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 addresses book sales that are not meeting an author's hopes. Why are my books not selling? That is the typical question at such times. Perhaps the first question should be, "Why did you write the book?" That will help you answer the question about sales and how you should react to the level of sales in a more helpful way. Let's look at some possible reasons: Self-esteem  You wanted your five minutes of fame and thought you could get it with a book; this is not a negative thing -- it can be a very good thing. Even if your sales are low, you can still have your fame. Your book itself is n...

  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 backlists. What are they? Why do publishers use them? What do they mean for authors? What is a backlist? Publishers have a front list of books that they are actively selling. Among these are books that "earn their keep" at the very least (i.e., costs of printing, advertising, promotion, distribution, royalties, warehousing, share of overhead, legal requirements such as copyright and permissions, etc., do not exceed the revenue they produce.  Of course, publishers would prefer that books do more than "earn their keep;" they would like them to make a profit. Working against bo...

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 is a pet peeve: financial advice columns and articles that advise on side hustles to develop passive income, with the case in point being "publishing" books through Amazon. Now, you do want your book on Amazon. We want our books on Amazon. Amazon is a strong source of sales for us. However, this is not really a passive sources of income, one that you sent up once and then sit back and rake in money. The following realities need to be considered to avoid major disappointment. Amazon will fulfill orders, but Amazon will not sell your book for you. You need to do your own marketing. Marketing is ...

  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 a look at the life cycle of books -- how they differ, how do you define "success" and "failure," and what authors can expect over a lifetime. Here at MSI Press, we have seen a variety of paths taken by successful books (and ones that have not fared as well). For lack of better nomenclature, I would say that we have hares, tortoises, dogs, cats, and mountain goats.  Hares As in the fable, the hares start out fast. These books have strong launches, sell hundreds of books in the first few weeks (from a larger press, these might show up as thousands of sales) and then, quite suddenly s...

Today's daily excerpt comes from  How to Be a Good Mommy When You're Sick  by Emily Graves. The Foundational Five   As a mother, wife, and professional living with chronic illness, I have learned that there is nothing more important than having a solid foundation root and guide me through the thickets and meadows, the monsoons and the sunny days that dot my calendar. Both good days and bad days can pose challenges when you are living with chronic illness. I suppose no explanation is needed as to why the bad days—the days when my stomach is turning itself inside out, fatigue burrows deep into my bones, and my abdomen is swelling like a helium balloon—pose challenges. Without a solid foundation, though, the good days can quickly become bad days because I am apt to revel so much in my personal sunshine that I get burned. Having a solid foundation reminds me to take care of the basics and to keep the big picture in mind. They say that the unexamined life is not worth li...