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Jim Cox Report: September 2024
Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:
I received an informative and thought-provoking response from Peter Blaisdell to last month's Jim Cox Report on the subject of self-publishing. I thought (and having his permission to do so) I would share it with you:
In a message dated 8/22/2024 7:51:47 PM Central Daylight Time, Peter Blaisdell writes:
Dear Jim,
Hope things go well with you!
And thanks for highlighting the importance of self-publishing. Yes, this non-traditional means of publishing can be effective at getting good novels out to the public - if it's done properly.
My own experience after publishing 5 books on Amazon is that success takes a myriad (sorry, it's the pretentious author in me!) of factors to work. However, there are only a few that really move the sales needle - though none guarantee success:
1) Good writing/editing helps (there's an enormous amount of utter dreck out there - and more to come with the advent of AI - but quality can make you stand out);
2) The more books the better. Writing several books means readers have something else to buy if they like whatever they stumbled on first;
3) Advertising on Amazon helps though it's expensive and somewhat complex. Sorry, there's no free lunch. You have to pay to play in this game. Just writing a book and throwing it over the fence hoping someone will read it mostly doesn't work at all;
4) Personally selling (pitching) your books at cons or bookfests is a good way to meet your readers and sell books -- some authors seem to make a living at this. Yes, many of us authors are introverts, but no need for a hard sell. Just tell folks to read the first paragraph of your story and buy it if they like it. Sometimes they do. Then offer to sign it for them - hey, you're the author! You may have made a friend and reader.
There's boatloads more I could say, but this sums up much of my 'wisdom'.
On a related note, attached is the cover of my latest, 'The Lords of the West End' (A London Fantasy). Yes, it's a genre work in the modern fantasy space, but I think it reads reasonably well and it's entertaining. Judge for yourself. Read the first page for free using Amazon's 'read sample' functionality. There's a link below for Amazon to prove that it's really been released into the wild.
https://www.amazon.com/Lords-West-End-Fantasy-History-ebook/dp/B0D9759XFF
Cheers,
Peter Blaisdell
I also recently received the following email from Jared Kuritz who is President & CEO of STRATEGIES Public Relations on the subject of Banned Books Week that is being held this month. This is a message that I want every author, publisher, and patriot bibliophile to read and pass along -- as he has kindly granted me permission to do so here.
Hello,
I wanted to bring an important new organization and cause to your attention.
In anticipation of banned books week September 22-28, 2024, let's acknowledge that book banning is out of control. Efforts to restrict the availability of books featuring Black, Queer, and other under-represented characters, themes, and history are at an all-time high, with 10,000 challenges and bans happening between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. (That's an average of more than 830 challenges and bans a month!)
In the Spring of 2024, one person in Wisconsin challenged 400 books at their local school library. All 400 books were removed from shelves for four months while they were reviewed, and while most of the titles ended up back in the library, every child in that school lost access to all of those titles for that entire time.
What isn't widely known about book bans is the impact of the chilling effect. What is the chilling effect? It's where librarians and teachers have to worry about bringing in any diverse titles even when they know the books would help their students/patrons. In turn, the chilling effect disproportionally impacts independent presses, many of whom are mission driven and focus on publishing voices from the very communities who are targeted by the current politically motivated runaway train of book banning. The drop in sales to schools and libraries for many of these publishers has been significant, and this impacts authors both financially and emotionally. Most of all, book banning hurts kids - further marginalizing those with less privilege, access, and representation.
In response to all this, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and EveryLibrary Institute have teamed up to spread light and inclusive books to readers in communities across the US impacted by the chilling effect of book bans. For every book banned or challenged between September 1 and September 30, 2024, WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP will buy two or more books from independent publishers and donate them via regional freedom to read organizations - turning negativity and fear into positivity and love... in the form of books!
Going on the offense about book bans is a positive, proactive, and feel-good story we hope you would be interested in covering. It's an opportunity for readers to:
Learn the truth about book bans and the chilling effect
Be empowered to help put breaks on this runaway train (via donations, "Strong Like a Reader" T-Shirts, shopping weekly recently banned book lists, visiting their local indie bookstores, thanking their school and public library librarians, helping get out the vote, and so much more.)
Spread the word.
Independent publishers already committed to participating in the program, and their books that have been impacted by the chilling effect of book bans, are:
Michelle Obama: Political Icon, Lerner Publishing
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darci Little Badger, Levine Querido
The Courage Party by Jocye Brabner, illustrated by Gerta Oparaku, Microcosm Publishing
The Great Nijinsky by Lynn Curlee, Charlesbridge
Papa's Free Day Party by Marilyn Nelson and Wayne Anthony Still, Just Us Books
I'll Be the Moon: A Migrant Child's Story by Phillip D. Cortez, illustrated by Mafs Rodriguez Alpide, The Collective Book Studio
The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph, Candlewick Press
The WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP program (https://www.wearestrongerthancensorship.org/) will launch publicly on September 9, 2024 and is co-created by Lee Wind (he/him), Chief Content Officer at the Independent Book Publishers Association and author of frequently challenged books, and Tasslyn Magnusson, right to read advocate, Senior Independent Researcher with PEN America, and EveryLibrary Fellow.
Lee is available to schedule interviews.
Thank you for your kind consideration,
Jared Kuritz
President & CEO
STRATEGIES Public Relations
www.strategiespr.com
Quote of the Month:
"Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won't have as much censorship because we won't have as much fear."
-Judy Blume
Website of the Month:
48 Best Banned Books Quotes To Inspire Change
https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/banned-books-quotes
Now a review of interest to writers, publishers -- and lawyers!
The Supreme Guide to Writing
Jill Barton
Oxford University Press
www.oup.com/us
9780197754351, $99.00, HC, 240pp
https://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Guide-Writing-Jill-Barton/dp/019775435X
Synopsis: In "The Supreme Guide to Writing: Become a great writer with the U.S. Supreme Court as Your Guide", law professor and seasoned journalist Jill Barton cuts through competing advice to detail definitive grammar rules based on the nation's unequivocal authority: the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The Supreme Guide to Writing" details a revolution in legal writing, with the justices progressing beyond the drab and technical for the deft and lyrical. With the first-ever analysis of 10,000 pages of Court opinions, this instructional guide pinpoints grammar and style rules that the justices follow -- and describes the outdated rules they leave behind.
Today's Court casts aside formality in favor of pop-culture references, contractions, and approachable language. In addition to establishing grammar and style rules, "The Supreme Guide to Writing" illustrates best practices with hundreds of examples of the justices' most brilliant sentences from the past several years.
With its step-by-step instructions, "The Supreme Guide to Writing" describes how to emulate the justices' writing styles by breaking down their strategies and techniques. It also shows how Justice Elena Kagan lands amusing quips and weaves together down-to-earth analogies, how Justice Neil Gorsuch executes witty retorts, and how Chief Justice John Roberts pens unforgettable lines with understated style and humor.
The best writing appears effortless, but it also takes tremendous effort. Legal writing even more so. "The Supreme Guide to Writing" provides a nonpartisan look at how the justices present their words to the world.
Critique: Taking a unique approach as a DIY instructional guide on the art and craft of writing, Jill Barton's "The Supreme Guide to Writing: Become a great writer with the U.S. Supreme Court as Your Guide" from the Oxford University Press is essentially a complete, comprehensive, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in terms of content, organization and presentation. While also available in a paperback edition (9780197754368, $27.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.49) for students, academia, judicial writers, and non-specialist general readers with an interst in the subject, "The Supreme Guide to Writing" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and college/university library Constitutional & Administration Law instructional writing collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.
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James A. Cox
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