Footprints in wet sand at the beach. The shape of a child’s hand in clay or plaster. Thumbprints in the notary’s ledger. These are all imprints of the physical sort. But what is a publishing imprint and should self-publishing authors have one? Think of an imprint as a publisher’s brand or trade name for a…
At last the moment arrives—your manuscript is complete! You’ve read it and re-read it one, two, three times. You’ve made tweaks, fixed typos, run spelling and grammar checks, and read it one more time for good measure. You may think your manuscript is polished to perfection, but before you hand it off for formatting and…
Do those words bring to mind doodling in a notebook during class? I certainly found myself doing that back in the day, especially when the subject matter was less than riveting. More recently, in my work supporting authors through the publishing process, I’ve come to understand “writing in the margins” in a figurative sense. Because…
“I don’t know why they call this self-publishing. I couldn’t have done this without you.” That’s an actual quote from an author I helped. It’s one of my favorites, but I’m not sharing it to toot my own horn. Rather, I’m highlighting it to acknowledge all the players who contribute to bringing a book to…
Instant gratification is the holy grail in our culture where faster is almost always regarded as better. And it’s true that one of the key benefits self-publishing has over the traditional path is speed to market. I mean, a business model that’s grounded in the concept of print on demand pretty much says it all,…
The beginning is a very good place to start, as Julie Andrews’ Maria tunefully taught us in The Sound of Music. But life doesn’t always work out that way. This article focuses on a book that started well north of the beginning, at least in terms of when it hit my desktop. Author Donna Weber…
Okay, maybe not everything. But a lot. The big picture stuff, at least. Have you ever been through a kitchen remodel? I’ve performed that juggling act a couple of times, and it’s not for the faint of heart. The process is rife with so many moving parts, unfamiliar terminology, a plethora of decisions to make…
It’s summertime so naturally, thoughts turn to . . . the holidays. Wait, what? Well, if you are toying with the idea of self-publishing a book by the end of the year, read on for some insider guidelines. December is closer than you think, especially when working backward to pencil out a production schedule. The…
Do you want to self-publish your book, but you’re struggling with knowing what it takes to actually produce a book people will want to pick up and read? Guess what? You’re not alone. From what I’ve seen, the primary reason self-published books aren’t successful is this: Self-published authors are overwhelmed by the logistics of publishing…
This article is provided courtesy of my colleague, writing coach and editor Jasmyne Boswell. Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash. How does a memoir differ from an autobiography? That is the number one question I am asked by clients writing their first memoir. An autobiography tells one’s life story from beginning to end. A memoir,…
