Features | Self-Publishing Review

Self-Publishing Has Arrived: Now What?

Chuck Wendig has a great post up now: Self-Publishing is Not the Minor Leagues

It’s time to take a long look at the culture surrounding self-publishing. We’ve moved past the time where we need to champion the cause, okay? We’ve seen enough success in that space and have plenty of positive examples it’s time to stop acting as cheerleaders.

And it’s time to start acting as critics.

The attitude that pervades self-publishing is that it’s a good place to test your craft, to hone your work. We are reminded constantly that the cream floats to the top, that all the

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Henry Baum2014-01-30T14:57:36+02:00January 30th, 2014|Categories: Features|

Agents Funneling Writers to Self-Publishing: Corrupt or Not?

This story has generated a lot of controversy lately. From the Novel Rejects blog comes a rejection letter of an agent recommending a self-publishing firm in lieu of representation, likely for a fee.

The writing is strong and the storyline intriguing. I have to tell you however, that agents are finding novels, even intelligently written commercial work like this, harder to place nowadays. Publishers are so subjective and only concerned with the bottom line.

What I can do is to suggest an organisation who, for a reasonably low fee will make the full arrangements to ensure a full Kindle publication

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Henry Baum2014-01-30T11:42:34+02:00January 30th, 2014|Categories: Features|

The Liberty Of “Low” Culture

Or, “Why If Not For Violent Video Games, This Novel Wouldn’t Exist”

It was the late ’90s and like most young men my age at the time I was nineteen, and reaching that point between the actual adulthood of things like worrying about my credit rating and the play adulthood of having my own tiny apartment and tiny job and tiny personal life afterwards in which to pursue whatever pleasures would form my ambitions. And who’s to say friends are entirely useless? It was my most pretentious and emotionally turbulent friend-slash-misunderstood-artist-slash-can-I-borrow-a-twenty who’d turned me on to the films of Jean-Luc […]

Kian Kaul2014-01-19T22:55:55+02:00January 19th, 2014|Categories: Features|Tags: Writing|

Profitable Price Points for U.S. and UK eBooks

A fascinating survey of ebook sales, via Luzme – the ebook price comparison site, shows the different ebook buying habits of readers in the U.S. and UK. UK self-publishers should especially take note, as ebook pricing in the UK has a much different impact than in the U.S. Many U.S. self-publishers already publish books in the $.99-$2.99 range, and her results show this price point works well.

Ebooks sell decently across the board, especially up to a $5 price point. However, in the U.K., it’s completely different. Ebooks only sell well in the cheap range.

For UK self-publishers, this […]

Henry Baum2014-01-17T14:23:51+02:00January 17th, 2014|Categories: Features|

Reader, Writer, Publisher ~ Wearing Three Hats Can Be Dangerous

Do I really mean that being a reader/writer/publisher is dangerous? Well, when I look at the word history of dangerous, I see that it comes from roots that mean the power of a lord…

And, “lord” comes from roots that mean “one who guards the bread”…

So, yes, if you’re contemplating using your experience as a reader to power your writing as you promote your way toward self-publishing, you’re becoming the lord of the process and guarding that bread can become dangerous.

Lest I overlook that word “bread”, let’s hope that this dangerous process leads to a very nourishing food […]

Alexander M Zoltai2020-02-21T07:17:59+02:00January 15th, 2014|Categories: Features, Member Blog|

Competition – Win An Apple iPad Air Case from Acase!

If you own an iPad Air (Gen 5) and would like to win this luxury cowhide case worth $30, enter our competition today – just leave a comment below!

Acase Multifunction TipTop iPad Air Leather Case’s exterior protects the New iPad Air from bumps and drops This Ultra slim case (adds only 6 mm of total thickness) to your Apple iPad Air. The microfiber protect your Apple iPad Air without any scratches and no residue falling on to the screen. The prize is a black case as in these photos.

Apple iPad Air Case – Designed specifically for the

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Cate Baum2014-01-14T15:47:35+02:00January 10th, 2014|Categories: Features|

Writing The Antihero (And Why So Many Authors Get It Wrong)

We all like to love a rogue – or even a criminal mind. But why is it so many self-published authors seem to just get the balance all wrong when it comes to writing an antihero?

The antihero^[1] or antiheroine^[2] is a leading character in a film, book or play who lacks some or all of the traditional heroic qualities,^[3]^[4] such as altruism, idealism,^[5] courage,^[5] nobility,^[6] fortitude,^[7] and moral goodness.^[8]Whereas the classical hero is larger than life, antiheroes are typically inferior to the reader in intelligence, dynamism or social

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Cate Baum2014-01-29T12:45:33+02:00November 21st, 2013|Categories: Features|

Creating Attention-Grabbing Children’s Stories in a Tech-Driven World

Nearly every child has heard, “Stop staring at that screen and go read a book!” Before TV, parents were probably saying something similar about the radio. And before that, well, marbles might have been a child’s object of obsession.

Today, however, children have such an enormous plethora of distractions — from the Internet to video games to smartphones and even social networks — that TV has become the least of parents’ problems when it comes to getting their kids to read. It can be easy for a parent to give up and let the video games win the war for […]

Amanda L. Barbara2022-05-21T01:21:21+02:00October 17th, 2013|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Marketing, Children's Books|