New Year, New Look

You've heard the adage, You can't judge
a book by its cover. In the publishing industry, this doesn't hold true. A book
is judged by its cover. Your book cover
is so important... it can make or break
your book. If distributors don't like your book cover, they won't represent it to bookstores. If readers don't like your cover, there's a really good chance they'll pass it over in favor of a book with a good looking cover, even if your book is much better.

Sooo... I'm in the process of updating How To Write Your Book And Get It Published The Write Way with more information and a new cover. Here's what the old cover looked like. Which
one would you rather buy? Same information,
but dressed up in a better looking package.

While The Write Way is going through changes, it will be temporarily unavailable on Amazon for about ten days, but the new edition is available at our web storefront.

While we're on the subject of book covers, what kind of vision do
you have for your book cover? It doesn't matter if you're still in the process of writing your book or if you have an offer from a publisher (and they'll be designing your cover with little or no say-so from you), it's good to have a cover concept of what you want your cover to look like.

Seeing your book cover in your mind and creating a picture of your cover says to your subconscious that your book is complete. This will actually help you write your book because you see it in finished form. Play with your book cover concept, put that picture on the wall above your computer, and see what happens with your writing.

And speaking of how your book cover represents what's inside your book, I also created a new header for this blog... to represent what
a writer really looks like.

Book Promotion

The most important thing in
selling your book, whether it's commercially published and especially if it's self-published, is Promotion. You've got to promote your book; you have to let people know about your book and entice them to buy it by sharing blurbs
to show potential readers (book buyers) what your book is about, what's inside, and why your book will interest them.

Your book isn't going to sell itself. That's something you have to do. The very first thing to do, even before you finish writing your book,
is create an online presence with a blog and/or a website about your book. This doesn't have to cost you a ton of money; you can do it for free and the exposure is priceless. Two good sites for blogging are WordPress and Blogger.

Blogs are a powerful promotion tool and can also be a lot of fun because they're interactive. If you blog on a regular basis--at least once a week with fresh content, posting relevant subject matter and perhaps sharing brief excerpts--your blog will get good rankings and search engines will send people who are looking for the information
in your book to your blog.

After you've set up your blog, showcase your book on the sidebar and provide links where people can buy your book. Start a blog. Your book will thank you. Your publisher will thank you. Your bank account (think royalties) will thank you. Most important, your readers will thank you.

Pueblo Publishing

Pueblo Publishing, which focuses on books of the Southwest, is a new imprint of my publishing company, Mystical Mindscapes. We're planning to launch it after the first of the year. We're looking for book proposals for cookbooks and books on Southwest shamanism, Native American arts and crafts, myths and legends from the Land of Enchantment, and tall tales from Texas.

If you're writing a book on any of these topics, we'd be interested in hearing from you. Visit Pueblo Publishing for more information. If you think your book will be a good fit for us, please read and follow the submission guidelines.

Steps to Successful Self-Publishing

Are you thinking about self-publishing your book? Would you like someone to walk you through it, step-by-step, and show you the way?

Self-publishing your own book can be a wonderful adventure. There are many steps along the path to self-publishing. Your venture into self-publishing and all that it involves will be unique and individual to the type of book you are writing and how you plan to market and promote it.

Steps to Successful Self-Publishing is a guide into the world of self-publishing, offering the basics to get you started. Included are hundreds of current contacts to help you market your book as well as proven Internet strategies for selling your book online. Inside these pages you'll learn how to:

• Apply for a publisher name and set up your publishing business as a sole proprietorship;
• Obtain an ISBN Log and credential your book;
• Create a workable budget and a financial plan;
• Determine your selling strategies and personal promotion plans;
• Create a descriptive selling handle;
• Professionally layout and typeset your book;
• Write a powerful back cover blurb;
• Write an effective press release to gather media attention;
• Get your book into bookstores and libraries;
• Interest a distributor in representing your book;
• Launch your book locally and to the world;
• Obtain book reviews and other free publicity; and
• Sell subsidiary rights, including book clubs and foreign translations.

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, like to be in control of and in charge of everything, and are a do-it-yourselfer, publishing your own book may be the right path for you. While it is a lot of hard work and there are many pitfalls, the rewards are plentiful. The best one is that you are now a published author. If you decide the self-publishing path is right for you, go for it. Get your book into print.

Want to browse through the book before you buy to see if it's right for you? Look through the table of contents to see what's inside Steps to Successful Self-Publishing.

Introduction

• To Be or Not to Be... Published

One. Beginning at the Beginning

• Choosing Your Publisher Name
• Being a Self-Publisher
• Taxes
• ISBN
• Library of Congress Catalog Card Number
• Advance Book Information
• Copyrighting Your Book
• Print Run, Pricing, and Profit
• Beginning Your Budget
• Self-Publishing on a Shoestring

Two. Mapping Your Markets

• Your Book Vision
• Defining Your Book's Market
• Selling Strategies
• Creating a Marketing Plan

Three. Before and Between the Covers

• Terrific Titles
• Creating Your Cover
• Selling Handle
• Proofing and Editing
• Interior Layout and Typesetting
• Binding
• Putting Your Book Together
• Back Cover Blurb
• Bar Code

Four. Printing and Promotional Materials

• Offset Printing
• Print-on-Demand (POD)
• Promotional Materials
• Press Release

Five. Bookstores and Beyond

• Bookstores
• Libraries
• Distributors and Wholesalers
• Online Bookstores
• Orders and Returns

Six. Publicity and Promotion

• Launching Your Book
• Media Blitz
• Book Reviews
• Direct Mail
• Book Clubs
• Catalogs and Newsletters
• Contests and Awards
• Foreign Sales
• Trade Shows
• Book Fairs
• Internet Promotions
• Building Buzz
• Workshops and Lectures
• Articles and Excerpts

Recommended Reading List

• Books on Self-Publishing, Marketing, and Promotion

Index

Riverstone Publishing, 98 pages, $12.95. ISBN: 978-1883717599.
Available at Amazon for $12.95 or download the e-book for $8.00

Writing Workshops

I'll be teaching three writing classes in October through NEISD Community Education at Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio. If you'd like to register for a class, please click on the
course links. Here's the info, along with class blurbs:

Get Your Book Published
You've got your book in mind or on
paper, but you're wondering how to get it published. You'll learn the ins and outs of getting your book published, along with finding an agent or targeting the right publisher for your book, how to sell your not-yet-written book to a publisher and how to write a submit a perfect book proposal. There are tips on writing a book, ranging from developing an outline to using writer's block to your advantage.

The Path to Publishing Your Book will be available for purchase in class for $14.95 or you can buy it now by clicking on the PayPal link
on the sidebar. Churchill High School, Room A101, 12049 Blanco Road, San Antonio. Thursday, October 15th, 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. $27.00.

Self-Publishing Your Book
Offers the nuts and bolts of publishing your own book, starting with filing for a publisher name, and including filing for an ISBN Log and credentialing your book. You'll learn how to prepare your book for printing and how to find the right printer for your project. But that's just the beginning. You'll learn how to get your book into bookstores and libraries, as well as valuable information on Internet marketing to help you grow your book into a bestseller.

The newly-revised Steps to Successful Self-Publishing will be available for purchase in class for $12.95 or you can buy it ahead of time by clicking on the link. Churchill High School, Room A101, 12049 Blanco Road, San Antonio. Thursday, October 22nd, 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. $27.00.

Recipe for a Cookbook
Have you always wanted to write a cookbook and have it published? This
class has all the ingredients you need to write, publish, and promote your cookbook. You'll be guided through creating all parts
of your cookbook--choosing a theme and selecting a story line, creating a cover, coming up with a workable budget, writing, editing, and testing your recipes, laying out and typesetting your cookbook, finding the
right publisher or self-publishing, and
how to market your cookbook, both in bookstores and online.

Recipe for a Cookbook: How to Write, Publish, and Promote Your Cookbook will be available for purchase in class for $14.95 or can be bought ahead of time by clicking on the link. Churchill High School, Room A101, 12049 Blanco Road, San Antonio. Thursday, October 29th, 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. $27.00.

For more information about writing and publishing a cookbook, please visit my Recipe for a Cookbook blog. If you'd like
to have a look at my newest cookbook, published in March, you can read the press release here. If you're hungry, please visit my foodie blog, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio for lots of Tex-Mex recipes.

Hope to see you in class! :)

Author Pages at Amazon

Amazon is offering authors an author page where you can upload
a bio and a photo, write blog posts, and engage in discussions with your readers. It's new... still in Beta, but it looks like it's going to be
a wonderful way to promote your books. Have a look at my Author Page. I just started working on it today. It's missing most of my books, but I'm told they're being added.

If you have a book listed on Amazon, you already have an author page. Go to Amazon, search by your name, and your author page is linked at the top of your book listings. Click on the link to join Author Central and get started.

NEW!! Cookbook Writing Class

Would you like to learn how to write a cookbook and get it published? I'll be teaching a Cookbook Writing Class on Thursday, June 11th, 6:30 to 8:30 PM, at Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio through NEISD Community Education. The cost is $23.00.

The class is based on my book, Recipe for a Cookbook: How to Write, Publish, and Promote Your Cookbook.

The book is available on Amazon and will also be available in class for an optional purchase of $14.95.