MSI Press Blog

There was a time, not all that long ago, when small ads would sell new books, when large ads would sell large numbers of new books, and when catalogues were the media to which librarians and bookstores looked for stocking books. Books in Print was an essential tool for everyone -- researchers, reviewers, writers, booksellers. Times have changed. Two revolutions have taken book marketing into very different directions. First, the accessibility to self-publishing for authors struggling to be picked up by a major (or any) house resulted in an explosion of books. Some of these have been as good as those published by traditional publishers; many, if not, most have not because authors lack the full range of expertise and resources available from a traditional publisher. Nonetheless, these books make it onto the shelves of bookstores or at least onto the virtual shelves of online stores in droves, droves being thousands every single day. Given relative steady and limited opportunities for

  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 book reviews. Why are they important and what they will do for you as an author. And why a lot of reviews do not turn immediately into a lot of increased sales. Why you should care about reviews : Reviews get the news out about your book. Even bad reviews can result in publicity that brings out book sales. Some bookstores (e.g., the Barnes and Noble chain) usually check out book reviews before stocking a book from an independent publisher (which is a hard-to-get agreement to begin with); in my experience, the minimum required is 25 good (4-5 stars) reviews. There are a significant number of pe

  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 need to go after book reviews. Why do you have to go after them? Why not just let them come to you? (And maybe we should talk a little more again about why you need reviews.) Why you need reviews credibility, especially if this is your first book, you have a weak platform, and/or your name is unknown in the genre and field in which you are writing getting the word out -- word of mouth is the most effective form of advertising, but reviews generally let the brains associated with those mouths know about the existence of the book quotes for promoting the book, including for the book descripti

  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 addresses an issue that comes up a lot in book reviews by amateurs: "This book would have benefitted from better editing." When that happens -- and for a lot of books, it does -- what should be your reaction (assuming that your book was traditionally or hybrid published or was self-published after having been professionally edited)? Should you be mad?  The answer to that can question requires a bit of research. There can be reasons that a reviewer would write this other than that, indeed, the book needs to be better edited. Here are some of those reasons: An insecure reviewer often writes that there are editorial p

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 asks a plaintive question--one that i hear often from folks with a good book but no large economic means to promote it -- can they get promotion for free? Yes -- see all these places where that is possible: Certainly, word of mouth is free. Talk up the book with people you meet, friends, families, colleagues, businesses, and other authors. And when you find out that word of mouth has been a part of promoting your book, thank the source. Reviews are generally free; the best ones are; the most trusted (by readers) are. Ask your readers to write reviews. (There are also some inexpensive reviews that are worth it; think $100 or l

  Congratulations to Victor Montgomery for a nice review of his book, Heart to Heart Resuscitation: My Journal , which is a companion to Heart to Heart Resuscitation: A Memoir , from MidWest Book Review:  Especially recommended for anyone having to deal with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), or the emotional stresses arising out of a suicide or the unexpected death of a friend or family member, "Heart to Heart Resuscitation: My Journal" will prove to be of effective and practical help in coping with and working through depression, sorrow, and grief. Read the whole review HERE . For more posts about Vic and his book, click  HERE . AWARD FOR THE MEMOIR-JOURNAL  Literary Titan Gold Award Purchase the paperback at discount from the  MSI Press webstore . Use Coupon Code FF25 for 25% off. Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a

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 publicists. Do you need one?  What can you expect from one? What should you not expect from one? How should you go about finding one?  So, let's take each question separately. Do you need a publicist? Is your book selling?  Yes. You probably do not need a publicist though in some cases a publicist can help your book sell more copies. No. Consider hiring a publicist. Is this your first book? Yes. If you have a mentor or a strong editor to guide you, you may not need a publicist. No, and feel lost about how to go about getting your book noticed. Consider hiring a publicist. Do you have a strong

  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 how to market books inexpensively. If you have big pockets, go for the television, radio, newspaper, and saturation ads. Buy time on radio and television shows. However, most authors do not have deep pockets. So, looking at inexpensive ways to get the word out is not only necessary but sometimes the only way to market a book. This post describes some sources and activities for inexpensive marketing. It is, of course, not complete. Do all these things, then seek out more opportunities, or start again with another virtual blog tour. Things to do (not necessarily in any kind of order) Word of mouth

  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, as a follow-on to last week's discussion of the  seismic change in the book publishing industry over the past 5-10 years,  discusses the difficult nature of today's book market for new authors. The nature of book marketing today is more than anything a matter of getting seen, of the hand of an author (or publisher) to be able to hold up his/her book above a sea of raised hands. I doubt that any publisher (or author) will say that they have a great answer to this problem (including to those "specialists" who promise such solutions to authors for a hefty fee -- with many authors disappointed with the results