By Anna Kucirkova This article was originally published on Cornerstone University's blog. You’ve probably heard that reading can be good for you. You may have heard it your whole life. But maybe reading just isn’t your thing. Maybe you enjoy reading, but you have trouble comprehending difficult material from your classes or your workplace. Good news—this article can … [Read more...] about Guest Post: 5 Ways Reading Can Change Your Life (And Best Practices)
Publishing
Learning New Skills (Courses and Platforms)
As an indie author, there's always something new to learn. It's exciting, but sometimes it's hard to know where to go to pick up new skills. Here are a few platforms and courses I've found useful. Some are more about coding, which can also be useful (for building an author website, or a cool app, or scripting something to help you with your writer's block): Absolute Write: … [Read more...] about Learning New Skills (Courses and Platforms)
Associations and Websites for Writers
Being part of a community can be empowering and important as an indie author or publisher. Here are some associations and websites that can help: Publishers Global: "An information marketplace for the global publishing industry - publishers, authors, literary agents and all kinds of publishing service providers." Indie Write Net: The indie writer's network. Community … [Read more...] about Associations and Websites for Writers
Book Events and Festivals
Going to book events and festivals is a great way to meet people and get inspired. Since I've mostly lived near two coastal cities, most of the events and places (which include some pretty cool bookstores) I've found are either in New York or San Francisco. Still, a good start! Feel free to add more suggestions in the comments. New York NY Literary Events Calendar … [Read more...] about Book Events and Festivals
A Look at Data and Metadata
Data is fascinating. It can inform and tell stories, and it can be fun to share information. Mashable created an infographic to display how much information is generated every minute (it's a lot). So it also doesn't surprise me that many people say they're addicted to the internet. It's not necessarily a bad thing. There are a lot of resources and projects online with really … [Read more...] about A Look at Data and Metadata
Job Boards and Resources for Writers and the Publishing Industry
When it comes to books and jobs, there are a few routes you can go: the writing route and the publishing industry route. For people interested in getting involved with book publishing, and being in the industry, there are a number of job listing sites. Some of the ones I've found helpful over the years include: Publisher's Weekly Jobzone Publishers Lunch Job Board … [Read more...] about Job Boards and Resources for Writers and the Publishing Industry
Guest Post: How Indie Authors Can Establish a Strong Digital Presence
By Josh Wardini In an era heavily dominated by technology, it is not so surprising to find the publishing world gradually moving into online selling, whether it is print, ebook, or audio books. As an integral part of independent publishing, marketing is even more imperative in the digital era. Readers tend to do their research online, from new releases to the authors they … [Read more...] about Guest Post: How Indie Authors Can Establish a Strong Digital Presence
Resources For Finding An Agent
Following up on my post about going the traditional or self published route, here are some resources if you want to go the traditional route and find an agent: Agent Query: A searchable database of literary agents. Jericho Agent Match: A service that lists all agents in the U.S. and U.K. Curtis Agency: Located in New York. MacKenzie Wolf: Full service literary … [Read more...] about Resources For Finding An Agent
Writers: Traditional or Self Publish
When it comes to books, authors have many options for how they want to connect with readers. The first question to ask is, do you want to be traditionally published or do you want to self publish? Jane Friedman has a great breakdown of the publishing paths, the value of each route, and things to watch out for. The Porch Swing Chronicles also has a post about being a hybrid … [Read more...] about Writers: Traditional or Self Publish
Getting Into the Audio Market
Audio is becoming a bigger and bigger part of digital publishing. According to GoodeReader, the "format saw a 22.7% increase in sales and generated over $2.5 billion dollars in the United States alone." But audio doesn't mean just audiobooks. It can also mean voice apps, podcasts, and more. Audiobooks Indie authors can sell audiobooks, via ACX, Smashwords, iTunes, and Libro. … [Read more...] about Getting Into the Audio Market
Focusing on Wins, Big and Small
There are many ways to define success. Lately, I've been focusing on emphasizing my wins, big and small. It's a good way to stay motivated, and to not also succumb to the endless to-dos and feeling like nothing gets accomplished. With that in mind, here are some recent wins related to digital publishing: More than 1 million books were self-published in 2017, according … [Read more...] about Focusing on Wins, Big and Small
Novelists Turned TV and Movie Writers
Writing can take on a variety of forms, and some authors are able to turn their books into movies or TV shows. If you do end up having a really popular story or book, keep ALLi's three guiding principles for selling rights in mind: understand the contract, capitalize on rights, and limit the terms. Now that's out of the way, here are some author success stories, who broke … [Read more...] about Novelists Turned TV and Movie Writers
Cool People, Cool Projects
People make amazing things. That's probably why I spend so much time online—I often go down the rabbit hole of reading about people's cool projects. Speaking of, here are some I've heard about recently: "This Book Is A Planetarium" on Hyperallergic: "Defying every expectation of what a book can be, this pop-up extravaganza transforms into six fully functional tools: a real … [Read more...] about Cool People, Cool Projects
20 Stories Related To Writing and Publishing
Sometimes I read stories, and just have to share them. Here's a list of recent interesting stuff (in no particular order): "13 Writers Who Grew To Hate Their Own Books" on Literary Hub: List includes Ian Fleming (The Spy Who Loved Me), Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange), and Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace). "8 Notable Attempts to Hack the New York Times Bestseller List" … [Read more...] about 20 Stories Related To Writing and Publishing
Technology and Publishing
Tech, including tools and developments in machine learning, have become more prevalent, leading to a lot of interesting experiments and projects. One that caught my eye recently is a neural network that wrote a novel about its own cross-country road trip. Ross Goodwin took a road trip from Brooklyn to New Orleans, and hooked up a GPS, microphone, laptop, and printer to the … [Read more...] about Technology and Publishing
