It’s been a week of variety here in the Matilija Press offices. I’ve had a mix of book sales to handle, the processing involved with welcoming new SPAWN members, several inquiries from authors who need a little help, interesting questions from clients, two manuscripts to evaluate and I’m planning for my presentation next week at the Cat Writer’s Association Conference in New York. Of course, I have also kept up with this blog by posting something every day. I’ve written a few articles and submitted them. And I’ve attempted to keep my finger on the pulse of SPAWN, my own writing business and the publishing industry at large.
As if I’m not busy enough, I’ve been seeking out speaking opportunities in order to fill my schedule for 2010 and I’ve volunteered to promote a friend’s new animal-related business through my cat blog. I’ll let you know when the new blog is posted at Catscapades.
Yesterday, I pulled out my book in progress and actually got to spend a few hours working on it. Now that’s where heaven is for me—engaging in the actual process of writing something I want to write—something significant.
Have I told you the title, yet? It’s Your Guide to Successful Authorship. I plan to produce it as an ebook, at least, for now.
The Heart of an Ebook
Do you read ebooks? I do if that’s the only format available and it is something I want to read. But I print them out to read them. How about you? When you read an ebook, is it on the computer screen, on a handheld device or do you print it out? Do you clip the pages together or hole-punch them and put them in a binder? I’ve done both.
Do you have ebooks for sale? How are sales? Some authors are giving away their ebooks—offering them for free at free ebook sites. I suppose that these are authors who are using the ebook to promote their print books. Makes sense to me.
My most valuable ebook, in my opinion, is The Author’s Repair Kit: Heal Your Publishing Mistakes and Breathe New Life Into Your Book. But I don’t sell very many copies of it. It’s only $5.95 and it features a fresh concept that no one else is promoting. Yet, how many authors are struggling to sell their books? I can tell you that most of them are—the huge majority.
Think about it, how many authors do you know who are as successful with their books as they would like to be? Are any of them earning a living with their books? Have they even paid their publishing or printing bill, yet?
If you have a book that is struggling in the marketplace or if you know someone who does, check out my book, The Author’s Repair Kit—as I said, it is designed to help the author to breathe new life into a floundering book.
Learn more about it here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/author_repairkit.html