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Jim Cox Report: January 2008
Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:
Now another year is history.
My weight has dropped to 253 -- down from 297 on this date last year.
I and/or the Midwest Book Review have been nicely written up in at least 3 more 'how to' books for authors and publishers.
I'm now on Medicare and my Social Security checks are due to kick in this coming June.
But most of all, the Midwest Book Review continues to expand in the numbers of reviews generated and the numbers of small press publishers and self-published author's we've been able to review with the limited resources at our command.
So Happy New Year to all you good folk.
Now let's see if I can't continue providing the kinds of advice, tips, techniques, and resource references that would help you off to a terrific year of publishing for you.
Something that drives me to distraction are those incoming emails that want a response from me, but make me have to go to the extra step of "signing in" on some on-screen form because the person who wants something from me is trying to control their spam and using this "sign in" process to separate the wheat from the chafe.
I deeply sympathize with the desire to minimize spam. I download between 3 and 4 hundred spams every morning. But believe me, after going to the trouble to craft an email response to a question or a request, hitting send, only to get an email "sign in" demand -- most of the time I don't bother to proceed any further.
My advice for authors and publishers is that if you are making an initial, first-time contact with a reviewer -- and good reviewers of status and stature within the publishing industry always have severely limited time or interest in responding to unknown authors and previously unacquainted small press publishers -- you would be well served to use an email address that doesn't have that extra "sign up" feature to get past your spam controls.
Here is something that may prove of very practical use to anyone who has a book for sale on the Amazon.com website thank to Carolyn Howard-Johnson (a cyberspace pen-pal of mine) who is no stranger to publishing or to winning literary awards. Her novel, "This is the Place", won eight awards. Her book of creative nonfiction, Harkening, won three and her chapbook of poetry (Finishing Line Press) won the award of excellence from the Military Writers Society of America. The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success and The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't are both USA Book News Award winners in the publishing and writing category. Her marketing campaign for those books won the Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award. She is also an extension division instructor for UCLA's renowned Writers' Program.
Here (with her permission) is Carolyn's advice for those of you who have books for sale on Amazon.com
"Learning to Love Amazon: Quick Study, Great Promotion"
The mightiest river in the world is the Amazon. It runs from west to east, from the sunset to the sunrise, from the Andes to the Atlantic.
-- Theodore Roosevelt
Among authors, Amazon.com has earned its name. For many it is their most important tool for online sales; sometimes it is their not-so-gentle giant. It is a business many love to hate. Several of its policies are perceived to be anti-author. Because it has so many features that are an advantage to authors, I, instead, hate to admit that I love it.
Mini E-Books: Promote Existing Books with Amazon Shorts
"Ahhhh, Amazon. When it comes to book sales, she strides on the sturdiest of legs."
-- Carolyn Howard-Johnson from The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't
Amazon, like the great woman warrior of mythology, performs amazing feats. She will sell your books here and overseas. At one time she didn't cater to authors of any stripe, but she tolerated them as long as they were assigned an ISBN (the number on the back of your book near the barcode). Small or large publishers, subsidy, and self-published books may be found in her pages making her a unique buying and selling tool. But now Amazon absolutely caters to authors. She offers them ways to target not only a reading audience but also to focus on their given reader. One of the ways she does this is with shorts.
Many publishers and authors are utilizing Amazon's short program because:
Amazon Shorts are uniquely suited to works that appear to require a smaller format. Amazon Shorts allow—nay, encourage—links to a publisher's or authors related publications. Amazon Shorts asks for only a six month exclusive which means that a chapter or excerpt might be used to test the advisability of a book on the same subject or to drum up interest for that topic. Or you can leave the Short with Amazon and earn income, but you will earn a lower royalty. . Amazon acts as a full-service e-publisher with shorts. That means that they both deliver and publicize your work. That means exposure for the author up and over the promotion that she will do for her own Short.
Authors of anything from poetry to how-to books may find a way to fit one or more Amazon Shorts into their publishing and promotion plans.
Amazon Shorts will expose your book to a very important target audience, readers. And, of course, it may allow an author to try writing in another genre. The possibilities range from poetry to nonfiction, experimental to tried-and-true.
An author need only have some other published book for sale on Amazon to be considered for a Short. That may include having contributed to an anthology. Even though a Short is published by Amazon, many publishers are encouraging their own authors to submit because of all the benefits listed above and because Shorts—if carefully presented—might work as a cross promotion vehicle for other books in that publisher's catalog. They can do the same for an author's other books and to help brand him or her to a larger audience.
Here are some things a prospective Short author should keep in mind:
1. Amazon is a traditional publisher.
2. Shorts are e-publications. They may be downloaded and are easily accessible on Amazon.com
3. Your work may or may not be accepted.
4. Once accepted it may take several weeks or even more than a couple months to be published.
5. Amazon supplies the cover; I have never seen one that is not professional, marketing savvy and attractive. For an example, find my The Great First Impression Book Proposal at http://www.amazon.com/Great-First-Impression-Book-Proposal/dp/B000YG6O5U
6. Like many publishers, Amazon prefers that work be submitted in near-perfect, publishable form. Do not expect extensive editing.
7. Authors should be ready to submit an extensive plan for promotion. All reputable publishers want their authors as promotion partners.
8. Amazon has tons of inherent promotion power and may call on it if they see that a particular short shows promise and that the author is willing to work with them.
9. Amazon pays royalties but it is obvious that the royalty on a Short's 49 cent retail price will not be huge. Authors should not do publish Shorts to get rich.
10. Signing the contract and submitting a marketing proposal can be time-consuming.
11. Once Amazon accepts your Short, it may be easier and quicker to publish with them again.
12. I have many friends who have published Shorts. I didn't think it was something I wanted to do, even though I saw the marketing wisdom behind this new program. Then I began to work with a couple of consulting clients who didn't want to learn the proposal and synopsis process. There are many good books out there on the subject but I needed to lead these authors through the process easily and fast. Thus The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Know About Selling Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less was born. Amazon's short program seemed made for it. I can now help my clients understand the proposal process easily and quickly, but I can also share a quick, easy overview approach I use with others, many of whom I have never met.
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Note: You can earn more about Carolyn at http://carolynhoward-johnson.com or http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
She blogs at:
www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com,
www.sharingwithwriting.blogspot.com,
www.authorscoalition.blogspot.com,
www.thenewbookreview.blogspot.com,
www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com.
Now on to reviews of some new 'how to' titles for aspiring authors and novice publishers -- and December has been a banner month for such books:
The Writing/Publishing Shelf
You Are Next In Line
Armiger Jagoe
Capital Books, Inc.
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166
9781933102603, $12.95 www.capital-books.com 1-800-758-3756
Writing one's life story in the form of a personal memoir or an autobiography can have immense value for benefiting posterity. It can also help the author appreciate or otherwise come to terms with their own life experiences, their choices, their successes and failures, their aspirations and achievements, the people they've known, the places they seen, the events they've experienced. Written especially for those who have no special skills or experience in writing, "You Are Next In Line: Everyone's Guide For Writing Your Autobiography" by Armiger Jagoe is the perfect 'how to' instruction guide and manual for recording a life story that will prove worthwhile reading for friends, for family, and for the generations to come. There is also a genealogical value to writing an autobiography with pertinent dates, descriptive relationships, and the ephemeral minutia that will prove of immense interest to future readers and scholars about us in terms of how we lived, and the kind of world we lived in. "Your Are Next In Line" is especially recommended to the attention of anyone who has ever contemplated leaving a written record of their life story as a memorial testament to their own life and times and memories.
Undoing The Silence
Louise Dunlap
New Village Press
POB 3049, Oakland, CA 94609
Consortium Books Sales & Distribution (distributor)
34 Thirteenth Avenue NE, Suite 101, Minneapolis, MN 55413-1007
9780976605492, $20.01 www.cbsd.com 1-800-283-3572
Louise Dunlap began her career as an activist writing instructor during the Berkeley Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. In "Undoing The Silence: Six Tools For Social Change Writing" she draws upon her more than forty years of experience and expertise to create a kind of instruction manual teaching the reader the power of a personal voice that can enable any citizen to effect change in our society through the use of the written word. Dunlap explains the writing process, using such real-life examples as the peace workers in California, labor organizers in South Africa, community organizers in Boston, and others who have use the written word as an essential instrument for social change and the redress of grievances. "Undoing The Silence' includes practical 'freewriting' techniques, strategies for reaching an intended audiences, innovative exercises for giving and receiving feedback, as well as tactics for rethinking, editing, and rewriting free-flowing drafts. Of immense and immediate value for aspiring writers wanting to effectively engage in the social, political, economic, and cultural issues of the day through the power of the written word in all of its forms and formats, "Undoing The Silence" will prove to be as informed and informative as it is instructively effective.
The Portable Writer's Conference
Stephen Blake Mettee, editor
Quill Driver Books
1254 Commerce Avenue, Sanger, CA 93657
9781884956577, $19.95 www.quilldriverbooks.com 1-800-497-4909
Now in a newly updated edition, The Portable Writer's Conference: Your Guide to Getting Published is a compilation of wisdom from over forty-five editors, agents, and authors, presented to writers from all walks of life seeking publication. From developing a concept pitch to hear an agent say yes, to crafting a professional-quality feature article for a newspaper or magazine, to tips and tricks for running a successful home-based writing business, crafting nonfiction or self-help books, what every author must know about copyright, and much more, The Portable Writer's Conference is a wisdom-laden supplement to getting one's feet wet in the writing profession. Though not a substitute for a straightforward instructional manual to the writing business, The Portable Writer's Conference lives up to its title as a confluence of hard-earned wisdom gathered from expert writers of all backgrounds. Highly recommended.
The Screenwriting Formula
Rob Tobin
Writer's Digest Press
c/o F&W Publications, Inc.
700 East State Street, Iola, WI 54990
9781582974620, $14.99 www.fwpublications.com 1-800-726-9966
When it comes to creating scripts for films and television, professional scriptwriter Rob Tobin's maxim is that 'writing well isn't just a goal, it's a responsibility'. That attitude comes across loud and clear in "The Screenwriting Formula: Why It Works And How To Use It", his deftly written and thoroughly 'user friendly' instruction guide for aspiring screenwriters regardless of the genre they are working in. "The Screenwriting Formula" is nicely organized into three main sections: The Seven Elements (the hero, the flow, enabling circumstances, the opponent, the hero's ally, the life-changing event, jeopardy, combining story elements); The Structure (prologue, act one, act two: parts one and two, act three); The Big Picture (the logline, the outline, high-concept and low-concept stories, a titanic undertaking). Enhanced with the inclusion of two germane appendices (Prewriting Techniques and Adapting Novels to the Screen), "The Screenwriting Formula" is comprehensive, practical, and essential reading for anyone hoping to successful write a screenplay that will measure up to professional standards and commercial viability.
The Mind's Eye
Kevin Clark
Pearson Longman
51 Madison Avenue, 29th floor, New York, NY 10010
9780205498239, $25.33 www.ablongman.com
University academician Kevin Clark holds a Distinguished Teaching Award, as well as a widely published poet. In "The Mind's Eye: A Guide To Writing Poetry", he brings to bear his many years of experience and expertise to provide aspiring poets with a clear, instructive, and occasionally inspiring 'how to' manual and guide to writing clear, engaging poetry. All the elements of poetic expression are covered including imagery, sound, implication, conflict, transformation, lyricism, structure, portraiture, narrative, traditional forms, sequencing, and revision. Featuring more than one hundred skill building exercises in writing poetry, eighty model poems by diverse contemporary poets, a concise summary of at the end of each chapter distilling its main concepts, as well as suggestions for forming poetry-writing groups, arranging poetry readers, and even how to publish poems, "The Mind's Eye" is an ideal instruction manual and guide that will prove invaluable for aspiring poets whether writing for simple self-expression or who have ambitions to being published.
Seniorwriting
Marlys Marshall Styne
Infinity Publishing.com
c/o Buy Books On The Web
1094 New Dehaven Street, #100, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2713
0741442965, $9.95 www.amazon.com
"Seniorwriting: A Brief Guide For Seniors Who Want To Write" by Marlys Marshall Styne is a succinct 81-page instruction manual specifically designed and intended for older men and women wanting to record their thoughts, their memories, their experiences, their observations, and their commentaries for the benefit of themselves, their friends and family, and future generations. Short writing examples and samples are provided based on Marlys Styne's own writing skills, expertise, and personal experience as a retired college English teachers who took up writing an award-winning book at the age of 73. "Seniorwriting" is a non-technical 'how to' manual and guide that is ideal for those who have never written anything before -- and holds much of value for those who have written things earlier in their lives, but who have not done anything along those lines since. There are no rigid rules or straight-laced requirements in "Seniorwriting", only practical advice, inspiring examples, alternative ideas, and motivating choices. If you are a senior and would like to record your thoughts be they simple observations or the next Great American Novel, then give "Seniorwriting" your attention. It will be one of the most rewarding reads you can do!
Ron Carlson Writes a Story
Ron Carlson
Graywolf Press
2402 University Avenue, Suite 203, Saint Paul, MN 55114
9781555974770, $12.00 www.graywolfpress.org 1-651-641-0077
Ron Carlson Writes a Story is an essay by published author Ron Carlson, who has written eight books of fiction as well as short stories that have appeared in "Esquire", "Harper's", "New Yorker", and "GQ" magazines. Offering a wealth of notes, tips, tricks, and techniques for writers, as well as a window into Carlson's personal creative process during his creation of the short story "The Governor's Ball", Ron Carlson Writes a Story is both inspirational and entertaining. Especially recommended for aspiring and novice writers for its insights into the art of creativity.
Write For Life
Sheppard B. Kominars
Cleveland Clinic Press
9500 Euclid Avenue, NA32, Cleveland, OH 44195
9781596240773, $14.95 www.clevelandclinicpress.com 1-216-444-1158
Sheppard B. Kominars began teaching writing in 1956 at Washington College, has been a journal writer for more than fifty years, and has written two previous books on the subject of recovery. In "Write For Life: Healing Body, Mind, And Spirit Through Journal Writing", Kominars draws upon his more than half a century of experience and expertise in the subject to provide a wealth of insights and techniques into the utilization of writing to promote personal transformation, meet life's challenges, and acquire a deeper and more enduring satisfaction in our lives. "Write For Life" offers cogent advice and instruction on using a personal daily journal to confront emotional issues; break through frustrating mental blocks; deal with personal, professional, and medical crisis; renew and define life's meaning and purpose; free up intellectual creativity; and use or dreams and aspiration to build a better life. Although the principle focus of "Write For Life" is on using the material in this superbly written and highly recommended book as a self-help, self-improvement vehicle, there is also an invaluable relevance for aspiring writers who could utilize the keeping of a daily journal to enhance their own literary creativity regardless of the genre in which they are working.
One Year To A Writing Life
Susan M. Tiberghien
Marlowe & Company
c/o Avalon Publishing Group
245 West 17th Street, 11th floor, New York, NY 10011-5300
9781600940583, $15.95 www.marlowepub.com 1-800-788-3123
Susan M. Tiberghien draws upon her years of experience and expertise as a veteran writing instructor, writers' conference speaker, and graduate school lecturer in "One Year To A Writing Life: Twelve Lessons To Deepen Every Writer's Art And Craft". A gifted writer in her own right, Susan Tiberghien covers journal writing, personal essays; opinion and travel essays; short stories (included the 'Short-Short'); dreams and writing; dialogue; folklore, fairy tales, and contemporary tales; poetic prose and the 'Prose Poem'; memoirs and biography; rewriting; and more. Of special note are her chapters on 'The alchemy of Imagination' and 'Writing the Way Home'. Enhanced with a specialized bibliographies and a comprehensive index, " One Year To A Writing Life" is an informed and informative, as it is inspired and inspiring -- making it strongly recommended reading for all novice writers and aspiring authors.
Open Your Heart With Writing
Neil M. Rosen
Dream Time Publishing
6860 Gulfport Avenue South, Suite 950, South Pasadena, FL 33707
9781601660084, $14.95 www.dreamtimepublishing.com 1-866-623-6203
Writer, psychologist, academician, and Founder/CEO of eWay Direct (an e-marketing technology company), Neil M. Rosen brings a very special expertise to his advice in "Open Your Heart With Writing: Mastering Life Through Love Of Words". Inspired and inspiring, "Open Your Heart With Writing" was written for the specific purpose of helping people in all walks of life realize what they can achieve in terms of self-help and self-realization through the simple process of writing down their thoughts, their ideas, their observations, their reflections, their stories, poems, and essays. "Open Your Heart With Writing" is not intended as a guide to improving writing skills, nor is it intended as an instruction manual on getting published. Rather it shows how to take fleeting thoughts and cultivate them into richly embellished tales of mystery, drama, history, poetic expression, and even a kind of spiritual nourishment for the soul. Whether writing in a journal or diary format, or simply jotting things down in a convenient notebook, "Open Your Heart With Writing" will enable anyone to have confidence in writing for the simple, helpful, intrinsic joy of it.
How To Publish Your Novel
Ken Atchity, et al.
SquareOne Publishers
115 Herricks Road, Garden City Park, NY, 11040
0757000495, $18.95 www.squareonepublishers.com
An academician, literary manager, and the author of fourteen books (including 'A Writer's Time" and "Writing Treatments That Sell", Ken Atchity (with the assistance of Andrea McKeown, Julie Mooney, and Margaret O'Connor) offers sound, practical, instructive advice for aspiring authors on getting their fiction published in today's highly competitive publishing industry. Beginning with the basics of fiction publishing with respect to various and diverse types of fiction, "How To Publish Your Novel: A Complete Guide To Making The Right Publisher Say Yes" covers everything from finding the right literary representative and/or publisher, crafting an effective plan of action ranging from deciding to self-represent or use a literary agent; to developing a proposal package; to selecting a list of potential publishers; to publishing contracts; to building a career as a professional author, to promoting a published novel. Enhanced with an extensive section of resources including a glossary, specialized bibliographies, lists of writers groups, writer resource websites, and more, "How To Publish Your Novel" is an essential and basic addition to personal and community library Writing/Publishing reference collections.
Release Your Writing
Helen Gallagher
Virtualbookworm.com Publishing
PO Box 9949, College Station, TX 77842
9781602640603, $16.95 www.virtualbookworm.com 1-877-376-4955
A professional freelance writer and the author of "Computer Ease", Helen Gallagher draws upon her many years of experience and expertise in "Release Your Writing: Book Publishing, Your Way!" to provide an informative instruction manual that demystifies the publishing process, addresses the technological issues associated with publishing, and provides a profusion of effective, practical, immediately applicable marketing strategies to insure a book's commercial viability. Effectively organized into three major sections, 'Getting Published' 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.
Now for some Q&A from the Midwest Book Review email box:
In a message dated 7/27/2007 1:47:46 P.M. Central Daylight Time, wpsills@hotmail.com writes:
There has GOT to be a way to get a mere 1000 to buy my book, regardless of limited interest. But I'll be damned if I know how.........Help!
Dear wpsills@hotmail.com
You've got a tremendous book marketing learning curve to master. The place to start is by reading your way through the dozen or so 'how to' titles specific to marketing books. One place to begin is the Midwest Book Review website's section called the "Publisher's Bookshelf". Scroll down the book reviews you'll find archived there and seek out the titles having to do with marketing, selling, promoting, and publicizing books.
Make a list of their titles, authors, publishers, and ISBNs. Then take that list down to your local community library and ask the librarian to help you get them through their free Interlibrary Loan System.
As they come in, read through them with a pad of paper and a pen by your side to take notes. Think of this as creating your own do-it-yourself in-service training program on how (and where) to sell novels by an unknown author who hasn't got a lot of money to an unaware population of readers who can hopefully afford to buy them.
While many (if not most) of these 'how to' books cover the same ground, it's been my experience as their reviewer to note that most (if not all) of them will have a unique tip, trick, technique, or idea to offer.
As you read them, take those notes and start writing yourself a detailed marketing plan -- one that is a low-cost / no-cost program that you can implement.
In your spare time, look around at the other sections of the Midwest Book Review website, especially such sections as "Advice for Writers/Publishers", "Publisher Resources", "Other Reviewers", "Publisher Associations", "Jim Cox Reports", etc.
If you don't have either the interest or the time to invest in a 'learning curve' for marketing your books then you might as well donate your unsold stock to a local charity and write off the production costs on your taxes as a charitable donation.
Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
In a message dated 12/7/2007 8:18:07 A.M. Central Standard Time, rtarver@ourdestinypublishing.com writes:
Thanks for your reply. Is there any way I can get my 2nd set back? Our funds are VERY limited, and we purchased only a few ARCs. That was actually my last set!
Thank you,
Rhonda Tarver
Our Destiny Publishing, LLC
Dear Rhonda:
I'm so sorry -- the paper recycling box is hauled away once a week and was gone before I could recover your ARCs for you.
By way of apology, let me give you a tip on how to save money when sending out review copies whether they are ARCs for the pre-publication reviewers or finished books for the post-publication reviewers like us.
1. Contact the reviewer or review publications and determine if they are pre- or post-reviewers.
You can do this by inspecting their website (which will often note that they require either galleys/proofs some specified period of time in advanced of an announced publication date as a pre-publication review, or they required finished, published copies as a post-publication review).
You can obtain the same information by contacting them via telephone, email, or snail-mail and asking for their submission guidelines.
2. For those rare reviewers or review sources that don't have that information readily to hand on their website or fail to respond to direct inquiry, you can send them a sample chapter along with a cover letter asking if your book would be thematically appropriate for their particular review. This is less expensive than providing either an ARC or a finished copy and will serve to gauge their interest level in consider you book for review.
If they say yes, then you've increased your odds of not being summarily dismissed in their initial screening process -- because you can include in the cover letter and PR accompanying a review copy that you've previously contacted them and obtained their specific permission for a submission.
3. Since you only have finished copies left (having run out of ARCs) then I would recommend that you visit the Midwest Book Review website at http://www.midwestbookreview.com and click on "Other Reviewers".
This is an extensive roster of freelance reviewers, book review magazines and publications, book review websites, etc. They've all been vetted by me so they are all legitimate.
Some of them are pre-publication reviews, but the majority of them are post-publication reviews and so would not require an ARC.
Many of them might not be thematically appropriate for a given title because they specialize (e.g., poetry, science fiction, women's issues, etc.). Many more of them are general in nature and welcome books on almost any subject. And, of course, a few of them might be specialized in just your book's genre or category.
The trick is to go down the list and when you see one that looks promising, click on it and you'll be zapped to their particular website. Read through their website and you'll be able to tell if that reviewer or review resource is a good fit for your particular book(s). You'll also learn what their specific submission guidelines would be.
I sincerely regret the waste of the second set of ARC submissions you made, not realizing the Midwest Book Review is a post-publication review operation and therefore requiring finished, published copies only. And hope you can consider it as a gesture of compensation by finding the above advice will prove both practical and useful to you now and in the future.
I'll also include this in my next "Jim Cox Report" for the benefit of others in the publishing community so that they might profit by this example.
Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
In a message dated 10/16/2007 10:16:06 A.M. Central Daylight Time, adventism71574@hotmail.com writes:
Mr. Cox,
My name is Robert Peterson and I have just finished my first book. I am clueless as to where to start the publishing process. I have been reading up on various items and concerns on the Internet, but I need a bit more detailed understanding. If you can help me in regards to this, please contact me as soon as you can.
Thanks,
Robert Peterson
Dear Robert:
1. Go to the Midwest Book Review website at http://www.midwestbookreview.com
2. Click on "Advice for Writers & Publishers".
3. Read through the roster of 'how to' articles that you will find there.
4. Click on "Writer's Bookshelf"
5. Scroll down the list of books and read the reviews of those that specifically deal with the subject of how to get your manuscript published.
6. Write down the titles, authors, publishes, and ISBN numbers of those titles that seem the most useful in helping you get published.
7. Go to your local community library and ask that they get those titles for you through their free Interlibrary Loan Service program.
8. Read the books, taking notes, and then proceed to implement your strategy become published, either through a traditional publisher, through a Print-On-Demand (POD) publisher, or through self-publishing.
Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
In a message dated 10/17/2007 5:19:17 P.M. Central Daylight Time, SteveH9697 writes:
Dear Mr. Cox:
I've had a science fiction novel published by PublishAmerica entitled SYSTER IS READY. The theme is the emergence of an artificial intelligence orders of magnitude smarter than all the humans who've ever lived.
I can send you a copy for review but I do not have a publicity release or media kit.
Would you be willing to accept the book for review?
Stephen J. Hage
Dear Stephen:
Thank you for your information and inquiry. I've made it quite easy for novice authors to create professional quality cover letters and publicity releases.
Go to the Midwest Book Review website at http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Click on "Advice for Writers & Publishers"
Scroll down to the two instruction articles called: "Create an Effective Cover Letter" and "Create an Effective Publicity Release".
Follow the step-by-step instructions. It really is quite easy and you should be able to do them in about five minutes or less.
Then please send two copies of the book for review, accompanied by the cover letter and the publicity release, to the attention of:
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575
I'm now going to conclude this issue of the "Jim Cox Report" with "The Midwest Book Review Postage Stamp Hall Of Fame & Appreciation" roster of well-wishers and supporters. These generous folk decided to say thank you and 'support the cause' that is the Midwest Book Review by donating postage stamps this past month:
Sandra Worth
Jack Phillips Lowe -- "Pariah Tales"
Pamela A. Johnson -- "The One Common World Morality"
Weston Blelock -- "Woodstock History and Hearsay"
Viki Pidgeon -- "Ireland's Comfort Food & Touring Attractions"
Phyllis Collmann -- "The Rose Donlin Series"
J. S. DeLane -- "Twisted and Other Tales"
Jack L. Parker -- "Tibetan Adventure"
Joy V. Smith -- "Why Won't Anyone Play With Me?"
Fisher King Press
Vintage Romance Publishing
Liana C. Lovell -- Mystic Publishers
Gabrieele Senzen -- Sproutman Publications
Todd F. Snow -- Maren Green Publishing
Carol Fenster -- Savory Palate, Inc.
Charlene J. Brown -- Clover Valley Press, LLC
Charlsie Russell -- Loblolly Writer's House
Kittie Beletic -- Kittie Goods
Marty Schupak -- Youth Sports Club
Linda L. Olsen -- Gold Star Press
Richard & Mary Maturi -- 21st Century Publishers
Jerry & Janine Sprout -- Diamond Valley Company, Publishers
Doug Holder -- Ibbetson Street Press
Toni Doccker -- FWE Publishing
C. L. Talmadge -- HealingStone Books
Maryglenn McCombs -- MM Book Publicity
Elizabeth Waldman Frazier -- Waldmania!
If you have postage to donate, or if you have a book you'd like considered for review, then send those stamps (always appreciated, never required), or a published copy of that book (no galleys or uncorrected proofs), accompanied by a cover letter and some form of publicity release to my attention at the address below.
All of the previous issues of the "Jim Cox Report" are archived on the Midwest Book Review website. If you'd like to receive the "Jim Cox Report" directly (and for free), just send me an email asking to be signed up for it.
So until next time!
Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI, 53575
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
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