Posts filed under 'In the News'
A Novel in 31 Days: Preparing for National Novel Writing Month
Let’s talk about November, which you may know as National Novel Writing Month. That means you only have two more months to register at NaNoWriMo, and think about the novel you’ve always wanted to write.
But what is NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo.com is an innovative, yet fun approach to novel writing. Anyone can register for free, and join the thousands of others in your area who want to finish a novel. All participants begin writing Nov. 1, 2008, and try to write at a 50,000-word novel by midnight, Nov. 30, 2008.
Because of the limited writing window, the only thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and simply write. Reread, rewrite and revise later, but get your draft out in November.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
As you spend November writing, take comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows, taking breaks and heading to work in the morning. Wrimos in your area even meet throughout the month to offer encouragement and commiseration.
In 2007, they had over 100,000 participants. More than 15,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away as novelists.
Seriously think about entering. You have a passion for writing, and you may have a novel inside you. What’s the harm? Simply register, buckle down and churn out a book. Maybe your revision will take a few more months, but we just hope you’ll remember Wordclay when you’re finished.
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Add comment September 2, 2008
Branding Your Web Site: Maintaining Your Unique Voice on the Internet
Nowadays, promoting and selling your book means you need a strong Internet presence. Of course, you can start your own blog with WordPress, or you can create profiles in social networks like Myspace, Booksie or WOW! But in order to distinguish yourself, you’ll need your own author Web site.
Looking for free Web site design? Check out AuthorTree, or maybe even Weebly and Homestead for your options.
That said, once you’ve secured your Web site and your memorable domain name, you’ll need to establish your voice, generate content and insert images that all reflect your unique book and authorship. That’s what branding is all about – portraying a product (your book) in a catchy, yet informative away.
Here are some basic tips on how to brand an effective Web site:
- Know your audience, and design your site to meet their needs and desires.
- Think of their perspective when marketing your book and offering promotional opportunities.
- Genuinely engage real people within blogs, forums, e-mails and social networks.
- Avoid aggressive and silly copy that only seeks to sell.
- Increase your fan base with conversations that reflects your goals and voice.
- Research collaborations, partnerships and your target audience.
- Maintain a newsletter or mailing list, and consistently send updates.
- Post regularly within your own blogs and other relevant blogs.
- List all your reviews, contact information and testimonials on your site in a clear, concise manner.
Obviously, each Web site is different, and hence requires a unique brand mentality, but authors who follow the above guidelines should create sites that not only dazzle audience members, but attract new readers who could potentially buy more books!
This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.
Add comment August 26, 2008
The Price Is Right: Wordclay Compared to Their Major Self-Publishing Competitors
Greetings, Earthlings,
As a writer looking to self-publish your book, you probably want to know how Wordclay compares to the other major self-publishing companies. Good question. To find the answer to this question, typically you would have to scour the Internet for hours, trying to compare prices and services (if you can find them at all).
But we’ve done the legwork for you. After hours of meticulous research and number crunching, The Wordclay Blog Team welcomes you to our comprehensive guide to the major self-publishing companies currently printing successful titles.
Unfortunately, many potential authors find themselves drowning in cryptic self-publishing Web sites, struggling against vague currents of information and reaching for just a single, solid price estimation that you might not receive until after you sign a contract.
Wordclay, on the other hand, believes our company information should be as straightforward and available as possible. Publishing your book can play a major part in your future as a writer, and it’s only natural you want to be certain you’re choosing the right company.
In this guide, we’ve gathered the pricing, printing and promotional details of the major self-publishing companies today – think of this blog as your own personal fountain of publishing knowledge!
Wordclay
Wordclay provides free book self-publishing services for writers who want to take advantage of the DIY authorship approach. The printing cost for copies of your book is built into the selling price of your book, so the amount of royalties you earn is based on the price you select within the wizard.
For example, should you select a price of $16.00 for your standard 6”x9” paperback of 250 pages (costing $9.47 for printing materials per copy) each book sold would earn you $6.53 in royalties. Check out our pricing calculator located on the Wordclay Hompage to test other page counts and prices.
Wordclay is a DIY self-publisher who is focused on providing a simple and independent Internet publishing experience for authors. The Wordclay DIY self-publishing wizard formats manuscripts with astute precision. Almost instantly, a galley is rendered for approval. Full-color cover creation is included in this free DIY self-publishing tool.
Services like book distribution and marketing support are also available for purchase. Visit the Wordclay Self-Publishing Services Store for more details.
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LuLu.com
Like Wordclay, LuLu Publishing is a free Web-based self-publisher that allows you to upload your manuscript or albums for free and then generate a book (which you can purchase at your own convenience). While LuLu and Wordclay price their books fairly, allocating royalties that can range up to 80 percent of the retail price of your book, the major difference between the two are the range of professional services available.
LuLu has only recently (more…)
3 comments August 5, 2008
Good Vibes, Great Books at the Harlem Book Fair
Harlem Book Fair '08
Although the weather channel reported “baking hot” conditions in Harlem, NY for the 10th annual Harlem Book Fair, even Mother Nature couldn’t burn the phenomenal success of this event. Saturday, July 19 was the long awaited fair, a date clearly marked on the calendars of authors, publishers and vendors galore. Booklovers flocked to Harlem by the thousands to experience the thrill and energy of this celebration of literature and culture, myself included.
We were there to help launch HBF Publishers, a publishing company born from a partnership with the Harlem Book Fair and QBR The Black Book Review organizations and Author Solutions Inc., parent company of Wordclay, AuthorHouse and iUniverse. Officially launching at the fair, HBF Publishers is an ideal marriage of literary passion and state-of-the-art publishing technology.
“[HBF Publishers'] fundamental mission is to provide a unique and simple opportunity for African American authors to share their stories with the world. It’s that easy,” says Max Rodriguez, founder and president of the Harlem Book Fair and (more…)
1 comment July 31, 2008
The Evolution of the Book: E-Ink Technology Activating Content & Cover Images
Inserting typeset letters into a printing press only a few decades ago, who would have dreamed that the simple book would have evolved into devices like Amazon.com’s Kindle and now, with the coming publication of Esquire’s magazine cover equipped with E Ink technology, pages with active content and images that come to life?
If you’ve been reading about the future of print in the past few weeks, you’ve certainly come across the buzz around this new book technology. Can you imagine – tomorrow the images that grace the covers of our books will change, flash and even animate?
So this September, look out for the new issue of Esquire. Because the technology is still quite expensive, only 100,000 of the total 720,000 print run will be assembled by hand before hitting newsstands. Who knows where the E Ink covers will end up? Ironically, this blogger can’t help feeling a little like Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, searching for the golden ticket.
But should you notice any shifting images jumping out at you from a magazine in the coming months, you might want to snatch a copy before all of them wind up with collectors or housed in the Smithsonian.
Advocating the importance of “electronic print” for more than 11 years, E Ink has recently become popularized by producing the display technology for Amazon.com’s Kindle. Today, with the tiniest of batteries woven into the fabric of a book or magazine, their staff can create pages and covers that rotate, update and even change completely.
Each year, a new technological advance leads to a better engineered book and product package for authors. And I thought the development of print-on-demand technology that saved on paper, virtual inventories that saved space and book trailers that animated scenes from books on the Interest were exciting enough.
But there’s no end! There’s more coming!
We’re entering a whole new era of communication and technology, which will change the very trajectory of the book itself. Picture a newspaper that’s a simple plastic sheet constantly refreshed with new information. Imagine books downloaded instantaneous to your advanced Kindle machine in a wireless Internet café.
Hopefully, in the next few years, as the technology becomes affordable and widespread, more and more authors and editors with experiment with E Ink’s technology and the evolution of the book. And who knows? A few years from now, you may even see Wordclay offering E-Covers in our Services Store.
This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.
Add comment July 29, 2008
Books and Culture: 10th Annual Harlem Book Fair Held this Weekend in New York
The Harlem Book Fair celebration kicks off Friday, July 18 and concludes Sunday, July 20 at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York. But the main event, the huge outdoor book fair festival, will be held on Saturday, July 19, from 11 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on West 135th Street between Lenox Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard.
If you live in the area, or are up for a weekend getaway, I’ve heard that this is one event you’ll be sorry to miss. Authors, publishers, speakers, musicians and booklovers galore will flood the streets for a marathon of books and culture.
Publishers big and small will be in attendance, representing themselves and their authors. Self-published authors selling their own books will set up booths, hawking their story with bells on. Vendors slinging food and other trinkets will be in the mix, but mostly, there will be books – and lots of them.
But the Harlem Book Fair is more than a book fair, really; it’s a cultural event and celebration. It was born from the success of QBR The Black Book Review which, (more…)
2 comments July 17, 2008
The Wordclay Contest Winner’s Circle: Meet the Writers Who Wowed Our Judges
If you’re as curious as this blogger, then the announcement of the Single Short Story contest winners may have piqued your interest enough to visit Wordclay’s Contest Connection page and read excerpts from their stories.
But a simple read doesn’t always cut it – sometimes we want to know the writers behind the story. That said, I contacted them personally and asked for some background information to share with our readers.
So without further ado, meet Samantha Weiss (Grand Prize Winner) and Benjamin Solomon (Runner-up):
Samantha Weiss just graduated from MIT with a Bachelor’s degree in creative writing and chemical engineering. She completed Odyssey in the summer of 2007, one of the most highly respected workshops for writers of speculative fiction. She participates in Codex, a professional-level writers group, and is editing a book about professional athletes written by an author who coaches Olympic, all-pro NFL and NCAA athletes. This story, “Simulated in Black and White,” was part of the thesis work for her writing degree. At the moment, she is working as a chemical engineer in India.
What does Weiss have to say about Wordclay?
“I was introduced to Wordclay at a writers’ convention in New York, and was drawn to its reputation for being an unusually easy and affordable self-publishing option, and for having a capable and knowledgeable staff.”
Benjamin Solomon Lives in Atlanta, where he edits The Open Face Sandwich.
What does Solomon have to say about Wordclay?
“I have found Wordclay to be an excellent resource for DIY writers eager to take publication into their own hands.”
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Have a question for the winners about their writing process or inspiration? Submit your comment below, and I’m happy to forward your query onto them.
This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.
Add comment July 15, 2008
The Results Are Here: Wordclay Announces Short Story Contest Winners
After an extremely difficult selection process, our judges have convened, argued, read, reread, brewed coffee, read some more, and finally made their decisions.
Now, please join me in congratulating Wordclay’s Short Story Contest Winners!
…in the category of the Wordclay Single Short Story Contest
The Grand Prize goes to Samantha Weiss for the story, “Simulated in Black and White.”
The Runner-Up Prize goes to Benjamin Solomon for his story, “This Is Called Prowess.”
For a complete list of Finalists, you can now visit Wordclay’s Contest Connection or jump directly to the listed winners here.
All the Finalists, along with Weiss and Solomon, will be featured in the upcoming Wordclay short story anthology, titled Best Modern Voices: Words for the New Millennium: A Short Fiction Anthology.
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…and in the category of the Wordclay Short Story Colection Contest
The Grand Prize goes to Patricia Coble for her collection titled Legogote: Tales from the Bottom Township.
The Runner Up Prize goes to Anne Greenawalt for her collection titled Growing Up Girl.
Both Coble and Greenawalt’s books should be available within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for them at the Wordclay Bookstore.
Kudos to the winners and everyone who entered! If you weren’t selected this time around, you should definitely consider entering one of our upcoming contests (guidelines pending on Contest Connection).
This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.
1 comment July 11, 2008
We’ve Got Company: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Visits Author Solutions, Leader in Self-Publishing
Greetings, Earthlings.
Wordbot here, reporting on a wonderfully busy day at Wordclay, located in the Author Solutions‘ Bloomington, Ind. headquarters. Last Thursday, June 5, 2008, employees of Author Solutions Inc. bustled about in preparation of a most important announcement to a group of esteemed visitors: the members of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation chaired by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. CEO Kevin Weiss announced at the press conference that ASI plans to consolidate its Shanghai, China operations into its Bloomington, Ind. headquarters.
“We are so glad that this idea was born in our state, and that it is growing and thriving here,” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said of the growing self-publishing company.
Just read the press release distributed for a sense of the enthusiasm of those receiving the news:
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Visits Author Solutions Headquarters; “Self-Publishing Capital of the World”
Author Solutions Announces Consolidation of China Operations into Bloomington, Ind. Headquarters
Bloomingtion, Ind. June 10, 2008 — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Kevin Weiss, Author Solutions president and chief executive officer, announced jointly last Thursday the consolidation of ASI’s China operations into the company’s (more…)
Add comment June 10, 2008
A Publishing Company Planting Trees? It Ain’t Easy Being Green
Justin here, and today I’m announcing that our partnership with Trees for the Future has resulted in more than 500 trees planted in Moja Garena, Ethiopia, an area devastated by deforestation.
As you might recall, we pledged to plant a tree for every Wordclay book published in April, and two trees for books published on Earth Day, April 22. Fortunately, we published quite a few authors last month, and we were to make good on our word.
In honor of this achievement, Wordclay and our authors (notified via e-mail) received a snazzy certificate, but the real satisfaction comes from the locations and the people these trees help. The certificate is posted here, but you can view a copy on the Wordclay Bookstore Spotlight.
Just watch Trees for the Future documentary video with founder, Dave Deppner, if you’re curious about the settings your publication indirectly helped by our donation.
Truth be told, it’s difficult to conceive of an environmentally friendly publishing company without imagining a futuristic coffeehouse, where are the students are reading from their handheld digital books, paper now obsolete. You can definitely see movement toward these paperless technologies with print-on-demand virtual inventories and Amazon’s new wireless reading device Kindle, but we can hardly deny the substantial paper consumption by publishing and printing companies alike.
Wordclay understands its paper consumption and carbon emission shortcomings, but we also want to ensure the future of our planet’s health as well as the future of book publishing. (more…)
Add comment May 30, 2008
