Lauren Carr | Self-Publishing Review

About Lauren Carr

Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award. A Reunion to Die For was released in hardback in June 2007. Both of these books are in re-release. Last year, the first installment of her new series, It’s Murder, My Son was released. It has received only rave reviews from both reviewers and readers. The Mac Faraday Mysteries take place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, where Lauren and her family vacation. The second installment is entitled Old Loves Die Hard. In addition to being an active member and director of the Association of Independent Authors, Lauren is a popular speaker who has made speaking appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. Visit Lauren at her website: http://laurencarr.webs.com for more information. She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Author vs. Publisher: It’s a Revolution

A couple of weeks ago, I was cornered by a publisher after an appearance. The point of her rant was how much she could do for me as a publisher. She made her point while poking me in the chest saying, “You should be writing. You shouldn’t be publishing. You should be writing.”

Well, that was what I started out wanting to do. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. From the beginning, I dreamed of making it to the point in my career where I could stay home all day in my writer’s studio and do nothing but think […]

Lauren Carr2020-02-21T03:55:49+02:00November 28th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Author Branding|

Traditional Publishing: Pros & Cons

There’s also so much information out there about all the different forms of publishing that most new authors are overwhelmed when it comes to deciding which way for their books.

My goal with this series of posts is not to persuade or convert any author in favor of one form of publishing over another. That is a personal decision for every author, and I don’t fault anyone for what choice they make. I was blessed in that I was given the opportunity to publish in every manner. As a result, I now independently publish my books because that works best […]

Lauren Carr2011-09-01T13:18:45+02:00September 1st, 2011|Categories: Features|

What Are You Talking About?

Authors need to know about book publishing, especially if they intend to have their books published. Going into publishing your book based on perceived misconceptions is what leads to mistakes that can sometimes be costly in dollars and your book’s success. Trying to get your book released without learning anything about publishing is like trying to bake a cake without bothering to learn the basics of an oven. If you’re not careful, you’re liable to get burnt.

First, let’s start with the basics.

Publishing Terms

Below are a list of words used when discussing publishing that every writer hears all […]

Lauren Carr2011-08-22T10:36:52+02:00August 17th, 2011|Categories: Resources|

I Take Thee … Making That Commitment to Your Book

“Congratulations on your book.”

People are impressed with anyone who has completed the task of writing a whole book. There are thousands, if not millions, of people who have sat down to a keyboard to start writing a book but never finished it.

The first hurdle that most encounter is what I call the Forty-Page Block. It’s not always page forty. Sometimes it’s page twenty-five or page one hundred and twenty-five. Whichever page number it is, at some point there’s a block that separates the authors from the wannabes.

At this hurdle, many writers will simply throw in the towel […]

Lauren Carr2020-02-21T06:46:19+02:00June 16th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing, Writing|

Who Are You? Writing an Author Bio

What’s in your author bio? Do you even have a bio? Believe it or not, your bio is an important tool in selling your book.

A few weeks ago, I was the featured author at a meet-and-greet book event. As is my custom, I made a point of making the rounds to greet the other authors, ask about their books, and collect book markers, post cards, and other souvenirs to check out their websites and purchase books later after I got home, since I didn’t have enough money to buy all of the books, even though I wanted to.

As […]

Lauren Carr2020-02-20T13:24:23+02:00May 26th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Biography, Book Promotion|