Category: self publishing

Pinterest, self publishing

Self Publishing Award Winners on Pinterest

I’ve spent a lot of posts talking about the Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year awards over the past few months and even though we announced the winner on the Self Publishing News blog, I realized I hadn’t mentioned the winner here.  This gives a good opportunity to also discuss another way Outskirts Press is using Pinterest, as a way of further promoting our Best Book of the Year winners and finalists with their own board.  We “pin” the three finalists and then the winning author’s photo is also pinned, along with some biographical information.  You can see our self publishing finalists and the winners from 2010, 2011, and 2012 on Pinterest by clicking here. And in doing so, you’ll learn the recently crowned winner of the Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year for 2012.

The Pinterest board that focuses on our winners and finalists is different from many of our other boards in that it continues to grow and evolve, with four new pins added every year. In reality, this is how most Pinterest boards should be (albeit, perhaps “pinned” more frequently).  Highly successful Pinterest Boards (from a social media perspective) should categorize “pins” and then constantly add new pins within that category. These are the boards that receive the most followers and activity.   Most of our boards are static, in that they announce a specific collection of books at a specific period of time (self publishing bestsellers in a particular month, for example), and as a result, those boards never change.  That is admittedly defeating much of the advantages of Pinterest, because why would someone bother to “follow” a board that never changed or expanded?

On the other hand, our monthly self publishing bestseller boards do allow us to collect a diverse collection of books that all share one trait (best selling status), and that makes it easier to point to them as a collection when discussing them on other sites or blogs. For example, if I want to mention our top 10 bestsellers from the month of May, I can simply say “Click here to see them” rather than having to generate 10 different clicks with 10 different images.  Pinterest has already done that work for me.

Ultimately,  both static boards and dynamic boards have their place on Pinterest.

self publishing

Outskirts Press Book of the Year thoughts

Last week the three finalists for the Outskirts Press Book of the Year were announced. Congratulations to Sharon Rhodes for her novel, It’s a Family Affair; Whitney J. LeBlanc for his book, Blues in the Wind – Revisited; and Basil Pallis for his true experience brought to the pages of 46 Days in Ukraine.  Last Friday, these three finalists were put into a public poll on our Outskirts Press blog to determine the winner of the 2012 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year.  We are accepting votes until tomorrow.

Sharon jumped out to an early lead last Friday, quickly capturing over 90% of the votes.  As of today, her vote percentage remains in the mid 80’s.  Whitney and Basil have their work cut out for them if they wish to end the reign of female authors winning the Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year prize.  Last year Susan Mercer won the 2011 prize for her book, Pathway to Math Proficiency: Mastering Equivalent Fractions, Decimals and Percents…With Ease and Doris Kenney Marcotte won the 201o Best Book of the Year award for her novel, The Beads of Lapis Lazuli.

It’s strange writing “last year Susan Mercer won the 2011 prize…” because that makes it sound like it’s 2012. That’s always been one of the problems with book awards.  Typically the year of the Award doesn’t coincide with the year of publication.  For instance, our CIPA EVVY finalists were just awarded their 2013 EVVY Awards, even though those same books were in the running for the 2012 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award.  Yes, the 2013 EVVY contest was concluded before the 2012 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year awards. What kind of sense does that make?

But it is important to note that our awards are for a specific year in which the book was published. So I think we’ll slightly change the way we mention our award. Instead of calling them the 2012 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Awards, it may be more effective to say the Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year for 2012.  A small matter of semantics, yes, but that’s what a writer worries about–semantics.

In any event, a new board on Pinterest has been created to recognize our Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year finalists and winners and you can see them here: http://pinterest.com/outskirtspress/best-book-of-the-year-winners-finalists/

When the public poll on our blog determines the winner for 2012, he or she will be added to the Pinterest board.  Good luck to them all.

 

self publishing

2012 Best Book of the Year qualifiers

Our third annual Best Book of the Year Award winner is going to be announced the first week of June.  Leading up to that announcement, a few things need to take place.

1) The books we published in 2012 need to be qualitatively narrowed down to roughly 50 or less (that’s about 2%, so yes, we do cut deep).  We do this process throughout the year by considering factors like editing, front cover design, back cover content, retail price, subject matter, interior design, interior content, etc.  The books that make this cut are officially invited to the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Awards. Those invitations were sent out earlier this year to our EVVY nominees.

2) The EVVY submissions are judged by an independent panel of judges on behalf of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. The judges are judging not only Outskirts Press books, but all the books submitted to this contest by publishers and self-publishing authors from around the country.  The EVVY judges arrive upon a selection of “EVVY Finalists” and notify all the participating publishers.  These EVVY Finalists were determined within the past 2 weeks.

3) The EVVY Awards Banquet takes place to announce the First, Second, Third Place, and Merit Award winners in each category from among the EVVY Finalists.  This Awards banquet and reception occurs this coming Saturday night in the Denver Tech Center. I will be on hand to receive awards for our authors who are unable to attend in person.  Joining me at the EVVYs will be Rob M. from our marketing division,  Lora G. from our tech & analytics division, and of course my beautiful wife.

4) From among the Outskirts Press EVVY winners, three Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year finalists will be announced on May 20th.

Since we know every EVVY Finalist wins an EVVY Award, and since we know winning an EVVY 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or Merit Award is a prerequisite to being an Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year finalist, then we know that our three finalists, and the ultimate Best Book of the Year for 2012, is among our 12 EVVY Finalists.    And those finalists are below.

One of these books will be the 2012 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year.  Which one will it be and which author will win the $1,500 prize?    Stay tuned in the coming weeks to find out (and to vote in a public poll to determine the ultimate winner).  Congratulations to all our contenders.
facebook, self publishing

Self Publishing for Free

Free self-publishing is everywhere. The problem is, you usually get what you pay for.

But not when you publish for free in the 3rd annual Fandemonium Facebook anthology, exclusively from Outskirts Press.   With this yearly anthology we give 40-50 talented writers the opportunity to publish some of their copyright-protected content for free in a collection of work that allows them to experience first-hand the benefits of working with a high-quality, full service self publishing firm.  Each contributor keeps all the rights to their respective work and the royalties go to the American Red Cross.  Free publication and helping a worthwhile cause? No wonder each issue is such a hit with our Facebook friends.

Here’s how it works…

Now Accepting Submissions for the Third Annual Fandemonium Anthology from Outskirts Press

It’s that time of year again! Fandemonium 3 is coming and you are invited to be a part of it!

Have you written a poem or short story that you would like to enter for a chance to be published for free in this new anthology featuring our talented Facebook fans?

Each year, Fandemonium brings Outskirts Press Facebook fans together to experience the joy of publishing with Outskirts Press first-hand, benefiting a great cause along the way.

Submitting your work for consideration is simple. Here’s what to do:

  1. Become an Outskirts Press Facebook fan by “liking” our Facebook page. If you’ve already liked us, great!
  2. Post your submission as a Note in Facebook. Then tag the Outskirts Press Facebook Page in your Note.
  3. Be sure to submit your entry before April 30th, and remember to tell your friends to vote for your submission by “liking” it.

Submissions with the highest number of votes will be considered for inclusion in our upcoming Fandemonimum Volume 3 anthology. Submissions can be fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. Short entries are best for anthologies, so submissions under 5000 words will be considered first.

You will retain 100% of the copyright to your material. By submitting content, you confirm that you are the sole copyright holder to the material you are submitting and that you grant us a non-exclusive right to use the materials you submit through our social media channels and within the Facebook Anthology when it is published and distributed. Furthermore, you understand that royalties from the sale of Fandemonium are not split among the contributors but rather go to the American Red Cross.

In fact, you can benefit the American Red Cross right now with your 10% discounted purchase of Fandemonium Volume 1 and Fandemonium Volume 2.

Ready to publish your own book as well?

Start Publishing Today
self publishing

New Self Publishing Video

In my previous post I displayed our new Memoir Writing Kit video, which we created with the assistance of a third party template. The advantage of using a template for videos is the lower cost. The disadvantage is the lack of control you have over the finer details.  Once we determined the template was not going to be sufficient for the purposes of creating a whole new “Introductory” video for Outskirts Press, we got to work with a creative content agency on a custom-made video.    The process took about a month (longer production time on a custom made video is another disadvantage, perhaps).

It was completed last week and here it is:

self publishing, self publishing a book

How to write and self publish your memoirs

Last time I posted a video submitted by one of our authors. Now here’s another video. This is one we created using a third party “video template” in an experiment to see if it was sufficient for the purposes of creating a new “Explainer” video about our self-publishing services at Outskirts Press. We decided it wasn’t sufficient for those purposes, but it does accomplish what it sets out to do here — introduce our new Memoir Writing Kit and its benefits.

Give a look:

best self publishing, self publishing, self publishing a book

Best Self Publishing Companies

Top Consumer Reviews is an independent consumer services ranking website located at TopConsumerReviews.com. Along with ranking services in the health, beauty, and family categories, it also ranks the “top self publishing companies”. Top Consumer Reviews ranks Outskirts Press #1 among the “best self publishing companies” reviewed. Each of the seven companies is given a 1-to-5 star ranking.

Outskirts Press is the only self publishing company receiving a five star ranking and their first place blue ribbon designation.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the Top Consumer Reviews website regarding Outskirts Press self publishing:

“Outskirts Press is the best self-publishing company you’ll find to publish your work. They offer a variety of exceptional value programs that start as low as $199. You can choose the services that you want and still keep 100% of the royalties from the books you sell.”

“Outskirts Press is a self publishing company built for authors. With superior services, upfront pricing, and honest business practices, they are dedicated to ensuring the success of their authors.”

“Outskirts Press allows authors to keep 100% of the royalties from the sale of their books. This incredible feature sets this program above the rest of the self-publishing services.”

“Outskirts Press is an excellent self-publishing service. They offer a range of resources tailored for the budget-minded author, and allow you the flexibility to pick and choose those features that you’re most interested in. Their focus is to provide you with the services you need while allowing you to maximize your profit without any hidden fees. Outskirts Press sets the standard by which all self publishing companies should be judged and clearly earns our highest rating.”

Thank you, Top Consumer Reviews.

 

self publishing, self publishing a book

Self Publishing 2013

Every January we update our “About Us” information with milestones we reached in the previous year and an update to our “Total Titles Published” chart.  Now that 2012 has come to a close and 2013 is underway, here’s our updated information about Outskirts Press:

Over ten years ago, Outskirts Press was founded as a better way for authors to write, publish, and market their books. Outskirts Press incorporated in Colorado in 2003, and through strategic partnerships, exemplary customer service, and unmatched quality, Outskirts Press quickly became the fastest-growing full-service book publishing and book marketing firm.

The years between 2004 and 2006 marked a growth rate in excess of 1,500%, an accomplishment that was recognized in July 2007 by The Denver Business Journal when Outskirts Press was honored to be the 3rd fastest-growing privately held company (in any industry) in Colorado.  By the end of 2006, Outskirts Press already had nearly 1,000 books in print,  all of them available worldwide through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble online, among others. And by the end of 2007, Outskirts Press more than doubled its title totals again.

In 2008 The Denver Business Journal once again recognized Outskirts Press as the fastest-growing publisher, and in fact, the fastest-growing privately held small-to-medium sized company in Colorado (in any industry), boasting growth of over 500% for the years between 2005-2007.

2009 and 2010 marked more new milestones, as well. In 2009 Outskirts Press published its 5,000th title and became the only self-publishing company to appear on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing privately held companies.

In 2010, 2011, and 2012, Outskirts Press repeated its appearance on the Inc. 5000 list three more times, and became the only self-publishing company to appear on the list of top 5,000 fastest growing businesses in America for four straight years.

2012 also marked the 10-year anniversary of the company’s founding and the year it passed the milestone of 10,000 published books.

So how does Outskirts Press remain the fastest-growing full-service self publishing provider?

  • It begins with our Mission Statement: To exceed the expectations of every author we help publish.
  • It continues with our commitment to conservationism and recycling. Our most popular book sizes offer a recycled paper-stock option, featuring 30% post-consumer.
  • It grows with our authors.  Just ask Gang Chen, who earned over $100,000 in 180 days; or Sally Shields, the stay-at-home mom-turned-2-time Amazon.com bestseller; or Ronnie Lee, who has become one of the most prolific published authors of our generation with the assistance of Outskirts Press.

As we look toward the future, our commitment to produce high-quality books and offer high levels of support to our authors in all three phases of their journey (writing, publishing, marketing), only grows stronger.

For instance, we have embraced digital e-books with three a la carte digital publishing options:

 We have embraced social media to help our authors further promote their books:

And, we practice what we preach, publishing our own series of books to help authors navigate the sometimes tricky waters of book publishing and offering free publication in various anthologies through the year to showcase how easy, fast, and fun it can be to publish with Outskirts Press.

Through it all, Outskirts Press authors have remained our main focal point. With over 10,000 published titles, Outskirts Press continues to pour development dollars and resources into further improvements to the Outskirts Press website and its growing list of writing, publishing, and marketing services/products to further support our authors’ goals and dreams.

What does success mean to you? By any measure, you will find it here with Outskirts Press and we look forward to helping you on that journey.

Many of us, and some of our family members, took a moment during a summer picnic to pose…

Brent Sampson, ceo, self publishing

A Self-Publishing Holiday Retrospective 2006-2012

In the days since Christmas I have been showing Outskirts Press holiday party pictures from the past. I began with our most recent 2012 holiday picture on Christmas and yesterday showed the picture from the 2007 holiday lunch. That brings us to today, New Year’s Eve, and to our very first holiday picture, taken way back in 2006. Yes, as I mentioned yesterday, there are some familiar faces: Tony, Shirley, Jeanine, Brent, Ellen, Lora, and Lynn.

Of course, attending a holiday party has very little to do with the talents and efforts all of us at Outskirts Press bring to our authors every day. We have so many additional people who help our authors (over 100), many of whom are not in any of these pictures and all of whom contribute just as much as those who have been shown and mentioned over the past few days.  The list is too long to include everyone, so just know that from Wendy to Cheri to Heidi to Jodee to Tina, Elise and Patrick; from Lisa to Jennifer, Jackie, Elizabeth, Heather, and everyone else, Outskirts Press authors are in very good hands.

So to all of you who have contributed your skills to seeing our Outskirts Press authors succeed and to seeing our self-publishing company excel, I thank you, and wish you and your family a happy holiday and a Happy New Year.  And to our authors, past, present, and future, I also wish you a Happy New Year. Let’s all continue to accomplish great things in 2013!

ceo, self publishing

A Self-Publishing Holiday Retrospective 2007-2012

Two more days to go in 2012 and in our self publishing holiday retrospective, where I have been examining our Outskirts Press holiday pictures from the past years. Back in 2007, we held our second annual holiday party, and the “usual suspects” were already well represented: Tony, Cindy, Lora, Ellen, Shirley, Brent, Lynn, Jeanine.

Tony is a board member (and my dad), so his consistency is perhaps not all that surprising. And of course I’m going to be in every picture (although,  I’m a few pounds lighter in this one).  Lynn (next to me, second from the right in the back row)  is not only my mother but is also the CFO/CTO of the organization. And Jeanine’s (furthest to the right) contributions to Outskirts Press over the years cannot be measured or overstated (plus, she is my wife, and that can’t be easy). So the four family members of this family-owned company are a stable foundation.

But let’s examine the other amazing women who have been in every picture since 2007…

Cindy S. (back row, third from the left) offers an amazing combination of creativity and technical know-how, which is a necessary, but rare, combination of talents that is integral to book publishing. In addition to being one of our most talented and sought-after cover designers, Cindy has performed spec checks on images and print-ready PDF files to ensure their technical specification and compliance for high-quality publication. All of that is a fancy way of saying she’s one of the reasons Outskirts Press books look so amazing and win so many awards. Thank you, Cindy.

Lora G. (back row, fourth from the left) has been sharing her amazing skills with Outskirts Press authors almost since the very beginning (you will see her tomorrow in the 2006 photograph, as well). And she’s done just about everything around here. She was among the first author representatives, among the first title production supervisors, and among the first production managers. And even today, when vacation time or scheduling requires it, she can still complete any of those tasks for our authors without missing a beat; although more recently our CFO/CTO has been occupying the majority of Lora’s skills with “number-crunching” tasks related to our analytics and advertising.  All of that is a fancy way of saying that Lora is one of the reasons Outskirts Press has been on the Inc. 5000 list four years in a row. Thank you, Lora.

Ellen N. (back row, fifth from the left in the green turtleneck sweater) has been sharing her talents with Outskirts Press almost since the beginning, too (you will also see her in the first holiday picture from 2006). And she’s still doing just about everything around here. She’s performed every task in the busy production department from author representation to title production supervisor to production manager to quality control supervisor and upload facilitator. She facilitates every hard copy submission (and there’s an unbelievable volume of that, even though publishing is well within the digital age by now).  So if you mail it to us, Ellen touches it.  In fact, if you publish it with us, it’s likely Ellen has touched it.  All of that is a fancy way of saying that she is one of the reasons Outskirts Press publishes between 100-200 books every single month. Thank you, Ellen.

Shirley P. (back row, fifth from the right) has been working with Outskirts Press since the beginning. When Lynn became the CFO/CTO in 2004, Shirley was the first person to lend a hand. We have wanted her to oversee entire departments, but Shirley’s work/life balance is exactly where she wants it – she goes on incredible trips every year and when she’s not exploring the planet, she contributes to our financial and technical sides in a way I admittedly can barely comprehend. I rarely understand her emails since she’s smarter than me, so I often just find myself saying, “Yes, Shirley,” and — wouldn’t you know it? — everything turns out perfectly.  All of that is a fancy way of saying Shirley is awesome, and we couldn’t be doing any of this without her. Thank you, Shirley.

Of course, everyone involved with Outskirts Press  (including those who have been unable to attend the parties but still bring their talents and skill sets to our authors) are very much appreciated and valued. Thank you to them all. For instance, Lisa C. (back row, 4th from the right) still evaluates every digital submission for “publishability” and Deni S. (front row, 1st on the left) is still helping our authors as an author representative; Heidi J. (front row, 2nd from the left) continues to almost single-handedly handle the complex (and sometimes stressful) post-publication revisions department; and Kelly S. (front row, furthest on the right) in the years since this picture was taken has risen to the role of Vice President and in 2012 has almost single-handledly allowed me to take some time off. Thank you, thank you, thank you, one and all.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and we’ll finish this self publishing retrospective with our very first holiday picture, taken way back in 2006…