March 3, 2021
Recently I was asked by another writer if I thought she should use a vanity book publisher. With self-publishing so popular nowadays, I didn’t even realize vanity publishers were still out there, but sure enough she had one in mind. I gave her my thoughts, but you may feel different, and if so, I welcome […]
February 3, 2021
Nowadays, most writers can’t simply write a story, send it off to an agent or publisher and sit back and wait for the praise and money. Of course, it’s always been true for most writers that once the story has been written, they must take off their writer’s hat and put on their editor’s hat. […]
January 20, 2021
No, I’m not talking about political change, though that’s definitely occurring. For me, one change is this year I’m self-publishing a book (from start to finish). My other big change is my website is going to look different. Sometime this week (or month), if you visit my website (https://marissoule.com ) it will have a new […]
January 13, 2021
I truly have something to crow about. The 4th book in the P.J. Benson Mystery series now has an actual release date: February 10, 2021. It has a beautiful cover, designed by Chris of http://highpinescreative.com. They did the covers for the first three “Crow” books (The Crows, As the Crow Flies, and Eat Crow and […]
November 14, 2018
October, for me, was a busy month of promoting the paperback version of A KILLER PAST. I didn’t really plan it that way, but starting last spring and through the summer I kept receiving invitations to speak or appear. All wanted October dates. These invitations included two book clubs, one book store, and one conference. […]
June 13, 2018
I recently received an email asking how a woman who had just finished writing a book could get it published without spending a lot of money. To answer a questions like this, I need more information. (1) Is this a novel, memoir, or non-fiction book? (2) Has she made sure it’s well edited in regards […]
June 7, 2017
What is the difference between self-publishing your book, calling yourself a hybrid author, or using assisted publishing? What can one method offer that another can’t? Those were the questions discussed during a self-published author’s open house held in May at the Lincoln Township Public Library. I attended because a writer friend was on the panel, […]
November 9, 2016
Last week I wrote about “Publishing Then and Now.” This week I want to focus on “Now.” Writers nowadays, both published and pre-published, have three basic options. Writers can go with traditional publisher, print-on-demand publishers, or Independent self-publishing. Each choice has advantages and disadvantages. First Option Let’s assume you’ve written a fantastic book. If you […]
August 10, 2016
I’ve been watching the Olympics, and I realized there are a lot of similarities between a successful athlete and a successful writer. Athletes who want to compete at the highest level practice. Most do this daily or almost daily. They don’t let illness stop them or family events. Because they want to improve, they find […]
April 6, 2015
Back at the turn of the century (the 1900s to the 2000s) I often said, “If they get the cost of the readers down, e-books are going to take off.” I don’t know if anyone listened to me. Others, obviously, had the same thought. The readers didn’t really get cheaper, not down to the level […]
November 26, 2014
Earlier this week another writer and I were talking about how to sell more books. The question was: How does a writer get his or her work noticed? When I started writing, I though a writer sat at a desk, typed out a story, sent it off to an editor, who (of course) loved the […]
June 12, 2013
Yesterday I attended a local writers’ meeting where one of the members mentioned her experience with an agency that had sounded promising until she received an e-mail mentioning that they wanted her to pay X number of dollars and they would help her get her ms into publishable form. Now, I’m aware that many agents […]
May 1, 2013
I’m having trouble discarding a preconceived notion. I’ve always considered books that were self-published as inferior, work that didn’t meet traditional publishing standards, books that lacked the qualities that make for a good read: tight writing, proper punctuation and sentence structure, and good story telling. More than once over the years I’ve been talked into […]
September 12, 2012
Which is best, to self-publish your book or go with a traditional publisher? My answer is always: “Depends.” (And no, I don’t mean those undergarments for the elderly.) IMO it depends on the type of book and the writer. Over the years I’ve run into many men and women who have written a memoir. The […]