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 addresses two distinct and different paths to decent book sales. One is via author's reputation and the other through direct promotion and marketing efforts. The former has a choice of using the latter approach as well, but that does not work in reverse. Authors with well-rcognized names definitely have a leg up in the book sales department for a number of reasons: Readers are pulled to read books by famous people; fame often comes from position in life (social class) or political power -- something about the lives and thoughts of successful people are attractive (well, I think we all know why). Writers who have achieve

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 takes a look (again) at book sales. Unfortunately, get accurate accountings of book sales across the book industry is very difficult. Book Scan is not accurate. Amazon bestselling rankings have quirks. Publishers do not like to share their sales figures with other publishers, let alone authors. The range that can be found online is wild.  When reading sales figures, it is critical to read them with a jaundiced eye because often these "statistics" come from author groups with great hopes for best sellers among their members. Generally, in my experience, the reports of sales are vastly exaggerated, often because of

  Today's book back story provides inside information about  One Simple Text.. . (Shaw & Brown).  From the publisher -  Betty Shaw and Dave Brown brought to the press a great story. One of tragedy that through patient fortitude, medical skill, and great faith turned into triumph. Of a life almost lost because of one simple text while driving. The what and who of that text I will leave readers to discover. A story that had propelled the author and the protagonist of the story, her daughter, to Oprah Winfrey's TV show. They had, however, not yet written a book. (Advice here: if you have the opportunity for world-class publicity, get your book done in advance; it is so  helpful for book promotion to have the publicity come after the book and not afterward.) They needed some help in refining the story into a book that works. That is where MSI Press came in. We do this all the time with first-time authors. We help turn their wonderful but seemingly unmanageable stories into wann

  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.  This week's conversation seeks to answer a question that authors often ask me. Should I hire a publicist? The answer is, it depends. Let's take a look at three factors: value-added, cost, and timing. (Of course, there may be other things you want to consider as well, such as the strength of your platform and how much skill and experience and connections you have for personally marketing your book -- for example, how large is your mailing list? Value-Added Reasons for Hiring a Publicist A book publicist can significantly enhance your book’s marketing efforts by leveraging their expertise and industry connections. Here are some key val

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 arises indeed from the fact that 'tis the season for book awards...at least, for the opening of accepting 2022 award entries. The question is whether or not to enter, how many, and which ones. After all, they cost. Are they worth it? Here are some reasons they are worth entering: Attention. The more attention your book receives, generally the better it will sell. Awards are a very positive source of attention. Confirmation. You think your book is good. Your publisher through so when accepting it for publication. Winning a competition, especially the difficult ones, provides confirmation that you are ri