Describes the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing, and provides advice on subject selection, research, book design and manufacture, advertising, marketing, publicity, promotion, and distribution.
Tom and Marilyn Ross – and their passion for self-publishing – have been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, Success, Entrepreneur, U.S. News & World Report, and dozens of other national magazines and newspapers. After self-publishing six books, this husband and wife team began giving nationwide writing and publishing seminars to share what they had learned about the process. Numerous requests for individual guidance led to the creation of their consulting service, About Books, Inc. Since 1978, they have helped thousands of authors, entrepreneurs, professionals, corporations, and associations successfully self-publish.
Their companion book to the award-winning Complete Guide to Self-Publishing is Jump Start Your Book Sales, which continues to rack up rave reviews. Marilyn’s Shameless Marketing for Brazen Hussies is raising eyebrows – and ringing cash registers – from coast to coast.
These busy professionals have been on the faculty of Folio’s New York Face-to-Face conference, lectured at colleges and universities, and been invited to key-note and give seminars for regional writing, publishing, and speaking associations all across the United States and Canada.
Tom Ross has masterminded promotional campaigns that creative extensive print, radio, and TV coverage, and opened doors for national book distribution. Tom specializes in helping clients project analysis, editing, production, computerization, and developing nationwide book marketing campaigns.
Marilyn Ross is the award-winning author of twelve nonfiction books, hundreds of articles, and a monthly newsletter. She currently heads Communication Creativity – the Rosses’ publishing imprint that produces their other books.
This pair also serve as senior associates of the prestigious Center for the New West, “a think tank that casts its visionary net over the vast economic and cultural landscape …” according to The Christian Science Monitor. They are both listed in the twenty-fourth edition of Who’s Who in the West. Between them, this dynamic pair is also included in Who’s Who of American Women, The World Who’s Who of Women, International Businessmen’s Who’s Who, and Men and Women of Distinction.
Their writing careers are detailed in The Working Press of the Nation; Who’s Who in U.S. Writers, Editors & Poets; The International Authors and Writers Who’s Who; and Contemporary Authors. Both also belong to the Author’s Guild, the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and the National Speakers Association.
In 1996, they launched SPAN, a nonprofit trade association for authors, self-publishers, and independent presses. The Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN) has become the second largest such organization in the world.
About Books, Inc. (ABI), the publishing and book marketing firm founded in 1979 by Marilyn and Tom, provides service to individuals and organizations that seek to successfully publish and promote their books. The Rosses handle all aspects of book editing, design, production, and marketing. Since ABI works strictly as a consultant, authors retain all rights to their work, own all copies of their books, and reap 100 percent of the profits. Marilyn and Tom have a proven track record of producing attractive books and result-getting promotion and publicity.
