markgilroy.com

should you self-publish your book?

2012-02-20T21:48:00.001-06:00

Micro Publishing

View more presentations from Mark Gilroy.

how to produce a homemade author video blog

2012-02-15T13:31:00.001-06:00

presidents day countdown: abraham lincoln

2012-02-14T08:01:00.001-06:00

If George Washington kept the United States from falling apart before it had really got started as first president, fast forward to a time when it didn't look like the United States would celebrate its 100th anniversary as a country. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president US president, a self-taught man from humble circumstances, cast a vision of integrity - despite the cost - for the union in his words and actions. Here are just a few thoughts from 'Honest Abe' - a common man with uncommon wisdom applied to personal success, politics, virtue, and even the practice of law!

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.

Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all.

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.

Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.

God must love the common man, he made so many of them.

Perhaps the most famous and immortal words that Lincoln ever spoke are known as the Gettysburg Address:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate...we can not consecrate...we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

presidents day countdown - george washington

2012-02-13T08:23:00.000-06:00

Presidents Day in America is famous for two things: (1) store sales and (2) a no-school day for many students. In the days leading up to Presidents Day 2012 (February 20) I thought it would be good to hear from a few of our presidents, and it seems only fitting to give George Washington the seat of honor.

When Henry Lee delivered his funeral oration in 1799, he said of him, he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."

Washington through force of will, personality, diplomacy, and talent kept the union from disintegrating before it started. After winning the Revolutionary War, Washington headed straight for his plantation in Mount Vernon to retire from public life. When King George III heard this, he said that if he would actually do that he was the greatest man who ever lived. And it seems to be the case that Washington really wasn’t interested in holding power, despite winning the presidency two terms.

His quotes underscore the degree to which our nation was built on the premise that Freedom required good citizens – and that good citizens were those who practiced virtue and lived with integrity. A nice personal reminder and challenge.

While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him only in this case they are answerable.

It is with pleasure I receive reproof, when reproof is due, because no person can be readier to accuse me, than I am to acknowledge an error, when I am guilty of one; nor more desirous of atoning for a crime, when I am sensible of having committed it.

I shall make it the most agreeable part of my duty to study merit, and Labour to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.

Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder.

A people... who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who see and who will pursue their advantages may achieve almost anything.

I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.

However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones.

Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.

Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. It is better be alone than in bad company.

Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.

Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.

Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth.

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.

I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery.

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.

If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known, that we are at all times ready for War.

3 simple lessons from an author

2012-02-08T15:23:00.000-06:00

where should I post my status?

2012-02-06T09:43:00.001-06:00

A shout out to Professor Andres Silva for the following chart on posting our status to the right social network. Ingenious and hilarious!

the book is at press - what do I do with my free time?

2012-01-31T16:00:00.001-06:00

2E or not 2e - the e-book revolution

2012-01-20T18:29:00.001-06:00

still haven't found what I'm looking for

2012-01-12T16:47:00.000-06:00

what's in a name? (just ask j.k.)

2012-01-03T18:39:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Gilroys

2011-12-22T10:05:00.000-06:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More gilroy family

Christmas reminds us of the joy of hospitality

2011-12-18T07:39:00.001-06:00

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.Washington Irving

History and literature brim with accounts of the wonderful gift of hospitality. In Charles Dickens’ immortal and beloved A Christmas Carol, it is the rich man with the big house, Ebenezer Scrooge, who locks his door and heart tightly to others, content to count his gold and silver coins. It takes an ethereal ghost and the fear of what the afterlife—chains and all—might hold for him to awaken Scrooge to the soulless and cruel miserliness of his ways. Soon after he sees the light, he is welcomed into the humble home of Bob Cratchett, where the air is cold but the hearts are warm, where he sees with his own eyes the responsibility and richness of opening one’s heart and home to others.

But my house isn’t very big and my furniture isn’t very nice. We get so tired out by the holidays. We just want some down time.

Not sure about your gift of hospitality? First of all, if you have a smile, a warm heart, and a few kind words, no one cares about how grand or simple your house is. It was the investor Charles M. Schwab who said: Money will buy you a bed but not a good night sleep, a house but not a home, a companion but not a friend.

Second, you are wise to pace yourself over the Christmas season and not fill every square in your December calendar with activities. You need not feel guilty for that down time you’ve been looking forward to.

But the simple truth is that hospitality is good for the soul; it allows you to connect with others and is a tangible expression of your care for them.

Two thousand years go, an unnamed innkeeper, his guest rooms already filled, opened his heart and what accommodations he could muster to a young couple with nowhere else to turn. His home was the site of the greatest miracle in the history of mankind.

Shepherds and angels may not appear at your front door when you invite the neighbors over, but a special blessing awaits you and them!

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

From The Simple Blessings of Christmas by Mark Gilroy

Christmas reminds us that greatness begins in small packages

2011-12-16T09:53:00.001-06:00

The man who is called father by three of the world’s major religions—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—had but a small family of his own. In fact, he and his wife, Sarah, weren’t sure they could even have one child. But from Abraham’s offspring, there remains a lineage that circles the globe.

He wasn’t supposed to live beyond infancy. All the other baby boys of his birthplace died the year he was born. His mother had to give him up to the care of another. But the tiny baby survived, even when he was floated down the Nile River in a basket. And the man Moses grew into led his people out of slavery and against impossible circumstances presented by nature and enemies, he brought them into God’s Promised Land.

He was the youngest son of an inconsequential family that was a member of a small tribe that lived in the hill country of an obscure nation. Yet David, a man after God’s own heart, prevailed in combat against lion, bear, and giant. Poet and warrior, he became a king and nation builder against whom all other kings to come would be measured.

In a dark and violent world; in a bleak and blighted village; a tiny life appeared. What difference does the life of one small make baby? Particularly one of questionable lineage, of humble means, far from the center of worldly power?

Jesus, the Babe in the manger, brought light and hope to a world engulfed in strife—and forever changed the course of history.

We look to the big, expensive, and impressive; we admire the powerful and influential; we check price tags, even during the holidays. But the message of Christmas is that great things come in small packages. A simple kindness. A gentle word. A smile. A listening ear. A shared meal. A song. A handwritten note. A surprise phone call. The shining eyes of children. All these small gestures hint at the greatest blessing of Christmas: a grand and magnificent love broke into the world when Jesus was born in a humble manger.

Enjoy the bright lights and big moments of the season. But don’t lose sight that the greatest blessings come in the smallest packages.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches. Matthew 13:31–32

From The Simple Blessings of Christmas by Mark Gilroy

Note: Publisher sold out in November this year so not available for order. But it will return in 2012.

the most wonderful time of the year!

2011-12-15T11:14:00.002-06:00

Christmas highlights the importance of traditions!

2011-12-10T17:23:00.001-06:00

What would life be like without traditions? Particularly at Christmas? On September 21, 1897, Francis P. Church, an editor at The New York Sun, wrote a letter to a young lady who wondered about on particular tradition of the season. Church’s classic response provides soothing words to a sometimes cynical world!

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: “Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?” Virginia O’Hanlon, 115 West Ninety-fifth Street Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. . . . The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

The songs we sing. The movies we watch yet another year. The visits to relatives. The same meals we’ve eaten for as long as we can remember. The candlelight church service. Traditions. Oh, they can drive us a bit crazy and might even feel a little bit boring at times. But they do point to the “unseeable” and help us experience anew the “supernal beauty and glory beyond.” Traditions are one of the sweetest blessings of Christmas.

should I buy a handgun or not?

2011-12-09T12:26:00.001-06:00

Christmas teaches us the joy of gratitude

2011-12-08T22:10:00.001-06:00

Christmas day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both. - Phillips Brooks

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. - James 1:17

There is a simple attitude that determines in our own minds whether we are rich or poor, blessed or cursed, and fundamentally positive or negative about life. To make that enormous of a difference, that attitude must be incredibly powerful. And it is. That attitude is gratitude.

One person gets a job and is thrilled to be a contributing member of a team—and to be paid for it to boot. Another person gets the same job with the same company and with the same pay and benefits and feels cheated. One person literally has a great job and the other has an equally crummy job. Why? The difference is an attitude of gratitude.

One teen looks under the Christmas tree, finds a simple and thoughtful gift from her mom, and knows she is loved; all that another teen can think about as he tears the glossy wrapping paper from the box is the new cell phone model he didn’t get. She had a great Christmas morning and got absolutely everything she wanted; he had a lousy Christmas and didn’t get anything good. Again the only difference was gratitude.

After a long pregnancy that generated more questions than congratulations; that nearly led to a marriage ending before it started; that included a painful and arduous journey; that culminated in her son being born in conditions fit for animals but not for humans, how did Mary respond? Luke tells us that she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (2:19). In Bethlehem, among the animals, she found joy. She could have complained that God was doing nothing good for her, that her husband was a lousy provider, that the innkeeper should be put in prison for denying her a bed in the house, but instead she declared the “great things” God had done (Luke 1:49).

This central Christmas story—and the joys and challenges of our modern holiday—remind us that gratitude changes everything. Whether there are gifts stacked to the ceiling with your name on them or you aren’t sure anyone is going to give you anything, stop and give thanks to God, the Giver of all good and perfect gifts. You’ll receive a special blessing in your spirit and discover you have everything you need.

why does it take so long to get a book published?

2011-12-04T08:00:00.001-06:00

My latest book blog from www.mkgilroy.com to introduce and promote the April 3, 2012 release of CUTS LIKE A KNIFE.

Reacher, the Hardy Boys, 007 - and other great characters from series fiction

2011-11-23T20:40:00.001-06:00

I need to lose some weight

2011-11-19T11:58:00.001-06:00

I need to reinvent myself

2011-11-11T23:57:00.001-06:00

kisses from katie - a story of relentless love and redemption

2011-10-18T19:18:00.000-05:00

We moved to Brentwood, Tennessee, in January 2006. My youngest daughter, Caroline, was a junior in high school. You can imagine how nervous we were as parents on how the move would go for an almost-senior (and for the two other kids still in the house). Within days Caroline met two Katies who welcomed her to Ravenwood High School and made her feel as if she had grown up in their circle of friends. I'm still sighing with relief.

One of the wonderful Katies - Katie Davis - took a different path after graduation to say the least. She is now the unmarried mother of 14 young girls. Is that even possible? Is this one of those stories about youth gone bad?

I need to give a warning to any potential readers at this point. Do not pick up Kisses from Katie if you live a comfortable life and don't want anything or anyone messing up your comfort zone.

Katie's story is a story of youth gone good. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking - and in reading it you will never be satisfied with a status quo lifestyle again. If you have never felt a gentle nudge from God that you have something beyond yourself to accomplish in this world - or if you have suppressed and ignored the nudge - this book serves as a loud, clanging, blaring wakeup call to hear and embrace your call.

"Kids" can be idealists - and when Caroline told me Katie was going to do a yearlong mission project before attending college, I thought that sounded great - that it would be good for her. Little did I know ... I did know Katie's parents were quite nervous when she said the project would be serving in an orphanage in Uganda. After surveying the situation in Africa carefully, her dad reluctantly gave his permission for her to go - with the condition that she promise to come back and enroll in college and move on with her life. She was true to her word - but even as she attended classes the fall of her return, she was miserable, thinking only of her "girls" back in Uganda.

Katie - high school homecoming queen and student body president and honor student and girlfriend to a handsome, committed, spiritual, star athlete - had every reason to "come home." But her heart was back in Uganda with the motherless children she had fallen in love with. Is it any wonder that the name she has been given by the people of her village is "Mommy." Katie's ongoing adventures in Uganda are amazing and fit the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. In her case, it is not stranger, but more incredible.

My family has been blessed by the Katie who befriended the "new kid" at school. We've been privileged to meet two of her daughters, Patricia and Grace. Most of all we have been inspired to step out of our comfort zone and to look around to see what God is doing in the world that we need to take part in.

I can't recommend Kisses from Katie highly enough for the spiritual blessings you will experience reading this story of relentless love and redemption.

the day satan called ...

2011-10-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

By Bill Scott. FaithWords, a division of the Hachette Book Group. Published October 2011.

We live in a culture that is skeptical of most things spiritual - but that can't seem to get enough of dark, scary movies and books - from Rosemary's Baby to The Exorcist and a host of annual releases. So what more can be said about demons and evil spirits?

I will establish up front that I am friends with the author of The Day Satan Called and worked with him a bit on the development of the project. But that doesn't mean I can't be a raving fan and recognize some special contributions Bill has made through this book, does it?

I met Bill Scott and his wife Janet about a year ago to discuss a couple publishing projects they needed to work on for an organization for youth they founded and run. In the course of the conversation Bill mentioned off-handedly that he had written a manuscript (with more than a little help from Janet) of his experience with a ... witch ... who he had invited to live in his home in order to help her ... okay. Suffice it to say I watched Bill just a little more closely to see what kind of guy he really was. What I noticed then and have seen confirmed over and over in the subsequent year is that Bill is direct and honest to a fault. I took the manuscript home and was transfixed - and terrified. That's the first thing I would say about The Day Satan Called - it is a well-written, fast-paced, entertaining, and incredibly scary story. Bill seems to take you to the edge of the cliff at the end of every chapter. About the time you think what he lived through couldn't get worse - it does.

I'm not going to give away any spoilers, but I'll note that the book has a totally unexpected ending. The story is great but it is Bill's observations that make this book special. In the process of looking back at how things started and ended, Bill asks and answers some poignant questions about demon possession: is it related to multiple personality disorder (MPD) - sometimes? All of the time? How much of what is called demon possession is someone's personal fantasy or even a con game? Or both? How prevalent is demon possession in our society and how concerned should we be? With all the temptations in the world that seem to work so well with so many, why would Satan even bother with possessing of some people? Can a Christian be demon possessed - or in the case of a person suffering from MPD, can one personality be redeemed and another personality be possessed?

I mentioned that Bill is honest and direct. He doesn't claim to know all the answers to those and other questions, but he does a great job of presenting what happened to him - even the parts that are personally embarrassing and he'd rather forget - and reaffirming the scripture: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

calling all agents - a survey

2011-09-22T16:46:00.001-05:00

I received a call from an agent friend today who wanted to know what percentage of the book projects I represent that I sell as an agent. Because agenting is a relatively small percentage of my business I let him know that I may not be the best source for feedback. But his question did get me wondering what agents are experiencing in what many consider to be a fairly tumultuous time in the book publishing industry.

I've put together a simple 5-minute online survey FOR BOOK AGENTS only. Please follow the link below to take the survey - and feel free to share the link with other agents. I'll compile results in the next two weeks and post a nonscientific summary - but all individual responses are anonymous and confidential.

Click here to take the survey now!

e-book inventor passes away - as his invention soars

2011-09-12T16:15:00.000-05:00

Publisher's Weekly reported today:

E-book sales rose 167% in June, to $80.2 million, at the 15 houses that reported figures to AAP’s monthly sales report and closed the first half of the year with sales up 161%, to $473.8 million.

But the biggest news in e-book publishing is that the inventor of the e-book, Michael S. Hart, passed away this past week on September 6, 2011.

What follows is an excerpt from the obituary for Mr. Hart written by Dr. Gregory B. Newby for Project Gutenberg.

Michael Stern Hart was born in Tacoma, Washington on March 8, 1947. He died on September 6, 2011 in his home in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 64. He is survived by his mother, Alice, and brother, Bennett. Michael was an Eagle Scout (Urbana Troop 6 and Explorer Post 12), and served in the Army in Korea during the Vietnam era.

Hart was best known for his 1971 invention of electronic books, or eBooks. He founded Project Gutenberg, which is recognized as one of the earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects. He often told this story of how he had the idea for eBooks. He had been granted access to significant computing power at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On July 4, 1971, after being inspired by a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he decided to type the text into a computer, and to transmit it to other users on the computer network. From this beginning, the digitization and distribution of literature was to be Hart's life's work, spanning over 40 years.

Hart was an ardent technologist and futurist. A lifetime tinkerer, he acquired hands-on expertise with the technologies of the day: radio, hi-fi stereo, video equipment, and of course computers. He constantly looked into the future, to anticipate technological advances. One of his favorite speculations was that someday, everyone would be able to have their own copy of the Project Gutenberg collection or whatever subset desired. This vision came true, thanks to the advent of large inexpensive computer disk drives, and to the ubiquity of portable mobile devices, such as cell phones.

Hart also predicted the enhancement of automatic translation, which would provide all of the world's literature in over a hundred languages. While this goal has not yet been reached, by the time of his death Project Gutenberg hosted eBooks in 60 different languages, and was frequently highlighted as one of the best Internet-based resources.

A lifetime intellectual, Hart was inspired by his parents, both professors at the University of Illinois, to seek truth and to question authority. One of his favorite recent quotes, credited to George Bernard Shaw, is characteristic of his approach to life: "Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people."

Michael prided himself on being unreasonable, and only in the later years of life did he mellow sufficiently to occasionally refrain from debate. Yet, his passion for life, and all the things in it, never abated.

Frugal to a fault, Michael glided through life with many possessions and friends, but very few expenses. He used home remedies rather than seeing doctors. He fixed his own house and car. He built many computers, stereos, and other gear, often from discarded components.

Michael S. Hart left a major mark on the world. The invention of eBooks was not simply a technological innovation or precursor to the modern information environment. A more correct understanding is that eBooks are an efficient and effective way of unlimited free distribution of literature. Access to eBooks can thus provide opportunity for increased literacy. Literacy, and the ideas contained in literature, creates opportunity.

In July 2011, Michael wrote these words, which summarize his goals and his lasting legacy: “One thing about eBooks that most people haven't thought much is that eBooks are the very first thing that we're all able to have as much as we want other than air. Think about that for a moment and you realize we are in the right job."

He had this advice for those seeking to make literature available to all people, especially children: "Learning is its own reward. Nothing I can say is better than that."

Michael is remembered as a dear friend, who sacrificed personal luxury to fight for literacy, and for preservation of public domain rights and resources, towards the greater good.