Life Perspective: Reviews & More

Are you one of the many aspiring writers for websites like Associated Content , Bukisa , etc? You have probably already created a profile, posted some articles, and posted links to all your social networks, as well as Digg and Stumble . Is there anything else you can do to promote yourself and your content and get your articles noticed? YES! Send out a press release! A press release is an announcement to your local media about you and your articles. I have published a web site and print magazine and worked for several other publications. I have also promoted books and events by sending out my own press releases, so I have looked at press releases both as a writer, and as a publisher of information. I have also written a book about promoting self-published books with a chapter dedicated to writing press releases. If you have never written a press release before, these tips should help you write a good, basic press release. Before You Write Your Press Release Before you start w...

I just received a letter from one of the submitting poets asking if he could get a discount since three of his poems were published in the the Mayberry poetry book (actually, only two were published; we declined one). Don't get me wrong -- usually I am the person negotiating for a discount! However, I have had people raise eyebrows at the cost of the books before. I think shoppers are used to buying trade paperbacks with lots of pages for $7.99. They look at a book which is larger but with fewer pages and think the $12.99 price tag is high. To put things in perspective, I sent him the following note. Actually, more poems = more formatting and more pages printed = more cost to print, so the more poems I run from one person, the more they have increased my costs. That's one reason many publications charge a "reading fee" or "submission fee" for each poem submitted. The $12.95 covers the cost of compiling, editing, formatting, layout, binding, trimming, print...

How to Promote Your Book on a Shoestring Budget is now available on Amazon.com Check it out!

Author, poet, and publisher Kathryn E. Darden, will be autographing copies of the 2008 edition of The Mayberry Poem - A Tribute to Mayberry and her new book How to Promote Your Book on a Shoestring Budget during this year's Mayberry Days in Mt. Airy, NC. Darden will be the special guest of Mayberry on Main on Thursday night, and again on both Friday and Saturday for morning and evening book signings. The book signings will take place on Thursday, September 25 from 7 to 8 PM. Book signings will also take place on Friday, September 26 from 11 to noon and from 6 PM to 7 PM; and Saturday, September 27 after the parade to noon and from 5:30 to 7 PM at Mayberry on Main, 126 N. Main Street (across from Snappy Lunch), Mount Airy, NC 27030. Phone: 336-719-0405 The Mayberry Poem - A Tribute to Mayberry is a compilation of poetry about "The Andy Griffith Show" that celebrates the characters and the show that made millions of viewers laugh during the turbulent 60s as they watche...

I had hoped to have "How to Promote Your Book on a Shoestring Budget" out by September 1. I have not posted a blog recently because I am just waiting for my books now. I have signed off on the proof, we agreed upon a price, and I ordered my first batch. Now I just have to wait for them to get here! I will post when they are here and when NovelMaker has them up on their site -- until then, I am just enduring the wait! I hope everyone has a happy Labor Day! Use this link to shop Amazon.com and support Christian Activities

I signed a publishing deal today! How to Promote Your Book on a Shoestring Budget, will be published by Darden & Associates through NovelMaker, and printed and distributed by NovelMaker. The reason Darden & Associates will show up as publisher is... I already had everything, including the ISBN number and bar code. Since the ISBN and bar code are registered to Darden & Associates, we remain the technical publishers. However, NovelMaker will do everything for me from printing to distribution, getting me on Amazon.com, and putting the book in their own book store, doing fulfillment, etc. I am not having to pay a fee for a "publishing plan" where the publishing company charges me an arm and a leg for doing things I can do or already have done myself at a fraction of the cost, but I am getting the support, placement, and fulfillment I could not easily do on my own! And my books will cost slightly less per book to print, since they are a smaller size, so I will be able...