MSI Press Blog

  Today's book back story is about Walks Far Man: In Step with History on the Pacific Crest Trail by Jim Ostdick. From the managing editor of MSI Press Jim's story is a unique one and an inspiring one. After retiring as a teacher, he rode his bike from coast to coast and put out a book, then a second -- self-published -- about the experience. After that, he was ready for something equally challenging: hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and writing about the experience (and history and geography) of place. ' I met Jim when he started joining discussion sessions at The Literary Center, an outreach activity of MSI Press for the local writing community. He shared his experiences, but, as well, he learned more about the craft of writing for publication. We would have loved to have published Jim's last book, Walks Far Man but he had already self-published it before we knew about it. Nonetheless, we took it in as an affiliated book to help with promotion, something we felt the b...

  Today's story behind the book is about Widow: A Survival Guide for the First Year  by Joanna Romer. From the publisher The late Joanna Romer was one of our first authors, and ultimately she wrote ten books that we published. A professor of journalism, she approached us in our early days with a manuscript for widows and how they could cope with widowhood. It was a subject she knew well, having recently become a widow. With her journalistic instincts, she had tracked down other widows, determined the commonalities, and provide a guide that many have now found helpful during their first year. The book is full of these personal stories that provide the bigger picture for the "map" that Joanna lays out for new widows. How Joanna found us in those early days, I do not remember, and she is not around now to ask. The relationship, however, was symbiotic. She produced books that people wanted to read, and we even, at one point, commissioned her to write one we felt was needed. T...

  From the publisher -- The story behind  When Liberty Enslaves  by Jerry Aveta Jerry came to me in June, with a book addressing important issues about Election 2024. He had unique and researched perspectives that put an understanding of the 2024 election into a much larger picture of US history. Such perspectives deserved to be considered and made available to the public, but time was so limited. Generally, putting out a well edited and professionally typeset books takes 6-8 months, but all we had was 6-8 weeks if the book were to come out in time to reach its audience at an appropriate time. Long story short, we committed to the time frame, convinced that the quality of the content of the book would be worth moving this book to the top of our list. The rest is history. The book came out in August, just in time. And our faith in the book was warranted. It has won award after award. Book Description: There is a common experience between our experiences today and those bef...

  Today's story behind the book gives a look behind the scenes at  Thoughts without a Title , edited by Dr. Geri Henderson. From the Publisher This unique book was a project at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan. Students in writing courses were given the opportunity to submit work for this book. The best entries were selected for publication; all selections had to meet general professional writing requirements. Geri, as one of the literature professors worked with each student at professionalizing his/her contribution. The students collectively determined the title. The art department offered the same opportunity to art students. The artwork served as illustrations for the essays and poems. One of the students provided the cover graphic. The dean at the time (now the managing editor of MSI Press) led students through the process of publication. It was a deep learning experience for each of them. The book is also unique in that it reflects Eastern-Weste...