BookSurge is Uniting With CreateSpace

Wow, this is NEWS! Here's an email from BookSurge to their clients:

We have some exciting news to share - BookSurge is becoming CreateSpace. BookSurge and CreateSpace have historically operated as two distinct brands of one company - On-Demand Publishing LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. - and are now uniting on the CreateSpace platform and brand to offer you an expanded catalog of publishing tools and services. You will still be working with the same team and receive the same high level of service to which you've been accustomed with BookSurge.

During the coming months, we will be transitioning all BookSurge accounts to CreateSpace and retiring the BookSurge brand. In addition, BookSurge's self-publishing services are now available on the CreateSpace platform, enabling BookSurge and CreateSpace members to benefit from the same knowledgeable staff that has supported BookSurge authors for years.

What does this mean for you?

In addition to the same personal customer care, professional publishing services, and top-notch print quality you receive today from the BookSurge team, you will also receive these benefits and options through CreateSpace:
• Get more flexibility in setting royalties and list prices
• Publish new books without setup fees, using the do-it-yourself option for print-ready PDF files or continue to take advantage of the wide array of professional fee-based publishing services you're accustomed to using through BookSurge
• Receive better wholesale book prices on most book orders
• Gather feedback on your work with the free Preview tool
• Create eye-catching book covers online using the free Cover Creator
• Network with thousands of other authors and industry professionals in our free online CreateSpace Community
• Publish video and audio in multiple formats: DVDs, CDs, video downloads, and MP3s

When and how will this transition take place?

We will be transitioning all BookSurge accounts to CreateSpace over the next few months. The timing and path of your account transition will depend on where you are in your current BookSurge publishing project. To learn more about the different paths for transition, visit our Transition Guide.

To make this transition as smooth and seamless as possible, we will be transferring your book files and account history to CreateSpace for you. On the day your account is transitioned, BookSurge will send you an e-mail with instructions for accessing your CreateSpace account. Until then, no action is required on your part and you will still have full access to your current Global Publishing System (GPS) account with BookSurge.
We know you may have some questions, so we have developed a Transition Guide, which includes a host of support materials, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions, info on your new CreateSpace account, video tutorials, and more.

While we want you to start familiarizing yourself with CreateSpace, please do not set up a new CreateSpace account on your own, as we will create a CreateSpace account for you as part of this transition. Please wait until you receive notification from us via e-mail that your account has been transitioned to CreateSpace, at which time we'll give you instructions on how to access your CreateSpace account and existing book titles. Until we notify you that your account has been transitioned to CreateSpace, you will still have access to your BookSurge account.

We believe uniting BookSurge and CreateSpace on the CreateSpace platform will provide you with the best possible publishing experience and look forward to continuing to support you in your book publishing endeavors.

We welcome you into CreateSpace's thriving community of independent authors, filmmakers and musicians!

Warm Regards,
The BookSurge/CreateSpace Team

The first thing that comes to my mind is less competition among Amazon's subsidiaries. What do you think this means for authors venturing onto the self-publishing road? Do you think this will increase the costs?

Karen

Martha Swirzinski, Children's Author

For VBT – Writers on the Move’s November 2009 Anniversary Tour we have three new members in our merry band of authors. It is my pleasure to host one of the newbies: Marth Swirzinski!

Let’s get to know Martha a little:

The holder of a Bachelor’s degree in therapeutic recreation from Clemson University and a master’s from the University of Maryland in Kinesiology, Ms. Martha Swirzinski has more than 15 years of experience working in the field of movement with children.  She is also a certified personal fitness trainer.  She currently lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her husband and two daughters.

“More and more research is being developed about the rise of obesity in children,” notes Ms. Swirzinski, who teaches movement education in a local pre-school and offers teacher training workshops and customized consultations.  At the same time, numerous studies continue to link increased brain function and movement, she explains.  “Being active grows new brain cells!” 

Ms. Swirzinski believes that every child should be afforded structured movement opportunities every day to promote an active, healthy lifestyle and become part of a lifelong regime.

It is along this vein that Ms. Swirzinski has published three children’s books focused on movement.  Using entertaining rhymes and charming pictures, these developmentally based books offer fun and creative ways for children to move while also providing mind stimulating activities on each page. By following the suggested activities, children can engage in 30-60 minutes of their recommended structured daily movement, as well as enhancing other mind/body skills. Designed to be enjoyed again and again, the pages of these books are filled with laughter, learning, movement and more.

Martha’s books are: “Leap… Laugh… Plop,” “Guess… Giggle… Wiggle,” and “Kick… Catch… Buzz”

Martha, creating children’s books that encourage movement and reading is such a great way to get children academically and physically engaged! Your book titles are wonderful. Let’s see what each is about:

1.)  Leap...Laugh...Plop                 

This book introduces children to locomotor movement skills. It keeps children laughing and learning on each wonderful page.  

2.) Guess… Giggle… Wiggle 

This book challenges children to identify the animals based on clues.  The book keeps children moving alongside the locomotor skills. As with the first in the series Leap… Laugh… Plop, each page of this second book is filled with wonderful suggestions that incorporate the social, emotional and mental aspects of childhood development.  

3.)  Kick...Catch...Buzzz

The third book In the series, Kick… Catch… Buzzz 
This book introduces children to the manipulative movement skills. Each page offers kids the opportunity to participate in fun movement and lively discussion.

These three books offer the ultimate mind/body connection. When children move both their bodies and minds are strengthened.

Martha, these books sound wonderful. They are on my “To Get” list for my grandsons.

To learn more about Martha and her books, please visit:

www.wholechildpublishing.com

www.movementplus.com

Well, that’s it for my touring part of the VBT – Writers on the Move November 2009 Anniversary Tour. I want to thank Martha for being my guest on this special tour. It’s great to have her as part of our group!

Be sure to take a look at the tour schedule, visit the hosts on their posting days, and leave comments – it will put you in the running for winning a prize!

To you authors out there, if you want to get your books noticed, create visibility and increase readership join our marketing group. If you are interested please contact: Karen at karenrcfv@yahoo.com.

You can also check out our site at: vbt-writersonthemove.blogspot  

Thanks for stopping by; please be sure to leave a comment!

Talk to you soon,

Karen

ONE YEAR Anniversary for VBT - Writers on the Move

Well, it's a YEAR! That's right, we have been cross-promoting and helping one another for a year now.

To celebrate this accomplishment, we will have a SUPER-DUPER Anniversary Tour!

The number before the host's name is the day in November that he/she will post in the tour.

But, before I explain more about it, here's the schedule:

1 Dianne Sagan is hosting Heidi Thomas

2 Harry Gilleland is hosting Karen Cioffi

3 Karen Cioffi is hosting Martha Swirzinki

4 Kathy Stemke is hosting Brigitte Thompson

5 Nancy Famolari is hosting Deborah Weed

 6 Margaret Fieland is hosting Elysabeth Eldering

7 Crystalee Calderwood is hosting Harry Gilleland

8 Katie Hines is hosting Heather Paye

9 Helena Harper is hosting Steve Tremp

10 Liana Metal is hosting Crystalee Calderwood

11 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is hosting Marvin Wilson

12 Gayle Trent is hosting Dianne Sagan

13 Mayra Calvani is hosting Carolyn Howard-Johnson

14 Marvin Wilson is hosting Gayle Trent

15 Linda Asato is hosting Mayra Calvani

16 Heather Paye is hosting Katie Hines

17 Steve Tremp is hosting Helena Harper

18 Elysabeth Eldering is hosting Linda Asato

19 Darcia Helle is hosting Liana Metal

20 Deborah Weed is hosting Nancy Famolari

21 Brigitte Thompson is hosting Margaret Fieland

22 Martha Swirzinki is hosting Darcia Helle

23 Heidi Thomas is hosting Kathy Stemke

Each day there will be prizes offered. All you have to do is leave a comment on the host's site on the day he/she is posting for their guest and you may a WINNER!

The Winner will have a choice of ONE of 2 or 3 books of our members or other related gifts, OR a one day guest spot on THIS site!

Prizes being given away EVERY Day from November 1st through November 23rd!

OH! Wait a minute! That's not all! We are still having our Mystery Site Giveaway and the SUPER-DUPER PRIZE is a $25 (US) GIFT CARD to either Amazon, Target, or an American Express Gift Card. I'll know for sure by the end of this month.

Winners will be notified the day after each posting. The Mystery Site Winner will be notified Sunday, November 29th.

Come celebrate with us and maybe be the WINNER of a great gift in the process.

Hope to see you in the TOUR!

Karen

Sylvan Dell Publishing Website Blogroll

Extraordinary things do happen!

This site has the honor of being listed on Sylvan Dell's Website Blogroll!!!!!!!

It's under Blogroll - SD's Blogroll - Blog Categories - Children's Books

http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/Blogroll.htm

This link takes you right to the Blog Categories.

I couldn't be more excited and wanted to share it with my readers!

Karen

The Muse Online Writers Conference

Wow, what a week. I can't begin to convey all the information, advice and tips that were zooming around this conference.

The Muse Conference is an amazing concept. I will plug it from now until next year's is at our doorstep. It is an astounding opportunity for writers to learn their craft, or a new one, get advice and tips, network, and move forward in their careers.

Before this week I didn't realize that Lea Schizas and Carolyn Howard-Johnson actually thought of disabled writers who can't attend conference in person and writers who can't afford to go to them when they considered joining forces to attempt this wonderful and arduous undertaking. This type of altruistic act is a blessing for those in these categories. It allows us to partake of the knowledge and experience of wonderful writers, authors, editors, marketers, and publishers. And, it gives us the opportunity to get professional critiques of pieces of our writing within some of the workshops offered.

But hold on, if this isn't enough, you are given the opportunity to PITCH YOUR WORK!

I couldn't be more thankful and appreciative of Lea and Carolyn's time, effort, expense, and the obvious caring that goes into these amazing conferences.

So, what am I actually saying here? Simple: Sign up for next year's Muse Online Writers Conference as soon as you can!

Registration opens in November; I'll post a link here when it's available.

And, while it is absolutely FREE, if you can afford to please help out with the conferences by donating whatever you can - even a dollar is something!

Did you find it as fantastic as I did? I'd love to know.

Well, that's it for now,

Karen

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Update

There seems to be a great deal of apprehension about the FTC's update to their Guide concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, including bloggers. This update, which took effect this month, has a number of writers, specifically book reviewers, a little concerned.

Like most of us, at first I thought it was a means of the government reaching out to create havoc with online reviewers and the books they receive in their work. Any product a reviewer receives must be disclosed along with the review. As compensation was mentioned, I figured it wouldn’t be long before the government decided reviewers needed to list the review books or products as income.

After reading the FTC’s 12 page document, I think I had it wrong. I have no problem with a reviewer having to disclose the source of his or her review product. Receiving a product to review does not ensure the reviewer will give a good review. And, I’m not sure the FTC is concerned with book reviews.

As a courtesy to this site's readers here is the FTC’s Press Release pertaining to the changes:

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials
Changes Affect Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm
October 5, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has approved final revisions to the guidance it gives to advertisers on how to keep their endorsement and testimonial ads in line with the FTC Act.

The notice incorporates several changes to the FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, which address endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities, as well as the disclosure of important connections between advertisers and endorsers. The Guides were last updated in 1980.

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.

Celebrity endorsers also are addressed in the revised Guides. While the 1980 Guides did not explicitly state that endorsers as well as advertisers could be liable under the FTC Act for statements they make in an endorsement, the revised Guides reflect Commission case law and clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement – or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers. The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.

The Guides are administrative interpretations of the law intended to help advertisers comply with the Federal Trade Commission Act; they are not binding law themselves. In any law enforcement action challenging the allegedly deceptive use of testimonials or endorsements, the Commission would have the burden of proving that the challenged conduct violates the FTC Act.

The Commission vote approving issuance of the Federal Register notice detailing the changes was 4-0. The notice will be published in the Federal Register shortly, and is available now on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release. Copies also are available from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,700 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Betsy Lordan
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-3707

STAFF CONTACT:
Richard Cleland
Bureau of Consumer Protection
202-326-3088

You can read about the changes in the document itself at:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf

I'm not a lawyer, but I think for the time being book reviewers are safe.

I'd love to know what your views are.

Talk to you soon,
Karen

VBT - Writers on the Move October Viewpoint

Elysabeth Eldering is this month's Viewpoint host. Her article The difference Between Children's/MG/tweener/and YA is posed on her site now.

Here's a bit from Elysabeth's article:

There are no clear definitions as some YAs will overlap into MG and vice versa. There are age limits but even those don't seem to be true boundaries in distinguishing the two genres. [...] So how is one to define the markers between MG, tweens and YA? As an author, I think content plays a big role.

Publisher, Vivian Zabel, left an wonderful explanation in the comments. Stop on by and let us know your opinion.

Karen