Let freedom ring: Indie publishing is becoming a more and more attractive alternative
This is a guest post by Terri Giuliano Long A couple weeks back, we ran an article called “Indie stigma and the true indie spirit.” Consider this part two. For better or worse, the days when they were the sole gatekeepers are behind us. Today, rejection by traditional houses says little about a book. “Some wonderful books [are rejected] for various reasons—nothing to do with quality,” says Jenny Bent. A publisher may reject a book because it doesn’t fit into a clear category. A traditional house may also turn down a book if...
read moreExploring religion in fiction and how indies can push the envelope
This is a post by Pavarti K Tyler Religion and literature have long been intertwined. Some of the best writing and poetry exists within religious texts. From the poetry of the Bible’s book of Psalms to the lyrical cadence of the Qu’ran’s surahs, the beauty and power of words is one religious writers have honed. But what is the place of religion within works of fiction? Sci-fi authors have long known that the way to create depth and meaning for their fiction is to layer in religious themes. From Frank Hubert’s epic...
read moreIndie stigma and the true indie spirit: Let’s show the world what we’re really made of!
This is a guest post by Terri Giuliano Long For a week, the Blogosphere has been on fire over rants by conventional authors, railing against self-publishing . . . One traditionally published author went so far as to refer to self-publishing as “literary karaoke.” Here is Terri Giuliano Long’s passionate response to this ongoing debate. I’ve been working on a story about the self-publishing stigma for IndieReader. Does the stigma still exist? I’ve been asking. Is it warranted? Over the last few years, we’ve...
read moreThe value of paid reviews: It might not be what you’d expect
This is a guest post by Susan Helene Gottfried Recently on Facebook, a discussion came up about the value of paying for a review from a company like Publisher’s Weekly or Kirkus, the two biggest names in publishing I know of that offer review services to us Indie writers (we won’t go into specifics, as PW’s Select program works a bit differently from Kirkus, and none of us really want to be here until next week.) Emlyn picked up on the fact that I know a bit more than I pretend to, and she asked me to weigh in with the two cents of a...
read moreIs your book selling to its best potential? Be sure to follow these Amazon optimization musts
This is a guest post by K.C. Neal Scan the pages on Amazon.com, and it’s obvious: the website is designed to move product. From books to blenders to beekeeping supplies (really!), every product page is loaded with features and links to help you buy. It’s part of what makes shopping on Amazon fun! And if you’re selling on Amazon, specifically if you’re selling books, it’s essential to have all of your product pieces in place and looking their best. 3 Basic Product Page Elements One of the most important pieces of your product...
read moreWriters deserve to be paid for their products: How to kindly turn down requests for freebies
This is a guest post by Suzanne Gochenouer In a conversation recently, an author friend revealed how hard it is to realize even a couple dollars profit on the hardback version of her novel when readers, family, and friends continually request free copies. I cringed, because I’ve been there. It’s painful to hear people ask around to find someone with a copy of your book, only to say, “Well, I’ll just read yours so I don’t have to buy it.” She confessed to feeling bad when mentioning the price of the book and in asking for shipping...
read moreDoes your author photo scare the reader away? Here are 5 tips you need to get it right.
This is a guest post by Angela Scott I love the part in Diary of a Wimpy Kid where Greg talks about Shel Silverstein’s author photo on the back of his book The Giving Tree (click here to see what I mean). It scared him as a kid. I’m certain that wasn’t Silverstein’s intention (but it does make me laugh.) Poor Shel. Did you know he was often asked NOT to include his author photo? That’s gotta make you feel awesome. I mean, you can’t help what your face looks like. But, I will...
read moreKDP Select free day promo, round 2: Is it worth a second go-around?
This is a post by Novel Publicity President, Emlyn Chand When an author signs up for KDP Select, she is given 5 free day slots to do with what she will. She can ignore them completely, run them all together, or split them up. I ran my first 2 free days for Farsighted in early February and had smashing results. But I still had 3 days left. I’ve talked to several authors who’ve had good results with their first free day promo and then say, “Yeah, that was it for me. I’m not going to do it again.” I think something about giving away...
read moreAsk yourself this: Do you really NEED a publisher?
This is a post by Pavarti K Tyler In my day-to-day life I’m an accountant. I spend all my time looking at numbers, tax law, and planning strategies. One of the most important skills I’ve had to develop is being able to do a Cost Benefit Analysis. In super simple terms this is just asking yourself, “am I getting enough from X to make it worth doing?” This is something we subconsciously do all the time, but in terms of publishing it seems the emotional reaction to having a publisher or agent sometimes outweighs the math of the...
read moreYoung Adult fiction: The genre is more than just teen characters and love triangles!
This is a guest post by MB Mulhall Since Harry Potter and Twilight hit stands, young adult literature has gotten more notice by both teens and adults. They turned the younger crowd onto a love of reading while showing the older crowd that just because something is dubbed “young adult” doesn’t mean it’s dumbed down and boring to read. Young adult novels can be basically defined as books that are marketed towards teens and contain main characters between the ages of 12 and 18, sometimes reaching to early 20s. What young adult literature...
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