Northwood News ♦ June 2015

Local Author’s First Book on Publishing Wins Award

By Jacquie Bokow

A how-to book for authors about publishing their own books, written by an editor in the neighborhood, was nominated for two “book of the year” awards and won one of them in April. Katherine Pickett, who started Hop On Publishing with her husband Chris, wrote Perfect Bound: How to Navigate the Book Publishing Process Like a Pro, which they published in September of last year. The couple and their daughter live on Ordway Drive.

Katherine Pickett’s book, Perfect Bound, won a silver award from the Independent Book Publishers Association.

In March, the Picketts found out that Perfect Bound had been named a finalist in the Writing category of the 17th annual Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards and in the Reference category of the 2015 Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Awards. In April, the book received a silver award from the IBPA, a not-for-profit trade organization for independent publishers.

The other award will be announced during a program at the American Library Association Annual Conference in San Francisco, California, on June 26. Foreword Magazine, Inc., is a media company whose quarterly print magazine Foreword Reviews and website review independently published books.

Katherine Pickett founded a publishing company with her husband Chris. Their first book was nominated for two “book of the year” awards.

“I set out to write a book that would help new authors create the best book possible and avoid costly mistakes along the way,” said Katherine. “The recognition that comes with these awards will help us achieve that goal.”

The book gives authors the low-down on publishing houses, self-publishing, whether to sign with an agent or not, developing a manuscript, copyediting, design and layout, fine-tuning and proofreading, printing and binding options, marketing and publicity (i.e., getting used to self-promotion!), and much more.

Perfect Bound is the first book published by Hop On Publishing, LLC. For more information, visit their website at www.hoponpublishing.com. Our congratulations to both of you! ■

[Note: After the June issue was published, the Picketts received the news that Perfect Bound had won gold in the Writing category of the 17th annual Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards.]