The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a study of e-reader owners. People who buy e-readers tend to spend more time than ever with their nose in a book, preliminary research shows. A study of 1,200 e-reader owners by Marketing and Research Resources Inc. found that 40% said they now read more than they did … Read more
Have you ever wished that you had a writing mentor? Someone who could show you the ropes? Have you ever wished for advice on writing? Inspiration when you are feeling down? I have found that the greatest inspiration and the most valuable advice comes from viewing the lives of those who have walked in our … Read more
Bowker® assigns ISBNs, maintains Books In Print®, and provides what it calls “bibliographic information management solutions.” The agency just released its 2009 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Report. You can read a summary of the report on the Bowker Web site. Here is a brief excerpt from the summary: It’s the demographics of book … Read more
Thank you to the 204 commenters who left 306 comments in July. Your comments extended the conversation and added value and interest, and I enjoyed replying to every one of them.Every month when I post thanks to commenters, I get questions about how I compile this list. I have explained my system in detail in … Read more
I’m featured in an interview at Apex Reviews’ Above the Fold. Hope you click over and read it! Apex Reviews also recently reviewed Dream or Destiny. Dream Or Destiny Lillie Ammann ISBN: 9781933869032 GASLight Publishing Reviewed By Josee Morgan Official Apex Reviews Rating: 5 stars Marilee Anderson wakes one morning from a horrendous dream, one about … Read more
Now, long after Borge started recording his life story and a little more than seven months after his first phone call to me, Borge can hold his life story in his hand and share it with those he loves. Borge and Brigitte are traveling to Germany next April to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary with Brigitte’s family … Read more
As I said in the previous post, the Hansens and I were excited to have a completed story, but it existed on my hard drive and on computer printouts. Borge and Brigitte wanted the story in a book to share with loved ones. Knowing that they would want fewer than 100 copies, I explained that … Read more
In the first installment of the series, I discussed my first meeting with my client Borge Hansen, who had dictated his life story into audiotapes. I transcribed the tapes one side at a time. Understanding and spelling the names of places Borge visited and people he encountered in his world travels turned out to be a … Read more
When people contact me about publishing their memoir or family history, I always encourage them to do so for a family legacy. I make sure they understand that it’s highly unlikely their story will be published by a large New York publisher and distributed in bookstores around the country—unless they were famous (or infamous). However, … Read more
My last post about spam generated some interesting comments. One commenter suggested that spammers have to spam because they can’t afford to pay for backlinks and have no other way to rank well in the search engines. I totally disagree with that position and wrote a long comment in rebuttal. I got on my soapbox so much I … Read more