Features | Self-Publishing Review

Writing Behind Bars – by Author Jamila Davis

What’s it like to be a writer in prison? Jamila T. Davis, called by the media “the woman who brought down Lehman” for her part in a multi-million dollar fraud, is a self-published author currently serving 12.5 years in the real “Orange is The New Black” facility, Danbury FCI. This is part one of our two-part guest blog post with Jamila about writing from prison, and how she has found purpose with self-publishing.

Each morning I open my eyes, I am surrounded by dreary walls that remind me of my past mistakes. For the last 7 years I’ve been locked […]

Cate Baum2015-07-01T04:34:41+02:00June 30th, 2015|Categories: Features, Interviews|Tags: Prison Book Reviews, Writing Tips|

Ten Terrible Beginnings That Authors Should Avoid

What beginnings are done to death? Why are some beginnings actually before the beginning? When is less more, and when is more needed? Let’s look at some of the corniest, dullest, and hackneyed of all beginnings, and why you should avoid using them.

Here’s a definition of a literary trope from Wikipedia:

A literary trope is the use of figurative language – via word, phrase, or even an image – for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech. The word trope has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés

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Cate Baum2015-06-30T04:10:07+02:00June 30th, 2015|Categories: Features|

Seven Reasons Your Non-Fiction Book Might Be A Blog And Not A Book

It’s a real downer when your non-fiction book doesn’t sell after all the work you put in. But maybe there are reasons why: not all non-fiction should have ended up as a book at all when the author wrote it, for many reasons, which we’ll look at in this article.

Blogs are a great alternative to the stress, energy, and money it takes to self-publish, and some blogs end up making more money and gaining more exposure than books (or can lead to books being demanded), so here are some reasons why you may find blogging suits your needs more […]

Cate Baum2015-06-11T04:31:32+02:00June 11th, 2015|Categories: Features|

What To Expect From A Sample Edit

What should authors expect from a sample edit, and how do you obtain one?

When hiring an editor, you may feel you’d like to see a sample of the editor’s work before you hire them. This may give you a feel for the pace of their work, and how they will present changes and corrections to you.

Before You Start

Before you ask for a sample edit, you should bear in mind it’s rather churlish to ask for a sample if you are not ready for an edit – the editor is doing this free sample as an unsaid agreement […]

Cate Baum2015-05-22T05:50:03+02:00May 22nd, 2015|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing Tips|

How Indie Authors Can Make Two Categories Count On Amazon

Amazon made a decision sometime in the last two months or so to cut off new indie books to the five plus two categories allowed to all indie/self-published authors who had both paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon. Why could this decision have been made, and how can authors make the most of the measly two categories now allowed when publishing on Kindle?

Spoiling It For The Rest Of Us

What happened? Maybe the mounting problems for authors who had trad-published, or had genre books in the last couple of years with categories forced a change. Publishing companies and […]

Cate Baum2019-02-03T09:36:19+02:00May 20th, 2015|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips, Book Promotion Articles|

Non-Native English Authors And Self-Publishing – Seven Challenges For Editors

As non-native English speaking authors are enticed to the self-publishing industry, what are the challenges for writing a book in English, and how can authors enter the market successfully?

Recently, as an editor, I have noticed a real upturn in the number of non-native authors that ask me for editing services. Many tell me they have been turned away by other editors.

The thing is, because I have been an English teacher in Spain, I speak three languages, and have a qualification in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) it doesn’t scare me (maybe also growing up next to the […]

Cate Baum2015-05-14T05:05:22+02:00May 14th, 2015|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing Tips|

Sharing Without Reading – How Authors Can Find Readers For Their Online Content

interweb We’re faced with a huge social pressure of being ‘engaged online’ to sell our books as self-publishers, but is our carefully-crafted content being absorbed?

As authors are encouraged to guest blog, interview, and post on all possible outlets online, is this just throwing it all at the wall when the evidence shows people share to look cool, erudite, and popular, rather that sharing what they have read?

In a world where “RIP *insert really ancient and intriguingly cool famous person’s name I never heard of before today here*” is a way to make your Facebook page pop, and picture quotes […]

Cate Baum2020-02-21T06:49:19+02:00May 13th, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Author Blogging, Social Media|

Seven Reasons Why you Shouldn’t Ask Your Book Editor To Sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement

NDA books Choosing a book editor should be based on whether the editor is a sound and clean worker with knowledge and experience in the language you have written in, using curated or affiliated professionals (I’m with the EFA and listed on Blurb, Reedsy, and ALLi – I think these are good places to start). Despite this transparency in my trade, there seems to be a new wave of paranoia. I keep being asked to sign NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) to edit your books. An an editor, I’m not happy about this. Why? Well, here are seven reasons.