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Jim Cox Report: October 2026
Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:
AuthorChecklist.com is a free publishing checklist and resource directory for independent, hybrid, and traditionally published authors. (Publishing/Marketing professionals can use it, too.)
In the interest of full disclosure -- The Midwest Book Review is a favorably listed author and publisher resource in the Journals & Reviews page.
https://www.authorchecklist.com/reviews/midwest-book-review
I have no relationship with AuthorChecklist.com. I am simply bringing it to the attention of independent authors, publishers, publicists, book reviewers, and hardcore bibliophiles as a particularly good source of free and contemporary information about such areas of the publishing industry as:
Today's News (relevant to the publishing industry)
Literary Agents
Awards
Review Outlets
Podcasts
Independent Book Stores
Author Events
Check out https://www.authorchecklist.com and I think you too will be favorable impressed -- and maybe find it useful!
Quote of the Month
"I wrote a book. It sucked. I wrote nine more books. They sucked, too. Meanwhile, I read every single thing I could find on publishing and writing, went to conferences, joined professional organizations, hooked up with fellow writers in critique groups, and didn't give up. Then I wrote one more book." -Beth Revis
Websites of the Month
AuthorChecklist.com
https://www.authorchecklist.com
How to Write a Book and Get It Published
(Type this phrase into Google and get more than a dozen thematically themed websites)
Here are reviews that will prove of particular interest to writers, publishers, and bibliophiles:
Sit Write Here
April Davila
St. Martin's Essentials
c/o St. Martin's Press
9781250425232, $19.00, PB, 224pp
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Sit-Write-Here-Mindfulness-Practices/dp/1250425239
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sit-write-here-april-davila/1148283871
Synopsis: With the publication of "Sit Write Here: 6 Mindfulness Practices to Help You Write More and Suffer Less", award-winning novelist and certified mindfulness instructor April Dávila presents a groundbreaking approach to writing that integrates the practice of Insight Meditation.
Drawing from her personal journey and professional experience, Dávila reveals how mindfulness can help writers improve their craft and navigate common challenges such as writer's block, self-doubt, and ubiquitous distractions. Through practical exercises and relatable anecdotes, she demonstrates how cultivating present-moment awareness can enhance creativity and bring greater ease to the writing process.
Structured around six key practices, "Sit Write Here" guides writers to:
Get Writing by developing deep concentration to foster a state of creative flow.
Embrace Discomfort to better portray conflict on the page.
Keep Going by identifying and overcoming internal obstacles that masquerade as "writer's block."
Explore Emotions to deepen authenticity.
Engage Reality to refine the editing process with mindful awareness.
Find Equanimity to maintain resilience in the face of feedback and rejection.
Whether you are a seasoned author or just beginning your writing journey, "Sit Write Here" offers a compassionate and practical framework to transform your writing practice. By embracing mindfulness, writers can not only enhance their craft but also find greater fulfillment and joy in the creative process.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Sit Write Here: 6 Mindfulness Practices to Help You Write More and Suffer Less" is a complete course of instruction on becoming a successful writer whether its in crafted a novel, a novella, or a short story. Offering a wealth of time-tested and real world practical insights, exercises, and information, "Sit Write Here" is an especially and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Writing/Publishing instructional reference collections and supplemental Creative Writing curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for all aspiring or experienced writers that this paperback edition of "Sit Write Here" from St. Martin's Essentials is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note: April Dávila (https://aprildavila.com/) is an award-winning author, speaker, and writing coach. Publishers Weekly called her debut novel, 142 Ostriches, a "vivid, uplifting debut" and the book went on to win the WILLA Award for Women Writing the West. Writer's Digest listed her blog (at aprildavila.com) as one of the Best 101 Websites for Writers and she is the creator of the 'Sit Write Here' writing coaching program, helping writers quiet their inner critics, overcome writer's block, and edit more effectively.
Following the Footsteps of Laura Ingalls Wilder: An Editor's Reflections
Nancy Tystad Koupal
South Dakota Historical Society Press
https://www.sdhspress.com
9781941813713, $29.95, HC, 176pp
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Following-Footsteps-Laura-Ingalls-Wilder/dp/B0HF3P3WSC
Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/following-the-footsteps-of-laura-ingalls-wilder-nancy-tystad-koupal/1151070770
Synopsis: A part of the Pioneer Girl Project, with the publication of "Following the Footsteps of Laura Ingalls Wilder: An Editor's Reflections" Nancy Tystad Koupal compiles more than a decade's worth of blog posts, covering a vast range of topics related to Laura Ingalls Wilder including: LauraPalooza conferences, behind-the-scenes accounts of publishing the Pioneer Girl Project and Little House books, fascinating vignettes about Wilder's life and their influence on her writing, and more.
The final chapter includes a full-length essay that investigates the puzzle of Wilder's posthumously published Little House novel, The First Four Years.
Koupal also muses on her own life's work as an editor, which has given her extraordinary perspective into the working relationship between Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter and editor, Rose Wilder Lane.
Koupal argues that Lane's editing, often brilliant, allowed Wilder's deep understanding of her stories and characters to sing. "Even as her skills increased, Wilder listened to her editor,"
Koupal writes. "She continued to rely on Lane for the polish and restraint that editors impose, for the sure advice about which episodes to omit, what episodes to combine, and how to craft effective openings and transitions that complemented the music of the whole. But Wilder was always the author, Lane the editor, and together, they created classics of American literature."
"Following the Footsteps of Laura Ingalls Wilder: An Editor's Reflections" weaves Koupal's insight into the intricacies of editing with her lifelong fascination with Laura Ingalls Wilder. The result is a captivating and highly readable series of blog entries that Wilder fans of all backgrounds are sure to learn from and enjoy.
Critique: Occasionally illustrated with historic B/W photos, "Following the Footsteps of Laura Ingalls Wilder: An Editor's Reflections" is a 'must' for the legions of Laura Ingalls Wiler fans and will prove of immense interest to authors, publishers, and hardcover bibliophiles with an interest in the editorial process. Extraordinarily informative and a simply fascinating read from start to finish, this hardcover edition from the South Dakota Historical Society Press is a unique and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library collections and supplemental Laura Ingalls Wilder curriculum studies lists.
Editorial Note: Nancy Tystad Koupal (www.pioneergirlproject.org) is the Director Emeritus of the Pioneer Girl Project and founding director (1997–2020) of the South Dakota Historical Society Press. She received an M.A. in English from Morehead State University in Kentucky and did postgraduate work in American literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Koupal is the editor of Pioneer Girl: The Path into Fiction (2023), Pioneer Girl: The Revised Texts (2022), Pioneer Girl Perspectives (2017), and Our Landlady (1996), a collection of L. Frank Baum's satirical newspaper columns.
"The Midwest Book Review Postage Stamp Hall Of Fame & Appreciation" is a monthly roster of well-wishers and supporters. These are the generous folk who decided to say 'thank you' and 'support the cause' that is the Midwest Book Review by donating to our postage stamp fund.
Colin Moore
Zena Vaughn
Kim McMillon
James Brennan
Steven Burgauer
Joanna Li -- "A Child of Winter"
Flip Russell -- "The Calico Girls"
Chandra Hoffman -- "The Tender"
Sam Andersson -- "Famous at Night"
Betsy Butterick -- "Kids These Days"
Josh Bottomly -- "The Hobbit Years"
Adam Zuckerman -- "No Loose Ends"
David Johnson -- "The Listening Path®"
Julian Redwood -- "The Goat of Magalies"
Elliott Light -- "The Jackson River Bridge"
Travis Easter -- "T. V. Holiday's Angelface"
John Acree -- "The Day the Moon Got Stuck"
Kemma MarShall -- "Hymns of Blue Hollow"
Mike Karame -- "How to Lose a Life You Love"
Angela Sunday -- "The Baobab Christmas Circle"
David Johnson -- "Serve Others Live Without Fear"
Claude Clayton Smith -- "Red Men in Red Square"
Elaine Russell -- "When the Tamarind Tree Blooms"
Ryan David Ginsberg -- "In The Algorithm We Trust"
David Johnson -- "Fireline" & "The Other Side of Tanner"
Xavier Nuez -- "Alleys & Ruins: A Photographic Memoir"
Cheryl Gorder -- "Humanity's Tipping Point and the Return to Unity"
Ronny Bakous -- "Bakous Unified Field Theory: A Timespace Perspective"
Laura H. Gilbert -- "Senioring: Your Superpower to age Well (Wherever You Like)"
Mark Weiman -- Regent Press
A. J. Thomson -- Roots & Wings
P.E.A.C.E.(R)
Artdog Studio
Outskirts Press
Spirited Ink, LLP
Tone Alone Fitness
Saddle Seeks Horse Press
Elizabeth Frazier -- Waldmania! PR
In lieu of (or in addition to!) postage stamp donations, we also accept PayPal gifts of support to our postage stamp fund for what we try to accomplish in behalf of the small press community.
Simply log onto your PayPal account and direct your kindness (in any amount and at your discretion) to the Midwest Book Review at: SupportMBR [at] aol.com (The @ is replaced by "[at]" in the above email address, in an attempt to avoid email-harvesting spambots.)
If you have postage stamps to donate, or if you have a book you'd like considered for review, then send those postage stamps (always appreciated, never required), or a published copy of that book (no galleys, uncorrected proofs, or Advance Reading Copies), accompanied by a cover letter and some form of publicity release to my attention at the address below.
All of the previous issues of the "Jim Cox Report" are archived on the Midwest Book Review website at www.midwestbookreview.com/bookbiz/jimcox.htm. If you'd like to receive the "Jim Cox Report" directly (and for free), just send me an email asking to be signed up for it.
So until next time -- goodbye, good luck, and good reading!
Jim Cox
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI, 53575
www.midwestbookreview.com
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
www.midwestbookreview.com
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