Features | Self-Publishing Review

Why Self-Publishing Works (And Why It Doesn’t)

What sort of books do well with self-publishing? Which don’t? And why do we hear success stories of self-publishers making millions? Cate Baum discusses the choices to make when self-publishing.

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 […]

Cate Baum2018-05-10T03:43:53+02:00March 12th, 2018|Categories: Features|

All the Browser Categories for Amazon KDP Fiction

Here they are! Free! You can also download this Amazon Kindle Categories List FICTION PDF.

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 &

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Cate Baum2018-06-13T10:37:47+02:00February 9th, 2018|Categories: Features, Resources|

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

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Cate Baum2017-11-13T16:37:39+02:00November 13th, 2017|Categories: Features|Tags: SPR Book Awards|

Mythbusting The Amazon Algorithm Part IV – Is Amazon Ranking Broken?

Cate Baum examines the latest author outrage that Amazon is 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 […]

Cate Baum2019-12-16T08:36:28+02:00October 16th, 2017|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon Algorithm Tips for Authors, Amazon News and Tips, Book Promotion Articles, Mythbusting Amazon For Authors|

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 […]

Cate Baum2018-05-10T06:44:47+02:00October 6th, 2017|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Promotion Articles|

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 […]

Cate Baum2017-08-21T08:07:10+02:00August 21st, 2017|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing Tips|

5 Summer Writing Contests With Decent Prizes

5 Summer Writing Contests 2017

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 […]

Cate Baum2018-06-05T12:12:52+02:00July 27th, 2017|Categories: Features|

Best Free Book Marketing Sites

Most know that BookBub is very expensive, as well as very difficult to get into. SPR’s own BookBub alternative (starting at $199) has no barrier to entry, but it’s also expensive if your budget is…zero. There are a number of BookBub-style newsletter services that allow for free submissions. These submissions aren’t guaranteed, and many offer a paid option to guarantee inclusion, but it’s still helpful if you really have no budget for book marketing, or you want to pad out your paid efforts with some other services.

As with pay sites, it’s best to spread out these listings over 3 […]