During a yearlong office-cleaning project the author reflects on his life as a writer and as a reader, addressing several themes: the place of physical books in an ever-increasing digital age, the impact of social media on publishing's rapidly-changing landscape, the skill set an author needs to survive in today's publishing world, and the author's measured transition from traditional author to independent author/publisher. Written in four parts reflecting the four seasons of the year, W. Nikola-Lisa offers fifty-two brief sketches of his life as an author, a reader, and a book collector. A fascinating, but quick read filled with insight and humor. Awards and Commendations -Book Excellence Award in the category of publishing from Literary Excellence Incorporated, a Canadian-based literacy arts group-Finalist, Chicago Writers Association, Best Book of the Year Award, for a non-traditionally published work of nonfiction. Critical Reviews In this charming, unorthodox, and personable memoir, W. Nikola-Lisa uses the seemingly mundane task of cleaning out his office as a clever frame for reflections upon everything from his love of Robin Hood to the self-publishing process, taking readers on an enjoyable journey that every booklover will relate to--and every author, indie or otherwise, will learn a thing or two from. -Brooke Warner, Author of Green-Light Your Book . A fun, yet thoughtful, romp through the self-publishing process interwoven with the journey toward becoming a writer. Part self-publishing how-to, part memoir, part travelogue, this story unfolds with a storyteller's precision that includes involving vignettes, surprising historic asides, and personal observations. A treat for anyone who loves books, reading, and the publishing world. - Marlene Targ Brill, Author of Bronco Charlie and the Pony Express, Recipient of the Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award .Nikola-Lisa uses his yearlong project of sorting andcleaning all the books in his office as a launching pad for an exploration ofthe joys and challenges of being a self-published author. Cleaning andorganizing books may not seem like the noblest of endeavors, but five pagesinto Dog Eared , you will be dedicatedto the project. In another author's hands, this subject matter could easily stagnate,but thanks to Nikola-Lisa's humor and wonderfully quirky style, the book is atrue delight to read. Terrell Isselhard,Windy City Reviews, Chicago Nikola-Lisa is a published author of many children's bookswho turned to self-publishing after the Crash of 2007. This book, for adults,chronicles a year in the life of the author and gives tremendous insight intothe writing and publishing life in this brave new world. It is a realistic viewand I greatly appreciate that. It's so easy these days to publish your books,but that also means publishing isn't enough. What is? What works? How do youknow if it will work? And how do you find time to write, keep organized andhave a life? I enjoyed his journal of the year, I liked his musings aboutself-publishing, and I got many ideas for improving my own publications. Whocould ask for more? Janet Perry, Reviewer, Netgalley Just read Chapter 5 in Dog Eared and...what a ride that was: up, down, then super up. Certainly made my day, week, month-maybe even year. Congratulations on the new book. Stephen Mooser, President, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I can't say that the book has one main theme, as it reads more like a collection of diary entries throughout the year--a year in the life of the author. However, it was a very nice read. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. Liubov Baladzhaeva, NetGalley Reviewer And more to come... I didn't set out to write a book. I set out to clean my office. That was my 2016 New Year's resolution, which, by the way, I never make. Ever. It all started because of the IRS (that's right, blame it on the government). What does the IRS demand of every self-employed author? Inventory accountability, that's what. Excuse me, but how many books do you have squirreled away in your attic? Once I embarked on Inventory Counting Day (dressed as a coal miner since I had to navigate a few crawl spaces in my attic), I got the brilliant idea to count--and clean--every single book on the bookshelves in my office. And how many books might that be? I don't know, but I swear the house is sinking beneath my office because of the weight of them all. Of course the house isn't sinking beneath my office (at least I don't think so), but I do have a lot of books. So, as soon as I finished Inventory Counting Day, I started the onerous task of cleaning every bookshelf in my office. Let's see: four 10½-foot walls of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves divided by four seasons of the year equals one wall per season). That's manageable. It's just going to take an entire year to complete the project. And it did, resulting in my latest work titled Dog Eared:A Year's Romp Through the Self-Publishing World . W. N