Writing and publishing articles by author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
Will Your Writing be Around in One Hundred Years? Four years ago, my mom found an old book in her basement. My great grandfather’s name was written on the inside cover, along with his address in Chicago. The book was published in 1914. Yes, that’s right, 1914—over one hundred years ago. That’s a long-lasting book. […]
Selecting the Right Beta Reader is Key to Receiving Helpful Feedback We’ve talked about the importance of having a beta reader to give feedback on our books. I hope you’re as sold on the idea as I am. The next step is finding beta readers—not just anyone but the right ones. If we pick a […]
The more people who provide feedback on our books the better. Of course, to be of benefit, this needs to happen before publication, when there is time to make changes. Although review by various types of editors (each pass focusing on different elements) is essential, basic feedback is first needed to work out the kinks, […]
It’s not a matter of if we lose some of our writing but of when. Backing up our files is essential. In addition to using some of the file backup options listed below, each time I finish a writing session, I make copies of the document on my computer and another on a second computer. […]
I’ve heard many credible sources advise not to include prologues in our books. Yet, writers continue to write them, and publishers continue to publish them. Does that mean we can safely disregard this advice? I think not. Here’s why: I understand most readers skip prologues. That’s telling. Even more, I’ve read e-books that opened to […]
Last week we acknowledged no one has all the skills required to self-publish a book. The only solution is to pay a team of people to handle the critical tasks of book publishing. This includes cover design, editing, interior layout, photography, and so on. Or is there another way? Although it would take great effort, […]
If we publish our book with a traditional publisher, there are no out-of-pocket expenses. The publisher even pays us an advance. Although it might not be much, at least we receive some money at the beginning of the publishing process. Not so with self-publishing. Self-publishing costs money, Self Publishing Costs Money This is not the […]
Self-publishing is a misnomer or at least successful self-publishing is. A better label might be team publishing. That is, when we self-publish, we must not do it all ourselves (though we can, we shouldn’t) but instead assemble a team, a self-publishing team. Here are the players for our self-publishing team: Author, the Self-Publishing Team Captain […]
Several years ago, I received a telemarketing call from a well-known self-publishing operation, a division of a well-known traditional publisher. She wanted to talk about book publishing. Although unwelcomed, the interruption didn’t surprise me, because a few years ago I had contacted them. Their business model intrigued me, but I dismissed them when I stumbled […]
You have likely heard stories of publishers turning down books that later went on to become bestsellers. There are also tales of agents who missed seeing a book’s potential, only to be proven wrong when someone else made it a success. These accounts prove that having a book published with a traditional publisher is far […]