Drift

by Sara San Angelo

Recent reviews for Drift:

“I had to force myself to put it down so I could savor it.  One of the best books I’ve read!”–Jackie Giorna
 
“There are so many life lessons in this book that I don’t think I will ever see things the same again.”  Cathy Raymonds

For more information or to order the book, visit http://www.driftnovel.com/

Has the credibility of self-publishing been in question previously? I have to admit I’ve dealt with my fair share of doubters. At times in fact I’ve felt, as has Tracy Jordan, stuck in Horseville – because I sat surrounded by Neighsayers.
The writing/publishing program chairs at New York University have recently announced the department’s intention to introduce a a course in self-publishing for the Spring semester of 2010. The 6 week course will be taught by self-publishing and book marketing expert, Penny C. Sansevieri.

Notes Sansevieri, “I’m delighted to teach self-publishing for NYU and am thrilled that they’ve asked me to bring this model to their students for the first time. Today’s publishing landscape is changing by the minute. Print-on-Demand or POD is taking hold in a big way. With self-publishing and computer technology, big publishers’ stranglehold on the market is gone. Everyone can publish their story.”

Writers rejoice. Doubters take notice.

- Karl Schroeder

Editorial Q&A from an established Self-publishing consulting source:

Q: I would like to know of a book or Web site that shows complete sentences in which a specified word is used. I have a good vocabulary and know how to use a thesaurus, but I’m fearful when it comes to promoting a word from my cognitive vocabulary to my active vocabulary; i.e., actually using a word I know in a sentence I write. (For example, I stepped out on a limb to use the word “cognitive.”)

A: First, never use a word in your writing that you wouldn’t use in casual conversation, and you’ll never go wrong.

Next, if you never stretch your own vocabulary, you won’t grow, so after the first caution, I’ll add my favorite source: American Heritage Dictionary. It often, but not always, uses words in a sentence.

A third warning: When you look something up in a thesaurus, be cautious, because each word has its own connotation, and choosing a word from a list does not ensure that the exact meaning you intend will be relayed to the reader. One of my clients for whom English was not a native language, for example, wanted to impart excitement, so after referring to a thesaurus, he wrote, “Oh, no!” he ejaculated. Yes, the sentence and word use are both technically correct, but Americans more often use ejaculate to mean something other than exclaim, so the word choice was less than ideal. It did give this editor a chuckle, however.

Bobbie Christmas, book doctor, author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com.

Dave Eggers’ novel and screenplay adaptation of the timeless children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are saw its big screen debut last Friday, and with controversy tantamount to that created by Maurice Sendak’s original.

Eggers is the founding and managing editor of McSweeney’s an independent or self-publishing option based out of San Francisco.  Eggers’ Wild Things is timely and worth of mention as an extraordinary testiment to the scope and cultural presence self-publishing authors bring to the us through unobstructed editorial voice.

Keep up the great work, writing, and contribution.

- Karl Schroeder

Hesitating at the Gate: Reflections on Aging

by Ann Tudor

This author submitted the following recent review for her book:

In this collection of wry essays and poems, Ann Tudor says things about aging that no one else is saying. She offers insights, though no solutions. What she gives us, in her unique voice, is not inspirational writing about growing old. Instead, the word “subversive” comes to mind. You might laugh or you might cry, but you will certainly have a different view of aging after reading this little book.

You might try to read it in small bites, one essay at a time, but you’ll find it hard to stop reading once you’ve started. The second time around you can read it more slowly and savor each clever, pithy phrase.

Perhaps the prospect of the Land of Old scares you. Well, it won’t be nearly as lonely and frightening when you approach it in the company of this unorthodox author, whose frank response to the aging process will make you grin (and then grimace) with recognition.

Anyone who has ever grown old, who is currently growing older, or who suspects that growing older is in his/her future will want to read this book—and then buy additional copies to share with friends.

Visit www.anntudor.ca, where you will be able to read one of the essays and learn about Ann Tudor’s other work.

TO ORDER: Order through www.anntudor.ca (using PayPal) or email the author at atudor@pathcom.com.

This post won’t find its place among my direct self-publishing and book marketing tips, but an recognized advancement in the publishing world worthy of mention.

Coming off a recognition as #268 on Inc. Magazine’s top 500 fastest growing privately held US companies, self-publishing option, Outskirts Press, was recently placed among Inc.’s “Best of the Best” as determined by a panel of leading adventure capitalists. Only 5 of the original 500 made the list.

The top five Inc. Magazine “Best of the Best” companies as identified by the panel of venture capitalists were Kiva Systems of Woburn, Massachusetts; SkullCandy of Park City, Utah; Centro of Chicago, Illinois; Outskirts Press of Parker, Colorado; and Enalasys of Calexico, California.

- Karl

Searching for Salvation

by Albert L. Pike, Jr.

This self-published book was recently reviewed by ReaderViews:

“Searching for Salvation” is a poetry book that shows just because someone may appear to have it “all together” doesn’t make that fact. The author, Albert L. Pike, Jr., is a former public school teacher and administrator who became a priest in the Roman Catholic Church after a series of physical and emotional battles.

The poetry Pike writes in “Searching for Salvation” vividly shows his battles with depression, bipolar disorder, and seeking validation in other people such as his wife. His belief in God and his desire to serve, which he states in a narrative began at age seven when he felt called to the priesthood, shines through most of his work.

Most poetry books do not have narrative essays explaining the progression of the poems or even an introduction, but Pike does this without ruining the fact that “Searching for Salvation” is primarily a book of poetry. The explanations work well and help support the theme of his work, which is going from spiritual brokenness to spiritual enlightenment.

I am not Catholic, but I still feel “Searching for Salvation” has a lot of validity especially for those who are trying to go from emotional darkness into emotional sunlight. There are a number of Catholic themes noted in the book, especially once Pike enters the priesthood. Thus, those who are staunchly against the Catholic Church or other forms of Western religion may not wish to pick up a copy of this book. However, it is not necessary to be Catholic or Christian to enjoy the message of “Searching for Salvation” or the pain and then joy reflected in Pike’s words. This book is ideal for anyone who is interested in poetry, prose, self-help, and general spirituality and is appropriate for a wide range of age groups.

What I found most valuable out of “Searching for Salvation” by Albert L. Pike, Jr. is that a priest can admit a history of serious challenges, even note that the church to which he has devoted the remainder of his life had “innumerable scandalous activities.” Pike also beautifully illustrates through words the importance of even painful experience as perhaps life’s most lasting teacher.

For more information or to order the book, visit the author’s webpage: www.outskirtspress.com/searchingforsalvation

This doesn’t speak at all exclusively to self-publishing/published authors. But, something every self-publishing author should take a moment to absorb: Building books that sell in the digital age

- Karl Schroeder

The digital age brings us a virtually unlimited number of ezines straight to our computer screens and finger tips, each with a specific niche or category. With so many free and competing factions most are voraciously hungry for content. Ezines are a great way to generate content AND promote your book (either before it is published by building a “name” for yourself) or after it is published.

Rather than seeking them out individually, you can place your articles into databases that ezine editors frequent for content. They use your article free of charge, and in exchange, include your biographical byline, which includes information about you and your book.

Here are some to check out:

www.ezinearticles.com
www.ebooksnbytes.com
www.connectionteam.com
www.netterweb.com
www.ideamarketers.com
www.goarticles.com
www.knowledge-finder.com
www.articlecity.com

Don’t send them the same article you published last week. Instead, write another chapter of your book first (since finishing your book IS the main goal, after all.)

- Karl Schroeder

Riddle of Berlin

by Cym Lowell

A recent review submitted by this self-published author:

An arms dealer orchestrates acts of terrorism throughout the world, vexing international authorities.

Mark Anton is an Internet wunderkind living in Germany, a 27-year-old Californian who went abroad to take advantage of the wild free market conditions in Eastern Europe. Little does Anton know that his empire has caught the attention of an international terrorist mastermind. The Lion, frequently posing as an old German frau, is a sophisticated and cultured criminal holdover from the Old World who orchestrates attacks from a plush library in his suite at Berlin’s finest hotel. The shadowy international financier decides to frame Anton—as well as his unsuspecting mother—as the perpetrator of a series of attacks on NATO intelligence and civilians in Germany, using Anton’s online venture, an auction site for sports memorabilia, as a coverup for arms dealing. Anton’s only hope of escaping this nefarious web—one that also includes the American vice president (who is a friend of his mother’s) Chinese militants and the FBI—is an investigator named John Jaëgerman, a decorated war hero and skilled soldier who somehow knows to warn Anton a few days before the first attack. Jaegërman, however, jumps off the Notre Dame Cathedral into the Seine shortly thereafter, in hopes of meeting a mysterious female entity who resides in the water. He is rescued by a Slovakian nurse driven by her own carnal and spiritual desires. For such an integral character in the book, Jaegërman is touched upon too infrequently and without enough emphasis. His relationship with the Slovak Carmen is distracting and even unnecessary in light of the tremendous amount of action going on elsewhere in the book. These disparate storylines eventually come together, but the novel as a whole feels overly plotted. The European settings are top-notch, a Jason Bourne-like mix of sex, immense manses and fast cars. However, NATO seems like a prosaic and harmless target for such a skilled criminal to focus on, and more so, the ability of The Lion to repeatedly defeat the authorities is not entirely plausible.

A dense amalgam of genre elements, but fans of international thrillers will be pleased.