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Independent Publishing News from Maine 

August, 2014 - Vol 4, Issue 4
In This Issue
Author Interview
New Books
Recent Events
Maine Literary Awards
Staff Update
Bill Bushnell Reviews
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Contact Information
558 Main Street
Rockland, ME 04841
(207) 594-0091
Fax: (207) 226-2015
  
Contact us today to learn if independent publishing is for you!
  
Jane Karker, President
Cheryl McKeary, Managing Editor
David Allen, Art Director
Morgen Benz, Bookkeeper
Genie Dailey, Editorial Consultant
Lindy Gifford, Graphic Designer
Nikki Giglia, Customer Service Rep
Dan Karker, Shipping Manager

  
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Happy New Year 2014
Eustis, Maine 

  

Vacations, festivals, art shows, beaches, hiking, camping...we enjoy our summers whether traveling to Maine or another destination. Wherever you are, we hope you are enjoying your summer and getting a chance to read some interesting books.

 

New Indie Author Warehouse Plan Announced
Jane Karker, owner of Maine Authors Publishing, has announced a new Membership Plan for independent authors. This new Indie Author Warehouse Plan includes two options: Basic and Plus.

The Basic plan is for authors that have previously published their book and have printed books on hand. Upon review of the book, we will warehouse up to 100 books and distribute books from orders through bookstores, Amazon and our website. The cost is $275 the first year.

The Plus plan is for authors that print through Custom Museum Publishing. The cost is $195 for the first year.

Both plans promote the book on our Indie Author Warehouse website (currently being developed) and also include the book on a list to bookstores for purchase. The list will include name and author, ISBN, price, and genre. It is distributed to bookstores in Maine at the same time as our Maine Authors Publishing catalog. These plans also include an upload to Amazon (if the book is not already listed there).

For more information about our new plans, please email cheryl@maineauthorspublishing.com.
Have you seen the sign?

If you have been to our office in Rockland lately you may have seen the quote above the door.

 

 

 

 

Author Interview - Jean Flahive

 

Author Jean M. Flahive has recently self-published Railroad to the Moon. This is a a sequel to Billy Boy: The Sunday Soldier of the 17th Maine which was traditionally published. We recently asked Jean some questions about her experience in writing these books.

 

Q. You have both traditionally published and self published your books. What did you like or not like about self-publishing your book?

 

A.  While there may be a different level of prestige associated with a traditional publisher, and one does not have to invest his or her own money, I appreciated having more control with the self-publishing process, including the cover design, title, and editorial changes. The money I've put into self-publishing has come back quickly, so it no longer is a negative factor for me. While I'm certainly open to content changes to a manuscript, there were occasions with both traditional publishing experiences that I really had to argue to keep a character or a scene untouched. I love seeking advice from early readings; it has always helped me change a direction or move the story along, but following that, I'm not very receptive to editorial changes I feel are important to what I want to convey to the reader.

 

Q. Your first book Billy Boy and sequel Railroad to the Moon are about a runaway slave. What kind of research went into writing these books?

 

  A.  My passion is historical fiction. That said, I will go out of my way to research every detail I can about a character or historical event I'm writing about. I enjoy crawling into the "wormhole of the past" and I tell students it's like being a good detective. I make a conscious effort to look for lesser known facts that might cause a reader to say, "I didn't know that!" Research is critical to the process. At times when I included a lesser known detail, it surprised me how it could end up changing the narrative. For example, after finding a unique, but little known event that occurred in the aftermath of the Battle of Fredericksburg, I reluctantly killed one of my characters just so I could use what I had found.

 

Q. How long did the writing process take to complete each of your books?

  

A.  The  writing process in and of itself now does not take me long. It' the research that can slow me down, but I'm fine with that. Billy Boy: The Sunday Soldier of the 17th Maine was my first novel, and I went through several drafts over a two-year period before I found my rhythm. In Railroad to the Moon it took me a long time to find the right Baptist minister who could help me create an authentic voice for Oren Cheney, Freewill Baptist and founder of Bates College, and a major character in the book. Once I found him, the "train left the station" and I completed the writing in about six months. Ironically, my children's picture books, while far less words, were harder to write. It's a different technique altogether, and it took me awhile to adjust to that style of writing.

 

Q. What have you found to be the most successful marketing tool for selling your books?

 

A.  For me, the most successful marketing tool has been in speaking engagements. My historical fictions are regional stories, and I make a great effort to contact libraries and historical societies. Each engagement has always led to another and I am generally quite successful in selling a number of books at each venue. I also have connected with many schools, and word spreads among the teachers. Although Billy Boy: The Sunday Soldier of the 17th Maine, has been out for six years now, I am frequently invited to speak at middle schools, high schools and adult education classes. The other day I received an email from an adult education instructor who wrote that at the request of her students, the class had gone in search of Billy's grave. Later, they picnicked by the river and discussed what they had learned from the book. I am still very moved by that image. 

 

Railroad to the Moon can be purchased on our website.  

 

Thanks to Jean for being willing to share some of her writing experiences.

 

New Book Arrivals May-July 2014 by Authors in our Cooperative Plan
All books in the cooperative plan are available for purchase on our website or from your local bookstore.

 

A Tale of Life and War, Christopher Morin, fiction. A college student tries to complete a history essay by interviewing a WWII veteran only to find it is not as easy as he first thought.

 

Dressing the New Republic, Julie Stackpole, nonfiction. An illustrated introduction to what people might have worn in the late 1700s to the early 1800s.

 

Finding God Through Gracie, Stephen Reed, nonfiction. A true story of a man who loses his daughter, yet saves a baby from a life of torture.

Pancakes & Fireflies John Swan, childrens. A young boy experiences a day of exploration in the Maine outdoors with his father and grandfather.

 

Goodbye Monsters, Ronna Deloe, illustrated by Ronna Hampton, childrens. Delightful story for children who learn how to confidently deal with their fears and remove the monsters from their bedrooms.

In the Lyme-Light II, Emily Bracale, nonfiction. An encouraging story of healing and transformation that educates people about Lyme disease.

 

Lemon-Drop Day, Natalie Murray, poetry. An eclectic collection of poems with themes of joy, sorrow, hope, humor, and an occasional bit of whimsy.   

Saving Lauren's Daughter, Joy Cameron, fiction. Monica deals with her mother's disappearance and her father's death and now is wondering why the man she loves knows so much about her when she was young.

 

Sea of Liberty, Kevin Mills, fiction. The third book in a series of historic maritime novels based on the author's ancestors.

 

New Book Arrivals May-July 2014 by Authors in Independent/Indie Author Warehouse Plan

Beyond this Point, Jim Jesson & Pete Jesson, fiction. A detective is pulled from retirement to solve a variety of cases. Available on Amazon. 

 

Girl on the Beach, Virginia Spencer, memoir. Virginia's memoir chronicles her journey through life. Available on Amazon.  

 

Island Voices II, Judy Grey, poetry. A collection of Monhegan Island poems from twelve different poets.

 

My Nightmare...and How I Woke from It, Joseph Reidy, memoir. The true story of the author recovering from a brain injury. Available on Amazon.  

 

Putting Poems By, Sharon Bray, poetry. A diverse collection of poems.

 

The University of Connecticut's School of Fine Arts: A History of the First Fifty Years: 1961-2011, Donald Murray, nonfiction.

 

Recent Events  

It has been a busy summer with book events in Maine. Thank you to Kelly Brooks-Bay (Rainbow Pants) for organizing many festivals for MAP authors. The Books in Boothbay Festival (July 12) featured 11 MAP authors as well as illustrator Thomas Block and author Paige Pendleton leading a workshop. 

Keven Mills (Sea of Liberty) displays MAP materials at the Boothbay Festival.

 

The Beyond the Sea Book Festival (July 25-27) included five MAP authors. Jane Karker also did an outstanding presentation at this event on Independent Publishing.   

 

Jayne Rowe Jones (Retsbol Rises) and Kelly Brooks-Bay (Rainbow Pants) are all smiles
at the Lobster Festival.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Rowe Jones.

 

Thirteen MAP authors were represented at the Maine Lobster Festival (July 30-August 3).

 

 

Upcoming Events 

Saturday, August 9 at 11 am Lloyd Ferriss reads from and signs Harry Stump, Maine's Psychic Sculptor at the grand opening of the new Isaac F. Umberhind Public Library in Richmond.

Sunday, August 17 from 4 pm to 9 pm Rumford Art Walk, Hosmer Field Athletic Complex, Rumford ME with authors Kelly Brooks-Bay (Rainbow Pants), Betsey Anderson (Maggie Goes to Maine), Kevin Mills (Sea of Liberty), John Cobb (Tales of the Cemetery Trees), David Jewett (Journey Through the Marsh), Natalie Murray (Lemon-Drop Day), Shellie Leger (Lonely Specks), Martha Couture (Parker series), and Susan Wuorinen (Hold on There, Sadie Coggins!)


Midcoast Artist of the Year 



Thomas Block was voted Midcoast Artist of the Year by readers of the Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper. Block accepted a certificate commemorating the event at the Bootbay Register office. He retired from teaching in 2011 but continues to work in a variety of mediums. Block has done a number of cover illustrations for books published by Maine Authors Publishing. Congratulations to Thomas for such a deserving award.



 

Maine Literary Awards

We are proud to announce that MAP author Deborah H. Gould recently received the 2014 Maine Literary Award from the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance in the short works fiction category. The winning short work is a chapter from Gould's upcoming historical novel, The Eastern, set to be released from Maine Authors Publishing in 2015.

 

Also, congratulations to Mark Hathaway (World Locked In: Six Weeks in Coma and Beyond) for being a finalist in the 2014 Maine Literary Awards. The winners were announced at a ceremony on Thursday, May 29 at USM's Glickman Family Library in Portland.

 

For a list of all winners, visit Maine Writers and Publishers.  

 

 

Welcome Dan Karker

 

We are pleased to welcome Daniel Karker to MAP as shipping manager. He is responsible for coordinating all shipments to authors, customers, and bookstores, including managing the book warehouse. Dan will continue to work as a copyeditor and proofreader for MAP, which he did prior to becoming the shipping manager.

Dan graduated from Hampshire College in 2011, where he studied economic development and regional integration. He recently relocated from western Massachusetts back to his home state of Maine. He interned for United States Senator Angus S. King, Jr. in 2014. Dan is an avid musician, as well, and has played guitar, drums, or bass in several rock bands over the years.  

 

Bill Bushnell Reviews... 



Bill Bushnell, book reviewer for Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel, has posted reviews of two Maine Authors Publishing books: Beyond by R. Devillers Seymour and Billy Big Ears and Bob the Bully by Francine McEwen.
 

 

For MAP Members Only 

AUTHOR FORUM

 

For MAP Authors that are currently in the Cooperative or Indie Author Warehouse plans, this private author forum has new information on upcoming awards you can apply for and book sales for the previous month. If you haven't joined the forum, email Nikki at nikki@maineauthorspublishing.com for information on how to join.   

 

Maine Authors Publishing, located in Rockland, ME produces and markets books for independent authors. Maine Authors Cooperative is a program within the company that offers catalog and fulfillment services to get independently published books into Maine bookstores.  


 

Boston Writers Publishing, located in Waltham, MA offers the same services as Maine Authors Publishing for authors and bookstores in Massachusetts. 


Please contact me today if you'd like to learn more about independently publishing your own book.

 

Sincerely,
  
Jane Karker, owner
Maine Authors Publishing