A Celebration of Books!

April is the first ever Wimpy Kid Month, which will become an annual event. Tomorrow, April 28^th, the cover and title for the 9^th book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid will be revealed in a free webinar.

This event reminds me of an amazing experience that I had with books last October. I love printed books. I've written numerous books. For years as an acquisitions editor at Morgan James, I’ve helped others get their books into print.

Yet something was missing from my experience. I had never toured a book manufacturing plant. I wanted to see how books were assembled from large rolls of paper to books you can hold in your hand.

Last October I finally had that magical experience. I spoke at the Wisconsin Writers Association and I knew one of the largest book manufacturers was in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. I arranged a tour of Worzalla Book Publishing which has been operating since 1898. The plant runs 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

You’ve got to wear your walking shoes because the plant is over 300,000 square feet of building space. They were running many different print jobs as I walked through. Some machines were binding paperbacks while others were adding the jackets on hardcovers. Others were assembling the signatures of books into stacks and another machine added the hardcover binding.

The large project in the plant was printing six million copies of Book #8 of the Wimpy Kid Diary books. I was not allowed to take any photos of this printing because the book is embargoed and will not release in the bookstores until November 2, 2013. Yet six million books are not magically printed overnight and shipped to stores around the country. It happens ahead of time in book plants like Worzalla.

I saw the book in pieces in some places and at other machines like in the bindery, they were completely assembled and packed into boxes and on pallets for shipping.

With permission, I took a few photos to include with this post. The rolls of paper are massive and weighed 1300 to 1600 pounds EACH. Notice the tall stacks in their warehouse. These rolls of paper become books.

I’ve been wanting to visit this plant for years and last fall, one of my dreams came true. My plans paid off and I managed to see how books are manufactured.

What are you dreaming of seeing manufactured? How can you take action to set something into motion where you can see this take place? Or maybe it is some trip you want to take. How will you achieve this dream in the days ahead?

This Fall: A Time to Refocus & Renew

Life can be full of distractions in the summer time. There are vacations, visits from the grandchildren or friends and other interruptions. Yet in the Fall, the children and grandchildren start school. It is a wonderful time to refocus on your writing and renew your publishing efforts. 

The bulk of my days are focused on working with authors through my work at Morgan James Publishing. I'm working with other members of the Morgan James team to champion a book and get a book contract. Then when the author receives their contract, I'm working with them to make sure they understand all of the details before signing the agreement. Or I'm setting up conference calls with others on the Morgan James team then participating in these calls. We are going to publish about 180 books this year including about 40 novels through our fiction imprint Koehler Books. These numbers are in great contrast to the self-publishers who will produce thousands (no exaggeration see this link from Publishers Lunch) of titles. What the self-publishing places fail to tell you (by design) is that they are producing thousands of titles—not just a few. Little wonder these books are not sold in the brick and mortar bookstores (in contrast to the Morgan James books which are inside these stores). I don't want to get sidetracked here except to say the bulk of my day is focused on my acquisitions work.

One of the best ways to refocus and recharge your writing life is to attend an event. You can attend an event in person—or online. In the next few weeks, there are numerous opportunities where you can give your writing life a boost. In each case, I've included the websites with more information so please make sure you check out each event.

September 7, 2013
Editors Read Proposals NOT Manuscripts Sharon Jenkins will interview me on The Literary Showcase with the Master Communicator at 9 a.m. CST. This workshop about book proposal creation is one of the most popular which I teach in various conferences. Through this interview, you can hear this FREE information-packed, radio program live or listen to the replay.

September 10, 2013
Why Attend a Writers Conference? Is it really worth it to attend a live event? FREE teleseminar with Morgan James Publisher Rick Frishman answering your questions. Follow the link for the details and to get access and a FREE Ebook, Agents and the Publishing Industry when you register.

September 17, 2013
Success Leaves Traces FREE teleseminar Sharon Jenkins interviewing me about the characteristics of bestselling authors. I have interviewed over 150 bestselling authors and you don’t want to miss this opportunity to learn these valuable lessons.

September 27-29, 2013
Wisconsin Writers Association Fall Conference in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. I will be out in western Wisconsin and a keynote speaker for the Saturday night dinner at this event. Also I will be meeting with authors throughout this event.

October 5, 2013
Author Networking Summit in Houston, Texas. At this one day event, I will be a keynote speaker and meeting with authors throughout this event.

October 24-27, 2013
Author 101 University in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event is always packed with great people and information. Throughout the event, I will be meeting with authors about their book projects.

I hope you notice the variety of opportunities in this list of events. Some do not involve travel or cost and are completely free. No matter where you are in the world you can learn from these sessions. Other events involve travel and coming to an in-person event but the opportunity is so much greater at these sessions. I've been attending conferences for years and found them to be life-changing events.

I hope you will be encouraged to refocus on your writing and renew your commitment to getting your message into print. I'd be honored to help you.