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Jim Cox Report: June 2025
Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:
It has always been difficult to be a financially self-supporting and successfully published author. In this digital era being a self-supporting and published author has become both easier and more difficult still.
On the one hand are the advances in self-publishing and small press publishing/marketing technologies. It has never been easier for an aspiring writer to turn a manuscript into a book -- ebook, paperback, hardcover -- and then bring it to the attention of its intended readership.
On the other hand, the percentage of the American populace who read books for pleasure and recreation is steadily dwindling with each new generation.
Note that public and community libraries now all have computer terminals for their patrons. Note that increasing numbers of K-12 schools are no longer teaching cursive writing. Note that the two most likely business enterprises to fail within the first 5 years are restaurants and bookstores.
But one of the bright spots in the personal or professional publishing enterprises of today is all the informational resources to be found on the Internet. For example:
All About the Writing Business and Becoming an Author
https://www.llcattorney.com/starting-a-business/all-about-the-writing-business-and-becoming-an-author
This is an invaluable and instructive collection of brief articles about getting into the writing business.
A List of Publishers and Services That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
https://writersweekly.com/angela-desk/a-list-of-publishers-that-all-authors-should-avoid-at-all-costs
What can an author do if a problem develops with their publisher, red flags to watch out for when choosing a publisher, and a whole lot more including podcasts, marketing, and making money in writing and publishing.
Judge A Book By Its Cover
www.JABBIC.com
It's a simply fact of human behavior. People browsing in bookstores and libraries are attracted/repelled by a book's cover. A bad cover will doom a good book. A good cover will make a good book a best seller. That's just the way the world works.
Quote of the Month:
"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
-Toni Morrison
Website of the Month:
How to Publish a Book in 2025: 10 Steps to Success
https://blog.reedsy.com/how-to-publish-a-book
Now here are reviews of books that have a particular interest or value to authors and publishers:
Harry Potter and the Cedarville Censors
Brian Meadows
McFarland & Company
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476674971, $29.95, PB, 217pp
https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Cedarville-Censors-Precedent-Setting/dp/1476674973
Synopsis: In 2002, the Cedarville School Board in Crawford County, Arkansas, ordered the removal of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books from library shelves, holding that "witchcraft or sorcery [should not] be available for study."
This Board decision resulted in some formidable adversaries. School librarian Estella Roberts, standing on policy, had the books reviewed (and unanimously approved) by a committee of teachers and administrators that included a child and a parent.
Not satisfied with the Board's half-measure permitting access to the books with parental approval, 4th-grader Dakota Counts and her father Bill Counts sued the school district in Federal court, drawing on the precedent Pico v. Island Trees to reaffirm that Constitutional rights apply to school libraries.
Written by the lawyer who prosecuted the case, "Harry Potter and the Cedarville Censors: Inside the Precedent-Setting Defeat of an Arkansas Book Ban " details the origins of the book ban and the civil procedures and legal arguments that restored the First Amendment in Cedarville.
Critique: There is a literary plague of book banning going on today such as "Charlotte's Web" being banned from an elementary school library because "God didn't make animals who could talk".
What is needed is a blueprint for fighting back.
An instructive example of how to restore a bigotry or religion biased banned book to a K-12 and/or community library collection for the benefit of their students and patrons, that 'how-to' guide is "Harry Potter and the Cedarville Censors: Inside the Precedent-Setting Defeat of an Arkansas Book Ban".
It should be in every community and college/university library collection in the country. It should be considered essential reading by every librarian, author, publisher, free speech political activist, and Harry Potter fan.
It should also be noted that this trade paperback edition of "Harry Potter and the Cedarville Censors: Inside the Precedent-Setting Defeat of an Arkansas Book Ban" from McFarland & Company is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99).
Editorial Note: Brian Meadors is a former U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officer. After his naval service, he attended Georgetown University Law Center, graduating cum laude. He practiced in Washington, DC, for a few years before moving to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he was a trial lawyer for ten years. He is currently in-house counsel for a Fortune 500 corporation and lives in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Your Writing Matters
Keiko O'Leary
Thinking Ink Press
https://www.thinkinginkpress.com
9781942480341, $14.99, PB, 158pp
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Writing-Matters-Unstuck-Inspired/dp/1942480342
Synopsis: What you write can change someone's life.
"Your Writing Matters: 34 Quick Essays to Get Unstuck and Stay Inspired" is an engaging collection of short essays for writers by Keiko O'Leary who explores what it means to live life as a writer, offering encouragement and inspiration, and suggesting practical techniques to cultivate your writing life.
Drawing on her experience as a writer, writing group leader, and workshop instructor, Keiko writes about topics such as:
MOTIVATION: "You deserve to create what's in you to create."
CREATIVITY: "Your personal geography is a wellspring of memoir and poetry, and a source of authentic detail for fiction."
LEGACY: "Through your writing, you help people experience meaning, not only in what you write, but also in their own lives."
Whether you have years of experience or are just starting out, these informative essays will support you on your journey as a writer.
Critique: Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Your Writing Matters: 34 Quick Essays to Get Unstuck and Stay Inspired" by Keiko O'Leary should be considered essential reading for anyone aspiring to writing for a living, and is inspirationally motivating for even professionally seasoned writers when having to deal with the all too common experience of writer's block that can strike at any time in a writer's career.
This portable pocket sized (5 x 0.37 x 7 inches, 5.4 ounces) paperback edition of "Your Writing Matters" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, writer workshop, and college/university library Writing instructional reference collections.
It should be noted that "Your Writing Matters" is also readily available from Thinking Ink Press and Amazon in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).
Editorial Note: Keiko O'Leary (www.KeikoOLeary.com) helps writers see the big picture while taking meaningful action today. She is a writer, editor, artist, and speaker. Poet Laureate of Cupertino, California, Keiko teaches workshops and organizes the long-standing writing group Write to the End. She writes short pieces, including poetry, flash fiction, and essays.
Brave the Page
Megan Febuary
Baker Books
c/o Baker Publishing Group
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
9781540904980, $39.99, HC, 217pp
https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Page-Writing-Stories-Wholeness/dp/1540904989
Synopsis: When you have endured a traumatic experience or loss, it can feel like your mind, body, and spirit have been hijacked. Frightening, negative, or depressive thoughts intrude out of nowhere. Muscles tighten, teeth grind. Your sense of self-worth plummets. Amid all the swirling chaos, you may even question your faith and the goodness of God as you long for peace, wholeness, and holy calm.
One of the best and most effective weapons against the turmoil and pain you feel is quite possibly within arm's reach right now. It's waiting in your desk drawer, in your car's glovebox, at the bottom of your purse. It's a pen. And if you wield it with courage, it can open the door to freedom.
Weaving personal storytelling with research-based insights, gentle affirmations, and inspired prompts, "Brave the Page: How Writing Our Hard Stories Brings Healing and Wholeness" shows you how to harness the power of writing to process your hard stories and experience healing. This transformative book from trauma-informed writing coach Megan Febuary is ideal for individuals, grief groups, and counselors looking for an effective and accessible resource to offer their clients.
Critique: Many people write their memoirs as a kind of catharsis to personal or family tragedies, illnesses, or other traumatic experiences. May counselors and therapists recommend to their patients that they write down their observations, feelings, experiences, aspirations, fears, and personal life stories as a means of recovery, reconciliation, self- understanding, self-help, self-improvement.
"Brave the Page: How Writing Our Hard Stories Brings Healing and Wholeness" by Megan Febuary offers a complete course of DIY instruction (and from a Christian perspective) to anyone wanting to try writing down their own personal stories, all at once or day-by-day.
Thoroughly 'reader/user' friendly in organization and presentation, "Brave the Page" is an unreservedly recommended resource for personal use and an highly recommended addition to community and college/university library Self-Help/Self-Improvement and Writing Instructional Resource collections. It should be noted that this hardcover edition of "Brave the Page" from Baker Books is also readily available in paperback (978-1540904775, $19.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99).
Editorial Note: Megan Febuary (https://www.meganfebuary.com) is a trauma-informed writing coach and the founder of the global storytelling platform and literary magazine For Women Who Roar. Called a leading expert in creative recovery, Megan received her MA from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, where she focused her research on the body as a storyteller.
"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.
Malakea
Laura Gaddis -- "Mosaic"
Stephen Wallack -- "Open"
Darlene Corbett -- "UnStuck"
Frank Joseph -- "To Do Justice"
Brigitte Gawenda -- "Play Smart"
Shannon Cook -- "Secrets of Whitney"
Christopher A. Micklos -- "Tick Town"
Rebecca Winning -- "Lullaby of Love"
Judith Kerr -- "Postmarked Castle Cove"
Christine Foster -- "The Lemon Golf Diary"
Kevin E. Morris -- "Heightened: Project Evolve"
Stephanie Woodman -- "Eye Contact Over Truk"
Uitgeverij Nanda -- "Midlife Mayhem and Merlot"
Linda Opdyke -- "Take it to the Limit: Books 1 & 2"
Siona Talekar -- "I Know What You Do When I Go To School"
Kelly McCoy -- "Endure: A Memoir of Grief, Resilience, and Love"
Lauren Speeth -- "Taking the Stairs & Liking It: Seven Steps to an Amazing Life"
Augustus Cileone -- "Galloper's Quests: The Fall of Earth and the Rise of a New Destiny"
Mark Weiman -- Regent Press
David Ronin -- Bold Type Press
Holly Watson -- Holly Watson PR
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.
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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
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