Kate Harper – Getting Into the Greeting Card Market

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Victor Volkman
On October 15th, 2009 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with greeting card and gift industry maven Kate Harper. Kate Harper started her line of humorous greeting card from a hobby of making greeting cards for friends as gifts. Over the next 15 years, Kate’s turned her hobby into a business, manufacturing and shipping cards to over 2,000 stores, including Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods Markets and the Papyrus chain. She informed us on key areas of getting started as a writer or self-publisher of greeting cards, including:

  • Card terends: research, seasonal cards, occasional cards, and publishers
  • What subject areas and categories to focus on, how to stay organized
  • Test marketing your cards and card verse.
  • Seven most common mistake card writers will make
  • Why competition in the card business is vastly over-estimated
 Kate Harper
Two years ago, she transitioned out of manufacturing and into licensing, where she now designs cards for Recycled Paper Greetings (a subsidiary of American Greetings Corporation) and gift items for seven other companies. Kate Harper's blog
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Posted in Freelancing, Greeting Cards, Poetry, Self-Publishing | Leave a comment

Authors Afterburner – New FTC reviewer’s guidelines for bloggers explained

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Victor Volkman

Authors Afterburner is the post-game show where we get to talk about whatever’s on our minds. Please note dear listener that this is not the regular Authors Access show and we don’t promise anything much except to present our news and views of interest to authors and publishers. So let’s light the afterburners and see what’s on our minds tonight….

Irene and Victor consider the firestorm surrounding the new FTC guidelines about bloggers and product reviews. Irene cuts through the hype to deliver a thoughtful consideration about what it all means.

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Posted in Authors Afterburner, Blogging, Guests | Leave a comment

Paul Muckley – Writing and Publishing Christian Based Books

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Victor Volkman
On October 1st, 2009 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with Paul Muckley, senior editor for non-fiction at Barbour Publishing, a Christian book publisher. He helped answer some key questions that face authors entering the Christian book market, including

  • What exactly is a “Christian audience”? How narrow—or broad—is that category?
  • What really is a “Christian book”? What does a “Christian book” include, or exclude?
  • How does Christian fiction differ from secular fiction? What is included or excluded from a specifically “Christian” novel?
  • How does one’s Christian faith “come through” in a manuscript? What should—and shouldn’t—be done in assembling a manuscript?
  • How can an author know whether his or her idea fits a particular Christian publisher’s niche?
  • What does a publisher want to see in a book proposal? What helps—or hurts—a prospective author’s submission?
 Paul Muckley
Paul Muckley works at Barbour Publishing overseeing projects ranging from Bible reference to children’s activity books, daily devotionals to Bible crosswords and word searches. He’s been with Barbour since 1998. Paul and his wife, Laurie, have adopted three children, and like to serve as unofficial ambassadors for adoption.
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Posted in Christian books, Getting Published, Guests | 1 Comment

Authors Afterburner – Why You Should Never Pitch the Media

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Victor Volkman

Authors Afterburner is the post-game show where we get to talk about whatever’s on our minds. Please note dear listener that this is not the regular Authors Access show and we don’t promise anything much except to present our news and views of interest to authors and publishers. So let’s light the afterburners and see what’s on our minds tonight….

Tyler and Victor consider whether the conventional press release is dead in the era of New Media and if so what to do about it. This discussion was inspired by the latest issue of Book Marketing Expert Newsletter.

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Moira Allen – Writing For & Reaching the International Market

Posted on September 22, 2009 by Victor Volkman
On September 21st, 2009  Tyler R. Tichelaar and Irene Watson spoke with international freelancer and editor Moira Allen. Allen is the host and editor of Writing-World.com, one of the world’s most popular websites for writers. She helped us understand key points that freelancer must know to enter this lucrative market, including:

  • Why target international markets?
  • Where do you locate international markets?
  • What do you need to consider when targeting an international market?
  • What about format and language issues?
  • How do you contact/pitch to an international market?
  • What are the rights issues you need to keep in mind?
  • How do you get paid?
  • What are some pitfalls of the international marketplace?
 Moira Allen
Moira Allen has been writing professionally for more than 30 years, and is the author of several books on writing, including Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer and The Writer’s Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals, both from Allworth Press. Moira has been dealing with international writers and markets for many years, and was the editor of Global Writers Ink, a newsletter geared toward the international writer.
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Posted in Freelancing, Getting Published, Guests, Nonfiction, Tyler Tichelaar | Leave a comment