Oakes Writing Consultants

Don\'t forget to add us. We appreciate it.

I began self-publishing my books some time ago after discovering that there were numerous so-called book publishers out there willing to publish for a large fee.  I figured that if I had to pay to get my books published, they weren’t worth publishing because no reputable publisher asks for upfront fees from authors.  So after obtaining best-seller status on some of my books, friends and others began asking how I did it and wanting to know if I could help them?

I began to explain to them all that publishing is the easy part (at least for me–they disagreed, having given it a try and given up).  To me the biggest part of the equation is the marketing and having over 20 years experience in both sales and marketing, this is not that difficult for me either.  Indeed, the large reason I started this site a few years ago was to learn how marketing of websites differs from traditional marketing and I have learned and applied enough to be counted as an SEO expert (see my oDesk “expert” badge at the bottom of the page).  Marketing books, as long as they are reasonably good and useful, is not that different from any other kind of marketing.

So after some discussions with these friends I entered into some contracts to represent, edit, publish, and market their books.

I am proud to announce that my best friend, Peter A. Grimm is now a published author and after his first day on Amazon, his new book,

FEMA Coffins and the Annunaki: What the Government is NOT Telling You, by Peter A. Grimm, is now out on Amazon. Get it by clicking on the book.

FEMA Coffins and the Annunaki: What the Government is NOT Telling You, has skyrocketed to the top of Amazons Best-Seller list in the category of Science and Astrophysics.  To say the least, he is ecstatic–myself as well.

I never expected to become a publisher.  I am a writer.  I ghost write for clients worldwide and I write for myself and my fans.  But it seems that people are very much interested in what I offer as it pertains to publishing.  What is that?

Well as I mentioned earlier, when I first began considering publishing my books, I came across a great number of so-called publishers, really little more than scam artists feeding off the vanities of other people.  Many people would like to have a book with their name on it and I have to admit, it is a rush.  But never in my life have I heard of a reputable book publisher charging to publish.  That is simply NOT how it works.

No, reputable book publishers sign a contract with an author to represent their work and provide in exchange royalties to the author.  The publisher assumes all costs associated with the publication and marketing of the books and the author simply writes and collects checks.  That is the way it should be…especially now that publishing is so much simpler.  Publishing cost are lower so there is no good reason to charge a person to publish their book…unless it is not worth publishing.

So that is how I do things.

If an author is good enough that I believe in his or her work, I will represent that author.  The best part is, unlike the “big” publishing houses, I believe that almost every book will appeal to someone and just because it is not something I would like does not mean that others will not.  Case in point.  I do not read Gothic Romances.  I do, however, see that many people enjoy these and in fact, I have just signed a wonderful author, K. C. Cavanaugh.  Her first book will be ready for publication soon and to tell the truth, though it is not something I would normally read, I found it wonderful and could not put it down.  It is in the process of editing now, for it did need some minor continuity changes, but overall I believe she will do very well.

I am currently reading an excellent novel by Andrew Scott Bear.  It is something of a Psychological drama and is written in such a way that at times, I must remind myself it is a work of fiction.  I am finding it a refreshing read and thus far, the writing is so good that no editing is required.  Look for it soon.

The point is, I am not going to base my contracting decisions on whether I like the book or not.  I am going to objectively decide based on the ability of the author to stick to the plot, develop characters and subplots, and weave a tale or work of non-fiction that moves along at the proper pace.  Other than that, it is up to the readers to decide if it is good or not.  In other words, I am going to leave the judgments up to the market.  Which means that I believe I will have many more authors signing with me soon (I have five currently).

If you are interested in having JOakesEntertainment Publishing represent you, just write to me at cjeffoakes@gmail.com.  Send an brief

J Oakes Entertainment (JOE Publishing) logo

excerpt of your book and if I believe I would like to read more, I will send you a contract.  We can then take if from there.

For now, congratulations Mr. Grimm on your first best-seller.

Check out

FEMA Coffins and the Annunaki: What the Government is NOT Telling You here.

Don\'t forget to add us. We appreciate it.