MSI Press Blog

    Excerpt from  How to Argue with an Atheist , by Professor TL Brink              STEP #4: Develop a Priority of Your Values     STUDENT: Dr. Brink?  I have been thinking about what you said about the limits of science, that science cannot prove which values that we should commit ourselves to.   BRINK: Would you wish to dispute that point?   STUDENT: Not directly. I agree that values are one thing and facts another, and that facts cannot be used to prove values, but I still like science.   BRINK: So do I.   STUDENT: I mean I still choose science and choose its values.   BRINK: How so? If science does not prove which values we should choose, what does it mean to choose the values of science?   STUDENT: What I mean is that science is valuable because it achieves certain values. If gives us technology that helps us attain important values, such as health and comfort.   BRINK: Correct you a...

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 books that have aged. Can you consider to market and sell an "old" book? Sure! Here are some suggestions: First, really important, look at the content.  Is it dated? Then, it is time for a second edition. Outdated books do not sell. New editions do. Make sure you bring it right up to date. Then, you have something to market. Not dated? You might still want to consider a second edition. A second edition says "new," and "new" attracts. Previous purchasers. Look through your records. Would they buy the book again? Many would, if there were a new edition. New markets. How has the market changed si...

  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 a never-ending one: how to market books, especially if you are a small press or a self-publishing author. The simple answer to that question is any way and every way you can, in small numbers and in larger quantities, over and over (keeping in mind the magic number of 22 ). Here are some ideas that have worked for MSI Press authors. Larry MacDonald, author of RV Oopsies , sells books nearly every day. He has a niche (travel humor), and nearly every day, his book turns up in the top 100 list of books of travel humor. What is he doing right? He built a following with his "dumb things RVers do" annual competition ...