Books Read by Famous People [infographic]

October 13, 2015April 6, 2018 Karen WilliamsBooks

Successful and famous people aren’t just good at doing things that they specialize in but they also read books. These books often have a big impact on their personal lives and to what they have achieved in their life in a specified industry. These reads have inspired their lives and have also helped them deal with the circumstances of life at present moment.

Below is an interesting infographic that shows the bookshelves of some famous personalities, including the Genius man, Einstein. But before that, we encourage you as well to take a look at Favobooks, an interesting resource for readers who would like to discover and explore some interesting reading suggestions by some of the great thinkers, businessmen, politicians and other influential and successful people. Things like, Steve Jobs’ reading list, Bill Gates: Top 10 books to read and so much more. You’ll surely be able to discover plenty of great books that you should be reading or should have read before. But you don’t have to worry, it isn’t too late yet because these book recommendations are still available on the market.

Anyway, here’s an infographic that shows the bookshelves of some famous people.

From Visually.

Have you read these books too?

Your Self-Publishing Services Options

October 12, 2015April 6, 2018 Karen WilliamsPublishing

There are several good reasons why many authors prefer to self-publish. First, they are able to retain the rights of their work. Next is, they take full control of their content and the marketing of it and lastly, they are able to retain the revenues from the sold books.

Considering that there are many writers now who would like to self-publish, we’ve listed below some self-publishing services to choose from:

Blurb

A popular self-publishing platform for photography-based books (full color and black and white). Blurb lets their user to create, self-publish, promote and sell their books. The author can also set their own prices, therefore, they’re able to select their very own profit margin.

CreateSpace

If you would like to take advantage of Amazon’s popularity, you probably would like to choose CreateSpace which is part of Amazon group of companies. CreateSpace is not just for book authors but are also perfect for filmmakers and musicians. Authors are also allowed to choose their own royalty when they publish via CreateSpace. After your book is uploaded on CreateSpace, it will be available on the market within hours and you get between 35% and 70% of sales.

Lulu

One of the best services the Lulu can offer to users is their free consultation . Yes, they offer free consultation for your books. They also have paid services like ISBN purchasing and distribution, book design, and formatting. Authors can also set their profits by choosing their own royalties and Lulu gets a small portion from your sales.

Smashwords

Smashwords will publish anything and they only need your manuscript and you’re good to go. Plus your work gets available in various formats like ePub, mobi, PDF, etc. With smashwords, authors and publishers also get the highest return which is 85% of the sales.

For more list of Self-publishing services, check out Wikipedia’s list.

What self-publishing services are you using?

Share on the comments below.

Questions to ask your Literary Agent

October 9, 2015April 6, 2018 Karen WilliamsPublishing

If you want your book to get published on a traditional publishing house, take note that you need a literary agent to represent you and your book. However, getting accepted by a traditional publisher is as hard as getting a good literary agent. Someone that will truly be interested in you and your book and won’t just be looking into the money that’s in your pocket.

In order to get to know your agent really well, you need to ask him few questions. Questions that you consider very important when it matters to this business. In case a literary agent has a website, try visiting his website and read some details provided on his website. Some information that you wanted to know about them are sometimes available on their website particularly in the “About” page.

Here are few important questions that you have to ask to a literary agent.

How much experience you have as a literary agent?

First of all, you need to know how much experience they have as a literary agent. That will include the years and their specialties. Just like an author, literary agent also have their very own specialties when it comes to book genres that they can handle very well. See to it that he is the right agent for your book. Established agents usually have more connections and will be able to find a good place to introduce your book.

Do you work in an agency or you work independently?

Before you commit to an agent, make sure you know who is going to handle your book. Some agents, especially those that are working with big agencies will let an assistant handle the work rather than doing it themselves. However, if you work with an independent agent, he’ll be able work on your book personally.

Are you a member of Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR)?

It’s good to know if the literary agent you plan to work with is member of certain Association like AAR, a nonprofit organization for professional literary agents. If an agent is a member of AAR, he must follow it’s requirements and adhere to its bylaws and ethics. Therefore, he is a very ideal agent to have.

Great List of Non-Fiction Books for Teenagers

October 8, 2015April 6, 2018 Karen WilliamsBooks

More than just fiction romances, teens also crave for inspiring non-fiction books. Just like adults, they also need some reads that could help improve their personal lives and could inspire them in many ways. Because teen’s life are full of exciting and challenging adventures, it’s just good for them to have something that will make them laugh, cry and think. Teenage years is the year where young girls and boys become more acquainted to life outside the family and home. They become more closer to their friends than their siblings, they tell some (small) lies in order to attend parties, sometimes they become rebellious and in some cases, you find it hard to talk to them personally. Well, these things are normal when they reached this level and because of this, it’s a good idea that there are books which they can read if they need some help, inspiration and wisdom without talking to their parents or elders.

Here are our picks for non-fiction books for teenagers:

7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, by Sean Covey

– a life changing read perfect for today’s teenagers. This book will help teens deal with success and disappointments and will teach them how to be optimistic in life.

Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina, by Michaela DePrince and Elaine DePrince

– a book about strength, determination and hope. This will not only inspire the hopeful talents but also those that share a mother and daughter relationship.

Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year, by Demi Lovato

– teens have so many fears in life, so this book will perfectly inspire teens on how to become fearless particularly in achieving their dreams in life.

Laughing at My Nightmare, by Shane Burcaw

– very engaging and an eye-opener book that will make you laugh. This is a very touching true-to-life story of Burcaw’s life in a wheelchair.

Self-Help Books You Should Read

October 7, 2015April 6, 2018 Karen WilliamsBooks

Aside from non-fiction stories, do you also read books that help improve your life?
Yes, I am talking about self-help books. I know some of you are dealing with so many difficulties in life. Your relationship with your colleagues, friends and families are being threatened because it’s just so hard for you to mingle with them or perhaps you’re afraid to take risks because don’t know how to deal with failures. These are some of your issues that many people, including you, are experiencing in their lives right now.

What seems to be the problem?

You might be asking yourself, “Why?” “What’s wrong with me?“, “How do I deal with this?” You have so many questions in your life. You lose control of everything which may result into a big mess. That is why self- help books are here to help improve the various aspects of your life.

Here are some of must-read self-help books that you should read.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey
A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles” by Marianne Williamson
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
CHATTER: Small Talk, Charisma, and How to Talk to Anyone (The People Skills, Communication Skills, and Social Skills You Need to Win
Friends and Get Jobs) by Patrick King
Think and Grow Rich: The Original 1937 Unedited Edition – Napoleon Hill
Courage to Change: One Day at a Time in Al-Anon II by Al-Anon Family Group Head Inc.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Do you have something that you can suggest? Share in the comments below.

Writing Tools Used by Your Favorite Authors [infographic]

October 6, 2015April 6, 2018 Karen WilliamsPublishing

Who doesn’t know Stephen King’s epic story “It”? or J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series? I bet you’re familiar with these stories and perhaps, you’ve had read these famous books. But did you know that these famous authors are using old-fashioned writing methods to create stories? Yes they do!

Despite the latest technologies available today, these writers still love and appreciates the traditional methods of writing.

Here is a very interesting info-graphic from NinjaEssays that reveals the traditional writing tools used by our favorite authors.