Writing and Publishing News

If you are an author, you are in business. You have customers. You must work toward enticing more customers. And you have an obligation to all of those customers.
I still meet authors who do not treat their publishing ventures as businesses. And this is okay, unless they expect to sell lots of books and [...]

When you’re writing, do you just insert commas randomly? Are you in the habit of using ellipses or em dashes with abandon? Do you add “and” at every opportunity? Does your editor point out an overuse of phrases and words throughout your manuscripts such as, “as a matter of fact,” “suddenly,” “in the meantime,” or [...]

What do writers and bloggers need more than practically anything else?
Ideas!
Sometimes ideas flow nonstop—in fact, faster than we can utilize or implement them. And other times we struggle and squirm trying to generate an idea for an article, story or blog post. I’ve written often at this blogsite, in my book, A Writer’s Guide [...]

A lot is happening here in the Matilija Press and SPAWN offices. For those of you who have just tuned into this blog, Matilija Press is my 26 year-old publishing company and the business through which I do my writing, editing, book selling, online courses and so forth. http://www.matilijapress.com
SPAWN is Small Publishers, Artists [...]

My life has been about kittens, cats and clients for the past few weeks. And I’ve enjoyed practically every moment—except the part where our 11-year-old cat, Max, got sick. We think it was because of an enlarged heart. But his scary episode is over and he seems normal. We have changed one thing—we’ve elevated his [...]

This is my 500th blog post here at the Matilija Press Publishing Blog. I hope you have enjoyed receiving information, advice, perspective and resources related to writing and publishing, these past 4 years, and that you’ve been helped or inspired by some of the posts.
I’ve enjoyed bringing you this blog and sharing with you some [...]

Many first-time authors are so focused on selling books that they neglect a very important aspect of marketing and promotion: Exposure.
I’ve seen authors complain at the end of a day at a book festival because they sold only 12 books. Never mind the fact that hundreds of people saw the book, dozens picked it up [...]

Do you have a book to promote? If you have a published book, you have a book to promote. As you’ve probably learned, if you aren’t promoting your book, it isn’t selling.
I mentioned taking your book to book fairs in yesterday’s blog post. This is a good way to sell books and to get exposure [...]

Tis the season of book fairs and book festivals. They occur throughout the U.S. and beyond during fair weather—spring, summer, fall. Look for book festivals in your region or in areas you will be visiting this year. Here’s a site listing around 240 book festivals throughout the U.S. and even outside in more exotic places [...]

I’m busy editing this week and taking care of a sick cat and a new kitten, so have little time for one of my favorite pastimes, blogging. I enjoy bringing you information, resources and perspective with regard to the publishing industry. I’ve posted nearly 500 blogs for you. And I blog pretty much every day. [...]