Allyson E. Machate's Blog, page 10

POLISHING YOUR WORK FOR PUBLICATION with MWA ANNAPOLIS – DEC 2015

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The Maryland Writers’ Association Annapolis Chapter hadits last meeting of the year on December 16, 2015. How cool to be the year's closer! I talked about Polishing Your Work for Publication, a subject on the minds of many would-be published authors.

The attendees received tips on improving their work to keep readers’ attention, polishing a manuscript at the technical level, and getting objective feedback before they submit or go to press.

Thank you for your presentation on Wedn...

APSS Webinar – Polishing Your Work for Publication – Nov 2015

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I was super excited to be leading a webinar for members of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales last November as part of the organization's ongoing series. The webinar was free.

I spoke to the APSS crowd about a topic that's close to any self- or small-publisher's heart: How to make sure your manuscript is absolutely ready for publication. I called the presentation, "Polishing Your Work for Publication." This talk introduced to the participants the most common problem...

How to Keep Impatience at Bay and Give Your Manuscript the Love It Deserves

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There are many writers who labor over a manuscript for long periods of time without any particular agenda or deadlines. They love to write, they have something to say, and they are working to say it in the best way possible. Others are more ambitious—they come to us with a very specific timeline, and they want to know if we can help them get their book published within that timeline. But sometimes even SMART goals aren’t so smart.

Many of you know that The Writer’s Ally used to...

MWA Annapolis – Polishing Your Work for Publication – Dec 2015

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The Maryland Writers' Association Annapolis Chapter will hold its last meeting of the year this coming December 16, 2015 and I am happy to announce that I will be talking about Polishing Your Work for Publication.

This talk will introduce you to the most common problems that plague written works and offer simple ways to identify and resolve them in your own manuscript. You’ll receive tips on improving your work to keep readers’ attention, polishing your manuscript at the technic...

Perfecting Your Author Platform With MWA Montgomery – Nov 2015

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The Maryland Writer's Association chapter in Montgomery county held its monthly meeting last November 7, 2015 and I was privileged topresent on "Perfecting Your Author Platform." The meeting included plenty of time for questions and answers afterward as well.

Participants learned how to evaluate the “planks” they already have and how to design a blueprint for building a bigger, stronger platform—the most critical tool in their toolbox after the book itself.

The presentation was...

Perfecting Your Author Platform at MWA Baltimore — Nov 30, 2015

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In today's highly saturated book market, a strong publicity and marketing campaign requires that authors have a solid platform to get the kind of attention necessary for sales. But what is a platform, what is it used for, and how do you build one? How does it affect your book deal, or whether you get one at all? How does it help you sell more books, whether you self-publish or have a publisher?

Please join me and the Maryland Writer's Association Baltimore chapter as I speak wit...

APSS Webinar – Polishing Your Work for Publication – Nov 2015

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I am super excited to be leading a webinar for members of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales in November as part of the organization's ongoing series. The webinar is free, but you must register to attend.

I'll be speaking to the APSS crowd about a topic that's close to any self- or small-publisher's heart: How to make sure your manuscript is absolutely ready for publication. I call the presentation, "Polishing Your Work for Publication." This talk will introduce you...

How to Avoid Getting Scammed by Publishing Services, Pt. 2

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I’m sure you’ve heard of them or seen their aggressive advertising campaigns. Author House, Xlibris, iUniverse, Trafford Press…the list goes on.

While many have been misled to believe these kinds of companies are publishers, the best and proper way to characterize them is in fact as publishing services. They are institutions that sell a variety of products to authors, not readers, and so their primary market is people just like you—folks who want to publish a book. They are not...

Book Pleasures – A Conversation with Ally E. Machate

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I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Norm Goldman, the Publisher and Editor of Bookpleasures and veteran industry expert.

The interview covered a range of interesting topics from how I started as an editor to where I see the book publishing industry going to what's the worst advice I've heard authors giving to other writers. The post includes topics such as:

What are the most important characteristics of an author? What are the biggest mistakes authors make? What would yo...