After doing all the hard work of writing, editing, and designing your book, it's nice to be able to sell it. There are a number of creative ways to sell an ebook these days. Book Promotion Hub recommends selling via online book clubs, which includes Goodreads, Amazon Book Club, BookTalk.org, and Book Mooch. You can also collaborate with people, or as Michelle from Random … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Selling Books
publishing
Guest Post: What You Need To Know Before Becoming Your Own Marketer
By Mariah T. Being able to create and implement an effective marketing and promotional strategy can be of the utmost importance for new authors, especially if you aren’t working with a publishing company. You simply don’t have the resources to hire a full-time marketer, so you are going to have to start yourself off until you can get a foothold in the publishing world. In … [Read more...] about Guest Post: What You Need To Know Before Becoming Your Own Marketer
Guest Post: 6 Marketing Ideas For The Day Your Book Launches
By Martin Cavannagh It’s the biggest event on any author’s calendar: the day their book launches. And if you happen to be a self-publishing author, it should also be your busiest. A book’s launch can very much set the tone for any success to come. You want there to be as much noise as possible so that you get as many people buying your book and leaving a review in the … [Read more...] about Guest Post: 6 Marketing Ideas For The Day Your Book Launches
Making Your Stories Available In As Many Formats As Possible
I recently read an article about going wide, and thought it was a great idea. In this article, on Kobo Writing Life, Tracy Cooper-Posey talks about her publishing success outside of Amazon and Kindle, and how that allowed her to quit her day job. The idea is to be in as many places as possible, and to directly distribute whenever possible. It got me thinking about other ways … [Read more...] about Making Your Stories Available In As Many Formats As Possible
Books and Stories From the Past
Just for fun, for today's blog post I thought I'd share some interesting links about stories from the past. Coloring Books First up are a couple links about coloring books. Apparently, coloring books started out as meant for adults. According to Time, there are early coloring books from the 1600s that depict engraved maps, and it was a trend to color the maps in yourself. … [Read more...] about Books and Stories From the Past
Data and Analytics for Marketing and Automation
Metrics, data, analytics. These are all related words that can really help authors effectively market. Matt Minoff wrote a great piece on Digiday, called "In Order to thrive, publishers must master their data." This means more than merely collecting data. It means having a plan, understanding what the data means, and deciding what actions to implement. If you want a solid … [Read more...] about Data and Analytics for Marketing and Automation
The Making of a Successful Ebook: An Interview with Geoff Jones, Author of The Dinosaur Four
You may remember Geoff Jones, author of the thriller The Dinosaur Four, from my last post where I happily reviewed his book. Geoff is so awesome that I had to interview him twice. The first time was for the podcast I make with my husband, I Know Dino, where we of course discussed the amazing dinosaurs in his book, and the second time, Geoff very graciously let me pick his brain … [Read more...] about The Making of a Successful Ebook: An Interview with Geoff Jones, Author of The Dinosaur Four
Indie Author Marketing Guide: A Primer to Social Media
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 … [Read more...] about Indie Author Marketing Guide: A Primer to Social Media
A Roundup of History Lessons: Book Blurbs, Fairy Tales, Ebooks, and More
It's always fun to think about how things came to be. A couple weeks ago, I shared a bunch of links that looks at the present and predicts future trends. I think that understanding the past also helps us to better understand the present and look towards the future. With that in mind, there have been some interesting stories going around the interwebs lately that talk about … [Read more...] about A Roundup of History Lessons: Book Blurbs, Fairy Tales, Ebooks, and More
Offering Readers Extras
As an indie author, simply writing your book is not enough. You need to have a marketing strategy, and let people know about your work. You also need to find your target audience, and then give them a reason to keep buying your work. One way to do that is to offer extras to your readers. The Write Life calls them "insider treasures." The idea is to make your readers feel … [Read more...] about Offering Readers Extras
Genres in Publishing
There's a lot going on in publishing. One really interesting thing to watch is what's happening in different genres. Usually, I think the term "genre" here refers to the big three: romance, sci-fi/fantasy, and maybe thriller/crime. But there's so much more to it. BookNet Canada has been studying popular genres and releasing reports. One report was about cookbooks, which … [Read more...] about Genres in Publishing
Artificial Intelligence and Publishing
Artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining steam, and there are lots of really interesting experiments and initiatives happening. One example is using AI to get an idea of a book's market potential. Enter Booxy, which analyzes "a book to generate comps (comparable titles) and predict reader experience," according to Huffington Post. It uses natural language processing and … [Read more...] about Artificial Intelligence and Publishing
Guest Post: 6 Tips on How to Fulfill Your Publishing Resolution
By Keith Ogorek Keith Ogorek is the President of Author Learning Center, an online author education community. It’s that time of year when many people make resolutions and set goals they want to accomplish in the coming year. For some, that includes writing and publishing a book, but they are not sure where to begin or how to realize their dream. Simply put, many people don’t … [Read more...] about Guest Post: 6 Tips on How to Fulfill Your Publishing Resolution
An Interview with Josef Marc, CEO of Publica
There are a lot of exciting developments in technology right now. One of the latest is blockchain technology, which allows digital information to be distributed but not copied. One startup, Publica, aims to bring the blockchain to publishing. I recently had the chance to learn more about it from Josef Marc, the CEO of Publica. Q: What will Publica do for authors? A: … [Read more...] about An Interview with Josef Marc, CEO of Publica
Guest Post: 5 reasons authors should create and sell an online course
Baidhurya Mani is the author of "How to sell online courses from your own website: A complete beginner’s guide." By Baidhurya Mani Selling online courses has changed the lives of so many individuals. I have worked with a number of online course creators and have seen how they have turned their expertise in yoga, health and nutrition, cyber security, music, religious … [Read more...] about Guest Post: 5 reasons authors should create and sell an online course