Self Publishing Q&A with Adilah Barnes

Author Adilah Barnes talks about having her book, On My Own Terms: One Actor’s Journey, self-published with Xlibris.


How did you first come to learn of Xlibris, and what made you decide to publish with Xlibris?

I heard of Xlibris from a former acting student of mine, Pamela Durant-Aubrey who was an employee of Xlibris at the time. Unfortunately, by the time I moved forward with Xlibris as my publisher, Pamela had left. I had counted on her being there to support me in the process but though she was gone, I did have a team at Xlibris who supported me along the way until my book was completed and printed.


How was your publishing experience with Xlibris?

Quite honestly, I met a number of challenges along the way (ie editing issues, printing issues, etc). However, in the end, we turned out a well-presented book of quality!


What do you think is the most important thing to consider when you choose a self-publishing company?

The company, package, process and support team.


Is there anything that you would like to pass on to other writers who are presently entertaining the idea of self-publishing their book?

Yes, make sure you are clear on what your book is about, that there is an audience and market for your work, do the research needed, have an editor and allow the time to complete the process with excellence.


Would you recommend Xlibris to others?

Many have appreciated the quality of my book and have asked who my publisher is. I have referred others and one has a contract with Xlibris now. At the same time, I have also impressed on them the importance of double-checking the work and working closely with your team to get the excellence they desire.

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Kiwi on a Cloud: Self Published Mystery/Adventure Novel

Perky Debbie McWard, New Zealand adventure travel guide, dodges two former lovers, flirts with a hesitant widower, Gil Rocklin, and copes with raucous investigative reporter, Frank Ferret, among her travelers.

Romances give way to fear, as a tourist is murdered, and another is falsely blamed. Debbie discovers that an indicted Yugoslavian war criminal, Ratac "the Butcher" Bymarovitch, is disguised and hiding among her trampers. But among six possible suspects, who?

The most terrifying question is why, of all the tours in the world, one of the world’s most hunted criminals specifically sought out Debbie’s tour group in which to hide, plot, and murder.

Only Debbie, her friends, and two small children can thwart the Butcher’s killing and his rekindling of the Balkan wars.

Surprises sizzle in Croatia, Slovenia, and New Zealand.

Kiwi on a Cloud: A Murder Mystery Novel is a self-published mystery story written by Norm Aspen.

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Publish Your Book at Half Price Starting this November

Christmas Comes Early with Xlibris’ 50% Off Services Sale
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As early as November, Xlibris, the leader in the self-publishing industry, gets into the spirit of giving with a 50% off all publishing, marketing and add-on services. Xlibris offers a wide variety of publishing packages starting at $299. Each package offers various combinations of publishing, editorial and marketing services for a customized self-publishing experience.

With the November Sale Xlibris’ line-up now starts at $199 for both full-color and black and white services. Looking for an affordable gift idea for people that are hard to buy for? Xlibris’ publishing services are fully transferable and would make a truly unique gift that will last a lifetime.

Xlibris boasts the widest range of marketing and add-on services available on the market today covering multiple media formats including videos, podcasts and eBooks. Whether the desired target audience is regional, national or international Xlibris’ extensive range of services work together to deliver a complete customized book marketing solution. For the month of November, Xlibris is offering all services at half price.

Xlibris 50% off sales runs for a limited time only and will expire November 25th. It does not apply to book orders or book galleries.

Get more information on Xlibris Publishing and Marketing Services. You can also call 1-888-795-4274.

Answers to Swine Flu Questions Presented in Self Published Book

Dr. F.J. Sawaya address issues and concerns surrounding the H1N1 influenza outbreak.


News of the swine flu spread all over the world are still make headlines to this day even as medical professionals scramble to find the vaccine to the H1N1 influenza.

In Southern California, some doctors have expressed frustration over parents who have barraged their offices with calls to have their children vaccinated. These calls have probably come in after reports of a shortage of the H1N1 vaccine broke out.

A spokesperson for the State Health Department, Claudia Hutton, said concentration of vaccination efforts should be directed on pregnant women and children. "Since the vaccine is so scarce right now and since the virus has proved especially difficult for pregnant women and young people — there have been deaths — we felt that the best use of the scarce amount of vaccine right now is for those populations," Hutton said.

With the urgency of having more supply of the swine flu vaccine, things have now turned into a race of finding an answer to the H1N1 menace.

Dr. F.J. Sawaya understands this urgency and this author emphasizes that on the self-published book, The Medical-Chemical Answer for Swine Flu & Avian-Flu. Sawaya gives a factual analysis of and detailed information on the H1N1 virus and the swine flu outbreak of 2009.

Release on September 11, 2009, this self-published title comes at a time when medical professionals and researchers need all the help they can get to find the medical and chemical answers to the swine flu.

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Author Looks at the Life of Barack Obama in Self Published Book

Young Sop Ahn delves into the life of the US President and gives ideas why Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.


President Barack Obama has been recently named as the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner, much to the surprise and amazement of not only the whole world but also the Nobel Peace Prize committee.

The decision brought controversy into the life of Thorbjørn Jagland, the chairman of the five-member committee who honored Obama with the prize. Jagland has been accused of personally pushing the choice for the award.

However, Lars Halvor Mageroy, commentary editor at Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang defends the decision: "It's easy to see why a great visionary like Obama appeals to Jagland. People say that vision is all that Obama has to show at this point, but Jagland is a politician who finds that aspect of politics to be of great significance."

Perhaps it was Obama's quality as a visionary that appealed to Jagland or perhaps he looked at what the US President overcame and went through in his life on the way to the presidency. Regardless, Obama's life with or without the Nobel Peace Prize has so far been a success.

This is something Young Sop Ahn knows and has chronicled in the self-published book, How Obama Made It?: A Layman’s Guide. Ahn delves into the life of the first ever African-American President of the United States and how he has made it into the White House.

For many young people all over the world, President Obama is seen a role model but relatively few seem to know about the basic details of his success story. This self-published book has been written as a guide for layman, covering Obama's entire life from his birth up to the inauguration as US President and his first 100 days in office.

How Obama Made It?: A Layman’s Guide presents a few good reasons why the US President deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Marketing Guru Shows How You Can Brand Your Way to Success in Self Published Book

Rick Balsiger explains the role of branding to help you ace the job market.


Conquering the job market today can be overwhelming, even scary. Competition is getting more intense and expectations have become greater.

Seeing yourself as a job applicant who merely posts a resume anywhere you can and then wait for a call is already a thing of the past. To really help you get a leg up on the job market, you need to sell yourself with what you are capable of and what you can offer.

Marketing yourself, much like a brand or a product, is a tough and constant challenge. This is why the right strategy and execution can mostly enhance your chance for success.

Rick Balsiger’s self-published book, Branding You Marketing You provides realistic approaches on boosting your chance of success in today’s highly competitive job market. Loaded with juicy information written in a concise manner, this book shows you how you can effectively brand, market and sell yourself, so you can pave your way to success.

Branding You Marketing You shows you how to conquer the job market with confidence and the power to ace the race.


About the Author
Rick Balsiger is the President of BALSIGER Partners LLC, a consultancy firm specializing in Executive Search, Brand Integration and Organization Design. The book author has held executive leadership and senior management roles for more than 30 years, with extensive experience in Sales, Marketing and Advertising.

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Self Published Author Looks Into the Child Obesity Trend in His Xlibris Release

T. Allan Brenner reveals childhood obesity as an increasingly alarming trend worldwide and presents solutions to curb it.


Obesity in children has become increasingly common not just in the United States but all over the world. The World Health Organization has considered child obesity a global epidemic.

Studies show that obese children are most likely to carry this condition until adulthood. In fact, they are more prone to a plethora of health problems. Chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic disease and certain types of cancer also develop in childhood as well.

Aside from health problems, obese children tend to have low self-esteem, as they are often teased. They also become left out of social activities because they move about slow. This makes them susceptible to depression. Left untreated, obesity can be fatal to one’s health.

With the right diet and exercise, this condition can be treated. This is where the role of parents comes in. They should serve as positive role models for their child and give all the support and encouragement possible.

T. Allan Brenner’s self-published book, The Childhood Obesity Dilemma, critically looks at child obesity and presents realistic solutions to curb this growing trend. This book is a must-read not only for parents, but also for community leaders and policy makers as well.


About the Author
T. Alan Brenner holds a Master of Arts in Education and has taught health and physical education at both the elementary and secondary school levels. A former competitive amateur athlete, coach, and fitness counselor, T. Alan currently teaches k-8 physical education and is a high school athletic official in Chicago, Illinois, where he resides with his family.

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Xlibris Launches Podcast Marketing Service for Self Published Authors

Be interviewed. Be recorded. Be heard on iTunes. The leader in the self-publishing industry introduces its Podcast Marketing Packages.


Podcasts have become a major tool used by musicians in promoting their music online, movie critics for airing their film reviews, technology enthusiasts for sharing instructional videos on the latest tech gadgets and, more recently, as a way for authors to talk about their books.

Xlibris, the leader in the independent publishing industry, introduces their Podcast Marketing Packages. Specifically created for Xlibris published authors, this marketing tool enables them to promote their books while sharing their vision as a writer and the purpose of their work.

With the Xlibris Podcast Marketing Packages, a recorded interview with the author will be spliced into five episodes. These interviews will be saved as MP3 files, which can easily be share with friends, family and the rest of their network.

These podcasts will also be published one episode at a time on a weekly basis on the Xlibris Podcast website at www.xlibrispodcasts.com and distributed to leading podcast sites like iTunes, Zune, Podcast Alley, Odeo and Podcast.com.

The Xlibris Podcast Marketing Packages start at $4,999 and authors can choose from three optimized packages that suit their particular book marketing and promotional needs. For more information visit the Xlibris Podcasts website or email marketing.consultants@xlibris.com.


About Xlibris
Xlibris was founded in 1997 and, as the leading publishing services provider for authors, has helped to publish more than 20,000 titles. Xlibris is based in Bloomington, IN and provides authors with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound, and full-color formats.

For more information, please visit the book publisher's website, e-mail pressrelease@xlibris.com or call at 1-888-795-4247, to receive a free publishing guide.

Self Published Author Gives an Inside Look at NASDAQ

The United States economy has recently started to look up and look healthy. With statements from the Federal Reserve and the Federal Open Market Committee supporting such optimism, Americans are wondering just how fast the economy can fully recover and how reliable the stock market is as a thermometer of the nation's economic temperature.

As an indicator of economic growth, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) is also the gauge used by businessmen and stock traders to buy and sell in the financial market and to determine the condition of the economy. Many people - in the US and abroad - have been stung by the NASDAQ bug and have either met financial success or went bankrupt with their investments.

Author Yitzhak Y. Salomon understands the attraction to the stock market and he shares his fiscal expertise in the self-published book, Is There Life Beyond the NASDAQ?: An Antidote to the Stock Market Blues.

Salomon, an analyst with a major Wall Street firm, supplies his readers with the perfect antidote to insulate oneself from the debilitating NASDAQ fever. His Xlibris published book takes a look at the recent roller coaster ride of the financial markets and how it has driven many people crazy. But the author presents a way to maintain one's sanity and equilibrium in the precarious world of market upheavals.

Is There Life Beyond the NASDAQ? explains that there is potential for a meaningful life beyond the NASDAQ, as Salomon shares the lessons he learned from his life as a market analist.

With the upward trend of the US economy, this book is a timely must-read for anyone wanting to wade their way through the ebbs and flows of the stock market.

Is There Life Beyond the NASDAQ?: An Antidote to the Stock Market Blues is published by Xlibris.


About Xlibris
Xlibris was founded in 1997 and, as the leading book publishing services provider for authors, has helped to publish more than 20,000 titles. Xlibris is based in Bloomington, IN and provides authors with direct and personal access to quality publication in hardcover, trade paperback, custom leather-bound, and full-color formats.

Find out more about how to publish a book.

Lawyer Presents Courtroom Advice to Child Abuse Advocacy in Self Published Book

Children’s rights advocates and professionals working in Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) spend a great deal of their lives working to help victims of child abuse. CACs implement a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate, treat and prevent sexual and physical abuse of children.

However, allegations of child abuse are settled in the court and CAC centers often lack qualified legal counsel to make the legal process flow. Thus, professionals may find the rigors of the courtroom rather confusing and complicated.

This prompted lawyer Andrew Agatston to self-publish the book, The Legal Eagles of Children’s Advocacy Centers. The Xlibris published book is a collection of Agatston’s legal letters to CACs, child advocates and detectives that helps pave a path toward becoming Legal Eagles.

People working in Children’s Advocacy Centers will find this self-published book useful as it provides an overview of, and addresses many legal concerns CACs may face. The Legal Eagles of Children’s Advocacy Centers can help to better improve the legal system’s response to child abuse as well as programs that serve these children.


About the Author
Andrew Agatston is a private lawyer in Marietta, Georgia. He represents crime victims in civil litigation. Since 1999, Agatston has been providing pro bono legal service to SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center (Marietta, Georgia) in different aspects of trial practice. He has also provided legal services for other CACS in metro Atlanta area since 2006 as well. Agatston is also available for related trainings across the country.

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