Heather Sunseri's Blog, page 32

Ask Me Anything

What are you doing today? I just realized that I’ve been wasting the last two hours. Well, not really wasting, but trying to resuscitate my phone, which suddenly died yesterday. But is now alive again, but in critical condition. It’s touch-and-go at the moment.

So, while we wait together to learnmy phone’s fate, I thought I’d open up my blog for questions. I realize this might work, and it might not. There are a lot of lurkers who breeze by my blog from time to time. (Hey, guys and gals! Come...

I’ve Got Mail!! (A vlog)

I’ve Got Mail!!

Let’s Talk Covers Part III: The Dangers of Stock Photography

We’ve discussed covers before: Let’s Talk Covers Part I: Hire a Pro or Not? And Let’s Talk Covers Part II: What Makes an Effective Cover? And as we discussed in Parts 1 and 2, designing and creating your own book cover is difficult, but not impossible.

Today, I thought I would share with you some of the dangers and difficulties of using stock photography.

A month after I had put the final touches on the cover design for Mindspeak, a novel was released using the same photo I had already committe...

Around the Blogosphere Today (aka – What Showed up in my Feedly This Morning) and a News Tease

I thought I’d take a break from my Myths of Self-Publishing series to tell you a few things that have caught my eye around the blogosphere this morning.

First, for you memoir lovers, and even if you don’t normally read memoirs, check out this post by Jill Kemerer about Eloisa James’s memoir Paris in Love.

Writers/people who are willing to venture out their comfort zone to try something many of us only dream of doing fascinate me! FASCINATE. ME. So, I have added this book to my To Be Read pile....

Myth: You Must Spend 5k to Self-Publish a Book

In the comments to Monday’s post, MYTH: Self-Publishing Is a Full-time Job, Laura Pauling mentioned another myth many writersbuy into when deciding whether to jump into the Indie waters. She said:

“The other one [myth] is that you must spend at least 5k per book. You can do that. But there are many ways to start off and not go into debt at the same time.”

And I agree. You do not need to go into debt, and there are many ways to publish a book without breaking the bank.

At the same time, self-publ...

Myth: Self-Publishing is a Full-Time Job

Self-publishing can be a full-time a job, but it doesn’t have to be.

I was talking with someone the other day about the pros and cons to self-publishing, and his biggest concern (based on a conversation he had with an agent) was having the time to self-publish. You see, his agent told him that self-publishing was a full-time job, and asked him if he was truly ready for that.

Agents and publishers will have you believe that self-publsihing is impossible for the writer who works full-time at anot...

The Importance of Sample Chapters

I love discovering new authors to add to my list of favorites. Since becoming a writer, I’ve probably given more debut authors a chance than I ever did before I began writing for publication. Part of that is due to how many writers I’ve friended on the journey who have published in the time we’ve known each other. But along the way I’ve discovered I really enjoy the freshness new authors bring to a rapidly-changing publishing climate. Also, there’s something fearless in a newer writer’s voice...

How Did I Know FOR SURE Self-Publishing Was Right For Me?

Photo Credit – Creative Commons – by shutupyourface

I know, I know, I KNOW!! I’ve been away. I don’t even know how long I’ve been away, but wowzers, I’ve missed chatting it up on here. I’ve been on Facebook a bit, and I’ve received some amazingly nice emails and phone calls with encouragement and questions. Thank you for that! I also did an author panel last weekend with four amazing young adult authors (who are all traditionally published and über successful and oh-so-nice). I’ll do a post on...

Frankenstein’s Cat by Emily Anthes: A Book That Proves MINDSPEAK Might Be a Little Closer to Reality Than We Thought

My husband called me on his way home from work last week saying, “I just recorded an NPR interview that you’ve got to hear.”

The next day, a friend of mine direct messaged me on twitter (Hi, Julie) saying, “I thought of you yesterday when I listened to this story on my run: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/11/173514863/frankensteins-cat-bioengineering-the-animals-of-the-future.

Let me just say, I now hold in my hands a copy of Emily Anthes’s book, Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling up to Biotech’s Brave Ne...