Author Archives: Monica Martinez

Guest Post Tips & Tricks

Tellwell editor Simon Ogden’s advice to first-time authors

By Simon Ogden, Tellwell editor

Welcome!
You’ve done it. You’ve committed to the writing life. How are you feeling? Excited? Scared? Bored? Lonely? Us too. Welcome to the band—we’re delighted that you’ve decided to join us. We’re a bizarro group and legion, all of us utterly, fantastically, bewilderingly unique, except for one little idiosyncrasy: we all have stories screaming and punching and kicking inside of us that we need to wrestle into the world. There are many out there with the same constipation as us, but they may let it loose through interpretive dance or song or watercolours, or by yelling it into the faces of people in line for the bus. But not us. Not we. We’re the scribes, the men and women of letters. We adore specificity and nuance. We love the tranquility of words nestled on a page, the calm, rational, and quiet way they present themselves to our audience. Our hearts beat for that alchemic conversion of action and imagery and diaphanous emotion into the solidity of language. We’re the Hobbits of the storytelling tribe, and we don’t give a fig if you haven’t yet been paid for your writing. If you’ve managed to set a word down on a page and followed it, tentatively or resolutely with another, you’re one of us and you are welcome here. Make yourself comfortable and we’ll put the kettle on.

As a brand-new author, the first thing you need to be clear on is that all those concerns you have about what comes next and exactly how this whole writing puzzle works—samesies! We’re right there with you, in one way or another. This, like all great and worthy art forms, is a mentorship trade, like sculpture or carpentry. The longer you do it, the more sense it makes, and the more your lovely, unique, necessary voice rings out melodically to the readers who need to read that thing in that way at that precise time, and they will be grateful in ways none of us can hope to fathom. Delightfully, unlike most mentorship trades, our mentors are all around us: our bookshelves groan under their weight, our end tables disappear beneath them, our bathwater occasionally reshapes them for us.

Read and find inspiration
The all-time, number one, pin-it-to-the-top-of-your-list chunk of writing advice from anyone worth listening to will always be: Get your nose in as many books as possible. Find the authors who talk in the way you want to be talked to and ingest their work.

The second piece of advice toward becoming a better writer is—no surprises here—to write a whole bunch. It’s a close number two, but make no mistake, number two it is. It would be hard to build a nice house if you’ve never been inside of a nice house, no matter how many nails you’ve hammered into a board. However, in the wake of these bits of obviousness, the sea of writing advice starts to get a little choppy. What is revelatory for some from here on forward may be pure bilge for others. There is a freakish amount of writing advice out there to shovel up if you choose to dig for it. Give it all due consideration, but understand as you do that there is no specific method applied by another artist that is also exactly your method. This is the essence and provenance of art. If some “genius” advice doesn’t resonate with you, it ain’t your soup—chuck it and move on.

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Meet the Team

Tellwell printing manager Jun Mark answers the top book-printing questions

Printing manager and project manager Jun Mark began working at Tellwell in 2020, and authors looking to order books in bulk will likely cross paths with him. He is a patient, kind, calm, and hard-working team member. Get to know Jun Mark and his love of cats, and read the touching story of his recent reunion with his biological mother.

Tell us about yourself.

I am a fur-parent of 19 cats and recently built a cat house to ensure their wellbeing, and to earn their recognition of me as a truly responsible human. I love nature and like to travel to the countryside. I’ve been in the publishing industry since 2015 and really enjoy working with authors.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy having a great degree of control and freedom within my job and department. I work full-time across three departments and the management trusts me to produce high-quality work and results. I get to be creative at work and it’s something that I intend to maintain, which keeps me engaged and excited, but at the same time I love that my job enables me to love and enjoy my other passions in life.

What does a typical week look like for you at Tellwell? 

During a typical work week, one of my important tasks is checking in on the print jobs and looking into the progress on various book projects. 

I like to meet with the team first thing on Mondays to share our good news, discuss our priorities for the week, address print-job matters in real-time, and to share knowledge and resources with team members. Keeping myself informed on the global-market status and the supply-chain situation is also part of my typical work week to ensure the business operates efficiently.

Since we work at home, we meet daily via video call, which gives us the opportunity to check in with each other on the progress of our projects. Part of the aspects of the printing business that I manage is to maintain our positive relationship with our print partners in Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia, and China.

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Meet the Team

How to choose an illustrator for your children’s book

Advice from Tellwell’s in-house illustrator Veronika Hipolito

Veronika Hipolito is Tellwell’s in-house illustrator. She is known for creating whimsical children’s book illustrations and beautiful cover designs. Her illustration style is magical, expressive, and free-flowing. Read on to hear her approach to working with authors as well as what authors should look for when choosing an illustrator for their children’s book.

Tell us about yourself.
I’m an illustrator and a painter. My concoction of surreal, detailed elements, dominantly on a blue colour palette accentuated with gold foils and ink, make the imagery stand out. This is also how I express my passion for merging culture and nature in every possible way.

What did you do before joining the Tellwell team?
I was a graphic artist and illustrator at a local newspaper. I’m also an art-event organizer who caters to both local and international creatives. I’m an active artist in the arts community participating in exhibits, art and literary conventions, and competitions.

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Author of the Month Author Success - In the media, awards, reviews

Former Sportstalk Radio host Dan Russell is making headlines with his new memoir

Pleasant Good Evening, a Memoir: My 30 Wild and Turbulent Years of Sportstalk hits #1 on the Amazon bestseller rankings in multiple categories

Canadian sports fans have grown up listening to Dan Russell’s Sportstalk radio show over its three-decade run, and now they can relive some of the most iconic moments in BC sports history in Dan’s new memoir, Pleasant Good Evening, a Memoir: My 30 wild and turbulent years of Sportstalk.

Russell has been interviewed by dozens of media outlets, and his book hit #1 in the Amazon bestseller rankings in multiple categories.

What began in 1984 as a simple 50-minute filler grew into the longest-running and most-listened-to show of its kind in Canada.

What inspired you to write your memoir?  

Initially, it was something I planned for my kids to one day knew what my career was all about.  But mostly it was about making sure the legacy of the trailblazing show I hosted would be forever on the record.   

What do you hope readers will take away from your book? 

Many things, I think. 
1) Setting goals is great, both short-term and long-term.  But chasing dreams can be as unhealthy as it is healthy. 
2) The best broadcasters are the best listeners. 
3) To steal a line from former Sportstalk regular Harry Neale, “Hard work beats talent if talent doesn’t work hard.” 

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Author of the Month Author Success - In the media, awards, reviews

How authors can overcome imposter syndrome

Tips to unleash your inner Goddess/God with Tellwell author of the month, Rita Kakati-Shah

Rita Kakati-Shah, the author of The Goddess of Go-Getting, holds many roles both in the business world as an entrepreneur, founder & CEO, public speaker, media contributor and, now, author. She is an award-winning gender, diversity, and inclusion career strategist, speaker and coach. She founded and runs, Uma, a company that provides strategic expertise in those areas to Fortune 500 companies.

The Goddess of Go-Getting was launched on International Woman’s Day by the Consul General of India in New York and has become the number one bestseller across three categories on Amazon.

Kakati-Shah was born and raised in London, England and is from Assam heritage. She now lives in New York City with her husband and children.

You have a unique voice, so tell the story in your voice, not in someone else’s. Once you find your voice, you’ll feel the passion and your writing will flow!

Rita Kakati-Shah, author of The Goddess of Go-Getting

Authors may battle imposter syndrome, question their ideas and talent, and struggle to let go of fears. How can authors unleash their inner Goddess/God to overcome their fears?

Love this question! First and foremost, you have to remember that as an author you have your own voice. Even if two authors were to recount the exact same story, their prose and expression would be different. You have a unique voice, so tell the story in your voice, not in someone else’s. Once you find your voice, you’ll feel the passion and your writing will flow!

 What habits or rituals have you adopted that have helped you overcome fears and unleash your inner goddess? 

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Design Showcase

10 Book Cover Design Trends for 2022

Book covers are extremely important in capturing readers’ attention and evoking a feeling, mood, and overall sense of the book’s content. A great book cover will entice a reader to pick up your book and read it. The cover is the first impression of your book, a visual depiction of the contents inside.

Here are some of the biggest trends in book cover designs for 2022.

All of the book covers shown here were created by Tellwell.

1. Surrealism: One of the biggest cover design trends in 2022 is surrealism. 2020 and 2021 did feel like a dream after all, so it’s not surprising many books, and their covers, are creating a sense of an unreal, altered, and strange reality.

2. Partially hidden titles: Book titles that are partially blurred, blocked, cracked, and hidden to create a sense of mystique and suspense.

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Meet the Team

Why self-publishing is not vanity publishing

Australian publishing consultant Despina Maclaren dispels the most common myth about self-publishing

Tell us about your role at Tellwell.

My role at Tellwell is to help authors navigate the publishing landscape, so they are able to make informed and educated decisions about the options available to them, and to guide them on what is best for their needs as well as their budget. I adore assisting authors, the day-to-day diversity of my role, and [discovering the] reasons and motivation behind what makes an author want to publish their book. It is a joy to assist them in understanding the process and expectations, offering them advice from my own years of experience in the book trade. 

Tell us about your previous publishing experience. 

I’ve been in the book industry for thirty-five years, and started out working as a bookseller at Angus & Robertsons’ flagship store in Melbourne on Elizabeth Street. I moved on to work as a bookseller across Melbourne and later became the rep there for Penguin Books. I decided to move to the UK, and worked for Penguin UK and other global and independent publishers, selling all kinds of genres, from mass-market fiction to non-fiction to children’s, education, academic, and professional books.  

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Author of the Month Author Success - In the media, awards, reviews

Self-publishing advice and author affirmations from Tellwell author Chantel Riley

Our Tellwell February Author of the Month, Chantel Riley, on how social media has helped her promote her children’s book.

Social media has been a great help connecting me to an audience I could never have reached on my own.

Chantel Riley, author of I AM: Precious Affirmations

Chantel Riley has an impressive résumé as a television and Broadway actress. The talented on-screen star is also a singer/songwriter, she owns and operates a children’s clothing boutique, and is now adding “children’s author” to her accolades. Her positive-affirmations book for children has landed her on Canada’s national entertainment show, eTalk. She has also received glowing reviews for I AM: Precious Affirmations, and uses her social media platforms of tens of thousands of followers to promote her book.

The Toronto-based actress speaks about the heartfelt inspiration behind her children’s book and how social media has helped her reach a much wider audience, and shares her top three affirmations for authors!

You have an impressive résumé as a Broadway and television actor and owner of a children’s clothing boutique. Tell us more about yourself. 

I was born in Toronto to my Jamaican parents, Joan and Errol Riley, and come from a big family. I have four siblings. Before I got into show business, I grew up taking dance lessons and singing in my church.

What inspired you to write I AM and become an author? 

We had reached the one-year mark of the pandemic and I noticed I was seeing more and more reports of the decline of mental health in our youth and young children, along with the unfortunate and heartbreaking increase of suicide rates. Having two nephews of my own—one is 11 years old and the other 19 months old—I worried for their mental wellbeing and any effect this pandemic may have on them.

I am a strong believer in affirmations and the power of positive thoughts. Speaking to myself with positive words of power and love has helped me overcome some of the darkest moments of my life. Children are the future and I wanted to make sure I can leave something behind to help guide them down a road filled will love and positivity.

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Meet the Team

Tellwell’s managing editor Alison Strumberger on why she believes editing is crucial for a quality book

There is an unwritten contract between an author and their readers. Picking out a book, purchasing and opening that book, sitting down in a solitary moment to read that book – all of this is an act of trust. It’s a leap of faith. It’s an investment of your readers’ time, money, and attention.

Alison Strumberger, Tellwell’s Managing Editor

Tell us about your background, as well as your role at Tellwell.

I’ve been working in publishing for a little over fifteen years, starting out as a submissions reader for a magazine in Montreal while completing a BA in English literature and creative writing. I went abroad after I graduated. Thirty countries and some years later, my travels took me to Melbourne, Australia, where I got my MA in publishing and editing while working in both trade and educational publishing houses. I ran my own writing/editing business for several years, editing everything from novels and travel guides to celebrity memoirs and annual reports. My own essays, fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous magazines and journals in Canada and Australia.

Here at Tellwell I mostly manage the editing department, and have been doing so since I moved to Victoria and joined the Tellwell team in 2017. In my capacity as managing editor, I make sure to recruit (and rigorously test!) highly experienced and professional editors who love what they do, and who are as passionate as I am about supporting authors to make their good writing great. It’s an incredible privilege getting to work so closely with a cohort of twenty-five talented editors based across Canada, the US, the UK and New Zealand. Along with our indispensable in-house editor, Simon Ogden, I work closely to monitor the quality of the editing while adjusting our services to respond to feedback from our authors. I’m an inveterate perfectionist with high standards, so I keep the team on their toes! I also spend a lot of time focusing on the quality of our production process, working to improve what we make, and the experience of the amazing authors with whom we make it.

Why is editing crucial for creating a quality, professional book? 

There is an unwritten contract between an author and their readers. Picking out a book, purchasing and opening that book, sitting down in a solitary moment to read that book – all of this is an act of trust. It’s a leap of faith. It’s an investment of your readers’ time, money, and attention. With each typo, error, malapropism, unintentional pun, break in logic, inconsistency, accidental repetition, missed punchline, unchecked fact, misused semicolon etc, that trust erodes, and so does the author’s credibility and the reader’s lasting impression. 

A well-regarded book is not weighed down by its technical pitfalls, which can be plentiful and distracting in unedited books. It is disappointing to read a review of your book that says, “It would have been great, if only it had been edited.” The crux of your book – the concept, the idea, the dare-I-say genius of it – can be clouded or confused or missed altogether when the reader needs to wade through a sea of errors, correcting as they go.

Just as each word you put on a page contributes to the meaning of your work, so too does each space, each paragraph break, each punctuation mark. Your editor is an expert in units of meaning. As Mark Twain put it: “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter; ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Dr. Seuss put it more playfully perhaps: “The writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.”

Your editor doesn’t see mistakes, they see opportunities to make your writing tighter, cleaner, and clearer.

Alison Strumberger, Tellwell’s Managing Editor

What do you consider to be a great edit? 

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Author Success - In the media, awards, reviews

Celebrating Tellwell authors in the media, award-winners, bestsellers, and more!

Tellwell-Author-Celebrations

From book launches to rave reviews to bestsellers, Tellwell authors have done it again! We’re always thrilled to celebrate author success!

Author of Immigration, Race and Survival Cecily Alexander was featured in The Caribbean Camera!

This memoir is a collection of many journals she has kept over the years. She uses journalling as a way of working through feelings and emotions and of learning from her experiences. She has had a career as a dietitian for over forty years. Her career has included academic writing, and she has one previous book publication: a book on nutrition and weight loss called “Just Eat Less: Easier said than done.” She has a master’s in business administration specializing in organizational behaviour in addition to her nutrition degree from the University of Guelph. She has taught at both the university and college levels. She lives in Southern Ontario.

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