Women on Writing Blog Event emphasizes Family

Today I'm participating in a mass blogging! WOW!

Women On Writing has gathered a group of blogging buddies to write about family relationships. Why family relationships? We're celebrating the release of Therese Walsh's debut novel today. The Last Will of Moira Leahy, (Random House, October 13, 2009) is about a mysterious journey that helps a woman learn more about herself and her twin, whom she lost when they were teenagers.

My most memorable family relationship was with my father. He was the hero in my life.

He moved through life with bold strokes, never letting other people bend him from the way he wanted to go. He was a pioneer in his family going where his ten siblings would not go. His bold strokes made all of our lives better.

When he returned from World War II, he took on the world – he married my mother and did things his way. He was always himself and didn’t care what other people thought of his thoughts or his actions whether they were laughable or significant.

He taught me to always reach for the stars even if you couldn’t touch them – just keep reaching. He wanted a better life for me and now I have it because of him.

“I want you to do better than I have,” he would often say and when life beat him down many times, he still had a smile, a joke, and a cheerful, contagious presence that no one could resist.

He taught me that keeping one’s word is more important than anything else in life because that is what made the true grit of a man, not his wealth or his position or his looks.

When we were teenagers, we would play cards on the back porch during those lazy, nothing to do summer afternoons and my friends would not play without him. His contagious personality appealed to all generations.

There are many heroes in the world today, but a true hero’s words linger inside of you all your life and guide you when you have to make the tough decisions. That’s what my father did for me – his words and presence are always with me providing a guidepost that I have used all my life. He is my hero.

Samuel Anthony Policastro 1925-1999

Visit The Muffin (http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.html) to read what Therese has to say about family relationships. And make sure you visit Therese's website (http://www.theresewalsh.com) to find out more about the author."

About the book: The Last Will of Moira Leahy By Therese Walsh A LOST SHADOW Moira Leahy struggled growing up in her prodigious twin's shadow; Maeve was always more talented, more daring, more fun. In the autumn of the girls' sixteenth year, a secret love tempted Moira, allowing her to have her own taste of adventure, but it also damaged the intimate, intuitive relationship she'd always shared with her sister. Though Moira's adolescent struggles came to a tragic end nearly a decade ago, her brief flirtation with independence will haunt her sister for years to come. A LONE WOMAN When Maeve Leahy lost her twin, she left home and buried her fun-loving spirit to become a workaholic professor of languages at a small college in upstate New York. She lives a solitary life now, controlling what she can and ignoring the rest--the recurring nightmares, hallucinations about a child with red hair, the unquiet sounds in her mind, her reflection in the mirror. It doesn't help that her mother avoids her, her best friend questions her sanity, and her not-quite boyfriend has left the country. But at least her life is ordered. Exactly how she wants it. A SHARED PAST Until one night at an auction when Maeve wins a keris, a Javanese dagger that reminds her of her lost youth, and happier days playing pirates with Moira in their father's boat. Days later, a book on weaponry is nailed to her office door, followed by anonymous notes, including one that invites her to Rome to learn more about the blade and its legendary properties. Opening her heart and mind to possibility, Maeve accepts the invitation, and with it, a window into her past. Ultimately she will revisit the tragic November night that shaped her and Moira's destinies, and learn that nothing can be taken at face value, as one sister emerges whole and the other's score is finally settled. Note: To read reviews about The Last Will of Moira Leahy, please visit Therese's website: http://theresewalsh.com/News_Reviews/news_reviews.html ------------------ About the author, Therese Walsh: Therese is the co-founder of Writer Unboxed, a blog for writers about the craft and business of genre fiction. Before turning to fiction, she was a researcher and writer for Prevention magazine, and then a freelance writer. She's had hundreds of articles on nutrition and fitness published in consumer magazines and online. She has a master's degree in psychology. Aside from writing, Therese's favorite things include music, art, crab legs, Whose Line is it Anyway?, dark chocolate, photography, unique movies and novels, people watching, strong Irish tea, and spending time with her husband, two kids and their bouncy Jack Russell. Therese's website: http://theresewalsh.com Therese's blog: http://theresewalsh.com/blog.html Writer Unboxed: http://www.writerunboxed.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/ThereseWalsh Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/therese.walsh

Participating Bloggers! Day By Day Writer: http://daybydaywriter.wordpress.com/ Adventures in the Writing Life: http://adventuresinthewritinglife.blogspot.com/ The Beautification Project: http://thebeautificationproject.wordpress.com/ Reading Frenzy: http://lumorgan.blogspot.com/ A Girl, Her Career, and Life on the Dairy Farm: http://sandhillssequitur.blogspot.com/ The 5th Line Project, Page 56, Line 5: http://the5thlineproject.wordpress.com Read These Books and Use Them!: http://margodill.com/blog/ Julie Bogart's blog: http://juliebogart.com/blog/ A Ponderance of Things: http://rcponders.wordpress.com/ A Woman's Life Stages: http://www.awomanslifestages.com Danielle Buffardi's blog: http://www.daniellebuffardi.com/ Just Another Perfect Day: http://gundiva.blogspot.com/ Stories of life: one writer-mom's odyssey: http://www.kristinemeldrumdenholm.blogspot.com/ Once Written, Twice Shy: http://www.shywriters.blogspot.com/ Writing Cops...It's What I Do: http://melanieatkins.wordpress.com/ Anna Louise Lucia's blog: http://annalouiselucia.com/blog/ Word Wranglers: http://wordwranglers.blogspot.com/ Erin Denver's blog: http://www.erindenver.com/ Writers Inspired: http://writerinspired.wordpress.com/ Romancing the Blog: http://obe-romancingtheblog.blogspot.com MamaBlogga: mom's search for meaning: http://www.mamablogga.com/  About.com's Freelance Writing: http://freelancewrite.about.com/ GardenWall Publications: http://www.gardenwallpublications.com/blog/ Moonlight, Lace and Mayhem: http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/ Five Scribes: http://fivescribes.blogspot.com/ R.J. Writes: http://www.ruthjhartman.blogspot.com/ Catch a Star Before It Falls: http://celestialgldfsh.livejournal.com/ Words from the Heart: http://contemplativeed.blogspot.com/ Magical Musings: http://magicalmusings.com/ Fat and then, a journey back to my true self: http://fatandthen.blogspot.com/ Gayle Trent, Cozy Mystery Writer: http://www.gayletrent.com/blog/ Paris Parfait, Tara Bradford writes from the City of Light: http://www.tarabradford.com/ Cathy C.'s Hall of Fame: http://www.cathychall.blogspot.com/ Misadventures with Andi: http://www.misadventureswithandi.com/ Kristin Bair O'Keeffe's blog: http://www.kristinbairokeeffeblog.com/ Awake is Good: http://www.awakeisgood.blogspot.com/ The Writer's Edge: http://writersedgeinfo.blogspot.com/ Writing is About Putting Yourself to Words: http://aspnovelist.blogspot.com/ Squirrel's Treehouse: http://www.scrollsquirrel.blogspot.com/ Gaijin Mama: http://gaijinmama.wordpress.com/ Multi-Tasking Mama: http://www.multitaskingmama.com/ Self Help Daily: http://www.selfhelpdaily.com/ Words and Coffee: http://jonathandanz.wordpress.com Elizabeth Kirschner's blog: http://elizabethkirschner.wordpress.com/ One Woman's Eye: http://onewomanseye.blogspot.com/ Entering the Age of Elegance: http://www.maturingmodernwomen.com/ The Write at Home Mom: http://www.thewriteathomemom.blogspot.com/ Mother Daughter Book Club Blog: http://motherdaughterbookclub.wordpress.com/ Muse: http://erikarobuck.wordpress.com/ the SIMMER blog: http://simmerblog.typepad.com/ Scales and other lies: http://scalesandotherlies.com/wordpress/ Natalia Maldonado's blog: http://www.nmaldonado.com/blog/ writers, dogs, and germans*: http://sdennard.wordpress.com/ Meryl's Notes blog: http://www.meryl.net/section/blog/ Little Miss Information: http://s-frostie.tumblr.com/ Linda Mohr's Blog: http://lindamohr.wordpress.com/ Reconsidering Sanity: http://www.reconsanity.blogspot.com/ So Many Books, So Little Time: http://purplg8r-somanybooks.blogspot.com/ Cynderella's Castle: http://www.cynthiadalba.blogspot.com/ Dianne Sagan, Life as a Ghost(writer): http://diannesagan.wordpress.com/ Janel's Jumble: http://janelsjumble.blogspot.com/ North Side Four (plus Eleanor Roosevelt, the Senator and the President): http://www.northsidefour.blogspot.com/ Teresa Shen Swingler's blog: http://teresashenswingler.com/ Color Your Life Happy-Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D.: http://coloryourlifehappy.com/blog/ a-century-of-thoughts: http://chehrenegar.blogspot.com/ Behind Brown Eyes: http://right2write.blogspot.com/ 'Manda Blogs About...: http://mandablogsabout.blogspot.com/ SFC Blog: Families Matter: http://familiesmatter2us.blogspot.com/

Would You Pay $26 for an ebook?

By Anthony S. Policastro

The New York Times reported over the weekend that Google has announced that it will sell ebooks to consumers - competing directly with Amazon.

The Times reported,

"In discussions with publishers at the annual BookExpo convention in New
York over the weekend, Google signaled its intent to introduce a program by that
would enable publishers to sell digital versions of their newest books direct to
consumers through Google. The move would pit Google against Amazon.com,
which is seeking to control the e-book market with the versions it sells for its Kindle reading device."

I applaud Google for taking on such a challenge because it is not healthy for anyone when one group or organization monopolizes a given market. And Amazon clearly wants to dominate the ebook market with its ebook reader, The Kindle, as it did with printed books.

However, the Times also reported that publishers were happy about the announcement because publishers,

"...have expressed concerns about Amazon’s aggressive pricing strategy for e-books. Amazon offers Kindle editions of most new best sellers for $9.99, far less than the typical $26 at which publishers sell new hardcovers. In early discussions, Google has said it will allow publishers to set consumer prices."

It seems to me that publishers are happy because they will be able to charge $26 for an eBook through Google - the same price they command for a print version.

Well, they will have another rude awakening because most people who buy ebooks don't believe they should be the near or the same price as a printed version. Just take a look at all the commercial ebook sites whose titles average $15 or more. Their ebooks are not selling.

Part of the success of the Kindle is that the average best seller is priced at $9.99. People who have Kindles feel like a kid in a candy store whose dad just said, "Get anything you want."

The $10 price is the sweet spot of pricing for ebooks. If prices increase significantly, then it is no longer a sweet deal.

What do you think?

So You Think You Can Write a Book?

By Anthony S. Policastro

The Jenkins Group, an independent publishing services company, says four out of five people they surveyed said they believe they have a book to write. Even fewer actually sit down and write a book and even fewer get published. Many established literary agencies in New York and elsewhere get upwards of 500-email and snail mail book queries a week and less than one percent of them are considered for representation.

So how do you get published with those odds?

It is easier than ever to get into print with the magic of print on demand and do-it-yourself publishing web sites like Lulu.com, Lulu is one of the few sites where it is free to upload your manuscript, design your cover or pick a pre-designed one and publish your book complete with an ISBN number and distribution on Amazon.com. There is no minimum number of copies to purchase, no hidden, we gotcha fees, and no secrets about how much you will make on each sale, what Lulu makes and what print and distribution costs amount to for your book. You keep all your rights and you set the price and the royalty.

A recent article in The New York Times reported, “In 2008, nearly 480,000 books were published or distributed in the United States, up from close to 375,000 in 2007, according to the industry tracker Bowker. The company attributed a significant proportion of that rise to an increase in the number of print-on-demand books.”

So what are you waiting for? Change your odds of getting in print. Go to one of the self-publishing online sites and publish your work! What? You’ve done that already? Okay, now comes the hard part - the marketing and promotion of your work.

If you wanted to sell homemade jewelry on the web, you would put up a web site complete with a storefront and check out cart and sit back and hope one hundred or more orders a day came your way. Now, would they? Most likely not. You have to promote your site, its market advantages like price, quality, brand, and ensure you are reaching people who are interested in buying homemade jewelry.

It’s the same when publishing a book. If you write a romance novel or a technical manual on how to tune the engine of a 737 you have to reach the right market with your message. One of the great advantages to using Lulu is that you can choose between doing everything yourself or buying the marketing services of publishing professionals from Lulu.

Here a few cool tricks I use to market my Lulu books . And they are free. Go to Google Blog Search and search for blogs pertaining to the subject area of your book. When you find some, read a few posts and leave a comment with a link to your book on Lulu or to your web site. This takes time and you must leave a comment with some substance for it to work. But if you hit the right blog with the right audience, it’s like winning on a slot machine in Atlantic City. One post increased traffic to my site by six times in one day! You can also do a search on Google, but you will get mostly web sites and often you cannot leave a comment.

Offer a free download of your book for a limited time. After all, if someone is willing to read your entire book on a computer screen they must be pretty interested in your work. What usually happens is if they like your book enough, they will purchase the print copy out of convenience since it is easier to read a book in print than on a computer display. This is also helpful when you send out press releases – you can direct the media to download your book for review. This is the preferred method of distributing your electronic version to the press and reviewers. If you attach a copy to an email, press people most likely will not open it for fear it may contain a computer virus or Trojan horse.

By the same token, send emails with links to your book to people involved in your book’s subject matter and ask them to review your work and write a short review. Mention that you can include their comments in your book if they want.

If you want to market your book as an eBook check out Smashwords. It’s free to upload your book and you make 85% of the price you set. The most significant advantage of Smashwords is that the site automatically converts your manuscript into ten different electronic formats so that your book can be read on a standard PC, iPhone, Kindle, Sony Reader or Palm Pilot. Readers can also view your work directly on the site using a web browser or standard word processor.

If you have never written a press release, Lulu offers an excellent template that walks you through the process so you can produce a professional release that the press will read and hopefully follow up with you. I used to be a journalist and it was nearly impossible to read every piece of mail that came into the office. But a professionally written press release always managed to get read.

And if you want to write your next book rather than market your current one, you can easily purchase Lulu’s many marketing and distribution services created and offered by professionals in the publishing business.

If you are considering self-publishing, my good friend and colleague Henry Hutton just started publishandsell.com, a supermarket of author services that will greatly help you navigate through the complex world of self-publishing. He is also one of the founding members of Lulu.com and extremely knowledgeable about the industry.

Just keep in mind you are the best sales person for your work – you are closest to the content and you are passionate about what you wrote or you would not have made the effort to create a book.