Digital Pubbing

Exploring the ins and outs of the publishing industry

books

Indie Authors and Authorpreneurs: Teaching Online Courses

by

To many people, self-publishing means producing ebooks. But nowadays, that’s a limited way of thinking. A lot of indie authors call themselves authorpreneurs, and at least some of them have expanded their business to include not only books, but other digital content such as blogs, podcasts, videos, and even online courses. Making and selling your own online courses is one of … [Read more...] about Indie Authors and Authorpreneurs: Teaching Online Courses

Guest Post: Global Fans? Get Global Links

by

By Cole Lakes - Director of Operations, GeoRiot GeoRiot builds links that work "across countries, devices, and stores." The company also recently acquired BookLinker.net, which creates a universal link for a book "that works for all Amazon stores." If you’re an indie author, chances are you’re taking advantage of Amazon’s international online store to promote and sell your … [Read more...] about Guest Post: Global Fans? Get Global Links

Indie Authors: Gathering Data and Marketing Your Work

by

You may already know, but I'm a big fan of data. It's so useful, and can help streamline and make book marketing so much more effective, among other things. One great way to collect data is to do surveys. One great example of how survey data pays off is musician Jim Bianco's album, Cookie Cutter. NPR reported that all 17 songs were inspired by a fan who filled out his 69 … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Gathering Data and Marketing Your Work

What Indie Book Publishing and Indie Game Development Have In Common, Part 3

by

A while back, I watched Indie Game: The Movie and was struck by how much indie game development and indie book publishing had in common. I had the pleasure of interviewing the talented and inspiring indie game developer, Jonathan Blow. Below is the second in a three-part series that discusses the similarities between developing games and publishing books as an indie. Read Part … [Read more...] about What Indie Book Publishing and Indie Game Development Have In Common, Part 3

What Indie Book Publishing and Indie Game Development Have In Common, Part 2

by

A while back, I watched Indie Game: The Movie and was struck by how much indie game development and indie book publishing had in common. I had the pleasure of interviewing the talented and inspiring indie game developer, Jonathan Blow. Below is the second in a three-part series that discusses the similarities between developing games and publishing books as an indie. Read Part … [Read more...] about What Indie Book Publishing and Indie Game Development Have In Common, Part 2

What Indie Book Publishing and Indie Game Development Have In Common, Part 1

by

A while back, I watched Indie Game: The Movie and was struck by how much indie game development and indie book publishing had in common. I had the pleasure of interviewing the talented and inspiring indie game developer, Jonathan Blow. Below is the first in a three-part series that discusses the similarities between developing games and publishing books as an indie. What do … [Read more...] about What Indie Book Publishing and Indie Game Development Have In Common, Part 1

2014 Year in Review: Taking Stock and Setting Goals

by

Happy holidays and happy new year! As this will be my last post of the year, I thought now would be a good time to look back and see what progress I've made as a writer and ebook developer, and figure out my goals for next year. This year I kept a spreadsheet keeping a monthly track of some of my metrics, such as social media followers and how much money I've earned. I'm … [Read more...] about 2014 Year in Review: Taking Stock and Setting Goals

Indie Authors: Using 99 Designs to Crowdsource a Cover

by

Last year, I published the first book in my series for beginners on how to make ebooks (currently working on the second, which will focus on fixed format, or children's books). It was my second book, and I had learned a few lessons from when I published my first book. This time around, I did everything right. Or so I thought. I had beta readers, a strong book description, a … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Using 99 Designs to Crowdsource a Cover

Authorly, Turn Your Book Into An App

by

Recently I learned about a new tool called Authorly, which can turn books into apps to sell in all the major app stores, including Google Play, iTunes, and the Amazon app store (see my post, "Turning Your Ebook Into An App"). Authorly allows authors to easily create apps for their books, and make them interactive. And although I like the service, I do want to point out that … [Read more...] about Authorly, Turn Your Book Into An App

Indie Authors: Formatting Books in InDesign

by

Adobe's InDesign is a wonderful tool. The software is expensive, though if you are a student or teacher you can get a slight discount, but if you have access to it I highly recommend using it. InDesign can be used to layout a book PDF, as well as be the starting point for an ebook. Print books in particular require certain elements to make it look professional, such as page … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Formatting Books in InDesign

Indie Authors: Marketing Books With Videos

by

With digital media, indie authors can now take advantage of videos to help grab the attention of readers and sell their books. I've been thinking about this topic for a while, and there's a lot to consider. Videos can be used in multiple ways, such as teaser trailers, snippets of scenes, author interviews, and even chats with big groups. They can be simple or complex, free … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Marketing Books With Videos

Indie Authors: It’s All About the List

by

Marketing is a huge, integral part of indie publishing, but it doesn't have to be hard. There are a lot of different pieces, but one of the most effective and longest lasting is building an email list. The email list has a few different names. Mailing list, subscribers, sign-ups, newsletter. But it all boils down to the same thing: it's a list that people have willingly … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: It’s All About the List

Turning Your Ebook Into an App

by

Sometimes it makes sense for a book to be transformed into an app. Forbes wrote a piece back in 2012 about whether the future of books will be as apps. Two years later, and it doesn't seem to be true, but in some cases it could work. New tools have made it easier for authors to create their own apps. Karen Robertson, creator of the book app Treasure Kai, said in a Good … [Read more...] about Turning Your Ebook Into an App

Print Books and Bookbinding

by

This post is just for fun. Even though I prefer ebooks now, print books still have a special place in my heart (I own nearly 1,000 of them). So for anyone interested in learning the art of bookbinding, you should check out the site aboutbookbinding.com. There you will find information on sewing, hand finishing, and even washing and taking care of books. If you want to try your … [Read more...] about Print Books and Bookbinding

Widbook Guest Post: Character Development is Hard and People Are Really Weird

by

By Eve Jacob – Widbook blog This post was originally featured at the Widbook blog and written by Eve Jacob. Widbook is a global community for people who love to share stories. Writers can publish their work in an ebook format and readers meet content and everyone get connected! For the next two weeks Widbook will be my guest. See the last guest post, "Outlines and Notecards and … [Read more...] about Widbook Guest Post: Character Development is Hard and People Are Really Weird