Member Blog | Self-Publishing Review

How I Approached Writing My First Novel Like a TV Script

Many of you may not know who I am, but I am one of those character actors that generally has a few scenes here and there and often appear on YouTube, in independent films, and recently on UpTV or PureFlix. With the pandemic, 2020 was a rough year for most actors and I was not the exception. I decided to just double down on my own creative projects first by producing my own kids animated series called Kindly Kenney and then by writing my first novel, Jon Bragg Blue Essence, a Norse myth. I had always wanted to attempt […]

SPR2021-04-30T06:22:29+02:00April 30th, 2021|Categories: Member Blog|Tags: Writing Tips|

A Lullaby in the Desert: One Woman’s Fight for Freedom

What if by questioning injustice and standing up for the oppressed, your words were met with threats, captivity, and execution? Would you still stand up?

Imagine being born without rights. From bicycle bans and compulsory clothing to mandatory beliefs, what’s worse than being born in a society where your gender alone is a crime? Millions of women are held captive, whether behind bars or behind barriers, for what they believe, what they wear, and what they say. They are suffering at this very moment. Some, like Susan, decided they wouldn’t take being held in the grip of a society’s invisible […]

SPR2021-03-16T11:57:24+02:00March 16th, 2021|Categories: Features, Member Blog|

Journey of a Twelve-Year-Old Author

A majority of existing novels implicate important messages, whether they are directly or vicariously stated. My recently published book, The Black Sisterhood Files, is a murder mystery that bears a veiled, yet sincere, moral: even the most villainous of creatures have love situated at the core of their hearts. The piece below is my humble attempt at sharing what inspired me to write the novel and my path to getting it published at the age of twelve. I don’t claim this to be a recipe for success for everyone, nor do I think that perception of affluence is uniform; […]

SPR2020-06-25T09:05:32+02:00June 25th, 2020|Categories: Member Blog|

8 Easy Tips for Fiction Writing

1) It is Important to Show, Not Tell

First off it is important to show, not tell. Showing is based around description and that really helps a reader become engaged in a story and understand the situation the character is in. Telling is more of an expository summary of something, which as I’m sure you’ll agree isn’t quite as exciting!

Knowing your audience and creating characters that they not only engage with but also empathize with is very important. I try to create characters that kids can look up to as role models that deal with situations and issues that […]

SPR2020-06-25T08:06:07+02:00June 25th, 2020|Categories: Member Blog|Tags: Writing Tips|

Awesome Time-Saving Tools for Authors

As self-publishers, we have a lot to do every day to make sure our business is running smoothly. Every minute you save is useful–but remember, during tough times like these, it’s always a good idea to come to the desk refreshed and with a positive mental attitude.

So in this article, we’ll look at five tools you can use to save time in your self-publishing business.

RescueTime

If you want to save time, you need to know how much time you’re wasting. This is where RescueTime comes in. RescueTime keeps track of the websites you’re using and how often […]

Dave Chesson2020-04-30T05:30:10+02:00April 29th, 2020|Categories: Member Blog|Tags: Dave Chesson Articles, Writing Tips|

How To Get Honest Book Reviews in 2020

Here are four simple methods to get honest book reviews in 2020. Authors are always looking for new ways to get reviews for their book, but most want an honest opinion. Attracting readers to buy your book is difficult enough, but getting them to leave a review is even harder.

Use a reader mailing list service. There are only two main services you can rely upon that result in Amazon Verified Customer Reviews (proof the reader actually bought the book) and sales within Amazon’s Review Guidelines. Both services have huge mailing lists of readers who buy, read, and review books. […]

Cate Baum2020-02-12T09:45:16+02:00February 12th, 2020|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Promotion Articles, Book Reviews|

How to Optimize Your Book’s Sales Page on Amazon

Your Amazon product page is your book’s final sales page. It is the page that will ultimately dictate which browsers become readers. That means, you need to make it as inviting as possible–you want to optimize your page and draw in more sales and ‘one-click buys.’ After all, authors are always looking to level up their book marketing strategy.

Luckily, Amazon does a lot of the technical work for you. If you were to create a sales page on your website, you’d have to do all the positioning and testing to see what works. When you sell on Amazon, […]

Dave Chesson2020-02-10T11:06:21+02:00February 8th, 2020|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Promotion Articles, Dave Chesson Articles|

Why Authors Should Stop Blogging Now

If you’re a self-published author, or plan to become one soon, you’ve probably read plenty of great advice about building your online platform. And I’m betting that a common theme is that you should blog regularly.

And here’s why that’s poor advice:

If you set up a blog on your own website, and only ever post there, you risk only reaching people you’ve already reached! It doesn’t matter how engaging, fascinating, controversial, or informative your articles are. It’s irrelevant whether you blog about your writing process, share tips for other authors, take the reader behind the scenes, or offer bonus […]

SPR2020-02-06T06:17:11+02:00February 6th, 2020|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Author Blogging|