SELF PUBLISHING NEWS

Easter & National Poetry Month Greeting Cards for Self-Publishing Authors

outskirtspress — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:52:14 +0000

Easter is April 4th, 2010 and April is National Poetry Month. Want to send out an Easter or National Poetry Month mailing to promote your book? Outskirts Press now offers personal and customized Easter and National Poetry Month Greeting Cards, featuring your published book!

Greeting cards are 4.25”x 6” on Premium 14 pt. gloss cover stock. These cards are full color, front and back, and scored for easy folding. The front of the card recognizes the occasion. The inside-left of the card highlights your single book, along with the title, the author name, the cover image, and the webpage address. The inside-right of the card is blank so that you can personalize each card with a handwritten message before folding and mailing them in the included white envelopes.

Greeting cards come in quantities of 250. Outskirts Press authors can also order Custom US First Class Postal Stamps to send out these promotional mailings. Both of these optional marketing products can easily and conveniently be added from the Marketing Options screen of their author’s center.

*Production, printing and shipping can take up to 3-4 weeks. Order now to allow plenty of time to receive your cards for a timely holiday promotional mailing.

** The interior image in the example features “Sell Your Book on Amazon.” Details and cover image will be replaced by the details and cover image for your book.

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Self Publishing Book Spotlight: The Dung Beetle Manager

outskirtspress — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:39:03 +0000

Scott Dunlap’s The Dung Beetle Manager, published by Outskirts Press, uses the world of dung beetles to entertain its readers with a view of the office which will forever change the way they look at the American workforce. Scott’s “Brown” Management Model is a cleverly conceived, amusing metaphor for the workplace which also offers up far more grains of truth than might be expected from the world of dung.

A veteran of a distinguished 24 year career in civil service and a holder of degrees in Applied Economics and Business Administration, Scott Dunlap was contemplating the immense amount of corporate, executive and political bull that is left around the workplace when he remembered his upbringing in farm country in Walnut Ridge Arkansas and his childhood observation of a solitary dung beetle making its way out of a cow patty. “The perfect metaphor for the dynamics of corporate and public sector America and the modern workforce” he realized.So was born this entertaining look at the executives, the managers and the workers among the ranks of the 150 million men and women who currently make up the American workforce. The more Scott explored the metaphor of work as a landscape littered with dung populated by a myriad of dung beetles, the more apt he realized it was. The Dung Beetle Manager and his “Brown” Management Model is the culmination of the funny, yet insightful conclusions he has drawn from his experience and applying the tools of those masterfully efficient cleaners.

Scott explores the tasks and tribulations of executives, managers and workers, but his management model is particularly designed for managers to master the essential rules of dung, recognizing the many different types of dung strewn about the workplace, sometimes carelessly, sometimes intentionally, and, finally, understanding the nature of dung beetles themselves.

With these newly acquired “Brown” Management skills, Scott suggests that any competent dung beetle manager will be able to clean up and cope with the widespread managerial mess of corporate and public sector dung that is heaped on the workforce every day, or, at least have a good laugh while trying to work through it.

For any members of the corporate or public sector world frustrated by the way things work and do not work, The Dung Beetle Manager should provide a refreshingly entertaining and rewarding look at their workday world

About the Author:

Scott W. Dunlap is a native of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. He holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Economics from the University of Central Florida and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Columbia College. His distinguished 24 year career in civil service resulted in many innovations and improvements in training, education and information technology programs for the U. S. Navy.

He and his wife, Robin, currently live in central Florida.

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

This author purchased the Book Blast, 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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Personal Marketing Assistance for Self-Publishing Authors

outskirtspress — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:53:13 +0000

Successfully marketing a book can be a lot of work. A Personal Marketing Assistant is ideal for authors who want marketing assistance that is personal and specific. The Outskirts Press Personal Marketing Assistant is available to work with authors to promote your book in accordance with your plan and goals.The Personal Marketing Assistant will correspond with you to arrive upon a marketing action plan. You will agree upon the specific tactics that will be taken which may include things like soliciting book reviews, contacting local bookstores, completing the verbiage on an author’s webpage, improving your Amazon tactics, or any number of tasks.

Meet one of the Outskirts Press Personal Marketing Assistants:

Melanie Solomon is the author of an Amazon bestseller, AA Not The Only Way– Your One Stop Resource Guide To 12-Step Alternatives. As a writer and lecturer, Melanie Solomon has taught at the Huntington Beach School District’s Drug and Alcohol Program and has spoken at The Learning Annex in California. She graduated with honors from the University of Michigan.

Testimonial from John Young, author of Kill Dress:

As a brand spanking new author, my first novel (Kill Dress) was very successful due to the exceptional efforts of Outskirts Press and my Personal Marketing Assistant, Melanie. It has been an awesome journey in terms of writing a novel. I had no idea what being an author entailed. However, my hand was held all along the way by Outskirts Press and my Personal Marketing Assistant. Melanie has been invaluable to me. She patiently explained the marketing process and included me on tons of social sites where I can access and promote my novel. The services offered by Outskirts Press are second to none. I have already started the sequel to Kill Dress, and you can be sure that I will be requesting my outstanding Personal Marketing Assistant again! Outskirts Press rocks!!!

The Personal Marketing Assistant is available as an a-la-carte option or as part of the Book Blast package where authors can save 25% on 5 powerful marketing services to blast their book into the stratosphere! Outskirts Press authors can easily and conveniently add the Personal Marketing Assistant option or the Book Blast package at any time from the Marketing Options screen of the author’s center. Outskirts Press has a team of Personal Marketing Assistants ready to help you in your book promotion efforts today!

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Leading Self-Publishing Company Makes a Case For Previously Published Authors

outskirtspress — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:49:15 +0000

Outskirts Press, an Inc. 500 self-publishing company, invites new and established authors to “fall in love with publishing again” this February with a new promotion.

February 2, 2010. Denver, Colorado – Outskirts Press, an Inc. 500 company and the fastest-growing self-publishing and book marketing company, today invites new and previously-published authors to “fall in love with publishing all over again.” A special February promotion offering twice as many free author’s copies on select publishing packages seals the deal with a kiss.

“It is difficult being a writer today and having so many choices,” concedes Outskirts Press CEO Brent Sampson. “Authors who may have published previously are sometimes disillusioned about their experience. And authors who are still considering their options are often struck with a form of ‘paralysis’ out of fear of making the ‘wrong choice.’ This February, we want all authors to fall in love with publishing, like so many of our authors have.”

Authors who have previously published may experience an array of improvements when republishing their book(s) with Outskirts Press. Depending upon the previous publisher, these new benefits may include:

Authors keep 100% of their rights
Authors keep 100% of their author royalties
Authors receive below-wholesale pricing on their own books
Authors receive Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Ingram availability all at the same price
Authors can receive Marketing COACH assistance for up to two years following publication

For authors with a manuscript to publish (or republish) in February, the choice becomes easier with the announcement of the “Fall in Love in February” publishing promotion. Authors who assign their Outskirts Press production team to help them with their book in February will receive twice as many free author’s copies of their book upon publication. The necessary promotion code is: LOVEx2

”With so many choices, it is too easy to make no choice at all,” continues Sampson. “But if you’re a writer and want be published, the only truly wrong choice is doing nothing. As Wayne Gretzky said, ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.’”

Visit http://outskirtspress.com/monthly_promotion.html for all the promotion details and to hear from a successfully published author.

About Outskirts Press, Inc.:

Outskirts Press, Inc., an Inc. 500 company, offers full-service, custom self-publishing and book marketing services for writers, entrepreneurs and other professionals who are seeking a cost-effective, fast, and flexible way to publish and distribute their books worldwide while retaining 100% of their rights, 100% of their royalties, and 100% of the 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

Indie Book Awards for Self-Publishing Authors

outskirtspress — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:01:05 +0000

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards submission service through Outskirts Press is open for any English-language book with a copyright date of 2009.

When ordering this submission service through your author’s center, we will handle all the details, including form completion, applicable entry fee, all requisite copies of your book, etc. We will choose the most applicable category for entry from among the 60 choices available (listed at the bottom of this posting).

Outskirts Press published authors can order this award submission service conveniently from the author’s center by choosing the Indie Book Awards Full Submission Service from the Marketing Options screen.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER NOW

Hurry! The deadline for order is February 12. Remember, your book must have a 2009 copyright date and be in English to be eligible.

Awards given to the Finalists and Winners of the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards are:

$1,500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the best Fiction Book
$1,500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the best Non-Fiction Book
$750 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the second best Fiction Book
$750 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the second best Non-Fiction Book
$500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the third best Fiction Book
$500 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the third best Non-Fiction Book
$250 Cash Prize and trophy awarded to the Best Cover Design Book entry
$100 Cash Prize (NEW THIS YEAR!) and a Gold Medal awarded to the winner of each of the 60 categories
Finalist Medals will be awarded to up to three finalists in each of the 60 categories

Finalists and Winners will also receive:

A listing in the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Catalog which will be distributed to book buyers, media, and others!
Exposure for a full year as a Winner or Finalist at www.IndieBookAwards.com. View a list of 2009 Winners and Finalists.
The opportunity to display Finalist or Winner gold award stickers on your book.
Other benefits of an award-winning book (such as potential increased revenue).

PLUS, the top 60 books will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen O’Shea Literary Agency or one of Ms. Allen’s co-agents for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights, and other rights (unless an entrant prefers not to have the book forwarded to an agent). Ms. Allen has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience, including serving as Senior Vice President, Associate Publisher, and Director of Marketing for Harper Collins and directing sales and marketing teams for Simon & Schuster, Penguin Books and Avon Books. Ms. Allen has had the pleasure of working with many best-selling authors including Stephen King, Ken Follett, Barbara Kingsolver, John Gray, Mary Higgins Clark, and many more.

All Finalists and Winners for the 2010 Indie Book Awards will be selected and notified in May.

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Additional Categories

Best Cover Design – Fiction
Best Cover Design – Non-Fiction
Best Overall Design

E-book Categories

E-book – Fiction
E-book – Non-Fiction

Self Publishing Author Spotlight – Andrew Rafkin

outskirtspress — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:05:59 +0000

Self-Published Author Wins Triple Crown in Readers Favorite Book Awards

Veteran Outskirts Press author Andrew J. Rafkin recently swept an entire category in the 2009 Readers Favorite Book Awards by winning all three awards — the Gold, the Silver and the Bronze – for three of his action/adventure novels.

The prolific Californian author and avid boating and fishing enthusiast took the three top honors in action and adventure fiction for his novels Mexican Madness (the Gold), Mediterranean Madness (the Silver) and Creating Madness (the Bronze), each featuring O.R.C.A. retired Navy Seal, Commander Reef Johansen. Remarkably, a fourth book of his, Red Sky Morning, also published by Outskirts Press, was a Readers Favorite finalist in the non-fiction, autobiography category.

Readers Favorite was founded by Debra Gaynor to help authors with honest reviews of their work and to assist them in obtaining more recognition and exposure through a respected book contest.

“We appreciate the loyalty our serial authors like Andrew J. Rafkin have shown to Outskirts Press and attribute their continuing faith in us to the high quality service we provide them, both in printing their books and in marketing them to the level of success that award-winning authors like Andrew J. Rafkin deserve,” said Outskirts Press Director of Author Support, Kelly Schuknecht.

Besides author Rafkin’s four medals, twenty other books by Outskirts Press authors won awards in the 2009 Readers Favorite contest, too.

“We are incredibly proud of our authors,” Kelly Schuknecht went on to say, “and are so pleased when their accomplishments are acknowledged by awards like these from Readers Favorite. It’s no wonder that more and more award-winning authors are choosing Outskirts Press for their publishing and marketing needs.”

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4 Top Book Marketing Strategies

outskirtspress — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:19:55 +0000

In the continuing effort to further support self-published authors, here are four recommended book marketing strategies:

1. Add an Amazon Kindle Edition

No matter where you publish, or in what genre you write, you must have a Kindle edition of your book. This is especially true if you write and publish fiction. Finally, the Kindle has resolved the age-old concern that non-fiction is easier to sell.

Want proof? Right now, the top 2 best-selling books published by Outskirts Press are fiction books:

New: Now with a Kindle edition, your book can be available on the iPhone! Is the iPhone the “killer-app” the e-book market needs? Perhaps, and in the 4th quarter of 2009, Amazon took a big step in that direction by providing the free Kindle App through the iTunes store. With your Kindle Edition, your book is immediately available for sale on the #1 best-selling product on Amazon (the Kindle) and on the #1 best-selling mobile phone (the iPhone). How valuable is that?

Bonus for published Outskirts Press authors: You keep 100% of your profits from Amazon for your Kindle edition, even if you have us create and submit your Kindle edition for you. You can add the Kindle edition (with iPhone availability) conveniently by clicking here (and save 10% with the Promotion Code: RELAUNCH10).

2. Create a Book Video Trailer

Enter the 21st Century with Book Video Trailers, which are like Hollywood-movie trailers for your book. Depending upon where you publish, a book video can cost anywhere from a few hundred to many thousands of dollars, so do your research when you are picking your publisher.

Equally important is the level of online social networking and video distribution that comes with your video package. Yes, having a book video trailer is important, and uploading it to your author webpage is nice. But to really leverage the power of the Internet, your book video needs to be linked and viewable from all the major social and video networking sites, like:

YouTube
MySpace
Facebook
Twitter
…to name just a few…

It doesn’t matter how you go about getting a book video trailer made, and how you go about distributing it, just as long as you make it a part of your overall book marketing strategy. The Outskirts Press Book Video Trailer & Distribution option for our authors includes the creation of a Hollywood-style book video along with distribution to all those video venues listed above, plus others. Here’s an example of a book video trailer for a full-color, fully-illustrated book from Outskirts Press:

Bonus for published Outskirts Press authors: You can save 10% on the Book Video Trailer option by clicking here and entering the Promotion Code: RELAUNCH10 in your shopping cart.

3. Add an Audio Excerpt to iTunes

Speaking of the iPhone and iTunes, it is equally important that you have an audio file distributed through iTunes that either discusses your book or features an audio sample of someone reading from your book. By submitting the audio file through RSS distribution and iTunes with keywords, you increase the chances of potential customers learning about your book (or even stumbling accidentally upon it) in a wide variety of venues and platforms.

For example, select Outskirts Press authors have the option of adding the Enhanced Audio Excerpt with iTunes Distribution. This optional marketing service offers a two to three minute audio recording of a section from the author’s book, recorded by book marketing guru and Blog Talk Radio host Sally Shields. Not only is this option ideal for authors who may not like the sound of their own voice, but the Enhanced Audio Excerpt is distributed and syndicated just like a Podcast, which includes availability on multiple content sites, including iTunes.

Published Outskirts Press authors can save 10% on the Enhanced Audio Excerpt option right now and receive a free 30-minute telephone marketing consultation with Sally Shields. Order from your Author’s Center by clicking here and enter the the Promotion Code: RELAUNCH10 in your shopping cart.

4. Complete a media kit, marketing plan, and promotional schedule – Put it all on a CD that you can mail to the press

Recognizing the value and necessity of live, 1-on-1 marketing consultation, Outskirts Press has also added the free 30-minute marketing call to its CD Media/Press Kit option. The Outskirts Press Personal Marketing Assistant can now help published Outskirts Press authors complete their personalized marketing plans and promotional calendars to be included in the customized CD Media/Press Kits.

Included on the CD are a professionally written press release, an author biography and book summary, a marketing plan and promotional calendar, a high-resolution author image (if provided by the author), and a secure e-book edition of the book.

Even if you have published elsewhere, a media/press kit is an important component to an overall book marketing strategy. If you cannot produce a professional, customized CD like the one available for Outskirts Press authors, at least put the necessary elements on your author webpage.

Published Outskirts Press authors can save 10% on their custom CD Media/Press Kit and receive a free 30-minute telephone consultation with a Personal Marketing Assistant when they enter Promotion Code:RELAUNCH10 at the time of ordering the CD Media/Press Kit.

The 10% discount code for these options will expire in February, so now is the time to order from your secure Author’s Center
by clicking here.

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Self Publishing Author talks about Baseball, Swapping Wives and Cancer

outskirtspress — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:25:05 +0000

Fritz Peterson, author of Mickey Mantle Is Going To Heaven (Outskirts Press), well known in baseball history for “swapping wives,” was recently interviewed by Ron Kaplan.

In his interview, Peterson talks about playing baseball for the New York Yankees, writing his memoirs, surviving cancer and his sequel with the working title, “Joe DiMaggio is Going to Hell.”

Read more and listen to the interview on Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf here:

Now Hear This: Fritz Peterson

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Self-Published Authors Now Get More Bang for Their Book Marketing Buck with Four Improved Promotional Services Offered By Outskirts Press

outskirtspress — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:20:09 +0000

In its continuing effort to further support self-published authors, leading self-publishing and book marketing company Outskirts Press has increased the value of 4 different book marketing services for its authors – without increasing the costs — by adding professional marketing consultations, new social networking channels, and more.

January 26, 2010 – Denver, CO – Outskirts Press, an Inc. 500 company and the fastest growing self-publishing and book marketing company, today announced it has greatly improved four of its popular book marketing services for its growing family of self-published authors. The CD Media Kit, Enhanced Audio Excerpt, Book Video, and Amazon Kindle Edition options by have each been expanded to bring more benefits without additional cost.

Recognizing the value and necessity of live, 1-on-1 marketing consultation, Outskirts Press has also added the 30-minute marketing call to the Enhanced Audio Excerpt option at no additional cost. The Enhanced Audio Excerpt offers a two to three minute audio recording of a section of an author’s book, recorded by book marketing guru and Blog Talk Radio host Sally Shields. Not only is this option ideal for authors who may not like the sound of their own voice, but the Enhanced Audio Excerpt is distributed and syndicated just like a Podcast, which includes availability on multiple content sites, including iTunes.

The CD Media Kit already offered by Outskirts Press includes a customized CD-ROM that authors can use to promote their book. Included on the CD are a professionally written press release, an author biography and book summary, a marketing plan and promotional calendar, an author image, and a secure e-book edition of the book. Now each CD Media Kit option includes a valuable thirty minute phone consultation with an Outskirts Press Personal Marketing Assistant, to help the author develop their marketing plan and promotional calendar to be included in the CD-ROM.

“After their marketing consultation, now our authors can hit the ground running with a full understanding of how to use their CD Media Kit and/or Enhanced Audio Excerpt to support the successful marketing of their book,” stated Outskirts Press Director of Author Support, Kelly Schuknecht.

The Book Video Trailer option offered by Outskirts Press has also been improved with no additional charge to the author to feature a newer, cutting-edge style, and now includes social networked links through Facebook and Twitter. Outskirts Press Book Video Trailers are approximately one minute in length, professionally produced like a Hollywood movie trailer, and are embedded on the author’s own Outskirts Press webpage as well as distributed to YouTube, Metacafe, MySpace and a host of other online video outlets.

Outskirts Press books can now be available on the iPhone, thanks to the free Kindle application for the iPhone, currently one of the hottest apps on iTunes. With the Outskirts Press Amazon Kindle Edition option, Outskirt Press is able to take advantage of Amazon’s own increased promotional services so that Outskirt Press books with Amazon Kindle editions are now available on the iPhone and iPod Touch as well as through Amazon’s regular on-line store. This announcement also comes with an improvement in the formatting and conversion processes conducted on Outskirts Press books to ensure their Kindle editions are among the best in the business.

For more details about these and other services offered by Outskirts Press, read the publishing newsletter at http://outskirtspress.com/newsletters

About Outskirts Press, Inc,: Outskirts Press, Inc. offers full-service, custom self-publishing and book marketing 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

Co-Op Advertising Opportunity for Self-Publishing Authors

outskirtspress — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:18:54 +0000

ForeWord Magazine is a bi-monthly journal that is delivered to librarians, booksellers, agents, and other industry professionals. Additionally, ForeWord is sent directly to small press buyers at the chains (B&N, Borders, Chapters, Books-A-Million, etc). ABA’s Booksense also requests 500 copies of each issue for delivery direct to their members. ForeWord Magazine also is placed in the hands of agents and editors at larger houses, who may be looking for leads to bring into their fold from the small press sector. All told, the ForeWord circulation is approximately 85% librarians, 12% bookstores, and 3% publishing professionals.
Now you can reach this influential readership with a Co-Op advertisement. Outskirts Press handles all the details for its authors. Co-Op Advertising allows you to secure premium, full-color exposure for your book in a high-quality trade publication for a minimal amount of money. Your book will occupy a 2″ x 2.5″ space along with 11 other Outskirts Press titles within a full-color, full-page ad. Your ad space will include a full color cover image, an abbreviated synopsis, the ISBN, and retail price. All books will include retail and wholesale ordering information. Here’s a sample of the Outskirts Press full page, full color author co-op ad in ForeWord Magazine:

HOW TO ORDER:

To get more information and reserve your space in a ForeWord Co-Op Ad, sign-in to your author’s center. Outskirts Press published authors can order this option conveniently at any time. Reservations for Outskirts Press published authors are taken on a first-come first-served basis based upon receipt of payment.

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