The NW Association of Book Publishers has closed.

We thank everyone for 30 years of support and wish you all the best on your publishing adventures.

NABP will not be meeting in August. Stay tuned here or on our mailing list for details about future meetings and events.

By NABP Member Mary McIntosh, Ph.D.

Freelance writer and editor

mary.mcintosh@comcast.net

Save the Apostrophe!

Have you noticed that punctuation errors have increased in the last few years, not just in private letters or emails, or on business owners’ signs (You may notice the correctly used apostrophe in this sentence.), but in newspapers, magazine articles, and professional publications of all types? I can’t do much about the weather except try to maintain a sunny disposition, but perhaps I can try to raise our consciousness about the need to improve our use of punctuation. Our commas, semicolons, dashes, and apostrophes should be helping us to make the world more clear and pleasant—perhaps even fun—to live in; they shouldn’t be causing more confusion. (Please also notice the correct use of the semicolon in the preceding sentence.) They are meant to be an aid to communication, not a detriment or useless impediment. I’m convinced that some think the apostrophe is merely decorative. Of most concern, however, is that the misuse of punctuation encourages the negative trends of our society, as you will see.

I would say that the apostrophe is the most abused punctuation mark, with the semicolon running a close second. The misuse of the apostrophe might be attributed to more than the simple ignorance which may result from a lack of instruction in grade school or beyond. Typically, apostrophe abuses  occur when we try to denote possession or pluralization. However, the apostrophe should not be used to denote a simple plural, as in the following sentence which appeared in the March/April 2012 issue of Portland Home magazine: “This natural air movement, called the stack effect, is how chimney’s work” (p. 11).  In this sentence, a “chimney” does not possess the verb “work.” Nor would it ever. Only nouns or gerunds can be possessed. (A gerund is a present participle used as a noun, as in the following example: “Working is fun if you like what you do for a living. Because he likes his job, Bill’s working here is fun.”) There are other plural nouns in the same article. I am puzzled as to why “chimney’s” was pluralized by inserting the apostrophe. I can only think that this error either results from confusion or from a need to intensify the plural by using an extra (albeit unnecessary) mark.

Another sentence from the same article includes a correct use of the apostrophe, but unfortunately also includes a rather typical spelling error: “To avoid moisture’s negative affects (correct spelling: effects), a crawl space should be fully sealed and isolated from the ground and the outside.” So why the error in the first sentence? Perhaps we could attribute the “chimney” error to neglect or a typo, but even then, a good editor should have caught it.

Apostrophe errors are ubiquitous on signs, and especially in proper last names. So we have mens and womens restrooms instead of men’s and women’s restrooms, and The Smith’s instead of The Smiths, when we are trying to indicate who lives in a certain house.  Contractions like “don’t,” where the apostrophe should stand in for a missing letter, or plurals of letters or numbers, such as “P’s” and “Q’s,” also invite errors, if we’re not minding ours.

I really think that the misuse of the apostrophe is only the beginning of a series of changes in standard grammar and punctuation that we will see as our civilization continues to speed up and to deteriorate.  It is a small reflection of the relaxation of standards that we see everywhere. But what concerns me more is that we will not know what belongs to whom if we are making simple plurals into possessives. Our use of language reflects how we think and feel. Words are symbols of our thoughts. In reverse, words can determine our thoughts and feelings. If we don’t know what is ours and what is someone else’s, where are our identities as unique individuals? We need the boundaries that punctuation like the apostrophe protects. Our world is dysfunctional enough, and if it gets worse, I’ll have to start an apostrophe support group, or even an Apostrophe Abusers Anonymous.

I ask you to help avert a worsening crisis, and thus raise your own consciousness, by sending me examples of apostrophe errors, or questions about the use of this and other marks of punctuation. We can work together to save our language and make the world a clearer, more satisfying place to live. We can hope for more sunlight, too, but alas, even the weathermen, faithful to predict as they are, are powerless to help.

NABP Member Marty Beaudet — aka Martin Bannon — has scheduled a signing of his new book, Senseless Confidential, which goes on sale August 1. From his press release:

Marty Beaudet here, sending from my author pen name account, Martin Bannon. That’s because this is about the book-reading and -signing event for the new comedic thriller, Senseless Confidential, “an absurdist romp” through the backwoods of Clackamas County, by Martin Bannon (the other me). (Click the image to learn more about it.)

It’s scheduled to take place at Seven Virtues, a coffeehouse at NE 60th Avenue and Glisan in Portland, Wednesday, July 11, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. And you’re invited! Come and listen to a reading of select chapters from the “laugh-out-loud comedy” (according to one early reviewer) and enjoy some coffee, tea, or bakery treats (no host). If you decide you like the book enough to buy a prerelease copy (it won’t be released officially until August 1), you’ll be able to buy a discounted copy ($5 off) and get it signed by the author (that would be one of the me’s).

No purchase is necessary to enjoy the fun, however. Just come and show your support for a local Damascus author! (It would be awkward to read to an empty room! And there’s a chance you could win a copy of the book in a drawing that evening. If you miss the event, another is being planned at Wy’east Book Shoppe in Wemme, date to be announced.

If you prefer to wait for the ebook, it will be available on August 1, but I’m offering a $1 discount off the ebook price for anyone who attends a book-reading. In the meantime, watch for my upcoming interview with the Oregonian, as well as one in the July issue of the East County Gazette.

I hope to see you there!

We found an excellent list of suggestions — and some warnings — for people considering self-publishing their book. This post from CNET.com is a nice mix of good news (it’s easy) and bad news (doing it right is hard).

What is Kickstarter, and how can we use it to fund our publishing projects?

Come to the July 26 general meeting to find out!

Once a month, we like to get together with folks who love books and publishing for a casual, informal chat session — with beer and food. There are no requirements to attend!

July’s hangout is on the 17th from 6 to 8 at the Lucky Lab in Northwest Portland. For more information, head over to the Event Page.

This  exciting news from NABP member Veronica Esagui:

The Scoliosis Self-Help Resource Book has been translated by a Japanese doctor to be published by a Japanese publishing company before the end of the year.

Very cool, and congrats! Or should we say:

! (and thank you, Google Translate.)

Veronica, by the way, also hosts the NW Book Festival July 28 in Pioneer Courthouse Square and still has some slots available.

NABP’s sister organization, Book Publishers Northwest, is having its annual mostly outside bookfair in Kirkland, Washington, on September 22 and 23, 2012. The slogan is “It’s raining books!”

There is room for 100 exhibitors and 80 author/presenters. Fees are $300 until July 31 and $350 after that.

For more information, see NWBookFest.com.

Risky Book Marketing? 

By Joan Gale Frank

joanf@homesellersblues.com

http://www.homesellersblues.com

Then there are book marketers that urge you to start a blog – but those who do, often say it’s hard to get followers, let alone make money from book sales.

Then there are marketers that say the best way to sell your books is by giving them away.

With all of this daunting and sometimes paradoxical information, it’s hard to know what’s true. My suggestion is to listen with one ear—and realize that nothing is written in stone. Ultimately it depends on the situation.

Here are a few marketing efforts that the experts may or may not agree with, that I’ve used successfully to promote my book, Home Seller’s Blues and How To Beat Them, as well as the books of one of my NABP clients, Carol Grier, who wrote How To Recognize A Good Man When You Meet Him and Choices: A Memoir.

Cold Calling A Journalist

Yes, I heard it wasn’t recommended. But I was bad and did it anyway. I felt Carol’s book would appeal to a particular Pamplin Media journalist who covered human-interest stories, so I looked him up online and called him.

After quickly introducing myself and pitching Carol and her books, the journalist told me I had called at the perfect time—he was just looking for his next story. “When can I interview her?” He asked. “Can I have her number?” Immediately I contacted Carol and told her to expect a call.

As a result of this pitch, an article about Carol and her books ran in many of Portland’s papers, including the Lake Oswego Review, which featured a photo of her, her books, and all the words on the back cover of one of her books. You just can’t buy that kind of advertising.

Issuing an Online Press Release

Even though I knew it might be a waste of money, I wanted to get the word out to newspapers and real estate sites about my newly published Home Seller’s Blues book. So I tied my story to the latest depressing real estate news and plunked down $398 for a 400-word press release to go out on PR Newswire.

The next day a nationally syndicated reporter called to set up an interview. The resulting article about my book appeared on the front page of the Sunday, Chicago Tribune Real Estate section as well as in a double-column article in the Los Angeles Times. That same press release captured the attention of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, resulting in a major plug for my book on their website, which is read by thousands of Realtors.

Creating a Blog

I knew it takes time for a blog to gain traction, but I wanted to try it, so I started a blog, housesellingblues.com. After a few months of writing long, meticulous posts to an audience of me, I noticed that people were starting to leave comments.

Then guest bloggers began emailing me, asking if they could contribute posts. And within a few months advertisers wrote, offering to pay me for a link from specific words in my posts back to their sites. Most of these advertisers provided good information and resources for home sellers, so I took them up on it. I was even offered a job from a company exec who said he was a fan of my blog and wanted me to write blog posts and content for his company’s website.

I’ll admit though, getting book sales from my blog hasn’t been easy. I’ve made more money in advertising dollars—which I never would have suspected. I’ve also made friends with home sellers and Realtors all around the world who share their stories with me and reconnect regularly.

Giving Books Away

This seems like a paradoxical way to make money, but it works. It all depends on the book and the audience though. After analyzing the giveaway program at GoodReads.com, it looked like a good fit for Carol’s How To Recognize A Good Man When You Meet Him book. With this program, an audience of seven million book lovers, the majority being women, are given the opportunity to sign up to win books in various categories, including Carol’s topic—love.

In the process of registering for the giveaway, the entrants find out about Carol’s book. Those that don’t want to wait to see if they’re a lucky winner, can buy it themselves—which they do, since Carol’s ebook version is only $2.99. As a result, right after the giveaway contest started, we saw a dramatic boost in her Kindle Amazon ranking. Every day the contest goes on, it drives more people to seek out her book. So it’s true, giving away books can be a winning strategy.

The most important marketing strategy of all though, is just to keep the ball rolling. With so much competition from new books coming out everyday, you’ve got to keep your titles in the public eye—taking a few marketing risks along the way. And you’ll never know what works until you try.

Just don’t try calling a sports journalist in the middle of the night, pitching a science fiction story.