On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Bob Spear MS Business Management, BS Music and Business
Bob Spear Quick Facts
Bookstore Owner:
Bob
and his wife, Barb, have owned The Book Barn since 1979. They are
members of the American Booksellers Association, The Association of
Booksellers for Children, and are members and past board members of the
Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA).
Author, Songwriter, and Musician:
Bob
is the published author of ten books, two by a major publisher and
eight via his own publishing company. He writes for several local and
one national magazine. He has published a history of Leavenworth
directed toward the tourist trade, as well as a musical CD album
entitled, "The Music of First City, Kansas: Leavenworth."
Self-Publisher:
Bob
started Universal Force Dynamics Publishing in 1989 and ran it until
1997. Two of his books sold over 30,000 copies each with Doubleday's
Military Book Club. One book sold German rights and sold 2,000 copies
in that limited market. Another sold over 25,000 copies in the US
Military bookstore system overseas. He now helps self-publishers
through his imprint: Spear's Mint Editions.
Direct Mail Catalog Experience:
In
conjunction with his publishing company and an international radio talk
show, which he hosted, Bob developed a catalog of 200+ books and a
direct mail customer base of over 8,000 customers.
Reviewer:
Before
starting his online book review company, Heartland Reviews, Bob was a
prolific volunteer reviewer for Book Sense, the Independent Bookstore
network associated with the American Booksellers Association. He has
reviewed over 1,300 books since 2002.
Editor:
Bob
is an intense editor, quickly reading manuscripts, locating their
problems and errors, and recommending fixes to his clients. He edits a
wide range of genres with over than 100 books under his belt. He
freelance edits for a number of small presses and one NYC major
publisher.
Book Designer:
In addition to his own books, Bob has designed the interiors of 50-plus others.
Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Bob Spear
Should you have your manuscript professionally edited?
It's
been said that a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a
lawyer. That applies doubly to the self-publisher who thinks he should
edit his own book.Even if your mother loves it - it's not a good idea.
Assuming
you intend to sell your book: to a reviewer, a bookstore, a customer or
even your mother, your words and how they appear on the page make a
first impression only once. And while you may be the greatest writer of
the 21st Century, you're probably not its greatest editor, an art that
requires an entirely different set of skills than writing. Worse: all
of us get too close to our work emotionally, where it becomes far too
easy to develop blind spots to our errors and mistakes. It's been our
experience as reviewers that many small presses and self-publishers
fall into this trap, and when they do, we're forced to reject them.
The most common errors we see are:
- Subject and verb do not agree.
- Mixed tenses.
- Convoluted or run-on sentences.
- Telling rather than Showing (with action and dialog).
- Erroneously placed quotation marks in dialog.
- Incorrect use of italics.
- Illogical structure and/or incorrect facts.
And
so it goes. These are among the many things we look for when we conduct
our pre-critique assessment prior to accepting a book for review. Those
with too many problems are rejected -- as they will be elsewhere.We
pride ourselves in looking at the books sent to us as if we were
intelligent bookstore customers. As we read along, we fold down the
corner of every page on which we find a problem. And not just for small
presses, big publishing houses get the same scrutiny. One recent galley
from a highly respected major publisher had over 100 mechanical errors
and errors of fact. It didn't get reviewed either.
Badly edited books don't get bought by bookstores. Period. So skipping this process is simply not an option. Nothing says Amateur
more loudly than a poor job of editing. Furthermore, "production
values" play as much a part in a distributor's decision to take you on
-- or not -- as the book's content. Large publishers have been cutting
this corner lately and it shows, but they know they'll still continue
to sell their books. You may not have that luxury!
Getting Started With Bob Spear
Creating A Book About Your Company or Its Founder
Can Result in Instant Credibility and Popularity!
There’s
something magical about a book. If it’s a well-done,
professional-looking publication, it adds amazing credibility to a
company, a concept, or a person.
Did
you know there are over 75,000 books published a year? How come you
don’t remember seeing all of them? Only a few rise above the grass to
be seen by the general book buying public. Your book, however, only
needs to be seen by your clients or your potential clients. Think about
it—having over 100, 200, or even 300 pages dedicated to your purposes,
putting you in the best possible light. Did you ever read the
biographies of famous businessmen, such as Mariott for example? What an
incredible story he had to tell about how he
built a food and hotel empire from scratch—a poor, young shepherd boy from Utah.
Remember The Birth of a Machine, a story about a project management team’s development of a new computer from start to ?nish? Perhaps you’ve read Barbarians at the Gates,
the story of a hostile takeover attempt at Nabisco? Do you see what I
mean? Books create interest and can carry powerful messages. If someone
reads it in a book, it must be true, right?
At Sharp Spear Enterprises, we know books and we know business.
We know how to put them together. If your company has a story to tell
or needs a book to sell off the back table at seminars or tradeshows,
we can help make it happen. Our services include:
? Ghost Writing—if you or your PR department don’t have the time or desire to write it, we know someone 
who does and who will keep it con?dential.
? Professional editing, so you come across as erudite and professional.
? Good-looking interior designs of the book’s pages, which show it off in a way you can be proud.
? Professional looking, original artwork, book covers, which help it stand out in a positive manner to all who see it—a real class act.
? Project management to see the book through the printing and publishing process. You don’t have to do something you’re not accustomed to doing, while we can do it for you.
Think of your book as being a vehicle to tell your story, to sell your image, to give all who do business
with you a sense of understanding and admiration. Books are POWERFUL!
Contact us today to begin planning your book project!
Bob Spear, CEO
Sharp Spear Enterprises, The Book Barn (retail bookstore),
Spear's Mint Editions, & Heartland Reviews
16313 Springdale Rd
Leavenworth, KS 66048
(913) 772-8253
Contacting Bob Spear
Bob Spear, Publisher, Sharp Spear Enterprises
Owner, The Book Barn (retail bookstore),
Spear's Mint Editions, & Heartland Reviews
16313 Springdale Rd
Leavenworth, KS 66048
(913) 772-8253
