Features | Self-Publishing Review

20 Book Marketing Strategies for New and Experienced Authors

At SPR, we see a lot of books come our way, and we see some of the same mistakes being repeated over and over again. This is not just the case for a novice author, but for authors who have 10+ books out. Obviously, new authors should take heed most of all, so follow this book promotion checklist to make sure you’re doing everything you can – potentially for no cost at all.

Sign Up for Amazon Author Central

This is one that seemingly a lot of authors haven’t heard of because too often it’s not used. Amazon’s Author Central[…]

SPR2019-07-02T03:47:25+02:00July 1st, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips, Book Promotion Articles|

How To Get An Agent As An Indie Author

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Cate Baum2019-06-20T06:43:56+02:00June 13th, 2019|Categories: Features|

How Authors Can Help Other Authors

Another author’s success can sometimes sting. But remember: we’re all in this together – that’s why something like #WritingCommunity exists. If a writer is successful, that’s a success for everyone, as books are the underdog in the media landscape.

It can feel counterintuitive to support another author’s book, as they can seem like a competitor in your own field, and you may feel like you should be spending your time only on your own book. However, self-promotion is not normally as effective as word of mouth, so if you spend your days wondering why you’re not receiving enough attention, the […]

SPR2020-02-21T06:49:14+02:00June 3rd, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips, Social Media|

The Best Premade Cover Designers for Indie Authors

In this day and age, there’s no reason to have a bad book cover. Though there are more tools available to make your own book cover, that doesn’t mean you should, as designing a book cover takes as much finesse as any creative art, so if you all you can draw are stick figures, you have no business getting into graphic design.

This is especially true because the cost of book cover design has come down a lot in recent years, while the quality has gone up. This is true as well for premade book covers. You supply the […]

SPR2019-05-23T11:55:07+02:00May 23rd, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Cover Design Tips|

Ten Reasons Your Book Is Not Ready To Publish

You’ve had the line edit and worked on the notes your editor gave you. You’ve had the manuscript proofread. Then why is the biggest issue with self-published books is that they get published too early in the process? Editor Cate Baum gives you ten reasons why your book may not be as ready as you think it is.

Lately, I have been editing books for authors who have already paid for edits, some with reputable editors. I have seen a sharp rise in remedial edit work coming my way. The issue is that their edits just were not aggressive enough, […]

Cate Baum2019-05-14T10:48:51+02:00May 14th, 2019|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing Tips|

Six Tips To Win A Book Contest

How do authors win book competitions, and what is it that judges are looking for? Here, Naka Jackson, a creative writing teacher from NYC and one of the judges for SPR for the last five contests, gives authors six tips to win.

Presentation

No contest wants a book with a poor quality cover as the winning book for their competition, because usually they will also promote their own brand with the contest. We play fair at the SPR Awards by grading each book out of twenty-five on many areas, including cover design and formatting, and we don’t see each other’s […]

Naka Jackson2019-04-29T04:24:33+02:00April 29th, 2019|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Promotion Articles|

Self-Publishing: What Not to Do

There is some degree of impatience that goes along with self-publishing. Why wait around for a publisher when you can have a book now? That’s one of the bigger fallacies of the industry, because if you choose to do everything yourself it can (and should) be more work. Writers are still driven to cut corners because it can be so difficult to handle every side of the business. So long as you understand there’s difficulty every step of the way, you will hopefully give each step in the process the attention it deserves.

Here’s a primer on the common […]