MSI Press Blog

  Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from  365 Teacher Secrets for Parents  by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. #26 The Value of the Library   Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. ~Sir Richard Steele   Have you been to the library lately? The library has a wealth of information and resources that can help you and your child with projects, reports, and so much more. All for free! Talk with your family and choose library days each month. Make a goal to go at least twice a month. While you're there, apply for library cards for everyone. You don't have to have a library card to enjoy the library's computers. Go to the children's or youth section and ask what programs are available that will interest or help your child. If you do not have access to a computer and the Internet at home, you can show your child how she can come to the library to do research. You may be surprised at the expanding multitude of res...

  It is Tuesday. 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 post shares experiences with bookstore book launch book signings. Everyone expects authors to do them. Should they? Why do them? Authors love book signings, and they should. They make a book launch feel real and set the scene for a celebration for friends and fans.  Bookstores also love book signings, and they should. They provide entertainment for customers and bring new customers into the store. What really happens and why are many authors disappointed? Some realism will help stave off what is typically disappointment after book signing events. Bookstores will generally order 25 books, of which fewer than ten typical...

  It is Tuesday. 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 a never-ending one: how to market books, especially if you are a small press or a self-publishing author. The simple answer to that question is any way and every way you can, in small numbers and in larger quantities, over and over (keeping in mind the magic number of 22 ). Here are some ideas that have worked for MSI Press authors. Larry MacDonald, author of RV Oopsies , sells books nearly every day. He has a niche (travel humor), and nearly every day, his book turns up in the top 100 list of books of travel humor. What is he doing right? He built a following with his "dumb things RVers do" annual competition ...