A Letter from the Editor
by Timothy Pike

If you’ve ever felt mystified by the process of self-publishing a book, or don’t know what’s involved—or if you know too much and just want someone to tell you the easiest path forward—then you’ll appreciate what our cover author, Wolf O’Rourc, is doing: simplifying self-publishing.

“In case you’re wondering,” he says, “I wear a wig on the cover photo, made from the natural hair I shed publishing my young adult thriller.”

Is that true? I have no way of knowing, because Wolf loves to joke around. But if you’ve ever pulled your own hair out trying to use—or even understand—some of the self-publishing tools offered by companies like Amazon, then you can see how easy it would be to experience hair loss (or “traction alopecia amazonia,” as Wolf calls it) out of sheer frustration.

His book, How to Simplify Self-Publishing and Save Your Hair, offers helpful tips as it guides you through the process, explaining the tools that help you knock out self-publishing tasks quickly and efficiently.

Based in Las Vegas (“a town nobody has ever heard of,” he quips), Wolf is active in the Henderson Writers Group, which sponsors the Las Vegas Writers Conference every year and also runs regular online critique meetings that anyone is welcome to attend.

Wolf lights up when he talks about how much this critique group has helped him write and fine-tune his work, because for Wolf, it’s all about writers helping writers by sharing information. In fact, this is how he managed to learn so much in the first place. “Like every good author, Shakespeare included,” he says, “I steal—er, borrow—the wisdom of other writers.”

In my interview with him—which is nothing if not entertaining—you’ll learn the one thing Wolf did that propelled him toward success more than anything else, what readers have found the most useful in his book on self-publishing, and what a “save the cat” moment is and how it can make your story even better.

Enjoy Wolf O’Rourc’s quick wit →

There’s a lot to read (and learn) in the April 2024 issue of Books & Buzz Magazine. Let’s take a look:

This is the Letter from the Editor in the latest issue of Books & Buzz Magazine. Not a subscriber? Start getting all of our great articles by subscribing for free!

This tragic trend is a huge problem

On Thanksgiving Day in 2019, Betsy Gall watched her dream life crumble before her eyes when her oncologist husband, Matthew, took his own life.

They had recently moved to North Carolina for Matthew’s new job, and the transition soon left him feeling depressed. “In a matter of a few weeks,” Betsy writes, “I began to notice changes in Matthew’s vibrant personality. He went from being at the top of his game to not being able to get off the couch.”

Knowing how often this happens among doctors makes it all the more heartbreaking. “Physician suicide is a trend,” Betsy says. “One million patients lose their doctors to suicide every single year.” It doesn’t help that many physicians hesitate to seek treatment for mental health issues out of fear of losing their medical licenses.

In addition to giving talks about her own experience with this tragic reality, Betsy has also written a book that she hopes will help families cope with this kind of loss.

Read about Betsy’s efforts to help →

Sometimes, friends are all you need

By all accounts, Itua Uduebo, author of Parade of Streetlights and resident of New York City, has most everything he needs.

“I live by myself with a dog,” he says, “and I have a nice new desk, an overly expensive tea set, and noise-canceling headphones.” But finding himself in a writing rut, Itua hopped on the internet one day to search for a local meetup group for writers.

He was just hoping for a quiet space where he could enjoy drinks and conversation with other writers, but what he found was so much more.

“What I found,” he says, “was a granddaughter working through her papa’s scattered memories to piece together a spy thriller, grad students putting together years of research into a few dozen pages, and a man writing something to help kids like his nephew, who was going through anxiety.”

In a strange twist, Itua also found that enjoying the company of others helped him appreciate the solitary nature of writing even more. “Sometimes,” he says, “rekindling that flame can be as easy as seeing another person’s light flicker.”

Rekindle your flame, too →

When self-publishing, focus on these things

Thinking of self-publishing? Keith Anthony Baird wants you to know just what you’re getting into.

Publishing your own book can be overwhelming, but Keith identifies four key aspects to focus on—the “nuts and bolts,” as he puts it—when setting out to self-publish your novel: drafting, editing, formatting, and cover art.

Even if you’re familiar with the process, questions might still linger, like how much of the work can you (or should you) do yourself? Are beta readers a good idea? How do you know if an editor is worth his or her salt?

By exploring these questions—and more—Keith seeks to give you a more complete understanding of the self-publishing process. By focusing on the nuts and bolts, your newly published novel will be standing proudly on bookshelves in no time.

Learn the basics of self-publishing →

Enjoy this month’s issue of Books & Buzz Magazine!

To your success,

Timothy Pike
Editor of Books & Buzz Magazine