Category: self publishing a book

self publishing, self publishing a book

Your Self-Publishing Questions Answered

My latest non-fiction guide to the world of independent publishing and marketing is out and available for free: Self-Publishing Questions Asked & Answered.

Are you ready to have all your questions answered? My latest book is available in paperback, Kindle e-Book, and audiobook formats from Amazon by clicking here, or you can get it completely free in this Publishing Kit from Outskirts Press.

Do You Want to be a Published Author?

About the Book

Self-Publishing Questions Asked & Answered identifies the most common questions concerning self publication today and answers them clearly and concisely. What is the difference between “independent” self-publishing, “free” self-publishing, and “full-service” self-publishing? What should I title my book? How do I price my book? What is an ISBN and why is it important? How do I get book reviews on Amazon? These are just a small sample of the top 25 questions Ernest & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Semi-Finalist and self-publishing expert Brent Sampson has been asked over the years and now answers thoroughly and completely in this book.

About the Author

Ernest & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Semi-Finalist Brent Sampson is the award-winning and bestselling author of Sell Your Book on Amazon and The Book Marketing COACH. As the founder, president and chief marketing officer of Outskirts Press, Brent has helped writers from around the world experience the joy and satisfaction of bringing their high-quality, professional, and award-winning books into the marketplace. Learn more at OutskirtsPress.com.

About the Free Publishing Kit

Your complimentary Publishing Kit from Outskirts Press contains:

  • Self-Publishing Questions Asked & Answered
  • Publish Your Passion
  • 7 Tips to Self-Publish Like a Pro
  • Book shepherd one-sheet: Meet Your Publishing Consultant
  • Author success white paper: 7 Highly Effective Rules for the Perfect Book Title
  • Author guide: Author Photo & Biography Guide
  • Author tip sheet: The Top 7 Marketing Elements to Include in Your Book
  • Author guide: Which Book Format Should I Choose?
  • Author white paper: How to Price Your Book
  • Publishing white paper: Diving into Self-Publishing

About Outskirts Press

Since 2002, Outskirts Press has helped thousands of authors just like you develop, publish, and market thousands of high-quality, award-winning books featuring…

  • exceptional cover design
  • professional interior formatting
  • high-quality printing
  • award-winning publishing
  • worldwide distribution
  • and extensive book marketing services

Outskirts Press is the only A+ rated and #1-rated self-publishing company according to the Better Business Bureau and Top Consumer Reviews, respectively, because we deliver outstanding customer service, affordable pricing, and industry-leading royalties.

* #29 overall Amazon bestseller, 2007. Royal Palms Literary Awards, Best Book of the Year 2007

self publishing a book

Self-Publishing Author T.D. Arkenberg wins the Best Book of the Year Award

The votes are in and the winner of the 2018 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award goes to T.D. Arkenberg, author of Two Towers.

In his poignant memoir, Two Towers, T.D. Arkenberg navigates readers through a personal perfect storm. A resurgence of his father’s long-dormant cancer and chaos at his job in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks serve as the backdrop for a private struggle with a secret hidden for thirty-seven years. The story opens on Christmas Eve, 2001. Alone, he stands in his empty childhood home. Two months earlier, his father succumbed to cancer after a lengthy struggle. Five weeks after that painful loss, his mother’s unexpected death shattered his world. The double-barreled blast toppled his towers of strength and unconditional love at a time he was barely treading water. Only weeks before his parents’ deaths, his professional life descended into turmoil. Nineteen hijackers commandeered four commercial jets, unleashing unspeakable terror on US soil. Two towers collapsed into piles of twisted steel, a dusty grave for thousands of innocent souls. Friends don’t know how he survives. Neither does he, especially with the added burden of a dark secret. As his world starts to crumble, fate offers a lifeline.

T.D. Arkenberg’s memoir won 70% of the public vote on SelfPublishingNews.com to walk away with this prestigious award and its $1,500 Grand Prize. T.D. is already a multi-award winning writer with awards from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, National Indie Excellence Awards, Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, and the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Awards, where he recently took home first place honors. Two Towers is his first memoir and his fourth book with Outskirts Press.

Congratulations! And well-deserved!

 

self publishing a book

Outskirts Press authors celebrate their EVVY Award wins!

Last Saturday night, the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Awards took place in Denver. It was a packed house and the event was sold out. Ward Lucas from 9News was the key-note speaker.

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Outskirts Press had 28 finalists for this year’s EVVYs, and I was present to accept awards on behalf of our authors who could not attend in person. But many of our authors were also in attendance, and it is always an extreme pleasure to meet them in person and congratulate them with a hug or handshake. 

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Katherine S. Egan was a First Place Award recipient for her amazing book Genetics Isn’t Everything.  Congratulations, Katherine! It was an honor getting to chat with you and your husband at the event!

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Certified fitness trainer,  ex-Marine, and marathon runner (in other words, he’s a total bad-ass — and quite a gentleman), John Timmerman, came in from Virginia to accept his 2nd-place award for his inspirational and motivational health/fitness book, Marathon and Half-Marathon Training, One Day a Week (It Can Be Done).

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The sweetest woman in the world, Dr. Jeanne Blanchet, accepted her Merit Award personally for her historical (and powerful) novel, Cursed. Congratulations, Jeanne! It was an honor meeting you.

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Award-winning author David D. Bernstein is not only a very tall fellow, but also a very charming one, and he took home a Merit Award for his fantastic and magical (literally) book titled The Portal. It’s his third book with Outskirts Press and the first in his “Cort Chronicles” series of juvenile fiction books. Congratulations, David!

Winning an EVVY Award is the first step toward winning the coveted annual Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award, and the $1500 Grand Prize that comes with it.  Are one of these authors going to be in the running? Tune in to the Self Publishing News blog to see ALL the 2018 EVVY winners and our announcement of the three Best Book of the Year finalists!

And if you want to be an award-winning author like Katherine, John, Jeanne, and David, check out the #1-rated self-publishing company (according to Top Consumer Reviews):  Outskirts Press.

self publishing a book

Congratulations to the Outskirts Press 2018 CIPA EVVY Award Finalists

The finalists for the 2018 EVVY Awards, sponsored and held by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, have been announced. Outskirts Press is proud to announce that 28 of its authors are finalists. The Awards banquet takes place on Saturday, August 25th from 6pm-9pm, and all finalists are encouraged to attend (tickets can be purchased from the CIPA website). But if you are unable to attend, don’t worry – I’ll be accepting the award on your behalf and we will send it to you.

Congratulations to all of you!

evvy2018-finalists

self publishing, self publishing a book

Free Publishing Kit for new Outskirts Press authors

In January we started giving a Publishing Kit to every new author registering for a free Publishing Center Account with Outskirts Press. In the past, we had offered two books: our publishing guide and a book I collaborated with five of our most successful authors on a number of years ago. We wanted to update our offer and also sweeten the deal, so the “two free books” offer was updated to a Free Publishing Kit.  We saw an immediate uptick in new authors so I think it’s safe to say the new Kit is a success.

The new Publishing Kit is available immediately upon new author registration from our website and provides immediate access to all of the following:

  • My latest book, Self-Publishing Questions Asked & Answered
  • Our official publishing guide, Publish Your Passion
  • An introduction to book shepherding, Meet Your Publishing Consultant
  • The 7 Highly Effective Rules for the Perfect Book Title
  • Author Photo & Biography Tip Sheet
  • The Top 7 Marketing Elements to Include in Your Book
  • Two guides: Which Book Format Should I Choose and How to Price Your Book
  •  Samples of all our custom color and black & white illustration packages
  • Our official brochure
  • A self-publishing white paper: Diving Into Self-Publishing

If you’re new to self-publishing, or just to Outskirts Press, you can receive your Publishing Kit instantly without obligation from our website at OutskirtsPress.com

Brent Sampson, self publishing, self publishing a book

Hear Your Book on Amazon

We launch one or two new options for our current and future clients about once a quarter. Some are more exciting than others.  Our new upcoming option falls into the “very exciting” category! This quarter we’re launching our new Audio Book option, which has topped several surveys sent to our client-authors as the most requested service they wish we offered.

As I’ve often said in the past, I’m the “guinea pig” for many of our services, to make sure they provide the necessary value for our authors.  The Audio Book option is no exception.  Allow me to be the first to introduce the new Sell Your Book on Amazon Audio Book, available soon through headphones near you.

You heard it here first!

 

 

self publishing a book

A new year and some new resolutions

For the first time since 2014, “losing weight” was NOT the #1 New Year’s Resolution, according to Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. The new #1 is “being a better person.”

Losing weight and exercising more tied for 2nd place.

In third place was spending less and saving more money.

And that’s where Outskirts Press can help you, especially if publishing a book is ALSO one of your New Year’s Resolutions, as it often is for many, many people every year.

All month long you can save 17% on the a la carte package of your choice. See all the details here: http://outskirtspress.com/book-publishing.html

Here’s to your great successes in the coming year!

 

 

self publishing a book

What a year for Outskirts Press authors!

In the spirit of the season, I would like to take a moment to thank our clients for entrusting us with the important task of publishing their manuscripts. Many of us are writers ourselves, so we understand the fear or uncertainty that can sometimes accompany handing over your book to a team of professionals.  Speaking of which, I would also like to thank all the talented people who work tirelessly to publish so many high-quality, professional, and award-winning books for our clients every day.   Just a quick glance at our new releases demonstrates the love and attention we give to every book we publish.

It has been an exciting year at Outskirts Press and 2017 promises to be even better!  For the first time ever, one of our authors has back-to-back wins in our annual Best Book of the Year Awards. Andrew Ceroni followed-up on last year’s win for Snow Men with another win this year with MERIDIAN.

In fact, so many of our authors win so many awards for their books, it becomes impossible to list all of them, but we try our best on our Outskirts Press blog, where you can see all this year’s EVVY Winners,  and interviews with select winners like Ellen Deery Freeman and Marie-Yolaine Williams and Diane M. Bassett.  Keep an eye out for even more interviews from our award-winning authors this holiday season and in 2017.

But awards and interviews are just a small example of all the amazing accomplishments our authors have enjoyed over the past year. For instance, Landria Onkka’s first of two books with Outskirts Press, The Rooftop Christmas Tree, was optioned for a cable television movie earlier this year and went into production soon thereafter.

It stars Michelle Morgan and Tim Reid and it is premiering on Up TV on November 27th.  Check out the trailer here and be sure to watch this heart-warming family movie-based-upon-the-book when it airs throughout the holiday season.  Yes, we’ll be interviewing Landria about her amazing experience, and maybe, just maybe, she will shed a little light on how you can get a movie made out of your book, too!

Of course, that is just a very small sample of all the amazing successes our authors have had in 2016.  Congratulations to all of them. Keep up the great work!

And thank you!

self publishing, self publishing a book

Self Publishing Simplified Infographic

One of the goals of the new & improved Outskirts Press is providing our published authors with even more marketing support after their books are published.  We’ve always been very good at that (as evidenced by hundreds of testimonials to that affect here), but it’s going to get even better for our authors this year and next when the Book Marketing RoadMap and Book Marketing Bookshelf become available for all our published authors who started publishing August 1st or afterwards. More details about those exciting (and free) new marketing offerings will be forthcoming soon.

But, in the meantime, as we were consolidating the marketing support materials we have for our authors, I came across this oldie-but-a-goodie, an infographic from a number of years ago that is just as valid today as it was then: