MSI Press Blog

  It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today I am taking time out to share a warning that we have placed on our website. The matter is pretty self-evident from the paragraph: WARNING Recently, we have become aware that at least one set of individuals is passing itself off as MSI Press LLC, interviewing candidates for jobs via Upwork, and even offering jobs, using our logo, a couple of lines from the “about us” page, and a letter that clearly shows that these individuals know essentially nothing about MSI Press. The distinction is easy to make: we have our own domain (msipress.com) whereas these imposters use the return address of MSI Press LLC@usa.com (and pro...

(photo by Frank Perez) It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is about book launches. A book launch, planned and carried out well, is a great opportunity to introduce and market your book to a large number of people. So, what are the ways books can be launched? What is the best way to launch a book? What are the benefits and risks of various kinds of book launches? So, let's take each question separately. What are the ways in which you can launch your book? A typical launch for a high-powered author is a tour of bookstore signings; a typical launch for a low-powered author is a book signings at one, perhaps two, local bookstores.  High-powe...

  (photo by Frank Perez) It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is about the publication process itself. You have a manuscript in hand, now what? There are several stages. So, let's take each stage separately. Stage One. Completion of the Manuscript You have finished writing the manuscript and have carefully proofread it, but you are NOT ready to move to Stage Two. There are a few things you need to do first. If not done, this is the stage that often dooms a manuscript never to move to Stage Two and on into becoming a book. You proofread, right? For what did you proofread? Spelling? Ran it through the spellchecker? Certain your own eyes wil...

  It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is about contests and competitions. Should you participate? Is the effort (and, depending upon competition, cost) worth it. How do you decide which contests to enter? What are the positives and negatives of entering a competition? So, let's take each question separately. Should you participate; is it worth it? There is often a financial cost, as well as a time cost and a psychological-emotional cost associated with contests and competitions. So, the first question to answer is whether you have the money, time, and temperament to enter your book into competitions. (It is sort of like entering your bab...

(photo by Frank Perez) It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is inflated claims from self-published authors looking for a "I have published traditional contract. "I have published three best-selling books" is a line on a recent proposal that came in to MSI Press. Such a claim ("best selling") is almost never warranted, in the experience at our press.  Here is why making such a claim can undermine your chance of being published. - Such claims are easily checked out; numbers are available from a variety of sources; if found to b e inflated, than the honest--or at least the ability of the author to see and accept reality-...

(photo by Frank Perez) It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Today's topic is inspired by a proposal I received just yesterday, in which the would-be-published author wrote, "Sorry that the spelling and grammar may be a bit off; I know your great staff of editors can take care of that." Of course, that book was rejected without even looking at it. Here is why: - Authors are word people. They are communicating with their readers, and they need to be able follow the basic conventions through which their readers understand. Errors in punctuation, grammar, and spelling can change meaning or create confusion as to meaning.  - The implication is that th...