Category: articles

Which sells best: major houses, ebook, or self-publishing?

“What kind of book do you want to sell?” has to be the first question. I’m interested here in nonfiction. That’s because self-publishers don’t publish fiction. It’s almost impossible for them to sell, and I want to compare all three since we can now dip into all three ponds, two directly and the third by [...]

Monday December 9th, 2013 in 1 Shopping Cart, ancillary publishing, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, pre-testing, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, speaking, writing | Comments Off

Test your book with experts after you’ve finished the first draft

Your book has been written, you have given it a no-nonsense proofing, and it’s just about ready to go to your paid (final) proofreader so it will be properly and correctly written before you submit it for printing. Letting others read your book at this stage is controversial, but probably wise if it’s your first [...]

Saturday November 23rd, 2013 in 1 Shopping Cart, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, newsletter writing, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, product development, proofreading, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off

What you must do to properly finish your book’s first draft…

In most of the past dozen or so posts in this blog we have been talking about writing and publishing your own book quickly and properly. And we’re near the gathering, formatting, and end-road prepping of your tome before it is given a last-step review and is submitted to print. It’s like a new home [...]

Sunday November 17th, 2013 in 1 Shopping Cart, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, Gordon Burgett, introductions, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, newsletter writing, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, travel writing, writing | Comments Off

30 key points about The Art of School Boarding

Jim Burgett’s just-released book, The Art of School Boarding, is our newest release from Education Communication Unlimited, in both paperback (from us and CreateSpace) and in digital versions(in .pdf from us and in the respective reader versions from Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Scribd). Here are specific ordering details, plus much more about the [...]

Tuesday November 12th, 2013 in articles, Gordon Burgett, Jim Burgett, K-12, K-12 administrators, K-12 school boards, K-12 school districts, keynoting, law and the school board, MC, new school board members, public speaking, school board, school board, school board members, school board president, school superintendents, speaking | Comments Off

Do you need or want artwork or illustrations in your book?

Artwork is a general term that includes the whole range of illustrations, like photos, line drawing, images, graphs, charts, diagrams—those things you add to make the text more interesting, less dull, or more clearly understood. Or to add beauty or visual clarification to the pages. There’s an issue with some forms of open publishing and [...]

Wednesday November 6th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, open publishing, product development, publishing, Smashwords, travel writing, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off

7 solutions for submission snarls for ebooks and CreateSpace

For the past couple of years I’ve been trying to eliminate all the expenses one encounters when compiling and publishing an “open” book. Those are the books that CreateSpace, Nook, Kindle, Smashwords, and Scribd will accept from you, prepare, and market. Their part is free ($25 or so for CreateSpace). As I’ve found free-arounds I [...]

Monday October 28th, 2013 in 1 Shopping Cart, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, open publishing, product development, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off

Copyright? Using others’ words or artwork in your book.

To avoid the whole issue just read or hear what others say and retell it in your words. That would be the text of your book. But there can be wee pitffalls. If you are quoting them directly, you must tell the reader who they are, and usually the context of the statement. Others often [...]

Tuesday October 22nd, 2013 in article selling, article writing, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, newsletter writing, niche marketing, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, writing | Comments Off

When should I quit editing and send my book to press?

That’s the question that a consulting client, now many months later, just asked. You might have the same question, and while my reply isn’t much of a surprise, here it is, after 46 published books. (Alas, my earliest books I almost tinkered to death!) “That’s a tough question. There will always be new news that [...]

Thursday October 17th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, product development, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, writing | Comments Off

Emceeing: How to introduce a lot of people quickly…

Sometimes, as an MC, you are called upon to introduce a lot of people, most of whom simply must be acknowledged or their name must be mentioned. They may be sitting on the stage behind you, scattered in the audience (best if they sit at or near the front), or both. The dilemma is the [...]

Monday October 14th, 2013 in articles, editing, emceeing, party, public speaking, speaking | Comments Off

Find the buyers before you write your book!

Here are some questions you might ask about fine-tuning your book to strengthen its distinctiveness and increase its buying demand. (Better than writing a book with no perceived–or real–buyers!) * In addition to the five or so books you already read about your topic, what else has already been in print about it in, say, [...]

Tuesday October 8th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche marketing, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, publishing, self-publishing, Smashwords, travel writing, webmarketing, writing | Comments Off