Mainstream Publishing –vs. Self-Publishing

As 2014 comes to an end here is a brief look at the year in publishing and some interesting statistics are emerging about the figures associated with Mainstream Publishing vs. Self-Publishing. We tend to keep track of the progress within the industry as our involvement in Self-publishing began in 2001 with one of the largest Canadian publishers before we established Moyhill in 2004. I was with an agent for two years with my first book back in 1999 and I made the decision to self-publish following that experience.

There is no doubt that for some writers the mainstream option is still the way to go and we advise all authors who approach us to do their research on both alternatives before making their final decision. Here are some of the areas that we encourage authors to consider before deciding which route they will take when publishing…

Much has been written about the first Thanksgiving which took place at Plimoth Colony. Here is some information that is probably closer to the truth. As usual, click on the pictures.

                 The First Thanksgiving 1621, oil on canvas by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899)

The voyage from Plymouth, England, had taken 65 days. Once the decision to settle on the shores of the harbor of what is now Plymouth, MA, the Pilgrims faced a daunting future:they had no houses, no stored goods, no knowledge of the country they faced, nor any knowledge of its inhabitants besides wild stories of cannibals. And the season was winter, harsh and cruel. A common house that had been built to house some of the Pilgrims burned on January 14, 1621, and those who had lived there had to return to the Mayflower for shelter.

                  Pilgrims going to church (1867) by George Henry…

I love my home town and decided to take the opportunity of the upcoming holiday to tell you a little about it and also disenchant you of some of the first Thanksgiving myths. I grew up in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and was lucky enough to be indoctrinated into Pilgrim ways from a young age.
Don’t forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them!

Dressed as a Pilgrim girl, I walked in the Pilgrim Progress. These are held on the first four Fridays in August, and local citizens dress as Pilgrims re-creating their procession to church. The number of persons, and their sexes and ages have been matched to the small group of Pilgrims who survived the first winter in the New World. We marched up Leyden Street, to the clicks of tourists’ cameras.

Leyden Street was originally called First Street, and the Pilgrims began laying out the street before Christmas…

England has a long and varied history of witchcraft. As a tradition stretching back centuries, it is hardly surprising that there are a great variety of places that abound with legends, stories and histories about witchcraft, witches, persecution and execution. When researching the topic for my novel  ‘The Black Hours’, I came across lots of interesting stories and made a long list of places that I’d love to visit. Some of them I have been lucky enough to visit although I would like to visit again one day. In fact, what I’d really like to do is go on a witchcraft tour of England – spending time in all these places. All offer something interesting and informative; some are fun and have more to do with legend, myth and fairy tale than the brutal truth of the horror of the witch hunts; other places I have found to…