Where Authors Get Successful
eBooks
Walt Shiel – Print Book Design, Typesetting, and eBooks
Mar 19th
On March 18th, 2010 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with veteran author and publisher Walt Shiel about some of the most confusing topics for the self-publishing newcomer: print book design, typesetting, indexing, and even eBook production. Walt’s publishing company, Slipdown Mountain, has published three novels, two military history titles, two other nonfiction titles, and one short story collection. It’s subsidiary Five Rainbows Services for Authors and Publishers was spun off to meet the demand for assistance from self-publishers. Walt addressed some of these key points in today’s interview:
Book Design & Typesetting• Is there any difference between designing a book and typesetting it? E-Book Design• Does design and/or typesetting matter at all in creating an e-book? Indexing• What is an index and how is it different from a concordance? |
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| Independent publisher Walt Shiel claims he is now into his fourth career, following career stints as an Air Force pilot, telecommunications engineer, and aerospace engineer on the B-2 bomber program at Northrop and the F-22, F-35, and F-16 pilot training programs at Lockheed Martin.Walt has been a freelance writer since 1992, with magazine articles published in the US, UK, and Australia. Currently, he writes the “Warbirds” column for Cessna Flyer magazine and the View From The Publishing Trenches blog. Walt has served on the Board of Directors of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association for the past four years.Walt, his wife Kerrie, and his daughter Lisa founded Slipdown Mountain Publications LLC in 2003 in North Texas but relocated to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in 2004.
Since then, they have published three novels, two military history titles, two other nonfiction titles, and one short story collection.In 2007, they formed a subsidiary, Five Rainbows Services for Authors and Publishers to meet the demand for assistance from self-publishers. Converting print books to Kindle and ePub formats has become a major part of this business over the past year. Walt has written two military history books (Cessna Warbirds and T-41 Mescalero), a Michigan historical novel (Devil in the North Woods), and a short story collection (Pilots and Normal People). He also edited a reprint of Flying for France by James R. McConnell. His new book — Rough War: An American Fighter Pilot’s WW II Journey to Burma and Back — is due out in mid-summer 2010. |
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Dan Oja: Digital Publishing / Beyond the Printed Page
Jul 13th
| On July 9th, 2009 Victor R. Volkman and Tyler Tichelaar spoke with digital book guru Dan Oja on how digital and print media are converging. Dan is owner of Media Technics Corporation and has produced more than 200 college computer textbooks and is the author of a non-fiction World War II book titled Ordinary Heroes: Six Stars in the Window. He has developed a multimedia book authoring system called BookOn which augments PDF documents with video and other interactive hooks. Dan spoke with us about how he developed his proprietary system and what he sees for the future of digital publishing beyond the current PDF and Kindle paradigms. |  |
| Dan Oja was born in Ishpeming, Michigan and attended Ishpeming High School and Northern Michigan University. He has been working with computers since the early days of personal computers, back to the days of CP/M and the Apple II. Dan has written numerous computer programs including the BookOn digital publishing system. Dan currently lives in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands with his wife and co-author, June Parsons. |
Victor R. Volkman – Lighting a fire with eBooks on Amazon Kindle 2
Mar 7th
On March 4th, 2009 Irene Watson interviewed publisher, author, and editor Victor R. Volkman about the Amazon Kindle eBook reader platform and how to publish on it. Victor is the President of Loving Healing Press Inc. and its newest imprint Modern History Press. In this wide ranging discussion, we cover key points including:
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| Victor R. Volkman began his writing career in the late 1980s writing for computer programming journals such as “Windows Developer’s Journal,” and many other print publications that have been obsoleted since the web was born. He authored two computer programming books in the mid-1990s before finding out that writing for Fortune 500 companies was not terribly profitable. In 2003, he formed Loving Healing Press out of a community project in the Self-Expression and Leadership Program at Landmark Education. Since then, LHP has gone on to publish dozens of cutting-edge books that promote its mission of “redefining what is possible for healing mind and spirit.” As such, he has produced a series of books on Traumatic Incident Reduction as well as empowering other authors in a wide range of helping areas including trauma recovery, self-esteem, physical disabilities, personal growth, and much more. He produces regular podcasts for “ Authors Access,” and the “Unbreak Your Health” show. In 2007, LHP spun off a new imprint Modern History Press dedicated to empowering authors to speak about surviving conflict and seeking identity in modern times. When not publishing, he enjoys spending time with his wife Marian K. Volkman, a formidable author in her own right. |
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Debbie Herald – Writing, publishing, and selling erotica themed books
Feb 22nd
| 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. |  |
