Anyone who knows anything about vanity presses knows that they’re not respected on several levels when it comes to publishing and being published. A vanity press is called thus because it caters to a would-be writer’s vanity. In other words, a work may be published without any editorial process taking place. This means any piece of drek, shopping list, or untethered ramblings will be printed if one has the funds to bring it to fruition.

Vanity presses often take advantage of unsuspecting new writers who aren’t aware of the full process. For a fee the press will publish your book. Or you have won a contest and your poem/story will appear in the lovely print edition and you can order a copy for $34.95. The publisher doesn’t pay you for your work and basically puts your work, no matter how bad, into the volume so that you, your friends and family will buy copies to show that you’re a published author, not realizing that this isn’t the real realm of publishing.

What happens is that writers are paying the publisher and that’s who buys the books. It isn’t readers interested in the story, just a very small group or just the writer. Little to nothing is spent on marketing and what is, is aimed at the person who submitted the work.

In the past I submitted poems to a poetry contest, only to find out I had “won” and that it was a vanity press. I withdrew my pieces and never looked at those “publishers” again. Self-publishing is also considered vanity press even if someone else (a printer or book packager) puts the book together. A person who pays on their own (as opposed to so-called winners) to have a book edited, laid out, printed and bound is usually considered to be vanity publishing unless they’re trying to put out other books besides their own. They might still have to go through the very hard work of marketing and distribution. Without these important elements, the books sit in the basement.

Small presses should not be confused with vanity publishing. Those who venture on their own to publish their books do so for a variety of reasons. The book may have been turned down by agents and publishers, or the person may want to get a message out there or just sell on their own for whatever reason. Sometimes a self-published book is picked up by a major publisher. But that is a very rare thing. Otherwise, a person makes a cost outlay of anywhere from $1000 to $10,000-plus for editing, production and publishing of their book and if they’re lucky, they may recoup what they put into it. Often they don’t make back their cost so the pay to play.

It is alarming and very odd when a  well-established publisher decides to start another imprint whose sole purpose is to be a vanity press. Harlequin is the biggest romance publisher in the world and has a huge sell-through rate on their titles. They shouldn’t be hurting for money. But they decided to team up with a print-on-demand vanity press call Author Solutions. After outcries from the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Harlequin has taken the name of Harlequin Horizons off of the imprint.

Harlequin reported amazement and as of today changed the name to DellArte Press Book Publishing Services. However, RWA said Harlequin books would not be eligible for any awards and SFWA said all Harlequin books/stories would not count as eligible as a membership fulfillment unless they removed themselves from self-publishing. I doubt the name change will be enough for RWA and SFWA.

I can’t help but wonder why Harlequin even needs to get involved. They’ve been branching out into supernatural and SF romance and shouldn’t need to dupe dewy-eyed writers into parting with money to see their names in print and in hopes of getting to be a Harlequin author. Letting a would-be author think they have a chance of getting their story picked up by first self-publishing it is disingenuous. I checked out DellArte, which has little price packages that start at $599 to $1,599, but that only gets you 5 to 25 free copies, and after that you’re paying extra. That doesn’t cover a full edit at all either and even at $342 (editing services)  it will give you a partial review of a chapter or two. You’ll pay for other copies and I’m sure by the time you’re done you’ll have forked out at least $5,000. If the cover price of a trade paperback (the size they’re advertising) is $14.99 (very cheap and probably higher) and you get it at say, 40% off of cost (the regular retailer discount), that means you make $6 and would need to sell around 833 copies to break even.

Not that many if you’re marketed like Stephen King. But chances are there is little marketing and you’ll have to do most on your own. DellArte offers in the upper end of prices a standard publicity program, which really amounts to a written press release. You still have to do the marketing and distribution is probably all in your lap. So you’re in the same seat as if you went out and found a printer on your own. I’d be interested to know why Harlequin even thought they needed to do this. For various takes on this, follow the links.

 http://www.sfwa.org/2009/11/sfwa-statement-on-harlequins-self-publishing-imprint/

http://www.dellartepress.com/

PublishersWeekly

I also wrote them as if I was a new author with my book ready to publish in 1-3 months. They said someone would get back to me and what I received was a computer generated reply, which follows:

Congratulations on starting a new chapter of your life by exploring self-publishing. We are glad you contacted DellArte Press to start your publishing journey.
 
DellArte Press is designed to help aspiring romance and women’s fiction writers publish their books and achieve their dreams. No matter what the end goal for your book is we have the resources and staff to help you reach that goal. Our professional support team will walk with you every step of the way, so please let us know how we can assist you.
 
Your first chapter in publishing is to explore our Standard and Specialty Publishing Packages. Please visit our Publishing Packages page on our Web site to see how each package uniquely meets your publishing needs. We also offer additional services you can add to your package to give your book the professional and polished edge it deserves.
 
We’re here to help you select the best package for you, and we’ll be in touch soon to discuss your specific book and your goals. If you are ready to get started right away, you can call us at(877) 217-3420 or e-mail customersupport@dellartepress.com.
 
Publishing with DellArte Press offers several advantages:
Discovery Opportunities – Titles published through DellArte Press will be monitored for possible pickup by DellArte’s traditional imprints
Global Distribution – Extensive distribution networks through Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and others ensure that your book can be purchased by anyone, anytime, anywhere
Creative Control – It’s your book from start to finish
Professional Editors – Choose to utilize our editors to ensure your book is error free
Effective Marketing – Hire a publicist, have a video book trailer created, set up an author Web site and more
Accessible Support – Easy access to our professional support staff so you’re never left to answer questions on your own
Next Steps: Define Your Desire
 
Your next step is to define your goals and desires for your book. Whether you want to publish just for fun or to achieve commercial success, we can help. One of our Publishing Consultants will work with you to determine the best options for your publishing needs so your goals are met. In the meantime, if you have questions, please call (877) 217-3420 or visit our Web site at www.dellartepress.com.
 
We understand that your time is precious and you may not always have a lot of time for yourself. We encourage you to indulge your passion for writing and begin the next chapter of your life as a published author. We look forward to working with you to help make that dream come true.
 
Sincerely,

The Dell Arte Press Team
DellArte Press
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
Phone: (877) 217-3420
Fax: (812) 355-1561

After Sunday’s post I was asked to clarify my stand on self-publishing. Although it’s not an option I intend to pursue, I think self-publishing is a legitimate means of meeting the publishing needs of many writers. It’s important, however, to know what self-publishing is and isn’t.

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True self-publishing leaves the control of all aspects of the process in the writer’s hands – cover art, print style and pricing. All rights, including the ISBN, remain with the writer who also keeps all proceeds from any sales.

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Often confused as self-publishing are Print On Demand, or POD services. A POD service offers a specific package of services and the publisher will retain ownership of the ISBN and certain publishing rights. The author’s payment comes from royalties which are typically based on a book’s net price, not retail, so the author pays both the initial printing costs and a per book fee. “In fact, POD services more closely resemble vanity publishers–which is how they’re widely regarded by professional writers and publishing industry people.”* I’m told Author House is one of the biggest POD providers, and continues to grow as it consolidates with and buys up other POD companies.

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If a writer assesses his or her publishing needs, examines carefully what is offered and makes an informed decision without unrealistic expectations of the outcome, both self-publishing and POD services can be considered as useful options.

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That’s my opinion anyway. What’s yours? Have you had experiences with self-publishing and/or POD? Were they problem-free? Would you recommend them to other writers?

* http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/pod/

Everywhere you look right now writing professionals are sounding off about the new partnerships of Harlequin and Thomas Nelson with Author Solutions, to create the new self-publishing spinoff companies of Harlequin Horizons and WestBow Press.

Immediately Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America and Science Fiction Writers of America issued announcements to their memberships removing Harlequin from their list of approved publishers and stating that books published by them will not be eligible for membership or qualify for sponsored awards. Although Harlequin has now responded by promising to remove the Harlequin name from the H.H. imprint this doesn’t appear to have placated anyone.

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In a parallel to Harlequin’s self-created dilemma, Chip Macgregor summed up the Thomas Nelson situation by saying,

“The folks at Nelson probably wish they hadn’t decided to use the name WestBow. They used it for expediency (Thomas Nelson already owned it; WestBow was the name of their fiction program a few years back), but that creates real issues… Can a WestBow author now say, “I’m published by the same imprint that publishes TED DEKKER”? Yeah, they can. (And yes, the Thomas Nelson authors are livid about this.) My guess is that they’ll change this.”

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Why all the controversy? Well, there are a lot of opinions out there but most seem to be based on the perception that Author Solutions, “a vanity/subsidy press that relies upon payments and income from aspiring writers to earn profit, rather than sales of books to actual readers,”* and whose brands also include AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris, and WordClay, is equated with a less reputable, less ethical branch of self-publishing. The concern is that there will be no “quality control” on the titles that are expected to flood the market looking like they’ve been endorsed by a barely disguised big name publishing company and that will affect the reputation of authors and the status of books previously printed by the original publishers before the company names became tarnished .

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I’m not without an opinion on this but I think the most thorough discussion is found on the Writer Beware blog. Among others who are also weighing in are Rachelle Gardner, the Grayson Agency, Kristen Nelson, Chip MacGregor, Janet Reid and Nathan Bransford.

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It may be a while before this one blows over!

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Harlequin’s decision to partner with Author Solutions to provide a vanity publishing division for romance writers has created intense debate across the internet. While this blog will remain neutral from the debate, you can follow the discussions at the links below.

A Message From Your Exec

RWA are aware of members’ concerns re Harlequin’s new vanity publishing venture. While RWAmerica has acted quickly and decisively according to their bylaws RWAust doesn’t have a recognized/eligible publisher criteria but please be assured we are monitoring the situation. Our advice to members seeking publication remains the same  – read and research widely, ask questions, never sign anything you don’t understand completely.

Alison Ahearn

RWA Prez

The News:

Grayson Agency

How Publishing Really Works

Bad Idea for Aspiring Authors

Here’s Why I Care – Shiloh Walker

Harlequin’s Response on Kristin Nelson’s Pub Rants

Jackie Kessler’s Round-Up

Lots of reading!  Let’s see how it all pans out.

Have you written an ebook lately? It looks like it is easier to e-publish a book rather than one the via traditional path! Do you remember the days when you used to have to send your manuscript to the publisher and wait for months for a response only to find out it had been rejected? With Sony going into partnership with Smashwords and Author Solutions  anyone can upload a book to their eBook Store, have no rejections and just wait for the cash to pour in…….

How does it work? Just upload the manuscript in Microsoft Word format, decide on a price and select an affiliate. Affiliates available are: Stanza on iPhone, Aldiko on Androi, Barnes & Nobles website and Sony eBook store.

Amazon already offers this on their Digital Text Platform. However as always with Amazon there are always restrictions. Amazon only allows submissions from United States and requires the format DRM to the ebooks.

It most definitely is an exciting phase for ebooks. There’s so much in the news lately that it is hard to keep up. One of the fascinating things about ebooks is the ability for everyone to write an ebook, publish it online and have it available at some of the leading ebook sellers. This was never a possibility a few years ago. No doubt, the ebook revolution will introduce the new breed of ‘ebook writers’. Whether Sony and Amazon are providing the public with valuable talent or a cesspool of writers has yet to be assessed, no doubt this will take a few years. However, there will be a story very soon where an unknown writer manages to make megabucks by selling his book on the digital platform either via Amazon or Sony! And we all know that as soon as that happens, every Tom, Dick or Harry will start to believe that there is a writer in everyone!

The drawback is that inevitably, mainstream publishing will diminish. Writers will be more inclined to ‘chance their luck’ via the ebook platform. There’s no rejection (unless you measure this based on the number of ebooks sales you have made over the year) and you’re a published writer. There’s no need for vanity publishing either…..

Inc. Magazine released its annual top 500 fastest growing US businesses yesterday. Outskirts Press, Inc ranked #268 on the list, and exclusive among full-service self publishing outfits. With on-demand publications up 132% over the previous year, Outskirts Press finds itself the fastest growing provider in the fastest growing segment of the book publishing industry. Congratulations Outskirts Press.

Author Solutions – the only other self-publishing related provider recognized, came in at 3266 among the top 5000 companies.

Congratulations self-publishing.

- Karl Schroeder

Recently, Tribune-Review ran a piece in their publication called “Market Savvy Authors Can Take a Nontraditional Way to Audience,” in which Rege Behe explores the emerging benefits of self-publishing (and self-promoting) a book as opposed to blindly submitting your manuscript to publishers who may not even read your potential bestseller.

Essentially, your potential to spread the word about your book (and earn higher royalties per copy sold) with self-publishing is only limited by your enthusiasm to personally market your book and tap into any valuable connections you may already have.

For example, Ray Goss could use his experience in radio to market his self-published book, while others such as Lisa Genova (author of Still Alice, originally through iUniverse)  or Barbara Burstin (author of Steel City Jews: A History of Pittsburgh and its Jewish Community, 1840-1915) have self-published only to receive rave review from some of the best magazines in the world, leading to traditional publishers scrammbling to sign them for another book.

Reporter Behe does mention the stigma of self-publishing, too, as its method is shunned by the hyper-literary-minded and even some bookstores; but given the lack of editorial and design control imposed by traditional publishers, not to mention the significant cut in royalites you earn with traditional publishing houses, may overwhelmingly overturn this negative sentiment toward companies like Author Solutions, Inc. (and Wordclay) in the very near future.

Because bookstores are perhaps slower to adapt to the changing publishing industry, self-published books may have a harder time reaching their shelves. That said, Behe also offers some tricks of the trade when marketing your book online. For example, creating an author Web site with your book details and order information will not only act as a base of operations for the writer, but also allow Internet surfers to stumble upon their book naturally when searching on different keywords. Combine your Web site with social networking and perhaps some book giveaway promotions, and BOOM! your chances for success just skyrocketed in the publishing industry!

The Point: Self-publishing with companies like Wordclay, iUniverse or AuthorHouse (all Author Solutions brands) can indeed be more beneficial to authors, especially emerging authors, than endlessly (and sometimes fruitlessly) seeking a traditional publisher to back you, even if your book has great potential!

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Market savvy authors can take a nontraditional way to audience

It’s not even 9am and I already feel as if I’ve had a full day, probably because I’ve already:

• Drank four cups of coffee
• Digested a muffin, bagel, and half a watermelon
• Met with and been inspired by Author Solutions!

Needless to say I could already use a nap; my 5:30am alarm did nothing for my beauty sleep, but right now I’m too excited!  Not knowing much about  self publishing companies, I was thrilled to discover a free Chicago event on LinkedIn put on by Author Solutions.   I invited my successful self-publishing author friend Scott E. Smith of the award-winning title Like Dizzy Gillespie’s Cheeks to attend with me and off we went, to what proved to be an inspirational and enlightening discussion of the publishing business.

Though the intended speaker from Author Solutions failed to show (probably contributing to the non-sales pitch feel of the meeting), Sandy Powell and Scott Walters from the Business Development team were available for questions and discussion.  It’s always interesting to learn about a new segment of the career I’m aspiring towards, and Powell and Walters both had experience and opinions to share.  In a nutshell: Publishing has not reached its end, books are not going to die, what will inevitably happen is a necessary shift in the business model.

There are many options available for a revised publishing business model.  Among the factors are changes in author’s payment (maybe less advance and higher royalties?), fewer print runs (more print on demand vs. warehouse space) or even the big publishing houses starting an imprint for self publishing; a lower risk way to test new authors to see if the titles catch on, with less impact on the already-stressed finances.

Of course, social media and personal interaction is never to be overlooked, as a new article on “Mashable” looks at traditional books in two new mediums in “5 Ways Traditional Media is Going Social“.

Unlike VHS tapes, book publishing continues to evolve and have space and opportunity for advancement.  I look forward to seeing some of these changes implemented in the influential hallways of Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins and I can’t wait to be an active participant.

Please share any additional thoughts/insight on new publishing opportunities!  And for all you aspiring writers out there, take a look at what the Author Solutions portfolio has to offer, I think you may be pleasantly surprised…

—By Wendy Nelles

Gee, and I always assumed that owning a self-publishing company — where you get the authors to pay you fees for every single service you offer and then print small print runs of books, at a high cost per unit — was a licence to print money on your printing presses too. Well, not as much as a Tim Hortons franchise, but still more lucrative than traditional royalty publishing. Apparently not.

Trafford Publishing of Victoria B.C. has just sold itself to Author Solutions Inc. (ASI), its bigger American rival based in Indiana. As the Globe and Mail reported on April 6, this sale is “further consolidating the sector at a time when the traditional book industry is in turmoil.” Author Solutions already controls the self-publishing firms AuthorHouse, iUniverse, WordClay and bought its competitor XLibris in January.

Trafford –which was founded in 1995 as one of the earliest online book publishers — says it has published nearly 20,000 new titles by more than 15,000 authors from 120 countries. According to an April 7th article in Victoria’s Times Colonist, Trafford Publishing CEO Geoff Reid said that the sale was necessary if the company was to survive.

In a letter to shareholders, Reid pointed out the company’s lack of working capital made it impossible for management to implement the efficiencies needed to make the self-publishing division profitable.

Further along in that letter, Reid wrote: “Radical changes in our business plan were urgently required if Trafford was to avoid bankruptcy. The self-publishing business was bleeding money and our ability to staunch the flow was severely hampered by a lack of working capital.

“Early this year, it became clear to Trafford that it was time to make some hard choices.”

Reid says that Trafford prints about 600,000 books a year, and the new deal will double their volume overnight. ASI has promised to direct much of its business to Trafford. The 23 jobs involved in the self-publishing side of the business will be transferred to the printing side, and essentially Trafford will become Authors Solutions Inc.’s west coast printer and focus on becoming a large commercial printer.

Trafford is positioning this as a win/win situation for their authors, according to the Times Colonist:

Trafford’s 18,000 authors will also reap the benefit of the sale, according to Reid, as ASI offers more services than Trafford could.

“The books will be given a much broader introduction to the marketplace because they have their own booksite and have sales teams that actually work to get authors’ books into bookstores and we couldn’t do that,” he said. Trafford’s authors will join a group of 100,000 at ASI.

Meanwhile, the Globe and Mail pointed out that major publishers and retailers alike are continuing to grapple with the costly issue of returns, books that don’t sell and are shipped back to the publisher for credits.

The Globe journalist Jeffrey Trachtenberg quotes Richard Curtis, president of E-Reads in New York, as stating, “The current (traditional) publishing model depends on publishers making an educated guess as to how many books will sell, but print-on-demand publishing starts with people searching for a book they want and then paying in advance.”

Proponents of print-on-demand publishing argue that it is a system without waste, and predict that even traditional royalty publishers who currently look down their noses will probably succumb to using the system, particularly after the initial print run is sold out. Because it’s more economical for royalty publishers to print at least 5,000 copies at a time, gambling on how well a book will continue to sell could see them with a big percentage of the second print run leftover, and money down the drain.

Here at the Writing, Self-Publishing and Book Marketing blog, it’s no secret that news regarding the publishing industry is always front of mind. So, I must say, we’re pretty thrilled whenever Wordclay’s parent company, Author Solutions, is part of the story. Here’s a recent press release from ASI. Let us know your thoughts …  

Author Solutions Video: First Film, Then Music, Now Publishing

New Video Features Interviews with Authors Who Chose Indie Book Publishing

(Original on PRWEB)

Bloomington, Ind. March 18, 2009 — Author Solutions (ASI), the world leader in indie book publishing – the fastest-growing segment of book publishing, has released a new video featuring interviews with authors who’ve achieved their publishing goals through indie book publishing.

“The authors interviewed in this video represent the successes and dreams of the tens of thousands of authors who are choosing to reject the rejection letters and finally publish their manuscripts. Each had a dream of publishing their book, and indie book publishing made those dreams reality,” said Keith Ogorek, ASI vice president of marketing.

The interviews featured on the video illustrate how indie book publishing, also commonly referred to as self publishing, has become the popular alternative for authors from all walks of life. The common thread with each author is that they wanted to get a professionally published book out to the public quickly, while maintaining the integrity of their content.

“We have the freedom to try all kinds of experiments, and you couldn’t do this with the mainstream houses for sure … We control and own our content, and it gives us leverage in case we want to do things,” said Andy Tate, who along with his wife Bernice have published four children’s books through ASI imprint AuthorHouse.

The Tates are just two of the more than 19,000 authors who chose to publish a book with ASI, through its leading self publishing imprints AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris, and Wordclay in 2008. Overall, ASI brands brought to market about one out of every 20 new U.S. book titles in 2008 – approximately six times the number published by leading consumer publisher Random House.

For more information about Author Solutions, log on to authorsolutions.com, or call 877-655-1722.

About Author Solutions, Inc.
Author Solutions, Inc., (ASI), owned by Bertram Capital Management LLC, is the world leader in indie book publishing – the fastest-growing segment of publishing. ASI’s self publishing brands, AuthorHouse, AuthorHouse UK, iUniverse, Xlibris, Wordclay, and Inkubook, have helped more than 70,000 authors self publish, promote, and bring to market more than 100,000 new titles. In 2008, one out of every 20 new U.S. titles was published by an ASI brand–more than any publisher in the world. Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, ASI also operates offices in New York City; Indianapolis; Milton Keynes, England; and Cebu, Philippines. Visit www.authorsolutions.com or call 1-877-655-1722 for more information.

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In an article that ran last week, Motoko Rich, who writes about publishing for the New York Times, recently had this to say: “A recently released study by the National Endowment for the Arts found that while more people are reading literary fiction, fewer of them are reading books.” Huh? This could mean any number of things I suppose. A sudden and uncontrollable national love of the literary quarterlies seems, unlikely. But, with the recent advent of technology that lets people convince themselves a handheld device is akin to a novel, it doesn’t seem so strange that books are going the way of the buffalo. At least, according to the New York Times.

But wait, wait, wait. Don’t go yet, that actually had nothing to do with this article, which is actually about this funny little thing called self-publishing. Think of it as a step up from your 7th grade zine, think of it as your mid-life crisis novel. Self publishing is a real zinger of a formula: the author pays the cost of design and printing (score for the publisher) in return for the guarantee that their book will see the light of day (and dollars if they’re lucky or remotely talented).

According to Rich, this system is as prolific as it is popular, and he uses this statistic to prove the point: Author Solutions, an Indiana-based self-publishing company that just last month bought out rival Xlibris, published 19,000 titles last year. This is about six times what Random House put out.

Okay, that’s a little crazy, I guess. But really, when you think about how many people have a novel ready to go…in their heads…and how many people lack the skills/luck/connections/time to score a book deal, well of course the DIY approach to literary success is appealling. Just look at how many blogs there are.

I’m all for citizen journalism, I just choose to ignore much of it. And I guess I’ll heave a sigh and say okay to self-publishing. I just don’t want to be inundated with badly Photoshopped covers of inane John Grisham knockoffs. So thank you Motoko Rich for ending on this note: “Diamonds in the rough, though, remain the outliers. ‘For every thousand titles that get self-published, maybe there’s two that should have been published,” said Cathy Langer, lead buyer for the Tattered Cover bookstores in Denver, who said she had been inundated by requests from self-published authors to sell their books. “People think that just because they’ve written something, there’s a market for it. It’s not true.’”

LLBR has moved – to read this great article, go to our new site – Lulu discontinuing online chat support and laying off employees…

Unfortunately, due to labor restrictions and developing Author Solutions, Inc. partnerships, ASI must suspend the AuthorTree Blog until further notice.

Thankfully, however, the Wordclay team will continue to contribute to their company blog at http://freeself-publishing.com. All news regarding marketing self-published books, social networks and other publishing news relevant to both self-publishing and traditional authors will continued to be posted appropriately.

Feel free to continue posting your comments either here at AuthorTreeHouse or within Wordclay’s Blog, where our professional blogging team will respond promptly.

Thanks for your readership as well as your loyalty this past year of blogging, and we hope you will continue to read our posts at http://freeself-publishing.com.

-The AuthorTreeHouse Bloggers

Tis the season of holiday cheer and bargain shopping for loved ones, of course. That’s the reason Inkubook.com allows everyone an absolutely ingenious way to design quality color books and capture Christmas memories with your very own pictures, from the comfort of your own home computer.

Seriously, registration is free — they never ask for billing info unless you’re buying books that is — and uploading your pictures takes only a few minutes. From there, you can crop and intuitively insert images into your book to your desired specs.

With a range of sizes and page counts, you can now immortalize those precious memories in less than an hour, assured you’ll receive a quality product that you can give to friends, family and coworkers.

What exactly is Inkubook?
Inkubook, an Author Solutions brand, is an easy-to-use online photo book creation service that enables people to make drop-dead gorgeous photo books in minutes. With Inkubook, it’s simple to upload photos and then drag-and-drop them onto creative layouts to make a fantastic book. Inkubook creators can even invite friends to contribute text and photos, which makes collaborative book-making fast and fun.

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How can Inkubook help?
f you’re anything like this blogger, then you keep your digital camera nearby, especially during the holidays. Just think, you can create a funny album of the annual company holiday party; you can layout your own keepsake of pictures taken on Christmas morning, opening presents with family; or you can easily make a calendar featuring hilarious and endearing moments with friends — the possibilities are endless!

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What’s the Inkubook process?

Create a Free Account
Experimenting with Inkubook is free. When you join, they collect only a little basic information from you, so they know which books are yours. Then play with the online software all you want. It’s all absolutely free until you decide to buy your book, and even then they might have a great discount for you.

Create Your Custom Photo Book
You’re probably busy this season — who isn’t? So their team has streamlined the process for us, with a simple way to upload your photos (it’s a lot like attaching a file to an e-mail) and a drag-and-drop method for putting your photos on the pages. When you’re ready to add some text, just click on the page and start typing.

Invite Friends & Family to Contribute to Your Book
If you’ve ever said the words, “Oh, will you send me that picture?” the Invite Friends feature is going to seem like a gift. You can send invitations to friends and family to ask that they upload photos for you. It’s the perfect way to do a group project. You can even import addresses from Yahoo!, Gmail, Hotmail and others.

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Why Inkubook?

Professional Quality
Their photo books are printed on 100 lb. archival-quality silk paper, which means your books will stand up to years of being flipped through.

Affordably Priced
Hardcover Photo Books: $24.95
A great value as a gift, a promotional piece, or a personal keepsake.

Softcover Photo Books: $13.95
For a reasonable cost, you can print multiple copies to share with others.

Volume Printing and Pricing (albums, scrapbooks, calendars, etc.)
Need to print a whole bunch of books? Maybe 10 for the whole family? Or perhaps 500 calendars for selling around town? Don’t worry, they can accommodate large orders.

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Book Formats and Pricing
Inkubooks are currently available in three popular, classic sizes, and more will be added in the future. Current styles are:

• The Simple Square: 8.5″ x 8.5″
• The Ultimate Portrait: 8.5″ x 11″
• The Classic Landscape: 11″ x 8.5″
• The Great Big Square: 11″ x 11″

Click on the images of the books that are shown above to read more about each style. Very soon, they’ll be adding the Mini Brag, too.

If you’d like to find out more about using Inkubook, how the software works, and how to easily collaborate with friends and family, visit their Learn More page, the Creating Photos Books page, and the Photo Book Fun with Your Friends page.

It’s no secret that audio books are a thriving business for authors, and if you’re already publishing a book, why not look into having a voice over talent record your manuscript for audio publication?

Think about it. Millions of people listen to podcasts and books on their morning commutes and even in their offices as they peck away at the keyboard. Making your audio book available can really get a great buzz going about your book. Even if one person purchases an audio copy of your title, you can bet that others will overhear, inquire about your book and perhaps even add your audio book to their online shopping cart for a listen.

Plus, with iTunes coupled with the iPod hardware so available as the modern listening technology of choice, recouping your investment can be easy with the right marketing plan.

Since Author Solutions, Inc. has yet to offer audio books, our marketing gang found two superb and trusted organizations that handles voice over talents, namely Voices.com and Voice123.

VOICE OVER TALENT AGENCIES FOR AUDIO BOOKS

Voices.com
Voices.com is a unique web service that helps you complete your voice over recording, music production and language translation projects online. It’s simple, fast, and web-based. You don’t need to download or install anything — everything happens in your web browser.

Helping more than 58,000 people, some of their clients include ABC, NBC, CBS, Dreamworks, Disney, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Bell South, Nortel Networks, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Xerox, Ford, GM, BMW, Shell, Texaco, NASA, the US Army and many more.

In addition to being fast and diplomatic, ensuring you get the best deal while connecting to the best voice over talents, their clients have said they have reduced their costs by as much as 60 percent by using their service. By working directly with professional voice talent you don’t need to book recording studios, hire an audio engineer or casting director to complete your project.

With their free Client Account you can:

• Post a job or search the database
• View voice talent profiles and listen to audio demos online
• Compare qualifications, quotes and availability of professionals
• Pay the voice talent using SurePay™ Escrow service
• Download finished work securely from Voices.com
• Satisfaction Guaranteed when you use SurePay™ Escrow!

Voice123
Voice123 is one of the biggest and most technologically advanced group of voice over talents and voice producers in the world. Whether you want a local voice talent for your next national TV commercial or a fully-produced piece of audio in Japanese for your book promotions in Japan, Voice123 can help. Voice123 allows you to hire thousands of voice over talent and voice producers from all over the world within your budge. Language, accent and geographical borders are now things of the past!

Post a project and let talents or producers submit auditions or proposals. No time for auditions? Easy: get in contact with the talent or producer right away. Use Voice123’s SmartSearch feature to find the professionals you like, or simply allow SmartCast find the best voice for you.

The entire process may take a couple of hours. Most of their talents and voice producers have their own recording studio facilities, saving you time and money.

Manage all your castings quickly and free! Talents submit their audition using their state-of-the-art online auditioning system. You manage the auditions as you wish grading them, sharing them, downloading them, storing them and much more!

The Point: An investment in audio books can not only earn you money, but also become a lucrative strategy to promote your book worldwide and even break into yet another marketplace.

It’s no secret that audio books are a thriving business for authors, and if you’re already publishing a book, why not look into having a voice over talent record your manuscript for audio publication?

Think about it. Millions of people listen to podcasts and books on their morning commutes and even in their offices as they peck away at the keyboard. Order an audio book can really get a great buzz going about your book. Even if one person purchases an audio copy of your title, you can bet that others will overhear, inquire about your book and perhaps even add your audio book to their online shopping cart for a listen.

Plus, with iTunes copled with the new iPod hardware so available as the modern listening technology of choice, recouping your investment can be easy with the right marketing plan.

Since Author Solutions, Inc. has yet to offer audio books, our marketing gang found two superb and trusted organizations that handles voice over talents, namely Voices.com and Voice123.

VOICE OVER TALENT AGENCIES FOR AUDIO BOOKS

Voices.com
Voices.com is a unique web service that helps you complete your voice over recording, music production and language translation projects online. It’s simple, fast, and web-based. You don’t need to download or install anything — everything happens in your web browser.

Helping more than 58,000 people, some of their clients include ABC, NBC, CBS, Dreamworks, Disney, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Bell South, Nortel Networks, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Xerox, Ford, GM, BMW, Shell, Texaco, NASA, the US Army and many more.

In addition to being fast and diplomatic, ensuring you get the best deal while connecting to the best voice over talents, their clients have said they have reduced their costs by as much as 60 percent by using their service. By working directly with professional voice talent you don’t need to book recording studios, hire an audio engineer or casting director to complete your project.

With their free Client Account you can:

• Post a job or search the database
• View voice talent profiles and listen to audio demos online
• Compare qualifications, quotes and availability of professionals
• Pay the voice talent using SurePay™ Escrow service
• Download finished work securely from Voices.com
• Satisfaction Guaranteed when you use SurePay™ Escrow!

Voice123
Voice123 is one of the biggest and most technologically advanced group of voice over talents and voice producers in the world. Whether you want a local voice talent for your next national TV commercial or a fully-produced piece of audio in Japanese for your book promotions in Japan, Voice123 can help. Voice123 allows you to hire thousands of voice over talent and voice producers from all over the world within your budge. Language, accent and geographical borders are now things of the past!

Post a project and let talents or producers submit auditions or proposals. No time for auditions? Easy: get in contact with the talent or producer right away. Use Voice123’s SmartSearch feature to find the professionals you like, or simply allow SmartCast find the best voice for you.

The entire process may take a couple of hours. Most of their talents and voice producers have their own recording studio facilities, saving you time and money.

Manage all your castings quickly and free! Talents submit their audition using their state-of-the-art online auditioning system. You manage the auditions as you wish grading them, sharing them, downloading them, storing them and much more!

The Point: An investment in audio books can not only earn you money, but also become a lucrative strategy to promote your book worldwide and even break into yet another marketplace.

Are you a Christian writer? Have a manuscript you want to self-publish for free? ASI’s new Christian Publishing Program may just be your ticket…

Equipped with a publishing wizard that allows registered members to design their own covers and select their own royalty rate, Words of Belief allows authors to turn their manuscripts into perfect bound, professional quality books in less than an hour, from the comfort of their own home.

Best of all, all WOB authors receive free, unlimited channel distribution, which means your book will be available for order at Amazon.com, Borders.com and Barnes & Noble, free of charge. Once you complete the process, your publication will automatically be assigned an ISBN, and the Author Solutions, Inc, team will make certain your title is distributed within the retail book marketplace.

About Words of Belief:
Words of Belief is a Christian self-publishing company that employs a free online publishing wizard to help both emerging and established authors spread the word of God. [read more]

Read their announcements as well as the full press release here>>

This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.

The short answer, NO!

Wordclay’s contests are completely legit.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Of course a Wordclay employee would say that the contest isn’t a scam … why should we believe you?!”

Well, I’d like to present some evidence that proves Wordclay’s Writing Contests are not scams.

Exhibit A: Look at our first contests, the Poetry Contests, as an example. The Single Poem and Book of Poetry contests were both completely free to enter, and the results are readily available. We’ve made massive amounts of information available to you on the winners at Wordclay’s Contest Connection as well was the this blog. Extensive follow-up rarely occurs with scams.

Exhibit B: Our very own blog contributor, Justin, posted interviews he conducted with both Grand Prize winners Brenda Mirsky and Jamie Crawford. As you read the interviews, you can even see comments from Mirsky’s family members. You’ll see that we never tried to “pull a fast one” on the participants. The prizes were given without hesitation, and we never badgered or bullied anyone into additional services. Winning the book length contest only require additional costs if the winner chose to purchase additional services – but it’s really an all-inclusive package. (Mirsky’s book is currently still in production, but we can hardly wait to announce its availability soon!)

Exhibit C: Wordclay is currently spreading the word about the upcoming contest deadline on numerous traffic Web sites, including StumbleUpon, WOW!, Protagonize, Today’s Woman, FaithWriters and Storiesville, among others. It’s doubtful that a writing contest scam would care about the diversity of their submissions enough to put the time in to conduct research, or bother to spend the money on advertising.

Exhibit D: Wordclay started a series called Best Modern Voices, a printed book which all finalists receive for free, because we want to feature our best submissions. Seems like an awful lot of work to convince people of a scam. And, the first in the series, Best Modern Voices, Volume 1: A Poetry Anthology, is now available through our bookstore for an extremely low and affordable cost, as opposed to the outrageous prices you’d expect from a contest designed to rip people off.

Despite the above exhibits, you may remain unconvinced. Or, you have questions about our ability to host a free contest as well as our intentions. Truth be told, there are countless writing contest scams infecting the Internet every day, and who can blame you nowadays for being a bit skeptical when submitting your work?

And, in addition to being skeptical about contest sponsors, maybe you’re still not so sure about this whole self-publishing industry to begin with. How can you tell which DIY self-publishing companies are trustworthy? All I can say is the Wordclay constantly tries to elevate self-publishing to feasible, even lucrative status with resources such as:

(1) free services such as Claim Your Space and publishing through the wizard

(2) free marketing information and templates at the Genre Lounge, free whitepapers on the Web site, free forums and interactions here at the company blog ( http://freeself-publishing.com )

(3) free contests that allow emerging writers to easily submit their poems and stories online alongside established authors, with the real possibility of publication.

Plus, it’s part of the Author Solutions Inc. family, a well-known, established company. And, if you want even more proof, Wordclay is meets all BBBOnLine participation and Better Business Bureau membership standards.

That said, the question remains: what’s true about your suspicions?

Submission guidelines: We’re still learning the ropes. As we continue hosting writing contests, we’ll continue to perfect our submission process to make things easier, clearer and more enjoyable for everyone.

And, it’s true that we are human and do make mistakes. We were recently informed that in our Terms and Conditions of the Short Story Contests, it listed the date of announcing the winners as “June 31, 2008,” when there are only 30 days in June. It’s in no way a scam, just a mistake and we apologize for the error.

Registration Information: Yes, of course, we store your name and e-mail address when you register with Wordclay, but we do not sell your information. We have a Privacy Policy in place that explains exactly how your information is used, but mostly, it just means that you might get an e-mail from us once in a while, from which of course, you can always opt out. 

So, you might still be wondering why we would host a contest for free.  Good question. The truth is we’re a bit crazy, and we like writers. Is that so bad?

We also are a relatively new company and a writing contest is a nice welcome to our existing authors, and raise awareness of Wordclay in the writing community. I think every writer should be educated about how easily they can publish a book, and although Wordclay may not be the best option for every single writer out there, we’re definitely a good fit for many.

Hopefully this post will clear the air and address the questions of the skeptics in the room. For those who are still skeptical, I dare you to enter the contest. That way, you can see for yourself that it’s not a trick. Just a contest!

-Angie

One marketing writer with a thing for robots and obscure post-punk named Justin Dimos, plus one Jacqueline of all promotional trades named Tasheena Moore, plus an owl named Professor Willard Wisely who’s been around the publishing block more than once, plus a mischievous woodpecker named Doubting Thomas who is always rubbing his beak skeptically whenever self-publishing and self-marketing are mentioned, these four personalities combine to form your AuthorTreeHouse blogging team.

Of course, our bloggers come from different backgrounds – two of them are birds after all – and each has their own professional expertise when it comes to promoting titles. For a better understanding of their publishing and promotion knowledge, visit AuthorNest for the unique marketing forums they individually manage. For now, however, here’s some bio information that might give you some insight into their personalities.

Blogger: Justin Dimos

Species: Homo sapien a.k.a. human

Age: 26 human years

Status: Seeking enlightenment…

Habitats: Local coffeehouses, tattoo parlors, dive bars, AuthorTreeHouse

Likes: Writing (book reviews and blogs), Reading (Joyce Carol Oates and Jeffrey Eugenides mostly), DIY post-punk (anything on the Hyped to Death label), shoegazer bands (Slowdive for instance), literary journals (like Canteen or Missouri Review), pop culture magazines (check out PopMatters.com or Stop Smiling), watching sci-fi shows (Stargate is his guilty pleasure)

Education: Master’s in creative writing from The University of Arizona

Experience: Managed Sonora Review as Editor-in-Chief for two years before joining Author Solutions a year ago as a marketer for Wordclay and AuthorTree, both organizations for which he manages company blogs

Life Expectancy: Live long and prosper!

.

Blogger: Tasheena Moore

Species: Homo sapien a.k.a. human

Age: 22 years in this life

Status: Living off water and sunshine…

Habitats: The lake, the open road, AuthorTreeHouse  

Likes: Art, writing (press releases and cover copy), procrastinating, music (lately Tegan and Sara, Ani Difranco and Rilo Kiley) editing, freelancing, re-watching movies, cheap reality TV (Girlicious and America’s Next Top Model), Stella Artois, obsessing over magazines (mostly Curve, Blender and Alternative Press), making lists, analyzing human behavior

Education: Bachelor’s in journalism from Indiana University Bloomington

Experience: Writer and marketing assistant at Fly on the Wall Media before joining the promotions department at Author Solutions in 2007 as a press release specialist and project manager.

Life Expectancy: High expectations…

.

Blogger: Professor Willard Wisely

Species: Athene cunicularia a.k.a. Burrowing Owl

Age: Too old to remember

Status: Teaching chicks…

Habitats: North America, publishing conferences, AuthorTreeHouse

Likes: Fish, mice, gazing at the moon, deep contemplations, chalkboards, warm cardigans, classic books, with a weakness for Mozart.

Education: Six years of Ph.D. study at The Forest University of Marketing

Experience: In addition to his genetic disposition to wisdom, not to mention his time at Forest University, this professor has a firm talon grasp on the big book publishing picture, from editing to publishing to Web marketing.

Life Expectancy: Young enough to outwit whippersnapper predators…

.

Blogger: Doubting Thomas

Species: Campephilus imperialis a.k.a. Imperial Woodpecker

Age: 38 woodpecker years

Status: All work and no play make Tom a dull boy…

Habitats: Mexico bound, but he head-bangs at the occasional punk show, AuthorTreeHouse

Likes: Wood, Rene Descartes and other radical skeptics.

Education: Street smarts, he can smell a scam from a mile away…

Experience: Being pessimistic and distrustful of the self-publishing industry, Thomas was hesitant to join up with the AuthorTreeHouse gang. He’s still not 100 percent convinced, but the crew wants his objective opinion, and he gets all the wood he’s ever dreamed of.

Life Expectancy: May be the last of his kind…

###

Author Solutions Family Tree:

To gain a complete understanding of the AuthorTreeHouse blueprint, you’ll need a quick trip in the publishing way-back machine. Before nailing the first board into our new marketing blog, AuthorTree had already grown from the fertile ground of Author Solutions Inc. Similar to AuthorTree’s free author Web sites, ASI also provides free self-publishing through Wordclay. Both Justin and Tasheena are active within both Wordclay and AuthorTree, so when you ask your questions or post your suggestions, our bloggers should respond with thorough feedback, pulling from their experiences within the publicity field as well as the publishing industry.

###

Coming Attractions:

Keep an eye open in subsequent weeks when our blogging crew should begin posting on marketing subjects that matter to traditional and self-published alike.

If you’re curious about a certain subject, feel free to post within AuthorNest or simply respond here. Our flock is always willing to provide relevant promotional information at zero cost to curious Internet surfers. Whether you’re an established author looking to increase your book sales or an emerging writer searching for an effective method of sharing your voice within online writing communities, we’ll definitely provide the facts and figures you’ll need to spread your marketing wings and take flight.

DIY what? MIY who?

Companies and organizations have been reputed for casually throwing around these acronyms like snowballs in winter, never knowing exactly for what DIY or MIY actually stand.

So let’s set the record straight now, get to the bottom of these terms and detail some Internet corners where the DIY and MIY are legitimately supported as well as encouraged.

DEFINING TERMS:

DIY (or “Do-it-yourself”): A term coined from the ‘50s that commonly refers to the process of making or building something for oneself without the aid of paid professions. The goal of DIY pursuits is as much about making a useful product as it is about self-empowerment.

MIY (or “Make-it-yourself”): Like DIY, MIY endeavors are primarily about creating a good that is functional and decorative, with a personal touch. MIY is a relatively recent term, focusing on crafting, clothing and household projects. The goal of most MIY pursuits is to encourage individuality in products and life, instead of cookie-cutter corporate standards.

Zine: Short for magazine, zines are smaller magazine that are usually hand written (or typed) as well as hand bound. Circulation is generally lower for zines, and distribution occurs either through distros or alternative publishing companies like Microcosm Publishing whose primary goal is to encourage self-empowerment and creativity.

Graphic Novel: A type of comic book that usually contains a higher page count, higher-quality illustrations and a more in depth storyline. Graphic novels are typically perfect bound and geared toward a more mature audience.

Craft: Either a skill (as in crafting a short story or repairing a car) or a term used to describe the decorative arts (as in Arts and Crafts). Some common handmade crafts associate with the DIY/MIY mentality include: pottery, ceramics, metal work, weaving, knitting, sewing, jewelry making, wood working, glass blowing.

DIY subculture: A group within the majority that feels a distinct lack of satisfaction and aesthetic in the industrial process of making goods for distribution. This subculture is often associated with music, revolution and activism.

###

COMMON CONFUSIONS:

To DIY, To Sleep Perchance to Dream

One common confusion about the term DIY is the extent of yourself in the projects. Obviously, calling a plumber to fix a sink you never installed is not DIY. While knitting your own scarf with your own pattern is a great example of the DIY work ethic.  

But what about the middle? What about companies like Wordclay who are using a publishing wizard to design books as well as professionals to bind, print and sell books?

It’s a good question, one with a good answer, too. 

Short of buying your own printing software and press, self-publishing companies like Lulu.com, CreateSpace, or even BookSurge, are about as DIY as publishing can get. Wordclay, especially, since we not only provide free publishing, but we’ve woven in links to other writing and DIY communities throughout our Web site. We also offer contests like our current Short Story Contests, which are easy and free to enter. And if you ever visit our site, you’ll see the wealth of information on genres, marketing, promotion, whatever you can image.

It’s true – we publish your book; we moved your manuscript into a publishable format and print copies as they’re ordered via our Bookstore as well as other major retailers. But remember, DIY is doing. You wrote your book after all; you sweated over words and sentences for hours at a time; and with our publishing wizard, you’re the one selecting your cover design, your interior layout, your prices and royalty rate, not Wordclay. You had a vision for a book, and you’ve carried it through to the very end. If that’s not DIY, I don’t know what is.

### 

To MIY or Not to MIY – That’s the Question

Another common concerns people have about the DIY methodology is essentially its core mission, namely whether he or she has the spare time and resources to make something by themselves. 

While hobbies and creating little knick knacks is all well and good, what about a garden or a pair of pants? Personally, I wouldn’t know where to begin if I was supposed to make my own jeans. I would write “buy denim” on my to-do list and then shrug, clueless. Really, do I even want to make my own pants?

What are professionals paid for anyway, if not to make pants and design books? Besides, hardly an individual exists that is truly self-sufficient, making and doing everything themselves. There might be one or two in the states, but you probably haven’t heard of him because, well, he doesn’t need anyone or want anything. 

But wait – let’s take a step back here. Who said you had to DIY/MIY everything? No one does. People barter with money and services all the time. People call plumbers and get the satellite installed. I can buy pants after all.

You don’t have to DIY everything, but some find a great joy in making their own garden or pants from scratch. Perhaps we don’t make our own garden fences from trees we cut from our backyard, and maybe we don’t weave and dye our own denim, but the DIY and MIY mentality isn’t about being completely independent. Rather it’s about using the resources available to you and taking responsibility for a product you would enjoy making. After all, as the saying goes, only God can make a tree. 

With Wordclay, we give you the options to do as much or as little as you want. Want to design your cover? Then use the publishing wizard to piece together a cover you’re proud to call your own. Want a professional to design your cover? Then pick up a custom cover design package and don’t sweat it. You can be as DIY as you’d like using Wordclay.

### 

Practice Makes Perfect: Must-See DIY and MIY Organizations Online

About AuthorTree: AuthorTree exists to empower today’s author by providing intuitive, cost-effective promotional Web sites to advance their career goals. Online marketing has become a necessary facet of any book’s promotional campaign. AuthorTree wants to help authors harness the power of the internet to reach their audiences and make them grow.

We realize that it can be difficult to keep up with the rapid pace at which the internet evolves, and we all have different comfort levels with technology. It is part of our mission to maintain a comprehensive resource library so our authors can educate themselves about the technology we use.

Located at the Author Solutions headquarters in Bloomington, Indiana, AuthorTree’s dedicated staff has years of experience helping authors reach their self-publishing goals. We’re dedicated to bringing that experience to bear in helping our authors cultivate thriving careers. 

About Lifehacker: Welcome to Lifehacker, an award-winning, daily blog that features tips, shortcuts, and downloads that help you get things done smarter and more efficiently. Lifehacker launched in January 2005, and now ranks as one of the top-linked blogs on the internet according to Technorati. In 2006 Wired Magazine named Lifehacker Best Blog in their annual Rave Awards ceremony. Lifehacker’s also been mentioned in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Oprah Magazine and PC Magazine as well as other mainstream press outlets.

In addition to publishing over 20 tips per day, the Lifehacker editorial team develops an exclusive line of productivity software applications called Lifehacker Code, which we invite you to download and try out for free. In late 2006, Wiley and Sons published our first book, Lifehacker: 88 Tech Tricks to Turbocharge Your Day, authored by Gina Trapani, Lifehacker’s founding editor. The second edition of the book, Upgrade Your Life, is due out in March 2008.

About DIYSEARCH: To put it simply, diysearch was created out of frustration in 1996 by David Palmer. Back in those days there wasn’t anything like this, and the major search engines just didn’t spider these little out on the fringe sites. Yes, google has done a pretty damn good job with their pagerank system in making it much much easier to find just about any site, the problem is still the glut of results returned in a typical google search. diysearch is much more focused. That is key. focus. If you’re interested enough, Palmer has written up an abridged history of the site.

About DoItYourself.com: DoItYourself.com is the leading independent home improvement and home repair website. It has been repeatedly honored among the Best on the Web, and was named “One of the Top 50 Sites in the World” by Time Magazine. In addition to its extraordinarily broad list of topics, it operates the most active home improvement forums on the Internet, enabling consumers to get personalized advice from professionals in over 100 subjects. 

About DIY Convention: The DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music & Books teaches filmmakers, musicians, authors and entrepreneurs how to create, promote, protect and distribute independent film, music and books.

The DIY Convention and its related events are produced by JM Northern Media LLC, an independent media company based in Los Angeles.

JM Northern Media has several divisions. They include:

LIVE EVENTS: Besides the DIY Convention, we produce the DIY Music Festival, DIY Film Festival and the DIY Book Festival, each honoring top independent works from their respective art; and the monthly Club DIY series spotlighting works from the festivals and featuring an entertainment industry panel discussion.

NEWS: We produce the DIYReporter.com, a daily news, feature and review subscription site; and OFFtheCHARTS.com, an in-depth analysis of breaking news from the world of entertainment.

BOOKS: OTC Press is the publisher of Off The Charts: Ruthless Days and Reckless Nights Inside The Music Industry and Beyond The Charts: MP3 and the Digital Music Revolution.

About Craftster: Craftster.org was started in August 2003 as a repository for hip, off-beat, crafty diy (do it yourself) projects.

People who have crafty urges, but who are not excited by cross stitched bunnies and crocheted toilet paper cozies, can show off their current craft projects, ask advice on future projects and get inspiration for new endeavors.
Whenever possible, members are encouraged to post pictures of the steps involved in making a project as well as the final results.

Craftster.org attempts to be carefully organized to allow members to easily find the projects they are looking for.

Special emphasis is placed on projects that involve recycling, reusing and repurposing existing objects. The thinking is that whenever an object can be reused rather than buried in a landfill, it’s a worthy venture – not to mention an interesting challenge!

About miy Creations: miy “Make-it-yourself” is Your @ HOME and GARDEN DECOR NETWORK; with hundreds of home decor craft projects, inspirations, ideas and images…all to inspire your creative soul to make, create and decorate your home all year round.

About make it you: The Revolution is about making the world a more creative place! If you choose to accept, your mission is to execute individuality and passion in every creative project you tackle. Your unit will consist of you, your friends and a complete arsenal of artistic sewing tools. Recruit friends along the way. Avoid capture by unlikely foes of idleness, frustration & procrastination at all cost. In case of capture, contact home base and start from the beginning. Do not accept defeat. To find your target visit a Studio MIY shop near you. Upon your arrival, be prepared for guerilla sewing, high-contact quilting and reconstructive crafting. Good luck!

About Make-Stuff: For crafters, hobbyists, entrepreneurs and PEOPLE WHO JUST LIKE TO MAKE STUFF! When your friends say, “You know you can buy one of those…” do you say, “Yeah, so?” If you love to make things, if you constantly have a project going in a back room, or cluttering up a kitchen counter, if you start making Christmas presents in June and you watch all those do-it-yourself shows on TV, come on in! We’ve got all kinds of recipes, formulas, craft projects and ideas that you can make yourself.

About Scrapbooker Online: Scrapbooker Online’s primary focus is to provide a community for scrapbook artists and enthusiast to come together and share their scrapbooking ideas. Please take the time to register with our site and join our community. Registration is free and easy. Once registered you will be able to submit your favorite web links, join discussions, and even submit articles and ideas which we may decide to publish.

All “About Us” sections were lifted directly from the corresponding Web sites.

There you have it, DIYers. Whether your crafting, scrapbooking, building your own Web site, gardening, sewing, whatever your MIY heart desires, you should be able to find an outlet in one of the listed communities.

If you have another DIY community, tip or magazine that you’d like to share, please, by all means, share away. Wordclay, bringing DIYers together since 2007.

This is Justin Dimos, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.

We have liftoff indeed! 

Wordclay is declaring its beta phase a success and has officially launched version 1.0 this morning. Now we’re all pretty excited here at mission control: I’m deep in a space-blog; Angie’s batting her fists; Jenn’s jumping in her seat; and Kelli’s dancing something that resembles a jig. We’re walking on our own personal moon, and we’re slightly lightheaded with the feeling of accomplishment if you haven’t noticed.  

Fortunately, today’s operation has run with relative smoothness. Between the mayhem of last minute fixes and the sheer amount of new users we’re working diligently to support, we’ve remained relatively calm and steady. Of course we’ve endured our fair share of snafus in the past few weeks, but we’ve managed to avert the most disastrous of the crises thus far – knock on wood. But it’s only morning, the day is still young after all, and we haven’t run out of coffee yet. 

The official launch has been a long time coming. Our staff has burned a significant amount midnight oil, and although I wouldn’t exactly say we’ve bled, the months spent sweating over the publishing wizard and the Wordclay Web site have definitely paid off.  

Free, easy, online DIY publishing: Mission Accomplished! 

Think of the possibilities: writers can publish their manuscripts; crafters can publish their scrapbooks and how-to guides; literary journal editors can easily bypass slow designers and costly printers; screenwriters and playwrights can order perfect bound copies of their scripts; teachers and professors can generate workbooks; and whatever else you can imagine for a book. Here’s a place where writers can visit whenever they want to design and publish their books, free of charge – it’s like magic! 

Don’t just take my word for it. Knowing me, I’m just thrilled that there now exists yet another DIY mode of expression, as in more than just crafts and cassettes these days. Five minutes surfing our Web site, and I guarantee you’ll agree that Wordclay is not only an amazing concept, but user-friendly as well. But, hey – you be the judge.  

Keep an eye open for our future blogs and our mention of some awesome online writing communities, too. Think of them as our allies in the cyberspace race for this new wave of publishing. Wordclay is an ever-evolving work-in-progress, and us techies and writers will continue to bring our author-nauts home safely. 

So come one, come all. Do some quality browsing on the new and improved Wordclay site. And then, post your thoughts, your suggestions and your reservations about our unique take on publishing and maybe we can get to the bottom of this ongoing dialogue. At the very least we’ll have an interesting conversation and perhaps share a laugh. Let’s get this Wordclay launch rocking and rolling. 

This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.  

View the official Press Release of the launch: 

Wordclay, the Do-It-Yourself Book Publishing Web Site, Launches General Availability

Innovative online publishing tool allows users to make a book in minutes 

(Jan. 15, 2008 – BLOOMINGTON, Ind.)  Wordclay, the easiest, fastest and most dynamic DIY publishing Web site, initiated its general availability launch Tuesday. During its highly successful beta period, users started nearly 5,000 book projects with the free publishing tool.

“Wordclay’s book knowledge is ‘baked in,’ which means users don’t need to be concerned about the details of publishing, such as calculating spine width and gutter size, and can instead focus on writing a great book and then marketing it,” said Dave McCauley, Wordclay president. “Equipped with a computer and Internet connection, Wordclay authors can make a book in mere minutes.

”Wordclay makes it simple for writers of all experience levels to self-publish their books. Authors create a free password-protected online account that lets them control each step of the publishing process, from uploading the manuscript to designing the front cover to selecting the price of the book and their royalty. The book doesn’t need to be published in one sitting; the authors’ work is saved at every step.

“With Wordclay, I am free to have any motive I desire for my decision to publish,” said beta user Gregory Culver. “It could be for International fame, fortune, hobby, distribute family genealogy, specialty book not appealing to the masses, subject book for my students, cookbook for a fundraiser, or any book for my own enjoyment.

”Books created on the Wordclay Web site are printed on-demand, which ensures that authors will not have to pay for the cost to print a single copy before it is sold.For more information on publishing your book today, or to enter Wordclay’s poetry contest, please visit http://www.wordclay.com.

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Wordclay, an Author Solutions brand, is a DIY self-publisher focused on providing a simple and independent Internet publishing experience for authors. Authors who publish their work via the Wordclay publishing wizard have their books available for purchase in Wordclay’s online Bookstore. Authors who select Channel Book Distribution have their books available for sale at more than 25,000 retailers worldwide, including Amazon.com.