Turn Into a Genius...Or at Least Someone Who Sounds Like One

We are visited by authors nearly every day who have recently finished a new book and would like us to stock it on our shelves.  Sometimes, their book has been picked up by one of the big publishers, but more often than not, it's a self-published project they come through our doors carrying.  We're living in interesting times in the book world; print-on-demand technology and so-called "vanity" presses have made it possible for practically anyone to publish a book.  In some important ways, this is a great democratizing trend, a way for us all to have access to an incredibly rich and diverse collection of voices and ideas.  In other ways, it makes selecting "good" books--books we think you'll want to read--even more challenging for us, as there's more and more to sift through every day.

We love it when we can share a success story about self-publishing. 

Stan Dunlap, who was principal at Miller Middle School here in Durango from 1990 through 1994, has written a really useful little book.  It's called Words of Wisdom: Four Minutes a Day to a Richer and More Powerful Vocabulary, and we have sold a bunch of copies.  Ted Holteen wrote a nice piece about Dunlap's book in the Durango Herald a few months back, which certainly helped spread the word. In it, Holteen praised the book for its ability to turn its reader into a genius...or at least someone who sounds like one.

Self-publishing can be a tricky business; we've heard from lots of authors over time that they didn't realize how much of their time would be spent marketing their books once they were finished writing them.  The skill set that goes into getting a book into other people's hands is pretty different from the skill set it takes to be a great writer; sometimes they overlap, and sometimes not. We're glad to see that in Dunlap's case, they do.

Read more about Words of Wisdom here, or stop in and we'll get it in your hands.