Let freedom ring: Indie publishing is becoming a more and more attractive alternative

Posted on May 16, 2012 | 11 comments 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...
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Exploring religion in fiction and how indies can push the envelope

Posted on May 15, 2012 | 7 comments 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...
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Ahh, research: Don’t skimp on the details, but don’t overwhelm your reader either!

Posted on May 14, 2012 | 3 comments This is a guest post by D.K. LeVick As the saying goes “the devil’s in the details.” When writers of historical fiction put words to paper, they bear the responsibility to transpose their readers to the time period of their story. This doesn’t mean telling them it’s 1776 – it means transporting them to 1776, making them feel it, live it, and be a part of it – having them jump up and...
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Hey, you! Don’t do that! 6 reasons your blog is scaring away your audience

Posted on May 9, 2012 | 32 comments This is a guest post by Melinda Atlas “So … you’re a writer? You have a blog? That’s so unique!” –Nobody Everyone has a Facebook profile , a blog, and too much spare time. Especially that girl on Twitter who posts “I’m so busy!” ten times a day. Unfollow her. She’s lying. And she won’t read your writer blog anyway. Trust me. Your mom might read it. Your best friend since...
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A slap in the face: Cold hard truths for new writers and some go-get-’em advice

Posted on May 8, 2012 | 21 comments This is a guest post by Laurance Kitts First of all, many of you may be new—or only think you’re not new—to writing. There are some cold hard truths you must face if you want to make it as a writer. I plan to smack you in the face with many of those truths right now. When you have finished reading them, read them again and again until you can look in the mirror and state without a doubt...
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Kindlegraph is a phenomenal tool for indie authors. Here’s why

Posted on May 7, 2012 | 5 comments This is a guest post by M.B. Mulhall I can’t say I’ve ever been to a book signing, but I’ve always wanted to go. Authors are like my rockstars, so to have them sign one of their books for me is the equivalent of some rocker throwing their sweaty bandana at me from the stage—cool, yet much less damp and gross. So when e-books started gaining popularity I did have the thought “oh…now...
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Indie stigma and the true indie spirit: Let’s show the world what we’re really made of!

Posted on May 2, 2012 | 21 comments 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...
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Put your ego aside, and hire a professional editor: A sci-fi specific example

Posted on May 1, 2012 | 10 comments This is a guest post by Dr. George H. Elder I love Lord of the Rings’s story line, but many literary professionals feel that the work needed a bit of editing. The same could be said of any number of Sci-Fi texts, including some of the classics. Of course, Sci-Fi has changed a great deal over the years, and the often gaudy literary style that typified early books are now seen as gouache. Yes,...
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Goodbye, BlogSpot. Hello, WordPress: 5 benefits of switching to a self-hosted blog

Posted on Apr 30, 2012 | 9 comments This is a post by Vicky Torzsok You’ve been contemplating moving to WordPress, but you don’t know whether to go for it or stay on Blogger? I’ve been in the same boat as you. I used Blogger in the past 6 months, and even though I’ve been thinking about moving for a while, I was terrified. However, I finally plucked up the courage and went through with it last weekend. Since...
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Build your social media family to find the support you need to keep writing/ publishing/ believing

Posted on Apr 25, 2012 | 1 comment This is a guest post by Merry Farmer Note from Emlyn:  This post originally appeared on Merry’s blog. It had such nice things to say about Novel Publicity and such great all-around advice, that I knew we needed to nab it as a guest post–pronto. I’ve got news for you, folks. It’s a big, wide, crowded world out there. And here we all are trying to be artists and have our voices...
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It’s time to get pinning: 5 benefits of a marketing campaign that includes Pinterest

Posted on Apr 24, 2012 | 2 comments This is a guest post by Sarah Tharp Pinterest is a social networking site with a twist. After launching a beta version in March of 2010, it is now the third largest social networking site and continues to grow. Users create their own collections to which they can post photos related to different themes. Other users can re-pin photos they like, making it easy to share and create a unique...
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In support of the first-time writer: 4 how-to’s, 5 how-not-to’s, and a word of encouragement

Posted on Apr 23, 2012 | 14 comments This is a guest post by Nick Thacker I just finished writing my first novel. Wait let me rephrase that–I just finished writing the first piece of fiction I’ve ever written. That’s right–I went for broke and decided, “hey–why not? I’ll just write a whole book!” No English degree, no creative writing courses, nothing. And it was awesome. I’m...
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Ask the Editor: How can I cut back on the abundance of pronouns in my writing?

Posted on Apr 19, 2012 | 2 comments This is a column by Novel Publicity’s Editorial Lead, Kira McFadden Hannah asks:  How do you think it’s best to avoid ‘she’, ‘he’, ‘they’ from sounding repetitive and overused without doing the same with character names? Kira answers: Pronouns substitute a noun, or noun phrase, and are a pro-form (a type of function word or expression that stands in...
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The value of paid reviews: It might not be what you’d expect

Posted on Apr 18, 2012 | 9 comments 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...
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And they lived happily ever after: How to satisfy the reader with your story’s conclusion

Posted on Apr 17, 2012 | 5 comments This is a guest post by Marie Harbon Does a great book always need a happy ending? We all know the proverbial scenario; girl falls in love with boy, cowboy rides off into the sunset and the bad guy is defeated, followed by much rejoicing in the land. But is a happy ending an essential ingredient for a great book or movie? Lindsay Doran, film producer and missionary for mood-elevating movies got...
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Is your book selling to its best potential? Be sure to follow these Amazon optimization musts

Posted on Apr 16, 2012 | 7 comments 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...
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Ask the Editor: What is the difference between a gerund and a present participle, and how do I punctuate each correctly?

Posted on Apr 12, 2012 | 1 comment This is a column by Novel Publicity’s Editorial Lead, Kira McFadden Emlyn Chand asks:  When it comes to commas, I’m pretty good. However, there is one comma rule that has always managed to elude my understanding. Gerunds—that is “-ing” phrases. I’m always so confused about whether they’re needed, so I usually just end up doing it (or not doing it) on a whim....
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Be nice, or be quiet: 7 tips for responding to blogger reviews

Posted on Apr 11, 2012 | 25 comments This is a post by Donna Brown Phew, getting reviews isn’t always easy, is it? Imagine if you spent ten hours searching for and querying bloggers. Then one person agrees to review your book but then you find out that they read it and wrote a review but didn’t post it anywhere. That’d be pretty annoying, right? Okay, now imagine you’re a reviewer. You spent 8 hours reading a...
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Writers deserve to be paid for their products: How to kindly turn down requests for freebies

Posted on Apr 10, 2012 | 11 comments 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,...
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Does your author photo scare the reader away? Here are 5 tips you need to get it right.

Posted on Apr 9, 2012 | 28 comments 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...
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