Guys Lit Wire and Library Talks

In the infinite search to expand my own knowledge (and help others) about literature and/or the publishing industry, I came across a fantastic new blog that I will now be following. It is called Guys Lit Wire, and it focuses primarily on YA (young adult) literature geared towards boys, a niche that is often hard to fill. Check out this site for some great book reviews, links, and insight into literature for boys- great for those writing for that population or for high school/ junior high teachers.

On a personal note, John just completed a small New Hampshire tour. While he sold well at a signing at a Borders, this appearance proved a little uncomfortable for him. As an author who is not yet widely known, he couldn't draw people in merely on his name. Although some advertising was done, he found himself sitting in the Borders having to play the salesman to customers, which is not a position in which he is comfortable. Far more profitable and comfortable were the book talks at libraries, where he was able to both sell books and talk to interested parties about both his writing work and self-publishing. So, for my POD or self-publishing followers, or even those who have done traditional publishing through smaller publishing, try to tap out your local or regional libraries to host book talks and promote your work in the process. You can bring copies of your books with to sign and sell after the talk.

New Podler Update

I wanted to publish this comment to my previous post entitled "The New Podler" to make sure Podler's policies are clear to all readers of my blog:

Podler said...
The Podler does not charge for reviews. The site will experiment with advertising as a way to bring in some money and hopefully be able to pay reviewers who decide to join in the future.

You may also go to their website: http://thenewpodlerreviews.blogspot.com for more information on the group, their reviews, the submission process, etc., and also look specifically at the post entitled "Policy Matters," which addressed the debate/ confusion over charging for reviews that occurred in the past week.

The New Podler

Once again, for those of you who have self-published, there are many great resources available for getting your book reviewed. It can be difficult to get a self-published book reviewed. Many reviewers are overwhelmed with standard published books already and will not want to take a chance on a self-published book. In addition, many reviewers want to review books before they are released to the public; another dilemma for the self-publisher. I have written before about PODBRAM, but today Steven Reynolds wrote a review for John's book for The New Podler Review of Books. You can check out their website and book reviews at http://thenewpodler.blogspot.com. Unfortunately, The New Podler will now be charging self-published writers to review their books. Steven Reynolds has chosen to longer write for them since that is the case, although he is also cutting back on his reviews in order to have time for his own reading-for-pleasure list! You can read many of his reviews on Amazon as well, where he is a ranked reviewers.

For those of you who have done some sort of self-publishing, I would encourage you to look into the various organizations dedicated to reviewing self-published books so that you can get some objective book reviews.

PODIOBOOKS

Over the weekend, at a bbq of all places, I learned about a most interesting site that I will definitely be checking out with John, my author, and that I would highly recommend to authors and aspiring authors.

It's called Podiobooks, and it is a site where authors can upload podcasts of their books for free. All you need is a good microphone and your computer. You can upload however you choose- short stories, books by chapter, new writing yet to be published, etc. It's a great advertising mechanism or way to "get the word out", and you can also track who is following your podcast!

The site is http://www.podiobooks.com

PODBRAM Review on Amazon

I would encourage all new writers looking for book reviews to consider PODBRAM- a blog devoted to reviewing self-published books. John just received a 4-star, well-written review from one of PODBRAM's reviewers, Dr. Al Past, on Amazon. Hopefully, the review will also make it to their website: http://podbram.blogspot.com

Self-Publishing Review

New link for those looking for reviews for self-published books!

www.selfpublishingreview.com

Book Reviews and Book Talks

The Local Author talk at the Book Cellar went well, though the group was a bit mixed. John presented with 2 authors, and one wrote on Buddhism, which meant that many questions during the Q & A had to do with Buddhism questions, rather than writing questions, though he did garner a lot of interest in the action-oriented passages of his book and their adaptability for film. I wonder if this is a common dilemma for writers on panels when they are not perfectly grouped with other authors (topically).

On a secondary note, we have been successful in beginning to get his book reviewed through some online reviewers for POD or self-published books. For those looking respectable online reviewers of self-published books, here are some that I found:

The New Podler Reviews: http://thenewpodlerreviews.blogspot.com

PODBRAM: http://podbram.blogspot.com