For Authors
Author Services & Add-Ons
Making Sense Press offers a range of optional services to support authors at different stages of the writing and publishing process. Some services are open to any author. Others are available only to authors enrolled in an active Making Sense Press publishing package.
Pay for the help you need. Keep control of the rest. None of these services are ever required. Authors may handle any of these tasks themselves, use AI tools, hire their own providers, or work with qualified colleagues. Each section below is clearly labeled so you know which services are open to everyone and which require an active publishing package.
No Publishing Package Required
Author Services Available to Everyone
The services in this section are available to any author — whether or not you publish with Making Sense Press. No active MSP publishing package is required to purchase them.
Creative Breakthrough Session with Lisa Tarves
Feeling stuck doesn't always mean you've run out of ideas. Maybe you're writing fiction and don't know where the story should go next. Maybe you're writing nonfiction and aren't sure what makes sense to cover next or how to organize what you want to say. Maybe you know exactly what you want to write but can't seem to get it onto the page.
And sometimes the obstacle isn't the story at all. It may be overwhelm, confidence, an emotional roadblock, difficulty with the writing process, or even something practical or technical that is making it difficult to move forward.
In this private 45-minute session, Lisa works one-on-one with the author to identify what is actually getting in the way and help find a practical and creative path forward.
Lisa brings a diverse professional background to these sessions, including experience as an author and publisher, along with professional experience in counseling, coaching, NLP, hypnotherapy, and helping people work through emotional and mental roadblocks.
The session may help with:
- Writer's block
- Deciding where a story should go next
- Plot or character direction
- Organizing nonfiction ideas
- Deciding what belongs next in a manuscript
- Turning ideas into a workable direction
- Creative overwhelm
- Confidence or emotional roadblocks affecting the writing process
- Practical or technical obstacles that are interfering with progress
- Simply feeling stuck and not knowing why
Press Release Writing
$149A professionally written press release announcing your book's publication, suitable for distribution to media outlets, local publications, and online news services.
Press Release Writing + Distribution
$299Includes the professionally written press release above, plus coordinated distribution to a targeted list of media contacts, publications, and wire services relevant to your book's audience.
Professional Book Trailer
Authors may choose a traditional promotional style or a cinematic-style book trailer, depending on the tone, genre, and needs of their book.
Book trailers are professionally created by an independent freelancer coordinated by Making Sense Press and may include appropriate licensed stock footage, music, text, book-cover imagery, and promotional messaging.
Making Sense Press will work with the author to determine the appropriate creative direction and provide the necessary book information to the selected professional.
Amazon KDP Advertising Setup
$299Initial setup of Amazon KDP advertising campaigns for your book, including keyword research, audience targeting, bid strategy, and initial campaign configuration to help your book reach readers actively searching on Amazon. Ongoing campaign management or future optimization is not included unless separately arranged. Advertising spend paid to Amazon is also separate.
Active Publishing Package Required
Making Sense Press Author Add-Ons
Available to Active MSP Authors
The services in this section are available only to authors enrolled in an active Making Sense Press publishing package — Essential Imprint, Guided Publishing, or Publishing Partner.
These add-ons are designed to work alongside your publishing package and require one to be active.
Social Media Book Promotion
$149Professionally written social media content promoting your book across relevant platforms. Includes post copy and suggested imagery direction designed to reach readers and build awareness.
Promotional Add-Ons
Author & Book Spotlights
Spotlight placements give Making Sense Press authors and books temporary featured visibility on MakingSensePress.com. Three options are available — a Book Spotlight, an Author Spotlight, or a bundled Author + Book Spotlight.
Book Spotlight
A temporary featured placement highlighting one book, including its cover, description, author name, and approved purchase link.
Author Spotlight
A temporary featured placement highlighting the author, including an author photo, biography, books, and approved website or social links.
Request an Author SpotlightAuthor + Book Spotlight Bundle
A coordinated Author Spotlight and Book Spotlight presented together for greater visibility and promotional impact.
For Directory Members
Professional Spotlight
7-Day Professional Spotlight
$49Temporary featured placement that moves an existing Making Sense Press Professional Directory profile into a featured position for seven consecutive days. Expanded profile content is not included.
Request a Professional SpotlightIndependent Professional Services
For certain publishing needs, Making Sense Press may coordinate services through independent freelance professionals we have worked with, vetted, or selected based on their experience, reliability, communication, and quality of work.
These professionals are independent contractors and are not employees, agents, or in-house staff members of Making Sense Press.
If an author chooses one of these coordinated services, Making Sense Press will help communicate the project requirements, arrange the service with the selected professional, and serve as the author's primary point of contact during the process.
Authors are never required to use a Making Sense Press-coordinated professional. They may instead hire their own provider or choose a professional independently.
Need Something You Don't See?
If you are looking for a specific type of publishing or promotional support that isn't listed here, please reach out. We are happy to let you know whether additional assistance may be available or to point you in the right direction.