April 11, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On April 3rd, 2008, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with author, publicity guru, and connection maker Gini Scott Graham of Making Connections, Gini spoke with us on the all-important subject of doing queries for the purposes of syndication, getting an agent, selling media rights, and finding a publisher. She has published over 50 books herself and has an extensive background in personal and professional development, problem solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, and interpersonal relationship techniques for over 25 years. She has gained extensive media interest for previous books, including appearances on Good Morning America, Oprah, Montel Williams, CNN, and hundreds of radio interviews. She has been frequently quoted by the media, such as a recent short piece in Cosmopolitan seeking advice on a workplace conflict.

Dr. Gini Graham Scott, is the Founder and Creative Director for Making Connections, a Web-based Internet service that connects clients by – email with publishers, agents, the film industry, the media, the game and toy industry, the music industry and others. The company helps clients write an effective query letter that will be received and read and sends out personalized queries to hard to reach contacts in these fields. The company has had over 1000 clients in the 5 years since it was founded, has been written up in the Wall Street Journal and other publications, and has success stories and kudos from over 250 clients – some who have gotten six figure deals through using the service.

Listen to the PodCast!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Posted in Agents, Self-Publishing, Marketing, Getting Published | Print | No Comments »

March 21, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On March 20th, 2008, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Dave Kuzminski, creator and manager of Predators and Editors, the infamous website where scammers and companies with a record of complaints are recorded. Dave helped us distinguish the dark side of book promotion, agents, and publishing by covering such thorny topics as: the difference between a bad business deal and a scam, the evolution of a scam and what types of people are running them, how to avoid a scam, and what to do if you think you’ve been had.

Dave Kuzminski is both a writer and the owner and editor of Preditors & Editors. As a writer, he manages to inflict words upon readers in order to entertain them. He’s been writing for several decades. As an editor, he manages to inflict recommendations upon publishing businesses who sometimes aren’t entertained. He’s done that for eleven years though it probably feels like several decades to some of those businesses that are recommended against. One of his favorite titles is Knight Spirits and its available from Double Dragon Publishing.

Listen to the PodCast!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Posted in Agents, Marketing, Getting Published, Guests | Print | No Comments »

March 10, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, March 6th, 2008 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with pioneering gay author Victor J. Banis. In his 40+ year writing career, he has learned a lot and shared with us writing techniques for audiences and how they differ between gay and straight fiction, how the writing market has changed in the past decades, advice for new writers, and amazing stories from a life in print in every genre imaginable.

Victor J. Banis is the critically acclaimed author of more than 150 published books and numerous shorter pieces, both gay and straight oriented, in almost every genre - fiction and non fiction, humor, mystery, romance, fantasy, sci-fi and even, recently, a cookbook.

Listen to the PodCast!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Posted in Romance, Getting Published, Guests | Print | No Comments »

February 22, 2008 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, Feb. 21st, 2008 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with Deborah Herald, the 31-year-old managing editor of Amira Press. She is a published author and enjoys both the process of writing and editing. Debbie shared with us the secrets of writing erotica, the huge demand and advantage of selling erotica in the e-publishing marketplace, the shades of explictness from “spicy” to “sweet” (romance), lucrative sub-genres of erotica, and how the publishing and delivery mechanism works

Although Debbie is relatively new to the writing scene, having spent most of her life working with the dually diagnosed adult and juvenile population, it is her hope that she will continue to work in the world of writing for many years to come. Debbie has been with Amira Press for a little under a year, and is thrilled to work with such a wonderful company! She also uses the pseudonymn Jordana Ryan.

Listen to the PodCast!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Posted in eBooks, Romance, Getting Published, Guests | Print | No Comments »

November 30, 2007 by Victor Volkman.

On Thurdsday, November 29th, Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with author, poet, and educator  Beverly Matherne. She is a professor in the Department of English at Northern Michigan University and a former director of its Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing. Beverly has published two chapbooks and two full-length books of poetry in facing pages of French and English, including The Blues Crying, a collection of blues poetry. The work is available in both book and CD format, the latter featuring Beverly’s performance of the poems to slide guitar and fiddle. Beverly addressed key questions in learning to write poetry and the process of getting published including: what is poetry, where does poetry come from, how do you become a poet, and how to approach publishers about getting in print.

Beverly’s poetry is also the subject of a dissertation on bilingual writers, also including Samual Beckett, by a student at the Sorbonne in Paris.  While on sabbatical last year, she completed a third full-length book, a bilingual collection of linked prose poetry about the founder of Detriot, titled Lamonthe-Cadillac: His Early Days in France.  This book, which required a residency and field research in southern France, as well as Blind River, another collection of prose poetry, are forthcoming in 2008. Beverly’s work is widely received. She has published in many English-language publications, including Great River Review, Runes, and Verse.  French publications include Eloizes, Feux chalins, and Langage et Créativité.  Her poetry appears in many anthologies including, most recently, French Connections: A Gathering of Franco-American Poets, published by Louisiana Literature Press, in 2007.  She also has a short, short story in Resurrecting Grace:  Remembering Catholic Childhoods, from Beacon Press in Boston.Also a poet translator, Beverly did the French translations of a bilingual portfolio of poetry by former U.S. Poet Laureate Stanley Kunitz.  The portfolio, featuring original lithographs by Bulgarian artist Stoyan Tchoukanov, is now on exhibit in the Huron Mountain Club Art Gallery in Peter White Library.  In addition, Beverly won the “Best of Submission” award for her translation of a long prose poem by Charles Baudelaire, in Sojourn, a journal published at the University of North Texas.Beverly did an hour-long interview on National Public Radio with Grace Cavalieri on her show “The Poet and the Poem” and has performed three times in French on CBC Radio Canada Internationale.  From Tulane University in New Orleans to the United Nations in New York to venues in Canada, France, Belgium, and Germany, she has done over 145 poetry readings in English and/or French. Most recently, in May of 2007, she read and performed at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea, Wales.

Listen to the PodCast!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Posted in Poetry, Getting Published, Guests | Print | No Comments »

September 2, 2007 by Victor Volkman.

On August 30th, 2007 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with publishing agent Greg Daniel. Greg formed his own company this year after more than ten years in publishing, six of which were at the executive level at Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publisher in the world. Most recently Greg was Vice President and Associate Publisher for W Publishing Group (formerly Word Publishing), a trade book division of Thomas Nelson. He shared with us key questions a new author has to answer: When do you need an agent and when can you go-it-alone? how do you narrow the field of agents and/or publishers? how can you approach an agent in the way that will produce the best results? How can I come up with a sellable book idea? What is a platform and is it really all that important?

Throughout his publishing career, Greg has had the honor of working with in the past such critically acclaimed authors as Brian McLaren, Max Lukado, Phyllis Tickle, Mark Buchanan, Oz Guinness, and Ken Gire. Greg has also been involved with publishing books by a number of celebrity personalities, including Bono, George Foreman, syndicated radio hosts Rick and Bubba, and “Black Hawk Down” hero Captain Jeff Struecker. Greg has been responsible for such notable books as the ECPA Gold Medallion Award-winning books A Table in the Presence and Extreme Devotion. He teaches writing workshops at a handful of conferences each year .

Listen to the PodCast!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Posted in Getting Published, Book Development, Guests | Print | No Comments »

July 21, 2007 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, July 19th 2007, Victor R. Volkman and Irene Watson spoke with Emi Battaglia, Vice-President and Associate Publisher at Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group (formerly known as Warner Books). She directs the entire range of marketing strategy and activities for the company and all books on their lists. Emi spoke with us about how marketing works in “one of the biggest of the small publishers”. With an annual output of 300 new titles per year, GCP has a considerable role in the marketplace. We talked specifically about how a traditional publisher supports the author with marketing, how book and media tours work, how books get placed into a traditional publisher, and how a unique marketing mix can be developed to match the strengths of each title and its author.

Emi works closely with the publisher, authors and editors, and with the heads of sales, advertising/promotion, account marketing, publicity, and online marking. Emi has been in the publishing business since 1984 in various positions at St Martin’s Press, New American Library, Simon and Shuster and other companies. She helpedan launch Martha Stewart Living magazine and has earned two Awards for Excellence from Literary Market Place (LMP). She has personally worked with many notable authors including Jack Welch, Kitty Kelley, Michael D. Eisner, Maria Shriver, Bill Gates, David Baldacci, and Brad Meltzer. She is sharing her unique experience of more than 20 years in the publicity side of the business. Her passion is seeing an author deliver their message successfully through the media to bookbuyers.

Listen to the PodCast!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Posted in Marketing, Getting Published, Guests | Print | No Comments »

July 13, 2007 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, July 12th, 2007 Victor Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with Bob Sanders, Co-Founder and CEO of Mundania Press. This is a publisher that selects books based on the quality of writing, story, entertainment value, and sales potential. The press encourages first-time authors, as well as those who have been previously published and want to put their books back into print. Mundania currently publishes works of science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror and historical fiction and has been in business since 2002.         Bob spoke with us about what makes writing for SciFi and Fantasy markets a unique challenge and how the author can build a fanbase far in advance of publication.  He also addressed how to build regional attention into national attention and how to make sure the publisher reads and responds your manuscripts.

Listen to the PodCast!

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Posted in Marketing, Genres, Getting Published | Print | No Comments »

April 13, 2007 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, April 12th, 2007 Victor spoke with with Romanus Volter, a.ka. The Kick Start Guy who has a monthly audience of over 2 million visionaries and entrepreneurs. Romanus shared with us practical steps to build a guaranteed-to-win book proposal.  We detailed the nine key elements that every successful proposal needs including the one theme which binds them all together.  Vital areas include biographical information, marketing handles, assessing your audience, and competitive analysis.

Volter is the Success Coach for Entrepreneur magazine, Trump Personal Success Expert, the author of the popular Kick Start Your Success (Wiley & Sons) and Kick Start Your Dream Business (Ten Speed Press), he provides practical, proven action steps that close the gap between goals and success.

An American raised in Taipei, Taiwan, Romanus witnessed the birth of a new economy. Factories, stores, and restaurants sprung up on every corner. This metamorphosis sparked something—the realization that any idea can become a reality. The practical steps captured in his books and workshops leverage this rare experience. 

As a speaker and radio host, Romanus’ accessible wisdom provides the security and confidence people need to capitalize upon opportunities. Through consulting engagements in London, Hong Kong and the United States, he learned what it takes for people to succeed regardless of their education or skill set.

Listen to the PodCast!  

Posted in Getting Published, Book Development, Guests | Print | 1 Comment »

March 2, 2007 by Victor Volkman.

On Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 8:00PM EDT we spoke with Bob Gussin, author and publisher at Oceanview Publishing.  As a member of the vanguard of independent presses, Bob addressed the challenges of being an independent publisher, advice for new publishers including some of the most commonly made mistakes, the reality of competing with big publishers, and how to leverage the use of media.

A native of Pittsburgh, Robert Gussin retired from Johnson & Johnson as Corporate Vice President of Science & Technology and Chief Scientific Officer in 2000.  He received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan, and holds an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Duquesne University.

Gussin has authored a number of scientific publications and has contributed several chapters to academic textbooks.  He serves on a number of commercial and non-profit boards and advisory committees, including the NASA Aerospace Medicine and Occupational Health Advisory Committee, Duquesne University Board of Directors, as well as the Board of Directors of Catholic Health Services of Long Island, and the Board of Directors of Christus Health.
For more information about Robert Gussin, and his novel, Trash Talk, please visit www.bobgussin.com

Listen to the PodCast!

Posted in Getting Published, Guests | Print | No Comments »