MSI Press Blog

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 about the role of advertising in marketing -- and how it is changing (or has changed). Is it cost-effective? Should you include it in your marketing efforts? Read on. Current facts about advertising: 1.       The cost of advertising has gone up (along with the cost of printing, shipping, etc.), but retail prices have not gone up a parallel amount, so it is a bigger stretch to get good return on investment. 2.       Readers seem to be reading less print media, and some print advertisers have turned to e-blasts instead of print mail and to online sales sites instead of catalogues.  3.       More and more, readers can—and want

About the Book People are often at a loss to find the right words to say in prayer. Whether you're a believer but unchurched or are a devout member of a religion, if you wish to expand your home worship, finding the right words to say to God can be a problematic issue. The prayers in Everybody's Little Book of Everyday Prayers are nonsectarian-suited for Protestants, Jews, and Catholics, as well as unaffiliated deists who believe in God but not in organized religion. They cover a raft of occasions on which individuals or families may wish to say a prayer. If prayer is an integral part of your life, or you would like it to be, you'll find the help you want in Everybody's Little Book of Everyday Prayers. Delightfully illustrated by Zhenya Yanovich of Moscow & Siberia (Russia) and Charlottesvile (VA< USA). Book Endorsement "This book is a keeper. It gets to the heart of our communication with God." Rev. Grant A. Houser, M. Th. Review of the Book

About the Book Tucker & Me: Growing Up A Part-Time Southern Boy  tells the story of a child growing up in the Mad Men era of the 1960's. Filled with humor, sadness, and harrowing incidents, the memoir reflects all the emotions of life one experiences growing up, in this case, with a single mom who lived in Los Angeles and a father who lived in a small town suburb of Atlanta, Georgia known as Tucker. Traveling in the summers to the alternate universe in Tucker, the author experienced a roller coaster ride of two completely different lifestyles. Book Endorsement "Readers can feel and taste the magical moments. You feel like you’re sitting by the fi replace with Uncle Andy, sipping coffee and listening to his fanciful yarns.” J. Bennett Easterling, author of Of God, Rattlesnakes, and Okra   Review of the Book From Readers' Favorite:  Anyone who has lived a double life like [Harvey's] will understand and enjoy these stories... This book is not just about Harv

  The following excerpt comes from  Practices That Work  (Thomas Garza). Introduction Are you a new or future author? Confused by all the choices  in the publishing business? Afraid of being ripped off? (It  happens all too frequently!) Not sure how to take the first step?  Not even sure how you want your “offspring” (i.e. your manuscript)  to be birthed (i.e. published)? This book is meant for  you. It is not another 500-page reference book about a little  bit of everything associated with publishing. There are enough  books like that; one more is not needed. That said, however,  you should certainly add several of those to your resource collection.  At the very least, you should read Writer’s Market   and subscribe to Writer’s Digest . (Google both; you will find  them. Writer’s Market is also available at most public libraries.) This book, unlike most of the books out there on publishing,  looks at publishing from the combined point of need of  the new author and point of view of t

  Excerpt from Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star! by Betty Lou Leaver, PhD.  INTRODUCTION This is not your typical tip book on how to learn foreign languages. It does not tell you to do a list of 15 things and assure you that you will become the language classroom star because typical lists of tips do not work for all leaners. Sometimes, almost none of the traditional tips and tricks work for some people. This book does not offer you learning strategies for reading, listening, writing, speaking, memorizing for vocabulary, and getting good with grammar. There is no need for yet another book on the topic of learning strategies. Good books exist. The best on, in opinion, is Teaching and researching language learning strategies: Self-regulation in context (Oxford, 2017). You should get it, use it, and keep it handy. You will not need a better guide for learning strategies than that. Oxford (1986) has also produced a well-vetted instrument: Strategy Inventory f

Excerpt from  Publishing for Smarties  by BL Ham  Appropriate Responses  Instead of feeling and expressing resentment, there are four much more useful things that you can do. These are:  become excited; analyze the letter for educative information;  revise your manuscript, if warranted; and  find another publisher who might be interested in your book. Become Excited  Why should you become excited? Because finding a publisher is a lot like selling a product. Actually, you are selling a product: your book. Just as it usually takes about ten cold calls to sell a product or get a donation for a worthy cause, so, too, it takes many rejections (typically, dozens more than ten) before you will get a nibble from a publisher, especially if you are a first-time author. So, count each of those rejections as an indication that you are getting closer to an acceptance, just like salesmen do.  Analyze the Letter  Analyze any information at all that is in the rejection letter for any enlight