Aspiring Authors Find the Roadmap to Success at the Book Publishing Boot Camp

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Can a published book be a business card? Many people seem to think so, if we’re judging by the turnout at the Book Publishing Boot Camp, a publishing conference for entrepreneurs looking to write the best nonfiction book to build their brand.

The all-day event, co-hosted by LifeTree Media and Pink Velvet Couch, took place at the Best Western Plus Chateau Granville in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday, March 6. It was a packed day of informative presentations, interactive workshops, and stimulating... keep reading

Three Mistakes New Authors Make When Writing a Nonfiction Book

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Every author starts out with great intentions and ambitious goals, but they don’t necessarily have good publishing instincts. In countless meetings and consultation sessions with aspiring authors of nonfiction books, I’ve found that there are three key mistakes that most new authors make.

1.   They write about what interests them, rather than what interests their audience. Over the course of your career, you’ve acquired a wealth of information, not all of which is useful to your target reader. Your book is not the right forum in which to explore the arcane ... keep reading

Q&A with Robert Mackwood, Seventh Avenue Literary Agency

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Robert Mackwood is the owner and principal agent of the BC-based Seventh Avenue Literary Agency — one of Canada’s leading non-fiction agencies. Catch him in person at the Book Publishing Boot Camp on March 6, where he’ll discuss what agents look for on a panel about the business of publishing.

How and when did you begin your career as a literary ag... keep reading

Register for Our Book Publishing Boot Camp on March 6

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Writing a book can be a challenging but rewarding endeavour. For all you aspiring authors out there in Vancouver, we have just the event for you. On March 6, LifeTree Media is co-hosting a Book Publishing Boot Camp with Pink Velvet Couch, an all-day conference for women entrepreneurs on what it takes to plan, write, publish and market a nonfiction book that can boost your business, showcase your expertise, and build your personal or professional brand.

You’ll hear from an expert lineup of publishers, editors, agents, marketing experts and publ... keep reading

Lindsay Sealey’s Growing Strong Girls Gives Hope to Parents Under Pressure

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Lindsay Sealey is a passionate girl advocate. She has worked in curriculum development, consulting and special education for more than 15 years and she is the founder and CEO of Bold New Girls, a coaching company for girls and young women and their parents, teachers and caretakers.

With new and complicated parenting challenges like online bullying facing today’s families, Lindsay’s services are needed more than ever. This is why she decided to write keep reading

Is it worth it to pay to publish? Six ways to recoup your investment, beyond the bookstore

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If you’re thinking of investing money in publishing your book through a hybrid publisher or by self-publishing, you’re likely trying to work out whether you’ll get a strong enough return on investment to make the endeavour worthwhile. And rightly so: publishing a book to a professional standard is a significant investment, especially if you are considering using a ghostwriter.

Most authors think online and in-store book sales will be their primary revenue stream, an understandable but overly limited assumption. There are many other ways in which your book-publishing venture ca... keep reading

How to write a world-changing manifesto

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When I sit down to work with a new author, I always ask them about their goals for their book, and invariably I get a version of the same answer: They want to make a difference in people’s lives. Very often, they want to change the way people think, elevate a conversation, and bring new understanding to a vexing problem.

That’s a great mission. We all want to have an impact on the world, and most of us would like that impact to be a positive one. But changing the world through a book begins with changing the mind of one reader, and then the next. Most of us are stubbornly attache... keep reading

Writing groups: what they are and how to join one

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You might stumble across them in libraries and coffee shops across the country: a circle of writers surrounding a paper-covered table. Armed with their notebooks and a desire to master the use of language, these writers have committed to their writing groups, and you may want to as well.

At its core, writing groups (or writing circles) are places for you and other writers to come together, share ideas, and get feedback on your work. They might be a peer critique in your living room over a glass of wine, a workshop or class with an instructor, or even a Facebook discussion group with ... keep reading

Footnotes vs. Endnotes: How to Choose and How to Use

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There are four ways to deal with citations, explanations and references: In the text, in footnotes, in numbered endnotes, and in contextual endnotes. Most publishers have a house style and preference for how and when they use each method. It’s useful for you to understand the difference and determine your own preferences, especially if you are self-publishing.

In text: Writing a reference directly into the text itself is the most reader-friendly way to cite your sources. This works best when the reference is simple and easy t... keep reading