Tag Archives: books

Insert YOUR Name Here

Posted on March 23, 2011 | Comments Off

That’s right. I’m looking for the next round of guest bloggers for Life as a Publisher. If this is about my life, why am I bringing all these other people here? Simple. Everything in the world is part of my life and also because it’s my Blog and I can.

Here is what I would like to see on the blog:

Monday: Trash Talk (This is where we can all say exactly how we feel. If you’ve got a rant, tell us about it. Books, writing, mean people in bookstore lines, whatever, get it off your chest.)
Tuesday: Library Spotlights (I would love to have people (authors, readers, patrons) send posts on their favorite libraries. Librarians, this is yoru chance to get your library in the limelight!)
Wednesday: Topics for Writers (this would include anything that would interest writers or authors from craft to marketing)
Thursday: Bookstore Spotlights (This is where I would like to have posts on your favorite bookstores. If possible, please send pictures. Booksellers, feel free to spotlight your OWN store.)
Friday: New Book Releases (if you have a new book out, this is the day to announce it here.)
Saturday: Karen’s Kwips (I’ll post on these days.)
Sunday: Karen’s Kwips (I’ll post on these days.)

Signing up to be a guest blogger here is easy. A few simple steps.

Check the schedule in the sidebar to make sure your date is not already taken.
Send an email (echelonpress@gmail.com) that includes your Name, e-mail address, and the date you want to appear. Please make sure your topic works with the scheduled topic. Please place “GUEST BLOGGER REQUEST” in the subject line).
Send me your articles/posts. These should be 250-300 words. I like to keep things short. Please try and get them to me at last 10 days in advance. I am slow enough on my own.

When you send your post, they should be as attachments. The email should include:

The post.
A photo of you and/or your book cover or something relating to what you are talking about. If you don’t include your choice of photos, you are bound to accept my choice of images.
A list of any links you want included. Also include your social networking urls (please visit tinurl.com before inserting those 457 character urls.)

See, how easy is that? Now tell all your friends. Bring it on!

Emails should go to echelonpress@gmail.com

Comments Off on Insert YOUR Name Here

Posted in Blatherings, Guest Bloggers, Just for Fun

Tagged authors, books, bookstores, Echelon Press, karen syed, librarians, libraries, Marketing, publishing, readers, reading, trends

Stop Saying that, Damn it! (Rant)

Posted on March 16, 2011 | 2 comments

Okay, I have held back long enough on this topic and now I am just going to speak my mind and get it off my chest.

Dear Librarians:

PLEASE STOP making generalized comments about publishers. I get that you are really mad at HarperCollins and MacMillan and whoever else is trying to screw you over with eBooks. There are MANY publishers of all sizes who are more than willing to work with you on selling you eBooks on fair terms.

For weeks now, there has been constant complaining and blogging about those FEW publishers who want to cheat you. How does this make sense? As you continue to spotlight them in your Blogs and tweets and so forth you continue to promote them and lead people who otherwise might not have sought them out right into their greedy little hands.

Why not focus your attention and energies on the publishers who are BEGGING to work with you? Why not work with your Boards to make it possible to order from organizations other than the Big publishers.

I BEG of you, please take all the negative energy you are expelling on the bad guys and get to know the rest of us. Some of us actually have great books, print and eBooks and we would LOVE to sell them to you so you can loan them to your patrons.

I’m just sayin’!

2 Comments

Posted in Blatherings

Tagged author, authors, books, change, ebooks, Echelon Press, librarians, libraries, Marketing, publishing, readers, reading, sales

Music and Mayhem! (Guest Blogger: Susan Fleet)

Posted on March 15, 2011 | 8 comments

Music and mayhem . . . the story of my life. Sound incredible? It’s true. I began playing trumpet when I was eight, joined the musicians’ union at fifteen and later studied with two Boston Symphony trumpeters. For more than three decades I played an eclectic mix of gigs ranging from the Ringling Brothers Circus to opera, symphonies and solo trumpet recitals.

There were heart-stopping moments. Would the trapeze artist make that quadruple summersault or would he fall? And nothing beats the drama of an operatic diva in all her glory, interrupting a dress rehearsal of La Traviata to demand a cup of hot tea.

The mayhem began in the mid-1980s. I took a course at Emerson College, fell in love with fiction writing and discovered my dark side. My print-journalist father might be responsible for my fascination with crime. When I was a teenager he would take me to fires and tell me stories about the murder cases he covered. He even taught me how to play pool at the police station. How cool is that?

Between 1990 and 2000, while I was gigging and teaching part time at Brown University, Wheaton College, and Berklee College of Music, I managed to write three novels. And threw them away. They weren’t ready for prime time. In 2001, determined to be published, I moved to New Orleans to focus on writing. The Big Easy became the setting for my first suspense thriller. Inspired by an actual serial killer that terrorized women in the Baton Rouge area, ABSOLUTION was named Best Mystery-Suspense-Thriller of 2009 by the Premier Book Awards.

So how did a nice trumpet player like me become a vicious killer? And why do I do such nasty things to women? Some dismiss crime fiction as cheap entertainment. I disagree. Crime fiction reflects real life, with its moral dilemmas and hard choices. Many women read crime fiction to manage their fear of real-life violence. It’s only a book, only a movie. In real life, violent criminals often go unpunished. Not in my novels.

On my website you can hear samples of my trumpet CD and read a sample of ABSOLUTION: www.susanfleet.com My love of music and passion for touting talented female musicians is as strong as ever. Based on a course I created at Berklee, I gave jazzwomen lectures at the New Orleans Jazz Visitor Center and the Public Library, Dillard University and the Louis Armstrong Festival. I now spotlight talented women on my website. March is Women’s History Month, so I hope you’ll read about them in my Archives: http://www.archives.susanfleet.com

Click Cover to Buy Now!

Although I moved back to Boston in 2010, the mayhem continues. My next novel is due out in June, 2011. Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, DIVA features my series protagonist NOPD detective Frank Renzi. A diabolical ex-military man is stalking a beautiful young flute soloist. He’ll do anything to have her … even commit murder. Stay tuned!

You can find Susan at:

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