Features | Self-Publishing Review

Hugh Howey’s Advice for Writers

A nice piece in Wired about the changes in publishing, which starts with Hugh Howey’s story:

While working in a bookstore in Boone, North Carolina, back in 2011, a 36-year-old college dropout named Hugh Howey started writing a series of sci-fi novellas called Wool. His stories were set in a postapocalyptic world where all human survivors live in an underground silo, a microsociety where resources are so scarce that one person has to die before another can be born. Howey had already published a book with a small press, but he wanted to retain creative control, and

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Henry Baum2014-02-12T13:31:16+02:00March 20th, 2013|Categories: Features|Tags: Articles about Hugh Howey|

Socially Awkward – Why Your Online Friends Don’t Buy Your Book

I have, apparently, 539 friends. Facebook tells me so.

I have a fan page for my book, with over 1000 likes. My Twitter is a healthy 600 odd and I have over 50 mentions on Google for the title. But you see, I know that not everyone rushed over to Amazon and picked up their copy the day it went on sale. I know this because I sold 23 copies on the first day. That was it.

So how the heck do I get every single one of those people to buy a copy of my book? Glibly “liking” my […]

Cate Baum2014-01-30T18:08:41+02:00March 19th, 2013|Categories: Features|

Shelf Support: Favorite Books on Writing

Someone recently asked me for a list of my favorite books on writing. I came up with a few and thought I’d share them here. This is a very idiosyncratic list—just a few I like and an attempt to tell you why I like them. These are not listed in any special order other than the order in which I pulled them off my shelf.

The Writer’s Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life Priscilla Long

I like this one for several reasons, but top of the list is that it addresses all types of writing: […]

Avery Hurt2017-03-24T09:34:49+02:00March 7th, 2013|Categories: Features|

One Racket to Rule Them All

A pretty brutal assessment of Author Solutions at Let’s Get Digital:

You see, Author Solutions’ modus operandi is pretty despicable, and they’ve been badgering, swindling and confusing writers out of money—and lots of it—for years.

The deceit starts with the web of brands they’ve established. With so many imprints, Author Solutions has tricked authors into thinking they have dozens of choices. In reality, however, the parent company is just slapping up half a dozen different logos, renaming packages, and selling the same grossly overpriced services to all of their customers no matter which brand ends up on the cover.

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Henry Baum2013-02-19T09:23:07+02:00February 19th, 2013|Categories: Features|

Why Amazon Just Doesn’t Play Fair With Formatting

Self-published author Catherine Tosko on why Amazon should write a story of their own before publishing other people’s.

Someone I know has just published their second book on Amazon and due to formatting issues has completely given up on selling any more books due to bad reviews, not about the book but about the formatting.

Then the same day, a friend, a well known self-publisher had the exact same problem with Kindle Fire formatting that I had six months ago when I published my book and is probably tearing his hair out as I write.

Why? Because you can’t even […]

Cate Baum2013-02-10T10:01:59+02:00February 9th, 2013|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

But Don’t Obsess . . . .

Recently in this space, I came down pretty hard with the advice that you should make sure your writing is as smooth and error free as possible before you publish it. Now that I’ve made that point, I want to add the corollary: Don’t obsess. Well, maybe obsess a little, but not too much. The fear of a misplaced comma, or a subject and a verb that are having relationship problems, can be almost as much an obstacle to creativity as the fear of what your mother will think when she reads your book. (And if your mother happens […]

Avery Hurt2013-02-08T14:45:05+02:00February 8th, 2013|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Book Editing Tips|

An Experience in Translating a Self-Published Book

When I set out to write “The Bull and The Ban” I realized that there was going to be an issue. Although my book is the account of my journey through Spain and Catalonia to discover the controversy behind bullfighting and I am English, there were going to be Spanish speakers interested in the book as well, which is the book of interviews I filmed for the documentary I made, coming out this month.

It seemed logical and with over 300 fans on my social network looking forward to the release I also decided to look into the […]

Cate Baum2013-02-07T19:50:58+02:00February 7th, 2013|Categories: Features|

Indie eBook Marketing: When You Get to the Fork in the Road, You Must Take It.

So you just created your first book and you’re done with the editing. You have someone lined up to help you with the formatting and to help you upload the ebook to the online retailers.

You’re an indie author and you’re going to self-publish. The ebook will be available for anyone in the world to buy. Look out Patterson and Hocking. Your Romance novel is in a hot genre. It won’t be long until you’re helping find someone to play your lead character in Hollywood. It’s the author’s dream.

One of the first things you realize is that you’re not […]

James Moushon2020-02-21T06:49:50+02:00January 31st, 2013|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips|