Here’s some inside poop on Nancy Drew, for all you Nancy fans!
Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: BOOK CLUB FRIDAY–GUEST AUTHOR CHRISTINE KELENY.
Why are book editors so expensive?
Belinda Pollard has laid out the process and time commitment very well for an editor such as myself, along with the angst of having to pay for one myself, as a writer.
But it’s a very necessary part of the process if you’re serious about being taken seriously as a writer.
My daughter – an avid reader and very good student – recently agree to read a book for an author that contacted me for a review (I didn’t have time but my daughter did). My daughter has come up with a very long list of things this author missed including words misspelled and a error in a reference to the battle of Troy. This author said she did an edit swap with a fellow writer, which obviously didn’t cost her anything except her reputation as a writer. A pretty high cost in my book (pun intended). Unfortunately, she published the book before she asked for reviews. Hopefully not many people have seen it yet because it needs a lot of work, work an editor would have picked up on before potential readers had seen it.
I know it’s an expense, but it is one of those things that you get what you pay for.
A Self-Editing Toolkit | Tech Tools for Writers
Here are some computer tools that can help get your manuscript in better shape before you hand it to an editor. The cleaner it is, the less it will cost you (if the editor works by the hours and I wouldn’t hire someone who works otherwise – just my opinion). Thanks for the wonderful list, C.K. I may have to try a few of these myself.
Who’s stealing eBooks? and why you shouldn’t worry about piracy
Here is a bit from Encremento and Chris Robley on BookBaby about a topic you don’t read or hear much about and why that is?
Who’s stealing eBooks? and why you shouldn’t worry about piracy.
Is Kindle Unlimited Bad for Authors?
Have you heard about this new offering from Amazon. I have to agree with Mark here and just like KDP Select limits Indies options, so does this program. I like that KDP Select lets you opt out after a certain amount of time. I used it for one of my ebooks and opted out when I allowed to by the program. I think most authors do this. I don’t want to sell my book exclusively to anyone.
I have not gone into the details of this subscription service, but since it requires you to be in KDP Select to be a part of it, I’d read the fine print before I jumped into that boat as an author. As a reader, I don’t read on my nook enough to subscribe to any ebook subscription service, but that’s just me.
Are There Still Pros to Traditional Publishing?
from rahulbemba.blogspot.com
For those who aren’t sure if they want to do self-publishing, Brook Warner of Shewrites gives us some reasons why you may want to go in that direction when thinking of publishing.
It’s really a matter of your goals, your time, and your money.
As I’ve said before, I encourage anyone who asks me about traditional publishing to do self-publishing while they are trying to pitch their story to an agent or publisher. It can only help if your story does well in the self-publishing realm, and the only thing you are going to do different when you self-publish (ebooks to start) is create a cover.
Either option will cause you hire an editor (and if you are serious about making your book a commercial success, I’d encourage you to find a professional.)
And to put an ebook on say, Amazon or Smashwords, you can do that using a properly formatted word doc. Smashwords has a free guide to help you through that process, and if you want to hire someone to do that for you, it’s probably only $100+ or – depending on the size and complexity of your book design.
Are There Still Pros to Traditional Publishing? – She Writes.
Smashwords: 2014 Smashwords Survey Reveals New Opportunties for Indie Authors
Mark Coker of Smashwords shares and sums up the results of his companies 2014 survey. I must read for any author looking to or in the self-publishing game.
Smashwords: 2014 Smashwords Survey Reveals New Opportunties for Indie Authors.
Who’s Afraid of Very Cheap Books?
Here is David Gaughran’s view on cheap ebook pricing.
I definitely think it has it’s place, whether you use it for a new book or keep your first book in your book series permanently on sale, I think those are fine marketing strategies. I would not, however, discount all of my books. I think it does give the impression that the story is not worth it. But then again, I don’t think selling a ebook for over $6 is reasonable, either. They do take money and time to make, of course, but sharing an electronic file is the least inexpensive way to share your stories and the price should reflect that.
Why Should Authors Post Reviews for Others?
Besides the obvious reason of doing reviews if you expect other to do reviews for you, Sandy Appleyard shares some other good (marketing reasons) to post reviews online.
Click on this link and it will take you to Sandy’s post.
Thanks Sandy!
The Authorship Program – Blog: Awakening The “Whole” Writer: What It Means To Have A Holistic Writing Life
Stephanie Lennox of theauthorshipprogram.com posted something about a different way to think about your writing life. Something, perhaps, we all need to do in many parts of our lives. Take a read.
CKBooks Publishing 