How Are You Feeling? MANA Would Like To Know

By Fairy Hayes-Scott

As owner of MarketingNewAuthors.com, I found it comforting to put my feelings in writing. 

I began my diary at age thirteen and have continued it throughout my life, even after I retired in 2020 from forty-five years of teaching.

My diary was my “comfort place.” Whenever I had happy occurrences to share or not happy ones, I would write them in my “comfort place.” Also, It was a way I could articulate in a concrete manner my feelings to my God. 

Once I became an educator, I encouraged my students to use writing as a way of finding their “comfort place,” regardless of religious faith or none at all. And my students found that writing did, indeed, give them a sort of power over the different circumstances they experienced.

So, during these most challenging times, I want you to find MANA as your “comfort place.” To that end, I invite you to share, in writing, how you are coping with COVID-19, the Ukrainian situation, the fall out of inflation, and whatever else you are coping with at this time in your life. 

This is a way you can see how others are coping, and a way to know that you are not alone. This is a moment to share in a digital, personal way.

You may use your real name if you wish. If you choose to remain anonymous, MANA will not post your real name. Your anonymity will be maintained and respected.  

Your work will be posted on MANA’s blog, The MANA Sunriser. This is a way you can see how others are coping. This is a moment to share in a digital, personal way.

Submit your work in Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) format. Send your file via email to: info@marketingnewauthors.com and place CACOPHONY OF COPINGS in the subject line.

Questions? Contact MarketingNewAuthors.com via email at info@marketingnewauthors.com or call 734-975-0028.

MANA's Call for Short Stories and Poems With Two Special Offers

If you are a writer of poems and short stories, MANA has two offers for you: 

1. MIDWEEK MUSINGS ON MANA 

Many publishing promotions are aimed at authors who hope to publish a book. MANA, however, recognizes that not everyone wants to publish a book. Some writers only want to publish a short story or poem and receive a minimum royalty. MIDWEEK MUSINGS ON MANA provides such an opportunity for writers of short stories and poetry. 

The offer goes as follows: 

1. Writers submit short stories or poetry of a minimum of 150 to a maximum of 500 words in their choice of genre (no erotica, please). 

2. Upon acceptance by the MANA Review Board, stories and poems will be posted on MANA’s blog, The MANA SUNRISER. 

3. Royalty for each submission will be paid by MANA based on the number of viewers of each writer's works. 

The cost to submit is $50 per story (non-refundable) and will be paid up to $25 per story submitted. Visit the MIDWEEK MUSINGS ON MANA page on MANA's website for more details. 

Happy Anniversary! Here Are Your 4 Self-Publishing Gifts From MarketingNewAuthors.com

If you're ready to self-publish your book, then take advantage of MarketingNewAuthors.com's (MANA) special offers. 

To celebrate 20 years of helping writers realize their dream of becoming self-published authors, MANA is offering four anniversary gifts:

ANNIVERSARY GIFT 1: Do you have questions about self-publishing? Writers often ask questions such as: 

• Can I use the lyrics of a song in my book or do I need to get copyright permission from the author?

• What are the pros and cons of self-publishing? Traditional publishing?

• What are the pros and cons of print-on-demand? 

• Should I design my own book cover art or should I hire a designer? 

• Is listing a book on Amazon enough to sell a book? 

• How do I get started with self-publishing? 

You may set up a consultation with MANA's owner, Dr. Fairy Hayes-Scott to ask these and any other questions. The 30- to 45-minute consultation, via Zoom, will answer your questions dealing with book publishing.

The consultation fee is $495, of which $250 is refundable if not satisfied. 

However, should you choose to have MANA self-publish your work, the $495 fee will be applied to a special self-publishing package cost of $1,490. Visit MANA's website to see details regarding all the services available in this package. 

ANNIVERSARY GIFT 2. A publishing plan is available for those with a fictional or non-fictional work of 50,000 words. The package includes color front and back covers, layout, a webpage on MANA's site, marketing, and 100 books. The non-refundable cost is only $2,000. You may pay $200 for 10 months. More details are available on MANA's website. 

ANNIVERSARY GIFT 3. If you want to control printing costs, you can choose your own printer, let MANA do the layout, and send the pdf file to your printer of choice. Cost: A $750 downpayment with the remaining half due when you approve the file. For more information, visit MANA's website.

ANNIVERSARY GIFT 4. Are you on a tight budget but want to give a surprise gift to a mother or father who has written a book? Say, "Happy Mother's Day" or "Happy Father's Day" with MANA's package that includes a wide range of services, such as color front and back covers, layout, marketing and distribution services, bonus gifts, and much more. Visit the ANNIVERSARY GIFT 4 page here. 

MANA gives a $100 signing bonus and a t-shirt for all anniversary gifts. 

Get full details on all four-anniversary gifts on the website of MarketingNewAuthors.com. 

If you have questions, contact MANA at info@marketingnewauthors.com or 734-975-0028. 

The Academic and the Affective Factors: The Self-Publisher Must Consider Part 3

The extent of family support can be a key factor in coping and succeeding as a self-publisher. 

If you have a significant other: 

• Is that individual excited about the project?

 

• Can that person provide some assistance or is the significant other “put off” by the whole idea? 

• Is there agreement as long as “it does not infringe on my wants and needs”? 

• If you have children, are they able to take on some household responsibilities while you, the self-publisher, are preparing the project? 

And what about parents and siblings? Sometimes, unfortunately, these individuals can cause more stress than those in the nuclear family. Can you handle this stress? Will a parent say, “why are you wasting your time and money on this?”  Or are there health challenges they are experiencing that require your care and support? 

If you are considering self-publishing and are very capable of handling and coping with these less than supportive situations, then, you should move forward.

The Academic and The Affective—Factors the Self-Publisher Must Consider Part 2

Self-publishers need to embrace the technology available. In many cases, they are novices. And for many self-publishers, technology means the Internet or an e-book. But, there are other effective means of book promotion. For example:

• Those who have a website should utilize its effectiveness.  

• CD-ROM promotions can be very effective. People are apt to throw away a brochure that does not pique their interest. However, they do not throw away a CD as quickly or a file that can be inserted into a computer. Some self-publishers stay away from CD or file promotions with concerns about compatibility issues. As the technology continues to improve, this becomes less of an issue. 

• The idea of providing a commercial, an animated trailer for a book is a new method that self-publishers need to consider. Books 'N Motion, an audiobook publisher, provides this kind of innovative marketing tool. 

Another effective way for self-publishers to promote their books is not necessarily related to technology. It involves authors connecting to their audience through book readings. Readings from certain passages from the book could, also, be a way of gaining a potential customer's interest in the work. 

The Academic and The Affective—Factors the Self-Publisher Must Consider Part 1

Should you or shouldn’t you self-publish? 

Using Video Book Trailers to Promote Your Book

Image by mohamed Hassan 

from Pixabay 

If you’re an author looking for ways to promote your book, have you considered creating a video book trailer? 

So, why is video an important medium for books? For one, a video book trailer can serve as a "new release" or a "commercial" for your book. In addition, video is expected to account for 82 percent of all Internet traffic by 2022, according to the latest Visual Networking Index by Cisco, a multinational company, that provides software-defined networking, cloud, and security solutions. 

Cisco also reports that by 2022, nearly half of all devices and connections will be video capable. 

So, it appears that authors should not have too much difficulty capitalizing on the video trend for a long time to come. But, before that happens, authors have quite a bit of preparation work to do before launching a video book trailer. 

Creating a Video

The first—and most important step—is developing ideas for your video. This is considered the "pre-production" stage. Among the questions you will need to ask yourself are:

Poems by Ukrainian Women in Celebration of International Women's Day

MarketingNewAuthors.com (MANA) is pleased to join women across the globe in celebration of International Women's Day and National Women's History Month. In this post, MANA presents works by award-winning Ukrainian female poets.

At the same time, MANA, a woman-owned business, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. MANA, a self-publishing and distribution company, has a history of donating to charities during times when others have been in need. 

With every purchase of a special self-publishing offer or book this month, MANA will donate 10 percent to the International Committee of the Red Cross which is supporting the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross in helping those impacted by the war.

Check out MANA's two special offers on this blog post along with the blog post on MANA's recognition of Women's History Month. 

Featured Women Poets From Ukraine

Feel free to follow along with MANA's owner, Dr. Fairy Hayes-Scott, in her interpretative readings of poems on the audio below by: 

1. Yulia Musakovsk is based in Lviv. She has authored four poetry collections and translated Ukrainian poetry into English.

2. Iya Kiva is based in Kyiv. She is the author of two volumes of poetry, Further from Heaven (Podal'she ot raya, 2018) and The First Page of Winter (Persha storinka zimy, 2019), and the recipient of numerous awards for her poetry and translation. 

3. Natalka Bilotserkivets is based in Kyiv. Her first collection of poems Ballad about the Invincibles (Balada pro neskorenykh) was published in 1976. She also published the collections, The Underground Fire (1984) and November (1989). The collections Allergy (Алергія) (1999) and Central Hotel (Готель Централь) (2004) were the winners of Book of the Month contests in 2000 and 2004 respectively.

MANA Honors Contributions of Women During Women's History Month

Logo courtesy of National
Women's History Alliance

MarketingNewAuthors.com (MANA) celebrates Women's History Month, a month dedicated to recognizing the vast achievements made by women over the course of American history and in contemporary society. 

This year's theme for Women's History Month is "Providing Healing, Promoting Hope," according to the National Women's History Alliance, one of the driving forces behind the annual event in March.  

The theme is a tribute to the ongoing work of caregivers and frontline workers during the ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history. 

Events are being held all over the country to celebrate the contributions of women over the years.