Sunday, August 3, 2014

IN LAW FIRMS NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM: New Midwest Book Review: "A Model Murder" by Celia Conrad


Midwest Book Review: A Model Murder by Celia Conrad
IN LAW FIRMS, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM...

Midwest Book Review "Reader's Choice": http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/aug_14.htm

He told me he was used to getting what he wanted...
--A Model Murder, Celia Conrad

What do law firms and men’s “hostess” clubs have in common? If your first thought is “alpha males,” you’re already on board with A Model Murder. Conrad draws disturbing, often painfully entertaining, parallels between these two worlds where Neanderthals still roam the Earth, and a resistant female might get a bop on the head or worse.

A Model Murder is a fast-paced suspense mystery, full of twists and turns, following in the tradition of Nicci French and Sue Grafton.

BEFORE YOU PUBLISH: HELPFUL HINTS


Book cover I helped the author design.

So you have your manuscript written and formatted and it's ready to be published. Whether you are "self-publishing" (no longer considered a "Vanity Press" as technology refines our ways of communicating our ideas and stories in order to make them more accessible, as well as more "commercial" in their style) or are affiliated with a "small press" (aka "indie publisher") OR have actually landed a known publisher, you will need to know all you can about grassroots marketing and public relations.

Here are some guidelines to remember (if you'd like links to longer essays by experts online, send me a message and I'll supply them).

Not necessarily in chronological order:

1. Do not trust your own proofreading and editing abilities for that final polish. Hire or sleep with someone (yes, it's a joke) who can assist your tired eyes and brain with this very important task. All it takes is one typo on page 1 or on the back cover (Hint: If you think you know how to spell someone's name, don't trust to memory or spellcheck---look it up! Even famous people. Yes, I've seen famous names misspelled on the back cover! It happens.)