self-publishing

An Interview about High Crimes, Writing, Publishing, and more

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Happy New Year, everyone! Let’s hope 2019 brings us less darkness, more light, and trust in our institutions again. And some fun! We need some, don’t we? I was delighted to be interviewed by Rich Ehisen on his Open Mic Blog. It was a wide-ranging conversation, so it’s long, but I think it worked out … Read more

My China TV Interview– Ferris Bueller was Right

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Remember when Ferris Bueller says to the camera “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around for a while, you could miss it?” Well, I just had one of those days. It started Monday evening with an email from a producer who works for CCTV America. What’s that you ask? “CCTV News” … Read more

News: Second Sunday Crime and PW

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    Hi, all. As some of you know, since January I have hosting an Authors on the Air radio show which I call “Second Sunday Crime.” It’s going  well, and I’m having fun doing it. So I wanted to bring you up to speed on a couple of interviews I just recorded.   The … Read more

Writing Lite Tip 25: Look at your writing as a business

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Learn the publishing business

This is probably the most valuable tip I can think of. It IS a business, whether you want to be traditionally published or you self-publish. Learn the business. Read the daily emails from Digital Book World, PW, and The Passive Voice to start. Then expand your horizons. Learn how this business works—or doesn’t work—in today’s … Read more

Six Steps of Self-Publishing (Mostly for Traditional Authors)

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I was at Printers Row this past weekend, the annual Book Festival sponsored by the Chicago Tribune, and I was struck by how many people wanted me to tell them about self-publishing. They were mostly traditionally published authors, some of whom have large followings, but they’re dissatisfied with either the pace of traditional publishing, dislike … Read more

Traditional vs Self-publishing – Part 3

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Traditional vs Self Publishing

Traditional vs Self PublishingHi again, everyone. I thought I was going to finish my update about traditional vs. self-publishing with a candid look at the Pros and Cons of self-publishing. But there’s so much to cover and so much has changed. Again, it’s going to take me more than one post… so get comfortable.

In parts 1 and 2 I talked about how traditional publishing no longer has the benefits it once did, and  we ended up with a chart that looked like this:

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Traditional vs Self-Publishing: An Update (Part Two)

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  COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL VS SELF PUBLISHING TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING Pros Cons Support Distribution Editing Bookstores Awards Reviews Agents Ebook Rights and RoyaltiesReporting and payments Smaller advance/print runs Limited time/shelf space Hinky contracts Possible Bankrupty Accounting irregularities Agents   Hi, again. In part one we tackled the supposed “pros” of support and distribution that I thought … Read more