Writing and Publishing Department of Barbara Brabec's World

BARBARA'S FIRST MEMOIR receives rave reviews
ON AMAZON!

See summary reviews and story of Barbara's early life as a professional musician here.

How to Write a Good Memoir: How the book, Your Life as Story, helped Barbara write a better memoir and biography.

Writer's Resources

Barbara Doyen Literary Agency. This is the website of Barbara Brabec's literary agent. It contains a wealth of helpful articles for authors.

Helpful Organization for Independent Writers and Authors. Excellent overview of the changing world of publishing and your opportunities in it, with a free ezine, and good archive of articles.

Unscrupulous Literary Agents on the Web. Read this excellent article on the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer's Website. It offers a list of dishonest agenting practices, explains why there are so many amateur, marginal, and incompetent agents looking for clients on the Web, and how to tell a questionable agent from a reputable one. Also included is a list of resources for authors in search of a good agent.

Midwest Book Review. A major Internet resource for publishers, writers, librarians, booksellers, and book lovers of all ages and interests. Includes dozens of articles of interest to writers and self-publishers.

Book Publishing News (blog). Interesting posts on a variety of topics of interest to writers and self-publishers.

American Society of Journalists and Authors. Blog site for ASJA, an invaluable membership organization for independent nonfiction writers who are trying to advance their careers.

Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. One of the largest existing organizations for writers and illustrators, and the only professional organization specifically for those individuals working in the fields of children’s literature, magazines, film, television, and multimedia.

The Tribal Author. Jonathan Fields, author of Hot to Make a Great Living Doing what You Love, calls himself a "lawyer turned serial entrepreneur, marketer, and social media sponge. If you're serious about writing and selling a book, read The Truth About Book Marketing, which you can download as an eBook or read on the site. Then get on his blog mailing list to receive his pertinent posts.

"Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read."
- Groucho Marx

Step-by-Step Self-Publishing. This website include a list of book reviewers that will review self-published books on Amazon and other online sites.

The Book Designer. A wealth of articles and practical advice to help build better books. Note this article: "52 Great Blogs for Self-Publishers."

Independent Publisher (formed in 1996) runs a Book Awards contest each year to recognize excellence in independent publishing. They stated in 2011 that there were currently 1.5 million book titles in print and available to American consumers, with about 160,000 new titles published each year in the U.S. and about 30,000 new titles published in Canada. Today the independent is also competing with nearly 70,000 other small-to-midsized presses.

Good Article: "2010: The Year Self-Publishing Lost Its Stigma."

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Articles by Barbara

Author-Publisher Contracts from Internet Book Publishers and Self-Publishing Services. Do not sign one of these contracts until you understand the legal and financial implications of every clause it contains.

Author-Publisher Contract Tips. Barbara's tips on special clauses you should try to get in your contract. Now updated to include special tips on how and where to find a reputable literary agent.

Life Writing. What has life taught you that you might write a book about?

Amazon Throws Its Weight Around--Book Publishers Push Back. Amazon LOST the Booklocker lawsuit against them in 2010.

Electronic Editing: A Great Way to Learn How to Improve Your Writing. Electronic on-screen editing is not only easier and faster for the editor, resulting in a lower editing fee, but a great time saver and learning experience for the author who can see every little thing the editor has changed, and, with a click of the mouse, immediately accept or reject that change.

Your Self-Publishing Options with POD (Print-on-Demand) Printers and Publishers - A look at your electronic publishing options with links to many helpful POD and eBook publishing resources.

The Controversial "Orphan Works" Copyright Bills and Google Book Settlement, by Barbara Brabec

Barbara's Editing Checklist of Common Writing Errors. Use this helpful list when you're proofreading your manuscripts and trying to find all your grammar and punctuation errors.

Selling Your Book to a Trade Publisher. Barbara shares her personal experiences in working with trade book publishers over the years.

The Benefits of Buying PDF eBooks and Reports. Barbara maintains that a business eBook by a noted author can be worth ten times its price if it is well written and based on the author's first-hand experience and research (which all of her products are).

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) About the Ordering and Download Process for PDF eBooks and reports.

Writing as Therapy. How journaling or letter-writing can effectively release pent-up emotions, especially during the grieving process. Includes links to several books and articles on this topic.

The All Rights/Electronic Rights Issue - A personal experience article with reader feedback

Success Tips for Beginning Writers and Would-Be Authors

Articles & Reports from Barbara's Readers

My Self-Publishing Experience with Lulu.com. Australian author Bryan West reports on his positive publishing experience with Lulu, and what authors should expect here in the way of help and services.

The Joys of Live Alchemy–The Excellent Writer Within by Michael Levy. "The pure joy of writing makes us successes; nothing else will," says Levy.

Tapping the Verbal Motherlode by Patricia Kutza. A guide to a treasure chest of verbal nuggets you can use in your copywriting.

Joan's Angels: How a Successful Author Moves Her Books in Bookstores. - An amusing but sad saga of bookstores today by Joan Anderson.

Boogiejack on eBook Publishing - A motivational tip and link to a great book.

Book Manuscript Formatting Tips. Planning to Self Publish? Avoid digital conversion problems and make your editor and typesetter happy by following these book formatting guidelines from Barbara.

AUTHOR-PUBLISHER BOOK CONTRACT CONSULTING SERVICE

Need help in understanding that publisher's contract you've just been offered? If you don't have a literary agent, you can lose a lot of money (and rights) by automatically signing a publisher's standard new author contract. Let Barbara explain how certain clauses will affect your overall earnings and rights to your book's content, and what you need to ask for in the way of changes to maximize your profits. Publishers will negotiate with savvy authors!

Click here for details, and read high praise from authors who have greatly benefitted from this service..

Barbara's "Book Cat," Charlee. (Click picture
for larger view)

Longest Book Title
in the World?

Check this best-selling financial book on Amazon which is surely the longest book title in the world—104 words. The first three words of the title are RESCUE YOUR MONEY, but then the title just keeps going with the word "from" and runs to the bottom of the cover. I found this a very interesting way to tell readers up front exactly what they're going to get in a book. (You'll have to zoom in on the picture to read it all, but you can see that this is a mini brochure for the book, done in a way to entice readers to keep reading right to the bottom.)

Can You Read This?
"Inetertsing," to say the least!

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe. Ins't taht cool? (Ntocie I sawpped teh two oo's in cool.)
- author unknown

Tips & Quotes

Avoid Clichés

Mark Twain's Advice for Writers

Archive of previously-published quotes about writing