Resources | Self-Publishing Review

Writing Characters: How To Use a “Hinterland” To Develop Backstory (With Free Resources)

You may have heard of the word “hinterland” to suggest something mysterious or hidden. In German, it literally means “land behind.” However, many writing schools teach potential novelists to use a “hinterland” to develop characters off the page before writing the words that will end up in your book.

Using a hinterland will give readers the sense they have just stepped into your novel at a point in time before the events unfold. It enriches your characters in terms of speech, foibles, and reactions because you the writer are in possession of these facts.

However, not everything you write down […]

Cate Baum2018-05-31T12:30:44+02:00April 29th, 2016|Categories: Features, Resources|

How To Fix Your Ingram Spark PDF – With Free PDF Fix Download

For many reasons, some authors decide to forgo the most popular path of publishing with Amazon’s Createspace and use the popular service at Ingram Spark/Lightning Source. However, guidelines given do not fully prepare an author for troubleshooting, and state that each time an author has to re-upload the file because it’s not correct, they will be charged $25. So it’s really important to get this right first time.

Update 2020 – LS/IS provide a full guide to preparing your PDF here.

There is in fact nothing wrong with the way that Ingram Spark needs you to present your file. The […]

Cate Baum2020-10-19T03:10:24+02:00March 3rd, 2016|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Formatting Tips|

Best WordPress Portfolio Themes for Authors & Creatives

Earlier, we posted the complete list of free and premium WordPress themes for books. Another option, and perhaps less commercial-looking, is a portfolio template. Normally, portfolios are used for designers and photographers, but they can double just as easily for writers. These themes look very sleek and modern, and are generally easy to configure.

I’ve selected only portfolio templates that easily allow users to upload a tall rectangular (i.e. book cover-shaped) image for the homepage. There are a lot of portfolio sites with other image sizes (example here), and these can potentially be hacked to change the […]

Henry Baum2015-11-13T11:17:52+02:00November 13th, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|

Online Writing Tools That Help You Write

Here are several online tools to help you with the actual act of writing.

Byword

Writers just want to focus on what they are working on, as much as possible they don’t want distractions. This sort of application are now readily available online. Check this tool named Byword, an ideal Mac writing tool that will give writers the ability to focus more on their writing. It has a minimalist interface that you will enjoy.

Storyist

Some say that Storyist provides everything what the writer needs. This is a perfect website application for aspiring novelists. It helps you focus on writing […]

Eliza Sullin2015-07-23T06:46:07+02:00July 23rd, 2015|Categories: Resources|

Sharing Without Reading – How Authors Can Find Readers For Their Online Content

We’re faced with a huge social pressure of being ‘engaged online’ to sell our books as self-publishers, but is our carefully-crafted content being absorbed?

As authors are encouraged to guest blog, interview, and post on all possible outlets online, is this just throwing it all at the wall when the evidence shows people share to look cool, erudite, and popular, rather that sharing what they have read?

In a world where “RIP *insert really ancient and intriguingly cool famous person’s name I never heard of before today here*” is a way to make your Facebook page pop, and picture quotes […]

Cate Baum2020-02-21T06:49:19+02:00May 13th, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Author Blogging, Social Media|

Creating a Book Trailer for Your Self-Published Novel

: Image Source: NYMediaWorks.com

As many indie authors know, it can be difficult to get your self-published novel read by people outside of your inner circle of family and friends. Facebook, Twitter and other social networks can certainly help, but at the end of the day, they are just words – mixed with a static image, some hashtags and some links. Sometimes you need to go a little further to make an impact.

This is where a book trailer can help. You don’t have to be an internet genius to understand the power of online video. YouTube, Instagram, Vine and […]

Daley James2020-02-21T03:53:43+02:00April 17th, 2015|Categories: Resources|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips|

How to Write a Book Blurb

By far, the weakest part of many self-published books is the synopsis found on Amazon and elsewhere. Worse than the cover, worse than the writing in the book itself, there are a lot of blurbs on Amazon that are pretty near atrocious. I include my own books in this category. Writing a decent blurb is an artform totally separate from writing a book.

Authors are also on record saying this is their least favorite part of the process. It can make you feel icky writing superlatives about your own book. At the same time, too many superlatives can literally be […]

Henry Baum2015-04-13T13:05:43+02:00April 13th, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|

What Should You Charge for an Indie eBook?

The short answer to the question in the title is there’s no set answer. Indie book pricing is a tough matter because each book and each genre will sell differently at different price points. A 10,000-word erotica short can actually get away with charging $3.99. A first (non-erotica) novel by a new author generally can’t.

On Reddit, this was a comment on a post by a new author who was struggling how to set price. I argued that he should lower his book to $.99 from $1.99, as he wasn’t selling any books. This was a response: