Lead Story | Self-Publishing Review

First Ever USB Multimedia Book: comrade calculator Quits Smoking

Part of self-publishing a book is learning, first hand, the trials and tribulations of self promotion. It is a fine line between working hard to make your dream come true, and being the guy at the party who wont stop trying to sell his product.

That being said I would like to promote what I am doing. Not necessarily to sell my book, though clearly that is my end goal, but instead to spread the word to fellow authors that there is another new and interesting way to self-publish YOUR book.

I’m releasing the first edition of my novel on […]

Mark Kowgier2020-02-21T07:53:35+02:00October 10th, 2011|Categories: Features, Lead Story|Tags: Social Media|

eBook Authors: Is the Kindle Library Lending Program a New Opportunity for Self-Publishers?

As new ebook authors and self-publishers continue to try to get exposure in the digital world, several new events could present an expanded opportunity to reach the ebook reader.

1. Amazon’s new generation of Kindles plus the IPad rival ‘Kindle Fire’ will definitely expand the reading audience.
2. Amazon allowing Kindle ebooks to be included in the public library lending process will also expand the audience.

The problem is the same old players and the same old obstacles seem to be in the way.

Process Controlled by the Usual Suspects +

With the first review, it appears that the library […]

James Moushon2019-02-18T12:18:35+02:00October 10th, 2011|Categories: Features, Lead Story|Tags: Amanda Hocking, Amazon News and Tips|

Quantum Physics & the Art of Departure: An Interview with Craig Lancaster

About a month ago, Craig Lancaster asked me if I’d like to be “the voice” for a book trailer he and RJ Keller were putting together for his upcoming collection. I’m not a voice actor, and I’m not a professional reader, but somehow, some way, word got around that I have a good recording voice. Stunned and flattered, I naturally said yes.

I’ve grown acquainted with Craig over the course of this year, but I’d heard of him prior to connecting via the usual social networks. If you keep your ear to the ground of the indie and self-publishing “scene,” […]

Todd Keisling2011-10-10T13:18:30+02:00September 12th, 2011|Categories: Interviews, Lead Story|

Why I Turned Down Two Publishing Contracts

After three and a half years of work, I finished writing a book of travel adventure memoir journalism called Fast Times in Palestine. I spent much of those three and a half years dealing with the publishing industry. In the beginning I got a top-notch agent, developed a book proposal, put together three sample chapters, and sent them off to the Big Boys in New York.

Two of the publishers asked for five more chapters each. But between their asking and my finishing, the financial crisis hit, and it was pretty much crickets after that. In the meantime I […]

Pamela Olson2011-07-22T15:03:23+02:00July 22nd, 2011|Categories: Features, Lead Story|

40+ Free Tools for Authors

This post is designed to give you a concise, yet comprehensive preview of most important free tools you can pick up to publish and promote your e-books. I hope it will help you discover those which best fit your author profile and personal needs.

This list is planned to be a one-stop place with all what’s available for free and worth getting your attention. For info about updates of this post, please follow or add me to a list on Twitter.

The most obvious choices, like blogging platforms or social media networks, are not included. I wanted to focus […]

Piotr Kowalczyk2011-10-13T00:21:37+02:00June 8th, 2011|Categories: Lead Story, Resources|

My Realities or “How to Market Your Book or Watch it Die”

Today is my new novel’s publishing day, so I thought I’d write about the marketing it took to get here.

I won’t bullshit you. The publishing industry is changing fast, and what to do is confusing. Like a bar magnet, the industry has two strong poles: traditional publishing and self-publishing. If you’re antsy for what to do, skip over the following history. If you don’t know the history, it’s worth reading and understanding. A few months back, I wrote about marketing a literary book. This is more inclusive.

HISTORY

Traditional publishing is the way things have gone, more or less, […]

Christopher Meeks2011-05-18T12:41:48+02:00May 18th, 2011|Categories: Lead Story, Resources|

Do Publishers Have a Purpose in the Digital Age?

The opening day seminar debate last week at the London Book Fair asked the provocative question: ‘Will publishers in the digital age soon be irrelevant?’ It was always a debate destined to be a little heated. It isn’t just provocative but also suggests there is an alternative destiny for the book publishing industry to the one envisaged by many commercial publishing houses.

The debate was hosted by Susan Danziger, CEO of DailyLit and organizer of the Publishing Point, and moderated by Michael Healy, executive director of the Book Rights Registry. Richard Charkin, executive director of Bloomsbury Publishing and Andrew Franklin, […]

Mick Rooney2011-04-28T10:06:05+02:00April 28th, 2011|Categories: Features, Lead Story|

How To Go Bankrupt Thanks to Really Great Reviews

This is a story about book returns. It’s also a story about the bookstore system and what’s not working. You’ll also hear how success can crush the self-publisher.

It’s not my story. I didn’t go bankrupt—but I could have. What I aim to do here is tell you my experience of publishing well-reviewed books and what you might do in this ever-changing publishing world to get ahead.

Here I can’t get into is how to write a really great book. Let’s assume you know what you’re doing, and once you write the great book, you hire a professional editor and […]

Christopher Meeks2011-04-18T16:41:51+02:00April 18th, 2011|Categories: Features, Lead Story|