tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16406743943480568462024-02-20T04:50:35.136-06:00Marketing and Publishing Group at Helen Hall LibraryThe Marketing and Publishing Group (MAP) at Helen Hall Library in League City, TX was created to bring self-published authors together to share information and experiences about marketing and publishing their books. We meet in the board room on the second Thursday of each month from 11:45am to 1:00pm. Anyone interested in this topic is welcome to join us. Our blog includes information shared by MAP Group members as a guide to help us all achieve book publishing success. Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-19637663663024681002014-10-18T14:39:00.002-05:002014-10-18T14:39:39.021-05:00Harvey Cappel and Larry Watts, Featured Speakers at November 13 Local Authors Hour
<span style="font-size: large;">Two MAP members, Harvey Cappel and Larry Watts, will be the
featured speakers at the November 13, 2014, Local Authors Hour at Helen Hall
Library. The presentations will begin at 10:15am in the library auditorium.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sReOZZLpuQp5M5xGVWu_rXyyi_jkGeC31EPPqvbEiJOne1RXU72VwM8E4iezKfFceYdfTj9hSuq7BriMIWroaOpXMf89SpwB00RXWP791CCsgMtNzfLze7hIsSK8friLbxxLioF6Dmk/s1600/Cappel-True+Story+Ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sReOZZLpuQp5M5xGVWu_rXyyi_jkGeC31EPPqvbEiJOne1RXU72VwM8E4iezKfFceYdfTj9hSuq7BriMIWroaOpXMf89SpwB00RXWP791CCsgMtNzfLze7hIsSK8friLbxxLioF6Dmk/s1600/Cappel-True+Story+Ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7sReOZZLpuQp5M5xGVWu_rXyyi_jkGeC31EPPqvbEiJOne1RXU72VwM8E4iezKfFceYdfTj9hSuq7BriMIWroaOpXMf89SpwB00RXWP791CCsgMtNzfLze7hIsSK8friLbxxLioF6Dmk/s1600/Cappel-True+Story+Ad.jpg" height="320" width="240" /><br />
</a><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Harvey, a semi-retired mechanical engineer, is the author of
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">True Story, I Swear It—Maybe</i>, a
collection of humorous short stories about life’s epiphanies, man’s antics and
a life well-lived. His writing career includes being a local newspaper guest
columnist and small newspaper owner.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosnmGQgYSxnO9ukqL_Mw71BDyW9p1SeH7gV1exbt7q80xlAkpxovAu3_LUxhnLwHhx4utymp-oM4lG1Yur-eGGTDfdZc0K9h4Mf4IqgveDNaQYsW9New6nKwBZFQPCk2EquEXb0ds_cg/s1600/Homecide-Watts+Ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosnmGQgYSxnO9ukqL_Mw71BDyW9p1SeH7gV1exbt7q80xlAkpxovAu3_LUxhnLwHhx4utymp-oM4lG1Yur-eGGTDfdZc0K9h4Mf4IqgveDNaQYsW9New6nKwBZFQPCk2EquEXb0ds_cg/s1600/Homecide-Watts+Ad.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Larry is a retired police officer who writes novels and
short stories about crime and social justice. He is the author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Right, Wrong & Rationalizing Truth</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cheating Justice</i>, a collection of short
stories titled, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Park Place Rangers</i>,
and a new novel series about two detectives, including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homicide in Black & White</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rich Man, Dead Man</i>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Don’t miss this month’s “two for one” Local Authors Hour
presentation. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-48635340111926310532014-09-21T22:52:00.000-05:002014-09-21T22:52:04.227-05:00Harold Raley, Featured Speaker at October 2, 2014 Local Authors Hour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFWUTEncMxH6Vzyj_BaNfCm1zb9EiNrTfYKsWHs7dsi7EXr0WfUQEYiIzIzFj3JCpoNws4WA0_cfSwu6coo3coeRTxuE9eZ7UJ9tWMO3wOL5XK3VFInPluPgkCTuE2Nv_4xogWf1Bydg/s1600/Harold+Raley+Author+Photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFWUTEncMxH6Vzyj_BaNfCm1zb9EiNrTfYKsWHs7dsi7EXr0WfUQEYiIzIzFj3JCpoNws4WA0_cfSwu6coo3coeRTxuE9eZ7UJ9tWMO3wOL5XK3VFInPluPgkCTuE2Nv_4xogWf1Bydg/s1600/Harold+Raley+Author+Photo.png" height="320" width="270" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member, Harold Raley, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Louisiana Rogue</i>, will be the featured
speaker on Thursday, October 2, at 10:15am for the Local Authors Hour at Helen
Hall Library in League City.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mr. Raley has written 14 books on philosophy, history,
theology, language, literature, and fiction, plus numerous articles, book chapters,
and reviews. Most of his writing is in English, but he also writes in Spanish
and French. He has taught courses at several universities. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYy3XZOy3AJeZdG9DSnE8TypxdYsPfdHMgF5lzM4jPvzEdcu_EseAoaCxYKT0kn-CT5g7kTJo8Ck0yZUhFHkPkXXU0L3BzRoCwH51Nrb-OKKyoNG9v0QcmLCmKa4LZaPt0jZWMgm7HTw/s1600/Louisiana+Rogue.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYy3XZOy3AJeZdG9DSnE8TypxdYsPfdHMgF5lzM4jPvzEdcu_EseAoaCxYKT0kn-CT5g7kTJo8Ck0yZUhFHkPkXXU0L3BzRoCwH51Nrb-OKKyoNG9v0QcmLCmKa4LZaPt0jZWMgm7HTw/s1600/Louisiana+Rogue.png" height="320" width="213" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">His novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Louisiana-Rogue-Harold-Raley/dp/0985255277/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411357801&sr=1-1&keywords=Louisiana+Rogue">Louisiana Rogue</a></i>, is about a marginalized, mixed-race, trilingual con artist from
Louisiana back in the 1830s. He schemes and scams his way across frontier America,
the Spanish Southwest, Texas, and parts of Mexico in search of fortune and
social acceptance—and one step ahead of the authorities. The latter part of his
narrative is his search for a lost love he cannot forget. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Join us for this entertaining presentation by Harold Raley,
a talented and prolific author.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-20911852044216031142014-09-01T15:30:00.000-05:002014-09-02T17:42:49.400-05:00Tom Rizzo to Speak at September 11, 2014 Local Authors Hour<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IOhS73lxNvZ3XlHO5YeI6E8W4TJGFg91A-r25p6hDww3Di6QEZm1fiMRGYJIFiTQjguhDa067J2Wl8X5Wy49BruA2rgCSBfcaVz-AJBebyGw0f7npmRMXv8bLUShkMYLs_KxlhSDK_I/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0IOhS73lxNvZ3XlHO5YeI6E8W4TJGFg91A-r25p6hDww3Di6QEZm1fiMRGYJIFiTQjguhDa067J2Wl8X5Wy49BruA2rgCSBfcaVz-AJBebyGw0f7npmRMXv8bLUShkMYLs_KxlhSDK_I/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Marketing and Publishing Group member, </span><span style="font-size: large;">Tom Rizzo, will be
the featured speaker at the Local Authors Hour on Thursday, September 11, 2014,
at 10:15am at Helen Hall Library in League City.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGc5JXYtSTVNSAVJ6_vOiTix-FuVVVrdwigQCz_2fZ_wgfY7RL6zcQo_gImP7Bh_egmpo6fQ0JptDqVkj1a4yH34uQ1Ih3iYiaXj4WSizHquh6N2RCjOT0ZfjVno9OiwoyFK8goMGAWn0/s1600/Last+Stand+at+Bitter+Creek.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGc5JXYtSTVNSAVJ6_vOiTix-FuVVVrdwigQCz_2fZ_wgfY7RL6zcQo_gImP7Bh_egmpo6fQ0JptDqVkj1a4yH34uQ1Ih3iYiaXj4WSizHquh6N2RCjOT0ZfjVno9OiwoyFK8goMGAWn0/s1600/Last+Stand+at+Bitter+Creek.png" height="320" width="210" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">Tom is the author of <b><i><span style="color: #002060;"><a href="http://www.tomrizzo.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #002060;">Last
Stand At Bitter Creek</span></a></span></i></b><i>,</i> a historical
action-adventure novel, named <i>Finalist for the 2013 Western Fictioneers
Peacemaker Award, Best Western First Novel. </i>He also writes short stories,
as well as nonfiction. His book, <i>Heroes &</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Rogues</i>, includes<i> </i>mini-profiles of several characters, bad
and good, who roamed the American frontier.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tom began his career as a teenager, doing odd jobs at a
small radio station in Ohio, and soon was promoted to disc jockey. He also</span>
wrote news, sports, music intros, obituaries, commercials, and more. He later
wrote news for radio and television, spent several years with the Associated
Press, and worked as a freelance writer for magazines and advertising, as well
as doing promotional writing for businesses.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Along the way, he met a colorful cast of characters who
helped inspire his story-writing, including the one for his first novel. He is
now working on his second novel, <em>The Deadly
Gray Dawn</em>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Please join us for this entertaining program by talented
local author, Tom Rizzo.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-77060809374065042862014-04-16T13:19:00.001-05:002014-05-21T10:17:55.480-05:00Tom Rizzo Presents "Five Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors"<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvYafVGSsLd1J8H-yxnLrAL7hAJq6bAT2raU3qz7zfx1oDaseHqO22CfwhufV5ZlaJnS9QE6LDDN-2ZPwHtv-KkXnN6m9wSYLRa54v57Y7XV6pzpPV6aY0BYRcSKaS3o-n5lmorM_LKg/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvYafVGSsLd1J8H-yxnLrAL7hAJq6bAT2raU3qz7zfx1oDaseHqO22CfwhufV5ZlaJnS9QE6LDDN-2ZPwHtv-KkXnN6m9wSYLRa54v57Y7XV6pzpPV6aY0BYRcSKaS3o-n5lmorM_LKg/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tom Rizzo</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member, Tom Rizzo, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.tomrizzo.com/"><span style="color: #20a3ca;">Last Stand at Bitter Creek</span></a></i>,
will lead the discussion for our next meeting on Thursday, June 12, at 11:45am in
the Board Room at Helen Hall Library. Our topic is an article titled, “Five
Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors” by Kristin Lamb.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You can read the article on this link: </span><a href="http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/five-mistakes-killing-self-published-authors/"><span style="color: #20a3ca; font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="color: #20a3ca; font-size: large;"><a href="http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/five-mistakes-killing-self-published-authors/">http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/five-mistakes-killing-self-published-authors/</a></span><a href="http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/five-mistakes-killing-self-published-authors/"></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The content includes the following:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mistake #1 Publishing Before We Are
Ready</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mistake #2 Jumping in Before
Understanding the Business Side to the Business</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mistake #3 Believing that, “If We
Write it They Will Come”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mistake #4 Misusing FREE!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mistake #5 Shopping One Book to
DEATH</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Our group talked about points #1 and #2 at previous meetings, and
will continue discussing the remaining points in June.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Please join us for this valuable exchange of information.
Our goal is to share our marketing experience to help all our members achieve book
publishing success.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-40608618704095916052014-03-27T17:56:00.000-05:002014-03-28T11:03:03.979-05:00Caris Brown, Library Archivist, Guest Speaker at April MAP Group Meeting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4o3FmXp1hyEHPKsgYu_7wO_D5xdHigjp1a8XunK3zepuMG22aCQiZ3Rc6kOfY-Q7iKZJku0dSXZFdFiySvosiBqY1dMmaWtHDF67QTen0BxaiC2fMLuo5wOHNC7fm6530Xcj29C1TQdM/s1600/Caris+Brown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4o3FmXp1hyEHPKsgYu_7wO_D5xdHigjp1a8XunK3zepuMG22aCQiZ3Rc6kOfY-Q7iKZJku0dSXZFdFiySvosiBqY1dMmaWtHDF67QTen0BxaiC2fMLuo5wOHNC7fm6530Xcj29C1TQdM/s1600/Caris+Brown.jpg" height="286" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Caris Brown, the Local
History Librarian for Helen Hall Library, will be the guest speaker at our
meeting on Thursday, April 10, at 11:45am. She will teach us about research methods
and resources for gathering data from historical sources that can be helpful
for our members in writing both fiction and nonfiction books.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">She will begin by
discussing library databases and how they can be used for research. In
addition, she will go over the content and usefulness of city, state, and
federal archives as well as a few other archival repositories. Our MAP
Group members might find it helpful to look over the databases found on the </span><a href="http://leaguecity.com/index.aspx?NID=1277"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Helen Hall Library website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
before attending the meeting. Just go the library website and click on the
e-library tab found at the top of the page. Next, select library databases by
subject and you will be taken to the page with a list of all library databases.
Check them out!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ms.
Brown received a Master of Information Science (M.I.S.) degree from the
University of Texas in 2002. Upon graduation she worked for History Associates
Incorporated, a company in the Washington D.C. area that provides historians
and archivists on a contract basis. She worked for the National Institutes of
Health, the Library of Congress Map Division, the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum,
and Independence National Historical Park among many other organizations. In
2008, Ms. Brown became the Local History Librarian for Helen Hall Library and
manages the archival collection.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Please
join us for this informative presentation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-53555814812545069862014-03-27T11:06:00.001-05:002014-03-27T11:06:02.890-05:00Bob Arnold, Author of First in Texas, to Speak at April 10 Local Authors Hour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLH_ji42nk3U2oLKvdeWwWww2rk6Cge-9URstFqBZJ9qPGbVvmvOlsSit0p6lxqhPI3366aCFGqgxLrv5unoNBvgsq3cs5-kwUkeYBq7jqsfHDtHJ5MXzndqcXJ3DJMTFB_46DcRfGtbo/s1600/Bob+Arnold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLH_ji42nk3U2oLKvdeWwWww2rk6Cge-9URstFqBZJ9qPGbVvmvOlsSit0p6lxqhPI3366aCFGqgxLrv5unoNBvgsq3cs5-kwUkeYBq7jqsfHDtHJ5MXzndqcXJ3DJMTFB_46DcRfGtbo/s1600/Bob+Arnold.jpg" height="200" width="178" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Bob Arnold, author of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">First in Texas</i></b>, will be the featured
guest for the April 10 Local Authors Hour, starting at 10:15am at Helen Hall
Library.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">His book chronicles the lives of three men who made
significant contributions to more than one hundred and fifty years of Texas
history.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In 1821, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Josiah Bell </b>and
his wife crossed the Sabine River into Texas as penniless squatters. They
settled in Austin Colony on the upper Texas coast where Bell was often left in
charge of the colony’s affairs during Stephen F. Austin’s negotiations with
Mexican officials. Bell built a river landing on the Brazos River that became a
supply depot for settlements near the river and a major trading port for goods
coming into and out of Texas. He was a respected leader within the colony,
a successful entrepreneur and businessman, and the founder of two towns, one of
which was briefly the capitol of the Republic of Texas. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Josiah Bell’s third son, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">James Hall Bell</b>, was educated at Harvard Law School and became the
first native-born Texan to serve as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Judge
Bell was an outspoken opponent of secession as well as a staunch defender of
citizens’ rights against the undue powers of government, often taking political
stances that resulted in disfavor with his friends and colleagues. After the
Civil War, he was instrumental in bringing the Republican Party to Texas and
was an important Texas politician for many years. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Red Arnold</b> was
raised in Longview, Texas, and enlisted in the Marine Corps following high
school graduation. After his Marine service, he became a Texas Highway
Patrolman and married the great-granddaughter of Judge James Hall Bell. When
World War II began, he reentered the Marines and fought in several Pacific
island battles. At the conclusion of the war, he returned to Texas as a wounded
veteran to restart his law enforcement career, ultimately serving nearly
twenty-five years as a Texas Ranger. Known as the “law in Northeast Texas,” Red
was often involved in deadly encounters with hardened criminals,
strikebreakers, and petty criminals as well as with election fraud, robbery,
murder, and other crimes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSK3zrZwxV5Hq4TO3d7dqQ2WgpM3wEhmSzwY4snza6-jR1uLj9PJNXJcAOM3tr94zt4yy7tN8P4SJhjbcj_ZTHAqanFFpinZ3qw_sZQcAYfL-Kw8_aBfzvZMw0kn9VYM0ly3XUz62cORE/s1600/First+in+Texas+by+Bob+Arnold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSK3zrZwxV5Hq4TO3d7dqQ2WgpM3wEhmSzwY4snza6-jR1uLj9PJNXJcAOM3tr94zt4yy7tN8P4SJhjbcj_ZTHAqanFFpinZ3qw_sZQcAYfL-Kw8_aBfzvZMw0kn9VYM0ly3XUz62cORE/s1600/First+in+Texas+by+Bob+Arnold.jpg" height="320" width="218" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Bob Arnold graduated from Texas Tech and served as a
Signal Corps officer in the United States Army. Following his military
service, Bob was employed by Union Carbide Corporation as a polymer chemist and
had a thirty-five-year career in various roles within the laboratory,
manufacturing, and business organizations of Union Carbide and Dow Chemical. He
and his wife, Bejie, reside in Friendswood, Texas, and have two children and
two grandchildren.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Please join us to learn more about these memorable and
entertaining facts about Texas history.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-42248864604753546702014-02-26T18:35:00.000-06:002014-03-14T19:31:02.002-05:00Tips on Creating Audio Books from Narrator, Pearl Hewitt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" height="304" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The guest speaker for the March 13, 2014 MAP Group meeting was
Pearl Hewitt. She is an award winning voice actor who was born in England, and
moved to Houston in 2001. In 2007, at the suggestion of her 12-year-old son,
she began training as an audio book narrator.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Renowned for her distinctive, smooth and flawless voice, her
versatile vocal talents have been used in projects ranging from a simple
voicemail to multiple, quirky character voices in video-games and audio books. She
works as a freelance narrator from home, recording in a state-of-the-art sound
booth located in what was previously her formal dining room. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pearl encourages authors to broaden their fan base by
offering their titles in an alternative format. Buyers can listen to audio books
using computers, e-tablets or smart phones, and the cost for creating the books
has dropped drastically over the past few years. Experienced book narrators
charge between $200 and $400 per finished hour of book content. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You can learn more about audio book narration and how to
produce an audio version of your book on two websites: The Audiobook Publishers
Association at: <a href="http://audiopub.org/"><span style="color: blue;">http://audiopub.org</span></a>, and ACX
(Audiobook Creation Exchange) at: <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://acx.com/"><span style="color: blue;">http://acx.com</span></a>. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Below
are a few interesting articles which she suggests for more information about
audio books:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
Author Grace Burrows discusses her
audiobook process</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2014/03/03/grace-burrowes-self-produced-audio-books/5951523/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2014/03/03/grace-burrowes-self-produced-audio-books/5951523/</span></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
T.M. Lurhman- NY Times- Audiobooks
and the return of storytelling</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/luhrmann-audiobooks-and-the-return-of-storytelling.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/luhrmann-audiobooks-and-the-return-of-storytelling.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1</span></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
Alexandra Alter-Wall Street
Journal-The New Explosion In Audiobooks </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323854904578637850049098298"><span style="color: blue;">http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323854904578637850049098298</span></a>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Pearl says, “<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I'm
very excited to share audio book production opportunities with those who have
not even considered it before. The industry is exploding and apparently sales
of audio books sky-rocketed in the past couple of years. It's a great time to
become involved and there are many narrators out there looking for a new book
to narrate.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span>Visit her website: <a href="http://www.pearlhewitt.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.pearlhewitt.com</span></a>
to learn more about her services.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
</span></span>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-B9DV0Mt4Deo%2FUw6Hogut4-I%2FAAAAAAAACkA%2FtqjYX-v_ohc%2Fs1600%2FPearl%2BHewitt.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj93s9SB1D97A_sfWMN4HcZyEG8w5SuObWTJvhtB3jVR-FHU-difRtErhbJV_ZaloN5lWpdAaC4PseQNyezWSPSmU_ufWwoEaQqbdTnvaxZi3dEtklUqoOkDVp548hDZG9WZp1e416xrJo/s1600/Pearl+Hewitt.jpg" -->Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-25630160467143666222014-02-26T12:15:00.001-06:002014-02-26T18:43:41.947-06:00Jerry L. Ross to Present at March 2014 Local Authors Hour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL_BQuMKtCrbtV3pwOwxcei4td6z4xlOacCRBpwINV9OySU55OOyvh-9pX4vjVME2npA9Wc79TfVL3zdNUKN2p9v_MBqRQuOIKpkWFQsSJsP2Q238mUZ-hvSzwBObHlTJhtBg9eTEN5Y/s1600/Jerry+Ross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeL_BQuMKtCrbtV3pwOwxcei4td6z4xlOacCRBpwINV9OySU55OOyvh-9pX4vjVME2npA9Wc79TfVL3zdNUKN2p9v_MBqRQuOIKpkWFQsSJsP2Q238mUZ-hvSzwBObHlTJhtBg9eTEN5Y/s1600/Jerry+Ross.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member and former U.S. astronaut, Jerry L. Ross, will be the featured speaker on March 13, 2014, at 10:15am during the Local Authors Hour at Helen Hall Library, 100 W. Walker St., League City, TX.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Jerry will be talking about his book, <em>Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA's Record-Setting Frequent Flyer</em>. His book is an insider's account of the U.S. Space Shuttle program, including the unforgettable experience of launch, the delights of weightless living, and the challenges of constructing the International Space Station.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWA1zhI3gMl-dUbmAl9lehUgl5OuBSqd7IwGPnfh0FuTJ2DFiiq7N2aCXiVUTJEYnrO6gWS5bGYYR_EaXNszp8_cZmx51OkmcREwDzxDxERIgASCCy-IDK5OZt7CogRFBvhgpx3s1Y8-M/s1600/Spacewalker+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWA1zhI3gMl-dUbmAl9lehUgl5OuBSqd7IwGPnfh0FuTJ2DFiiq7N2aCXiVUTJEYnrO6gWS5bGYYR_EaXNszp8_cZmx51OkmcREwDzxDxERIgASCCy-IDK5OZt7CogRFBvhgpx3s1Y8-M/s1600/Spacewalker+Cover.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">During seven spaceflights, he spent 1,393 hours in space, including 58 hours and 18 minutes on nine space walks. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Join us for this exciting program, as Jerry describes how he achieved his goal of journeying into space, and became the most-launched astronaut in history!</span></div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-82642553840104411322013-12-27T17:15:00.001-06:002014-01-03T12:11:30.382-06:00Marilyn Zapata to Present at January, 2014 Local Authors Hour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1ZQEaAeSSZ8g41NvUMTEaCK2N7llMAaOlgxgb8qKnQICSGaaQprVQG6SgxnAEIn8dBgrjL_YQ9gi6FEjy8opltLzt6olSq2-1X_lrZbiovXcXkKIFTHDL4LWvMRz_XGbnEZ6j6t3JBg/s1600/Chica+Photo+Senior+Moments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1ZQEaAeSSZ8g41NvUMTEaCK2N7llMAaOlgxgb8qKnQICSGaaQprVQG6SgxnAEIn8dBgrjL_YQ9gi6FEjy8opltLzt6olSq2-1X_lrZbiovXcXkKIFTHDL4LWvMRz_XGbnEZ6j6t3JBg/s320/Chica+Photo+Senior+Moments.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Marilyn Zapata, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Wonders-Seniors-World/dp/0984240659/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1388203794&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Seven+Wonders+of+a+Seniors+World">The Seven Wonders of a Senior’s World</a></i>, will be the speaker at the
Local Authors Hour on Thursday, January 9, 2014, at 10:15am. This book is a
collection of humorous short stories about her “senior moments.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Marilyn says, “I deemed it necessary to include stories of
my family, where adventures into forgetful land run rife in the female gene
pool.” She also drew on 30 years of nursing home volunteer work for some of the story topics.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVs2PCLbUnFIQtcfeFKb98XhDxO0CJyLYdeyyS9YgNK2XlEh8Rb4arGif2y_KrTSuxa23cNruhIoQCXpNyMkVNvgW7lm8Cy4L0goc8X4HyqTVclIBfKZKTIpr1J6JhyOgKHflMcg5AXU/s1600/Senior+Moments+Cover+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVs2PCLbUnFIQtcfeFKb98XhDxO0CJyLYdeyyS9YgNK2XlEh8Rb4arGif2y_KrTSuxa23cNruhIoQCXpNyMkVNvgW7lm8Cy4L0goc8X4HyqTVclIBfKZKTIpr1J6JhyOgKHflMcg5AXU/s320/Senior+Moments+Cover+2.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">She lives in Pearland, and has also written four volumes about her worldly travels, with
husband, Art, which are available on Amazon.com in print and e-book formats: <i>Around
the World in Forty Years, Volumes I, II, III and IV</i>. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don’t miss this entertaining presentation by one of our MAP Group members.</span></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can read more about Marilyn's books and see some of her fabulous artwork on her website: <a href="http://marilynzapata.blogspot.com/">http://marilynzapata.blogspot.com</a></span></span></div>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-52248661965908403912013-12-27T17:00:00.000-06:002014-01-02T15:37:14.235-06:00Resources for Writing Tips<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span><span style="font-size: large;">At
a recent MAP Group meeting, one of our members asked if we could discuss proper
punctuation for writing. Since that topic would be so wide and varied, and for
the most part, we would probably need to research the proper answer online
anyway, we decided that the best solution is for each author to research his or
her specific punctuation or grammar question on the Internet. However, I have
listed a few links below with useful information as a starting point. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span></span><span><span style="font-size: large;">If
any of our members have more suggestions for helpful writing websites, please
send them to </span><a href="mailto:gloria@gloriahanderlyons.com"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">gloria@gloriahanderlyons.com</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">
and I will add them to the list.</span></span></div>
<span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><br />
<span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">Articles about how to write:</span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span></span></b><span><span style="font-size: large;">Writers Gazette</span></span><br />
<span></span><span><a href="http://www.writergazette.com/view-articles"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">http://www.writergazette.com/view-articles</span></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-size: large;">SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists
and Writers Network)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><a href="http://www.spawn.org/articles.htm"><span style="color: blue;"></span></a><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.spawn.org/articles.htm"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.spawn.org/articles.htm</span></a></span><a href="http://www.spawn.org/articles.htm"></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">Grammar and punctuation:</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span></span></b><span><span style="font-size: large;">The Chicago Manual of Style
Online</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span></span><span><a href="http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/contents.html"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/contents.html</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span>The Elements of Style</span></i><span> by William Strunk, Jr.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-71407784760561265312013-10-26T22:37:00.000-05:002014-01-02T15:47:20.034-06:00Local Authors Meet and Greet at Helen Hall Library in League City<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSmMeBzksOzJ-v9j0DnSSQRiLmCAchwdazPg-LH_rZWImNxd-NKMelVf6KPxHtDSnJSePmkGGpEpyeRLd7vFXC94X8YcTHMBT0etB4yedXQxXv-hrSw-PscypuU3V2uyJzrxsSh6bd_8/s1600/M&G+Chica+Photo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSmMeBzksOzJ-v9j0DnSSQRiLmCAchwdazPg-LH_rZWImNxd-NKMelVf6KPxHtDSnJSePmkGGpEpyeRLd7vFXC94X8YcTHMBT0etB4yedXQxXv-hrSw-PscypuU3V2uyJzrxsSh6bd_8/s400/M&G+Chica+Photo2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span lang="en-US" style="color: #ea2d00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: center;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Helen Hall Library at 100 West Walker in League City will host a "Local Authors Meet and Greet"<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">Wednesday, November 13, 2013 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: justify; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;">
<span lang="en-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Twelve authors will be participating in this event. Shown in the photo (front row, left to right) are Marilyn Zapata, Mary Lou Darst, Neesha Hosein, Gloria Hander Lyons, Patricia Vance and Harold Raley. Back row, left to right are Tom Rizzo, Larry Watts, Patrick Vance and Rene Armstrong. Not present are Coral Beach and Darlene Prescott. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: justify; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;">
<span lang="en-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: justify; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;">
<span lang="en-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"></span><span lang="en-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The public is invited to come out and meet these talented authors and purchase signed copies of their books. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: justify; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;">
<span lang="en-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; text-align: justify; text-justify: newspaper; text-kashida-space: 50%;">
<span lang="en-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">For more information about the “Local Authors Meet and Greet”, contact Joanne Turner, Senior Assistant Librarian at: <a href="mailto:Joanne.Turner@leaguecity.com">Joanne.Turner@leaguecity.com</a> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; language: en-US; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-arabic-font-family: Arial; mso-armenian-font-family: Arial; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-currency-font-family: Arial; mso-cyrillic-font-family: Arial; mso-default-font-family: Arial; mso-greek-font-family: Arial; mso-hebrew-font-family: Arial; mso-latin-font-family: Arial; mso-latinext-font-family: Arial;">or call: (281) 554-1103.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-57237932942692127302013-10-18T17:39:00.002-05:002014-01-02T15:52:14.118-06:00Patrick Vance to Speak at November Local Authors Hour<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWBnKMfpEvDGGLSP6rBWu2-Mzy2403mAyJdmuXx1VO6nnSls5DtfpQZOp2CtqPmnmkM5WwWtQVMJW2XkElaws_FPTwLEzlaywcWMqhzxyGMU9uaR8B2wzk0EXKIZS1CTbVfBMVVjuk2Q/s1600/Patrick+Vance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWBnKMfpEvDGGLSP6rBWu2-Mzy2403mAyJdmuXx1VO6nnSls5DtfpQZOp2CtqPmnmkM5WwWtQVMJW2XkElaws_FPTwLEzlaywcWMqhzxyGMU9uaR8B2wzk0EXKIZS1CTbVfBMVVjuk2Q/s200/Patrick+Vance.jpg" width="183" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l3b7n3wLj6E/UmG4HGbE3CI/AAAAAAAAB10/e9ouLtEHeOk/s1600/Patrick+Vance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member, Patrick Vance, will be the speaker for the Local
Authors Hour at Helen Hall Library on Thursday, November 14, at 10:15am. He
will discuss his recently published novel, <i>Hondo Home</i>. The story
features a young man who sells his paint and body shop to return to his home
town to help a close friend suffering from cancer. As with any good “going home
again” plot, the main character must deal with a few family issues, and thrown
in for extra twists and turns is a reunion with his ex-high school sweetheart
and troubles with the town bully. This book sounds like a real page-turner, so
don’t miss the chance to learn more!</span></span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-30044102506246473302013-09-20T17:59:00.001-05:002014-01-02T15:54:07.747-06:00Case Study of a Book Marketing Plan<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjq-PXblBG0xxlABW_Xw7lxNjNfwZn5uMmL3CVVD0niiqb662MtTHpSyyF7Bt4yLhQOnp8S26ZJJrHUlHP6C7D6GnOVP3H96NM18uDbQQIOXfg8R53HLe8aZyY8v-sZc4cLQeVVaRgLcw/s1600/LarryWatts2013.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjq-PXblBG0xxlABW_Xw7lxNjNfwZn5uMmL3CVVD0niiqb662MtTHpSyyF7Bt4yLhQOnp8S26ZJJrHUlHP6C7D6GnOVP3H96NM18uDbQQIOXfg8R53HLe8aZyY8v-sZc4cLQeVVaRgLcw/s1600/LarryWatts2013.gif" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member, Larry Watts, author of <em><a href="http://www.larrywatts.net/">Right, Wrong and Rationalizing Truth</a></em> and <em><a href="http://www.larrywatts.net/">Cheating Justice</a></em>, submitted the following article about his book marketing experiences.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>A Case Study of a Book Marketing Plan</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">by Larry Watts</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Each of us has experiences
to share about publicizing and marketing our books. Learning that your book
won’t “sell itself” often comes as a surprise to a new author, who then
realizes becoming a marketing and promotions genius is a required part of being
an author. I am privileged to share some of my experiences regarding my journey
to successfully marketing my books.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The publisher of my first
novel provided a list of marketing tips. I tried them all! First was the media
advisory/press release that I sent to over 100 news outlets based on criteria
suggested by the publisher. The response I received was less than flattering. I
eventually got three newspaper reviews, but in each case, I personally met with
either the editor or reporter and asked for the book review.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I sent e-mails to all my
friends and made a few sales. Then I paid a company to advertise my book by
sending out mass e-mail releases. My website registered 1000’s of hits, but not
a single book sale. I later learned that many of these companies use computer programs
to go to your website so that it appears you are getting visitors on the site,
but in reality it’s an automated system with no real visitors.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I then decided to try the
book fair route. There are several that take place in Texas throughout the year
and are relatively inexpensive, $35 to $50 for a table at what is usually a one
day event. I’ve now attended three of these events, each lasting six to eight
hours, not counting travel time. Grand total of sales for these events was four
books! But there was one bright spot. At one of the events, I received a free
copy of a book I’ve mentioned in a previous article: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Publishing and Marketing Realities for the Emerging Author </i>by
Christine Rose.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">After reading this book I
decided to explore social media marketing. I built my database of Facebook
“Friends” and Twitter “Followers” and worked on expanding my e-mail list. I
noticed that other authors who were utilizing social media often offered a free
sample of their writing, either a short how-to book or short story. I decided
to add this to my arsenal of marketing tools.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Three months ago I
published the first in a series of short stories exclusively on Amazon as a
Kindle e-book. Amazon permits authors who enroll their work in Amazon’s KDP
Select program to offer it free for five days during each ninety day period it
is exclusively enrolled. The first free short-story was downloaded more than
100 times during the five day free promotion; but the great news was that I
sold 20 e-book copies of my other books in the U.S., seven in Great Britain,
and seven more in the rest of the World. That’s the best success I’ve
experienced in a single month with my book sales.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The following month I had
less than a hundred downloads of my new free short story, but still sold 18
other books in the U.S. and seven abroad. This month, after releasing the third
short story and advertising it for free on Facebook, Twitter and an e-mail
list, I have registered 17 other book sales. Although I still consider it an
experiment, it is an avenue worth exploring.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, I have recently
decided to concentrate all my personal appearance book promotions at local
libraries that have “author hours”, “meet the author” programs, or some other
forum for writers to present their work to a local audience. I’ve attended two
of these events and sold a total of 12 copies of my books. As compared to the
long hours spent sitting behind a table at a “book fair” with very few sales,
the 45 minute presentation I made at each library was extremely successful.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I certainly do not have a
well-defined, successful, marketing scheme figured out yet; but these are some
of my observations gathered as I experiment with different techniques. I would
be interested in hearing other MAP Group member’s views on this subject. If you
would like to share your book marketing experiences with other authors, please
submit your comments to Gloria Lyons (</span><a href="mailto:gloria@gloriahanderlyons.com"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">gloria@gloriahanderlyons.com</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">) for
the MAP Group blog</span>.</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-47159570897155420492013-09-17T17:57:00.001-05:002014-01-02T15:55:45.202-06:00Mind Meld Book Marketing<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81BpwhLRj62DbEWk1Ah9hHSZaq02ML9S0lznIiyi7r0Vk9Sm7xY5HGP_nKXZRgnWGF1h9PXamwKmNAFiTeQDzD1FO5_LmMS4nBeC-r6_MSjAdJqhxqJ2W0xaiSE5RB7ZAWF2vfSnHHPY/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81BpwhLRj62DbEWk1Ah9hHSZaq02ML9S0lznIiyi7r0Vk9Sm7xY5HGP_nKXZRgnWGF1h9PXamwKmNAFiTeQDzD1FO5_LmMS4nBeC-r6_MSjAdJqhxqJ2W0xaiSE5RB7ZAWF2vfSnHHPY/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MAP Group Member, Tom Rizzo, author of </span><a href="http://www.tomrizzo.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Stand at Bitter Creek</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, submitted the following article that offers a unique approach to book marketing.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spock’s
Mind Meld and Book Marketing<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;">By
Tom Rizzo</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The biggest challenge of
any fiction writer is to finish the story</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;">.
Writing <i>The End</i>—however—only means <i>The Beginning</i> . . .
of the next step: Marketing the story.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 20.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fiction
needs an audience. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">In order to find
an audience, you have to find ways to engage potential readers. Building
rapport with your target market, and beyond, can mean all the difference
between sales success and sales failure.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Most
writers of fiction, no doubt, consider marketing as an unpleasant task</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">, and have been known to hold their noses to avoid
the stench.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Like it or not, marketing
is an essential first step. </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">And, if we’re going to be honest, successful
writers always keep marketing.</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span></b><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Social
media, of course, is a strategic component of the marketing strategy. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">If you’re unfamiliar with the best approaches to
social media, never fear. There are tons of information available on the
Internet—much of it good, and most of it free.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">When
it comes to marketing, writers really own an advantage. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Marketing works when the right words work. The
truth is that you don’t have to be a professional writer to be a great
marketer, but writers can claim a head start because of their skill with words.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Establishing
a bond with potential readers</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> requires a
clear, focused, and strategic approach to writing.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Keep in mind—and this is
important—the most effective connection</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> is best made from a <i>customer’s perspective</i>.
In this case, your readers are your customers</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Mimic
Mr. Spock's Mind-Meld Principle. Remember Spock, the extraterrestrial humanoid</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> in TV’s <i>Star Trek?</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Spock,
and others from the planet Vulcan, practiced what they called <i>mind-meld</i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">, a technique allowing them to share thoughts,
knowledge, experiences and memories with other individuals. Mind-meld was
Spock’s technique of communicating mentally, even to the point of expressing
intimate thoughts.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Without
getting into a lot of Star Trekkian logic, you—as a writer—must try to find a
way to establish a <i>mind-meld</i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> with
potential readers—not only of your particular genre, but others you may want to
lure into your corner of the imagination.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">You should focus on the
reader’s needs, wants, and desires.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">One
way of making a connection—a bond—is focusing the words you write</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">, and the word pictures you create, on a reader’s <i>needs,
desires, and wants</i>. A little mind reading helps too, if you have this
particular talent.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">K</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">eep
in mind, there are many businesses that fail to achieve an effective mind-meld</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> with their customers because their sales and
marketing writing lacks <i>emotional</i> focus. They often fall into the trap
of <i>telling </i>too much about themselves, and their products without taking
into consideration what the buyers are seeking.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Keep
the conversation directed on your reader-buyers. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Ok,
you’ve written a great book. So figure out <i>why</i> it will appeal to
readers, and <i>why</i> they should read it, <i>why</i> they’ll enjoy it, and <i>how</i>
it will satisfy their desire to escape from their own reality.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Those readers you’re
trying to attract to buy your book </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">are more interested in themselves and their
priorities. Not you.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Your
mind-meld marketing copy</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> should do as
much as possible to establish your credibility, and your promise to deliver a
piece of riveting entertainment.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Readers
– buyers - want to know </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">who you are,
and why your story will interest them before they shell out a buck or two or
three for a novel. They want to be convinced that buying—AND READING—your book
will be a worthwhile investment in time and money.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Help
your potential readers walk in the shoes of your characters</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> and feel their fear, conflict, love, joy and a
range of other emotions so they’ll want more of what you create.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 15pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Create
a mind-meld</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"> for future sales.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-1770792995148959452013-09-03T11:21:00.000-05:002014-01-02T15:57:22.877-06:00Larry Watts to Speak at September Local Authors Hour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVF_vozkdcffhIysl7fCb5KJe8VF9mJ9uFWiHoW2Q9Vf-BiBXI6Acd0YoFNXp7ct4gRIsjk1ra05_gkzHIJ4HnJGD7o37OWwApglZNmJm2c5Xul9q_6PQpiv8PcgEzvfxlTfDUtzHoHU/s1600/LarryWatts2013.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYVF_vozkdcffhIysl7fCb5KJe8VF9mJ9uFWiHoW2Q9Vf-BiBXI6Acd0YoFNXp7ct4gRIsjk1ra05_gkzHIJ4HnJGD7o37OWwApglZNmJm2c5Xul9q_6PQpiv8PcgEzvfxlTfDUtzHoHU/s1600/LarryWatts2013.gif" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Ayg0d8Ym-0/UgkgIvUxP5I/AAAAAAAABoQ/V0kqkp12ji8/s1600/LarryWatts2013.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group Member, Larry Watts, author of: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.larrywatts.net/"><span style="color: blue;">Cheating
Justice</span></a></i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.larrywatts.net/"><span style="color: blue;">Right, Wrong and
Rationalizing Truth</span></a></i>, will be giving the presentation at the Local Authors Hour at Helen Hall Library on Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 10:15 am.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Larry is a former police officer and labor
negotiator who writes novels about social justice and crime. He is currently working on a collection of short stories based on his experiences as a police officer.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He is an active member of our Marketing and Publishing Group, and occasionally contributes articles to our blog.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Visit his website </span><a href="http://www.larrywatts.net/"><span style="font-size: large;">www.LarryWatts.net</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> to learn more about his book titles.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't miss this informative and entertaining presentation about his experiences as a Houston police officer.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><br />Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-9160027855606467352013-08-27T15:06:00.002-05:002014-01-02T15:59:01.941-06:00Using Twitter to Market Your Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUiNmQ8qs0-SP9iGA6jp_THG3Fw79tpD1SwKI1SQTyc226KmfUmYbrh5tSytLWOFBSu5ieFMW6fpHtDpHEk01pQx6ur1zv3ZNDBzy0DZLNZNNfzAeIGGdlB3o-w_6FWPyfgzRVjEa3r4/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvUiNmQ8qs0-SP9iGA6jp_THG3Fw79tpD1SwKI1SQTyc226KmfUmYbrh5tSytLWOFBSu5ieFMW6fpHtDpHEk01pQx6ur1zv3ZNDBzy0DZLNZNNfzAeIGGdlB3o-w_6FWPyfgzRVjEa3r4/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xus3KHqw2ns/Uh0GW6jAHtI/AAAAAAAABtI/b-oemU_TTh4/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It’s no secret that today’s social media websites, like
Twitter and Facebook, can play an important role in marketing books. The trick,
however, as a self-published author, is to learn to how to use these tools to
our advantage. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member, Tom Rizzo, author of <em><a href="http://www.tomrizzo.com/">Last Stand at Bitter Creek</a></em>, would like to share an article
titled, “Twitter Tips for Authors”, that he discovered recently on the Indie
Author News website. The link is below:<br />
</span><a href="http://www.indieauthornews.com/2012/07/twitter-tips-for-authors.html"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"></span></a><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.indieauthornews.com/2012/07/twitter-tips-for-authors.html">http://www.indieauthornews.com/2012/07/twitter-tips-for-authors.html</a></span><a href="http://www.indieauthornews.com/2012/07/twitter-tips-for-authors.html"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The post not only offers helpful advice about the “dos” and
don’ts” of using Twitter, it includes a glossary of Twitter terms for those of
us who are new to the tweeting concept.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Check it out to see if you might benefit from using this form of
social media to help market your book.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-644821829230546502013-08-02T11:44:00.003-05:002014-01-02T16:02:19.182-06:00Write What You Know<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjN_pW1lyAD5jf2QzmmGlPP3w3bvUYe2iFst_wxDO3rlH6l-sm1D2J2iQeCY54TXtmklJQEchUrJnkysVsD4KIX4vXuIvLebuI67onIWbDeXPouPTGCWXQkmrH8fExBzXGFzFQ8Sn2oY/s1600/Gloria+Lyons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjN_pW1lyAD5jf2QzmmGlPP3w3bvUYe2iFst_wxDO3rlH6l-sm1D2J2iQeCY54TXtmklJQEchUrJnkysVsD4KIX4vXuIvLebuI67onIWbDeXPouPTGCWXQkmrH8fExBzXGFzFQ8Sn2oY/s200/Gloria+Lyons.jpg" width="161" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Write What You Know</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">by Gloria Hander Lyons</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member, Keith Hick, who lives in the UK and visits
our group a couple of times each year, recently sent me a notice about a
critique he wrote for a fellow author’s book. His announcement reminded me of
an important rule for all authors:</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span>Write
what you know, OR it will show</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span>Write
what you love, AND it will show</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLikRB7OOuUVFV0V-dX45nPc_3BVS0p-7zOPEe0YEvS9F76yVSOtuPX15SZsb2U_Nkz33fFG2gzTqGXB7uCPFk4w-Wn7izUc19Hh0ZdI1gRO3UODSmDwNiZ1bcl1fvUg7ZwWlbIJPU_wI/s1600/Keith+Hick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLikRB7OOuUVFV0V-dX45nPc_3BVS0p-7zOPEe0YEvS9F76yVSOtuPX15SZsb2U_Nkz33fFG2gzTqGXB7uCPFk4w-Wn7izUc19Hh0ZdI1gRO3UODSmDwNiZ1bcl1fvUg7ZwWlbIJPU_wI/s200/Keith+Hick.jpg" width="160" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Keith is a retired architect/engineer who is passionate
about his hobby, golfing. He published a book on the topic, titled, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Hesketh Golf Club 1885-1985</i>. He has
40 years of experience managing golf tournaments, was the editor and publisher
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Golf Coast Golfer Magazine</i> for
two years and has been the Executive Secretary for the Southport and District
Golf Association since 1972. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Can you tell he enjoys golf? What better topic for him to
share in his writing? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Another critical aspect of marketing yourself as a
successful author is keeping your name out in the public eye. Promoting another
author’s work, through book reviews, comments on FaceBook pages, or writing guest
blogs, is a great way to do this. Keith wrote a critique of fellow golfer,
Howard Bennett’s book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.howardbennett.co.uk/"><span style="color: blue;">Stories,Observations, Suggestions: 50 Years as a PGA Proffessional</span></a></i>. But, unlike
the usual “review” or “critique”, which is written after the fact, Keith’s
contribution is included on page 4 of Mr. Bennett’s book—even better. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">As a writer, remember to write what you know—what you are
passionate about—because it will show. And don't forget to share your expertise with others.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-23593426239201352412013-07-11T21:13:00.001-05:002014-01-02T16:04:15.511-06:00Self-Publishing Website Recommendation<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEkJNZ-1GxhRz47hptP2JISay-m8o5_irSRDJ6nSe9V0Wg75vDLGjPVOTb6If9M_v7sCVs5gqoMmOom2feO0S_sUDdzRdmRRL3RGTKYpJFePCGaVixC3OrRkoTUnNkKuP_1iSYg7gsTk/s1600/Joanne+Turner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEkJNZ-1GxhRz47hptP2JISay-m8o5_irSRDJ6nSe9V0Wg75vDLGjPVOTb6If9M_v7sCVs5gqoMmOom2feO0S_sUDdzRdmRRL3RGTKYpJFePCGaVixC3OrRkoTUnNkKuP_1iSYg7gsTk/s1600/Joanne+Turner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEkJNZ-1GxhRz47hptP2JISay-m8o5_irSRDJ6nSe9V0Wg75vDLGjPVOTb6If9M_v7sCVs5gqoMmOom2feO0S_sUDdzRdmRRL3RGTKYpJFePCGaVixC3OrRkoTUnNkKuP_1iSYg7gsTk/s200/Joanne+Turner.jpg" width="166" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Joanne Turner, Senior Assistant Librarian at Helen Hall
Library in League City, and the MAP Group sponsor, would like to recommend a
new website called “BookWorks, The Self-Publisher Association”, for new authors
who plan to self-publish their books. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The link to the website is: </span><a href="http://www.bookworks.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">www.bookworks.com</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Membership in BookWorks is free, and they are promoting
their organization as “a worldwide self-publishing community dedicated to
helping its members prepare, publish, and promote their books, share what they
learn, and help each other.” </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Benefits of becoming a member are:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">Your Own Profile Page</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Your Books for Sale Online in the BookWorks Bookshop</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Extensive Lists of Resources—Editors, Designers, Subsidy Publishers, Publicists, Marketing Coaches and more.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">The BookWorks Forum</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">The Book of the Week—it could be yours</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Classified Ads</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Best Book of the Year Prize—in 12 categories</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p> </o:p>Check it out to see if you might want to join.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><o:p> </o:p>Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-26839236694919701702013-06-04T18:27:00.000-05:002014-01-02T16:06:15.636-06:00Book Recommendation for Publishing and Marketing<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQfDtfeJ7cr4LzPL-5HjUrNKGlRh77SO7WlLvHXl5e2hxCfcXyshHLlBVfu_G2_oFeYZCz9rgi_Ta7naNSURH6tAcoVS0jJYR9A0n5OWnyFWbd8L0P2xhHP2Y6FDeGuqi83M5taPJha4/s1600/LarryWatts2013.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQfDtfeJ7cr4LzPL-5HjUrNKGlRh77SO7WlLvHXl5e2hxCfcXyshHLlBVfu_G2_oFeYZCz9rgi_Ta7naNSURH6tAcoVS0jJYR9A0n5OWnyFWbd8L0P2xhHP2Y6FDeGuqi83M5taPJha4/s1600/LarryWatts2013.gif" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group Member, Larry
Watts, author of: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.larrywatts.net/"><span style="color: blue;">Cheating Justice</span></a></i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.larrywatts.net/"><span style="color: blue;">Right,
Wrong and Rationalizing Truth</span></a></i>, submitted the following article about
publishing. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Recently I attended the
Houston Indie Book Festival with friend and fellow MAP member Tom Rizzo.
While there, a young man came by our table giving copies of a book
away…FREE! This was a really nice surprise, since neither Tom nor I sold
enough of our books to buy lunch. I began reading it the next afternoon,
didn’t put it down until finished. The book is <i><u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Christine+Rose#/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Publishing+and+marketing+realities+for+the+emerging+author&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3APublishing+and+marketing+realities+for+the+emerging+author">Publishing and Marketing Realities for the Emerging Author by Christine Rose</a>.</u></i> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am not considered a high-tech
genius by my off-spring, their off-spring or even the great-grandchildren, but
this book made me feel like one! It is the best ‘how-to’ book I’ve ever read
for getting a book published and marketing it in our high-tech world. I
can now <i>tweet, twitter twatter, link, facebook friend, blog, jog, and fly to
the moon,</i> with the best of them. Oh, and did I tell you that after
reading it, I learned the author has now published a second edition, which I
purchased, and even with everything I learned in the freebie, the second
edition was even better and well worth the cost. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Every day something in
high-tech marketing changes. An app becomes obsolete about every 15
minutes. ‘App’ is computer lingo we techies use to describe computer
do-dads that give a computer instructions about how to do something.
Think word processing, a computer game or a simple calculator. In
the 2<sup>nd</sup> edition, Ms. Rose gives us two years of updated information
since the initial publication. For instance, she now recommends Create Space
over Lightning Source as a POD printing venue. There I go again! Once you become a techie, you can’t help yourself! You must use these
acronyms such as POD for ‘print on demand’ to prove that you really are in the
know. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you are ready to publish
your next book or if it’s already available but you are disappointed in the
sales, I highly recommend that you purchase and read this book. I’ll miss
the June MAP meeting because we’ll be traveling to Tampa for a grandson’s
wedding, but I wish you all a great meeting, great success with your writing
and even better success with your publishing and marketing!!! </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Larry Watts</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="mailto:12foshee@gmail.com"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">12foshee@gmail.com</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.larrywatts.net/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">WWW.LarryWatts.Net</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-38883935224389753182013-05-20T17:45:00.000-05:002014-01-02T16:10:23.168-06:00Helpful Writing Tips<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FkgyxdvWCelrM5NeArGeg3qAIeR87OCintRUlk8rqNNKmOFbgbbqgXMH3XAB16ySHE8g7oqJfakr4MhNRwmdgRXX4GPpjrJ4wLv82SsfK7eUyCqxoPJOyzGGpIo4usyns3UH1WB45-M/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_FkgyxdvWCelrM5NeArGeg3qAIeR87OCintRUlk8rqNNKmOFbgbbqgXMH3XAB16ySHE8g7oqJfakr4MhNRwmdgRXX4GPpjrJ4wLv82SsfK7eUyCqxoPJOyzGGpIo4usyns3UH1WB45-M/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group Member, Tom Rizzo, author of <a href="http://www.tomrizzo.com/">Last Stand at Bitter Creek</a>, submitted the following article with helpful tips for business writing, but these suggestions apply to any type of writing.</span> </div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Commonsense Tips For Business Writing</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
By Tom Rizzo </div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Business writing ranks as one of your most important communication tools—especially when it involves online commerce. </span><span style="font-size: large;">But, for some obscure reason, online written communication often produces careless or sloppy results. Business writers on the Internet tend to fall into one of two categories:</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: left;">
1. Those who write with clarity and precision.<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
2. Those who approach writing projects with lazy or inattentive attitudes.<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The main goal of a sales and marketing message is to capture attention. The only way to keep attention is to provide something of interest and value and beneficial. However, it’s easy to lose the attention of your target market. </div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Readers tend to drift away for many reasons. In order to keep your audience focused, avoid the following: </span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Slow or delayed openings.</strong> Start your message with a bang. Don’t dilly-dally. Get straight to the point. </div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Wordy sentences.</strong> Long, repetitive and rambling sentences promote confusion. Limit sentences to one idea each. Periods and commas serve as rest stops that allow readers to grasp and understand one idea at a time. <span style="font-size: large;">Too many qualifiers. A qualifier is a word that is tacked onto another word to modify its meaning. It’s often used as a way to “hedge” a point of view or soften the impact of a particular work. But qualifiers (such as seems, perhaps, suggests, indicates, may, might, possibly, probably and so on) make you sound unsure of what you’re saying. Being unsure has no place in business writing. </span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Misspellings.</strong> There is absolutely no reason for misspellings. Especially in the age of spell-check. Granted, spell-check can miss a few things, but that is why another pair of eyes should review your writing. </span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Proofreading.</strong> A fail-safe way of avoiding misspellings and other errors in writing is to proofread each document. Proofreading is essential to clean, crisp, clear writing. As mentioned in the previous point, get someone else to read and review what you’ve written. Not only for misspellings and grammatical errors, but for sense and clarity, as well. </span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Slang and jargon.</strong> Relying on business jargon or slang to communicate is plain lazy. To your audience, the words are meaningless. Jargon obscures the intent of your message. If you lose just one reader because he or she doesn’t understand one of the words or expressions you used, the message had failed. <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/businesscliches%22%20%5Ct%20%22_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">(</span>click here for examples of over-used jargon</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">). </span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Incorrect word usage.</strong> Details are important when it comes to business writing, or any kind of writing for that matter. Be aware of how you use certain words. For example, the words it’s and its are often used interchangeably–which is incorrect. It’s—with an apostrophe—means it is. Its, on the other hand, is a passive form for conveying ownership. Two dramatic differences. Using the incorrect one classifies you as unreliable—or an amateur. </span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Too many typefaces.</strong> Designing and writing are two separate skills. Don’t mix one with the other—unless you are proficient in each. in many cases, writers go overboard injecting color here and there and mixing in a broad variety of typefaces. Keep it simple. One typeface for headlines, and another typeface for the body copy. Your goal is to get the reader to understand your message and take some kind of action. The message gets muddy when a reader stops to admire the design elements. </span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Consistent tense.</strong> Keep verb tense consistent. Present tense is a more powerful way to communicate. Avoid switching from one tense to another.</span></span></div>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The goal of all writing is clarity. If you avoid these nine trouble spots, you'll keep your target audience engaged and focused on your message.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If you would like to submit helpful tips about writing, publishing, or marketing to the MAP Group blog, send them to Gloria Lyons: <a href="mailto:gloria@gloriahanderlyons.com">gloria@gloriahanderlyons.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> <span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-60300014584743022492013-05-09T18:30:00.000-05:002014-01-02T16:15:23.662-06:00Choosing a Book Printer<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgOiDRAvcC-seMh2p7cTQscrmXFzUK6ErsH6n2-jd7-4kYCJ9e8nHesEJMWY4rg15S8GiJrk2-CogBDP70SLoSHIzNZ4TVXRQqWR9vdt3UCMU_b7q3u4PA5mWrO1w9NGCi3zJYAcsnIM/s1600/Gloria+Lyons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgOiDRAvcC-seMh2p7cTQscrmXFzUK6ErsH6n2-jd7-4kYCJ9e8nHesEJMWY4rg15S8GiJrk2-CogBDP70SLoSHIzNZ4TVXRQqWR9vdt3UCMU_b7q3u4PA5mWrO1w9NGCi3zJYAcsnIM/s200/Gloria+Lyons.jpg" width="161" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member, Gloria Hander Lyons offers the following information about choosing a book printer, which is an excerpt from her book, <em>Self-Publishing on a Budget</em>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Choosing a Book Printer</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You
will need to find a book printer for your title unless you are using a subsidy
publisher (a company that charges a fee to do the layout, printing and
distributing). Plan to spend considerable time researching the services and
prices of several companies to find one that is right for your budget and
overall vision. There are hundreds of choices available. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">First
of all, make sure the printer you choose offers the binding style and trim size
that you want. </span><span style="font-size: large;">If
you plan to make a profit from selling your book, you’ll need to consider the
cost of production per copy, especially if you want to sell them at wholesale
prices to bookstores or other retailers. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">There
are basically two viable choices: digital book printers and print-on-demand
book printers. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Digital Printers</b>: These companies will print your book in minimum quantities
of 25 to 50 copies, using heavy-duty laser printers, and you get a price break, depending on the number of books you order. The cost is quite
affordable, but prices do vary, as well as services, so be sure to shop around.
All book printers require that you provide a PDF (Portable Document File) of
your book files for printing. This means you need to own software, such as
Adobe® Acrobat, which is fairly expensive. Adobe®CreatePDF also offers a monthly online
service for about $10.00 per month for creating PDF files. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">You
can also find a few free PDF software versions online, and some word
processing packages (i.e. Microsoft<sup>®</sup> Office) now come with PDF creators. Make sure any
program you use can create “High Quality Printing” PDF’s, which maintains a
300dpi level for photographs. “Standard” level is too low. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Some
book printers, such as </span><a href="http://www.instantpublisher.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">www.InstantPublisher.com</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">,
will create these files free of charge if you use their printing services. You
upload your word processing file (i.e. Microsoft</span><span style="font-size: large;">® Word) to their computer, it
creates the PDF file, and then you place your print order. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Digital
book printers usually offer a variety of binding styles, such as perfect,
saddle-stitch, comb, coil, and case. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTU_6UCgG1ce_AAWbDiLXYg4B8JCZSUKQugqYuk7Udo_0rDnsH89wq2KH0-1qEz5LFiwxWyXqLrkkvQAlI4mImrxLDCK0zEf5bD3Nc7WJOJ8AfpfD-G6hd-AVYAwSsfrZn_WMTXlHt1RE/s1600/Book+Printer+Tour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTU_6UCgG1ce_AAWbDiLXYg4B8JCZSUKQugqYuk7Udo_0rDnsH89wq2KH0-1qEz5LFiwxWyXqLrkkvQAlI4mImrxLDCK0zEf5bD3Nc7WJOJ8AfpfD-G6hd-AVYAwSsfrZn_WMTXlHt1RE/s320/Book+Printer+Tour.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Several
of our MAP Group members recently toured America’s Press, a digital book
printing facility in League City (</span><a href="http://www.americas-press.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">www.americas-press.com</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">).
Joel Turner, president of the company, </span><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-size: large;">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter">
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0">
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0">
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1">
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2">
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth">
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight">
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1">
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2">
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth">
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0">
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight">
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0">
</v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas>
<v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f">
<o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit">
</o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 183.45pt; left: 0px; margin-left: 240.1pt; margin-top: 0px; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: right; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; position: absolute; text-align: left; width: 280.1pt; z-index: 251657728;" type="#_x0000_t75"><span style="font-size: large;">
<v:imagedata o:title="Book Printer Tour" src="file:///C:\Users\Gloria\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg">
<w:wrap type="square">
</w:wrap></v:imagedata></span></v:shape><span style="font-size: large;">showed members how the process is completed. (In the photo, L-R, are
Patricia Vance, Pat and Mike Conwell, Joel Turner and Coral Beach.) </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">POD (Print On Demand) Printers</b>: These companies, such as <a href="http://www.createspace.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.createspace.com</span></a>, store your book text
and cover files in their computer database, and the books are not actually
printed until they receive an order. They can print one book at a time or
several hundred books to ship directly to your buyers. Some POD printing
companies sell only to wholesale accounts (Lightning Source); others to
individual customers (CreateSpace.com). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">The
binding styles are usually limited to perfect or case bound. The royalty you
receive is normally the sale price minus the cost of printing the book plus a
sales fee (for Createspace.com, this is usually about 20% - 40% of the retail
price). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If
you don’t want to fill book orders yourself, a POD printer can be a good
option. Createspace.com is owned by Amazon.com, and does not charge an
additional fee for placing your books for sale on Amazon. Another advantage of
a POD printer is that you don’t need to invest money in a large quantity of
books and store them until they are sold. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Prices
and services vary widely, so compare those offered by several different POD
printers to find the one that best meets your needs and budget considerations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-71827884465058683182013-05-07T15:46:00.002-05:002014-01-02T16:19:31.039-06:00Video Book Trailers<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">One of the latest, high-tech trends for marketing books is
hiring a company to create a video book trailer (a short movie) or “commercial”
for your title. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYucgeujX1R7DnyTtoGBG5UDlWyXBDRwYIwhsNwnFBYTS3mkl06hlgHh6rRtlVP6oCKEWO7dG5lGKbP_Im1KNtgO_UZN0tSFy3hp4ndnwDDxG5Nh0xAsbtNh3PKT_l62-Z_C_jPvisVyQ/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYucgeujX1R7DnyTtoGBG5UDlWyXBDRwYIwhsNwnFBYTS3mkl06hlgHh6rRtlVP6oCKEWO7dG5lGKbP_Im1KNtgO_UZN0tSFy3hp4ndnwDDxG5Nh0xAsbtNh3PKT_l62-Z_C_jPvisVyQ/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-size: large;">This new marketing tool was first presented to MAP Group
members at our March, 2013 meeting by member, Tom Rizzo, author of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.tomrizzo.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">Last Stand
at Bitter Creek</span></a></b>. He used a company called </span><a href="http://www.ezbookcovers.com/"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">www.ezbookcovers.com</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> to produce a book
trailer about his novel, complete with audio and special effects. Visit his
website, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.tomrizzo.com/"><span style="color: #990000;">www.tomrizzo.com</span></a></b> to watch the video. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKW7MvoF2OQpEZqE-zngKGVfRBgGjmAQvbL1dMtZp8AxDW3bDFNA_lqLPvejSHr8Q9fPQlGdo_SCU6E-dMFr6owE0DHIbv8u-f8wlbZf7cabtyXE9i9ZtzR_wgGXmucjJhC5R9HqidATY/s1600/Andy+Upchurch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKW7MvoF2OQpEZqE-zngKGVfRBgGjmAQvbL1dMtZp8AxDW3bDFNA_lqLPvejSHr8Q9fPQlGdo_SCU6E-dMFr6owE0DHIbv8u-f8wlbZf7cabtyXE9i9ZtzR_wgGXmucjJhC5R9HqidATY/s200/Andy+Upchurch2.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Another MAP Group member, Andy Upchurch, author of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.theoleandersofsanleon/"><span style="color: #990000;">The
Oleanders of San Leon</span></a>,</b> also created a fun commercial for his book,
which<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
</span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">was developed and
produced by <a href="http://bigmediahouse.com/" title="Big Media House"><span style="color: #990000;">Big Media
House</span></a> in Houston</span>. You can view it on this link:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://theoleandersofsanleon.com/portfolio-item/online-commercial-the-oleanders-of-san-leon/"><span style="color: #990000;">http://theoleandersofsanleon.com/portfolio-item/online-commercial-the-oleanders-of-san-leon/</span></a> </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you are looking for new ways to market your title,
consider using a book trailer. It’s an impressive tool to get potential buyers
excited about your book.</span> <br />
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-28708591719216937812013-05-07T15:30:00.000-05:002014-01-02T16:21:10.522-06:00International Standard Book Numbers<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfJVyohVfyQDYaIaG29FOtjVwT_qkGlqnWx5yBs0zAw49W8hCISUIHsps8QkCXIEj5ZQDaNvMAbq3s-W4NSGNJdVcO_Z5EpEIc08NijD-NHIgXey-WI5MpezHG3aq11FzEHxAes74Pm4/s1600/Gloria+Lyons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfJVyohVfyQDYaIaG29FOtjVwT_qkGlqnWx5yBs0zAw49W8hCISUIHsps8QkCXIEj5ZQDaNvMAbq3s-W4NSGNJdVcO_Z5EpEIc08NijD-NHIgXey-WI5MpezHG3aq11FzEHxAes74Pm4/s200/Gloria+Lyons.jpg" width="161" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">MAP Group member, Gloria Hander Lyons, offers the following information about ISBN's and barcodes, which are excerpts from her book, <em>Self-Publishing on a Budget</em>.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>International Standard Book Numbers</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You
will need to obtain an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) for your book
if you plan to sell it through major retail chains, bookstores and
distributors. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You
must submit an application to R. R. Bowker Company to apply for a publisher
prefix number (the first eleven numbers in a 13-digit ISBN). The applications
are available online at: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.isbn.org/">www.isbn.org</a></b>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This
13-digit number identifies the publisher (you), the book title, and the author.
It is important that you obtain your own ISBN rather than using one issued by
your printing company or subsidy publisher, because these numbers are assigned
to publishers. In other words, for as long as your book is in print, the
“publisher of record” and their contact information is determined by the ISBN
printed on the copyright page of the book. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Anytime
someone wants information about your book or wants to discuss a business deal
regarding it, they will contact R. R. Bowker (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Books in Print</i>) to get the official publisher’s name, address and
phone number. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You
are not officially a self-publisher unless you are using your own ISBN’s and
are listed as the “publisher of record” for your book. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">ISBN’s are purchased in blocks of ten numbers for $250.00
(at the time of this printing). You can also purchase just one ISBN for $125.00.
Learn more about ISBN’s and how to purchase them online at: </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.isbn.org/">www.isbn.org</a> </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b><span style="font-size: large;">You
will receive a log book by e-mail, listing your ten numbers. Print a copy of it
and keep it in a safe place. As you write your books, assign one number to each
book. You will also need to assign a different ISBN to each edition of your
book (i.e. soft cover or hard cover, comb binding or perfect binding). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If
you later decide to make major revisions to your book, assign a different ISBN
to this new edition. Once assigned, an ISBN cannot be reassigned, even if the
book is out of print. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Your
log book is a permanent record of all the ISBN’s you have assigned. As
mentioned before, keep it in a safe place. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">After
assigning an ISBN to your book, you will need to register the title and
information with R. R. Bowker, so they will list your book’s details in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Books in Print.</i> This is a directory of
all books published in the U.S. that have ISBN’s. The website is: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.bowkerlink.com/">www.bowkerlink.com</a></b>. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">Bar
Codes<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If
you plan to sell your book through major retail chains, bookstores and
distributors, then you will need to obtain an EAN Bookland bar code to place on
the back cover. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This
bar code is created from the book’s ISBN. For a fee, your book printer should
be able to create the bar code and place it on your cover. Some book printers,
like CreateSpace.com, offer this service for free. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You
can also find services online that will create a bar code and send it to you as
an electronic file so you can place it on your cover before it is printed. Or
they can print the bar code onto labels for you to apply to the back cover of
each book yourself. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">R.
R. Bowker (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.bowker.com/">www.bowker.com</a></b>) offers a
bar code service. The cost is $25.00 for each ISBN (at the time of this printing)
for creating the electronic file. </span><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></o:p> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-18531063470168285242013-04-08T12:22:00.001-05:002014-01-02T16:22:59.244-06:00What is the Purpose of Your Website<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBC_mguce8HTPtNhE2a5RtGrNhwnMCasjP0yI0RezET1vfE9SqLbOYp8O9jG4bXkSEOoqUkadwCSHjCikBxBabOIsdZU248YDgPrGNWaTwcPerBuiGhbCxobUoN5n8zcAyPgcllTF9zs/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBC_mguce8HTPtNhE2a5RtGrNhwnMCasjP0yI0RezET1vfE9SqLbOYp8O9jG4bXkSEOoqUkadwCSHjCikBxBabOIsdZU248YDgPrGNWaTwcPerBuiGhbCxobUoN5n8zcAyPgcllTF9zs/s1600/Tom+Rizzo2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">MAP Group Member, Tom Rizzo, The <a href="http://www.tomrizzo.com/">Last Stand at Bitter Creek</a>, submitted the following article about the importance of author and book websites:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>What is the Purpose of Your Website?</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> By Tom Rizzo </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Don’t wear blinders when it comes to determining the actual reason for your website. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you conduct an Internet search of the question, "What is the purpose of a website?" you’ll find a broad range of responses. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Among the answers:</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><ul>
<li>To increase public awareness of your book, or brand</li>
<li>To establish a presence on the Internet</li>
<li>To make information about you and your books available to the public</li>
<li>To attract a list of potential readers/buyers</li>
<li>To communicate with your readers</li>
<li>To provide service</li>
<li>To sell something</li>
</ul>
</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">There’s nothing wrong with these reasons. And, you'll find dozens of different responses. But many miss the mark. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The actual purpose for a website is to develop a marketing relationship.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Websites Are Marketing Tools</strong><br /><br /> The marketing part can often take a back seat to the visual design of a website. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Well-designed websites attract attention. Good design, however, does not trump marketing power. Once someone clicks on a site and oohs and ahhs over its visual impact, you have to provide a reason to keep visitors from not clicking away from your site. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The marketing strategy for a website includes several components which have nothing to do with how they look. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Four Components of a Successful Website</strong><br /><br /> First, your website has to rank well in search engines so buyers can easily find you. Search engines determine whether they like your website, and whether they believe others will like the website. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Second, your website must appeal to a specific target audience. Everyone isn’t in the market for your particular book, or product. You have to define your market, and include content that focuses on their needs and desires. This kind of focus, incidentally, will help you get ranked in search engines. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Third, you must provide valuable content that will keep visitors from clicking away and - equally important - keep them coming back. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Fourth, achieve your specific marketing goal of developing a sustaining relationship with a visitor. This could include making a sale, subscribing to a newsletter, fulfilling requests for information, or simply interacting with someone.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">For the most part, the marketing goal of a website is to create a relationship with visitors who need a relationship with you because of the solutions you can provide to their desires, or needs.</span></div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640674394348056846.post-74421928561325759242013-03-24T09:04:00.001-05:002014-01-02T16:26:03.396-06:00Local Authors Hour Speaker for April<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRi5WnPhiS7iAUJ7SR8kzWUiElkCKfReuLry0cDVUutke0_X8euZx6sra6uDjme76XpRuEWDslFVwTmbCZEOMG7y5PTSUW0DGdtkvuf5UevmvRuiEz3v4Rvy8zf9rwJvvm5cX0UayTOk/s1600/Andy+Upchurch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRi5WnPhiS7iAUJ7SR8kzWUiElkCKfReuLry0cDVUutke0_X8euZx6sra6uDjme76XpRuEWDslFVwTmbCZEOMG7y5PTSUW0DGdtkvuf5UevmvRuiEz3v4Rvy8zf9rwJvvm5cX0UayTOk/s200/Andy+Upchurch2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1OGwx7ysixA/UU8HKwWsrUI/AAAAAAAABQA/3CVbYE3Vh2U/s1600/Andy+Upchurch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Andy Upchurch is the featured author for the next Local
Authors Hour presentation at Helen Hall Library on Thursday, April 11, at
10:30am. He will be discussing his book: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://theoleandersofsanleon.com/"><span style="color: blue;">The Oleanders of San Leon</span></a></b>. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWFY3a_zQ5xReIabD_RQIiWU1F-c6znvLsLPg1OH5LhbYQ-1OP7Nxp5mV3mNRTR-KmoeCKVjB0MvsxtfbRRK6ETuZ9Pmu_LmWb-uyK-2huDE8x8pjDzSNB-nAikaXEj49HEflRa23kAw/s1600/Oleanders+of+San+Leon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWFY3a_zQ5xReIabD_RQIiWU1F-c6znvLsLPg1OH5LhbYQ-1OP7Nxp5mV3mNRTR-KmoeCKVjB0MvsxtfbRRK6ETuZ9Pmu_LmWb-uyK-2huDE8x8pjDzSNB-nAikaXEj49HEflRa23kAw/s200/Oleanders+of+San+Leon.jpg" width="132" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">On his website, he states that the book “recounts how Andy,
a passionate musician and sailor, decides that building a house would be the
perfect next great adventure. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He possesses
no construction skills, but that doesn’t deter him. With an enthusiastic nature
and an optimistic outlook, he purchases some rough, tangled land on the Texas
coastal prairie, rolls up his sleeves, and gets to work.” </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Please come out and show your support for this talented
writer and fellow member of the MAP Group. </span><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">* * * * * * *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If you have published a book that you would like to present
at the Local Authors Hour, contact Joanne Turner, Senior Assistant Librarian,
and coordinator for the Authors Hour program at Helen Hall Library. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>E-mail: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="mailto:Joanne.Turner@leaguecity.com"><span style="color: blue;">Joanne.Turner@leaguecity.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
Gloria Hander Lyonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02418652280615680114noreply@blogger.com