Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

Top of the morning to you. Here's another big award sponsored by Amazon, Createspace and the Penguin Group. Publishers Weekly is the reviewing sponsor. Grand prize is $15,000! It's for fiction only so I can't enter for this one but I wish you guys who do all the best. Please click here for details of this BIG contest...You have to move fast on this one as the entry period only lasts till February 7th or when they get 5,000 entries for each category: General Fiction and Young Adult Fiction.

Have a blessed week.

Folake.

Writer's Digest Writing Competition!

Writer's Digest is at it again: 79th Annual Writing Competition. Click here for more information and how to enter.


GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors or agents.

Submit your manuscript for a chance to win a trip for you and a guest to New York, where you’ll spend three days and two nights in the publishing capital of the world. While you’re there, a Writer’s Digest editor will escort you to share your work with four editors or agents.

The Grand Prize manuscript, the First Place manuscript in each category, and the names of the top 100 winners in each category will be printed in a special competition collection. Reserve your copy of the 79th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition Collection.

Compete to Win in 10 Categories:
1. Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
2. Memoirs/Personal Essay
3. Magazine Feature Article
4. Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
5. Mainstream/Literary Short Story
6. Rhyming Poetry
7. Non-Rhyming Poetry
8. Stage Play
9. Television/Movie Script
10. Children's/Young Adult Fiction



All the best.

Folake.

Block of ISBNs now less expensive!

Good morning to you my people! It had been rumored toward the end of last year that ISBN cost was going to be cheaper in 2010. Well, guess what? It is so! This only applies to the block of 10 ISBNs however.

It is $250 for a block of 10 when purchased from My Identifiers which is the link where you can also purchase a single ISBN or an ISBN and bar code. The cost for these still remain at $125 and $150 respectively however. On this site, you get your ISBNs immediately. There is no $30 Reg fee here.


When purchased online with the normal processing timeframe of 3 weeks, a block of 10 ISBNs is now $245 from RR Bowker. For those who were not in the "know" it used to cost $325. It may not seem like a big difference but believe me, it is! Every little help or break one can get counts...Now, if you can split that block with someone...(There's also a $30 Reg fee which makes the total cost for a block of 10 ISBNs $275). The cost is higher for express processing etc.

The barcodes are $25 each with bulk discount available.

Basically, it's like getting 10 ISBNs for the price of 2. Now, who would not want to take advantage of that and just keep writing? Pls let me know if you would like to split a block of ISBNs with me!!! Click here to email me.

Thank you RR Bowker!

Folake

Update/ Workshop rescheduled

Hi all,
Unfortunately, the workshop initially slated for this weekend was cancelled. No worries though. It will be rescheduled for sometime in April and I'm still looking forward to it.
Meanwhile, I have at least 4 Book Signings scheduled in the next 2 months which is a blessing. 3 of those are in February alone. I guess I'll really be celebrating Black History Month by trying to make a change in my own little way!
Watch this space and please keep giving for Haiti recovery. They will continue to need us for months if not years to come to recover from this devastation.
One world!

Folake.

CTB Radio/ Author Exposure Book Club

CTB Radio stands for Catch That Book Radio! I had the good fortune of coming accross Traci Green, the talk show host on Blogtalkradio and she is doing wonderful things in the area of putting out word about new authors. I am scheduled to be on her radio show on February 17th @ 12:30pm. They also have an online book club, Author Exposure Book Club. Here are the links:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/catch-that-book

http://ctbradio.ning.com/

http://www.authorexposure.com/

http://twitter.com/radiopublicity

Watch this space for more info!

Folake.

Book Signing Success

I am so thankful for the turn out at the book signing today. Thanks y'all! It went well and the Borders store staff said and I quote: "You blew it out the water..." Trying to arrange for a second one at another Borders and working the system till they carry my book!

I am tired though. Selling is hard work. I had to do the same spill over and over and stand for 4 hours straight. It was no joke. But the success of it made it all worth while.

To see more pictures of the event, please click here and scroll down to archived events.

Have a blessed week y'all.

Folake.

AAMBC

That stands for African Americans on the Move Book Club. The organization was founded by Tamika Newhouse in 2008. They are doing a lot to support new and self published authors. At the moment, they are offering a free 30 second commercial on their BlogTalkRadio Show. That's mighty kind of them. They also do book reviews, interviews, feature authors for Book of the month, etc. They have an annual conference which will take place in Chicago on June 12, 2010. I will be on their radio show on June 10th @ 8pm and will be a Book of the month selection for that month (BOTM).

Website: http://www.aambookclub.com/

Radio Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/aambc

___________________________________________________
Company Information

• AAMBC Radio provides a literary service to avid readers that reaches about 350 listens per show.
• AAMBC is a online based book club opening doors for authors to promote and for readers to call home.
• AAMBC hosts an annual conference every year in a selected city the second weekend in June.
___________________________________________________
Industry Information

• AAMBC is a book promoter at affordable prices for authors and poets
• AAMBC Book Reviews is a service offering a professional opinion helping to promote your books with a certified review
• The AAMBC National Meeting is a avenue for readers to meet authors face to face

This takes me way back...

I am having a moment of pride today and I just want to "shout-out" my people...

Here is a photoblog that features pictures of The Obafemi Awolowo University In Ile-Ife, Nigeria-where I did a lot of my early years as well as being the University I obtained my medical degree from:

http://modamo.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/photographs-of-obafemi-awolowo-university-ile-ife/

Parent blog:

http://modamo.wordpress.com/

It is run by an old family friend of mine, Theophilus O. Emmanuel.


Here's another photoblog by another childhood friend of mine, Dehumo Bickersteth:

http://www.dehumob.com/index.php/pictures

and some great ethnic music:

http://www.dehumob.com/


This entertainement magazine is run by family, Bode Ojo & Temi Kolawole:

http://www.goldenicons.com/


This site, STURVS, is run by my brother, Temi Kolawole:

http://www.sturvs.com/


Yet another childhood friend Tosan Aduayi is making waves with his magazine Trendy Africa:

http://trendyafrica.com/editor/

There was an article highlighting The Only Way is Up in December.


Just wanted to share. In your spare moments, please check these out.

Folake.

It's a beautiful day!

I stepped out of my front door this morning to a beautiful sunrise immediately noticed by my daughter, 28 month old Jordan. She said it was "Pretty!"
I am so proud of her developing keen eye and artistic mind. It's supposed to snow later today and I look forward to it for her sake since we only get this once a year. I hope Jordan gets to play in the snow and enjoy it...I look forward to her expression of what she thinks of SNOW. Maybe she can even build her first snowman since she is always fascinated with it on her DVDs...
Take a moment to appreciate everything about life, both big and small. Before we know it, it will all pass us by. I want to enjoy every minute of 2010 that I can and I hope you can too!

Folake.

Excited!

I am really excited about the Writers' Workshop opportunity (see below) and the networking it affords. My life is taking on a direction that I could not have envisiaged even a year ago and I am so thankful to God. I did not know I could even write an article for a magazine or newspaper not to talk of a book. It was not a plan because if it was, I'd have been preparing to get on the literary scene for years which is pretty obvious I haven't been...lol. I thought all I was good at was Medicine...God is good. Re-discovering me...yay!

Folake.

Writers' Workshop Series by LeTay Publishing **POSTPONED!**

Please check out this link for an upcoming Writers Workshop in the Atlanta area on Friday January 22nd-Saturday January 23rd:

http://www.letaypublishing.com/events.html

Here are details of involvement if you choose to be a sponsor or vendor:

http://www.letaypublishing.com/events/sponsorsvendors.html

Hope to see you there!

Folake.

Fellow Authors and Aspiring Authors...

I may not have the time to speak to you my fellow authors and friends over the phone much to exchange notes and ideas, especially for those of us that are self published. I may not be able to do the facebook IM or any of these avenues as much as I would love to. But I would love for us to share on this forum if you please. I believe we can all benefit from eachother. I am also specifically referring to those of us who are of African descent because we have certain things in common and we have similar stories which are not mainstream but nonetheless, need to be heard.

And this would also benefit those who are aspiring authors as well. Maybe by asking questions or by reading some of the comments from others, you might even avoid making some fresh ones of your own!

I used Createspace to self publish my book and I would like to know how that compares to Xlibris or Author House for example or even Lulu or Lightening Source. Hopefully, we all plan to do some more writing and we need to get better and improve on some of our choices and decisions each time.

Please share folks!



Folake.

Marketing, marketing, MARKETING!

Yes, that is the word of the day. It doesn't matter how great your book is if nobody knows you wrote it. It also doesn't matter that much more if only your friends and family members buy it...lol. But I am determined to change that and I am changing that already. That is why I am on this quest to do for myself what a big publishing house would have done, if I could find one to broadcast my story. That however, is not an easy task when you are a minority and an immigrant. So, I decided to self publish. You gotta be a celebrity or Reality TV Show Star nowadays to get a non-fiction book deal. And don't even think of a memoir or autobiography if you are neither. Even Barack Obama's "Dreams from My Father" did not get the recognition it deserved till he became a politician with a voice.
But I love this process and I feel like I am learning a new trade.
On Sunday January 10th @ 12 noon, I will have my first Book Signing Event @ BORDERS in the East Cobb area of Atlanta. (Really Marietta but still the Atlanta metro area!)
I am so pumped. God is good. If all goes well, Borders will carry my book "The Only Way is Up: The Journey of an Immigrant" eventually.
The door may not be held wide open for you but you can always find a crack in the window. I found mine and I will work it.
There is always a way!
Peace...

Folake.

WELCOME!

Wecome to my blog! I'm a debut author so yes, it is a writer's blog...May 2010 bring us all joy, peace and prosperity...

Folake.
FT@theonlywayisup.net
http://twitter.com/folaketaylor
http://www.theonlywayisup.net/
http://ctbradio.ning.com/profile/folaketaylor
http://www.iseecolor.com/profile/FolakeTaylor
http://www.booktour.com/author/folake_taylor
http://essenceonline.ning.com/profile/folaketaylor
http://www.bookexposure.net/profile/folaketaylor
http://motownwriters.ning.com/profile/folaketaylor
http://www.facebook.com/pages/F-Taylor/238094610556