stopped, I don't have any energy any more.

This is why I keep telling anyone younger than me, don't imagine you'll have it forever.

Use it while you've got it because it'll go, it's sliding away like water down a plughole."

Lessing is the 11th woman to win the Nobel Prize for literature in its 106-year history.

Her best known work, of course, is The Golden Notebook.


Whether she means energy or time, we all know its fleeting. Read the full article at BBC.com here

Friday, May 9, 2008

The time to write!


While taking time to devote to writing is not exclusively a woman's problem, there are rather urgent reasons why we need to consciously support women in the arts. Consider these facts, from A Room Of Her Own Foundation:

  • Only 9 out of 52 winners of the National Book Award for Fiction are women.
  • Only 11 out of 48 winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction have been women.
  • Generations of students studied art history with a text that did not include one woman artist—Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Louise Nevelson and Lee Krasner were all excluded.
  • Women writers won 63 percent of the awards but less than 30 percent of the money in awards and grants reported by Poets & Writers. (January/February 2003 issue)
  • In 2002 all but one of the Pulitzer Prize finalists for Fiction and Poetry were male.
  • 94 percent of all the writing awards at the Oscars have gone to men.
  • Of the major artists represented by major New York galleries, only 16 percent are women.
  • Only 25 percent of the advisory members of the National Endowment for the Arts are women.
  • A recent study by the Coalition of Women’s Arts Organizations showed that in all one-person shows for living artists in American museums, only 2 percent of the featured artists were women.
  • A 1992 study showed that only 17 percent of artists in galleries nationally were women, whereas the Bureau of Labor indicated that 48 percent of professional American artists were women.
  • 51 percent of all visual artists are female and women hold 53 percent of art degrees, but 80 percent of art faculty members are male.
  • 68 percent of total art income in the U.S. goes to men and 73 percent of all grants and fellowships in the arts go to men.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Need a nudge? Writing resources


If you need to recharge your creativity or find places to publish your work, the web is full of great resources.

Take a look at WorldwideFreelance.com, especially their Writing section, for help when you need a little inspiration:

They have fresh articles on:
  • fiction, non-fiction and blogging
  • freelance writing
  • writing habits
  • international markets
  • the writing craft
  • queries, mistakes to avoid, and dealing with rejection
  • publishing and book promotion


There you go - just one site out of thousands that can turn a slow day into a writing spree!

Friday, May 2, 2008

Blogger adds post-dated feature

If you blog here at blogger.com (and why wouldn't you?), you know you can trick the system by clicking Post Options and giving your post a past or future date. Blogger has now made this a bit easier, so you can create what would be daily posts, but write a batch of them all at once, and have them load per your schedule. Read on...

Scheduled post publishing, which we talked about testing on Blogger in draft last month, is now live for everyone. If you set a post’s date into the future, Blogger will wait to publish until that time comes.

Have you ever wanted to announce something on a certain date but knew you wouldn’t be at a computer to make a post? Or you wanted to keep posting regularly but knew you’d be on vacation for a few weeks? Scheduled post publishing is here to help you out.

Scheduling a post is easy to do: on the post editor page, click the “Post Options” toggle to show the “Post date and time” fields. Then, type a post date and time that’s in the future. When you click the “Publish” button, your post will become “scheduled.” When the date and time of the post arrive, it will be automatically published to your blog.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

New York Times essay today on authors & self-publishing

This will especially interest members of the BWW workshop held yesterday. Today's New York Times has an essay here
and its as though the writer was sitting right there with us. She mentions so many of the same things we discussed.

Log in at the NYTimes or email me if you want a text-only version of the essay:
The title is "You're an Author? Me Too!" by Rachel Donadio.


Saturday, April 26, 2008

The 7th point on a PowerPoint slide

Well, what good is a PowerPoint slide show if you cut off the last item? An astute observer in a workshop this morning noted my slide entitled Seven ways to find an agent, actually had only six points.

Here are all seven in their entirety:
1. Check the acknowledgments in similar books. You'll generally see a “thank you” to the author's agent.
2. Subscribe to writersmarket.com, read agentquery.com, Publisherslunch, Mediabistro.
3. Ask a fellow author for a referral to his/her agent.
4. Explore writing organizations and databases: ASJA.org, or Literary Market Place (LMP) at your library.
5. Attend workshops and establish connections.
6. Do a web search for the agent type most specific to your book/ non-fiction, literary fiction, memoir, etc.
7. Use your platform to help agents find you.

And a platform basically includes some combination of these resources to provide a viable audience for your book:Image (c) Helen Gallagher, please do not distribute without permission.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Good reviews need only a few well-chosen words


Here's an excerpt from a review of Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way. t's posted on Boomer Women Speak and circulated in their worldwide newsletter. For you, here are my two favorite passages:

"Release Your Writing is written in a direct, no-nonsense fashion and is a valuable tool for anyone striving to publish their work. Topics are indexed in this small hand-held guide that fits neatly in a purse, a laptop carrier or alongside your desktop PC."

Reviewed By: Melinda Cianos
http://www.nabbw.com/list_bookreview.php?book_id=73

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

April 23 is Unesco's World Book & Copyright Day


From Unesco:
"23 April: a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel MejĂ­a Vallejo. It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity."

So, read something profound on April 23rd, or even better, write something!

Full Unesco report

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Antitrust matters over Amazon

I was pleased to receive an after-hours email message tonight from the Washington Attorney General's Antitrust Division office. Her comments are posted below, (see March 29 entry) and she kindly suggested we visit this link where the current status is posted:

www.atg.wa.gov/amazonpod.aspx

Friday, April 4, 2008

What's your motivation?

What does it take to light a fire under your desire? I often say we need to listen to our inner voices when it comes to our writing, and our hopes. Many people say "I want to write about travel," for example, or "I wish I could get published." But what do they do to get there?

Here's your inspiration for today:

". . . Never hope more than you work."

- Rita Mae Brown


So whatever you're trying to achieve, make sure you are actually DOING something every week and every month to bring yourself closer to that goal. Don't "wish" your life away.

During a presentation last night for Midwest Writers Association, I mentioned the goal at the end of my talk would be for audience members to choose two or three of the ideas presented, and go home and put those ideas to work.

I was thrilled to wake up this morning (well, I'm thrilled to wake up every day!) to see an email from one audience member, who took action on two of the suggested topics yesterday. She went home got herself involved in two sites to increase exposure for her book, and she did them before even going to sleep! Now that's commitment.

What are you trying to make happen in your writing career? Don't hope for it - work at it. Add a comment below, if you would like to share your commitments.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

HGTV: Promoting publishing

After speaking at the Univ. Wisconsin Milwaukee Spring Writer's Festival in March, I was lucky to be invited to appear on live television on The Morning Blend, up in Milwaukee. Here's my "HGTV" moment.

Pathways to Publishing
Monday, March 31, 2008

With digital technology available today, authors don't need to hunt for an agent, and wait for a publisher. Today's self-publishing allows an author to get a timely book on the market, re-issue a book that's gone out of print, and enjoy the publishing process. There's no need to follow the old model to become published today. Author Helen Gallagher offers help with book marketing and manuscript production from her book "Release Your Writing: Book Publishing, Your Way."
Here's the link.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

"Release Your Writing" praise & endorsements

From: Beneath the Cover

from BeneathTheCover.com

Over at Release Your Writing with Helen Gallagher, there’s an outstanding
article on self-publishing, also taken out of Publisher’s Weekly. For those who
are not yet aware, Publisher’s Weekly is the 800 pound Gorilla in the room.
Being mentioned in their esteemed pages can create enough attention to
drive mountains of sales. Helen notes that an interview with J. Kirby Best,
the CEO of one of the largest POD companies in the world, Lighting Source,
shows how Print-On-Demand is truly taking off in the new millennium. He’s
quoted as saying, “It took us seven years to print
10 million books…This year we published 10 million in the first 11 months.”


Another “Wow!” from this publisher. I recommend a visit to Helen’s blog to
read the whole post, and to consider her book,
Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way.


I was particularly fascinated by her Book Tour link. We do Virtual Book Tours
(you can see ours at www.ahablog.com) at WME, but what I discovered at the
Book Tour link on Helen’s blog is really outstanding. Finally, a place online that
can help drive traffic and book sales, and is freely managed by the author.
You should check it out, here.


******************************************

"Gallagher examines the changing publishing industry and advocates
self-publishing and/or POD (Print-on-Demand) for those whose work is
unlikely to attract the attention of a large publisher. "Attract a publisher
if you can, but if not, don't wait your life away." -- M.M.S.



******************************************


SPAWN: Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network review

by Patricia Fry... yes, it's "the" Patricia Fry:


Excerpt: " This book includes a section on the writing process and offers a
lot of tips and techniques related to computer use for writers. Again, this
author includes charts, diagrams and examples to help readers understand
the concepts and make good choices. She also provides resources to back up
her message and where readers can get additional information. The

resources appear throughout the book and also in a separate section

toward the back of the book. And she includes a couple of chapters on

book marketing. I especially found her information on website

strategies interesting and useful."
Read full review at SPAWN.org



******************************************


My yellow highlighter was flying off its 200 pages while I noted

valuable tips on how to move forward with the publishing process.

In fact, by the time I was finished reading this gem, nearly the

entire book was highlighted. Furthermore, the book is written in such

a down-to-earth tone that you'd better set an extra place because you'll

feel as if Gallagher is sitting across from you at your kitchen table.


So whether you're in the preliminary outline stage, in the midst of

writing your manuscript, or giving it a final edit, read Gallagher's

book before you launch yours. You'll be grateful you did.

-- F. F.




******************************************

" Gallagher's book includes everything you need to know to decide
whether POD is right for you, and provides a wealth of information
about how to choose the right POD publisher (love the side-by-side
comparison chart of the top 10 POD firms) as well as tips on writing
and marketing the book." -- K.J.E.


March 19, 2008

BNET.com is the go-to place for management. I'm proud to

see a nice write-up on Release Your Writing on their site:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SFC/is_2008_Jan/ai_n24217516

January 4, 2008

Midwest Book Review: midwestbookreview.com

Excerpt: Effectively organized into three major sections, 'Release

Your Writing' covers contemporary changes in the publishing

industry, the self-publishing option, Publish On Demand (POD)

companies; and ebooks. 'You, The Word Processor' includes

The Time to Write; The Writer's Toolbox; and 'Computer Power

Tools'. The third section is devoted to the 'Business of Being a

Writer' by focusing on book marketing and promotion, and keeping

a book in print and available to the reading public. It should be noted

that Helen Gallagher's writing style is conversational and engaging --
making it an ideal format for presenting her observations, ideas, and
advice. Enhanced with an appendix listing writing resources, a
glossary, and an index, "Release Your Writing" will prove invaluable

and instructive reading for aspiring writers who have become published

-- either on their own or through an independent publisher.


Monday, December 2, 2007

SPAWN: Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network review

by Patricia Fry... yes, it's "the" Patricia Fry:


Excerpt: " This book includes a section on the writing process and offers

a lot of tips and techniques related to computer use for writers. Again,

this author includes charts, diagrams and examples to help readers

understand the concepts and make good choices. She also provides

resources to back up her message and where readers can get additional

information. The resources appear throughout the book and also in a

separate section toward the back of the book. And she includes a couple

of chapters on book marketing. I especially found her information on

website strategies interesting and useful." Read full review at SPAWN.org


Monday, October 8, 2007
Get Your Book Into Print: A Review

Computer consultant Helen Gallagher, author of Computer Ease, has
written a new book, Release Your Writing: Book Publishing, Your Way
(Virtualbookworm, 2007).

She presents a practical, businesslike, common-sense approach for getting
your book published, mainly through self-publishing or POD
(Print-on-Demand).

Gallagher examines the changing publishing industry, pointing out some
interesting facts: "A few companies, just five or six, control over 80 percent
of the industry. Most books in bookstores come from those few firms. Only
one to two percent of unsolicited submissions are purchased for publication."

What's more, it's usually a long journey of up to two years or more from
manuscript to publication for traditionally-published books, and most have
to sell at least 1,200 copies for marginal success, over 7,000 to sustain
interest. Even then, there's no guarantee of financial success, and most
book promotion is still left to the author.

The author points out, "self-publishing is not settling for second best.
It's the right choice if your book won't likely capture the attention of
a large publisher and you don't want to spend years waiting to see your
book in print." Gallagher is writing for a wider audience, but it seems to
me that most of my fellow senior writers or would-be writers need to
heed her words. "Attract a publisher if you can, but if not, don't
wait your life away."

Through her considerable experience both as a writer and as a consultant
who helps clients through her firm, Computer Clarity, Helen Gallagher is
well qualified to give extensive advice on both word processing techniques
and on the business aspects of being a writer. From organizing material to
establishing a contact database to promoting your book through a web site
or blog, she covers all the bases, and she adds an appendix of writing resources.

For a writer either beginning or just finishing a book, Helen Gallagher's
Release Your Writing should prove to be a valuable tool.
This book can be ordered at http://www.releaseyourwriting.com/.
Copyright 2007 by Marlys Marshall Styne




“Helen Gallagher's new book Release Your Writing has just stripped

you of your last excuse for not writing that book that's inside you
and waiting to be released. She has an answer for every question
you've ever had about birthing a book into the world and covers
every step you need to take it from beginning to end. Helen's grasp
of the subject is comprehensive and her style of communicating is
friendly, accessible, and inspiring. If you follow the steps that Helen
suggests, you can be the author you've always wanted to be.

She's one of the best guides out there on the pathway to publishing!”


Jan Phillips, author of

The Art of Original Thinking,

Marry Your Muse
















Thursday, March 27, 2008

Amazon/Goliath takes on the little guys

My publisher, Virtual Bookworm, Inc. alerted me today that Amazon's BookSurge POD subsidiary is using a rather strong-armed tactic to gain more control over the growing success of self-publishing:

Print-on-demand is taking a real beating today with news that Amazon is planning to require that POD firms print their books through Amazon's BookSurge instead of Lightning Source, the industry standard. Amazon will charge our publishers a fee for uploading the book, will require it in a different format than we currently have, and wants a greedy 48 percent of sales!!

Here are two links on the topic - it does not bode well for self-published authors, but it may get settled in some less dramatic way than Amazon's "winner take all" strategy.

http://www.fonerbooks.com/2008/03/new-amazon-mandate-say-it-aint-so-jeff.html

http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/004597_03272008.html


While working through the issues, I'm writing to Amazon's senior management, and am taking the Amazon links off my books on all my web sites and external resources. People can still purchase all of our books through the publisher, and the many other online retailers, such as Barnes & Noble, Target, etc.

Stay tuned...
Helen

Friday, March 21, 2008

Re-scheduled Event for writers - April 3, 2008

If you haven't heard, and are in the Chicago area, the February event that was snowed out is back on for a balmy Thursday evening, April 3, 2008 at 7 p.m. Sponsored by Midwest Writer's Association, everyone is welcome. Cost is only $5.00 and Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way will be available for purchase, at $16.95. RSVP to jodie-jacobs@sbcglobal.net. See you there!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Writer's Digest self-published competition

The Writer's Digest international self-published book awards deadline is approaching. You have until May 1, 2008 to submit your entry in any of these categories:

* Mainstream/Literary Fiction
* Genre Fiction
* Nonfiction
* Inspirational (Spiritual, New Age)
* Life Stories (Biographies, Autobiographies, Family Histories, Memoirs)
* Children's Picture books
* Middle-Grade/Young Adult books
* Reference Books (Directories, Encyclopedias, Guide Books)
* Poetry

You may have missed a similar contest because they are usually tied to the calendar year, but this contest is more generous:

Writer's Digest is searching for the best self-published books of the past few years. Whether you're a professional writer, part-time freelancer, or a self-starting student, here's your chance to enter the only competition exclusively for self-published books. The judging fee is steep at $100 for the first entry, $50 for subsequent, but the prize is good: $3,000...

AND promotion in Writer's Digest and Publishers Weekly, and marketing advice from self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. Plus, the editors of Writer's Digest will endorse and submit 10 copies of the Grand Prize-Winning book to major review houses such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. In addition, Book Marketing Works, LLC will provide a one-year membership in Publishers Marketing Association, a customized Book Market Map Directory, guaranteed distribution to bookstores and libraries through Baker & Taylor, six hours of book shepherding from Poynter Book Shepherd Ellen Reid, guaranteed review in Midwest Book Review, and an all-day PublishingGame.com workshop with Fern Reiss.

For full details and requirements, click here

Monday, February 25, 2008

GoodReads.com Paulo Coelho interview

This is one of the funniest things I've read from a very prolific author, Paulo Coelho. He wrote the international bestseller The Alchemist. his newest book is The Witch of Portobello.


Excerpted from an email newsletter received from GoodReads.com 2/25/08:

GoodReads: You have stated that each of your books was written over a period of only two to four weeks. Describe a typical day spent writing.

PC: When I finally feel I’m ready to embark on a new book, I always go through the following cycle that takes me from two weeks to a month. Before going to bed I have everything planned: I will wake up early and dedicate myself solely to the novel I’m writing. The only thing is, when I wake up I decide to browse through the net, then it’s time for my walk. When I come back I quickly check my mails and before I know it it’s already 2:30 p.m. and time to have lunch. After which I always take a sacrosanct nap. When I wake up at 5 p.m. I come back to my computer, check another set of emails, visit my blogs, read the news. Then it is already time for dinner—and at this point I’m feeling extremely guilty for not fulfilling my goal of the day. After dinner, I finally sit at my desk and decide to write. The first line takes a bit, but quickly I’m submerged in the tale and ideas take me to places that I never thought I would tread. My wife calls me to go to bed but I can’t, I need to finish the line, then the paragraph, then the page...It goes on like this until 2–3 a.m. When I finally decide to go to bed, I still have many ideas in my mind—that I carefully note down on a piece of paper. I know, though, that I’ll never use this—I’m simply emptying my mind. When I finally rest my head on my pillow I make the same oath—that the next day I’ll wake up early and that I’ll write the whole day long. But this is useless: The next day I wake up late and this cycle starts all over again.

Borders offers Self-Publishing packages

Well, this is big news for those who think self-publishing is a step below traditional publishing and placement.

Borders has partnered with LuLu, the online do-it-yourself publisher, to offer in-store kiosks for people to publish their own works: musical, photography or written. So you can assemble an ebook and publish right at Borders.

Better yet, they seem to be stepping into the field of print-on-demand (POD) by offering service packages ranging from $299 to $499 for full POD with page design, cover, layout, procuring the ISBN etc. By paying for editorial evaluation your book also becomes eligible for in-store placement at Borders.

Read more about their new Digital Life program here.



It gives you another avenue to Release Your Writing !! If you have questions, my book has the answers you're looking for about the choices in traditional, self-publishing and print-on-demand.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Seeking book reviews

It pays to solicit book reviews from your readers. Amazon uses the number of reviews and the ratings to boost your book in the rankings. They even showcase a book once it has in excess of six reviews, and votes indicating a reader found a review helpful.

You'll find several helpful review sources in Release Your Writing, and I've received a very nice review from an enthusiastic reader in the U.K. You can read her full review here at Book Pleasures, but I'd like to share my favorite sentence from her comments:

"There is nothing to stop you now after reading this brilliant guide."

Isn't that great? Okay, I know some people in the U.K. use the word "Brilliant" like we say "yea," but it's still fun to see.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Self-Published Book Awards by Writer's Digest

No - it's not me... I've done enough boasting lately about all the fun I'm having with the success of Release Your Writing. To see the wide and wise range of winners in 15th annual Writer's Digest self-published book awards, click here.

The top prize went to a non-fiction book by Norma Lehmeier Hartie, entitled: Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify & Energize Your Life, Your Home & Your Planet.

By self-publishing she has her timely book on the market about 18 months faster than anyone plowing their way through traditional publishing timeframe.

Bravo !!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Visit "Beneath the Cover"

We're pleased to have a nice mention in the powerful "Beneath the Cover" site today. You'll note the site is packed with great articles and book industry resources. Our thanks to Yvonne DiVita for the mention. Enjoy!

Helen Gallagher
www.releaseyourwriting.com

Essay excerpt on mystifying publishing process

Here's a brief snip from an excellent essay in the New York Times.

February 3, 2008
Essay

Waiting for It

For writers, few steps in the publishing process are as strange as the state of suspended animation between submitting a manuscript and seeing the book appear in stores. The sudden change in cabin pressure from writing to waiting can be jarring — and can last a very long time. “It comes as a huge shock when it happens the first time,” said the Irish writer Colm Toibin, whose first novel, “The South,” appeared in 1990, a year and a half after he turned it in. “It was all slow and strange.”



... Of interest to all authors, the essay concludes:


The presidential election in November should help move political books, but other titles may suffer. Nan Graham, the editor in chief of Scribner, said she was releasing very little fiction from July to January. “I’m never publishing a novel in the fall of an election year,” she said. “I feel bad about every single person whose novel I published in the fall of ’04 because they absolutely got no attention or no sales.” Other publishers worry that in election season it’s hard to get coverage for nonpolitical titles in book pages and on radio and television, especially “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report,” which have become central to publishers’ publicity strategies.

Whether it’s Comedy Central or the Internet, the same media that can call attention to a book are also drawing attention away from readers. So word of mouth is still the name of the game. “If you’re trying to explain this to someone from Mars or the Harvard Business School, they’d kind of scratch their head and say, ‘There must be a better way,’” Kirshbaum, the former Time Warner Book Group chairman, said. “But so far neither Martians nor H.B.S.-ers have solved this riddle.”

Rachel Donadio is a writer and editor at the Book Review.

Full essay here - requires NYTimes free log-in


Wednesday, February 6, 2008

BookSurge boosts royalties

Received this announcement on 2/04/08 from BookSurge, the POD firm owned by Amazon. It's good news for all of you who published with them:

"Effective February 1, BookSurge increased the royalty rates authors receive on sales of trade paperback books through all retail channels from 25% to 35%; this includes sales coming through from Amazon.com, Alibris.com, Abebooks.com and the BookSurge online bookstore. "

Helen Gallagher
releaseyourwriting.com

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Where to purchase Release Your Writing

After a flurry of workshops and events lately, people ask where they can purchase Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way.

In addition to purchasing through this site, or directly from me, the author, you can pick up the book at
  • The Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka IL
  • Borders Books in Mt. Prospect IL

The book is also widely available online at Amazon, BN.com, Borders, Powell's, the Shopping channel at MSN.com, and a new online venue: Target.com.

Remember to check my upcoming events at BookTour.com if you want/need an autographed copy for yourself or as a gift.

Yes... you can release your writing.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Publisher's Weekly article on self-publishing

The desire to "release your writing" just got a little easier. I gave a presentation last night at Mt. Prospect Public Library (IL), touting the benefits of print-on-demand (POD). The savvy library director pointed me to this Publishers Weekly article. It says so many of the same things I was saying to the crowd last night:

[Lightning Source] CEO J. Kirby Best recites a list of print-on-demand milestones: Lightning Source has grown from three employees in 1997 to more than 500 today; the company digitally scans about 2,000 books a week and prints 1.2 million books a month. “It took us seven years to print 10 million books,” says Best as we stroll through the 159,000-sq.-ft. building. “This year we published 10 million books in the first 11 months.”

For years, print-on-demand has held out the promise of a new business model. Rather than print thousands of copies of a book and then work frantically to sell them, POD stands the usual publishing model on its head. POD offers publishers the possibility of selling a book before it is printed and then delivering it directly to a consumer, to a store or to a publisher's warehouse. As the differences in the quality between POD and conventional offset printing continue to shrink—“it's getting damn close to offset,” says Best—publishers are taking a good long look at the potential of POD technology to eliminate warehousing entirely and manage their supply chain as never before.

Nevertheless, publishers contacted for this article maintain that offset printing remains more cost effective for print runs over about 1,000 copies. Best, noting that Lightning Source can print up to 45,000 copies a day, is quick to argue that the difference in cost can be a myth, insisting that the cost-per-copy advantage of offset printing should be balanced against the prospect of pallets of unsold copies sitting in warehouses or sales lost because not enough copies are printed.

Note: In comment from "Yvonne" below, use www.ahablog.com for her link. Won't work without the www.
-- Helen

Saturday, January 5, 2008

The Writing Diet



The new year is always flooded with diet books, but this one is a bit different.

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way and The Right to Write, has released a diet book, called The Writing Diet. I haven't read it and probably won't, but if you're a fan of Cameron and morning pages, you might find it beneficial. She notes that some of us overeat as a blocking device and writing can be a comfort during those struggles. "All of us are creative and all of us can be more creative than we are. As we relinquish or blocking devices, we come into our power." Her other recent books were as diverse as blessings, prayer, walking and water, so maybe she's working her way through the alphabet.

If you read The Writing Diet, let us know what you think of it, by adding a Comment here.

You'll find many more productive aids to release your writing in my fat-free book: Release Your Writing.

Cheers,
Helen