Some book design problems announce themselves immediately. A cover. Margins that are too tight. A font that looks like it belongs on a birthday invitation instead of in a serious nonfiction book. But some design problems are quieter. You may not notice them at first. You may simply find yourself getting tired as you [...]
If you’ve spent any time around the publishing world, you’ve probably heard this prediction: print is dying, digital is the future. It sounds logical. Everything else has gone digital—music, news, communication. Why wouldn’t books follow the same path? But when you look at the data, the reality is more nuanced—and more useful for authors and [...]
Not long ago, I would have said absolutely not; now, I think it’s worth considering A lot of people love listening to audiobooks and a lot of authors would love to have audio versions of their books. But a big issue for authors is the cost of audiobook production. Traditional audiobook production with a [...]
Don’t get ripped off by Author Solutions or any of its subsidiaries Recently I received a pitch from a publicist offering me a review copy of a new book. I was interested in the subject matter (Christianity and American history) and captivated by the story behind the book (a family wanted to share a [...]
Angela Hoy with Writers Weekly has compiled a list of “publishers” and service providers that all authors should avoid I wrote Simple Facts About Self-Publishing after seeing too many aspiring authors get ripped off by “publishers” who charge a lot of money and deliver poor quality work or no work at all. Even though [...]
Amazon KDP Needs to Allow Team Members to Access Author Accounts Dear Mr. Bezos and Mr. Jassy: Amazon KDP is one of the greatest tools available for authors. It provides a path to publication and distribution that is not available from any other source. Many KDP authors are knowledgeable and skilled in what it [...]
Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is one of the best tools indie authors and publishers have. It allows us to make our books available to buyers all over the world. Even with the availability of other publishing platforms, losing your KDP account can be devastating. And getting it restored ranges from extremely difficult to [...]
In networking groups, we’re often asked to describe our ideal client so others know who they should refer to us. Marketing advisors tell us to create a persona for our ideal client so we know how to market to them. For years, I’ve said that our ideal client is a successful businessperson who wants [...]
Amazon KDP is a wonderful resource for indie authors. It lets us publish our books on the Amazon platform and make them available to potential buyers around the world at no cost, other than what we spend to write and produce the book. Unfortunately, the online world is rife with Amazon KDP scammers who [...]
Some common sense tips for protecting yourself from litigation In an online self-publishing support group, a member posted that they had finished their manuscript and needed an attorney to review it to be sure the author wouldn’t get sued. The responses to the post ranged from questioning the need for such a review to [...]
