"Roundheads and Ramblings"

November 2017

One More Before the Excitement Fades

Posted on Friday, November 17, 2017 11:47 AM

One last announcement:

The trade paper edition of

The Second Mouse Goes Digital: Self-Publishing Comes of Age

is now available on Amazon.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know that I am a big fan of electronic editions. I love my Kindle, and I'm even fonder of reading books on my iPad. I really like being able to carry a whole library full of great literature in my purse. But once in a while, only a real book will do the job. I suspect that is the case with my current book.

The Second Mouse Goes Digital is a fun read. You can whip through it in a day or so, and you'll end up with a much better understanding of what self-publishing is all about. It may even convince you that you want to give this publishing avenue a try for yourself. But if you're a serious writer--if you want to put all these mousey tips to work--if you're ready to become a published author rather than a would-be writer--then you're going to need the paper version.

You'll want to remember the name of that grammar-checking software we recommended. You'll want to find a good writer's conference to attend. You'll need to review those tips about identifying a scam. You'll need to check up on one of those confusing pairs of sound-alike words. You'll want some help in re-writing a sentence with a passive verb or a dangling modifier. You'll have to decide which of Amazon's promotions will best fit your needs. A "How-To" book is not much good if you can't find the details you need at the moment you need them. And, honestly, digital books just aren't very easy to search.

The most useful books are the ragged ones--the ones that sit on your desk day after day. The pages are dog-eared. The important points sport neon highlighting. The margins may be full of your own notes. There's a coffee-ring on the cover, and the spine is starting to show cracks. But that's how you know that this is a book with important stuff inside.

And here's the best deal of all! Purchase the paperback Digital Mouse from Amazon at the list price of $16.95, and get the Kindle version for just $0.99. Then you'll never be without this important new guide through the mysteries of self-publishing. Happy reading!

Click here for paperback.

Click here for Kindle.

Trumpets! Confetti! Funny Hats! Screaming Crowds!

Posted on Wednesday, November 15, 2017 12:37 PM

It's Time to Celebrate

Today, Katzenhaus Books proudly announces the release of their new book, The Second Mouse Goes Digital: Self-Publishing Comes of Age.

This new volume completely updates and expands its popular predecessor, The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese: How To Avoid the Traps of Self-Publishing. The publishing world has undergone major changes since 2011. New software, new social media platforms, new publishing companies, new industry standards, and an epidemic of new scammers--all demand that anyone involved in self-publishing, or even considering it, must take a fresh look at the industry as a whole.

Some cheese ages well, so we have included all the old advice that still works today. But other cheeses are best sampled fresh, so you'll find new suggestions for helpful software, reliable publishers, and innovative techniques for creating self-published books that are indiscernible from those books issued by mainstream publishers. For suggestions, we turned to some famous rodents in children's literature to seek advice, and we've picked the newest recommendations from our family of literary mice.

If you have written a book, or are in the middle of writing one, or even thinking about writing a book, you need the advice of The Second Mouse at your fingertips. Order your Kindle version today at a temporarily-reduced price of just $2.99. The trade paper edition will become available in just a few days. Stay tuned for that announcement. And in the meantime,

Happy Writing!

from author Carolyn P. Schriber and all her mousey friends.

Getting On with the Writing

Posted on Friday, November 10, 2017 5:46 PM

Chapter 6: Planning the Book

Speedy Gonzales, mousey nemesis of Sylvester the Cat, takes us back to his cartoon world to demonstrate the necessary elements in a successful story. They include developing a plot, defining the characters, identifying the best point of view for any particular story, and then building a story arc that meets the expectations of your readers.

Chapter 7: Doing Your Homework

Yes, dear would-be writer, your new guide is Despereaux, a little mouse who dreamed of becoming someone’s knight in shining armor. He is ready to show you the tricks of learning the facts before you start writing the story. He’ll lead you through clarifying your timeline and questioning those details that “everyone knows.” He’ll also teach you a few things about exploring archives, reading old newspapers, and prowling in cemeteries.

Chapter 8: Writing and Re-Writing

Robert Burns’ “To a Mouse” sets the melancholy mood for this chapter that takes you back to English class. We’ll look at errors that destroy your story line, and then turn to the nitty-gritty of grammar errors – dangling modifiers, passive voice, weak vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation. It’s all called editing, and you must learn to do it.

The Second Mouse Goes Digital: Self-Publishing Comes of Age

Author Carolyn Schriber takes a closer look at recent self-publishing innovations that have opened the gates to mainstream book publication. Pre-Orders available now, with Kindle release date: Wednesday, November 15.

Click here to order

Turning an Idea into a Business

Posted on Thursday, November 9, 2017 4:16 PM

Chapter 3: Building your Platform

Here, Stuart Little, the anthropomorphic mouse who found himself living in a human family, offers suggestions on how to make new friends. If you’ve ever wondered how you would ever sell a book out there in the big world where no one has ever heard of you, Stuart Little has the answers. He walks us through the secrets of using social media, blogging, and fellow writers to open those scary closed doors.

Chapter 4: Choosing Your Software

Do you remember Aesop’s Fable about the Country Mouse and the City Mouse? This chapter takes us step by step through descriptions of some of the software programs that make life easier for an independent writer—and some of the alternatives that the Second Mouse has discovered to be faulty. The lesson to be learned? Look carefully before you choose.

Chapter 5: The First Draft

This cautionary tale uses two of the mice from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland to destroy the myth that you can write a book in a single try. The Second Mouse provides examples of what happened when she experimented with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). We explore the difference between Pantsers and Planners. And then we find out why producing (and then discarding) a first draft is a painful but necessary first step in learning to write a book.

The Second Mouse Goes Digital: Self-Publishing Comes of Age

Click here to order

The Second Mouse Goes Digital

Posted on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 3:25 PM

The Second Mouse Goes Digital: Self-Publishing Comes of Age

Author Carolyn Schriber takes a closer look at recent self-publishing innovations that have opened the gates to mainstream book publication.

Pre-Orders available now, with Kindle release date: Wednesday, November 15. Print version should be ready by Friday, November 17

Click here to order

While this blog has been out of service, I've been busy getting ready to publish a new version of my "how-to" guide for self-publishers. The launch day is a week from today, so, for the next few days, I want to catch you up on the book details and give you a glimpse of the contents.

Prologue: So, You Want to Write a Book

We begin with an imaginary conversation between Second Mouse and a budding writer who is considering what kind of publication would be best for her particular book idea. They discuss the various publishing options available today, along with their advantages and drawbacks of each one. Then Second Mouse offers a set of self-evaluation questions to help the writer determine where her strengths and weaknesses lie. Finally, they touch on one of the keys to a successful career in any field—giving the customer what he is looking for.

Chapter 1: Establishing Yourself in the Business.

The Second Mouse is again the guide as she leads the writer through the story of her own experience as a writer and the factors that convinced her to become an indie author. They look at the lessons she learned the hard way as she tried to find an agent or publisher—what it means to have a “platform” and the importance of the internet.

Chapter 2: The Legalities and the Niceties

In this chapter, the guide is Beatrix Potter’s Mrs. Tittlemouse. She discusses the need for a business plan, the importance of tax considerations, the process of setting up a home office, hiring an office staff, and establishing a website for your new business. These are the housekeeping details that can get you off to a solid start.

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November 2017

One More Before the Excitement Fades

Trumpets! Confetti! Funny Hats! Screaming Crowds!

Getting On with the Writing

Turning an Idea into a Business

The Second Mouse Goes Digital