MSI Press Blog

  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 republishing self-published books. Can you get a traditional contract from a traditional publishing house for a book you have self-published?  Well, that depends. As the acquisitions editor for a traditional press that also offers hybrid publishing contracts for untested writers, the answer is an across-the-board no, but there are some publishers who might. Let's look at the reasons for and against republishing a self-published book, from a publisher's point of view. Why a publisher would not want to re-publish a self-published book -- Typically, an author thinks that he or she has exhau...

  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 a topic that comes into my in-box on a regular basis, at least once or twice a week: a self-published author (either thought self-publication would provide more control and money or was unable to land a traditional contract) does not like the self-publication results and would like a re-do, i.e. start over again with a traditional publisher/contract. To cut to the chase, this is the content of the typical response I send to these queries: Thank you for your submission. We have a policy of not re-publishing previously        published books, so your book would not be of interest to us....

    (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 taking a self-published book to a traditional publisher in hopes of getting a contract.  At least a couple of times a month, a self-published author approaches MSI Press with a proposal to republish his or her self-published book. They all seem to think that their  poorly selling self-published book would soar to best-seller status if only a traditional publisher would take it on or that their self-published book with modest sales would not thrill a publisher by how many sales had been made or had many polite reviews simply re-stated the content and refr...

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 focuses on what to do if a publisher tells you that your book needs work. Editors will rarely tell you this. It takes time for them to write back to you, and it takes time for them to give you specifics about your book's lack of merit for publication. How should you interpret their words when they actually communicate with you? If a publisher says that your book needs work (and nothing more), there are a few responses and interpretations: Generally, this is a kind (though it may not seem so) comment, helping you to understand why the book is being rejected rather than the typical "does not meet ou...

  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.  Writing a book is an accomplishment. Publishing it is a milestone. But selling it? That’s a whole other game—and one too many authors enter unprepared. You don’t need to be a full-time marketer to successfully sell your book, but you do need a plan. Without one, even the best books risk fading into the digital void or languishing in cartons in your garage. Whether you’re self-published or working with a traditional or hybrid press, your sales success depends on you far more than you think . Here’s why sales planning matters—and how to do it effectively. 1. Publishing is a Business Books are emotional and creative endeavors, but once th...

  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 the question that often holds potential authors back from telling their stories, either their personal memoirs or the sharing of a lifetime of work knowledge, "Am I too old to publish a book?"  The quick answer is, of course, not. But there are realities behind publishing as an older individual that differ from publishing in the middle of one's career. Here, in this column, I am using "older" to mean individuals who have retired, typically mid-60s and later. There are, equally important, questions that underlie that age question. Let's take those underlying questions one at a time, which...