Features | Self-Publishing Review

Writing Costs Money: On Crowdsourcing and Stacey Jay

Last week, there was a tempest about the young adult author Stacey Jay who started a Kickstarter project for her new young adult book. Traditionally published, her publisher wouldn’t take on the next book in the series and she looked to Kickstarter to fund the process of writing the next book. Her mistake (many claim) is asking for living expenses. It’s led to her dropping out of writing young adult (for the time being hopefully) and writing:

If you don’t know what happened to me last week regarding my cancelled Kickstarter and the insane backlash that followed, count your

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Henry Baum2020-02-21T07:53:21+02:00January 13th, 2015|Categories: Features|Tags: Social Media|

Simple Tricks To Get Book Reviews Fast

As many authors know, one great way to improve book sales and attract more views is to receive a large number of positive reviews for the book. The advantage of having reviews demonstrates to potential buyers and readers that they can have confidence in taking a reasonable chance on reading your book. This is especially true for starting out since your name is unknown. Getting book reviews can be a challenge though, so there are a tricks and tips you can use to get good reviews in a short period of time. Use this advice to get started.

Ask Personal […]

Tanisha Williams2018-10-29T12:15:12+02:00December 27th, 2014|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Reviews|

Changing Creative Lanes: Why I Left Hollywood for Self-Publishing (And, Yes, I’m Not Quite Right in the Head)

Why, dude? Why in the world would you stop writing movies for money to write and self-publish your own books? Never mind. I know why: you’ve lost your mind.

I get it. I sometimes think it myself. But not very often and not for long when I do. I wrote television movies and feature films in Hollywood for 15 years. I got paid to do it. The money was good. I wrote 56 films (commissioned and spec). I was produced 18 times on TV—CBS Lifetime, Hallmark. I had a sweet house in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains an […]

Rich Leder2019-01-22T05:34:18+02:00December 22nd, 2014|Categories: Features|

Why Amazon Reviews Just Aren’t Enough

With the fall in prices for trad published books, the indie Kindle goldrush may be over, so Cate Baum looks into Amazon’s algorithm and how its search engine works for authors and their books – and why Amazon reviews are not enough to sell a book – and maybe never have been.

There’s a lot of misinformation around about paid reviews, customer reviews, Fiverr reviews and the ethics and technical issues surrounding them for book sales. Frankly, I’m tired of the many forums banging on with the phrase, “I am totally against paid reviews.” And yet the hallowed Amazon […]

Cate Baum2019-02-03T09:28:40+02:00December 15th, 2014|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Promotion Articles, Book Reviews|

Self-Publishing is Self-Correcting

Russell Blake With all the uproar about Kindle Unlimited (SPR included), there is one other major deciding factor that may be driving the self-published sales downturn. Publishers have finally gotten wise to lower prices, thereby eliminating a major tool used by indie writers. Russell Blake writes in The New Landscape:

I just looked at the Amazon top 100. #1 is a trad pub title at $2.99. #2 is a trad pub title at .99. #3 is an Amazon imprint pre-order at $4.99. #4 is Baldacci’s latest at $10.99, #5 is Michael Connolly’s latest at $3.99, #6 is Gone Girl

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Henry Baum2020-02-21T06:01:38+02:00December 15th, 2014|Categories: Features|Tags: Amazon News and Tips|

How To Publish a Book From Start to Finish in Six Months

Six months ago I quit my job to write a book.

Because I was blessed financially, I decided that if I were to get some roommates I could feasibly leave the job I hated and pursue my real dream—to write a novel.

And I did. My debut novel, a steampunk fantasy called “The Charismatics,” released on December 13^th on Amazon and my website.

How was I able to produce something in such a timely fashion? Well, I want to share my experiences and timeline with you.

Firstly—the main reason I was able to publish a book in six […]

Ashley R. Carlson2014-12-18T02:29:05+02:00December 13th, 2014|Categories: Features|

What Not To Write – Ten Book Boos For Indie Authors To Avoid

When writing a book, what are the turn-offs for a reader? SPR editor Cate Baum reveals some of the no-no’s she’s come across on her literary travels in self-publishing.

1. Epigraphs

The unnecesary epigraph, that is, the quote from the cheesy and cliched favorite writer gleaned from Goodreads to make the writer appear erudite and witty, is rife in self-published books. Unfortunately, most of these attempts only have the effect of looking cheap, snarky and tired, as well as having the potential to show up the author’s own writing on the very next line.

So many books open with Gandhi, […]

Cate Baum2014-12-08T06:34:34+02:00December 7th, 2014|Categories: Features|

How Claudia Must Die Was Born

I’m often asked how I come up with stories. This is difficult to answer considering I can’t pinpoint one moment in time. Usually, something plants a seed and then I’ll stumble onto a news story or overhear a conversation and an idea starts to grow. My upcoming release, Claudia Must Die, raises a few eyebrows when I mention the title. People want to know more right away, and I explain it’s about a wanted woman who plots to have her look-alike murdered in an attempt to escape her past. That spurs the typical question, “How did you come up […]

T B Markinson2014-12-08T02:42:31+02:00December 7th, 2014|Categories: Features|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|