CEO Brent Sampson and COO Jeanine Sampson display 6 of the 15 EVVY Awards won by Outskirts Press authors at the 18th Annual CIPA EVVY Awards.

Winning an EVVY Award is a prerequisite to being named the Outskirts Press 2011 Best Book of the Year award-winner and walking away with the $1,500 Grand Prize. The Outskirts Press 2011 Best Book of the Year award recognizes the best book published by Outskirts Press in 2011 as decided by you, our social community.

Stay tuned next week for the announcement of the three finalists from among our EVVY winners below. Public voting for the winner of the 2011 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award begins on this blog on Friday, June 1.

In the meantime, congratulations to all our winners!

1st Place

Autobiography/Memoirs

2nd Place

Fiction

Juvenile/Young Adult

Workbooks

Religion

Autobiography/Memoirs

Outskirts Press author Robert B. Wiley, Lt. Col., USAF, Ret. accepts his 2nd Place EVVY Award for “Struggles, Service, and Smiles” at the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Awards Ceremony.

3rd Place

 Juvenile/Young Adult

Fiction

Autobiography/Memoirs

Outskirts Press author Vera Carolyn Snyder accepts her 3rd Place EVVY Award for “Surviving the Simple Life” at the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Awards Ceremony.

Merit Award

Parenting/Family

Fiction

Fiction

Fiction

Juvenile/Young Adult

Inspirational/Spiritual

Are you the next award-winning author from Outskirts Press. Start publishing today…

In alphabetical order, the top ten best-selling books in self publishing during the month of April 2012 were:

Congratulations to our best-selling authors for the month of April 2012!

How can you get your book on the bestseller list? While we can’t make any guarantees on sales success, many of our most successful authors invest time and money in marketing themselves and their book. Authors who are needing a bit of a marketing boost often turn to a Personal Marketing Assistant for help.

All of 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%.

Are you ready to put a book promotion strategy in place for your self-published book?

Emmy-winning editor and Outskirts Press author Stephen Donnelly takes his compilation talents to task with one of his other passions: music. Specifically, the music of The Beatles, inarguably the most influential musical force in rock ‘n’ roll history.

“The Beatles Discography” presents the Beatles recorded legacy like never before, with US and UK releases side by side with important releases from Germany, France and more. Plus their solo efforts in the same chronological listings, complete with release dates, record labels & numbers, full track listings with composer and producer credits, recording dates, mix variations and song lengths, all in a compact and easy to understand format, including many rare images of front and back covers, picture sleeves and record labels.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stephen Donnelly is a Writer, Producer and Editor. He resides in a small town in Colorado with his family, a self-described Beatles fanatic; he has spent the better part of the last two decades researching and compiling The Beatles Discography. He is currently working on future volumes.

For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/thebeatlesdiscography_v1.

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 Publishing Center.

Are you self publishing a book and looking to receive
marketing support and services like this?

Take note from self-publishing Outskirts Press author, Joanne M. Rypma, who is taking her latest book, Know God and Love Him, on tour – a virtual book tour, that is. She will be featured on several blogs over the weeks and months ahead so keep your eyes peeled to learn more about her and her book.

Joanne was kind enough to answer a few questions as the tour was getting started so we could give you a sneak peek into the mind of the creator of Know God and Love Him.

OP: Tell us a little bit about Know God and Love Him. What is it about?

JMR: This prayer book offers you an opportunity to reflect on God and your relationship with him. It will help you to experience his presence and power in your life, and encourage you to trust him completely in all you say and do. You will read about some of God’s promises and his love for each one of us. Whether you are preparing for a pastoral ministry or you just want to meditate on the Word of God, these prayers will assist you on your spiritual journey and bring you closer to Him. Scripture passages from the Old and New Testaments are included in these prayers. The readings used on weekends in church for the Liturgical Years A, B and C each have their own prayer in this book. You will find that through my prayers your heart will be opened up to God’s love in such a way that they will help you grow in holiness. Through the night and through the day, my heart and mind are searching for the way. Rest in the heart of Jesus and let His truth guide us through the mysteries of life. Each day let us celebrate the gift of life God has given us.

OP: Why did you decide to write this book?

JMR: I was attending a Bible study class at my church and the priest would ask the parishioners attending this class to say an opening prayer. Week after week no person volunteered so I went home and wrote several prayers that I would say as an opening prayer each week. Everyone loved my prayers and told me often how much they meant to them. I was amazed at how my prayers were helping people in a very personal way, and also enabling them to begin talking to each person there about their personal spiritual feelings.

OP: What types of readers would be interested in this book?

JMR: These prayers can be used for private reflection or shared with others at religious gatherings.

OP: What is special about your book? What differentiates it from other books in the same category?

JMR: I believe God the Holy Spirit inspired me to write this book of prayers. There are many benefits to reading a prayer book, but ultimately we will only get out of prayer the transformation we seek if we are open to listening to God guiding us.

OP: Thanks for your time, Joanne! We look forward to learning more about you as you visit other bloggers!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After 25 years of doing business office work, Joanne Rypma is giving her time and talent to working for her church in the Catholic Council of Women. She was born in Michigan and now resides in Florida.

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

This author purchased the Virtual Book Tour marketing option, which allows self-publishing authors to connect with bloggers and harness the power of the blogosphere by taking their book on the “virtual road”. Learn more about this service by visiting your Publishing Center and reviewing the available marketing options.

Are you an author looking for help to market your self-published book?

Reflections of a Successful Wallflower

by Andrea Michaels

(5 Stars – 17 Customer Reviews)

Price: $34.95

Who Is Andrea Michaels? What Does She Know that We Don’t?

Please note that product prices and availability are subject to change. Prices and availability were accurate at the time of this posting; however, they may differ from those you see when you visit Amazon.com.© Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.All rights reserved. Amazon, Amazon.com, the Amazon.com logo, and 1-Click are registered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Amazon.com, 410 Terry Avenue N., Seattle, WA 98109-5210.

The top-ranking options are determined by how many self-published authors sign up for them. Many of these products and services are even available to authors who did not publish with Outskirts Press. Visit our Marketing Solutions page to view the growing list of available book marketing options.

These are the marketing products and services determined to be most popular by our authors for April 2012, listed below in alphabetical order:

Amazon Extreme Package This is a package deal that lets you save 25% on three 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 Kindle Edition The Amazon Kindle is a revolutionary wireless reading device that allows its owners to instantly download books and newspapers. This is the new way that people are buying books. However, 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 Listing Optimization Our professional copywriters spend a lot of time around books. We know what makes shoppers buy books. And our marketing folks know what content search engines respond to. By combining these skills with the Amazon Listing Optimization option, your Search Engine Optimized and “Polished” sales content means more people can potentially find your book with less effort on your part.

Amazon Search Inside the Book This service allows your potential buyer to browse your book online just as they would in a “traditional” bookstore. This alleviates a lot of the the anxiety associated with purchasing books online.

Barnes & Noble NOOK Edition There are OVER 2 MILLION books available on Barnes & Noble’s NOOK. If your book isn’t one of them, you are missing out on tapping a very important, and growing, market of readers. Now, with this option, you can you reach this audience that is already waiting to buy your book.

Barnes & Noble See Inside This option will allow you to turn Barnes&Noble browsers into buyers by allowing online shoppers to view select pages of your book digitally from the BN.com website.

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.

Apple iPad with Private Label Distribution Millions of iPads have been sold and iPhone revenues account for over HALF of all smart phone revenue in the United States. Is your book a part of this growing market? It can be, simply and conveniently, with enhanced, independent distribution of your own iPad/iPhone electronic edition of your book through Apple’s iBooks bookstore.

Personal Marketing Assistant The Outskirts Press Personal Marketing Assistant option is ideal for authors who want marketing assistance that is personal and specific. The Personal Marketing Assistant is available to work with you in five hour blocks of time to promote your book in accordance with your plan and goals.

Readers Favorite Award Submission Want to gain notoriety as a self-published author? The best way is to become an award-winning author. With our Readers Favorite Book Award Submission, you have an opportunity to not only gain that notoriety but also receive additional free targeted book marketing services/promotion. Scroll down to Product Details for more information.

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Is it time to get published and start receiving book marketing services like this?

Imagine having a team of professional ghostwriters working to compose your article on your behalf.

• You choose the topic
• We write the article for you
• You review/edit and approve it
• We distribute it for you

It doesn’t get any easier than that!

Want to know more? Click here to find out more about how this solution can help you establish YOU, INC. online.

• Amazon Featured Book of the Week, which received 40% of the votes
• Social Media Market Research, which received 50% of the votes
• Author Apps, which received 10% of the votes

As a result of your votes, we launched both the Social Media Market Research option and the Amazon Featured Book-of-the-Week option.

So once again we are asking you to help us help you. With The Avengers already breaking records and movies like Men in Black 3, The Dark Knight Rises, and the Amazing Spider-Man just around the corner, we are about to experience one of the biggest blockbuster movie seasons ever.

We want to give authors an opportunity to experience that phenomenon from the inside, by helping you on the path to turning your book into a movie. To help in that quest, we are considering three new service options that focus on one particular step of getting your book from page to screen:

• Hollywood Action Plan – We will submit your book to a Hollywood production company where a credited Hollywood producer will provide feedback for a 3-5 page “coverage” analysis — the industry term for determining if a book has potential for movie or television adaptation and if so, in what format.
• Hollywood Treatment – We will submit your book to a Hollywood production company where a treatment writer and credited Hollywood producer collaborate on a 7-10 page Treatment for your book. Treatments are the documents Hollywood insiders use to make purchasing/optioning decisions because they touch upon the major factors (genre, audience, characters, plot) while being quicker to read than a screenplay.
• Hollywood Screenplay - Using your book as adaptable material, a credited Hollywood producer and Hollywood screenwriter will ghost-write a Hollywood caliber screenplay for you in industry standard format and presentation. Screenplays vary in length depending upon format (movie/tv), genre, and content, but are typically 100-130 pages in length.

In all cases, exclusive efforts to option your material to Hollywood is immediately set into motion for your convenience.  Sound good?  Which option would you like to see first?

Self-publishing Outskirts Press author J.E. Hopkins challenges everything you thought you knew about vampires and the paranormal in “Lover’s Betrayal,” the first book in her Misfits of Lore series. Savvy, sexy and full of surprises, “Lover’s Betrayal” will keep you guessing right up to the shocking finale.

Vampire couple Olivia and Lucian were forced to separate nearly two centuries ago, but now a series of murders has brought them back together. Their task? To investigate who’s responsible for the grisly killings. And the prime suspect is none other than Olivia’s son, Kaden. For Olivia, the reunion brings back all the pain of their shattered love—a love she abandoned to marry another.

The decision held fateful consequences for herself and her troubled, warring sons. But her new mission also offers a chance at redemption as she risks everything to prove Kaden’s innocence—and put back together a fractured family before it’s too late.

Through it all, Olivia faces the seemingly unyielding hate of Lucian, a powerful leader of the Council, the enforcers of all immortals.

He’s determined to seek vengeance on Olivia and her son—but can his hatred withstand the love his heart can’t deny?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J.E. Hopkins published her first novel, The Broken, in 2007. She is a practicing attorney in New York and an avid fiction writer. Hopkins holds a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University and a Bachelor of Arts from New York University.For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/loversbetrayal.

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 Publishing Center.

Are you self publishing a book and looking to receive
marketing support and services like this?

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%.

Not yet a published author?