Articles, how-to’s, opinion and tips and tricks in the self-publishing arena
Why Self-Publishing Works (And Why It Doesn’t)
We’ve all heard the cries. Self-publishing means you keep control over every aspect of your book journey! Self-publish, and never give a cent to the demonic publishing houses! You cannot make money from self-publishing! There are reasons behind everything, and here they are.
Success is relative
There are three types of self-publisher: The hobbyist, the enterprise author, and the serious author. Which one are you?
Hobbyists are basically scrapbookers. They […]
All the Browser Categories for Amazon KDP Fiction
Want more categories? Join SPR as a free member and get NON-FICTION and JUVENILE FICTION AND NON-FICTION too!
Make sure when you use them, you check Categories With Keyword Requirements.
The sub-levels are listed: Blue>Orange>Red
Try to list as deep as you can in your KDP account. If this is not possible, choose the highest category, then add the rest of the categories as keywords, e.g.:
- African American as your chosen category
- Then add the keywords (note keywords are also key phrases): Historical, Mystery &
SPR BOOK AWARDS 2017 NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS!
Enter your self-published or indie book now, to get the best promotion deals for your book, including reviews, Amazon promotion, and a quarter of a million readers seeing your book, worth over $1800! Every year, Self-Publishing Review runs a competition to give one lucky indie author a chance to win promotion and prizes to help them on the way to a successful career in indie authorship. This year, we have two massive packs of goodies to be won that will get you seen on Amazon, with a heavy emphasis on review success.
To find out more, or to enter your
[…]Mythbusting The Amazon Algorithm Part IV – Is Amazon Ranking Broken?
Many blogs have been shouting about how Amazon has a loophole that means authors are scamming the system and stealing mountains of cash from the KDP Global Fund. Some authors are being strung up and called out. These shady goings-on must be examined! Welcome to the notorious Mythbusting, Part IV.
MYTH: Amazon’s Ranking is Broken.
Truth: Amazon Ranking is not ‘broken’, but there’s a front-facing issue with how ranking is displayed when switching from Free to Paid that is confusing people.
After reading about several authors that seem to […]
What Book Promotions Are OK and Not OK on Amazon Now
This is the first in a series on author internet outrage and Amazon adventure by Cate Baum.
There’s been a fair amount of internet hysteria lately regarding Amazon’s court cases against authors, and confusion about getting book reviews through promotional services. Here’s how to tell what’s acceptable, and what’s not, and the truth about those court cases.
First, let’s start with what book promotion techniques are acceptable to Amazon.
What’s OK
1. Using promotional services that promote to reader lists
Examples: BookBub, SPR’s Kindle Promotion Packages, BookGorilla.
Why is this OK?
A UK or US-based service that has built […]
Self-Editing Your Book And Why It’s A Bad Idea
It’s tempting to convince yourself, as a native speaker of the language you just wrote a book in, proffering your English degree perhaps, that you are in fact exactly the right person to edit your own book. What does it mean to have your book edited, and why is it that nobody can edit their own words? Editor Cate Baum discusses.
Your brain literally cannot do it
You’ve heard the phrase “wood for the trees.” This is precisely what happens to you when you try to re-read words you have written and read many times over. Instead of actually making […]
5 Summer Writing Contests With Decent Prizes
Summertime for a lot of us means time to write! So here are five decently-prized contests to enter this season.
Micro Story Contest – Museo de la Palabra
The Museo de la Palabra (Museum of Word) is a heritage site of the Fundación César Egido Serrano, it is located in Quero, Toledo (Spain), on the first route of Don Quixote. The César Egido Serrano Foundation is a non-profit Foundation, whose objective is to use words and dialogue as a tool for understanding between different cultures and religions. The competition first prize is $20,000 for the best short story. All entries […]