Karen's blog: BookBaby newsletters

Here are the latest BookBaby newsletters for my followers to peruse:

Saturday, November 17, 2018

From a shabby office in midtown Manhattan, Stan Lee created a line-up of pulp-fiction superheroes that went on to define a large slice of popular culture in this century.

Lee was 95 years young when he passed away this week. To his final day, he was a writer, editor, publisher, and promoter—not to mention being the tireless life force of Marvel who oversaw the obscure comic-book house’s evolution into an international media mega-company. Lee also supported using comic books to provide social commentary about the real world, often dealing with racism and bigotry.

He also embodied the kind of stubborn spirit that lives within self-published authors. In an interview with BBC Radio 4 a few years ago, Lee related the story of when he pitched the idea of Spider-Man to his publisher. “My publisher said, in his ultimate wisdom, ‘Stan, that is the worst idea I have ever heard.’ He said, ‘First of all people hate spiders, so you can’t call a book Spider-Man. Secondly, he can’t be a teenager; teenagers can only be sidekicks. Third, he can’t have personal problems if he’s supposed to be a superhero. Don’t you know who a superhero is?’”

Lee most certainly did, in the form of Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Black Panther, and The Fantastic Four. He relentlessly pursued his vision in the face of criticism and doubt from others.

Lee’s journey is a familiar one to millions of self-published authors around the globe. When traditional publishers and agents reject their ideas, these strong-minded writers don’t get mad—they get published. In my BookBaby Blog post “There’s Never Been A Better Time To Self Publish,” I list the compelling reasons why writers should take their manuscripts directly to the marketplace.

The takeaway? You self-published authors are superheroes! Just like the librarian of the McCracken County Library System in Paducah, KY.

All the best,

Steven Spatz
President, BookBaby

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Now’s the time to plan your holiday book sales.

Every day counts when it comes to preparing your game plan to earn more holiday book sales, and this free guide has 12 proven tactics to help you prepare for the $3 billion holiday season.

Learn how to:

Plan a timeline from right now into the New Year
Create and commit to your book’s budget
Get the word out to bookshops, libraries, and your readers
Position yourself as a professional independent author
And plenty more

Download this guide and start planning your holiday season today.

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Finishing your book starts with this catalog.

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