MAP logoMaine Authors Publishing Newsletter

Independent Publishing News from Maine 

November, 2013- Vol 3, Issue 3
In This Issue
Authors Making Headlines
Worth Checking Out
On the Road
Office Updates
New Book Arrivals
Happy Reading
Join Our Mailing List!
Contact Information
558 Main Street
Rockland, ME 04841
(207) 594-0091
Fax: (207) 226-2015
  
Contact us today to learn if self-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
Molly Lesher, Distribution Supv.

  
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on Pinterest
  
  
  
  
It's Fall in Maine - Time to start reading

Sebago Lake
Sebago Lake, Maine

We can't believe it is Fall already. Where did the Summer go? We have been so busy working with authors we lose track of time. Have you read a good book lately? We have plenty of new ones to choose from. You can download our new catalog or order books from our website. Ordering books is easy with your Paypal account or credit card. We ship within 1-2 days via USPS media mail. Many of our books are also available at your local bookstore. Shop local for this upcoming holiday season.

 

We love to get feedback on our books, so feel free to send us your reviews and we will share them with the author. And who knows we may even publish it in our next newsletter. 

 

 

 

Author Conference October 19, 2013

2013 Author Conference
Published authors from Maine Authors Publishing convened at the Old Granite Inn and Maine Authors Publishing office to share ideas and learn more about marketing their books. Thomas Dowd, an award-winning speaker, author, and professional development coach enlightened us with his discussion of "Presentation Skills for Authors." The morning and afternoon sessions included four different marketing workshop sessions. The afternoon speaker was Bill Bushnell who is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and currently writes for the Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel, New Maine Times, Publishers Weekly, and Military Officer. He spoke about "Book Reviewing for Authors: What We Do and How It Applies to You."  

 

 

 

 

Authors Making Headlines
  

Francine McEwen (Billy Big Ears and Bob the Bully) received a personal note from Barbara Bush as well as an acknowledgment from the White House on the receipt of her book.

 

Katherine Mayfield (Bullied) was on NBC-TV's local Maine show 207 on September 6th.

 

Kelly Bay (The Rainbow Pants) received a Liebster Blog Award. This award is given to bloggers by other bloggers. Check out Kelly's blog here to learn more about this award. 

 

Christina Ebert-Klaven (illustrator of Stellarella It's Saturday by Deborah Dykes) has had one of the illustrations from the Stellarella series book selected for the cover of Southern Breeze News (SCBWI region).

 

Worth Checking Out

Google (and by proxy Bing / Yahoo) are all saying the same thing - quality of website content must be timely, interesting, relevant, fresh, and have unique content. If not, you can expect your site to get lost in the search.

 

How does Google search for your website or look for your query? Check out this info on Google Basics. 



Upcoming Events

November 16th - Booksigning at Flowerland and Greenhouse, Fairfield by Francine McEwen.

 

November  18th - Good Day Maine (Fox WPFO) to interview Francine McEwen (Billy Big Ears and Bob the Bully) for National Bully Awareness Week. 

 

December 6th - Penobscot Marine Museum author book signing, "Maine Authors and Maritime Merryment." Authors showing their book include: Kelly Brooks-Bay, Darcy Scott, John Cobb, Bob Branco and Angela Nickerson.  

 

December 14th - Holiday Marketplace, Orrington, 9-2 pm. Along with holiday crafts, MAP authors will be selling their books. MAP authors can contact Kelly Brooks-Bay at [email protected] for more information.

 

 

Jane is on the Road

 

Jane has been keeping busy getting the word out about independent publishing. We have many ongoing adult ed classes as well as other presentations. Some of the presentations include: the Bangor Public Library (October 4), Common Ground Fair (September 21 and 22) and MPBN's Maine Calling (July 24).   

 

She was also invited to participate on a panel at the New England Library Association annual meeting on Oct 21st in Portland.   

 

We are always happy to set up an independent publishing seminar for your group. Just give us call.

 

This year we offered two new adult ed classes: "Editing and Self-Publishing for Maine Writers" taught by editor Genie Dailey and "Writing and Publishing your Memoir" taught by author and memoirist Katherine Mayfield. To view our Adult Ed classes throughout Maine, click here

 

 

Oops...Our Mistake
 

In June we reported the MWPA Finalists for 2013 Maine Literary Awards and MWPA Winner for 2013 Maine Literary Awards: Short Works Competition. We inadvertently had some names and awards incorrect and have listed them here again. Our apologies to Deborah Cummings and Deborah Gould.

 

MWPA Winner for 2013 Maine Literary Awards : Short Works Competition, Nonfiction: Deborah Cummins

 

MWPA Finalists for 2013 Maine Literary Awards : Speculative Fiction: Jeff Foltz: Two Men Ten Suns; Memoir: Darby Brown Fleming, The House at the Edge of the World; Katherine Mayfield, The Box of Daughter; Short Works Competition - Fiction: Deborah Gould; Children's: Angela Nickerson and Robert Magnus, Hector: The Adventures of a Little Bird Who Needs Glasses.

 

 

Office Updates

Good Luck Heather

 

Heather Goss On Friday, August 2nd, we said goodbye to Heather Goss, customer service representative and publicist. Heather has taken a position at a scholastic publishing company and moved to Boston. She was an integral part of of the company for over a year and has worked with many of our authors assisting them through the independent publishing process. We know we speak for all our authors and staff when we say she will certainly be missed at Maine Authors Publishing. We wish Heather well in her new endeavors and expect to hear of her great successes as she attains her goals.

 

  

Nikki Giglia new CSR

 

Nikki Giglia We are pleased to welcome Nikki Giglia as our new customer service representative and publicist. She graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington with a B.A. in English and a minor in Philosophy. Her extensive work with the campus newspaper helped her realize how much she loved publishing. Interning for a semester at a cooperative poetry press cemented her passion for seeing the written word progress through the stages of editing, layout, and finally, print. Born and raised in Maine, Nikki is happy to be able to look out the window from her MAP desk and see the beauty of the Maine coast every day. She looks forward to working with new authors and assisting them in the publishing process.

 

New Book Arrivals July, 2013 to October, 2013 by Authors in our Cooperative Plan
All books in the cooperative plan are available for purchase on our website.

 


 

15 Interesting Historic Sites to Visit Along the Coast and Rivers of Maine - David MacNab - Provides information on historic sites including history, stories, and directions, Non-fiction.        


Beyond Popham Colony
- Richard deVillers Seymour - The First English settlement in New England, historical fiction.        

 

Blessed Boyhood - The "Early Memoir" of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - Annotations by Thomas A. Desjardin and David K. Thomson, Biography.        

 

Bullied: Why you feel bad inside and what to do about it. Katherine Mayfield - A guide to recovery from bullying, Non-fiction.        

 

Downwind from Pemaquid - Sarah Jane Woolf-Wade - An adolescent endures harsh conditions in a 17th century coastal outpost, Young Adult Historical Fiction.

   


The Gift of Another Day - Bob Gause - The bizarre lives of the characters are described in picturesque scenes from a tragic accident to a far distant point in time, Fiction.   

 

Joseph K. Manchester, Northern Son in the South 1861-1863 - Carol Manchester - Through family letters the life of a 19-year-old farm boy in the Civil War is brought to life, Non-fiction.  

 

Katherine Elizabeth, Full of Grace - Laurel Ericson - The predictable life of Kittie McDermott changes forcing her to take an unconventional path to adulthood, Young adult historical fiction.  

 

Ladd, come. Ladd, sit. Phooey, Ladd! - Alfred Goodale - A talking dog adventure, Fiction.

 


 

Light on Jib Island - Jan Gilley - The forces of nature challenge Jib Island and create adventures for the Barton family in the 1920s, Fiction.

   

Moments From Portland, Maine - Debb Freedman - Stories spanning over 25 years of the author's experiences, Non-fiction.     

 

Name Project Aids Memorial Quilt - Debb Freedman - Stories of helping people make their panels for a loved one who died from AIDS, Non-fiction.     

 

The Night Sky is Full of Stars, The Air is Full of Wishes - Debb Freedman - A fairy tale created for others based on interviews, Fiction.     

 

Railroad to the Moon - Jean Flahive - Tale of friendship, loyalty, and a solemn promise, Historical fiction.

 

The Rainbow Pants - Kelly Brooks-Bay -  Peter T. Peacock has to decide what color pants to wear, Children's.   

 

Retsbol Rises - Jayne Rowe Jones - A teenage girl embarks on a quest to find amulets to save the island and Acadia National Park, Young Adult Fiction.  

 

Sea Letters - Renny A. Stackpole - Letters and Journals of the Captain Andrew Pinkham Family of Nantucket and Ohio, 1813-1870, Non-fiction.  

 

Serenity At Two Lights and Other Social Issues - Ronna DeLoe - Includes poems about social issues plaguing the world including photographs, Poetry.  

 
 

Strike from the Deep - Bob Branco - A high-stakes piracy at sea thriller, Fiction.   

 

Tales of the Cemetery Trees - John Cobb - Tales of mystery, crime, fantasy, and the supernatural, Fiction.   

 

Trust but Verify, Reagan, Russia and Me - Suzanne Massie - The author shares her behind-the-scenes role in a turning point in history, Memoir.   

 

Where to Look - Ellen Goldsmith - poems to make the reader see more, feel more, Poetry.   

 

World Locked In - Six Weeks in Coma and Beyond - Mark Hathaway - Personal story of the author's journey after contracting a mysterious illness, Memoir.

 

 

New Book Arrivals June, 2013 to November, 2013 by Authors in our Independent Plan
 

Blue In Your Hair, Green On your Chair - Ellen Wolfe - A little girl who wants to make a birthday present for her father, Children's.

 

Journey from San Rocco - Rosalind Cuschera - Dynamics of a family, separated and rejoined, Historical fiction.

 

Olivia's Hair - Jeanette Gray - Olivia has to decide how to wear her very long hair, Children's.

 

Reaching for September - Paul Newlin - Short stories set in times spanning Post World War II to the present, Fiction. 

 

MAP Student Project

In support of Maine colleges, Maine Authors Publishing is happy to offer our first annual Maine Student Project. This year's recipient is from Bowdoin College.

 

Mirror Staged - Casey Hayes. Collection of poems reflecting on our treatment of self, Poetry.

 

We will be looking for college-age students for this award in the summer of 2014. Contact our offices to submit candidates. 


Happy Reading!
 

Why not take the Fall and Winter to read a good book? Leo, our resident and very patient dog, looks forward to new books as they come in.

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


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

 

Sincerely,
  
Jane Karker, owner
Maine Authors Publishing