Picture books are tougher to write than you think. The words have to be simple enough to fit the age group, but interesting enough to catch the parents’ eye. Rhyming is good for children because of the sing-song tone which is comforting to them. But it can’t be annoying because the parents need to keep […]
You may have heard me tell my story before. I was in the Air Force for 28 years. During my first duty station I had a stalker. At the time it was scary and difficult to live through. After a number of years, it became the basis for my first book, The Obsession. Many people […]
Book Launch April 27 Amy Voltaire’s debut book, My Name is Erin, and My Mom’s an Addict, will launch this Saturday, April 27. I’m very excited to have been a part of this process with Amy. Her young adult novel is about Erin, whose mother left her to get a heroin fix when Erin was […]
Creating cover art is a specialization in the book world. It is NOT my specialty. There are trends to track, colors to express emotion and fonts that convey meaning. In the traditional publishing world, the author may or may not have input into the cover process. As a hybrid publisher, I’m able to guide my […]
When eBooks first came out, like all things tech, the sales shot up. There was talk that the print book was going out like the vinyl record (and you see records are coming back…). With the excitement of having light-weight, portable bookcases available at a reader’s fingertips, many people jumped on the bandwagon to experiment […]
[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Slider_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Writing for Young Adults I recently took a workshop led by Jessica Grace Kelley and Hannah Capin about writing for young adults. Both Jessica and Hannah have published young adult fiction and had a lot to offer to the class. First thing to realize is that Young Adult is not a genre, it’s […]
The City of Lost Fortunes I LOVED THIS BOOK! Bryan Camp did a great job weaving together many different spiritualistic beliefs in a way that was entertaining and educational (in a fun way). The dialogue was realistic and catchy. Hard to believe this is his first book. I look forward to reading more of his […]
15 Secrets of Successful People Know about Time Management 1 1,440 Minutes I am a member of the Williamsburg Business Networking group. We are not a typical networking group whose primary goal is to expand reach using new business leads from other members. Yes, we do pass each other leads when appropriate, but more […]
Just finished the Williamsburg Book Festival. It’s a great chance to connect with readers and writers-in-the-making. I love sharing a story. Your story can be about anything–totally fiction, autobiographical about how you were raised, a children’s book teaching a lesson. Stories are fascinating! And I love helping them reach the world. I was encouraged today […]
There is so much more to writing than writing. It never ceases to amaze me how much more time I spend on my writing career that doesn’t involve getting my story on paper. There is setting up book signings, then doing the signs for it, then the pre-advertising, and, and , and… Oh, but before […]
American Librarian Association Midwinter Conference–Research Spent a great day walking through the exhibit hall of the American Librarian Association Midwinter Conference in Atlanta. Getting a chance to talk to other publishers, authors, editors, and librarians—I was in heaven! As I started my rounds, I felt awkward and unsure of what to ask. By my last […]
Nothing sells your book better than your book cover. It’s the “face” of your story. Hiring a professional cover designer is worth the money. Your cover design needs to capture the attention of the readers so they will pick it up and read the back cover. The cover should not focus on one scene in […]
No matter how good of a writer you are, you need an editor (or editors!). Don’t fool yourself. There are multiple options to search for an editor. The internet is full of advertisements. Don’t jump at the first one you see. If you have writer friends, ask them for recommendations—learn from their mistakes. If you […]
Don’t make my mistake. I’m going to get ahead of myself, but I want to keep you, the reader, on the right track. I jumped from writing to publishing. There is so much more in between and I don’t want you to make the same mistakes. As a start-up, I wanted to do the economical […]
It’s a long, twisting road to publishing—don’t let anyone tell you differently. There is no one path and results are as varied as the methods to get there. My journey started as a simple quest to get my story on paper. When I was a second lieutenant in the Air Force stationed in Missouri as […]