(With thanks to Olga NM) The Real Costs of Self-Publishing a Book | Mediashift | PBS

By Miral Sattar:

At every writers conference or self-publishing panel the question that almost always inevitably comes up is: “How much will self-publishing really cost me?”

Because the book publishing industry is one of the last industries to go digital, it’s going through a quick transition. As a result of this shift, authors no longer need to go through the traditional gatekeepers to publish high-quality books and are instead moving toward self-publishing. Launching a book is like launching a startup. Putting together a quality book involves not just writing it, but getting it edited, then formatted, designing a cover, and having a marketing strategy around it.

Below, I break down the costs of how much professional services will cost you for a high-quality book.

(For the purposes of calculation we’ll assume you have a manuscript that is 70,000 words.)

(Click on the cover to read on)

 

Do You Read Self-Published Books Differently? Yes, You Do! | Catherine, Caffeinated

By Catherine:

A while back I asked you if you thought that you read self-published books differently, and it occurred to me today that I never shared the results. So here they are:

Click on the image to read on – 

 

Who’s Afraid To Market Their Book? – The Writer’s Shack

By Ms. Bianca Sloane –

Tips for promoting your book when you have no idea where to start (or are too scared).

Part One

Dip into any writer’s forum on the web and guaranteed, one of the hot topics will be about the dreaded “M” word: Marketing.

The mere mention of it can send some Indie authors straight to the floor in the fetal position.  It usually comes down to 1) not knowing where to start or 2) being skeeved out by the idea of having to “sell” yourself.  

Sometimes it’s both.  

Secretly, (most, not all) Indies harbor fantasies of a traditional publisher scooping them up and showering them with gobs of ad dollars and a lascivious PR team to do their bidding while they sit quietly in a corner tapping out the next book on their laptop.

A nice fantasy, but totally unrealistic.  Even if you have a contract with a traditional publisher, unless you’re one of the top two percent of authors (from a sales standpoint), those ad dollars won’t be raining down on you, so the bulk of the marketing for your book(s) will fall in your lap anyway (even if you do have a publisher’s ad dollars raining down on you, you will STILL need to do some measure of your own marketing).   

So, how DO you market your book when you have no idea where to start and hate promoting yourself?  

Click on the image to read on…

 

You And Your Bad Reviews « terribleminds: chuck wendig

Click on Chuck’s logo to read it…

Oh, and be sure to watch the video down in the comments – Brad Metzler – Hilarious!

 

The eBook Author’s Corner features my pal Jinx Schwartz today…check it out!

Click on the cover to go there!

 

Irrefutable Law of Success #1 – No Whining – by Kristen Lamb…

Click on Kristen’s image to read it!

Good morning! Today, I kick off my “Chatting With the Authors” series with an interview with my friend Diane Majors…:)

Click on the cover to see the book on Amazon

Diane is the author of “Children of Fury” and “I Am Nine”, and has graciously agreed to talk with me today about her writing life, her past work, and also about her new book “Enmitus”, available on Amazon now.

TR: Good morning, Diane. Thanks for being here today.

DM: Thanks so much for having me.

TR: How old were you when you wrote your first piece?

DM: I began writing when I was 56 and completed it when I was 58

TR: What was it, and in what genre?

DM: My first novel was Children of Fury which I published in December 2011.  The book is about a new immortal and is a fantasy adventure story which begins centuries ago in Greece and ends now.

 TR: What made you write it?

DM: I thought there were lots of vampires and wanted to create a new immortal.

 TR: What have you written since then?

DM: Since then I have published ‘I am Nine’ which is an alternative present with my final book ‘Enmitus, The Transformation’ being a sci fi story, I am currently writing a sequel to it.  I also have a ghost story, a second sci fi book and a book based in Philadelphia almost complete.

 TR: What was the inspiration for your current book?

DM: My inspiration for ‘Enmitus,’ that is an interesting one.  I had planned on doing something historical, maybe an unusual piece of history however; every time I did some research I found several books on every topic that interested me.  Finally I decided to make a bit of history in the stars!!

TR:  Tell us a little about it, and where it’s available.

DM: My books are available in most on line stores.

When spaceships leave a dying Earth it is not until centuries and galaxies later that survivors reach planets which will support human life.  A community from one of the ships builds a life underground on a barren and ominous planet named Serenitus.  Princess Corinna lives a contented life under the surface of Serenitus, with her father Great Lord Corin, completely oblivious to the deceit surrounding her and her people.  This is until… powerful Lords from neighbouring planets arrive, the destinies of Corinna and those around her are about to change, forever.  Corinna’s strength and ability to survive are tested to extraordinary lengths when she is forced to marry a cruel and evil man who is already devoted to a dangerous and despicable woman.  Her own heart breaks as she realises her love for another.  A story of danger, love, hate, deceit and revenge…

TR: Is there a particular place or setting where you get your writing ideas?

DM: Not really, an idea comes to me and I start making notes.  I then do an outline of the story but when I put pen to paper it generally takes off in a completely different direction.  I still outline though!

TR: What made you choose either traditional or independent publishing?

DM: I used a vanity press and plan to publish myself on kindle next.

 TR: If you had to choose the most important element in an author’s platform, what would it be?

DM: That people are aware of the books and enjoy reading them.  So in a sense it is getting the word out there through whatever medium possible.

TR: What mistakes have you made in regards to publishing and marketing your work, and what will you do differently in the future?

DM: I used an expensive vanity press initially but only because I really didn’t have a clue, I plan to try publishing myself on Kindle as finance is an issue for me and so many other authors.  As far as marketing is concerned, that is a difficult one.  At the beginning I only did it through friends and relations… how naïve.  I have discovered that you need to use every method possible to market your work; the only problem is people often don’t have extra finance to pay for extra promotion and it makes life very difficult.

TR: Do you have an idea for your next book?

DM: Yeah, as I said I have several books almost finished and plan to change my genre for a couple of books… maybe.  Thinking about a children’s book or two and co-working on a nonfiction book for toddlers.

TR: Diane, it’s been a pleasure. Thanks again.

DM: Thank you, Thomas.

Well, there you have it folks. A little glimpse into the writing of Diane Majors. Thanks for stopping by, and come visit tomorrow, when I interview Armand Inezian, author of  the new vampire thriller “VampCon”.