Publishing
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Avoid Clichés. And Avoid Avoiding Clichés.
Look, John Jeremiah Sullivan gets a lot of praise for his prose style, and he deserves it. His 2009 piece on Michael Jackson is excellent. He’s a great writer! So I’m not just shooting aqueous creatures in a barrel when I call attention to this passage: Continue reading
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Small Press Shout-Out: Luath Press!
Our globetrotting search for good people putting out good books continues! Last week we journeyed to Australia for a visit to the kindhearted and energetic Pantera Press. Up this week: the land of mountains high-cover’d with snow, straths and green vallies, forests and wild-hanging woods, torrents and loud-pouring floods…that’s right! We’re going to visit the Land… Continue reading
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Awaking to Find You’re a Monstrous Vermin (The Promotion Excerpt #6)
In Which the Narrator Tiptoes into the World of the Mysterious Mina Meinl Even now it gives me chills to think of that moment when I heard the name for the first time. The way the words sounded, coming through those teeth. It was a name at the heart of the strangest experience of my… Continue reading
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Formatting a CreateSpace Book in 2014: One Quick Tip
I’ve gotten some good feedback from the post touting the still-timely advice of Guido Henkel and his e-book formatting guide. But what about formatting for print-on-demand? That’s no less confusing – and I never found a Guido Henkel to serve as my Virgil. So it’s Googling, and more Googling, and a lot of trial and… Continue reading
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Self-Publishing Update: Reading on a Smartphone
Ugh, is there anything worse for today’s author than to think about someone reading their book on a smartphone? We like the image of a reader luxuriating with a stately hardcover, a sleek paperback, or—in a pinch—an e-reader. But a tiny-screen phone? Is no tradition sacred? Why not throw words out too, while we’re at… Continue reading
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Small Press Shout-Out: Pantera Press!
We’re headed down under for this week’s small press shout-out. And what a trip it is! Even the most seasoned, curmudgeonly book buyer will find it hard to return from the Pantera Press website without wearing a smile. This press exudes friendliness and charm, from their mission-like statement “our passion is publishing books readers rave… Continue reading
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One Flew Over the Law Firm (The Promotion Excerpt #5)
In Which the Narrator Hears the Name That Will Forever Alter His Future We started, as lawyers always do, by defining ourselves according to our practice areas. She nodded when I gave my little sentence about being a specialist in government and internal investigations, some white collar, a lot of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act work… Continue reading
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Small Press Shout-Out: Bobbledy Books!
I might be wrong, but I think we’ve only had one small press so far that was specifically dedicated to children’s books. (That, of course, was B-Corp pioneer Little Pickle Press. Go check them out if you haven’t yet!) In any case, I’m happy to add another small-press-for-kids to our list of shout-out recipients. And… Continue reading
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Formatting an E-Book in 2014
Think of this as a disinterested public service message to all my fellow authors and small pressers and indie publishers. If you’re like me, you stumble your way through the e-book formatting process, reaching for Google every time you hit a fork in the road. Sometimes this works out well: the how-to article you find… Continue reading
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Brightening Your Day With a Little Little My
You wake up. Grumble your way to work. Slug down some coffee. Read some horror show news about people cheating America. It’s the end of March. There’s snow on the ground. Do you really want to blog about these stories? Like this one? Workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud is so commonplace that it costs the… Continue reading
Jacke Wilson 