Member Blog | Self-Publishing Review

Smashwords as Dirty Book Store

Do you ever go to the Smashwords.com website, and find the first page makes you want to puke? I mean, with great regularity, Smashwords is making itself, not the Grove Press of the 50’s and 60’s, but the Adult XXX Open All Nite of the 21st century. Freedom of the press is a dead issue. Selling porn is a business. I’m seriously considering joining many other writers, and telling Smashwords to go away. Not over Kobo or discounts or any other issue. Over aesthetics.

I don’t want to send readers there, to be confronted with “Knocked Up And Ready For […]

Neil Crabtree2011-10-08T16:39:44+02:00December 16th, 2010|Categories: Features, Member Blog|

One Book – One Gazillion Reactions…

It’s only a little over three months before I publish my first novel. I’ve known from my other writings that people can vary widely in their response to any given set of words. Even calling my next book a novel has varying reactions. It will top-out at about 45,000 words. Many people will tell you that a “novel” has to be at least 50,000 words.

Well, as it seems to be with all things written, there are exceptions to the “rules”. One famous author, Samuel Beckett, wrote a “novel” called Mercier and Camier that’s 128 pages long. That’s […]

Alexander M Zoltai2020-02-21T06:51:49+02:00November 30th, 2010|Categories: Member Blog|

My Free Book – Fryupdale

Hi, I’m Mark Staniforth, a writer from North Yorkshire, England. I’ve recently self-published my FREE collection of short stories, ‘Fryupdale’ on Smashwords.

Here’s my intoductory Q and A:

1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

I’m still trying. I assume most self-published authors wouldn’t especially mind an offer from Hachette dropping on their door mat. That said, I think the traditional publishing model needs to evolve. I’m excited by the emergence of e-books, and sites like Smashwords that facilitate their growth.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?[…]

Mark Staniforth2011-10-08T17:13:51+02:00November 11th, 2010|Categories: Interviews, Member Blog|

10 Authors in 10 Days. Terrific Variety of Indie Writers at Smashwords

I’m doing a project: 10 authors answer 10 questions in 10 days. What a great variety of writers! Today I feature J. Alexander Greenwood, who sent me a press release, a video trailer, links to a dozen websites, and a complete bio. He provided coupon’s for his book, Pilate’s Cross, a thriller involving the assassination of a college dean. Everyone interested in self-publishing should take a look at his story.

Each day, I’m looking not at individual books, but at individual writers. How do you get readers to buy your book? What are you working on?

Where are your books […]

Neil Crabtree2011-10-08T17:14:25+02:00November 4th, 2010|Categories: Member Blog|

Sarah Ettritch – Author Interview

1. How did you come to self-publish?

It’s an exciting time for self-publishers right now, especially in the digital arena. Not long ago the traditional route was the clear choice for fiction, but with the rise of online bookstores and now eBooks, it’s a tougher call. Since my book The Salbine Sisters has well-defined target markets, self-publishing was the natural choice for me.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?

I don’t use a self-publishing service. I created my own imprint (Norn Publishing). I hire the editor, the cover designer, and anyone else I need to […]

Sarah Ettritch2011-10-08T17:14:43+02:00November 4th, 2010|Categories: Interviews, Member Blog|

Tales of Chinkapin Creek by Jean Ayer

Veteran short-story writer Ayer strikes gold with these enchanting sketches of the motley relatives and neighbors who peopled her mother’s rural West Virginia girlhood–back when the 20th century was young and spry.

In 1903, Nellie Wister was 8, the eldest daughter of a successful farmer and a proud homemaker with deep roots in Chinkapin Creek, a frontier world of fob hats, molasses and moonshine, tucked into a remote corner of the Mountain State. The automobile had not yet arrived, and men were still called home from the fields by dinner bells ringing across blue hills and green valleys. Channeling her […]

Kirkus Reviews2019-01-23T12:40:59+02:00October 20th, 2010|Categories: Member Blog|

Ahoy!

I’m writing and publishing a color and b+w comic called “Ontario Reality Generation”. It is part book and part music. you can download both for free here:

www.bloodandblonde.com

1. How did you come to self-publish? Did you try to get published traditionally?

I chose to self publish for the control I’d have. I want to see how far I can take my work without the aid of a cumbersome publisher.

2. What self-publishing service did you use? Happy with the service?

Xerox!

3. What avenues have you taken to market the book? Have you gotten reviews, interviews, TV, print media […]

David Kleiser2011-10-08T17:17:17+02:00October 20th, 2010|Categories: Interviews, Member Blog|

Traditional Publishing Versus Self-Publishing – 7 Critical Points to Consider

As a writer, you probably are confused as to whether to try to get your book published traditionally by a commercial publisher or to self-publish. As a personal writing coach at AuthorAssist.com, I get the traditional publishing versus self-publishing question frequently. To make your decision a bit easier, consider your goals and expectations-and the following seven points.

Acceptance
A large commercial publisher will not consider a manuscript unless it is represented by a literary agent. While some small independent presses do accept “unagented” manuscripts, that door is closing fast since the number of independent presses has shrunk by 50 percent […]

Patricia Benesh2011-10-08T17:05:08+02:00October 15th, 2010|Categories: Member Blog, Resources|