February 8, 2012

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A Look at Tactile Children’s Books

Some of the most popular types of children’s books includes the types of books known as tactile children’s books. These books contain the story but also require that the child must play along or do various things with the story. Children have very short attention spans cirque wearing them to do something physical during the story will gain interest of the children and promote reading. If you’re considering writing a tactile children’s book here are some things you should consider.

Touch. Children love to touch and feel things. Try to create a story that allows the children to feel certain things. For example when you’re talking about a soft blanket you can put a piece of soft material that the child can touch. This allows them to get involved with the story and to develop their fine motor skills.

Flaps. Flaps are great to develop mystery and to also have a great tactile function in the book. Tactile children authors have been known to create a story and have things hiding under the flaps. Children love discovering what is underneath there as well as reading the story. There’s been a mystery encourages the children to learn about mystery and play along with the story.

Smell. Smell is not always used in stories. However, with the invention a scratch and sniff this is also started to make its way into children’s tactile books. The author can talk about a smell or scent and the children are required scratch on the piece of material inside the book which will bring out the scent. This is a great way for them to feel the story is coming to life.

Filed Under: Books, Reading Tagged With: , ,

Potential Scams in Independently Published Books

As with anything in life there is always a potential for scams to creep up in the most unlikely of places. One of the most unlikely places is the ability for scams to creep up into the publishing world. There are many self-proclaimed independent publishers who try to gain up-and-coming authors attention and bring them in for scam. Here’s a look at similar things you should be aware of when being approached by small press or independent publishing firms. While these things may not be a sign that they are scam it should raise some red flags.

Require an Upfront Payment. The biggest scam in the publishing world is the requirement that the author must pay the publishing firm to publish the book. They will generally ask for a small amount and tell you they will look over your book and give you an opinion on whether or not it should be published. The only time you should pay for your book to be published is when you’re self-publishing and were actually printing the book out and receiving the booking in hand.

Contracts. Many of these self-proclaimed independent publishing firms will require that you sign a contract. Contracts while standard in the publishing world should always be looked over by a lawyer. You should be very leery of any contract that requires you to sign over 100% of the rights to your book and limits you from publishing anywhere else with other types of material.

Contact out of the Blue. You should be leery of any publishing firm that appears to contact you out of the blue as the majority of these are scams and have very low standards.

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Book Promotions

As an author you want people to know about your book and read it. The more people that read your book the better your chances are of getting a following and having other people show interest in your book. The problem arises for many authors as to how exactly they can get attention drawn onto their book. Here’s a look at some of the ways authors have used to promote their book and hopefully gain a following of readers.

Contests. Everybody loves to get something for free. Authors will sometimes offer their books for free through contests and promotions. These contests can be helped are websites like good reads, through social media outlets and even on the author’s website. Anywhere where a person can hear about it and sign up for the contest will get you people who want to read your book.

Book Blog Tours. Going around from book blog to book blog is a great way to promote your book. Many book bloggers welcome authors and expert columnist and allow them to talk about a wide range of subjects as well as promote their book. Many book bloggers have huge followings which will let you to get the word out about your book to a wide range of people.

Interviews. Promoting your book can be done through interviews. The local media as well as national media is always open to conducting interviews with new authors. There are also various public radio stations as well as Internet radio stations which will also conduct interviews with the authors. You can also have the book bloggers do interviews which will allow you to cover all your bases. Very similar to interviews is the chat format which allow authors to discuss their book with potential readers and can generate interest.

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Drawbacks to Using a Major Publishing House

With the Internet making self-publishing and independently publishing your book easier many authors are considering having their novels self published or independently published instead of going with the major publishing firms. If you are debating about using a self-publishing firm or major publishing firm here’s a look at some of the drawbacks many authors have experienced by going with a major publishing house.

Deadlines. Major publishing houses often have very strict deadlines. This means that you must write on a strict schedule and make sure that you are providing the material that is required by the contract. Many publishing firms will actually dissolve the contract if you missed deadlines as this puts their product and liability.

Creative Liberty. Many major publishing houses take creative liability with the novels. This means that the editor and publisher for the publishing house may actually take out segments of the book that the author would not agree with. These publishing firms will also decide whether there are maps or photos that go along with the novel. The problem is that some of the major publishing firms do not consult the author and therefore the maps and photos often do not match up to what the author has envisioned.

Possibility of a Series. Many major publishing firms will require that the author actually sign over the rights to the characters in the novel if they are writing. This means that if the author wishes to create a sequel there could be potential legal problems as a publishing firm actually owns those characters even though they are the author’s own creative thoughts. While some publishing firms will offer a series some lonely sign on for one book and then could potentially drop this series.

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Benefits to Choosing a Major Publishing House

It seems as if the biggest trend when it comes to the publishing world is having many authors self publish or independently publish their own novels. These authors are turning away from the major publishing houses and seeking the ability to publish their own book. However, been published under a major publisher can come with a number of benefits that independently published and self published authors do not have. Here’s a look at the benefits that come with having your book published under a major publishing house.

The Editing and Proof Reading. Many major publishing houses will pay upfront for the editing and proofreading segments of your story. This means that you do not have to put the money out yourself and all you are required to do is work with the editor in order to get the novel in the shape that you want. This is a major benefit as many independently and self published authors do not have access to an editor or cannot afford to hire an editor.

Publicity. The major publishing houses will generally take over the publicity for your novel. They will sometimes schedule book tours, blog tours and even giveaways. They will also find any advertisements that they put out about your book. Publicity and advertising can be a huge chunk of an author’s budget and having a major publishing firm handle publicity for that will allow you not only gain attention or not have to put money up for it.

Upfront Payment. When an author signed on with a major publishing firm they will generally get an upfront payment as a show that the publishing firm wants their book or novel. The problem with independently and self published authors is that even though they might make money they do not have the luxury of receiving an upfront payment for the book or novel.

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How to Gain Publicity as an Independently Published Author

With the invention of the Internet independent publishing has become extremely popular. Anyone that has a story idea, enough money and access to the Internet can publish their own story and book. The problem is that many independently published authors have a hard time gaining publicity and readership for their book. Many libraries will not accept independently published books as they tend to assume the quality is lesser than those published by major publishing house. If you are an independent author here’s a look at some ways you can gain readership for your book.

Book Bloggers. There are millions of book bloggers all over the Internet. Many of these book bloggers have loyal following and have developed themselves as experts in the field. These book bloggers will occasionally accept independently published authors material and offer to review or highlight the novel that they received. All reviews are not guaranteed this is a great way to potentially gain attention for not only yourself but your book.

Social Media Networks. There are tons of social media networks designed to bring readers and authors together. While there are the traditional Facebook and MySpace there are also social media outlets designed just for readers and authors. As independently published author you can join the in offer the first few chapters are your book for free and effort to gain publicity and buzz about your book.

Local Media Attention. Many local media outlets love to cover stories on local authors and books. Writing and submitting stories and press releases to local media outlets will allow you to hopefully gain attention and buzz about your novel.

While it might be difficult as independently published author to gain the publicity that you want or need for your book is not impossible. Just remember when one person says no the next person might just say yes.

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Things to Remember When Sending in a Manuscript

When you have a story idea that you want to pitch to the major publishing houses you are required to submit a manuscript of the story. These manuscripts can range from the entire story to just a few chapters of the story. Manuscripts are a way for editors and publishers to get a feel for the writer’s writing style as well as the storyline for the particular novel but they are pitching. However, even if the manuscript has the world’s greatest storyline idea and it many editors and publishers will judge the manuscript on a number of different criteria. Here’s a look at what you need to make sure your manuscript contains in order to gain the attention of publishers and editors.

Editing. Many writers feel that just because they are not signed on with a major publishing firm they do not have to properly edit their manuscript. The problem is that publishers and editors will often go off of how well the manuscript is edited. It is important that as a writer you try to minimize the amount of errors that are present in the manuscript. Make sure there are no spelling, grammar and typographical errors as these are all held against you by major publishing firms.

Layout. Try to keep in mind how you have laid out your manuscript for the publishers and editors. It is important that you make sure the font is not too small and that it is easy to read. Editors and publishers do not have all day to sit and go through manuscript and if the manuscript is hard to read they will set it aside.

The Summary. Every manuscript contains an overview and summary of the story that is inside. Now many writers realize just how important the summary is to the manuscript. You want to make sure the summary is captivating and draws the people in without going overboard or line to the readers. Try to make your summary as thrilling captivating as possible.

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Ways to Gain the Attention of Publishers and Editors

It is every writer’s dream to be noticed by one of the major publishing companies. The problem is the editors and people who make the decisions at these major publishing houses are often overworked and greeted by millions of unsolicited manuscripts. This makes it very difficult for average writer to gain the attention of the major publishing companies. If you’re considering trying to get on with a major publishing company here are some ways that you can gain the attention of the editors and publishers.

Writing Conferences. Writing conferences are great way to develop your writing and help you succeed as a writer. Many major publishing companies will often visit writing conferences as a way to scope out some of the newest and greatest talent on the market. By attending his writing conferences you’re not only bettering your art but you are also getting a possibility of being noticed by a publisher or editor.

Agents. Gaining a literary agent is a great way to become noticed by a publisher or editor. Many literary agents have contacts in the major publishing world so that they are able to get your manuscript seen by a number of major publishing firms. If you are considering using a literary agent is important to make sure that the literary agent has the qualifications that he is representing.

Starting out Small. Many writers gain the attention of editors and publishers by starting out small. Many writers will have the opportunity to write for magazines, online publications or even a short story for an anthology. These are all great ways that writers can gain the attention of editors and publishers as well as gain a public following.

Is important your member that even though you are working on getting the attention of editors and publishers you still need to develop your craft and make sure that you are presenting the best work possible. Editors and agents want good solid stories and writers that are willing to better their craft.

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Independently Published Books

It used to be if you wanted to have a book or story published you had to go through one of the major publishers. This made it awfully difficult for writers to get their works published because the major publishing houses were overwhelmed with millions of others sending their manuscripts and hoping to get their book published. However, with the invention of the Internet publishing books has been made a lot easier to the invention of independent publishing.

Independent publishing is defined as when an author will take their story an idea and publish the book on their own. Most authors who are independently published do not have the benefits of major publishers and are required to edit and publicize their books themselves. The major advantage of independent publishing firms is that the only requirement is to send the book over and pay to have it printed.

In the past, authors who wish to be independently published had to run their own publishing firms right out of their own home. The Internet has changed all that. Independent publishing firms are available all throughout the Internet and allow authors to instantly send their manuscript to the publishing firm and come back with a set of bound books.

The best part about independently publishing on the Internet is the ability to print on demand. This means that authors able to place their book up for sale on websites such as Amazon and then they are only required to print out the book and pay for the printing when a book is brought. This gets back on the amount of money that the author has to put out as they are only paying for books that are already purchased.

This increase in demand for independent publishing has allowed many writers to get their works published when a large publishing firm would normally have not looked twice at the book that was being published. Many independent authors who have gone through the independently published route have had success.

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Benefits of Reading for Children

Picking up a book and reading with your child can be one of the most beneficial things that you can do with them. Many studies have been conducted on the benefits that reading with your child can have. Reading aloud to your child for as little as 30 minutes a day can help foster relationships as well as help with the developmental aspect of your child. Here is a look at some of the many benefits that can come with reading with your child.

Fostering Relationships. The biggest benefit that can come from reading to your child is the ability to foster your relationship with the child. Generally, when parents read to their child they are sitting close to them which helps serve as a bonding experience between the parent and child. Reading also requires that the parent spend time in focus upon the child which also helps in the bonding experience.

Creating a Love for Reading. Many children will pick up on their examples that their parents have given them. If the children noticed that the parents love to read they will foster and develop a love for reading themselves. Reading can be beneficial as it helps them explore new worlds, and gain new knowledge.

Developing Listening Skills. Reading is a great way to develop listening skills of your child. By reading a book to a child and asking them questions later requires the child to develop their reading comprehension skills because they required to instantly recall the story and talk about it with you. Reading and listening skills are required for all children as they enter school.

Relaxation. Many adults use reading as a form of relaxation. However, children can also use reading as a former relaxation. This is often why many parents will read to their children before they go to bed. This teaches the children that reading can be used as a way to relax and unwind at the end of the day.

Filed Under: Books, Reading Tagged With: , ,
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