BKussowblog

04/30/2022

I participated in a panel discussion with three other writers on historical fiction. The You Tube video is sponsored by the Ohioana Library Book Festival, April 29-May 2, 2022.

http://bkussow.com/2022/04/30/ohioana-library-book-festival-panel-discussion/

I participated in a panel discussion with three other writers on historical fiction. The You Tube video is sponsored by the Ohioana Library Book Festival, April 29-May 2, 2022.

03/16/2022

Self-publishing with Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is free and relatively easy. They have helpful information and tools available. Using their cover creator allows you to make a decent cover, and you can upload your own images for the cover. The resulting printed product generally looks good. Also, they make it easy to view sales and royalties. A downside to publishing with Amazon that is perhaps little talked about is that some bookstores will not accept books on consignment that are printed by Amazon....

http://bkussow.com/2022/03/16/self-publishing-with-amazon/

Self-publishing with Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is free and relatively easy. They have helpful information and tools available. Using their cover creator allows you to make a decent cove…

03/10/2022

My novel, Portrait of Annie, will be one of the featured books at the Ohioana Library 2022 book festival. About the Ohioana Library (as stated on their website): The Ohioana Library Association was founded in 1929 by Ohio First Lady Martha Kinney Cooper to collect, preserve, and promote the works of Ohio authors, artists, and musicians. By the early 1930s the Library had outgrown its space in the Governor’s Mansion and moved into the new State Office Building at 65 S....

http://bkussow.com/2022/03/10/portrait-of-annie-ohioana-library-book-festival/

My novel, Portrait of Annie, will be one of the featured books at the Ohioana Library 2022 book festival. About the Ohioana Library (as stated on their website): The Ohioana Library Association was…

09/15/2021

Hometown Reads is a website dedicated to serving local authors across the country, by helping them connect with readers in their hometown through what they call the Read Local movement. My novel, Portrait of Annie is now listed there: Look up your own town and get your book listed!

http://bkussow.com/2021/09/15/hometown-reads/

Hometown Reads is a website dedicated to serving local authors across the country, by helping them connect with readers in their hometown through what they call the Read Local movement. My novel, …

08/23/2021

has just been released. It is available on Amazon both in paperback and e-book format. Synopsis: Portrait of Annie is a fictional biography. Ann Elizabeth Richards, born in rural Ohio in 1943 to a family of limited means, wins an art scholarship to the Ohio State University. The novel begins as she starts her academic career on the cusp of the Sixties, a decade that was dominated by controversy over the Vietnam War, the assassinations of John F....

http://bkussow.com/2021/08/23/portrait-of-annie-a-novel-by-b-kussow/

has just been released. It is available on Amazon both in paperback and e-book format. Synopsis: Portrait of Annie is a fictional biography. Ann Elizabeth Richards, born in rural Ohio in 1943 to a …

03/11/2021

Of course, we all familiar with Amazon as seller of books, e-books, and audiobooks. But maybe people do not realize that Amazon has become a huge force in the publishing business as well. Amazon, the subject of Congressional investigations for its monopolistic ways, has made Jeff Bezos, its owner, worth some $193 billion dollars. With its tentacles into the publishing industry, it not only sells books, but it also publishes them, and this makes for further complications and accusations....

http://bkussow.com/2021/03/11/amazon-as-publisher/

Of course, we all familiar with Amazon as seller of books, e-books, and audiobooks. But maybe people do not realize that Amazon has become a huge force in the publishing business as well. Amazon, t…

01/14/2021

08/15/2020

Writers, be careful with the use of photos, posters, logos, and song lyrics in your manuscripts. You may unwittingly violate copyrights. I took a virtual course on the legal aspects of writing. I'm glad I did. It was illuminating. You must seek permission, and even if it is granted, can be costly. I wanted to use song lyrics in my novel and contacted two publishers. [ 151 more words ]
http://bkussow.com/2020/08/15/writers-beware/

Writers, be careful with the use of photos, posters, logos, and song lyrics in your manuscripts. You may unwittingly violate copyrights. I took a virtual course on the legal aspects of writing. I& #…

02/20/2020

Jane Friedman's Paths to Publishing Chart is helpful in sorting out the many paths one might pursue in publishing: Jane Friedman's 2019-2020 Paths to Publishing.
http://bkussow.com/2020/02/20/jane-friedmans-paths-to-publishing/

Jane Friedman’s Paths to Publishing Chart is helpful in sorting out the many paths one might pursue in publishing: Jane Friedman’s 2019-2020 Paths to Publishing.

01/14/2020

The big news in publishing is that Amazon is now publishing top authors. Check out this article in the Wall Street Journal: Amazon Publishes Books by Top Authors, and Rivals Fret. Another article can be found in Publisher's Weekly: Koontz Inks Multibook Deal with Amazon Publishing.

The big news in publishing is that Amazon is now publishing top authors. Check out this article in the Wall Street Journal: Amazon Publishes Books by Top Authors, and Rivals Fret.Another article c…

12/29/2019

The Paid Publishing Guidebook for 2020 can be obtained free from the "Authors Publish" site.
http://bkussow.com/2019/12/29/the-paid-publishing-guidebook-for-2020/

The Paid Publishing Guidebook for 2020 can be obtained free from the “Authors Publish” site.

12/29/2019

I didn't know that China was so involved with American publishing until I read this New York Times article:
http://bkussow.com/2019/12/29/china-blocks-american-books-as-trade-war-simmers/

I didn’t know that China was so involved with American publishing until I read this New York Times article:

10/10/2019

Polish author Olga Tokarczuk and Austrian Peter Handke win Nobel Literature Prizes.

Two Nobel Prizes in literature were announced after the 2018 literature award was postponed following s*x abuse allegations that rocked the Swedish Academy.

10/10/2019

Carlos Lozada of the Washington Post wins Pulitzer Prize for book criticism:

Carlos Lozada, a Pulitzer Prize–winning critic at the Washington Post, on his reading process, the role of social media in his work, and more.

08/27/2019

Dealing with rejection is tough. Here's a good article on how to handle it: "How to Deal with Rejection" (from "Authors Publish").
http://bkussow.com/2019/08/27/how-to-handle-rejection/

Dealing with rejection is tough. Here’s a good article on how to handle it: “How to Deal with Rejection” (from “Authors Publish”).

08/19/2019

Amazon's loose policies promote illegitimate copies of George Orwell's books. This is alarming for writers in general. See article from ENM news, "Paging Big Brother; In Amazon's Bookstore, Orwell gets a Rewrite."
http://bkussow.com/2019/08/19/beware-of-counterfeit-books-on-amazon/

Amazon’s loose policies promote illegitimate copies of George Orwell’s books. This is alarming for writers in general. See article from ENM news, “Paging Big Brother; In Amazon& #8…

07/22/2019

What works for you in writing? A common rule is to write so many words every day. I've never been able to do that, partially because other things in my life interfere and partially because I sometimes don't feel like it. When I'm blocked, I often leave a story for a while, like days or weeks, to let things marinate. Then, I find I have a fresh perspective when I return to the story. [ 55 more words ]
http://bkussow.com/2019/07/22/writers-rules/

What works for you in writing? A common rule is to write so many words every day. I’ve never been able to do that, partially because other things in my life interfere and partially because I …

07/19/2019

Hooray, my second book has been accepted by Black Opal Books. It is a collection of writings, consisting of a novella and a few short stories. It should be released in 2020.
http://bkussow.com/2019/07/19/second-book-accepted/

Hooray, my second book has been accepted by Black Opal Books. It is a collection of writings, consisting of a novella and a few short stories. It should be released in 2020.

04/10/2019

Request a free copy of the National Poetry Month poster until mid-April; posters can be purchased for $5.00 each in our Poets shop thereafter (while supplies list).Sign up for Poem-a-Day and read a poem each morning.Sign up for Teach This Poem, a weekly series for teachers.Memorize a poem.

04/03/2019

I am so pleased to announce that my first novel has been accepted for publication by Black Opal Books.
http://bkussow.com/2019/04/03/announcement/

I am so pleased to announce that my first novel has been accepted for publication by Black Opal Books.

04/03/2019

Writers, beware!

Scams are rife, particularly when some authors can rake in thousands each month – but high-profile victims of plagiarism warn ‘day of reckoning is coming’

02/19/2019

When I was in the throes of writing my novel, I can’t say that I gave the question of its publication deep, analytic thought—although I can remember parroting the common line that it is difficult to get published. The novel was completed early in 2018, and I steeled myself to enter the world of submissions and rejections, all the while remaining… [ 746 more words ]
http://bkussow.com/2019/02/19/encounters-with-hybrid-publishing/

When I was in the throes of writing my novel, I can’t say that I gave the question of its publication deep, analytic thought—although I can remember parroting the common line that it is difficult t…

01/05/2019

Authors Publish magazine offers The Paid Publishing Guidebook for 2019 free as a download. It is also worthwhile to subscribe to the weekly emails offered by the magazine. I have gotten some good information about publishers from them.
http://bkussow.com/2019/01/05/free-paid-publishing-guidebook-for-2019/

Authors Publish magazine offers The Paid Publishing Guidebook for 2019 free as a download. It is also worthwhile to subscribe to the weekly emails offered by the magazine. I have gotten some good i…

12/26/2018

It's the day after Christmas, and I'm feeling cranky and irritable. I sure don't feel like cleaning up and storing saved gift bags and boxes in the basement crawl space. Every year we save them in the name of recycling, but many don't get used, so it's a false do-good feeling. Nor do I feel like putting the good dishes away and removing the red tablecloth from the dining room table. [ 231 more words ]
http://bkussow.com/2018/12/26/post-christmas-snark/

It’s the day after Christmas, and I’m feeling cranky and irritable. I sure don’t feel like cleaning up and storing saved gift bags and boxes in the basement crawl space. Every yea…

11/21/2018

I am sick and he is old, but a fierce affection binds us to each other and to this country house, which we will have to leave. When 21 years ago we first made our way down its sloping driveway alon…

11/16/2018

To contact me, go to my web site at www.bkussow.com and use the contact form.

11/15/2018

I started a new blog about thoughts on writing and publishing on my web site: www.bkussow.com. Hope some of you will find it of interest.

09/29/2018

I've thought about publishing an anthology of Still Crazy pieces. Does anyone have ideas about how to do an anthology?