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books

Turning Your Ebook Into an App

Monday, April 21, 2014 by Sabrina Ricci

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

Monday, April 7, 2014 by Sabrina Ricci

By Arntor (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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

Monday, March 10, 2014 by Sabrina Ricci

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

The Art of Flipping (Books?)

Friday, December 6, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

I'm in the process of looking to buy my first house (exciting and terrifying, I know!). One thing I've noticed is listings for houses on sale tend to use the same key phrases: spacious rooms, great light, charming, near x, y, z freeway, close to shopping, etc. However, even though on paper a house may sound perfect, in person they can be completely different. In the past few … [Read more...] about The Art of Flipping (Books?)

An Interview with Jeffrey Bennett, author of Math for Life and The Max Science Adventures series (part 2)

Wednesday, November 27, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

Note: I've broken this interview up into two parts. This is the second part, and it focuses more on Jeffrey Bennett's children's books, and how his books were the first children's books read in space! Read part 1 about his work as a non-fiction author here. To recap, Jeffrey Bennett is a researcher, educator, author, and one of the most inspiring people I've ever heard of. … [Read more...] about An Interview with Jeffrey Bennett, author of Math for Life and The Max Science Adventures series (part 2)

An Interview with Jeffrey Bennett, author of Math for Life and The Max Science Adventures series (part 1)

Monday, November 25, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

Note: I've broken this interview up into two parts. This is the first part, and it focuses more on Jeffrey Bennett's work as a non-fiction author. Click here for part two, which discusses Bennett's children's books, and how his books were the first children's books read in space! Jeffrey Bennett is a researcher, educator, author, and one of the most inspiring people I've … [Read more...] about An Interview with Jeffrey Bennett, author of Math for Life and The Max Science Adventures series (part 1)

5 Ways Gaming Can Help Indie Authors Increase Sales

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

By Marco Verch (World of Warcraft Warlords of Draenor @ Gamescom) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I recently wrote an article about the similarities between self-publishing and being an indie game developer (soon to be up on IndieReader--stay tuned). It's pretty cool actually, how the process of creating, marketing, and selling games is so close to the process of writing, marketing, and selling e-books (both even have a few big platforms to focus on). Anyway, this got me … [Read more...] about 5 Ways Gaming Can Help Indie Authors Increase Sales

Kindle, Kindle, Kindle: Amazon’s Latest Publishing Tools

Thursday, November 7, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

In the last week, Amazon has made three big announcements, all of which I think have the potential to greatly help indie authors. Kindle Countdown Deals The first, and most exciting in my opinion, is the Kindle Countdown Deals. What this means is that authors who publish e-books on Amazon have an easy way of price pulsing/discounting their books, and then advertising it. The … [Read more...] about Kindle, Kindle, Kindle: Amazon’s Latest Publishing Tools

McDonald’s, the Book Distributor

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

I couldn't resist. When I heard that McDonald's planned to give away over 20 million books with their happy meals during the first two weeks of November, I knew I had to see for myself. So on the first day, I bought my first happy meal in like 20 years. To be completely honest, I was excited to get The Goat Who Ate Everything, just because it sounded like the cutest of the … [Read more...] about McDonald’s, the Book Distributor

Books in Browsers 2013

Thursday, October 31, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

I went to my second Books in Browsers last week (see last year's recap day 1 and recap day 2), and was not disappointed! For those who many not know, Books in Browsers is "a small summit for the new generation of internet publishing companies, focusing on developers and designers who are building and launching tools for online storytelling, expression, and art." It takes place … [Read more...] about Books in Browsers 2013

iDreamBooks, A Book Review Aggregator

Monday, October 14, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

iDreamBooks is a site that aggregates reviews of books. The goal of the site is right in the tagline: Never read a crappy book again! Founded in 2012 by Rahul Simha, Vish Chapalamadugu and Mohit Aggarwal, iDreamBooks moved to San Francisco as part of 500 Startups. Patrick Lee, co-founder of Rotten Tomatoes, was an early investor, which works out since the site is like the … [Read more...] about iDreamBooks, A Book Review Aggregator

Infographic: The Self-Publishing Landscape

Friday, September 13, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

Happy Friday! Here's an infographic that shows the self-publishing landscape, for both print and e-books. Data compiled from Bowker, The Book Seller, and The Guardian. To learn more about self-publishing and making e-books, check out my Udemy course, "How to Create Beautiful E-Books," and my latest book, "How to Create Your First E-Book." … [Read more...] about Infographic: The Self-Publishing Landscape

Student-Managed Book Publishers

Thursday, July 11, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

Social media is a big part of indie author marketing strategies these days. But for those just starting out, it may seem daunting. When I first began using social media for platform building, I felt slightly overwhelmed. But now, after lots of practice and just incorporating social media into my daily routine, I've come to embrace it. And instead of seeing it like a chore, I see it as another way to connect and interact with people, and I've been able to build real relationships through it. Here are a few things I've learned along the way. (And if you want guidance on how to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed, read Your Writer Platform's "Are You Building Your Writer Platform at Gunpoint?") Don't use social media just to sell books Kristen Lamb's "Social Media, Book Signings & Why Neither Directly Impact Overall Sales" goes into depth on why this is not a good strategy, but basically you don't want to spam people/just make noise, and you will not develop any real relationships this way (meaning, you won't attract real fans). Rachel Thompson suggests spending more time online finding people who may be willing to review your books, and she gives a list of suggestions in her article "Why ‘Read My Book!’ Doesn’t Work…And What To Do Instead" Focus on one or two platforms first, then build from there Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. Pinterest. Google. Youtube. Goodreads. LinkedIn. Tumblr. The list goes on and on. You can be active on all these channels, but it's probably best to pick one or two and work on growing an audience there first. Every social media channel works a little differently, caters to a different audience, and has savvy users who expect others to use the network a certain way. The Book Designer's "Do You Make These Online Marketing Mistakes?" offers tips, such as establishing one audience per channel and using landing pages. Social Media Just for Writers also recommends researching your target market and then choosing your social media platform based on that in "How to Stop Wasting Time and Focus Your Book Marketing." For advice on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube, read DBW's "The Book Marketing Social Media Hierarchy: Which Sites to Use for Which Purposes." Business Insider broke down the demographics of some of the social media platforms. According to them, the 45- to 54-year-old demographic is growing, "27% of 18 to 29-year-olds in the U.S. use Twitter," LinkedIn and Google+ are mostly male, Pinterest is mostly women on tablets, and Tumblr is mostly teens and young adults. Eventually you can expand into other platforms. For a case study on why, read Kate Tilton's "Why I Use Different Social Media Networks (And You Should Too) by @K8Tilton." For help determining which platform is best for you, read these articles: "Instagram: Should You Be On It?" on Indies Unlimited "How Tumblr Turned a Book Into a Bestseller" on GoodeReader "Pinterest Unveils Buyable Pins, A Way To Purchase Things Directly Within Pinterest" on TechCrunch "Pinterest Update: More Ways Authors Can Use Pinterest!" on Writers Win "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Pinterest" on Musings and Marvels "How I Made it to the Front Page of BuzzFeed Twice, and How You Can Too" on Matthew Barby "Surprising News in Social Media – And a Twitter Tip" on Social Media Just for Writers "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Twitter" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: 8 Secrets to Increase Your Twitter Followers" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: What Everybody Ought To Know About Facebook Account Management" on Musings and Marvels "Guest Post: Want to Step Up Your Facebook?" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Goodreads" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: LinkedIn" on Musings and Marvels "Indie Author Marketing Guide: Google Plus" on Musings and Marvels "Which Social Media and Marketing Tools Are Publishers Actually Using Successfully" on DBW Strategize how you will build your platform Erindor Press's "Platform Building Primer" is a good start, and advocates setting expectations and figuring out the best way to share content, either via blogging, email newsletters, or something else (and you can use social media to promote that content). The Loneliest Planet shared a post, called "One Writer's Platform (Part 2) Events and PR," which goes over techniques of marketing offline (such as doing public readings and lectures) but also adds that it's worth taping these performances and uploading them to Youtube to share. Use lots of images/visuals People tend to engage more with posts, tweets, etc. that are visual. According to Rebekah Radice's "5 Steps to Get Massive Engagement With Your Visual Content," "43% of social media users share pictures." She recommends having consistent colors, using templates, appropriate fonts, and to create infographics, images, and videos. Build Book Buzz recommends creating different types of images, including picture quotes, tipographics, and infographics. For tips on how to actually create these images, read Social Media Just For Writer's "Writers: Use Visuals to Market Your Books." Make use of social media tools Here's a list of resources, along with helpful tips and links to additional tools: Kate Tilton Social Media Resources Kate Tilton Authors on Instagram Kate Tilton Book Bloggers on Instagram Social Media Examiner Storyfinds Momentum RelayStation Magnolia Media Network Books Go Social Keep up to date on new platforms and tools Lastly, the social media landscape is constantly changing, so it's good to stay up to date. One example of a relatively new tool/platform is Aerbook, which according to PW turns social media into a virtual bookstore. Earlier this year, Social Media Just for Writers wrote about how indie authors can use Aerbook, which allows you to share previews and even sell ebooks on social media networks, as well as see analytics on your shares. According to the article, there are three product plans to choose from: Aerbook Retail is free, no credit card required. It gives you the social look inside the book, email capture popups within the sample, stats on how the book is used, and the ability to share the link and also get web page widgets that launch the Aerbook. This plan lets you sell the book directly through Aerbook, and our service earns 15% of the purchase price after credit card fees are deducted. Aerbook Plus gives you everything Aerbook Retail delivers, plus lets you add links to other retailers, like Amazon, iBooks, or even your own purchase page. Aerbook Plus is $49 per year. Aerbook Flyer includes everything above, but there’s no direct sale through Aerbook’s commerce service. You’ll add links to other retailers. Flyer also lets you do book giveaways, and includes 500 directly delivered, complete books annually. Flyer is $99 per year. Got any social media tips? Please share in the comments!

Student-run presses are not a new concept. Most MFA programs for creative writing publish literary journals, which MFA students work on while in school. And many universities have student-run newspapers, such as UCSB's Daily Nexus. But not many schools have student-run book publishers. A couple weeks ago, I met an author whose book had been acquired and published … [Read more...] about Student-Managed Book Publishers

Writers, Readers, Publishers: Present Tense, Future Bold #3

Friday, June 21, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

By Airman 1st Class Devin N. Boyer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Last night's meeting was actually more like the 15th meeting, but I don't often get the chance to attend anymore, so this is only my third post about the group. The speaker was Jeffrey Sussman, president of Jeffrey Sussman, Inc., a marketing public relations firm in New York City.  The email I received about the event said that "Jeffrey has represented virtually every kind … [Read more...] about Writers, Readers, Publishers: Present Tense, Future Bold #3

Immersive Storytelling

Wednesday, April 3, 2013 by Sabrina Ricci

Transmedia, apps, and other forms of immersive storytelling are getting more and more popular. For large worlds like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones, to name a few well-known examples, immersive storytelling can be a great extension or better way to connect with readers. … [Read more...] about Immersive Storytelling

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Books for Indie Authors

Books for Indie Authors

Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book
Your First 1000 Copies: The Step-by-Step Guide to Marketing Your Book
by Tim Grahl
tagged: indie-publishing and to-read
The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively
it was amazing
The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively
by Nina Amir
Other reviewers have called The Author Training Manual a must-read, and I have to agree. Nina Amir has compiled a great amount of research, experience, and real-life samples that can help any other, self-published, traditionally publishe...
tagged: indie-publishing

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