by Yvonne Perry

Typing, writing, or saying 2010 may take some getting used to! But, the new year is here and I'm expecting it to be the best one yet—both personally and for Writers in the Sky. The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is a time when most of us reflect upon our lives—or at least the past 365 days—and see what we have accomplished and then decide what changes need to be made in order to live a more fulfilling life. That's where Allison Maslan's new book, Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams into Reality, can help. It will not only inspire you at your soul level, Allison also shares her insight, strategies and techniques to break through your limiting fears and beliefs, then guides you step-by-step to launch a completely new personal and professional path filled with astounding passion and meaning.

As I think over the past year, I can't help but smile because I have four beautiful grandsons who were born in 2009. Another highlight of the year is when my oldest biological grandson, Sidney, and I published The Sid Series ~ A Collection of Holistic Stories for Children (ISBN: 9780982572207), a book containing the stories I wrote for him that teach a lesson based on adventures he and I had together. There are stories about overcoming fear, being environmentally conscious, helping others, being true to one’s self, following inner guidance, caring for the body, appreciating diversity, facing fears, dealing with change, and experiencing the death of a pet. From seeing ghosts in his closet at night to healing with herbs infused with the magic of the full moon, Sid and Von-Von explore some of the many ways children express their unique and powerful views.

Spending time with my grandchildren has provided me with an opportunity to talk about some pretty adult topics—some that many parents and teachers are hesitant to discuss with children. Reading The Sid Series may initiate some sophisticated conversations with your child or grandchild, so I've created a talent showcase that any child may enter.  All they need to do is share a story by drawing, painting, sketching, singing, reading, or writing about how they learned or experienced a life lesson.

The showcase is not a contest; I don't believe children should be judged or rejected for their heart-felt creativity. Instead, every effort will be recognized and everyone's work will be included on my new blog: http://TheSidSeries.blogspot.com and in an e-book that can be shared with family and friends. Please review the guidelines and help your child participate in The Sid Series Children’s Talent Showcase.

To participate, you must be familiar with the lessons taught in The Sid Series. The full-color print book is only $15.95 and I am sure you and your child will enjoy reading it. There are e-books of the individual stories ($3 each), but if your family is financially unable to purchase a copy of the book, let me know which lesson your child wants to illustrate, speak, or write about, and I will send you a PDF of that story.

If someone forwarded this e-zine to you or if you happened to have stumbled upon this Web page, you may get your own subscription for free!

WITS Web site: http://www.writersinthesky.com
WITS Blog: http://www.writersintheskyblog.com/
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Despite all the book buzz online, it's still nice to get your book onto a library shelf. For most of us, this seems like a right devoted to an exclusive group of best-selling authors. While some piece of this is true, the reality is that if you have a good book, you can get into the library system. Here's how.

First, why would you care about hitting the library market? Because in a slow book sales season, as we've seen in the past few months, libraries are a great way to get to your reader.

What they buy: Each library gets a budget and they can spend it any way they want. Unlike Barnes and Noble, where their book purchases are often dictated by publishers or a sales order from their corporate office, libraries operate independently of each other. Libraries will generally buy hardback and trade books and tend to shy away from mass market paperbacks, but if you're in the latter category, don't let this deter you. There's still a lot of wiggle room when it comes to library orders and a few creative ways to get into their system.

Getting to know your local library: if you want to get into your local library it's important to get to know them, so dust off your library card, stop by and introduce yourself. Get to know who you're selling to.

Library websites: if your local library has a website, see if there's a place to make book recommendations. If you have local fans, encourage them to do the same on their library websites.

Library events: if you've been trying to get into your local bookstore to do an event but haven't gotten much traction, why not consider doing a library event (or two)? It's a great way to get "into" your local library, become acquainted with them, meet your local readers, and well, you know - get more exposure for your book. Many libraries also have reading groups that you might be able to participate in.

Reviews: most libraries look to review sources for their selections as well. Consider submitting your book to the following publications for review: Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and Forecast. These publications are largely ready by libraries and often librarians will buy based on a good review in one of these publications. You don't need to get reviews in all of them (though wouldn't that be great?) - getting a review in one of them should be more than sufficient to catch the eye of a ready-to-buy librarian.

Popularity: librarians like to stock what's popular, even locally. So if you're doing a lot of local events, talks, or speaking gigs, make sure and let your local libraries know. Also, if you're going to do TV or radio be sure and alert your library, thus giving them sufficient time to order the book.

Libraries might not seem as "glamorous" as the store window of Barnes and Noble, but libraries have considerably more staying power. Once your book is in their system it's in there for as long as your book is in print and the library sees there are readers for it. Also, consider the reorders as your local library will (hopefully) bring in more than one copy. Libraries are a not-to-be-overlooked part of your marketing campaign, and if you missed the review window, don't fret. You might still be able to gain some interest via events and local popularity!

Reprinted from The Book Marketing Expert newsletter, a free e-zine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com.

For more in-depth information about selling to libraries, along with contact information for top library systems, wholesalers, and review journals, check out The Savvy Book Marketer's Guide to Selling to Libraries.

Do You Want More for Your Marketing Dollars?

WITS publicity is an affordable and effective source for marketing your book or business.

• Article Marketing • Author Interviews • Personal & Business Bios • Blogging Services • Book Reviews • Media Kits • Media Releases • Podcast Interviews • Résumés • Sell Sheets • Ghostwriting • Editing

Choose two or more services and get a 10% discount on the total project price if you mention seeing this ad in our newsletter!

A great deal for anyone needing online publicity!

by Suzanne Lieurance

Unlike personal blogs that simply convey information about the writer's day or thoughts about life or certain issues, a blog created to promote your writing and writing services can be used as a powerful marketing tool.

In that case, the blog doesn't need to be ALL about YOU. In fact, the more you post about other writers, writing opportunities, and writing services, the better for YOU.

Why is that, you ask? Well, for one thing, as a writer you want to attract other writers to your blog as well as people who are looking for a writer to write something for them.

Use your blog to show off your writing skills and talents, of course. But also, stop and think about this - How can you best SERVE the people who read your blog? Many times, you can best serve your readers by directing them to information written by and/or about someone else.

Still, your readers will consider you a value source because you provide them with the kinds of information they need, even if you don't write, or directly provide, all of that information yourself. And that will cause readers to come back to your blog time and time again because they know you'll always have helpful information for them. Plus, you won't have to write every single thing for your blog yourself. Some days you can simply post an article written by someone else to your blog.

Search for available articles at article directories like http://ezinearticles.com for articles that will help your readers. The other big payback to you for giving information from, and about, other sites and writers will be that those others sites and writers you direct your readers to will be thankful that you sent traffic to their sites, so they'll likely send traffic to yours too.

It's a win-win-win situation. You win, your readers win, and the resources you direct your readers to win.

Suzanne Lieurance is a freelance writer, the author of 22 (at last count) published books, and the Working Writer's Coach. For more tips to help build your own freelance business, subscribe to her free twice weekly newsletter, Build Your Business Write at www.fearlessfreelancewriting.com

by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Nora Roberts, the author of more than 150 romance novels, was asked why she writes romantic suspense novels under a pen name. Here is her answer:

"It's marketing."

In the article in Time magazine (Dec. 10, 2007), she says because she writes quickly that makes it difficult for her publisher to publish all of her work. Plus the works she labels penned by J. D. Robb are "edgier" she says. "Putting it under a pseudonym helps brand it for the reader."

Writers will find information on the concept of branding in The Frugal Book Promoter (www.budurl.com/FrugalBkPromo).  They'll find information on the concept of editing The Frugal Book Promoter, a part of marketing (and therefore branding) in The Frugal Editor.

But I don't cover the use of pennames in either of those books, so if you are considering using a pen name, here are the downsides to doing it:

1. It is very hard to keep a pen name secret. Everyone knows who Kristie Leigh Maguire is, and if people didn't know before that Robb was Nora Roberts' pen name, most of them will now.

2. It is very hard to promote in person, and it's especially hard if you choose an opposite sex pen name. In fact, promotion of all kinds can become touchy if you are intent upon keeping your real identity a secret.

3. Using a pen name isn't necessarily an effective barrier against law suits.

4. Without the power of a major publisher's marketing department behind you, the idea of reinventing your promotion and publicity campaign each time you change your name is daunting.

by Sally Hanan

“Up close and personal it is as if the Gutenberg Press met with Willy Wonka, and the chocolatier come out on top.” ~ Felicity Wood, editorial assistant at The Bookseller

The Espresso machine is like an ATM for books because it prints books while you wait. The exact number of minutes it takes to print a book depends on the number of pages being printed and the size of the book, but in one machine,
pages are printed,
a cover is printed,
the spine is glued,
the pages are evenly chopped,
and a finished book slides out of the chute.

Version 2.0 will print a book of 300 pages in about four minutes. The older version is three times slower.

Books can be printed from the Public Domain list, as can books from a PDF file. Publishers that work with Lightening Source have made their titles available. Writers and content owners can also print their own books on it.

The cost to the store owner for one book is about $2, but we have yet to see what price the retailers settle at for having the machine in their store. If the retailer charges double his cost to make a book, then I assume that he will charge the public about $7 per book. Add on the royalties for the publisher and the writer, and you shoot up the price even more. This would end up costing more than the basic price of a paperback, so who benefits, then?

Writers might. Writers can send their files electronically to the Espresso machine and have them printed while on their way to pick it up. As long as retailers settle at $8 a book, it ends up cheaper for writers to print their books on an Espresso than print the book with print-on-demand companies. Most print-on-demand book companies end up charging the writer over $10 just to print one, and that’s before shipping costs are added. As long as retailers make the use of the Espresso machine cost effective, a writer can price a book to be more competitive with bookstore prices and still receive some sort of royalty.

Another beauty of printing on the Espresso is that writers and publishers can see exactly where their content has been ordered and produced, and the system tracks all the data needed to divvy up royalties, production costs, network fees, etc.

All of this is only good news to writers if stores and libraries are smart about their pricing system. In England there is a set fee of $17 a book, plus 4c for every page, although a popular book costs the same as its cover price. Rare books could cost about $25. Not so smart. . . .

Libraries and bookstores will be the main outlets for this machine. As I write, the Espresso machines are available in the following places in the US:

Internet Archive, San Francisco
New Orleans Public Library
University of Michigan Library
Northshire Bookstore, Vermont
Brigham Young University Bookstore, Provo, Utah
University of Arizona Bookstore, Tucson, AZ
University of Missouri Bookstore, Columbia, MO
The InfoShop, The World Bank (exhibition, 2006), Washington, District of Columbia
New York Public Library, SIBL (exhibition, 2007), New York, New York

Find the location of Espressos in other countries. Click for more information about the Espresso machine.

Sally Hanan is a starving writer in the sunny land of Texas. http://sallyhanan.wordpress.com

My name is Maureen Hume, I live in Tasmania the beautiful island state of Australia and I am a writer.

Those last four words give me a buzz every time I hear them. I’ve been hearing them in my head ever since I was old enough to read my first bulky cardboard book but it’s only during the last year that I can proudly say them out loud. So that’s around forty years of the silent mantra. Who waits forty years for a dream to come true? Who pampers and protects the dream? Who never lets the dream die? A writer.

Are you still doing the silent mantra? If you are this article is for you.

First of all I’m very much Mrs. Average, I don’t have a degree in anything, although my husband would say I excel in talking during good movies, and I live a fairly isolated existence. But the wonders of the Internet and the mastery of Google make all things possible.

If you have an idea for your story but haven’t started the actual writing yet it’s a good idea to research possible publishers first. Make a list of suitable publishers and their guideline submissions, that way you start with a clear goal and when your manuscript is good to go you’ll have your next step organized. If you’re already in the middle of your story it’s still a good move to check out publishers, it’s disheartening to have to cut and mold your precious finished manuscript to fit a particular set of guidelines.

There are many small, independent publishing houses who happily accept unsolicited/unagented work but if you have your heart set on a larger publisher you will need to get an agent for them to consider your work. Getting an agent is the same deal as finding a suitable publisher. Research which agents deal with your category and submit your work, if accepted they pitch your manuscript to publishers.

It’s a very simple three step plan, research publishers, write your story, submit to publisher, and it really is that simple but unfortunately not that easy.

In the publishing world your book will start life as a tiny piece of straw in a huge pile of hay, to give it the best chance to rise to the top it must be the very best you can make it. Continue to hone your skill by reading as much about writing as you can. Once finished leave your story alone for three months then go back and revise it again, you’ll be amazed how many things you find that need fixing. Join a critique group and accept their feedback, good or bad. If you can afford it a professional edit is the best way to give your manuscript its final polish.

Research and practice all forms of submission letters, cover letters, query letters and put your heart and soul in to an eye popping synopsis. All of this will take up a vast amount of time and is equally important as your finished manuscript.

Lastly, prepare to be rejected time and time again, this is an unavoidable rite of passage for all writers, but it means you are in the system. A manuscript doing the publishing house shuffle is so much better than a manuscript chanting the silent mantra in your head.

If you’re interested in seeing my work please go to my Web site:  www.thepizzagang.com 

Maureen Hume was raised on an Australian sheep farm and while the farmhouse didn't have a television or even a telephone it did have a room lined with books. It was in this room that Maureen's love of the written word began. But it wasn't until a minor illness in her forties forced spare time her way and the dream became a manuscript and eventually a published book. Maureen lives a serene in a mud brick house with her husband and six adopted disabled bunnies. Maureen is the author the children's book, The Pizza Gang: Facing The Witch.

Just a Woman?

I command attention, and demand respect
I take what I want, and give what I get
I’m told there’s a fine line between sleazy and sexy.
Radical and racy.
I’m often accused of being just a lady
My love is mistaken as obsession, crying is considered a weapon
Rather than an expression of what I feel inside
Only because I am just a woman
Too fragile to be strong, too emotional to hold on
Too beautiful to have brains, too weak to refrain from
Making a change, or stand for what I believe
So I ask who draws these lines, and define behind
which line I should reside?
Remain the same? Play the game? Place blame?
Or aim to tame the lame
Attitude of being just a woman.
I emerge from existence, with the essence of
Lessons learned, and the proud title of being a Woman I’ve earned.

© Deondriea

Have You Lost Your Mind?

Make up? You say you want to make up.
You’re telling me you didn’t mean to be so unkind.
Wake up! After such a fiery breakup
I think we need a little shakeup.
Baby, have you lost your mind?

You and me are like fire and ice.
We can’t exist together.
We’ve been angry since the day we met.
For us to try and see it through
And brave the stormy weather
Would only bring us oceans of regret.

Move on. It’s time for us to move on.
Let our story play out to the end
And let it unwind.
But you say you want to keep us both in play,
Try to find another way.
Baby, have you lost your mind?

There’s no need to disagree.
The answer should be crystal clear.
I don’t know why you can’t see
The only way we should go from here.
But there you stand with your heart in hand
And I am trying hard to find
The words to make you understand the truth…
Baby, have you lost your mind?

Dennis S Martin.
Website: www.iwritesome.com 
Blog: www.iwritesome.blogspot.com
Storefront: www.lulu.com/dsmartin