Features | Self-Publishing Review

So! You Want To Be A Writer?

This blog is inspired by Alan Rinzler, Zoe Winters, David Kazzie, JA Konrath, and Dean Wesley Smith. Because everything I ever learned about being a writer – a person who makes money writing – I learned from these individuals. So, if in the next five minutes you read something that you don’t believe, they are the ones to blame.

Do you know how to write? I’m not kidding. One day I was reading the autobiography of a bus stop mate. He had self-published the saga of his journey from gang member to solid citizen. The thesis of his book was […]

Emily Hill2011-08-22T12:32:16+02:00August 22nd, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|

A Spotify for Books

I’ve been using Spotify pretty religiously recently, and it’s amazing. So amazing that it sort of seems like it should be illegal. What is Spotify? If you’ve ever used iTunes, it’s like that, but with access to everyone else’s iTunes library at once – including your own. Yep, it’s like having access to all of the world’s music for free. Yes, it doesn’t have everything, but it has plenty. Unless you’re the type of person who needs to physically own an album, you can have access to it immediately, whenever you want. I used to be that person – […]

Henry Baum2011-08-15T14:13:31+02:00August 15th, 2011|Categories: Features, Resources|

A Self-Publisher’s Manifesto

I am a self-publisher and this is my manifesto.

If you’re a reader, a simple lover of books, someone with no aspirations of ever writing or publishing, then there is a very good chance you’re unaware of the culture war that has been going on within the world of publishing for what feels like forever. The war is between the large publishing houses, primarily found in New York, and self-publishers (or independent publishers). For almost as long as the publishing industry has been a relevant cog in the entertainment machine, publishing houses have served the purpose of finding, publishing and, […]

Martin Lastrapes2014-04-20T12:55:17+02:00July 27th, 2011|Categories: Features|

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|

eBook Authors: Self-Publishing is Like Playing Baseball

Recently I read a great article by Patricia Fry called ‘50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book’. It is a FREE 24-page Booklet filled with great ideas and information for self-publishing authors.

I was struck by the similarity between the problems eBook authors have when they get started and baseball players starting off on their journey to the big leagues. The question is how do authors and players keep from failing?

Less than 1% of all players drafted make it the big leagues. There are 750 choice positions in the majors. Of the thousands of players that have that […]

James Moushon2020-02-21T03:36:54+02:00July 13th, 2011|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Promotion Articles|

Everyone Should Make Their Books Free

I’m in the middle of an experiment with Amazon pricing. Around 6 weeks ago I set my novel to free on Smashwords (instead of pay what you like), sort of hitting myself for not doing this sooner. My plan was for the book to be distributed free to Barnes and Noble. Amazon would then price match B&N and also make the book free. This is what happened. Last Thursday afternoon my book was made free and this is what my downloads look like since then:

For a couple days I was listed on the first page of Kindle bestsellers[…]

Henry Baum2011-07-11T12:26:47+02:00July 11th, 2011|Categories: Features|

Author Carole Maso on Digital Publishing

I’ve never actually read Carole Maso, but I love this answer from an interview in the Barcelona Review (2000) – referenced in a fairly scathing review of the new phenom A Visit from the Goon Squad.

You take on the literary mainstream in your book of essays, Break Every Rule, making a plea to the literary establishment “not to discard the canon, but enlarge it . . . . to acknowledge, for starters, the thousand refracted, disparate beauties out there.” But—and this is the fault of big-house publishers as much as Harold Bloom et fils,

[…]

Henry Baum2011-07-07T21:29:16+02:00July 7th, 2011|Categories: Features|

The Mystery of the Missing Amazon Public Notes

Prime Suspect: The New Amazon Upgrade Program

Amazon Public Notes look like they are taking a turn that only a detective can figure out.
I blogged in February about the Great News of Amazon adding a new feature to their eBooks called Public Notes in which readers could share highlights and notes with other readers. In that blog, I detailed some areas I thought were potential high benefit areas.

Public Notes have caught on with Kindle 3 users as more and more readers add their ideas and thoughts. If I follow the instructions, I can add my own notes as […]

James Moushon2017-03-24T09:34:11+02:00June 30th, 2011|Categories: Features, Member Blog|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|