As we release our third book and begin planning the fourth, Casey Shay Press is definitely expanding in new directions. The movement to ebooks and the shift in attitude toward independent publishing is helping this.
The big six publishers are in trouble, and they are well aware how authors are ready to take their futures in their own hands. We feel there will be a rush to self-publish for a while, and then authors will realize--it's hard work creating a good cover and formatting books correctly for digital devices.
At that point, many will be ready to get back to just writing. Not every sort of book is easy to e-publish, and it's no fun to spend a year writing a book only to see it sell a few copies to friends.
Small presses like mine will be there and ready for them. I have a wonderful team of copy editors and book designers, as well as photographers and artists. We love what we do.
The Mary Ballard Chapbook Series is our next new direction. We'll be publishing a chapbook each year in March. Once the winner is announced, the cover art will also be a contest. This will include cash prizes as well as hard copies and ebook versions--money flows toward the writers and artists here. Even if the rewards are not quite the six-figure-advance gambles the Big Six take, we recognize that all of us have invested time and talent in our work.
Lots of great articles on the shift of publishing from the legacy model to independents have come out in the past week. Take in a few:
The original conversation: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/03/ebooks-and-self-publishing-dialog.html
An agent's view: http://kidlitapps.com/2011/03/22/independent-publishing/
Another author's view: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=3640
A publishing consultant: http://www.idealog.com/blog/eislers-decision-is-a-key-benchmark-on-the-road-to-wherever-it-is-were-going
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Kids Show Kids How to Make Balloon Animals in Japan
Monday, February 14, 2011
Support the film Peekaboo!
A movie on the topic of stillbirth. Wow! It's called Peekaboo, and it's being made in the UK by award-winning Big Buddha Films with an amazing pair of lead actors. In the story, a mother loses her triplets, and the movie deals with the aftermath in her life.
Shooting begins in mid-March, so it's time to show them some support--time to say--it's ABOUT TIME to get this issue more out in the open!
What can you do?
1. "Like" them on Facebook. Leave a comment. Get the word spreading.
2. Get a copy of the DVD when it comes out by donating. There's no sure thing that it will be widely available to see, so ensure your copy right now by going to the Indie Go Go site where people like YOU help fund independent films. (They have just a few thousand dollars to go to be completely funded--they've already raised several thousand on their own.)
3. Already buying one of the Baby Memorial Books for your sweet angel? Casey Shay Press is donating $10 towards the filming of Peekaboo for every book sold through the end of February. That adds up fast! So GO, buy yours now! The book is $18.99 and is made specifically for babies lost to miscarriage or stillbirth, emphasizing the sweet memories of your pregnancy as well as having space for memorials and angelversaries. You don't have to do anything special, the donation happens automatically.
4. Take action, talk about this, and know you have done something for yourself, for your baby, and for the moms who will come after you. The more we do, the easier it will be for each successive generation of grieving mothers to talk about their babies. Remember how no one used to talk about breast cancer? Look at the pink explosion now. Let's make this happen for miscarriage and stillbirth too. We don't have to shut our mouths. Our babies were real, our grief is real, and we shouldn't just be quiet and get over it. The only way is to get involved.
Shooting begins in mid-March, so it's time to show them some support--time to say--it's ABOUT TIME to get this issue more out in the open!
What can you do?
1. "Like" them on Facebook. Leave a comment. Get the word spreading.
2. Get a copy of the DVD when it comes out by donating. There's no sure thing that it will be widely available to see, so ensure your copy right now by going to the Indie Go Go site where people like YOU help fund independent films. (They have just a few thousand dollars to go to be completely funded--they've already raised several thousand on their own.)
3. Already buying one of the Baby Memorial Books for your sweet angel? Casey Shay Press is donating $10 towards the filming of Peekaboo for every book sold through the end of February. That adds up fast! So GO, buy yours now! The book is $18.99 and is made specifically for babies lost to miscarriage or stillbirth, emphasizing the sweet memories of your pregnancy as well as having space for memorials and angelversaries. You don't have to do anything special, the donation happens automatically.
4. Take action, talk about this, and know you have done something for yourself, for your baby, and for the moms who will come after you. The more we do, the easier it will be for each successive generation of grieving mothers to talk about their babies. Remember how no one used to talk about breast cancer? Look at the pink explosion now. Let's make this happen for miscarriage and stillbirth too. We don't have to shut our mouths. Our babies were real, our grief is real, and we shouldn't just be quiet and get over it. The only way is to get involved.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
New video from our Balloon Book author
Elizabeth Chauffe, the co-author of Kids Show Kids How to Make Balloon Animals, saw that parents were posting to Amazon about how impossible it was to use the spinning plate kits.
Since she has a lot of experience juggling from Magic Camp, she decided to make a quick video showing kids how to spin a plate properly.
Since she has a lot of experience juggling from Magic Camp, she decided to make a quick video showing kids how to spin a plate properly.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Sale on the Angel book
Casey Shay Press has made its memorial book a flat $10 and its Angel bumper sticker $1 from now through Oct. 15. US Shipping is only $3.99 for both, but they ship anywhere. Go get yours!
See the book in this video (click on it to see it full screen).
Remember to light your candles at 7 p.m!
See the book in this video (click on it to see it full screen).
Remember to light your candles at 7 p.m!
Monday, May 10, 2010
New bumper sticker in honor of Mother's Day
We decided that it would be fun to create a bumper sticker in honor of all the angels we want to keep close to our hearts. Get yours!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
In the Company of Angels Release Day
I'm caught up in my tale, finally, and the day we put out the book Casey Shay Press was created to make has finally arrived.
To help pay for the print run, we did preorders of the book. We got about 1/3 of the cost covered before they arrived.
Of course the shipment had problems. New laws on importing books meant they got held up in customs for a couple weeks until the broker and I could get everything straight. This also meant the books that were preordered through the press didn't make it out in time for Christmas, which I had hoped for.
I sent the first shipment to Amazon and they just immediately began selling them rather than waiting for release day. But I was okay with that. The baby was here! Really here!
The trailer was shared so much during Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Month. I remember watching the stats and thinking--really? That many people?
I haven't even posted it. Here it is!
To help pay for the print run, we did preorders of the book. We got about 1/3 of the cost covered before they arrived.
Of course the shipment had problems. New laws on importing books meant they got held up in customs for a couple weeks until the broker and I could get everything straight. This also meant the books that were preordered through the press didn't make it out in time for Christmas, which I had hoped for.
I sent the first shipment to Amazon and they just immediately began selling them rather than waiting for release day. But I was okay with that. The baby was here! Really here!
The trailer was shared so much during Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Month. I remember watching the stats and thinking--really? That many people?
I haven't even posted it. Here it is!
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