Interviews | Self-Publishing Review

Interview with Penny Sansevieri and Paula Krapf from Author Marketing Experts

At Self-Publishing Review we receive a lot of books for review. By far the greatest number of books that come directly from a publicist come from Author Marketing Experts. Here CEO Penny Sansevieri and COO Paula Krapf talk about what self-published writers can expect from hiring a publicist.

Self-Publishing Review: How long has Author Marketing Experts been at work?

Penny Sansevieri: We’ve been doing this for over ten years.

SPR: How many books do you normally promote a year?

Penny: That’s a tough question to answer but suffice it to say: a lot. Since we also offer one-on-one coaching […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T19:20:04+02:00March 30th, 2009|Categories: Interviews, Lead Story|

Guest Post: Laura Dawson of Authorweb

Reprinted from LJN Dawson’s Authorweb site – a site that offers services for self-publishers, such as:

• Get listed (or enhance existing listing) on Amazon/B&N.com for print sales
• Enhance your listing with Books in Print
• Enhance your listing on FiledbyAuthor and other websites

The Danger of Obscurity

“Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy.” – Tim O’Reilly

I went to college to be a writer. I took all the writing workshops there were, wrote upwards of three hours every single day (it helped that it was an all-women’s college), and moved to

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Laura Dawson2011-10-08T19:22:09+02:00March 27th, 2009|Categories: Interviews|

But They Do Judge a Book by its Cover: An Interview with Book Designer Cathi Stevenson

Having been told more than once by reviewers that the cover for Homefront leaves much to be desired (one of them even said she passed over reading my book several times just because of the cover), it’s becoming increasingly clear that a book cover can have an enormous impact on potential readers.

It’s certainly possible to make your own cover using photo-imaging software, but according to cover designer Cathi Stevensen, owner of Book Cover Express, that’s not always – rather, is very rarely – a good idea.

Cathi discusses what every cover should have and why you really shouldn’t […]

Kristen Tsetsi2011-10-08T19:24:51+02:00March 24th, 2009|Categories: Interviews, Lead Story|

Interview: MCM, author of The Pig and the Box

This interview welcomes the first children’s book writer/illustrator to Self-Publishing Review. I found the author via a post by Wil Wheaton and MCM has all the right ideas about DIY publishing. Read SPR’s review of The Pig and the Box.

Self-Publishing Review: Your book The Pig and the Box has been downloaded over 1.5 million times, and translated into 15 languages. How did that happen? That’s pretty intense distribution.

MCM: I think it all boils down to the subject matter. At the time I wrote it, there was a controversy about a project called “Captain Copyright,” which was […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:02:18+02:00March 12th, 2009|Categories: Interviews, Lead Story|

Interview: Anna Lewis from CompletelyNovel.com

There are more hybrid social network/book marketing sites coming online now. A few examples: BookaBook, Webook, Long Tale Press. Even HarperCollins has gotten into the act with Authonomy. Each of those offers a rating system, where readers can vote on their favorite books. This is far from the most perfect solution, as it can turn into a popularity contest – the person with the most traffic wins, as opposed to the person with the most compelling book.

Completely Novel takes the competition out of the social network by purely offering writers a place to promote books. […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:03:23+02:00March 9th, 2009|Categories: Interviews|

Interview: Christopher Meeks, author of The Brightest Moon of the Century

Christopher Meeks has published three books via Lulu: The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea, Months and Seasons, and a play, Who Lives? His first novel, The Brightest Moon of the Century, was just released to stellar reviews, including one from the Self-Publishing Review.

Self-Publishing Review: The Brightest Moon of the Century has its origin in a story in Months and Seasons. Why was this the character you chose to write a longer work of fiction about?

Christopher Meeks: I’d already written a few drafts of The Brightest Moon of the Century by the point I […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T19:26:34+02:00March 4th, 2009|Categories: Interviews, Lead Story|

Guest Post: Brent Sampson from Outskirts Press

Brent Sampson is the president and CEO of Outskirts Press, offering self-publishing, marketing, and distribution services. He’s also the best-selling author of Sell Your Book on Amazon (to be reviewed here soon), Self-Publishing Simplified, and Adventures in Publishing. Brent says, “Outskirts Press has helped thousands of authors realize their dreams of publishing profitably and is the third fastest growing privately-held company in Colorado.”

31 Self Publishing Tips for Small Press Month

Since March is Small Press Month, this is the month to promote your self-published book! With that in mind, here are 31 ways you can market […]

Guest Post2011-10-08T19:27:08+02:00March 2nd, 2009|Categories: Interviews|

Introduction: Tia Nevitt of Fantasy Debut

When I started Fantasy Debut in June of 2007, I was delighted because it was noticed almost immediately by the science fiction blogging community. I had no idea about anything in the blogging world; I didn’t know any of the bloggers, and I never figured that people would want to send me free books.

The book offers began within three months, and from the first, I was very careful about accepting books. This is because I don’t have time to read fast, and I don’t like getting myself overbooked. I had to narrow my focus to keep up with all […]

Tia Nevitt2011-10-08T20:39:04+02:00February 23rd, 2009|Categories: Interviews|