Got this post from book guru Derek Doepker and is one every writer should read. BookBub is big in the book world. (Thank you, Derek.)
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Check out these tips for using BookBub’s marketing tools and growing visibility on the platform without breaking the bank!
Want to help in this sad time in history?
Feeling useless at this significant world event? Here’s how you can make a difference.
NPR’s list of organizations you can use to help:
This Forbes post also names some organizations: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2022/02/24/10-ways-to-help-the-people-of-ukraine-right-now/?sh=29b31be1730f
Several organizations are asking for assistance in helping people affected by the Russian invasion.
In case you are looking for an illustrator for your next kids book.
Now isn’t this a pleasant surprise – the merger of Draft2Digital and Smashwords. I don’t know about you, but I like it! I’ve been a big Smashwords fan, mostly because of it’s founder, Mark Coker, and some of the handy tools Smashwords has – of note: the ability to offer a coupon code for ebooks when you want to have a quick sale or if you want to give someone an ebook for free.
But I know D2D has a lot to offer, and it too seems like a company (like Smashwords) that really does want to help the indie author. I hadn’t heard that D2D was working on POD (print on demand) so I’ll be watching that carefully. More competition is always good, in my opinion.
If you have your book with either of these companies and want more details, click the link below. If you haven’t used Smashwords or D2D, now is the time!
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We’re betting that’s a headline you never expected to see, and we’re already anticipating the chatter this will cause in the indie author community! We know this is going to feel a bit unexpected and out of the blue, but we’re very excited to make this announcement, and even more excited about what this means […]
Source: DRAFT2DIGITAL TO ACQUIRE SMASHWORDS – Draft2Digital | Blog
Story structure is always something that seems to come up repeatedly over time among writers. K.M Weiland recently read “Wild Mind” by Natalie Goldberg (1990) and Natalie doesn’t use the word in same way most of use do. But the topic brought up some new thoughts on the subject for K.M. you might find interesting.
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Here are a five important questions you, as a writer of fiction, can ask yourself to help you in making story structure your own.
Source: Making Story Structure Your Own – Helping Writers Become Authors
Here is an updated post by Joann Penn about getting your books into libraries. I understand the idea of contacting libraries via email, but I think this may only work if you have a review(s) by the mentioned sources: “these could include Kirkus, Library Journal, New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal, to name some. In my experience, it’s unlikely you’ll get much traction, if any, from Amazon, Goodreads, or similar reviews.”
This is key information.
When I published my first book (2007), not knowing any better, I emailed and sent letters to lots and lots of libraries in the Midwest. I heard mostly crickets. I didn’t have any reviews from any of those above mentioned sources. Though honestly, I’m not sure having a review from just one of those sources is enough either.
I would suggest talking to libraries to hear how they choose their new titles.
And, of course, you can just ask you local library if they want to purchase your book. They may say yes.
And if you’re curious, for my books, I use amazon and ingramspark for print, amazon and smashwords for ebooks, and findaway voices and audible (acx – amazon) for my audio book.
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Most independent authors want to support libraries by making our books available in multiple formats for library patrons to borrow, but how can you do that when they seem so hard to reach? Eric Otis Simmons shares his updated tips and resources in this article.
Stories – fiction or nonfiction – run on conflict and tension. And how do you create conflict and tension? One way is to give the characters hard choices.
Here’s how to make your character’s choices more complex to help you create tension and stakes in your story.
Source: How to Make Your Character’s Choices More Difficult – Helping Writers Become Authors
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Where Publishing Dreams Become Reality
I don’t remember ever reading anything about writing your author bio, so I clicked on this when I saw it. Sandra Beckwith give us some dos and don’ts.
There is also a link to another post about avoiding 4 bio mistakes.
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“You know that you need an author bio for your book cover and online retail sales pages, but did you realize that you need one in your author press kit, too?…”
How did I not know that Beatrix and I shared a birthday? She was quite before her time. I can not claim anything like that, and my skill with art is quite pedestrian. Oh well. We’re both writers!
Click the link below to learn a bit more about this amazing woman via Maria Popova’s post.
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“Imagination is the precursor to policy, the precondition to action. Imagination, like wonder, allows us to value something.”
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