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Monthly Archives: August 2010

Top Ten Best Selling Self-Published Books in July 2010

31 Aug

Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company, today announced its top ten best selling titles for July 2010 according to combined data from Ingram Book Wholesalers and Outskirts Press Direct via http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore.

In alphabetical order, the top ten best selling books in self publishing during the month of July were:

Congratulations to our best selling authors from July!

All these books, and other Outskirts Press titles, are available from all major online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, Books A Million, and others, plus conveniently from the Outskirts Press Direct bookstore at http://outskirtspress.com/bookstore for discounts ranging from 10% – 55%.

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Posted by on August 31, 2010 in Top 10

 

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New Children’s Book Illustration Package for Self Publishing Authors

30 Aug

Outskirts Press, the fastest-growing self-publishing and book marketing company, adds a new style to its growing supply of original illustration packages for children’s book authors, bringing the total choices to 25.

With twenty-five different artistic styles to choose from, one of the major obstacles to children’s publishing is now gone. Divided between two different pricing tiers for both the budget-conscious and the value-focused, Outskirts Press removes all the guesswork from full-color self-publishing.

“Finally, it is economically feasible to publish a full-color children’s book,” says Outskirts Press CEO Brent Sampson. “The prices are affordable,  the artwork is extraordinary and the value is out of this world.”

The best part? The author does not have to split their royalty earnings with the artist, which they would usually have to do with other publishers and independent children’s illustrators. 

In addition to the full-color Pearl publishing package and the twenty-five total illustration styles, Outskirts Press offers a wide variety of other publishing and marketing packages for just about any publishing need. Visit www.outskirtspress.com/art to see samples and pricing of the illustration styles now available. 

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Posted by on August 30, 2010 in Children's Books

 

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Self-Publishing Book Spotlight: The Bootlegger’s Secret

27 Aug
The eleven year old heroes of veteran writer Michael Springer’s new novel suddenly find themselves grappling with the ghosts of Prohibition as their summer vacation goes from a familiar swimming hole to a nightmare landscape of U.S. Treasury agents and Chicago gangsters.

Free-lance writer Michael Springer recently announced the release of his novel The Bootlegger’s Secret, published by Outskirts Press.  The book’s two young heroes follow in the tradition of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer as they learn the hard lessons that sometimes come from boys being thrown too quickly into an adult world.
A story for all ages, The Bootlegger’s Secret starts at the tree house Mark Penn and Swede Larson have built by the river that summer in 1941 when the Middleton, Minnesota, schools are out, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is about to come to town, and the baseball season is on for the Middletown Aces.

Swimming in the river one afternoon, they spot the hood ornament of a 1931 Pierce-Arrow and Swede dives down to retrieve an inlaid gold cigarette case from the submerged car.  Inside the case the boys are delighted to find a music box, Turkish filter tips and the photograph of a beautiful woman. 

Soon police also recover from the car the corpse of one Eddie Knowland, a local bootlegging kingpin and member of Al Capone’s Chicago gang.

The cigarette case also contains a secret compartment with Eddie’s “business” records, and when the case disappears, the two boys are pulled back and forth between Treasury agents needing that evidence to prosecute corrupt officials and Chicago gangsters who want the records for blackmail.

Caught in this deadly squeeze, the boys are forced to come up with a plan that will extricate them from this dangerous dilemma and still preserve their own integrity — as well as their lives.
About the Author:

Michael Springer is a Minnesota native, a graduate of Minnesota State University, a former Navy line officer and a free-lance writer.  He now lives with his wife in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

 For more information, visit www.outskirtspress.com/michaelspringer.

This author purchased the Book Blast package, saving 25% on 5 powerful marketing services to blast the book into the stratosphere! The Book Blast package includes the following options: Custom Press Release, PR Publicist Campaign, Book Review Submission Service, Book Video (shown above) and Personal Marketing Assistant. Outskirts Press authors can easily and conveniently add this package at any time from the Marketing Options screen of the author’s center.

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Posted by on August 27, 2010 in Book Spotlight

 

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Top Ten Self Publishing Book Marketing Options for July

26 Aug
Top Ten Self Publishing Book Marketing Options for July

Book marketing is an important component to successful self publishing. Outskirts Press is an industry leader in providing post-publication support, products, and services to its growing family of published authors.

Even if you have published elsewhere, our list of Top 10 Book Marketing Options can help you prioritize your book marketing efforts by providing you with the most popular and effective book marketing and promotional tactics as determined by our authors. These are tactics that are strongly recommended for successful book marketing after publication.

These are the marketing products and services determined to be most popular by our authors for the month of July 2010, listed below in alphabetical order:

Amazon Extreme Package Save 25% on 3 amazing marketing tactics centered around Amazon: The Amazon Kindle Edition, Search Inside the Book, and the Keyword Search Submission Service. Plus a free copy of the Amazon best selling book, Sell Your Book on Amazon.
Amazon Keyword Search Submission Participating books are “tagged” with applicable terms and keywords on Amazon’s Product Detail page. This encourages other visitors to your page to “tag” your book with the same keywords and phrases, which can give more “weight” to those terms in Amazon’s search results.
Amazon Kindle Edition The Amazon Kindle is a revolutionary wireless reading device that allows its owners to instantly download books and newspapers. Only books that have been submitted to the Amazon Kindle via the required process and in the required format are available for Kindle readers to purchase and enjoy.
Amazon Search Inside the Book Amazon’s “online equivalent” to browsing a bookstore. Amazon claims that books participating in this program enjoy “significant” sales improvement, on average, over books that do not.
Barnes & Noble See Inside Barnes & Noble’s answer to Amazon’s “Search Inside the Book” program. Books that participate in this program receive a “See Inside” icon next to their Barnes & Noble cover image, which invites potential customers to electronically “flip” through a small section of the book.
Book Blast Package Save 25% on 5 of our popular marketing services that can blast your book into the stratosphere: Custom Press Release, PR Publicist Campaign, 60 Second Book Video Trailer, Book Review Submission Service, and 5 hours of Personal Marketing Assistance to put it all together.
Business Cards Every author needs a business card. What better way to promote your book and yourself at the same time than with professional business cards that feature your book’s cover on one side?
Custom Press Release Have our professional press release writer compose an original, unique press release for your book, submitted to you for your review/approval, and then distributed to our news wire service on your behalf.
PR Publicist Like having your own publicist distribute your press release for you… Plus, after the release goes out, you will receive all the resulting leads for more personal follow-up, plus an electronic clipping service.
Video Teaser Fast and flashy, the Book Video Teaser is a cost-effective way to kick-start your viral video promotional efforts.

Outskirts Press published authors who are interested in any of these options can find further details and ordering information by clicking on the name (or image) of the option above. Information about additional marketing options can be found on the Marketing Options page of your Author’s Center.

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Posted by on August 26, 2010 in Top 10

 

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USA Book News – 2010 National Best Book Awards for Self Publishing Authors

25 Aug

2010 Awards

Every year USA Book News honors outstanding mainstream and independent books with their National Best Books Award.  The National “Best Books 2010” Awards are specifically designed to garner MEDIA COVERAGE & BOOK SALES for the winners & finalists throughout the 2010 holiday retail season and 2011!
  
WINNERS & FINALISTS IN EACH CATEGORY RECEIVE:
 
  • USA Book News Exposure: An Eight-Month Book Listing (valued at $2,000.00!) which includes your color book cover, a brief paragraph about your title and a hyperlink to your website. Fantastic coverage for the busy 2010 holiday season & 2011! USABookNews.com is currently listed on thousands of book related-websites and welcomes thousands of visitors per month.
  • Unprecedented National Media & Industry Exposure: Instant coverage of results from an online network of media outlets and industry contacts for a combined, immediate exposure to over 500,000+ subscribers. In addition, the national media campaign kicks off October 2010!  Read the 2009 National Press Release
  • Promote Your Title as an Award-Winning Book: As a winner or finalist you will have the right to highlight your award on your book cover, website, and marketing material. Outskirts Press can help with the Award Recognition Cover Enhancement option.  Past winners and finalists have also utilized this award by creating and distributing their own press releases with great success!

It used to be that simply having a published book was indicative of supremely high quality, but now that self-publishing is available for everyone, winning a book award is one of the most powerful ways you can make your book stand above the crowd.

Outskirts Press can facilitate the submission details to the USA Book News Best Books Award for you. We can handle all the details, including the entry fee, the completion of the necessary forms, and the required copies of your book. We will select the most appropriate category for your book for your convenience.

CLICK TO ORDER THIS AWARD SUBMISSION SERVICE
or save 25% on all six award submission options with the
BOOK AWARD SUBMISSION PACKAGE

Simply select the USA Book News National Best Books award submission option (or Book Award Submission package option) from the Marketing Options screen inside your author’s center.

The deadline for ordering through your Outskirts Press author’s center for this year’s awards program is August 31, 2010. Your book must have a 2009 or 2010 copyright date to be eligible.

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Posted by on August 25, 2010 in Awards

 

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Inc. Magazine Recognizes Outskirts Press Self Publishing as a Top 5000 Fastest Growing Private Company

24 Aug

For the second year in a row, Outskirts Press is recognized in the annual Inc. Magazine Fast 5000, which identifies the fastest-growing private companies in America.

August 24, 2009 – Denver, CO – Outskirts Press, an Inc. 500 company in 2009 and the fastest-growing full-service self-publishing and book marketing company, was recognized once again by Inc. Magazine in 2010 in its annual “Fast 5000″ list of the nation’s fastest-growing private businesses.

“As an Inc. 5000 honoree, Outskirts Press shares a prestigious pedigree with such notable alumni as Zappos, Visa, Oracle, and scores of other powerhouses,” according to Jane Berentson, Inc. Magazine’s editor.

The Inc. 5000 annual rankings are based upon the rate of each company’s revenue growth from 2006 through 2009.  This is the second year in a row Outskirts Press has appeared on the list.  

“We are honored once again to be recognized by Inc. Magazine on this annual list,” said Brent Sampson, Outskirts Press president and chief executive officer. “To appear on this list once is a feat; and twice in a row is a true testament of our commitment to quality, customer service, and value for our authors.”

 The announcement comes on the heels of the recent launch of Outskirts Press Version 4.0 where writing and book marketing services are now available a la carte, regardless of where writers choose to publish. Learn more at http://outskirtspress.com .

About Outskirts Press, Inc.: 

Outskirts Press, Inc. offers full service, custom self-publishing services for authors seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books worldwide while retaining all their rights and full creative control.  Available for authors globally at www.outskirtspress.com and located on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, Outskirts Press represents the future of book publishing, today.

# # #

Outskirts Press, Inc., 10940 S. Parker Rd – 515, Parker, Colorado 80134
http://outskirtspress.com  1-888-OP-BOOKS

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2010 in Outskirts Press News

 

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Self-Publishing Book Expo

23 Aug

THE SELF-PUBLISHING BOOK EXPO ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW SHOW OCTOBER 2010

Following on the heels of its successful and timely debut in fall of 2009, The Self-Publishing Book Expo will return on Saturday, October 2nd for a second show to be held at the Sheraton NY Hotel & Towers in midtown Manhattan.

The goal of the Self-Publishing Book Expo is to simultaneously create an annual event designed to raise the profile of this segment of the industry as well as to highlight the services of companies founded with the purpose of helping authors navigate self-publication and marketing.

This year’s Expo has been expanded and updated and will feature some exciting new changes including:

  • Free admission to the general public. This means MORE exposure and book sales for authors exhibiting their books at the expo.
  • Panels and Seminars. Founders from leading companies like Smashwords, Fast Pencil, and Outskirts Press, among many others, will be presenting on a variety of topics and subjects. The full details are here.
  • Discounts and Pre-Registration.  Tickets for the panels and seminars will be available for purchase in advance of the show.

For the second year in a row, Outskirts Press is a sponsor of the Self-Publishing Book Expo.  CEO/President Brent Sampson will present at what promises to be among the most informative and action-packed seminars of the expo. So fasten your seatbelts for the fastest hour of your life!  Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” Semi-Finalist Brent Sampson will offer you 60 highly effective marketing tips and promotional practices that you can implement right now to put your online marketing efforts into high gear and rapidly kick start your book sales.  Learn essentials about efficiently managing various social networking sites, sprucing up your Amazon presence to compete with the top sellers in your category, producing a video trailer and distributing it affordably and effectively, uncover the power of book title optimization, and much more.

Follow Outskirts Press on Twitter leading up to the expo for some of the tips to be featured at Brent’s seminar.

 
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Posted by on August 23, 2010 in Outskirts Press News, self publishing news

 

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Self-Publishing Book Spotlight: Body Parts by Janet Cameron Hoult

20 Aug
Janet Cameron Hoult’s ability to find humor in the all too human condition of losing hair, hearing and vision shows readers that they too can handle any problems life hands them if they can still laugh about their own increasingly wobbly body parts.

Body Parts, A Collection of Poems About Aging was recently published by Outskirts Press.  Hoult’s solidly crafted poems are sometimes philosophical, sometimes moving, but mostly they are whimsical and witty as she humorously attacks the deafening ear, the blurry vision and the less than stable knees that old age brings with it.
Her poem “Tired of Being Tired” strikes a chord that anyone moving into the increasingly risky minefield of geriatric deterioration should appreciate:“I’m tired of being tired and sick of being sick.My body parts are tocking

When they should be going tick.”

Hoult’s poetry often has that playfully Ogden Nash feel to it, and it’s obvious the poet has paid close attention to the careful crafting of her rhyme, meter and content.  “I think that I shall never see / a replacement lovely as a knee,” begins her poem “Knees,” a clever and fanciful homage to Joyce Kilmer’s famous poem. 

“These poems were written from experience,” Hoult acknowledges, and the truth in them, a reader can see, is sincere, candid and personal, even when it remains wrapped in Hoult’s prodigious wit. 

Some of her poems are philosophical, though, like the aptly titled “Time Accelerates with Age” and some are quietly touching, such as “The Emptiness of Alzheimer’s,” which contains the poignant line “Her life is emptier than chairs / vacated at a concert’s end.”

Wit and humor, though, are the poet’s mainstays, and Body Parts will help many readers prepare for, enter and be amused at all the little surprises their bodies hold in store for them as they wend their way into their Golden Years.
 
About the Author:Janet Cameron Hoult, Professor Emerita at California State University, Los Angeles, has lived and traveled all over the world: high school in Iran; universities in Lebanon, France and the United States; teaching assignments in Germany, Korea, Japan, Thailand and China.  Dr. Hoult and her husband, Charley, now live in Southern California with their two dogs and they continue their adventures chasing solar eclipses, mentoring student rocketeers, and visiting their grandchildren and great grandchild. The author’s proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the CSULA scholarship fund endowed in memory of her son, David Cameron Fisher.For more information, visit www.outskirtspress.com/bodyparts.

This author purchased the Book Blast package, saving 25% on 5 powerful marketing services to blast the book into the stratosphere! The Book Blast package includes the following options: Custom Press Release, PR Publicist Campaign, Book Review Submission Service, Book Video (shown above) and Personal Marketing Assistant. Outskirts Press authors can easily and conveniently add this package at any time from the Marketing Options screen of the author’s center.

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Posted by on August 20, 2010 in Book Spotlight

 

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National Relaxation Day – Curl Up and Enjoy an Book Today, A Few Self-Publishing Suggestions

19 Aug

Did you know that National Relaxation Day was last Sunday, August 15th?  Still need a day to relax?  There’s no better way to unwind than with a good book from Outskirts Press. Consider spending the day with one of these escapes from everyday life.

Do you like to explore the past? The Dahlgren Papers by Gerald R. Hibbs will transport you back 150 years to the tangled web of the Civil War, and to a mysterious set of orders that could have changed the course of the war. Strategy, espionage, and conspiracy for lovers of historical fiction.

A day on the golf course can be relaxing for some – and frustrating for many. Enhance your game with My Little Green Book – 5 Secrets to Better Golf by Bill Nevin Jr. Three decades on the fairway have given Bill a wealth of tips and tricks for golfers at any level. Benefit from his experience and improve your game.

How about an excursion into imagination for you and your kids? O’Shaughnessy, a Boy and His Leprechaun by Jeremy McGuire takes you on a fairy-tale adventure. Bobby travels into magical realms with the leprechaun O’Shaughnessy – and learns some life lessons along the way.

Everyone loves a summer read – and Betty Byrd’s EVVY Award-winning novel Utopia Texas is a fantastic ride into family drama, money, power, and Texas oil. Follow Brya Harrison as she fights for her place in a world that’s larger than life, and finds heartbreak and redemption along the way.

Maybe you’d like to take some time to be at peace and look inward. Whispers of Joy – Messages from an Unseen World by Joy Andreasen shows you how to tune in to your mind and heart, with gentle examples from the author’s own experience of listening to her own wisdom, and a wisdom beyond herself.

Whatever your style of relaxation, Outskirts Press has the perfect book for you. Visit our bookstore at http://www.outskirtspress.com/bookstore, and explore!

 
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Posted by on August 19, 2010 in Holiday

 

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Self-Publishing Author Spotlight: Sherri Rabinowitz at Barnes and Noble

18 Aug

Author Sherri Rabinowitz recently sent us this picture from her book signing event at her local Barnes and Noble. 

Sherri Rabinowitz has been writing since she was a small child and was inspired by Ray Bradbury and Agatha Christie.  She had always loved writing, but has had to make a living in a varied number of ways: she has worked as an actress, a travel agent and in several forms of customer service.  Her passion, though, has always been writing.  She loves and enjoys both reading and writing fan fiction.  Fantasy Time Inc. is her second work of original fiction.

Fantasy Time Inc.

In the future we as a people will be going through many strange and conflicting changes.  We will be traveling and living in space and under water.  We will have an even better network of communications and transportations, but we will still need to have a vacation and to relax from that antiseptic new environment.  People will need an escape.

Most people dream of the future and the past, because no one romanticizes about their own time.

For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/fantasy.

___________________________________

Murder Inc.

Alex Bennett led a double life. She was known the world over as the highly successful founder of a toy software company. But she was also the head of the infamous Murder, Inc. A situation she didn’t want but felt an obligation to fulfill until she met the lovely Patty Darcy and suddenly she wanted to just be the head of Toys Inc. Now she had something to fight for. Will the love of this sweet woman help her get out from under the weight of family obligations? Will she be able to share the kind of life with Patty that she wants?

For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/murderinc.

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Posted by on August 18, 2010 in Author Spotlight

 

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