Member Blog | Self-Publishing Review

Why Good Writing Always Enhances Good SEO

Everyone that has a website knows that they are in a sea of hundreds of millions of other websites. Even if you are in a unique niche or category, you still have hundreds of thousands of competing sites. This is not always a bad situation, however, you need to let people, that need your products or services, know that you are on the internet.

There are hundreds of thousands of sites that have products and services to enhance your SEO (search engine optimization), in the attempt to make you more noticeable in your particular area of expertise. Some of these […]

Dushawn Hadinger2011-11-08T13:10:50+02:00November 8th, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|

Review: Carlos the Impossible by J.T.K. Belle

In this short but elegant novella, an aging matador from Mexico meets his greatest adversary in an infamous bull from the American heartland. Inspired by traditional folk tales, the author sets his story in an indeterminate time period, spinning a legend all his own with the compassion and verve of a born storyteller.

The novella begins by introducing the titular monolith of the book, a gargantuan bull from Kansas whose moniker quickly evolves from “Son of Carleton” to the ironic “Carlito,” to “Big Carl” and finally, to the ultimate compliment: “Carlos the Impossible.” By the time he’s been drafted for […]

BlueInk Review2020-02-21T05:40:50+02:00November 6th, 2011|Categories: Book Reviews, Member Blog|

Intro Interview: Katherine Gilraine

Info on filling out this interview here.

1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

At the time that I was editing the first book of my series, I was querying agents for a good year. I’ve gotten good feedback, but not one agent had ever said, “Send me the rest of the manuscript.” And it had gotten to where I had, at the time, two and a half manuscripts, and about two rejections per chapter.

I gave myself a promise that if by my birthday I wouldn’t secure an agent, I would […]

Katherine Gilraine2011-11-04T13:08:09+02:00November 4th, 2011|Categories: Interviews, Member Blog|

Kindle Me!

I am a book nut. Really! I love books; the smell of a fresh off the press book, printer’s ink, the smell of a leather binding, crisp pages and glossy covers with artwork that is fresh and presents the theme of the book to entice the reader even further than the “back of the book” blurb.

I also hate books; old yellow brittle pages on a book barely 10 years old, peeling laminate on paperback covers or dust jackets that can’t handle use and rip easily. Dust on library shelves that, once disturbed, can send you into a coughing seizure. […]

Boudica Foster2011-11-01T11:59:20+02:00November 1st, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|

Library eBooks: Is the eBook Ecosystem Affected by the Amazon Library Lending Process?

My usual blogging direction is toward the ebook author and the self-publishing world. With this blog I take a left turn and explore the Amazon Library Lending Process and how it affects the ebook ecosystem.

The Jungle

The Inhabitants
In the ebook jungle, the traditional publishers are indeed the king of beasts. They control the prices and the access to the ebooks. Even the authors who create the content have little say. If publishers don’t want you to borrow one of their titles, you can’t. If they want you to wait for a title, you wait.

The next level of […]

James Moushon2019-02-18T12:17:54+02:00October 28th, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Smashwords Tips and Articles|

Jim Beck (Black Rooster Creations) Interview

1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

I came from the screenwriting world, and quite frankly, I was a bit fed up with all the blockades set up to stop talented people from succeeding. I see it every day. I had a stack of screenplays and outlines of stories that everyone seemed to enjoy, including managers and producers, but I wasn’t a schmoozer, which makes it harder to break in. After several close calls with success, a friend suggested that I switch to writing novels. I did some research and decided to self-publish […]

Jim Beck2014-05-05T22:35:09+02:00October 27th, 2011|Categories: Interviews, Member Blog|

How Digital Became the Self-Publishing Beacon of Hope for Comics

By Wesley Craig Green – a writer of comics & movies, occasional entrepreneur, pop culture junkie, and lover of all things 70s.

Till only a few years ago, making a successful go at self-publishing (by “successful”, I mean having a growing audience which actively supports your work) was not the norm. For every Jeff Smith, there were a hundred self-publishers who put out anywhere from one to five issues of their self-publishing creation before they either ran out of funding or drive. This isn’t to say they or their book(s) were a failure. Far from it. It just means the […]

Guest Post2019-03-06T09:13:35+02:00October 26th, 2011|Categories: Member Blog|

Because You’re Not Worth It (Or, Why Friends Don’t Ask Friends To Work For Free)

I used to find this quote inspirational, but now it just seems puzzling…

“One man writes a novel. One man writes a symphony. It is essential that one man make a film.”

– Stanley Kubrick

Not to pick an undebatable point with one of the greatest creative minds in recent history, but having produced a novel (yes, produced – more on that later) it’s fairly clear that all the author traditionally does is put the words together pretty. Write the manuscript. What usually follows in the process is turning it over to proofers and editors, lawyers who vet the prose […]

Kian Kaul2020-02-21T07:18:07+02:00October 19th, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|