Questions from my emails.

http://www.selfpublishing.ca/I was out of town and apologize for this blog getting behind. For those of you thinking about blogging, you need to post a minimum of once a week. I usually update on Sunday afternoon.

Nick Gretener of Qualitas Publishing asked why I am sending readers to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDBC) to register their Copyright. The cost for a Basic Package is $120.  Apparently the Canadian Copyright Office in the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is still registering copyrights directly - and for only $50. The website is http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/wr00051.html. He wondered why we would go through a middleman like the BDBC. Thanks Nick! I will definitely change my tips page.

Arayna wants to know if she should let her printer produce the barcode for her book or should she do it herself. Do what ever is convenient. The cost is not very high to have it done. You either have to order software or pay for someone else to make the barcode up. I prefer to have it done. It's cheap enough and one less hassle for me to deal with. I have enough software to learn how to use.

The deadline for the Independent Publishers Book Award (IPPY) is March 20. It is the longest-running unaffiliated contest open exclusively to independent publishers. The cost to submit a book is $85 (US) per category.

More and more emails ask "When are you writing a new book?" I am currently working on the Second Edition of Self Publishing in Canada: A complete guide to designing, printing and selling your book. It will be full of updated material and give more information on e-publishing than in the first edition. It will be available in the fall of 2010.

I am teaching a workshop called "You've Written a Book, Now What?" at Vancouver Island University, Cowichan Campus on March 20 from 9:00-4:00. If you live on south Island, sign up. It's a worthwhile course.

I will be teaching this workshop at the VIU Nanaimo campus on May 1, and a Self-publishing workshop at Nanaimo campus on April 24.

I am again teaching Self Publishing in Canada as part of the Simon Fraser University summer publishing workshop series in Vancouver on July 15.