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I’ve been diligently inputting info into this publishing financial software program. It’s been tedious but I was under the impression that information added to the trial version would still be there if we decided to buy the program. Then yesterday I tried to restore a backup copy of the database and wound up wiping out…

I thought getting more work out the the RDSP duo would be like getting blood out of a stone…until I had the brilliant idea of getting another computer. Now John and I will be able to work side by side at all hours of the day, night & weekend. Maybe we can instant message each…

We took a short spontaneous vacation on Tuesday evening and Wednesday. It’s hard to plan getaways because we never know when we’re going to be busy so it worked well just to take off on the spur of the moment. One piece of news that has kept me happy for days is that we were…

Ok, there’s a brand new Raw Dog quiz in town, What’s Your Psychological Horror Profile? This one was authored by the infamous Cake Earthhead. Check it out: http://quizilla.com/users/rawdogscreaming/quizzes/What%20is%20your%20Psychological%20Horror%20profile%3F Once you take the quiz don’t forget to post your results in your livejournal so the psychosis can spread!

Tomorrow we’ll be getting up bright and early to catch a bus to New York City. This is only my second time going to NYC and the first time we’ve attended the Stoker awards. I’m looking forward to seeing Mike Arnzen and Mark McLaughlin again, plus we’ll meet mysterious author J.M. Heluk for the first…

Heard from Jeff Thomas who says he’s hoping to finish Everybody Scream! this weekend! He also sent along a blurb for the book, “Jeffrey Thomas has created an intricate and thoroughly engrossing world here, one that digs deep and lingers. Whether you’re a stranger to Punktown or a long time resident, this book will peel…

Someone volunteered to help out with my email campaign. It’s always great when people want to lend a hand. First because we always need help and second because it’s nice to think people want to be a part of RDSP. But the thing is you have to be extra organized to make use of people’s…

The chat last night went *really* well. A lot of people came by although we did hear from some people whose computers couldn’t handle the Java program so they couldn’t get in. I didn’t get to participate but I did read over John’s shoulder and it seemed like everyone was having a good time. It…

The main purpose for attending a con is to meet people and we sure met a lot of them. Between the two of us John and I covered a lot of ground. Some people John had met at last year’s conference, most were new to me. I can’t possibly write about them all but I…

posted by rdsp After participating in seven conferences/conventions in less than two years we have perfected our technique. Using the following methodical approach will maximize your exposure, profitability, and overall effectiveness at “cons.” – If you are a writer, editor, or other industry professional, the con is a business trip. That said, it only works…

There is no doubt in my mind that the best part of the con was being next to Dave Barnett from Necro Publications and Jeremy Lassen fromNightshade Books in the dealers room. Plus Matt Schwartz fromShocklines often stopped by. Not only are these guys extremely nice and helpful but they really know what they’re doing…

One of the best things that came out of WHC was that 4 bookstores were interested in stocking our books. John spoke with Borderlands Books in San Francisco and gave them a copy of 100 Jolts. They said they would contact us once they got back so we hope to hear from them soon. Del…

Got back from WHC pretty late last night. What in the world made me think I could show up to work bright and early Monday morning? The con was fabulous and exhausting. We still have to total up everything and I know there won’t be a profit due to the cost of the trip but…

posted by rdsp I invested the better part of a week on the Associated Writing Programs annual conference, held this year in Chicago. How did it go? Let’s say Chi-Town was good to the Raw Dog. I met many other publishers, editors, and authors, plus a slew of the professors and graduate students who embody…

posted by rdsp Now that you are armed with a handy-dandy press release, it’s time to put it to use. Your promo package will include the following: —press release —product, often with a sticker reading PROMOTIONAL COPY and including publisher info and release date —something extra that stands out, such as bookmarks or a catalog…

posted by rdsp As writers we should all be able to type out a great press release in no time flat. Right? Okay, so maybe it’s not the most fun in the world, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t exciting. What’s the difference, you ask? Fun = setting your own schedule, discovering the fate of…

Only big wigs need business cards, right? Don’t you only give them out at boardroom meetings? Don’t they have to be super-expensive in order to be of any use? As authors and editors business cards are as important for us as any other professionals. You can (and should!) give them out anywhere, anytime, because they…

posted by rdsp One of the most overlooked areas in book publishing is promotion. While all companies will engage in some level of promotion, few—if any—have the resources, time, and staff available to capitalize on every possible promo opportunity for each book. Even the large publishing houses fall into this category; the promo reps are…

Well Sick didn’t make it onto the Shocklines bestseller list this week but then again I see that it is out of stock so all the copies they had have sold! That’s even better than being on the list because they’ve order another bunch of books from us. Also Sick is now listed at Barnes…

I’ve been meaning to mention that Darren and I have finished the editing on A Dirge for the Temporal and I’ve started on the layout of the book. I’m trying to do a story or two per night. I had already set up a template with all the font properties for the story titles and…

I was too depressed to do a journal entry yesterday. After thinking that Sick should be appearing any day on Amazon.com for several days we finally inquired and found out that it was not listed for distribution. During the initial panic we thought there might be no way to correct this but eventually John was…

2004 looks like it’s going to be a pretty good year for the Raw Dog because he’s got what dog’s love most-more than a few things to chew on! Now that Sick is out we hope to spend the beginning of the year promoting that. So far the response has been good, it will be…

In my last entry I mentioned that I had typed a few more pages of Everybody Scream! which got me thinking about how unique the whole process has been with this novel. When we first approached Jeff Thomas about releasing something of his on RDSP he told us he had a completed novel, possibly his…

How do people ever keep up with their blogs? Most of the blogs I visit people write in every day, sometimes even more than once per day. Somehow I manage to only get something up every week or so. Of course a lot of people’s blogs are peppered with chores they should be doing, chores…

Finally the layout for our second book, Sick, is complete! After a huge sigh of relief I began to contemplate the totally thankless nature of book layout. If you do it right, no one should notice. The recent boom in self and small press publishing has been great for variety but is often hard on…