Medieval writing desk.Publishing is changing.  That’s where consensus ends and confusion begins.  Is it the end of literature, or salvation for authors?  Should you e-publish or POD?  Kindle or epub?  Amazon or Apple or NOOK or… where can you get straight answers?

That’s where Litsam rides in.  We’re dedicated to the traditional written form, not married to a delivery mechanism.  We exist to promote quality literature from the short story to the novel, whether you publish with us, self-publish, or land a big advance from a traditional publisher.  We believe in treating people ethically, from the authors we work with and the readers we serve to the guy who makes the coffee run.

We’re here to help you succeed, not to dictate the terms of that success, because your words matter to the world.

Litsam supports copyright law. Our DMCA policy.

Rose at the Bistro!

Filed under: Events — Shasta Willson @ April 23, 2013

Tuesday April 23th, at 6:30pm, Rose and Friends arrive at the Bistro in Shoreline WA for an energetic evening of poetry. Bistro: 1520 NE 177th St, Shoreline WA

Rose McAleese at Orca Books in Olympia

Filed under: Events — Shasta Willson @ November 14, 2012

November 16th, 7pm. Don’t miss Rose! Orca Books

“Strong. Female. Character.” at Third Place Books, Ravenna on Oct. 10th

Filed under: Events — Shasta Willson @ October 2, 2012

Join us in an intimate setting for a great performance! Third Place Books: Ravenna October 10th, 7pm 6504 20th Ave. NE Seattle, Washington 98115 http://ravenna.thirdplacebooks.com/authorevents.html  

“Strong. Female. Character.” at Fremont Abbey October 9th

Filed under: Events — Shasta Willson @ October 2, 2012

Rose McAleese returns to Fremont Abbey! If you haven’t attended The Round before, it’s a performance like no other. In the Abbey’s own words: Featuring Round favorite and slam poet Rose McAleese celebrating her new poetry book release! Live musicians collaborate onstage together Bands TBA Live painters create on the side Savannah OMalley – www.savyjanestudios.com [read more]

Strong. Female. Character. at Elliott Bay Books October 3rd

Filed under: Events — Shasta Willson @ September 28, 2012

Come join us for the first launch event of Rose McAleese’s exciting debut book! A very talented performer, she promises to deliver a great evening. Strong. Female. Character. by Rose McAleese Elliott Bay Books October 3rd, 7pm Please join us!

Double Signing – Forest Grove OR

Filed under: Events — Shasta Willson @ June 8, 2012

July 21st Jack Lewis and Cap’n Drift will be signing Nothing in Reserve and A Little Sex, a Lot of Dope and an Aircraft Carrier at a motorcycle event just outside Portland to benefit veterans. The Iron Horse Garage, a veteran-owned motorcycle shop, and both authors will be raising funds for the Returning Veteran’s Foundation, [read more]

Vancouver Signing – A Little Sex, a Lot of Dope, and an Aircraft Carrier

Filed under: Events — Shasta Willson @ February 8, 2012

A Little Sex, a Lot of Dope, and an Aircraft Carrier by Cap’n Drift sold out at our Seattle signing. To celebrate, the Cap’n will be joining friends and fans at The Quarterdeck Bar in Vancouver Washington. Saturday FEB-25 4pm-6pm The Quarterdeck Bar 4300 E Fourth Plain BLVD Vancouver, Wa 98661   Books must be [read more]

Signing — A Little Sex, a Lot of Dope, and an Aircraft Carrier

Filed under: Events — Shasta Willson @ January 9, 2012

Litsam proudly announced the release of A Little Sex, a Lot of Dope, and an Aircraft Carrier by Cap’n Drift. To celebrate the launch of his first book, the Cap’n will be joining friends and fans at Engel’s Pub in Edmonds Washington. Saturday FEB-4 4pm-6pm Engel’s Pub 113 5th Ave S Edmonds, WA   Books [read more]

On the Power of Templates

Filed under: Book Design — Shasta Willson @ September 20, 2011

Word, InDesign, QuarkXPress, Scribus … there are lots of ways to lay out a book and opinions run deep. No matter which tool you use, there are a few things you can do to consistently produce professional books. Start with a template. Most of the big printers provide templates for at least some formats. Createspace [read more]

Indie Author hits a million sales

Filed under: Kindle — Shasta Willson @ June 23, 2011

Amazon announced today that indie author John Locke has sold a million copies of his book, making him the eighth author to achieve that mark, and the first indie to do so. At one point Amanda Hocking seemed poised to be the first indie to mark that accomplishment, but some speculate that her lucrative commercial [read more]

POD: The Big Three

Filed under: POD — Shasta Willson @ June 19, 2011

There are three main resources for print on demand publication: Lulu, CreateSpace, and Lightning Source. We evaluate the pros and cons of each. Lulu Lulu was the first realistic option for self-publishing via POD. Like CreateSpace there are no set up fees, and the per-book costs are similar. Lulu offers a few additional options for [read more]

What about Calibre?

Filed under: epub — Shasta Willson @ June 18, 2011

Calibre is a great tool for readers to manage ebook libraries, convert non-DRM files from one format to another, and to read books. It functions very well for this purpose, and can convert a huge variety of file formats, such as creating an epub from your pdf file. Because it’s easy, well known, and often [read more]

Naming Your Book

Filed under: Collateral — Shasta Willson @ April 27, 2011

Once upon a time your book sold through reviews, word of mouth, and the occasional impulse-buy. It was your book’s cover’s job to grab that passerby, and good designers knew how to do it. Your title had to be pithy, or interesting, or descriptive. In a world where electronic sales are increasingly important, the words [read more]

The Golden Rectangle and book sizes

Filed under: Book Design — Shasta Willson @ June 16, 2010

When designing a book for print on demand (POD), one of the first decisions is the book size. For some books like a sci-fi paperback this may be easy — conforming to industry standards would be sensible. We all know what a paperback fiction book is ‘supposed’ to feel like. But I was faced with [read more]