Do You Really Want to Self Publish Your Book?

For those of you looking at Self-Publishing your book, you might want to look into Westbow Press, a new venture announced today by Thomas Nelson on Nelson CEO Mike Hyatt's blog.

Now some of you may be confused. Isn't Westbow Press a fiction imprint from Thomas Nelson? Well, yes, it used to be. They shutdown that brand a couple years ago when they incorporated all their brand names into one. However, now it has been resurrected and rebranded. See the new Westbow Press web site for details.

Hyatt's reasoning, according to his blog, is that there are more authors out there than ever, and in 2008 for the first time in history, the number of print on demand and self published books published outpaced traditionally published books. Is this a good thing? Well, maybe. But Hyatt goes on to say that this will help Thomas Nelson find new talent, and put more power into the hands of the people, the authors who haven't been able to get published so far.

Some of these things might be true. But I pose another reason.

Money. Self-publishing, or some companies call it Co-Publishing, is a no risk business for publishers. When Nelson (or any traditional publisher) pays out a massive advance to an author in a traditional publishing deal, they're betting the farm that the book will hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of copies. And many times, that advance is never earned back. Increasingly, publishers have tried to find other revenue streams to offset the major risks they take every day.

Self-publishing is a way to add a no risk revenue stream by making authors pay to get their book published. The new Westbow venture will "publish" your book through a variety of package deals that range in cost from $999 to $6499. You get your book published, and Thomas Nelson takes zero risk and essentially covers their cost (and makes a small profit).

Over the years, self-publishing has been viewed by the traditional publishing industry as everything from a simple way to get your ideas out there (bestseller Rich Dad, Poor Dad started out that way!), to a scam that preys on authors deep desire to see their work in print, whatever the cost. Today, maybe that perception is changing in some speheres, but I'm not so sure.

Is this a good business move for Nelson? Absolutely. Is it good for writers? Well, I want to know what you think!

Literary agent Rachelle Gardner has posted her thoughts up on her blog here, and she's generally positive about this move.

I'm curious though. Among those of you who are writers, artists, journalists or interested in publishing at some level, how many of you would prefer to work with a traditional publisher, who pays you a royalty for every copy of a book you sell; and how many of you would prefer to work with a self-publishing operation where you pay a fee, and a few whirs and clicks later, BAM! you have a book in your hands. Go do with it what you will.

What would be your preference? And why?

Read more...

The Power of Fun...

Here is my favorite little video this week...thanks to Volkswagon....here is a great little experiment to test the power of fun by creating a set of piano stairs. Enjoy!

Read more...

Top Ten Fictional Characters?

As reentry into the blog world, I wanted to tackle something fun instead of going for deep and thoughtful. Not in the mood, sorry.

So Which Fictional Character Would You Most Like to Be?

Several months ago I posted on another fun topic, which was "what fictional places would I most like to visit?" Recently, blogger friend Beth posted on which fictional characters she would most like to be ... and I had to follow suit, though yes, quite a bit later.

My list will be pretty straightforward and simple, and most of is all from great geek fiction and film. So if you're not a fan of geek fiction or film, oh well. Suggest your own top ten. : )

So here we go:

1. Han Solo, Star Wars
What kid did'nt want to be Harrison Ford as Han Solo with a cool mid-thigh gun holster and an insane starship? Seriously. No brainer.

2. Mal - "Firefly"/Serenity
One of the coolest science fiction shows ever to hit TV and get canceled in under one season and go on to sell thousands of DVDs. Mal is the best and ever since, I've been a huge fan of Nathan Fillion. I love that his name means "bad" in Spanish. He's like Michael Jackson, he's bad.

3. Gandalf - The Lord of the Rings
He's got a great staff and magic that comes from somewhere (above?). Gandalf is an uber-stud and he's like way past retirement age. How cool is that?

4. Jack - Lost
Who wouldn't want to be the heroic doctor on a gorgeous desert island, where you're trapped with women who love you. Jack is the quintessential hero with a plethora of moral struggles and a host of overly-complex riddles to figure out. Sounds like a vacation man.

5. Joe the Cowboy - A Fistful of Dollars
Clint Eastwood plays the cowboy who makes an amazing comeback in Sergio Leone's classic, sometimes called the Star Wars of Westerns. Such a great ending - classic.

6. Jack Bauer - 24
C'mon, he's the coolest counter-terrorist in the world. And he can't be stopped...by anything, or anyone, or any bomb, bullet or terrorist alive.

7. The Gunslinger - The Dark Tower Series
This guy is another one of those archetypal characters who is so hardcore that he cannot be stopped - he is relentless, amazing with a pair of pistols and strangely, he looks like Clint Eastwood. At least in my head.

8. Steve McQueen - The Great Escape
I loved this movie and though i its based on real events, I think the film took enough liberties to be called fictional-ish. And I have to say that the escape scenes inspired me to no end as a boy. So I want to be Steve McQueen too.

9. Mr. Darcy - Pride & Prejudice
Yeah, I know right? Weird. But hey, I love this book and loved Joe Wright's adaptation on film. So sue me. Revoke my testosterone card. Whatever. Darcy is a stud.

10. Ender - Ender's Game
Best young kid science fiction hero to come along in a long time, and this was years before Harry Potter. Ender was kind of a genuis Huckleberry Finn kind of character who saves the world in the coolest possible way - by playing a video game. Cannot wait for a movie of this book to come out!


So how about for you? Who are you top fictional characters - who would you like to be for a day? Have a great week everyone! : )

Read more...

Writing Contest, Jeff Bezos and a Sale for the AFLA!

A couple of fun updates and notes for this Thursday.

First of all, an exciting announcement about one of my friends and literary clients, speaker, nutritionist and weight-loss expert Robert Ferguson. Robert is the creator of the Food Lovers Fat Loss System, which just became the #1 infomercial on TV, airing over 200 times per week. Robert's infomercial started airing in May, he has a number of other TV projects in development and by this time next year, he will be a household name.

I just sold Robert's first official book, titled The Food Lovers Fat Loss Express to Penguin USA for their Perigee imprint and the announcement is just about to go out on Publisher's Lunch. So congratulations to Robert! See his web site here and stay tuned for his book next Fall!

Second, for all you novelists out there who write in the Science Fiction or Fantasy genres, Tor UK just announced a new contest that is open to writers worldwide. The winner of THE WAR OF THE WORDS contest earns him- or herself a publishing contract with Tor UK (20% royalties, but with no advance).


Aidan over at A Dribble of Ink reports on the contest here, and you can see the full rules and regulations over at SciFi Now Magazine here.

Finally, I'll end today with an interesting little video from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com. He is a seriously quirky dude, but he shares some fantastic rules for entrepreneurs and people running or managing businesses.

And if you're a writer, you are essentially running your own business, so his advice totally applies. For example, Bezos says that one must "obsess over customers," which in a writer's world translates to "obsess over readers."

Enjoy and happy Thursday!

Read more...

Big Change Is Afoot Today!

I haven't posted in a week and that's quite out of character (sort of). Although, I have a good reason why. Yesterday we made it official: My wife and I are moving our family to Colorado Springs.

We have been thinking about a transition for some time now, but this decision came on rather suddenly and despite the incredible speed of it, we're feeling total peace about the change.

I accepted a role working with the book line at David C. Cook, and we're excited to make the shift from southern California to Colorado. In the interim, we have a vacation planned for the family, which will include beach time, Disneyland, lots of time to read manuscripts and catch up on answering queries, and of course, simply spending some time with my family.

The Springs itself will be a great place to continue working on my writing and consulting, while also tackling a fun, new challenge at Cook with some wonderful friends there.

In order to make this post about writing, at least a little, here's an update on my reading this week:

I am finishing up George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, which I had put down for a time - but I am now loving every page of it...however then I saw a new book by Dave Eggers on the shelf while I was in Denver...

So I just picked up Zeitoun, Dave Eggers' nonfiction book about Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a Syrian-born, New Orleans-based Painter and his family. I'm eighty pages in and it's a wonderful read! Go get it!

Next I will be consuming Robin Parrish's new novel Offworld, which I'm actually excited to read. I love me a little science fiction.

So anyway, to all my Southern California friends and family, it's been awesome. We love you, and will miss you greatly... and of course...good luck with the CA budget crisis!

Kidding. : )

Read more...

Some of My Freelance Writing Online

Some of my freelance writing over the years has shown up online in various places. So without any sort of preamble, here are some links to those articles:


Fighting with Paint, Having a Ball - The Los Angeles Times (Column)

The Passion of Wilberforce - Relevant Magazine

Reel Relevance - Outreach Magazine

Legend on Wheels: Tony Hawk - The Los Angeles Times

Shock & Awful, Review: Bruno - VC Reporter

Fun, Games Helps Ministry Reach Teens - The Los Angeles Times

The Business Beat - The Los Angeles Times

The Outsiders - Outreach Magazine

Holy Illuminati! Review: Angels & Demons - VC Reporter

Discovering Speechlessness - Neue (formerly The Relevant Leader)

Peaking Popularity: Climbing Walls in Gyms - The Los Angeles Times

Church Distributed - Outreach Magazine

Hollywood Heavyweight - Relevant Magazine (excerpted from The Hollywood Project)

Shoot 'em Up & Spit 'em Out, Review: Public Enemies - VC Reporter

Waking a Generation - Outreach Magazine

Puppet Maker Gains Exposure - The Los Angeles Times

Two Can Be as Bad as One, Review: Year One - VC Reporter

Hellraiser as Screwtape - Relevant Magazine (exercepted from The Hollywood Project)

Mini Indy - The Los Angeles Times

What Happens in Vegas..., Review: The Hangover - VC Reporter

Skateboarder's Pipe Dreams - The Los Angeles Times

Tagging Visitors - Outreach Magazine

Read more...

The Purpose of a Book Cover

I stumbled across an interesting post by Seth Godin on The Purpose of a Book Cover. This is a question you may not think about (or maybe you do), however, it's something I discuss with colleagues, authors and agents often.

The conversation usually arises around a particular cover, as in, what is the purpose of this specific book cover? Does this design or image achieve the goal we set out for this book? Will this particularly design style appeal to the primary target audience of this book?

This discussion happens regularly and many different opinions inevitably fly around the room.


But I am interested in your opinion—what is the purpose of a book cover? Godin tackles this question generally, offering three options and singling out one as the key purpose of a book cover. His three options are: (1) to sell books, (2) to accurately describe the book, or (3) to, as he says, "tee up the reader so the book has maximum impact." Of course, he says that the purpose of the book cover is #3.

I would argue, however, that the actual purpose of the book cover is #1, to sell books through intriguing design, imagery or placement of information. My reason? I think #3 is cheating first of all (#3 sounds an awful lot like #1 with better words), but also, I think "maximum impact" is determined more by internal design, endorsements, and ultimately, the content of the book itself. Maximum impact has very little to do with the Book Cover in my mind.

After all, if you picked up a book because you loved the cover, read page one and found the book itself to be horribly dull, you would put the book down immediately.

The Book Cover is only responsible for the initial impact a book will have on a potential reader.

However, as we all know, most of us judge our books by their covers and oftentimes a poor cover can result in far less interest in a work that we might otherwise read (I know we're a shallow lot - unless it's just me!). Apparently, the average book buyer spends about eight seconds looking over a potential book purchase in abook store before putting the book down. The cover certainly is important in the final purchase decision!

So this is a question that is certainly up for debate. What do you think?

Read more...

Writing Tips from 3 Masters

I love writing tips, but I pay attention when they come from a master of the craft. So for today we have a selection of links to writing tips from 3 masters of the craft - Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell.


First, paraphrased from his book On Writing, 7 Tips Tips for Becoming a Better Writer from Stephen King. King is of course one of the most disciplined and well-respected writers in American letters. Whether or not you like his work, his attention to the craft of writing is unparalleled today.


Next, a selection of Ernest Hemingway's Top Five Tips for Writing Well. Debate Hemingway's lifestyle and his respect for women, but do not debate his powerful contributions to literature. Ever since reading and rereading The Sun Also Rises in college, I have been a fan of his writing.


Finally, from George Orwell, author of some of the finest novels in American literature (Animal Farm, 1984 etc.) we have 6 Questions and 6 Rules for Writers.

Happy Tuesday!

Read more...