I was glad to read recent article from Dan Moore Why I Write In Notebooks By Hand. I would like to contribute to this topic. In following entry I have compared two ways of writing — typing and handwriting — from my point of view.

Keyboard

Typing with keyboard is practical, but I think it has become kind of fancy action. Working with laptop is considered photogenic. It may be a cigarette of our generation. Many years ago smoking was cool. It was presented widely in movies and people barely talked about its adverse effects. What about keyboard? People look so…

My book went on sale one month ago. At this point it is impossible and useless to make conclusion about the selling numbers. Firstly because I don´t know them yet. Secondly, to analyze how my book performed in bookstores makes sense only after three months. This is a report of actions and promotional activities I have executed in order to sell my first book.

First of all, I have shared my book on social media profiles to tell my friends. It sounds obvious but sharing personal news is very fast today and we as authors have to utilize it. Since…

The art of arranging types on the front and back cover is very delicate yet necessary part of production. Almost every Slovak publisher is failing to deliver a timeless design of a book. Majority of covers is boring and some are disgusting. The problem is many bestsellers in Slovakia fall into the latter category.

There are beautiful books for sure. But only few publishers aspire to win a design prize every year. Others just don´t care. I was constantly comparing the production of Slovak publishers with books in English literature section. The difference was overwhelming. Book covers made by English…

I would not recommend to publish a book on your own to every author. It is a demanding job and not everybody has necessary skills to manage it. My experience in the field gave me some confidence but it´s still the most challenging task I have ever done.

When you have money you can produce your book quickly. But given that your publishing business requires an idea and a certain level of abstract thinking there are many publishers here in Slovakia who miss the point almost every time they introduce a new book. …

We often think of authors as intellectually developed people with great abstract thinking. But writing itself is a craft that requires everyday drill. It looks really simple task to do. You sit down with a piece of paper and start composing a short text. What makes writing an art then? The most difficult part is to follow the basic principle of any art. You really have to reveal something about yourself. You have to dig through your life and search for important messages. I compare it to writing letters which will never be sent. Many authors skip this part because…

It is striking how publishers and authors themselves are not utilizing the potential of internet to promote their hard work. They rely on classic ways to reach the readers. They would use printed media or organize an event to meet with people. To be honest these activities are terribly out of date.

I was walking along the bookstore and looking at the books in “Slovak literature” section. Glancing at the titles, I could barely recall faces of the best-selling authors. But I could definitely not remember any opinion or commentary from any of them. Willing to buy a book from…

I am definitely a risk-taker and a passionate writer. Two years ago I have written a short book which I was very proud of. It did not take much time for me to realize that I want to publish it on my own. So I left college, moved to capitol city and started working as a salesboy in a bookstore. I was working there for more than six months and absorbing as much business knowledge as possible. I would like to share this adventure with The Medium audience because for me this is an ultimate way to prove my skills…