MSI Press Blog

Out this month, the updated version of Publishing for Smarties: Finding  a Publisher by B. L. Ham. Here is what MidWest Book Review had to say about it: Synopsis: Now in a newly revised and expanded second edition, "Publishing for Smarties: Finding a Publisher" by B. L. Ham is specifically written for aspiring authors having trouble getting their book published, as well as new authors wanting to avoid the long wait through dozens of submissions as publishers they have submitted to seek find a writer whose work they would be amendable to publishing. Written from the perspective of an acquisitions editor for a publishing house who has also served as a reader and adviser for acquisitions editors at presses ranging from small to large to the leading presses in her field, B. L. Ham wants to help new writers navigate the confusing myriad choices in finding a publisher. Typical missteps of new authors are presented, along with criteria for making decisions on choosing...

  Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir,  In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life  by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver Community Life in Acton              Acton wasn’t just a town—it was a woven tapestry of neighbors, stories, and shared memory. Everybody knew everybody, and yes, everybody’s business too. Not out of nosiness exactly, though there was a touch of that. It was more about staying connected, about knowing what was going on so you could lend a hand if needed—or at least have something to talk about the next time you ran into someone in Milton Mills (the location of the closest store, gas station, and post office, Acton having none of those).              One of the easiest ways to stay in the loop was the party line. I don’t recall when Acton finally switched to private lines, but next-door Lebanon still had party l...

  Today's shared blog post comes from Elizabeth Mahlou, author of A Believer-in-Waiting's First Encounters with God and Blest Atheist :   My cooking is well known -- for how bad it is. In fact, the topic figured prominently in Doah's book,  Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest . My mother gave up on teaching me to cook years ago, saying that it was too expensive because I ruined so much of what I touched. My kids quickly learned that it was better to have Donnie do the cooking, and I could almost always get them to do whatever I asked by threatening to cook. There is, however, one thing I can cook well: ham. So, for this new year's New Year dinner, I made a ham. Now, we usually go out to dinner on special occasions since it really is only Donnie, Doah, and I. However, this year, it was rainy and cold and seemed perfect for a ham dinner and fire in the fireplace. Doah was not so certain, however. Right after that, he ran hollering to Donnie, "Come quick! Mom's cookin...

  1948-2021 It is with great sadness that MSI Press notes the death of Carl Leaver, CEO of the Press and typesetter and graphic designer par excellence . Many authors have expressed not only condolences but also a sense of legacy from covers he designed that they love.  Here is his obituary: On August 16, 2021, Carl Don Leaver of San Juan Bautista passed into eternal rest. A forester with the US Forest Service in Idaho and Montana, he turned to nature photography while working in the Bitterroot National Forest. His photographs graced national magazine covers and on a weekly basis the local paper of Hamilton, MT, the Ravalli Republican. He later worked on photography projects for the US Army (AFEES) and taught photography at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan. His final career change led him to computer graphics and publishing as co-owner of MSI Press LLC; his many typeset books and book covers have helped MSI Press authors win a large number of awards over t...

  Their children's precocity can often disconcert parents. These children not only do unpredictable things, but the things they do are also often unimaginable to their parents--and how to deal with them perplexing. After all, when do you reward creativity and when do you punish it? Shane setting the house on fire with a science experiment clearly belonged in the latter category though one still wants to laud the creativity and scientific depth behind it. But what about when those unpredictable things go beyond the home? When Shane was 12, I picked up the phone--landlines back then and anyone could answer. The voice at the other end sounded like a man in his 30s, and it turned out in reality to be a man in his 30s.  "May I speak to Shane?" asked the voice. "Well, I don't know," I responded. "Shane is a 12-year-old boy." The voice hesitated, then said, "Ok, but I think I still need to talk to him." I put Shane on the line, and he immediatel...