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)
books
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
Finding Books and Other Content To Read
Reading is an interactive and magical experience. Here are some sources to find books and other things to read: Book Boon: Download free ebooks and textbooks. Free Ebook Foundation / Unglue.it: Free ebooks. Gluejar: "In the business of advancing internet infrastructure for libraries, publishers, researchers, and readers of all types." Book Mooch: Give away … [Read more...] about Finding Books and Other Content To Read
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
Two Indie Author Choices: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Although Amazon works with a wide variety of industries now, it originated in books. And it still dominates the book industry. The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about how Amazon "commands an unrivaled customer base for the books, e-books and audiobooks it publishes." Part of what helped Amazon with ebooks is KDP, the platform where indie authors can upload and sell … [Read more...] about Two Indie Author Choices: Amazon and Barnes & Noble
An Update on Amazon
It seems Amazon is always in the news, and that makes sense. It's a giant company with a huge reach. For this post, I'm going to focus on the non-book items of Amazon. Some of it is related to indie publishing, and some of it is just plain interesting. First up, a writer on Gizmodo tried to block Amazon from here life, and found it was impossible. This is because in addition … [Read more...] about An Update on Amazon
Guest Post: How to Name a Character
By Emmanuel Nataf It’s the new year and you’re ready to actually carry out your resolution of writing a book. You’re excited and sitting down to put down the first word when you stop short — because you’ve realized that you’re missing one of the most basic ingredients of all: a name for your character. Though it might seem like a given, a name is actually one of the most … [Read more...] about Guest Post: How to Name a Character
Subscription Box Service, A Way to Build Your Brand?
A while back, I came across an article about starting a subscription box service. I'd never thought of that as an option before, but the idea is interesting. One of the examples is Brave Roots Box, which sends religious items to kids and teens each month (the owner was cited in the article I read). Apparently, the subscription box business model is prevalent enough that … [Read more...] about Subscription Box Service, A Way to Build Your Brand?
A List of 194 Tools and Resources: Apps, Trends, Marketing Tips, and More
![By Heffloaf (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i1.wp.com/digitalpubbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Stack_of_Books.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
It's about that time again for another roundup post. This time I've got a bunch of tools and resources that cover a wide range of topics, from freelancing to marketing to reading and more. Book Creation Tools/Help Book Creator Comic Book Paper Omnibook Vellum Vivliostyle (and why it's important) "Automated Cleanup for Word Manuscripts" Beyond XML … [Read more...] about A List of 194 Tools and Resources: Apps, Trends, Marketing Tips, and More
Indie Authors: Book Sales and Other Income Strategies
As an author, there's a lot of things to consider when it comes to earning money. Some indie authors are able to earn a full time income, according to The Guardian and Russell Blake. Print sales are not the most lucrative, according to LG O'Connor, and print and ebook bundling doesn't always work out, according to Copyright and Technology. It can also be hard to find the right … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Book Sales and Other Income Strategies
10 Audiobooks to Read This Holiday Season (A Good Audiobook Speaks Volumes Blog Tour)
Happy November, fellow readers! We’re in the middle of holiday season, which probably means lots of traveling, and also getting ready for traveling. One great way to help you prepare, and to help you relax while you’re traveling, is to listen to audiobooks. And that’s why I’m participating in the “A Good Audiobook Speaks Volumes” blog tour. Audiobooks make it easy to … [Read more...] about 10 Audiobooks to Read This Holiday Season (A Good Audiobook Speaks Volumes Blog Tour)
Amazon News and Tools
It's been a while since I've posted about Amazon, so thought I'd share some links I've been collecting. It covers a wide range of topics, but hey, that's Amazon! Amazon Tools and Tutorials ACX University Kindle Create Amazon Sales Estimator Tool on Jungle Scout Amazon Sales Rank Calculator on Kindlepreneur "Tutorial: Enabling X-Ray for Your eBooks on Amazon" … [Read more...] about Amazon News and Tools
Guest Post: A Guide To Successful Youtube Video Marketing
By Sheena Mathieson Sheena Mathieson is a freelance writer who shares some helpful tips on using YouTube. Videos are used for various purposes – ranging from educational to entertaining. In fact, YouTube was made in order for people online to find videos quickly. Thanks to its search engine and social media system, their vision was made possible. YouTube also offers a new … [Read more...] about Guest Post: A Guide To Successful Youtube Video Marketing
