The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has proclaimed April 23rd as World Book and Copyright Day.

By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. 

Although this day doesn’t seem to be oberved in the US, I want to add my voice to the promotion of “reading, publishing and … copyright.”

Technorati Tags: books, copyright, publishing

On Martin Luther King Day, I wrote about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Uncle Big Bud. Today, the anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, is a good time to reflect on the changes that have happened in the last 40 years, and a book by one of my clients is an excellent way to see the changes through the eyes of someone who has experienced them first hand.

Uncle Big Bud: A Family’s Journey from Slavery to Self-Determination by James E. Williams will be released soon. The author tells his family’s story as accurately as possible based on available information and fills in the gaps where information isn’t available.

From the back cover:

Slavery, segregation, and struggle shaped Big Henry Williams but did not define him. The man called Uncle Big Bud constantly struggled to support his family with no education and few skills. But he worked hard; loved life, laughter, family, and God; and set an example of integrity for his eleven children.

Big Henry never marched for civil rights, but he refused to chop peanuts for the white farmer who didn’t pay him. He didn’t take part in any protests, but he demanded that he be be given the same terms as the white farmers when he got a government loan to grow his cotton crop. He never had his name in the paper or his picture on TV - in fact the only photo ever taken of him is the one on the cover of the book, but he inspired his family and those who knew and loved him.

Technorati Tags: Uncle Big Bud, James E. Williams, civil rights

I’m putting the finishing touches on the formatting of Some Monument to Last: Memoir of TV Journalist James Muñoz with Family Poems and Letters. I’m tweaking some of the many color photos that had to be transformed to grayscale for print. The manuscript will be going to the printer soon.

In the meantime, author James Michael Doughty is offering an incentive for pre-orders. If you pre-order the print book, you can download a free e-book immediately. You don’t have to wait to read this compelling story, and you can see the photos in color. Then when the paperback edition is ready, you’ll receive a copy autographed by James.

People watch James on the local TV news and see his success. What most don’t know is the journey he has taken to achieve his dreams - the dream of being of TV journalist and the dream of finding his father’s family. Although he will never meet his father or his grandmother in person - not in this life, anyway, he has come to know them through his father’s letters and his grandmother’s poems.

Today James uses the name Muñoz (his mother’s maiden name) on the air to honor his maternal family and Hispanic heritage and the name Doughty (his surname) in private life to honor his father and his paternal family’s legacy. I’m sure both sides of James’ family are extremely proud of him. His own life experiences lead him to seek justice for those who don’t have power and give him empathy and understanding for the people involved in the news stories he covers.

James hopes to inspire and motivate young people, especially minority and disadvantaged youth. I believe his story will inspire anyone who reads it. I’m glad to be part of it.

Technorati Tags: Some Monument to Last, James Muñoz, James Michael Doughty

I’m a fan of small presses. I have one novel published and a second scheduled for publication by a small independent publisher. Most of my book editing clients either self-publish or are published by independent publishers. According to statistics quoted on Parapublishing, there are 6 large publishers (in New York), 3-400 medium-sized publishers, and 86,000 small/self-publishers.

The month of March is Small Press Month to celebrate the writing published by those 86,000 independent publishers.

Small Press Month, now in its 12th year, is a nationwide promotion highlighting the valuable work produced by independent publishers. An annual celebration of the independent spirit of small publishers, Small Press Month is an effort to showcase the diverse, unique, and often most significant voices being published today. This year’s slogan is Celebrate Great Writing.

If you usually read books only from the six major publishers (which have a number of  subsidiary companies and imprints), you might try reading a few independently published books this month to discover new authors with unique voices.

Of course, I can make a few biased recommendations. The following list includes books I have written or edited that are published by independent publishers.

• As Shadows Fall by Grace Anne Schaefer, published by GASLight Publishing
• The New Day Dawns by Grace Anne Schaefer, published by GASLight Publishing
• On the Wings of the Wind: A Journey to Faith by Patricia Eytcheson Taylor and The Reverend Doctor James C. Taylor, published by LangMarc Publishing
• Patchwork Trail (children’s book) by Janet Kaderli, published by GASLight Publishing
• Some Monument to Last: Memoir of TV Journalist James Muñoz with Family Poems and Letters by James Michael Doughty, published by Doughty Enterprises (print book scheduled for release in May; pre-order the print book now and receive a free e-book immediately)
• Spring House by David Bowles, published by Plum Creek Press
• Stroke of Luck by yours truly, published by GASLight Publishing
• Uncle Big Bud: A Family’s Journey from Slavery to Self-Determination by James E. Williams, published by HenryRetta’s Publishing (release date later this month)

Most of these books are also available as e-books, and my novel is available only as an e-book. March 2-8 was Read an E-Book Week. I failed to recognize it since I didn’t have Internet access last week. But if you didn’t read an e-book last week, it’s not too late.

BEEN READING eBOOKS TOO LONG? appeared in the ParaThoughts section of a recent issue of Dan Poynter’s newsletter.

My speaking travels average some 6,000 miles each week…. Traveling as light as possible, I do not carry printed books.

…I was home for a couple of weeks. I had a couple of mass-market paperback that I wanted to read. They were not available as eBook editions so I decided to read myself to sleep with one of them.

How awkward! With the printed book, you have to turn on the (bright) light….

Holding a printed book (pBook) is awkward. It take two hands.

Poynter describes other advantages of e-books: no need for a bookmark, lower cost, ability to adjust the type size, built-in dictionary, the convenience of being able to download books from anywhere in the world, and the ease of disposal without impacting the environment. He concludes:

Electronic books are a far superior platform to dead-tree books for numerous reasons. But let’s be practical. After trying both—extensively, I prefer to annoy electrons than cut down trees. This is not just an environmental concern, it is a practical reading decision.

I love eBooks.

I love e-books, too, and I love books from small presses.

Related Posts:
E-Books, Parts 1-4

Technorati Tags: Small Press Month, Read an E-Book Week, independent publishing, e-books

The Taylors have received the first review for On the Wings of the Wind: A Journey to Faith.

Carolyn R. Scheidies, a wonderful Christian author and an excellent reviewer, posted the review at Author’s Choice Reviews.

I like her ending comment:

An interesting story, high in Scriptural context, and personal anecdotes.

Technorati Tags: On the Wings of the Wind, Christian book review

Thanks for Kristen King at Inkthinker for pointing out the week of February 10-16 is Freelance Writers Appreciation Week. Kristen invites comments from her readers on what they appreciate about the freelance writing life. I said:

Among the many things I appreciate about the freelance writing life are being able to work from home on my own schedule and getting paid for doing something I love.

Erica Hanson has declared the entire month of February Hug a Freelance Writer Month.

So, to all my freelance writing friends, here’s your hug!

Technorati Tags: Freelance Writers Appreciation Week

Today is set aside to honor the contributions of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr, whose “I Have a Dream” speech has been recognized as among the top 100 speeches of all time.

A few months after King’s speech in August 1963, James E. Williams (a young black man better known as Eddie) fell in love with a white woman. They drove out of Texas with Carol hidden under the clothes hanging on a rack in the back seat so Eddie wouldn’t be arrested, harassed - or worse.

Eddie had attended school only a few months, though his mother wanted him to get an education. His father Henry Esley Williams (nicknamed Big Bud by his parents who were former slaves) said, “”What good will an education do a black man living in a white man’s world? But he’ll never be without work as long as there’s them cotton fields.”

Big Bud and Eddie didn’t march on Washington. They weren’t engaged in the civil rights movement. Nevertheless, they advanced the cause of civil rights by their own actions and the way they lived. Henry always stood up for right and for his family, beginning at age thirteen with facing down a lynch mob of ten men looking for his father. He taught his ten surviving children to work hard, do what was right, and be the best they can be.

His son Eddie taught himself to read and write and built up a successful business. Now he has written the story of his family’s journey from slavery to self-determination in three generations. Uncle Big Bud will be released in February during Black History Month. The story of this family is black history from a personal perspective. I’m pleased that I had a part in bringing this book to the world.

Technorati Tags: Martin Luther King Jr, civil rights, James E. Williams, Uncle Big Bud, book

Reaching the end of the manuscript isn’t the end of the writing, and getting the book published isn’t the end of the writer’s job, either.

Although it comes as a shock to many writers, marketing is the author’s job as well. Even very successful authors promote their books with booksignings and other promotional activities. Major publishers may allocate marketing funds for book tours and promotions by their top authors. However, even the big publishers don’t spend much money to promote titles by first-time or midlist (those with only average sales) authors. Authors who are self-published or published by small press are responsible for their own promotion.

Authors on the Net is a new free mastermind community for authors. Phil Davis of ZDocs, a digital printer with many self-publishing authors as customers, realized the challenge authors face in promoting their books and set out to find a way to help. Authors on the Net is the result.

The site is new and has only a few members at the moment, but I think there is potential for great benefits to authors. While there are sections on writing and publishing, the focus is on promotion, especially using Internet tools.

I’m so convinced that Authors on the Net can benefit authors, especially self-published and small press published authors, that I’m a site partner. I’ve already made my Self-Publishing Primer available, and I’ll be contributing additional articles on writing and editing as well as participating in the author forums.

You can join Authors on the Net for free and have access to videos and articles on blogging, creating a marketing plan, conducting a virtual book tour, using social networking to your advantage, getting your books listed and taking advantage of the promotional opportunities of Amazon.com and other online stores, and more. Online coaching will be available for a fee starting in a few weeks.

I think the networking available through the mastermind community and the author forums is one of the most valuable benefits of Authors on the Net. Members can ask questions of other community members (authors and industry professionals) and share what works for them - and what doesn’t. If two heads are better than one, many heads are better than two.

Everyone likes to be “on the ground floor” of a new opportunity. Usually we only recognize the value of the opportunity in retrospect. I can’t predict the future, but I’m betting that Authors on the Net will be a great opportunity for authors who want to promote their self-published and small press books.

Technorati Tags: Authors on the Net, book promotion, author mastermind community, author forums