Bill Ruesch is the founder of The Red Hen Association of Self-Publishing Authors, Inc. and the primary blogger for Chicken Scratchings.
With the exception of a five year stint in the life insurance business, Bill has been in or around the printing, advertising, and marketing businesses for some 35 plus years. For the past 20 years he has been self-employed as a printing broker.
He was attracted to publishing, in particular to self-publishing, because he wrote a book of fiction for young adult readers. As a printing professional he knew the ins and out of book production, he could practically do that in his sleep, but what would he do with a pile of printed books was the question. How does one go about the tasks of distributing and selling books. His research led him to the idea of creating an association of fellow self-publishers who could help one another develop their businesses and establish credibility in the publishing world.
Welcome to The Red Hen Association of Self-Publishing Authors, Inc.
The Little Red Hen children’s story is a parable of self-reliance. No animal in the barnyard would help her in her quest to plant a wheat seed, grow the wheat, harvest it, or take it to the mill. No one would assist her to prepare the dough, or cook the bread, but everyone, of course, wanted to eat it. The Red Hen epitomizes the plight of self-publishing authors. In today’s competitive book climate most will either have to do it themselves, or forgo publishing entirely.
Would you like to do it yourself, or do it yourself?
Traditional publishers can only handle a minute portion of books authored each year and those that they do accept, often come with agreements for the author to have active hands-on involvement in sales and promotions. Some authors believe that if they must do the work themselves anyway, why share the bread?
Successful self-publishing is learned–it is not innate.
It is the belief of The Red Hen Association that knowledge, skills, and motivation needed for self-publishing can be taught, and more importantly, we can teach one another.
The Red Hen Association of Self-Publishing Authors, Inc. has been formed for the purpose of giving self-publishers respect and a voice. Toward that end we intend to:
- Provide educational opportunities for authors to learn how create and run a successful self-publishing businesses, from inception to completion.
- Teach authors how to create products that will compare favorably with any produced by traditional publishers.
- Advise authors against scams and deceptions that are so pervasive on the Internet and elsewhere.
- Create a seal of approval that will become recognized as a symbol of quality and integrity.
- Strengthen and promote self-publishers by providing marketing opportunities and opening previously slammed doors.
- Work toward removing the stigma of self-publishing as a lesser-than, or desperate method of publishing
Membership in the Association is FREE–be sure to join today.
Thank you for visiting our site. Membership in the association is free, as is the blog. Educational opportunities and materials will be available for those members who want to take advantage of them. Please be sure to join us. The more cackling there is, the stronger our voice becomes, and the more we will all be able to do to promote the self-publishing cause. Comments, questions, and observations are encouraged.
To register for free news and information go to the Join Us tab at the top of this page.
The following interview was conducted by JOHN DIPIETRO.
John DiPietro is a world class speaker and marketer based in the Boston area. Here you can learn sales and marketing techniques to build your business. To get to John DiPietro’s blog just follow this link.
The Casey Sherman Interview…..Info that every writer needs to know
Its has been said that everyone has a “book in them.” That is probably true. But the writing of the book is only part of the equation says noted writer Casey Sherman. The promoting of the book after it is in print is vital to the success of the book. Many authors are not comfortable with that aspect of the business and its hurts their chances of greater success, says Sherman.
Listen to what he has to say:
