I am just about finished with rewrites on my fifth novel (the first four are still in various stages of development, along with the sixth and seventh) and I’m now approaching the point where there’s little writing or editing left to be done with it. And in all honesty, I’m really happy with the way it’s turning out. My beta readers, for the most part, seem to have enjoyed it, too. By the end of March, it should be ready to go. Read the rest of this entry »

Internet Famous is finally available in print, through Amazon.com. Currently, they’re selling it for full price ($24.99), but I’ve heard through other authors that once it’s also available through other bookstores, Amazon will most likely discount that to compete. Of course, it could take up to five more weeks for other bookstores to start carrying it, so if you don’t want to wait, you’ll have to pay full price. Read the rest of this entry »

Self publishing is generally thought of in terms of a few different options. A good portion of self published authors end up turning to vanity presses. Some authors choose to have a small print run of 500 or 1000 books (or more) done by a local printer. Others opt to use a POD service (like CreateSpace or Lulu) to publish their book. And still others just go the ebook route, making their book available through the Kindle or sites like SmashWords.

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Well, I’ve got more to post this week than I have for the past couple. First of all, I’m planning on launching the new book website prior to June 1st if all goes according to schedule. Stay tuned here or follow me on Twitter for the latest updates.

Publishing Renaissance had a great post about how indie authors need to take some cues from the indie music and movie industries, titled Finding Our Defiance. Mentioned in that article is an article by Henry Baum titled The Last Stigmas of Self-Publishing, which I thought deserved it’s own mention here.

Wil Wheaton was featured in an article in The Washington Times on self-publishing, Self-publishing finds commercial niche in digital age. Definitely worth a read.

I had another article on authors who tweet (this time it’s nonfiction authors) go up on Mashable today. Go check it out and please retweet it if you find it interesting.

And, last but not least, Nathan Bransford has his usual roundup of even more publishing news on his blog.

Hope everyone in the U.S. has a great Memorial Day weekend! And I hope everyone not in the U.S. has a wonderful regular weekend!

Book trailers are a great, fun way to get the word out about your book. They’re just like movie trailers, just for—you guessed it—books. If you manage to get your book trailer video to go viral, the interest and sales you can generate can really make a difference to how well your book does. Read the rest of this entry »

Not a whole lot of news this week as I’ve been very busy working on the nonfiction book and some articles.

Publishing Renaissance has put out a piece on becoming an indie publisher. It’s a three part series (part 1, part 2, and part 3) and is a great look at the ins and outs of starting your own publishing company. [via Publetariat]

The Elements of Style turns 50 this year and they’re releasing a 50th anniversary edition. I have a confession to make: I do not own a copy of The Elements of Style; I’ve never even opened a copy. Am I the only writer out there who hasn’t? I do, however, own a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style. [via New York Times]

Nathan Bransford has a great roundup of some other news in publishing this week, as always. A couple of my favorites: Dan Brown’s new book is getting a 5 million copy first printing (from what I understand, a first-time author generally gets a 10,000-20,000 copy first print run) and this royalty statement from NYT bestselling author Lynn Veihl.