Authors Across America News

Self-Published Authors Endorse Authors Across America Initiative

Authors Cite Desire to Help Other Authors Become Published while Impacting Literacy

(INDIANAPOLIS) -- Writers from all over the country and across a variety of genres are helping to promote authorship and literacy by showing their support for the Authors Across America initiative sponsored by AuthorHouse®. Authors Across America is a national campaign that encourages authors in all 50 states to self-publish a book this year to help support literacy in their state. The campaign is grounded by its Web site, www.AuthorsAcrossAmerica.com, which offers anecdotes from authors who have taken or are currently on the publishing journey.

The initiative, which was introduced on Jan. 27 at the San Diego State Writers’ Conference, received immediate support from a number of writers who have published their works through AuthorHouse. The authors’ commitment to this program stems from their own positive experiences with AuthorHouse and their desire to help others who want to publish their books but have questions about how to accomplish their goal.

AuthorHouse has joined efforts with published author J. Andy Murphy, the founder and executive director of the WriteStuff Writer’s Conferences, as a platinum sponsor and educational partner for her series of writing workshops. Murphy and AuthorHouse publishing expert Tom Britt both explain their view on the significance of writers’ conferences for aspiring authors. Murphy says, “These conferences provide one-on-one opportunities for writers who feel “I am a good writer but I want to become a better writer, or I have a manuscript, how can I polish it and get it published?” Britt adds, “Writers’ conferences help writers become authors and help authors find the right path to publishing.” Write Stuff Writers’ conference dates and additional information about the organization can be found at www.writestuffwriters.com.

Another resource for aspiring authors is a new publication entitled Get Between the Covers: Leave a Legacy by Writing a Book, which debuted at number seven on Amazon.com. The book is written by up and coming author Eric Spencer and Neil Shulman, best-selling author of the book “Doc Hollywood,” and associate producer of the movie of the same name starring Michael J. Fox.

“The objective of this book, unlike its predecessors, is to make authorship the common man’s activity and an element of popular culture,” explains Spencer. “All of us have ideas for books, but so few of us actually follow through on the process and share our knowledge, insight and creativity.”

In their new book, Shulman and Spencer also describe the new paradigm in publishing. “Traditional publishing is very selective, but alternative publishers like AuthorHouse open the door to the masses.” Spencer suggests that multi-generational writers can collaborate to write books which tell their life stories, thereby leaving a legacy in print.

I Kept My Word: The Personal Promise Between a World War II Army Private and His Captain About What Really Happened to Glenn Miller, by Susan Goodrich Giffin as told to her by Clarence B. Wolfe, is an example of a successful collaboration by a senior citizen and a professional writer detailing one of the most important aspects of his life; the truth about how popular band leader Glenn Miller died. Wolfe has kept this secret for 62 years and when he was ready to reveal it, he chose to work with Giffin and AuthorHouse.

“I recommend AuthorHouse to each of my clients,” states writer Giffin. “I, like AuthorHouse, enjoy helping people get their story to the marketplace, especially when it’s a story that needs to be told. With their help, many books are published that otherwise would not be.”

In recognition of the authors participating in the Authors Across America initiative, AuthorHouse will be awarding publishing grants to education and service-based organizations across the nation to support local and state literacy efforts.

Four-time AuthorHouse author Bob Shumaker understands the importance of and is committed to the issue of literacy. His penchant for self-publishing and his love for helping others discover the joy of reading; makes him a believer in the Authors Across America initiative. With the help of The Schmooney, the furry character featured in his series of children’s books, Shumaker has been spreading the message of literacy to children in South Carolina. The books have had such an impact that the city of Simpsonville, S.C., adopted The Schmooney as their official mascot.

Shumaker cites the support from the author advocates and the flexibility of the publishing contract among his reasons for choosing and retaining AuthorHouse as his publisher. “When I first decided to publish my book, I reviewed contracts from various print on demand and vanity publishers,” explains Shumaker. “The more contracts that I read, the more obvious it became that AuthorHouse was the natural choice. The flexibility that their contract offers is unparalleled. Above all, each of the people at AuthorHouse that I’ve worked with, have made it all worthwhile.”

One of the first featured authors on the Authors Across America Web site is science fiction writer Gary W. Babb. Earth is Ours was his first step into authorship and won him “Best Science Fiction/Fantasy 2005” from the San Diego Book Awards. The saga continues with the sequel, Target Earth which was recently released in January. The third book of the series, Earth’s Warriors, is currently being written.

“I love the magic of words,” says Babb, a cable television manager in El Cajon, Calif., who started writing on a ‘dare’ six years ago. “I can relate to emerging authors who try to find time to write after their day job. My son’s encouragement was really my inspiration. And once the manuscript is ready, you’re up against other authors with manuscripts trying to get attention.” Babb added, “My suggestion is work with a strong book editor and seek out a publisher like AuthorHouse that gives you the flexibility to select publishing services that will meet your needs. It’s important to know that authors should have a say over how books are finally published.”

About AuthorHouse

Headquartered in Bloomington, Ind., AuthorHouse is the leading provider of publishing and marketing services for authors around the globe, last year publishing one out of every 30 titles in the United States. Since its founding in 1997, AuthorHouse has served the publishing needs of nearly 30,000 authors and produced nearly 40,000 titles. Through an exclusive ‘AuthorCentric’ Publishing Process, authors control the creative process of crafting their books and take advantage of a full range of pre-publishing, publishing and promotional services to help them reach their publishing goals. AuthorHouse titles are available at more than 25,000 retail outlets worldwide including Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information, please visit www.authorhouse.com

Contacts:

Tom Britt, AuthorHouse, 317-496-3599

Vicki Bohlsen for Authors Across America, 317-535-6437,

Alt. Kenethia Jackson, 317-686-7804,