PowerBlog Review: A-ha!

Editor's note: Welcome to the sixtieth in our weekly series of PowerBlog Reviews of business weblogs.


This week I am reviewing a blog started by a friend of mine, Yvonne DiVita, and her fiance Tom Collins, along with Yvonne's sister Maryanne. Together the three of them run a business called WME Books.

A-ha! stands for "authors helping authors." This is a blog written by authors, focused on helping new writers, and existing writers, in their writing and publishing efforts.

It's a whole new world today when it comes to publishing books. More authors are self-publishing. And print-on-demand services enable books to be printed without a huge up-front investment.

WME Books is on the forefront of this new publishing trend. And the blog is helping to spread the word about how publishing is changing, and what that means for aspiring authors. As Yvonne says:

"We hope to show the value of self-publishing using print-on-demand -- without criticizing traditional publishing -- merely pointing out the differences, both pluses and minues on each side. With A-ha! we will be building a platform of useful information on publishing in a new age...including posts on how to overcome writer's block, why it's a good idea to HIRE an editor and proofreader (and not try to do these critical tasks yourself), posts about the importance of a good cover, and also why a writer might use an author's services company. Of course, we will discuss print-on-demand and how it will continue to grow...and perhaps, overtake traditional publishing."

I got to know Yvonne, and through her Tom and Maryanne, through blogging. Blogs, of course, are great professional networking tools. About 6 months later I began editing a friend's book and helping him get it published. It was a natural step to contact Yvonne for help and I engaged the services of WME Books. So when people ask if anyone has gotten new business through business blogs, I can assure you -- it happens.

The A-ha! blog is written from Rochester, New York, USA.

The Power: The Power of A-ha! is in leveraging the blog format to help spread the word about self-publishing and print on demand services.