By Alexandria Evensen As an independent author you must fill two distinct roles—that of the creative, and that of the entrepreneur. If you’re reading this it’s probably safe to assume you’re not just writing for fun. You’re likely trying to shape a brand, create a passive income, or use your writing skills to promote an online business. Your writing topics should align … [Read more...] about Guest Post: 5 Steps to Finding Profitable Book Topics on Amazon
publishing
Guest Post: The Impact of Cloud Technology on The Publishing Industry
By Joe Peters Many of the changes in the publishing industry have been evident over the years. We’ve seen a significant shift from print to digital, where people are just as likely to read from a smartphone or computer screen as they are to buy a book from their local store. Digital Transformation Makes Publishing Easier The digital transformation of the industry has … [Read more...] about Guest Post: The Impact of Cloud Technology on The Publishing Industry
A Roundup of Publishing News
A lot has been happening in the publishing and writing world. Here is a quick roundup. Publishers and Companies "Microsoft has closed its e-bookstore, and everything you purchased will vanish in July" on PC World: "Microsoft will offer refunds, plus a bonus if you've marked up an ebook." "Epic Launches Original Content Program" on Publisher's Weekly: "Redwood, Calif.-based … [Read more...] about A Roundup of Publishing News
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
Tips and Tricks for Launching a Book
Launching a book is an important step in the publishing process. Here are some resources that can help you prepare: "Why Bad Things Happen to Good Titles: A 27-point pre-launch checklist" on Book Business. Make sure your book is ready. Lulu Titlescorer. See how strong your book's title is. UKRifter's Random Book or Game Title Generator. To help you generate ideas for … [Read more...] about Tips and Tricks for Launching a Book
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
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
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
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: Organization and Writing Tips
As an indie author treating writing as a business, it's important to stay on top of deadlines and to always work on improving your craft. Organizing Your Time To that end, Duolit has provided a helpful free monthly planner for authors. The idea is that to-do lists can be too daunting, and if you schedule activities in your calendar you will actually get more done. The planner … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Organization and Writing Tips
Authors and Publishing
If you're serious about publishing, you'll treat it as a business. That holds true if you decide to go the traditional publishing route or they self-publishing route. Kristen Lamb has a great post about the odds of author success, where she talks about putting in the hard work to develop discipline, write and edit the book, network, and much more. Published to Death … [Read more...] about Authors and Publishing
128 Resources on the Who’s, What’s, Where’s, When’s, Why’s, and How’s of Book Marketing and Other Publishing Tidbits
All right folks, time for another epic list! I noticed I'd accumulated a lot of WWWWWH links, and thought it'd fun to put them all together here. They're mostly about book marketing, but some are about other aspects of publishing (and not always about books), and some are just for fun. Enjoy! The Who "Who is the Genius Behind Merriam-Webster's Social Media?" on Literary … [Read more...] about 128 Resources on the Who’s, What’s, Where’s, When’s, Why’s, and How’s of Book Marketing and Other Publishing Tidbits
