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's topic is about reviews. How do you get reviews?  How should you interpret them? How should you handle bad reviews? So, let's take each question separately. How do you get reviews? There are professional reviewers. Some will review before the book is published -- they want a 3-4 month heads-up (i.e. book in hand, with a later release date). These are highly desirable. Examples are Library Journal , School Library Journal , Foreword Reviews (the free version), and Publishers Weekly . All of them accept submissions sent directly to them. (There are also otherLs; Google them.) You can put your book up on Net

  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 addresses the bug-a-bear of every author: the negative review. Some negative reviews are, of course, fair; some point to helpful things for revision; some may not reflect objective reality but honest opinion, and others are just plain mean. So, how should an author react? First, analyze the review -- is it honest or dishonest? (If you cannot make an objective analysis, ask a friend or colleague to analyze the review.) Then, determine a course of action, one course, of course, being to take no action at all.  The honest negative review: Are the points made valid or at least valid within an honest mindset

Congratulation to Haim Omer for a very nice review of Courageous Parents by US Review of Books. According to the reviewer, " This is an extremely well-written book, offering advice that is clear, easy to understand, and well-attuned to the everyday realities of parenting. Omer provides practical suggestions on an impressive breadth of issues." Read the whole review HERE . Read more posts by and about Haim and his book HERE .

  From US Review of Books book review of Passing On; Preparing for the Afterlife: "...written beautifully in the descriptions of bliss, peace, forgiveness,  joy and beauty, both on earth and what others have described in the afterlife through their NDEs. The work about how to prepare for the afterlife, such as reading, meditation, being in nature and praying, is helpful as is the Appendix with its focus on afterlife characteristics."                                                  -Carol Anderson,  U.S. Review of Books Read the rest of the book review HERE . Read more posts about Passing On HERE . Read more posts about Joanna and all her books HERE .

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 discusses the difficulties in getting book reviews -- from the publisher perspective and the author perspective. Sometimes, those perspectives are the same. Reference here is not to paid reviews; those are pretty easy to get -- put up your money, and back comes a review. Reference here is to unpaid, professional reviews, what every publisher wants and expects and what every author should, too. Lost in the Haystack of Pre-Publication Reviews Pre-publication reviews are hard to get because there are very few reviewers out there, and they are overwhelmed with books being sent to them. One reviewer who wanted to review one of our

  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 giveaways. Do they really help in obtaining book reviews and promoting your book? Let's take each question separately. Do book giveaways really help in getting book reviews? Once upon a time they did. Today is seemingly a different story. Library Thing was and likely still is a popular place for giveaways. After all, it is a beehive of book review postings. We used to give away a couple dozen copies each time a book was released. We do not do that anymore. In the past, when Tim (last name forgotten) was the head of Library Thing, a book given away was tracked; it resulted in a review, typically on LT, Amazon, and B&a

  RECOMMENDED BY US REVIEW OF BOOKS With fresh, highly informative material on every page, Potter offers intelligent, sensitive guidelines meriting thoughtful study, along with pragmatic, readily accessible approaches from which anyone can benefit at any stage of the grief experience . -- so says Barbaara Bamberger Scott, reviewer for the US Review of Books. Read the entire review HERE . For more posts on Julie and her book, click HERE .

  Since today is my birthday, this guest post seemed very apropos! DYING AND LIVING “Yet if we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” --I John 4: 12     I watched Dad die. I was only seventeen at the time, too young to understand much of what was going on. My father had been diagnosed with throat cancer two years before, a disease common to heavy smokers and drinkers. He underwent brutal cobalt treatments and lost his voice. He was in constant pain, unrelieved by the medications. For the last three months of his life he was bedridden at home. Mom, my brothers, and I took turns sitting by his bedside, mostly in silence. He could not speak, and I did not know what to say. It was decided not to tell Dad he was dying, so he could keep up his hope. But he knew. The priest later told us how Dad spoke with him about his dying and not to tell us. So no one said anything about the elephant in the room. In the silence during my death wat

  From US Review of Books: Feig’s conversational style is witty and disarming. His self-deprecating humor lends charm and vulnerability to his ideas and opinions on becoming a better individual. Rooted firmly in a young, often single man’s outlook, he nevertheless manages to address aspects of life relevant to people of all ages. If you enjoy humor and love cats—the former being a prerequisite for the latter—chances are you’ll also be attracted to this fun-filled homage to felines. Read the rest of the review by Joe Kilgore  HERE . About the book: Jeremy Feig was at rock bottom - broke, alone, and living in a shoebox-sized apartment. At the same time, his cat was perfectly content. What was her secret? She couldn't say it out loud, but it was clear she had all the answers to living a good life. How My Cat Made Me a Better Man is a hilarious self-help book for guys that gals like, too, based on the lessons of an edgy cat named Shelly. It's packed with useful advice on topics lik