Netflix-ify Your Reading Library

Oyster logo courtesy of Oyster.com

If Netflix offers a monthly subscription service for TV shows and movies, and Spotify offers the same for music, so it's only natural that a monthly subscription service for book exists, too. In fact, there are three subscription book services vying for your attention.

On Friday, Amazon launched Kindle Unlimited which allows readers unlimited access to over 600,000 e-books and audiobooks for $9.99 per month. Oyster, founded in September 2013, offers a nearly identical service: For $9.95 a month, you will have unlimited access to over 500,000 books, and Scribd's subscription service, released only a month later, offers a 400,000 title collection for $8.99 a month.

Will Oyster and Scribd survive the unveiling of the Kindle Unlimited?

Libraries for each service include a great mix of titles from multiple genres – literary and young adult fiction, to mysteries and thrillers, to sports books, political science, history, business, children’s books and more.

Authors: you can have your publisher request that your books are offered through Oyster. Scribd also offers numerous services for writers.  Kindle Unlimited's web site does not currently provide information for authors, though it's likely they make deals directly with publishers.

All three services offers apps for both Android and iOS users, and Kindle owners can continue to use their Kindles. The Oyster app was rated as one of the best apps for 2013, and Scribd has also received social media awards. For fun, check out the clever infographic Oyster created to break down the stats of readers using Android vs. iOS systems.

As a book lover, and an avid reader of e-books and audiobooks, these services excite me! The books I read are typically $9.99 for Kindle books, and closer to $15 for paperbacks. I could read a book a week (when I’m not reading textbooks for school). At that rate, I could easily save $30-$45 per month on reading material with either service.

As a teacher, the site further excites me because it can give students access to many books for much cheaper than they might normally pay. I wish these apps existed when I was an undergrad English major!

Oyster app courtesy of Oyster.com

Other than any shortcomings normally associated with e-book reading, I can only think of one potential downfall of this system: not having time to read at least $10 worth of books per month while in school or _____________(fill in any of your activities that eat away at your reading time).

But, to me, that just sounds like motivation to keep reading.

If you want to try Oyster, use this link. If you sign up using that link, you and I both get $15 reading credit. Otherwise, you can sign up through Oyster’s homepage and get a one-month free trial.

Go here for more about Scribd.

Use this link to check out Kindle Unlimited.

Written by Anne Greenawalt, writer and writing instructor

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3 comments Anne Greenawalt, e-books, Oyster, reading apps

Publisher Controversy: Random House in the Hot Seat

Random House in the Hot Seat (iBrotha Flickr.com)

I'm not sure if you've been following the controversy over Random House's new digital-only lines: Hydra, Alibi, Loveswept, and Flirt. Writers have been up in arms because no advance was being offered on these books, like with Random House print authors, and also because copies and other miscellaneous expenses were going to be taken out of the author's royalties. When I first heard about it, I was reading a discussion on the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) listserve I belong to, and the argument was mostly with Hydra and whether or not a book published with this imprint would qualify a writer to belong to the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America). It turns out the way the Hydra contract was originally written an author was not eligible for SFWA membership.

The good news is that Random House has buckled under the pressure from the writers (YAY!), and they have revised the contract. They didn't give in 100 percent, but they now offer two different models of payment, and one of these offers an advance.

Authors and others in the publishing world who were up in arms seem to be happy with Random House's changes and have said so on blogs and Twitter. To read fully everything that has been going on, you should visit Writer Beware.

What I was hoping to discuss with Muffin readers today is this whole notion of having to get an advance in order to be considered "professional" enough to belong to a writing association. And in some of the blogs I read about this issue, they said that authors weren't taking themselves seriously if they didn't demand an advance. John Scalzi, an author with a popular blog, even said that we should question publishers that can't offer advances and wonder if we will ever get paid our royalties.

So, I'm sitting at my computer in St. Louis, thinking, Well, golly gee, I have three books under contract and am not going to get advances on any of them. I was super excited to get royalties and someone wanting to publish them. I think it helps me with my writing goals of doing school visits, teacher workshops, and teaching online classes. Plus, I like small and regional publishers, and I think they often don't offer advances to an author the first time they work with her or him. And I take myself and my work seriously.

What do you all think about this? If you have a book, did you get an advance? Was it hard to meet your advance? Did you feel pressure? If you aren't published yet, will take a contract without an advance? Would love to hear from you on this issue! 

Margo Dill is the author of Finding My Place: One Girl's Strength at Vicksburg (White Mane Kids, 2012) and writes a blog at http://margodill.com/blog/.  She teaches online classes for WOW! See her classes here.

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8 comments advances, e-books, Margo L. Dill, Random House, royalties, writer's contracts

Karen Berner, author of A Whisper to a Scream, launches her blog tour

& book giveaway contest!

Does it drive you crazy to happen upon the third or fourth book in a fabulous series? You love the book but aren't sure if you're "getting" it all. Who are these people? Why do they keep talking about landscaping or Shakespeare or pineapples? Well, today's your chance to get in on the ground floor of an up-and-coming book series the Bibliophiles with Book One: A Whisper to a Scream. Don't miss it...Book Two will be released early next year!

How are friendships created? Shared history. Common interests. Membership in the same community, whether it be an actual community, a work community, even the "we ride on the same commuter train every morning" community. What if the only tenuous tie binding you together was a once a month meeting at a Classics Book Club? Could you create a friendship? Could you confide the secrets in your heart...even if you each want what the other has?

In A Whisper to a Scream, Annie and Sarah are two women who become unlikely friends after both joining a book club. For a long time each of them has held secret wishes in her heart, just whispers really. But those secret wishes have been growing more and more insistent, the call to change her life screams to each woman. Can these polar opposites help each other decide whether to choose new lives or settle for the old familiar ways?

Paperback: 278 pages (and e-formats)
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN-10: 145659365X
ISBN-13: 978-1456593650
Twitter Hashtag: #Bibliophiles1

A Whisper to a Scream, the first book in the Bibliophiles series is available for purchase in both print and e-formats at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Book Giveaway Contest: If you would like to win a copy of A Whisper to a Scream, please leave a comment at the end of this post to be entered in the random drawing. The giveaway contest closes this Thursday, December 15 at 11:59 pm PST. For an extra entry, link to this post on Twitter with the hashtag #Bibliophiles1, then come back and leave us a link to your tweet. We will announce the winner in the comments section of this post on the following day Friday, December 16. Good luck!

About the Author:

Karen Wojcik Berner lives a provincial life tucked away with her family in the Chicago suburbs. It was good enough for Jane Austen, right? However, dear Miss Austen had the good fortune to be born amid the glorious English countryside, something Karen unabashedly covets, so much so that she majored in English and communications at Dominican University. Like the magnificant Miss Austen, Karen could not help but write about the Society that surrounds her.

A book lover ever since she could hold one in her chubby little toddler hands, Karen wanted to announce to the world just how much she loves the written word. She considered getting a bibliophile tattoo but instead decided to write about the lives of the members of a suburban Classics Book Club. The series is called, of course, the Bibliophiles.

When she isn't reading, writing, or spending her time wishing she was Jane Austen, Karen can be found sipping tea or wine--whichever is more appropriate that day--and watching Tim Burton movies or "Chopped" her favorite foodie TV show.

Find the Author Online:
Author Website: http://www.karenberner.com/books.html

Author Blog: http://karenwojcikberner.blogspot.com

---------Interview by Jodi Webb

WOW: Your book that is touring with WOW, A Whisper to a Scream, is the first book in your Bibliophiles series--stories of a group of people who belong to the same Classics Book Club. Tell us which came first, the idea for the book or the series?

Karen: The idea for A Whisper to a Scream (The Bibliophiles: Book One) came first. A very vivid dream I could not shake became Annie's plot of a PR executive dealing with a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. A few days later, the idea of an overwhelmed stay-at-home mom (Sarah) came to me in the shower, probably because it was the only time I had two minutes to myself since my kids were very young at the time. I'm sure many of you can relate.

A wanted to bring Sarah and Annie together somehow and, being an English major, could not resist doing so through a book club. While I was writing I fell in love with the book club members--I couldn't help myself. I decided to make it a series and write each of their stories.

WOW: Wow, pretty ambitious to decide to write a series when your only free time was in the shower! How old were your kids when you conceived the idea for the Bibliophiles and how long did it take you to get from the shower to the bookstore?

Karen: My kids were eight and two. I had taken some time off from freelancing to be a stay-at-home mom once my youngest was born, but when I got this idea, I couldn't help but write. All totaled, it took five years to write and edit Whisper, then another five years before I decided to release it as an e-book.

WOW: Your series is different from most. Usually the same character "stars" in book after book, perhaps a private detective solving crimes. In your series a different book club member or members are the "stars" of each book. Does developing new characters for each book make it easier or more challenging to write this series?

Karen: There will be six novels in the Bibliophiles series. I have notes and some scenes written for all of them. Developing the backstory for each character is great fun. The novels all have a different feel, yet each of the main characters eventually ends up in Naperville joining the classics book club. I hear former Talking Heads' frontman David Byrne in my head a lot, "You may say to yourself: Well, how did I get here?"

For me, featuring a different character [in] each book is the best of both worlds. I can pursue various story lines without being tied down to one main character, while still revisiting old favorites throughout the series.

WOW: Although A Whisper to a Scream is now available in paperback and e-book, you originally released it only as an e-book. Can you tell us why you chose that path?

Karen: I originally released A Whisper to a Scream (The Bibliophiles: Book One) as an e-book to test the waters, to throw it out there and see if it stuck. I was a novice in the whole e-publishing world and used my first year to learn all I could about that universe.

Later on, people kept telling me they had wanted to read the book, but did not have e-reader devices, so I released the paperback version a little over a year later.

I think it is smart to cover all of your markets. Although e-reader devices are a growing market, there are still hold outs who love the smell and feel of physical books. And that's okay. There is room for everyone.

When my second book comes out in the spring of 2012, both forms will be available on the same day.

WOW: Tell us about your experience with e-publishing. Any surprises?

Karen: Releasing A Whisper to a Scream (The Bibliophiles: Book One) was a learning experience, that is for sure. It was relatively easy, especially with publishing platforms like Kindle Direct publishing and PubIt. Originally, I did my own formatting, which was a mistake. I re-released with a professionally designed cover and interior, which made a huge difference in the quality of my product, which, in turn, raised sales.

The major advantage of e-copies is the sales statistics. Right now, I am selling seven times more e-books than paperbacks. Some industry estimates put the average ratio as high as 10:1 or more.

In the beginning, it was next to impossible to get any local media for an e-book. Same for reviewers, most of whom did not have e-readers at the time. A lot has changed. I'd say it is about 50/50 now. Press for indie authors is still an uphill battle, though, and probably will be for quite some time.

WOW: That's fascinating info, Karen! It's always great to hear from authors in the self-publishing trenches. So what's coming up next?

Karen: Up next is the second book in the Bibliophiles series, which is tentatively titled How Long 'Til My Soul Gets It Right?, but that is probably too long. This one is Catherine Elbert's book, the book club member who plays Audrey the Country Wench in As You Like It, the Bibliophiles field trip at the end of Whisper. The novel follows Catherine as she bounces from coast to coast in search of her true self. It is scheduled for a spring 2012 release.

Every week my blog hosts Flash Fiction Fridays, which features microfiction from authors of all genres in 1,000 words or less. Bibliophilic Blather also includes general literary musings and the recurring feature, "Editing for Grammarphobes."

WOW: Well, get ready for a new series to love, readers! And we're putting out an invite to anyone who wants to suggest another (shorter) title for the next book in the series about a free spirit/actress searching for her place in the world. Put on your thinking caps and share your ideas with us in the comments section!

--------Blog Tour Dates

Wednesday, December 14 @ Musings from the Slushpile
Learn "Five Things You Should Know About Indie Publishing" from Karen Berner, author of the Bibliophiles series.
http://blog.juliealindsey.com

Thursday, December 15 @ Writer Inspired
Backstory...what is it and why should we be writing it? Author Karen Berner weighs in and gives away an e-copy of her debut novel A Whisper to a Scream.
http://writerinspired.wordpress.com

Friday, December 16 @ CMash Loves to Read
In the novel A Whisper to a Scream, the holidays lead not to fun and happy memories but to the edge of a nervous breakdown! Author Karen Berner gives tips on how we can avoid going down that same path with "Tips to Avoid Holiday Stress." There's also a chance to win her book!
http://cmashlovestoread.blogspot.com

Monday, December 19 @ Writing in Flow
Today Karen Berner answer that question we've all been dying to ask: "Why Did You Publish Your Novel as an E-book First?" Learn the answer and enter to win a copy of that novel A Whisper to a Scream!
http://writinginflow.blogspot.com

Tuesday, December 20 @ Words by Webb
The new year is almost here! Peruse a list of the books author Karen Berner can't wait to read in 2012 plus a review of her novel Whisper to a Scream, the story of an unexpected friendship.
http://jodiwebb.com

Wednesday, December 21 @ Lori's Reading Corner
What is the best history book ever? According to novelist Karen Berner it's the realistic fiction cramming the shelves of your local bookstore. Learn more and enter to win her debut novel A Whisper to a Scream.
http://www.lorisreadingcorner.com

Tuesday, December 27 @ A Writer's Life
English class is over...why should we revisit the classics? Novelist Karen Berner has some great reasons to make the classics part of your new year's resolutions. You also have a chance to win to win an e-book of her debut novel A Whisper to a Scream.
http://carolineclemmons.blogspot.com

Wednesday, December 28 @ Mom-e-Centric
Meet debut author Karen Berner during a fun podcast with Jerri Ann Reason. Perfect listening for your morning commute!
http://www.momecentric.com

Friday, December 30 @ Me and Reading
Meet Karen Berner, author of the debut novel Whisper to a Scream, when she visits Me and Reading today.
http://www.ingasilbergbooks.com

Tuesday, January 3 @ My Reading Room
Happy Birthday (Belated) Jane Austen! Learn a bit about Miss Austen from her number one fan, author Karen Berner.
http://myreadingroom-crystal.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, January 4 @ Bookworm Lisa
Author Karen Berner tells us five things she learned about the e-book world. You can also get the scoop on the first book in her Bibliophiles series: A Whisper to a Scream.
http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com

Friday, January 6 @ Sugar Peach
Answer the question we've all wondered...Are You a Bibliophile?..with a fun quiz from author Karen Berner. Don't miss a chance to win a copy of the first book in her Bibliophiles series: A Whisper to a Scream.
http://sugarpeach.wordpress.com

Monday, January 9 @ Colloquium
Check out "Five Editing Tips for Grammar-phobes" from Karen Berner and come back tomorrow for a chance to win a copy of her novel A Whisper to a Scream.
http://www.jhsiess.com

Tuesday, January 10 @ Colloquium
Enjoy a review and enter to win a copy of Book One in Karen Berner's Bibliophiles series: A Whisper to a Scream.
http://www.jhsiess.com

Wednesday, January 11 @ Crazy for Books
When was the last time you read a classic? Karen Berner, author of A Whisper to a Scream, takes time to reintroduce us to the classics with "Ten Books You Met in the Classroom and She Reread as an Adult". Then come back tomorrow for more fun!
http://crazy-for-books.com

Thursday, January 12 @ Crazy for Books
Check out a review of A Whisper to a Scream by Karen Berner.
http://crazy-for-books.com

Friday, January 13 @ Thoughts in Progress
Are you the happy owner of a Y chromosome? If not, how do you write convincing male characters? Novelist Karen Berner has some thoughts on accessing your inner male and one last opportunity to win an e-copy of A Whisper to a Scream.
http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com/

To view all our touring authors, check out our Events Calendar here.

Get Involved!
If you have a blog or website and would like to host one of our touring authors or schedule a tour of your own, please email Robyn or Jodi at blogtour@wow-womenonwriting.com

Book Giveaway Contest

Enter to win a print copy of A Whisper to a Scream by Karen Berner! Here's how you enter:

1. For your first entry, just leave a comment on this post! Leave a comment or ask Karen a question to be entered in the random drawing.

2. For an extra entry, link to this post on Twitter with the hashtag #Bibliophiles1 then come back and leave us a link to your tweet.

The giveaway contest closes this Thursday, December 15 at 11:59 PM PST. We will announce the winner in the comments section of this post the following day--Friday, December 16, and if we have the winner's email address from the comments section, we will also notify the winner via email.

Good luck!

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20 comments A Whisper to a Scream, author blog tour, author interview, book giveaway contest, e-books, Karen Berner, self-publishing, series, women's fiction

Friday Speak Out!: Getting Started in E-books, Guest Post by Joy V. Smith

Getting Started in E-books

by Joy V. Smith

A friend introduced me to Smashwords, and with his help I recently published my first e-book, Remodeling: Buying and Updating a Foreclosure. My friend, SF author and poet, Vincent Miskell, also designed the cover. Having a cover is essential for e-books, and I was wondering what to do until he volunteered to help me.

E-books need covers. Good covers. Attention-grabbing covers! My first cover was simple (he used my house photo), but for my second e-book, Hidebound, a "reprint" of one of my SF novellas, I experimented a lot, using Hornil StylePix for a photo editor. I had help from my computer guru with that, plus my experimenting and learning. Btw, I got my cover photo for Hidebound by searching public domain photos; it's from NASA.

Smashwords is complicated. Not only did my friend create my first cover, he cleaned up that ms by using tools in Word, which is practically essential. You do need to read The Smashwords Style Guide to find out what's necessary and how to clean up your ms before it gets to the Meatgrinder and AutoVetter. I hired someone to clean up my Hidebound ms. The nuclear method (dragging it through Notepad) never worked for me. I don't have Word--just a menu that lets me choose Word.doc, so I don't have the Word tools! Smashwords submissions have to be Word.doc to fit all the e-reader formats--Kindle, Nook, etc.. (You have to work harder to get into the premium catalog, but you need to do that for better distribution.) And you have to proof read your published ms on epub afterwards. (It's all in the Style Guide.)

Some people recommend opting out of Kindle on Smashwords and submitting to Kindle directly so I did that. The ms submissions are easier for Kindle because it only has one format. As I said, Smashwords mss have to fit a variety of readers. (Check out that list!) I did have trouble submitting my cover to Kindle this time (but not last time), but I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. And my friend who introduced me to Smashwords answered a lot of my questions when I ran into problems. Now I'm taking a break and working on other things, but I have some e-books I do want to publish on Smashwords later.

* * *

Joy V. Smith has been writing stories since she was a kid. Her stories and articles have been published in print magazines, webzines, and anthologies; and her SF has been published in two audiobooks, including Sugar Time. She lives in Florida with Blizzard the Snow Princess and Bryn the Flying Corgi,and she maintains three blogs: Her writing blog: http://pagadan.wordpress.com/ ; her media blog:
http://pagadan.livejournal.com/ and her house blog:
http://pagadan.blogspot.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Leave a Comment e-books, Friday Speak Out, Joy V. Smith, self publishing

Special Announcement for Book Lovers

Have you ever heard of the WorldeBook Fair? This summer marks the second annual one. From July 4th through August 4th the World Public Library allows free downloads for approximately 620,000 eBook files and 110,000 commercial ones, for a near-total count of 750,000 selections.

Michael S. Hart, cofounder of the fair, states that “The World eBook Fair is a showcase for the range and importance of eBooks for enjoyment, education, research and literacy.” If anyone doubted the possibilities of eBooks in the past, this vast and growing collection alone stands as one reason to delve deeper into the current trends and future possibilities.

What kinds of eBooks line this public library’s virtual shelves? Any type you can imagine that belong in the public domain. The library holds 125 collections that include Classic Literature, Children’s Classics, Science Fiction, Audio Mp3s, Technical eBooks, and Government Printing Office Collections, to name a small sampling. We can find the works of Jane Austen, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, and thousands more authors’ works.

At my first free moment, I logged onto the library site and found a classic my inner child still loves--L. Frank Baum’s, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Within a few minutes, I opened the eBook and started to read. I needed only my web browser and a Portable Document Format (PDF) viewer, Adobe Acrobat. The book rests inside my hard drive, and so began my virtual bookshelf.

If you’d like to sample eBooks for free, check it out the Second Annual World eBook Fair.

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Leave a Comment e-books, eBooks, World eBook Fair

New Math Adds Up To FREE Publicity

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

An excerpt from THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER:
HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T

The new math for free publicity is: E-book + E-gift = Promotion. Oops. Error. Make the answer FREE promotion!

There are three magical concepts to this e-book formula:

1. Accidental
2. Free
3. E-book.

My best promotion ever, a free e-book called COOKING BY THE BOOK, accidentally fell into my lap and it uses all three. I’ll share more about these three promotional potions a bit later.

COOKING BY THE BOOK began when more than two dozen authors from several countries contributed to a book that would be given away free to anyone—as a gift of appreciation to the support teams it takes to write and market a book and to the legions of readers who cook but were probably never exposed to our books. Each invited author had written at least one kitchen scene in his book. Each segment of the cookbook begins with an excerpt from that scene, the recipe comes next and that is followed by a short blurb about the author..

This cookbook e-tool is a cross-pollinator. Each contributing author was to publicize it any way she chose. Participants promised to promote it and not to charge for it. That way each contributor benefited from the efforts, the lists, and the contacts of the other authors. We had some superior promoters among us:

• Most of us set up a page on our websites.
• Contributor Peggy Hazelwood promoted it in her newsletter for book lovers.
• Mary Emma Allen featured it in the columns she writers for New Hampshire dailies, The Citizen and The Union Leader.
• David Leonhardt, ( the happy guy ) author of CLIMB YOUR STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, incorporated the cookbook into a Happiness Game Show he uses in his presentations.
• We gave away coupons for this book at our signings. Because it costs nothing, it can be given to everyone, not just those who purchase a book.
• I use them as thank yous to people who visit my site.
• Some include information on these freebies on the back of business cards and bookmarks.
• I query site editors whenever I run across another place that seems as if our CB Book would interest their audience.

Reviewer JayCe Crawford said, “For a foodie-cum-fiction-freak like me, this cookbook is a dream come true.” That review has popped up in places we didn’t know existed.

Our most startling success came from sources we had no connection to. It was featured in Joan Stewart’s The Publicity Hound, in Writer’s Weekly, on MyShelf.com, in the iUniverse newsletter and more. I had the highest rate of interest I’d ever had when I queried radio stations for interviews and that was in competition with a pitch for THIS IS THE PLACE just before the 2002 games in Salt Lake City and an intolerance angle on the same novel right after 9/11.

Wait, we're not through yet. Mother's day invites us to repeat our publicity blitzes every year, because -- if you haven’t noticed -- mothers tend to do lots of cooking. This book was so successful I collaborated with Sarah Mankowski on a similar one called SEASONED GREETINGS for holiday promotional blitzes.

Back to those three magic words:

1. Accidental: I don’t take credit for knowing a good thing when I saw it. What I learned from this experience is to never dismiss something that is placed on your desk without careful consideration-- even if it seems vaguely hokey. I nearly did just that. “E-book indeed,” I said to myself. I was worried that association with this concept might taint my literary works. Hubris can be very self-defeating.

2. Free: This charmed word convinced editors to offer our cookbook as a freebie to their readers. Usually the contributing author who pitched it was privileged with their own promotional site’s URL being used as a link but when some editors chose to place the entire cookbook download on their own sites, we all benefited just the same.

3. E-book: An e-book is easy for readers to obtain. The author need not budget for postage or processing expenses. In the invitations, queries, and releases I sent out, I emphasized a no strings attached attack: I assured everyone that they would not be expected to register to the site, sign up for a newsletter nor purchase a thing. The E-book concept is also important because—though it may not be new to you and me—the media is still infatuated with it.

Here is a fourth magic word. Cookbook. It has universal appeal. You might find something else that works better for you. I’ve been thinking of doing something similar utilizing the subject of genealogy because my novel is based on the stories of my own ancestors--four generations of them. It is not necessary that the freebie be knitted to your primary title; you may benefit by a theme that reaches out, draws in those who might not otherwise be exposed to your work. Your idea may appeal to a narrower audience but niche markets work, too. Everyone loves something that is FREE.

COOKING BY THE BOOK and my other e-books (check out several at my site or at authorscoalitionandredenginepress) are like hospitality gifts. Only better. That's because they promote not only my work, but that of others. Those who are interested in how these work can download a sample at carolynhoward-johnson.

----------

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of the award-winning This is the Place, Harkening, and Tracings. She is also the author of the How To Do It Frugally series including The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won’t, the winner of USA Book News' Best Professional Book 2004 and the Irwin Award and the soon-to-be-released The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. Frugal is available in a full 248 p. e-book format at and in paperback at www.Amazon.com. The author was honored by members of the California Legislature as Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment and was named outstanding woman of the San Gabriel Valley in California for her "literary activism" by the Pasadena Weekly. She is the founder of Authors' Coalition http://authorscoalitionandredenginepress.com. Find the subject of this article, Cooking by the Book, along with other cookbooks and a book of inspiration for writers FREE at this URL: http://carolynhoward-johnson.com.

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1 comment book promotion, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, e-books

Interview with Kathryn Vercillo of MoKa House Writers

MoKa House is a media company that provides freelance writing services to both individuals and businesses. We make use of the diverse talents of our pool of freelance writers and our own skills as writer-editors to craft the perfect message for furthering the creative and professional endeavors of others.

WOW: Kathryn, how did you start MoKa House Writers?

(Photo of MoKa House partner: Kathryn Vercillo)

KV: MoKa House was one of those things that happened slowly and then suddenly. As a freelance writer, I had always thought that collaborating with other writers would be an excellent way to provide better services to my clients, but I wasn’t quite sure how to make that happen. Then I met Moniqua. In our first ever conversation, we tossed around our individual ideas for eventually starting a writing company. We’re both highly driven women who do more than we talk about doing, so the next thing we knew we were running a company together.

WOW: That's funny you should say that, because it sounds quite familiar! (Like a WOW! story) Can you tell us about the kinds of services that MoKa House provides?

KV: We provide freelance writing services of all kinds to both individuals and businesses. This includes professional, creative and academic writing and editing services. Specifically, our services include writing of newsletters, articles, web content, business plans, artist bios, reviews, e-books, and business profiles.

WOW: That's quite impressive. You seem to cover the full spectrum of freelance writing. What makes your company unique?

(Photo of MoKa House partner: Moniqua Lane)

KV: The two of us have very different writing backgrounds, so we are able to apply our experiences in order to oversee a wide range of different projects. Additionally, we employ a staff of approximately forty writers who all have different types of experience. This means that we have the ability to select a writer with appropriate experience for each project, providing our clients with a professional writer who has knowledge in their field. For the client, this is different from working with an individual freelance writer who may have general writing skills but may lack the specific knowledge required to best complete the requested work. Additionally, working with a company (as opposed to working with an individual) offers the client a stronger guarantee of professional quality.

WOW: That's wonderful that you're employing writers from various avenues, which in turn, lends the most qualified writer for your clients' project. What are some of the recent projects your company has been involved in?

KV: It seems like we’re always working on something different which is one of the things which we both love about this industry. It gives us a chance to apply our past experiences to broadening our horizons on a regular basis. Some of our recent projects have included travel advice columns for foreign country travel, profiles of up-and-coming musicians, real estate articles, and a series of technical internet blogs.

WOW: How diverse! Kathryn, I read somewhere that you created a unique non-profit quarterly magazine for inmates. What a revolutionary idea! Can you tell our readers what the magazine is about, and how the idea was conceived?

KV: In 1999, I started a small (now-defunct) non-profit organization called Create Me Free which was based upon the idea that creative self-expression can lead to both individual and societal growth. I worked with incarcerated artists and writers, using creativity to foster change. The literary magazine, which was published from 1999 – 2003, published the completed works and works-in-progress of those individuals involved in the program. Although Create Me Free is no longer an active organization, I do hope to eventually return to this type of non-profit work which would ideally be focused on forming a similar program for incarcerated youth.

WOW: That's an inspirational idea, and a needed one. Your heart shines through in your caring for others.

Speaking of others, you and your partner Moniqua Lane apparently work very well together. I'm always interested in women who collaborate on a higher level. There seems to be a real supportive energy that makes a business work...

KV: We were really lucky to find one another, because our backgrounds are very different but we seem to have nearly all of the same goals. We compliment each other really well. It seems that nearly everything that I don’t know how to do is something that she has experience with and vice versa. Additionally, our work processes are different so we balance each other out really well. It’s a benefit to our clients, because we double-check each other’s work so that they get the best of each of us. And it’s beneficial for us because we challenge each other to develop new skills while supporting each other in doing so.

WOW: There seems to be a fabulous balance between the two of you, yet I'm sure, considering your diverse backgrounds, there are different projects you would most like to take on. Could you tell us what kinds of projects you're interested in?

KV: I, personally, prefer projects which allow me to work with creative professionals in other fields. Music journalism and working with artists to create bios and press releases are areas which interest me because I believe that they allow me to use my talents to help further the creative talents of other individuals. I place a lot of emphasis on developing creative connections. Alternatively, Moniqua prefers projects that allow her to make use of her legal background. She enjoys making arcane aspects of the law accessible to the average reader. We are lucky to have a staff of excellent writers which means that we are each able to develop these areas for ourselves while providing our clients with the services of professionals whose areas of interest and expertise differ from our own.

WOW: After you decide to take on a project, what comes next?

KV: We work with the client to identify his or her exact needs and goals. This allows us to determine which one of us is best suited to overseeing the project. From there, we can determine which writer or writers may be most qualified to complete the project. We work closely with the writer to make sure that the work meets the client’s specifications.

WOW: It sounds like you've got a very 'hands-on' approach. How do you manage to maintain this ongoing working relationship with your client?

KV: We believe that regular, clear communication is the most effective method of maintaining a positive working relationship with our clients. We place a strong emphasis on collaboration and truly enjoy working to help our clients further their own endeavors, and I feel like that genuine interest in their work comes through in all that we do, encouraging continued partnerships over time.

WOW: Do you think attorneys should use freelance writers, and if so, why?

KV: Moniqua tells this story about how on her first day working for a large firm her supervising attorney told her to do as little writing as possible because she was not being paid to write. She says that what she came to realize was that attorneys are paid to know the law and use that knowledge to further their clients’ interests. Writing is an important part of that, but there is a lot of writing that attorneys do that is incidental to that – a lot of marketing and non-legal writing. Moniqua thinks that this is the kind of writing that attorneys can, and often do, hand off to freelance writers. She thinks, though, that for ethical reasons and for the sake of writing quality, it is best for attorneys to have non-practicing lawyers do their hired writing. She says there are lots of them out there like her, so it should be no problem to find one.

WOW: I think everyone could use a freelance writer like Moniqua! That's wonderful that she has that background to bring to the table. (Moniqua, we'll be in touch!)

The two of you sound like an unstoppable team, I'm sure all of our readers would love to know what you're working on right now, either personally, or for your company.

KV: Personally, I’m working on a number of small projects related to music journalism, including collaboration with several local musical artists in the development of online promotional content. I’m also collaborating with my brother (an artist and business owner in Los Angeles) in the development of a magazine relevant to the work that he is doing. Furthermore, I’m in the process of completing a book entitled Ghosts of San Francisco which is to be followed by a book about ghosts specific to Alcatraz Island.

Moniqua is working on a real estate practices book, answering user-submitted questions about real estate and finance at a mortgage lenders’ portal, and researching trends and breaking news in digital music for a daily digital music news journal out of England. Moniqua also maintains a small legal practice focusing on tax and estate planning and real estate law.

Together, Moniqua and I are collaborating on several small creative endeavors, with particular emphasis on writing pro-female erotica which supports the sexuality of women within a framework of diverse situations.

As a company, MoKa House is branching out in to a number of different areas. We are working on a two-pronged approach to immediate development, expanding our client base to include both more creative work and more business-professional work.

WOW: It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate! Where would you like to see MoKa House in the future?

KV: The short-term goals for MoKa House continue the aforementioned two-prong development approach. On my end, I want MoKa House to be providing more direct services for artists and musicians, working closely with emerging artists to assist them in furthering their goals as they grow in popularity. On Moniqua’s side, MoKa House is looking in to expanding our options for improved services to our corporate clients as well as for involvement in regular work with government contract writing.

Within the company, we want to see increased opportunity for our writers to expand their own opportunities. MoKa House operates on the core belief that following our own inspiration in collaborative efforts leads to overall success for all people involved in a project. It is our goal to work with our writers in assisting them to develop the skills they each would like to develop in order to improve their writing careers as well as to offer improved services to our clients. We would like to see some of our high-level writers eventually overseeing and editing for other staff members.

As far as long-term goals, we have discussed the possibility of eventually opening a publishing arm for the company. We would be interested in being involved in more creative works and I would like to see development of a non-profit area for the company. However, we’re open to seeing where things go from here. I have always worked through a process which combines drive and motivation with a willingness to take chances as they are presented to me. This is what allowed Moniqua and I to immediately recognize the opportunity to work with another and I believe it is what will continue to allow MoKa House to succeed.

WOW: I don't doubt that one bit. I'm sure you two will go far.

Thank you so much Kathryn for sharing your inspirational story with our readers. I'm sure they'll all want to visit MoKa House and check out the wonderful services you provide!


SPECIAL PROMOTION: (You won't want to miss!) MoKa House is happy to offer 10% OFF of their standard rates to anyone who mentions reading this interview.

Additionally, MoKa House is always happy to consider website link exchange with other creative and professional people.

http://www.mokahousewriters.com/

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