MSI Press Blog

  (photo by Frank Perez) 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 launching a book, especially for authors without universal name recognition. It is a follow-on to our December 29, 2020 blog post . The model that many new authors have in mind are the events and actions that famous authors take. Unfortunately, those are not the most effective for unknown authors. Here are some things to think about. Book signings: Book signings at book stores can fail more often than succeed where the author is an unknown.  The current status at many bookstores is that there is insufficient staff to set up and support signings. That aside, even before the

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 looks at the difference between book marketing and book promotion, two terms that are frequently confused. Leading to the confusion is that some of the same activities are needed for both. In fact, good marketing is dependent upon good promotion. Perhaps the essential difference is that marketing focuses on sales, and promotion focuses on awareness --  noting that without awareness, sales generally do not happen. Book Marketing Book marketing includes promotion, sales, and increasing awareness of the availability of the book. It generally starts with a marketing plan that identifies the target audiences and selects marketing t

(photo by Frank Perez) 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 book launches. A book launch, planned and carried out well, is a great opportunity to introduce and market your book to a large number of people. So, what are the ways books can be launched? What is the best way to launch a book? What are the benefits and risks of various kinds of book launches? So, let's take each question separately. What are the ways in which you can launch your book? A typical launch for a high-powered author is a tour of bookstore signings; a typical launch for a low-powered author is a book signings at one, perhaps two, local bookstores.  High-powe

   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 asks, very simply, what of the standard advice to authors is still viable, given the many changes in the book industry and life in general during and post-covid? Let's look at various pieces of advice that most authors have received from their publishers or from online writing sites. For books to sell, you need a lot of reviews.  Over 100 reviews is the recommended quantity. That is the classic advice. However, we have had hot-selling books that have had nearly no reviews. In those cases, there has been word of mouth "selling," in which influencers have recommended the book, book clubs hav

  Today is Independent Bookstore Day. In lieu of shared posts from one author, as we typically do each day in the blog post, From the Blog Posts of MSI Press Authors, we are presenting tributes from a range of authors in support of their local independent bookstores. From Julia Aziz I adore the independent bookstores in my city of Austin, TX. When I went to BookPeople and told them about the release of Lessons of Labor, they immediately offered to host a book release party and stock my book there. I felt so supported, both as a professional and as a longtime community member. BookPeople continues to be my happy place--a space to rest, read, and discover. Julia Aziz author of Lessons from Labor blog posts by and about Julia Julia's blog From Franki Bagdades blog post on the topic: There is no replacement for entering a space filled with books. Running your hands over glossy covers, flipping through the pages. Hearing someone laugh behind you as they read, a child's "oooh&q

    Today is Independent Bookstore Day. In lieu of shared posts from one author, as we typically do each day in the blog post, From the Blog Posts of MSI Press Authors, we are presenting tributes from a range of authors in support of their local independent bookstores. From Julia Aziz I adore the independent bookstores in my city of Austin, TX. When I went to BookPeople and told them about the release of Lessons of Labor, they immediately offered to host a book release party and stock my book there. I felt so supported, both as a professional and as a longtime community member. BookPeople continues to be my happy place--a space to rest, read, and discover. Julia Aziz author of  Lessons from Labor blog posts  by and about Julia Julia's blog From Franki Bagdades blog post on the topic: There is no replacement for entering a space filled with books. Running your hands over glossy covers, flipping through the pages. Hearing someone laugh behind you as they read, a child's "ooo