Digital Pubbing

Exploring the ins and outs of the publishing industry

self-publishing

Smashwords: An Indie Author Guide

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Smashwords is a retailer and an ebook distributor, and a great choice for indie authors. Why? Because the platform lets you upload once and sell on multiple outlets, saving authors a lot of time, and it offers a number of marketing options. If you want a step by step on how to upload and distribute ebooks via Smashwords, read my EPUBZone article, "Ebook Distribution for the … [Read more...] about Smashwords: An Indie Author Guide

Indie Authors: Using YouTube

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Video can be a very important component of an indie author's marketing strategy. In addition to book trailers, authors can make videos for a myriad of purposes, such as Behind the scenes Showing off research that went into the book Interviews Having actors play characters or scenes Explaining concepts (for nonfiction books) Animating themes or … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Using YouTube

Publishing Children’s Ebooks

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The children's book market is expanding. According to IBISWorld, "e-readers and other popular devices, like tablets and smartphones, make books easier to buy, read and store. Animation and other extra features made possible by these and other devices are making e-books particularly attractive to children." Jane Friedman also reported that "Children are starting to read … [Read more...] about Publishing Children’s Ebooks

Indie Authors: Making the Most of Twitter Profiles

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Twitter recently changed the layout of profiles, which creates a lot of opportunities for authors. Lynda.com has a very helpful database of articles, including a recent one called "Make the Most of the Twitter Profile Page." It goes over in detail the changes in Twitter headers. Below is an excerpt: In the center column of the window, the list of tweets is now divided into … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Making the Most of Twitter Profiles

Joining Indie Publishing and Publishing Communities/Associations

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As an indie author, a traditionally published writer, or even someone in the publishing industry, it can be really helpful to join communities and associations, whether for moral support, business support, or even just advice on what works. There are a number of associations to join. Below are a few, in no particular order: Independent Book Publishers … [Read more...] about Joining Indie Publishing and Publishing Communities/Associations

Ebook Review: The Hybrid Author

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Dianne Sagan kindly gave me a review copy of her latest book, The Hybrid Author. Full disclosure: she used my article for IndieReader, "Why Traditionally Published Authors Are Going Indie," as part of her research. The Hybrid Author is a great resource, and really digs deep into what the relatively new term means. According to Dianne, there are four ways to publish a book: … [Read more...] about Ebook Review: The Hybrid Author

Indie Authors: Pricing Your Ebooks

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Pricing an ebook may be one of the hardest pieces of marketing when self-publishing. After writing, editing, proofing, designing, packaging, promoting, and uploading to distribute, the next step is to decide how much to charge. Most people say it's best to experiment with pricing, either by price pulsing or even just changing things up every few months to see what works … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Pricing Your Ebooks

Indie Authors: Book Awards

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Book awards are a great way for a book to gain prestige and can be an effective marketing tool (you can include a seal on the cover to make your book stand out). They can also lead to traditional publishing contracts. (See my post on becoming a hybrid author.) As a starting point, The Book Designer offers a list of awards for indie authors, along with links. And Bibliocrunch … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Book Awards

A List of Writing and Publishing Conferences

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Electronic Bindery wrote that self publishing needs a Sundance. But until then, there are many conferences that substitute it. Conferences are a great way to meet people in the writing and publishing industry, and to learn about new trends and techniques. Here is a list of conferences happening this year. Most of these are annual, but some of them change locations. They're … [Read more...] about A List of Writing and Publishing Conferences

Indie Authors: Earning Money Through Ads/Sponsorships

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Selling ebooks is not the only way to earn money from a book. Authors can also take part in subscription services or give away books for free to upsell other products. But there's also a third option: ads/sponsorships.  Two years ago, Digital Book World posted the results of a survey of 5,000 people that found book buyers said they preferred to read a book for free with … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Earning Money Through Ads/Sponsorships

7 Strategies and 110+ Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers

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Self-publishing is growing, and with it come new resources. One of the biggest hurdles of being an indie author is finding readers and getting reviews (which helps find more readers). Some people may still consider self-publishing a stigma, and some writers may think that promotion takes away too much time from writing. But many sites, including Outramp, Your Writer Platform, … [Read more...] about 7 Strategies and 110+ Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers

Issue #40 of Self Publishing Carnival of the Indies!

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Every month, Joel Friedlander posts a collection of informative blog posts about self publishing on his site, The Book Designer. This month, my blog post by guest author Ron Glick about using Kindle Countdown deals was included! You can check it out, along with all the other awesome posts, in this month's issue of Self Publishing Carnival of the Indies. Enjoy! … [Read more...] about Issue #40 of Self Publishing Carnival of the Indies!

Indie Authors: Finding an Editor

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J E Henderson, author of the Credara series, has kindly agreed to let me publish an email exchange we had, which provides some insight into why it's important for indie authors to work with editors and how to find the right one. Henderson's editor is Lynette M. Smith of All My Best Copyediting. "I found my editor by a referral," he said. "If you notice, her website says … [Read more...] about Indie Authors: Finding an Editor

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

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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

Freebie Strategies for Indie Authors

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UPDATE: Author David Gaughran has also kindly answered a few additional questions.  Using free as a tool can be very beneficial to authors. When Amazon first started their KDP Select program, many authors were able to take advantage of the five freebie days offered during every 90-day exclusivity period, and shoot to best-selling status. However, Amazon has since changed its … [Read more...] about Freebie Strategies for Indie Authors