Quick Link: KINDLE SCOUT –STEP INSIDE FOR A TOUR

August 28, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Have you tried using Kindle Scout for one of your titles? What did you think? I love it as a reader. (Because we all know I haven’t finished anything yet.) If you haven’t heard of Kindle Scout, or you wanted to learn more Debbie Burke from Kill Zone has an excellent article on the process. Check it out!

**~ * ~**

KINDLE SCOUT –STEP INSIDE FOR A TOUR

By Debbie Burke

Kindle Scout is Amazon’s innovative program where readers “scout” for new books and vote for ones they believe should be published. Back in April, I covered the basics of Scout for TKZ. Since then, I submitted my thriller Instrument of the Devil and went through my own 30-day campaign. Today, let’s open the Scout door and take a tour inside.

SUBMISSION PROCESS:
To submit to Scout, Amazon requires a cover (at author’s expense), a complete, never-before-published, edited manuscript of 50+K words, a 45-character one-liner (logline), a 500-character book description, author bio, and a thank-you note to readers who nominated the book (more on this later).

After Scout accepts the submission, they select the dates for the 30-day campaign, and provide a link that shows the preview exactly as it will appear on the Scout site. The first 25 or so pages of the book are excerpted as a sample for readers to vote on.

Read the full post on Kill Zone

**~ * ~**

If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Save

Quick Link: A New You—In Name Alone? When to Adopt a Pen Name

August 25, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

I never really liked my name until I found out I was named after Paul Revere. My mother, weird but cool in her own special way. As a writer you can make your name anything you want, but does it make sense to do so? Author Sophie Littlefield, aka Sofia Grant guest posting on Pub Crawl shares her thoughts on pen names.

**~ * ~**

A New You—In Name Alone? When to Adopt a Pen Name

by Sophie Littlefield, aka Sofia Grant

For the first ten years and twenty-plus novels of my career, I wrote exclusively under my real name. But this summer, The Dress in the Window will come out under the pseudonym Sofia Grant.

The decision to use a pen name was not undertaken lightly, but after extensive discussion with my agent and editor, who ultimately felt that my new novel might reach the greatest number of readers if it was launched as a ‘debut.’ While it is not a secret to anyone who does a simple Google search that Sophie Littlefield and Sofia Grant are one and the same (the media kit and marketing materials even make this clear), the switch is an effective signal to both booksellers and readers that this book is a departure from those that I’ve written in the past.

WHEN IS A PEN NAME A GOOD IDEA?

Read the full post on Pub Crawl

**~ * ~**

Save

Quick Link: Book Marketing: How to Get Your Self-published Books into Bookstores

August 23, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Indie publishers in brick and mortar stores? Yep, the post from the Self-Publishing Advice Center is more a cautionary tale of what not to do BUT if you join the Alliance of Independent Authors you also get a free (!) download of their book on how to get your title into stores!

**~ * ~**

Book Marketing: How to Get Your Self-published Books into Bookstores

By Debbie Young

The latest guidebook for indie authors in ALLi’s Successful Self-publishing Series has been written to answer one of the most frequent questions posed by self-published writers: “How do I get my book stocked in a bookstore?” – and the frequent supplementary query: “Is it even worth trying?”

Although most indie authors make most of their sales online, many writers would love to see their books stocked in bricks-and-mortar stores – the kind where we bought books when we were kids, before Amazon was even a glint in Jeff Bezos’s eye. But many of them fear it can’t be done.

At ALLi, we believe it is possible for indies to work effectively with bookstores, and many of our author members are doing so. We also believe it is the indie’s prerogative to choose whether or not to take that route, and no author should feel a failure if they don’t.

But to make the decision that’s right for you, you owe it to yourself to acquaint yourself with the facts, rather than be deterred by rumours or misinformation.

Read the full post on Self-Publishing Advice Center

**~ * ~**

Save

Quick Link: Audiobooks are the Fastest Growing Book Market: How to Get Your Book Recorded

August 9, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Audiobooks are growing in sales and are very popular. You can also use them as part of an up-sell or deal for your customer. Check out the article from Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris that interviews someone who actually voices audiobooks for a behind-the-scenes look!

**~ * ~**

Audiobooks are the Fastest Growing Book Market: How to Get Your Book Recorded

An Interview with Audible Narrator C. S. Perryess

Audiobooks are hot. Especially for adult fiction.

People like to listen to audiobooks on their phones.
New audio platforms like Amazon Echo and Alexa and Google home make listening to audiobooks convenient and fun.
Millennials like audiobooks.
There are lots of options for getting them: the library, iTunes, Audible, Google Play.

The Alliance of Independent authors (Alli) says all indies should branch into audiobooks.

But how does an indie author afford the initial expense of hiring a narrator?

One answer: go through the “royalty share” program at Audible, the audiobooks wing of Amazon.

Today I’m talking to the narrator of my audiobooks, C. S. Perryess, who records for Audible (aka ACX.)

Read the full post on Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris

**~ * ~**

Save

Quick Link: Audiobooks: What You Should Know

July 17, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Audiobooks are a hot and growing market. Definitely worth looking into for your title. Romance University‘s contributor Veronica Scott runs down what you need to know if you are thinking of going audio.

**~ * ~**

Audiobooks: What You Should Know – by Veronica Scott

RU Contributor Veronica Scott discusses factors you should consider if you’re thinking about creating audiobooks.

Since June is Audiobook Month, I thought I should devote my post to that topic. First, some relevant statistics from a December 8, 2016 post on the Goodereader.com website: “Over the course of the past three years the highest growing segment of publishing are audiobooks. The global audiobook industry is currently evaluated at $3.5 billion dollars and the United States is currently the largest singular market with $1.8 billion dollars in audio sales in 2016 and this was a 31% increase from 2015. The Audio Publishers of America has stated that every year for the past three years 36,000 audiobooks were issued.”

Read the full post on Romance University

**~ * ~**

Quick Link: Inexpensive Promoting

July 11, 2017July 11, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

It’s summertime! That means lots of events and chances to promote your book! Check out the excellent post from Elizabeth Spann Craig that has some fantastic tips on how to publicize your story without breaking the bank.

**~ * ~**

Inexpensive Promoting

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Anyone familiar with this blog knows that I’m not a fan of old-fashioned promoting. I think I’ve sold a lot more books by using better book metadata and following best-practices for SEO on my book pages on my website.

But sometimes…you’ve got to promote the old-fashioned way. In my case, it’s usually by request. My audiobook producer is big into old-fashioned promo: going out into bookstores for events, doing book tie-ins, and that type of thing. He’s really, really good at it. In the past, he’s asked me for free printed copies of my books to tie-in with the audio versions for giveaways at all kinds of special events. I’ve sent them over to him…just very happy that I wasn’t doing the promo legwork myself.

It’s expensive, though. Even getting the author copies from CreateSpace. There’s the buying of the books, and then the shipping of the books. If you’re talking a fair number of books or doing something regularly, it does add up.

This time I told my producer that I’d like to do something a little different (and basically free on my end). I used Canva to design bookmarks especially for my audiobooks and then added an Instafreebie code to provide a free ebook. Realizing a lot of other writers might be going to summer events, I thought I’d share what I did. (And I used to be a VistaPrint customer…nothing wrong with that, except this particular project required immediacy. I couldn’t wait).

Read the full post on Elizabeth Spann Craig

**~ * ~**

Save

Quick Link: 6 Ways You Are Destroying Your Chances of Finding Readers

July 10, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Getting readers who hopefully love your story is the whole reason behind publishing your stories. Make sure you are not doing any of these six mistakes from Laurence O’Bryan at Books Go Social!

**~ * ~**

6 Ways You Are Destroying Your Chances of Finding Readers

by Laurence O’Bryan

You’re a writer. You want to find readers. Traditional publishers are paying less and less, and they are taking fewer books these days.

So you decide to self-publish. You think it’s enough to put your book on the internet, that people should buy it, that you’ve done your job.

But have you destroyed your chances of your book finding readers, because of basic mistakes?

Sure, readers are still looking for high-quality stories and help from non fiction books, but these days they use the characteristics of how a book is presented as tells, indicators of the quality of storytelling and writing within.

If you can’t pay attention to these basic tells, they assume it’s unlikely you paid attention to the quality of the writing. And often they are right.

Are you destroying your chances of finding readers with these basic mistakes?

Read the full post on Books Go Social

**~ * ~**

Quick Links: Guide to Self-Publishing Marketplaces

July 5, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Today’s offering is a basic guide for self-publishers on the major different marketplaces. There are smaller places out there as well and niche stores, all of which a quick google search will show you. Writers And Authors poster Fred Johnson’s article is a very good place to start! Do you know of any other marketplaces for indie authors?

**~ * ~**

Guide to Self-Publishing Marketplaces Guide to Self-Publishing Marketplaces

by Fred Johnson

As an editor, I’m lucky enough to talk to authors as part of my daily grind. I was talking to a friend and self-publishing writer recently who was frustrated by his most recent novel’s market position—he’d been using Amazon to market and sell his book, but, having had little success, he was wondering about alternative channels that might serve him better.

This got me thinking: if my friend was losing sleep over this, surely many others would be to. So, without further ado, here’s my condensed guide to the most popular self-publishing platforms.

Amazon – (inc. Audible, Kindle Direct Publishing, CreateSpace)

The big dog, the king of the hill: Amazon is the default channel for self-publishing, and is by far the most popular choice. They offer various platforms that are geared towards writers of all experience and calibre, from the free and barebones services of CreateSpace through to KDP and KDP Select, which offers greater commission but demands exclusivity for a certain period in return.

KDP offers 70 percent commission on books sold for between 2.99 and 9.99 (that’s in pounds sterling, U.S. dollars, and euros) and 30 percent on books that are sold for anything below or above that bracket. KDP Select offers extra royalties from the KDP Select Global Fund in exchange for ninety-day digital exclusivity—this means that, for a certain amount of time, your eBook will only be sold through KDP.

The great benefit of Amazon is its size and its sheer dominance—huge numbers of people could come across your book. Of course, the flip-side is that there are far more self-publishing writers to compete with. Also, because Amazon let any old bod host their work, there’s an awful lot of poor-quality stuff on the Kindle Store that could put readers off.

Read the full post on Writers And Authors

**~ * ~**

Quick Link: How to Write a (Romance) Blurb by Rosalind James

June 8, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Your book blurb is one of the best tools you have in marketing your book. You have gotten the potential reader interested enough to come look a little more at your title. This is where you can make a big impact on sales. While Rosalind James is writing specifically about Romance blurbs, the tips she provides at Romance University works for everyone. Also, as someone that prepares an ebook newsletter please please please start your blurb with a two to three sentence paragraph the captures the essence of your book. Then go deeper. Not only are you helping people like me who want to present your book in the best light possible, but you also give a good description for people who like your story to tell their friends. It puts you in control of your marketing message!

**~ * ~**

How to Write a (Romance) Blurb by Rosalind James

by Rosalind James

Welcome Rosalind James in her first blog post for RU – and it’s a doozy! =)

As some folks know, I spent my misguided youth—all right, all right, my misguided middle age—as a copywriter. Which means that writing blurbs for my books was a piece of cake, right?

Wrong. I had to learn how to do it, because writing one type of copy isn’t the same as writing another. But maybe it was a little easier and less scary to learn. So, OK, here are my tips for Writing Your Kickass Romance Blurb.

Look at other blurbs. (You thought this was going to be some technical post, huh?) I learned to do it by going to the library and pulling down books in my genre from the paperback rack. Somehow, it was much easier to spot trends and pick out blurbs I liked from physical books. I read and took notes for an hour. I noticed what I hated as well as what I liked. Which blurbs made ME want to read the book? Because I write the kinds of books that I like to read. After I did my research, I came home, and . . .

Read the full post on Romance University

**~ * ~**

Quick Link: Hints from the Pros: Book Tour Tips

April 5, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Are you thinking of doing a book tour? Want to know more about book tours? Head on over to Writer UnBoxed where Greer Macallister has gathered some helpful tips from book tour pros. What is your secret sauce for a great book tour?

**~ * ~**

Hints from the Pros: Book Tour Tips

By Greer Macallister

Greetings from the road! I’m out on book tour promoting Girl in Disguise, skipping around from the very north (Minnesota) to the very south (Alabama) of the country, filling my days and evenings with readings, signings, panels, book clubs and keynotes. Other than forgetting to pack my makeup remover, things are going pretty well so far.

Like most of publishing, book tours aren’t what they used to be. Which doesn’t mean they’re worse – or better – just different. From an economic standpoint, spending money on plane tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals for absolutely no guaranteed return on investment is, well, not entirely sense-making. Which is why book tours are the exception these days and not the rule. (“We’ll be leveraging your social media presence” is an oft-heard substitute, and perhaps I’ll write a different post about that.)

But visiting bookstores, libraries and other locations to talk about your book is an experience like no other. Those face-to-face interactions with readers are precious. I still regret not getting a photo with the reader whose boyfriend drove her three hours each way to bring her to my bookstore event in Toledo as a surprise. And while there are just as many ways to plan a book tour as there are ways to write a book, I thought I’d gather some tips from the pros – other authors who are out on tour with their books this spring – to provide some guidance.

Read the full post on Writer UnBoxed

**~ * ~**

Quick Link: Should You Start a Video Blog?

March 29, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Bless Laura Drake for being braver than me! She decided to start a video blog and posted her experiences and why you should start a vlog. She even included her first one at Writers In The Storm for you to check out!

**~ * ~**

Should You Start a Video Blog?

By Laura Drake

I’ve read so much about how video blogs are the next big thing. I swore I’d never do that. I mean, come on. I’m old, I’m fluffy, I don’t think well on my feet, don’t know anything about the tech involved, and I say ‘anyway’ all the time. Oh, and I’d have to do my hair and makeup. Other than that, sign me up!

But then a few things happened. I read that in January 2016 Facebook announced there are more than eight billion video views and more than 100 million hours of video watched on the platform daily.

That’s an amazing stat, but it doesn’t negate even one of my arguments above.

Then I ran across this video:

Oh my God. I’ll bet I’ve watched that 9 times by now, and she has almost a million hits on it (more, after today, I’ll warrant). Do I judge her for being goofy? Hell no. She’s badass.

Dammit, this woman just negated all my arguments.

I eased into this the same way I convinced myself to write my first book – I’d write the book, get it out of my system, then hit delete! NO one would ever have to see it. Boom.

Read the full post on Writers In The Storm

**~ * ~**

Quick Links: Organic Marketing by Kristan Higgins

March 2, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

I love this post from Romance University! Marketing is a very important part of being an author. But you don’t want to turn into one of those people who everyone tries to avoid at a party because all they do is try and get you to buy their book. What is needed is organic marketing. What an awesome term! You want to be you, genuinely you, but still find a way to get your message out. Read the post by Kristan Higgins to find out more.

**~ * ~**

Organic Marketing by Kristan Higgins

I am so excited to welcome back one of my favorite authors, KRISTAN HIGGINS!

Please no, you’re saying. Not another article on marketing! I know, I know. They’re such a drag (except THIS one, of course). And we authors do so much already. We’re tired!

Don’t worry, my lambs. Organic marketing is different and in some respects, easier, because all it requires is authenticity, an eye for why your readers reach for your books and a little time.

What is organic marketing?

Organic marketing is what you do as an author when you’re not overtly promoting your books. Direct marketing is when I post a graphic on my Facebook page with a cover of my latest book and give all the buy links. When I do a Q&A on Goodreads. When my publisher takes out an ad in People and sends me on book tour.

Organic marketing is me being me…or rather, the me who writes my books. Believe it or not, I don’t share every little thing about myself, my family and my life. The fact that it seems like I do is because I understand organic marketing. I’ve been in the writing world for ten years, so I know by now what readers respond to in my books and in my public presence—social media, speeches, workshops. Sometimes (often) they’re funny —my awkward encounters with the UPS man, the time I ate dog biscuits by mistake. Sometimes they’re sad—a recent blog about when I lost a baby.

Read the full post on Romance University

**~ * ~**

Quick Link: 7 Essentials for Your Book Launch

March 1, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Today’s offering is about that most wonderful of things, getting ready to launch your book! Hooray for you! But before you break open the champagne, check out the post by Keely Brooke Keith at Helping Writers Become Authors to make sure you have the basics down!

**~ * ~**

7 Essentials for Your Book Launch

by Keely Brooke Keith

Congratulations, it’s a book! You accomplished something rare and impressive just by completing your masterpiece, not to mention surviving blood-boiling revisions and the agony of the publishing process. Now, the book launch date has been set and—surprise!—you have more work to do!

Orchestrating a book launch sounds daunting, but people need your book. Take a long slow breath and relax into the creative process of promoting your release. While there is no one-size-fits-all promotion plan, there are certain essential tasks that both traditionally published authors and independent authors should do to ensure a fulfilling book launch.

How to Prepare for Your Book Launch in 7 Steps

Following, are a few basics to get you started.

Book Launch Step #1: Ready Your Website

Your author website is the online version of your professional office or storefront. It could also be your catalog, your bulletin board, or your yearbook. It should not be a cobweb-covered single page you set up years ago and haven’t touched since.

Unless you’re an avid blogger, the author website won’t be how readers discover you. Instead, it’s where they will come to learn more about you. Your web address should be the simplest form of your author name as possible and should be the link you share more than any other.

Read the full post on Helping Writers Become Authors

**~ * ~**

Quick Links: What Goes in a Press Kit?

February 19, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Do you have a press kit? You should. Where else can people find pictures you will let them use and more information about you. If you don’t have a press kit or just want to make sure the one you have is up to snuff, check out Liz Edelstein‘s post at Digital Book World!

**~ * ~**

What Goes in a Press Kit?

By: Liz Edelstein

Sample Press Kit

Think of a press kit as a compilation album of your marketing materials, plus a few more goodies.

A sample press kit would have the following:

• An author photo at 300 dpi (high-resolution)
• Cover art at 300 dpi (high-resolution)
• Your book excerpt
• A sheet providing the various descriptions of the work (the one-line, the synopsis, etc.)
• An author bio (short and/or long, depending on the situation)
• Positive reviews (if you have them yet) and copies of any positive articles about you as an author or about your work

A digital press kit might “zip” all of these files into one folder for easy emailing and download. All of the above items are also things you will find in a typical list for a well-thought out author website, so you’re getting extra value out of assembling these materials and putting a press kit together.

About Those Marketing Descriptions

Read the full post on Digital Book World

**~ * ~**

Quick Link: Covers Can Make or Break a Book

February 15, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Yea yea yea. I know, covers are important and you have been told that many times here and other places. But Darren Beyer, at Indies Unlimited, isn’t just telling you. He is showing you with a real world example of what a great cover vs. a good cover can do. Ever hear of a little fantasy title called Game of Thrones?

**~ * ~**

Covers Can Make or Break a Book

Guest Post by Darren Beyer

We are all visual learners. I understand the value strong visuals bring to the game. That’s why, when I launched my first novel, I decided to seek out the best cover artist, the perfect person to take my words and put them into a stunning depiction of a scene from my story. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but everyone judges a book by its cover — and that’s just human nature.

A Case Study in Cover Design

I recently began the cover process for my second book with artist Stephen Youll. I relish working with people who are at the top in their fields — Stephen fits that bill. What really got me was his story. A number of years ago, a major publishing house came to him to take a crack at a cover for a book they were trying to bring to market. The first launch had failed, and they thought the cover had something to do with it.

The publisher knew they had a great book on their hands and gave Stephen a specific direction to follow. At the time of the launch, romance novels were among the most popular, and the publisher believed that putting a romance flare on the cover of this book would help it sell. The art shown to the right is what it went to market with — and the book met with the same lackluster response as it did in its first launch. What went wrong?

Read the full post on Indies Unlimited

**~ * ~**

Save

~ * ~

KINDLE SCOUT –STEP INSIDE FOR A TOUR

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

A New You—In Name Alone? When to Adopt a Pen Name

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

Audiobooks are the Fastest Growing Book Market: How to Get Your Book Recorded

An Interview with Audible Narrator C. S. Perryess

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

Audiobooks: What You Should Know – by Veronica Scott

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

Inexpensive Promoting

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

Guide to Self-Publishing Marketplaces Guide to Self-Publishing Marketplaces

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

How to Write a (Romance) Blurb by Rosalind James

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

Hints from the Pros: Book Tour Tips

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

Should You Start a Video Blog?

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

Organic Marketing by Kristan Higgins

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

7 Essentials for Your Book Launch

How to Prepare for Your Book Launch in 7 Steps

Book Launch Step #1: Ready Your Website

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

Sample Press Kit

About Those Marketing Descriptions

~ * ~

Share this:

~ * ~

~ * ~

Share this:

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**

**~ * ~**