Features | Self-Publishing Review

The Dilemma of Dumbing It Down for e-Book Sales

Self-publishing a book can be a labor of love and for some of us, it’s what we live for. But why is it so many people now fancy themselves an author? And why is it that so many simple and frankly unreadable works are hitting the Amazon e-book charts? Should we all join in and get stupid?

Many books are intelligently written and beautifully constructed, but it is the pulp romance thriller that used to be a throwaway holiday read that catches the “public”‘s attention. Young Adult fiction, mostly about reckless sixteen year-olds fancying each other are leaving the digital […]

Cate Baum2014-01-07T22:54:25+02:00August 1st, 2013|Categories: Features, Lead Story|

Book Marketing Using Paid Advertising – A Study

The current buzz in book marketing is paid on-line advertising. Some authors report excellent results, other complete disappointment. This study is divided into two parts: the Good News and the Bad News, as reported by authors who have paid to promote their books.

The study started with a conversation with a fellow author whose blog helps support fellow authors for a nominal fee to cover the costs. Her newsletter has a modest membership and provides a good service to authors.

While discussing paid on-line book advertising, one of her first question to me was “Is there a payback to the

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James Moushon2020-02-21T04:35:31+02:00July 24th, 2013|Categories: Features, Lead Story|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips|

Thank You SPR

For over a year, I’ve been reviewing books for Self-Publishing Review. I can’t remember how many I’ve reviewed, but I do know I have learned much from each and every author. I joke now that I shouldn’t have wasted the money on college to chase my dream of becoming a writer. Instead I should have dived head first into reviewing books. Luckily I’ve read many novels from self-published authors who have knocked my socks off. Their writing encouraged me to continue down my own path. Years ago there was a stigma about publishing your own work. It was the last […]

T B Markinson2014-05-06T10:19:35+02:00July 24th, 2013|Categories: Features|

Free eBook Promotions Can Be Pure Gold for Authors

Well it’s time for another Free Book Promotion. The last one pushed by mystery novel, Black Mountain Secrets, up the Amazon ranking ladder to number ten. But it was definitely a learning experience.

One lesson I learned was you needed more than a general goal of being a successful writer. Giving your work away for nothing had to have a purpose for me. I know some authors refuse to give their books away. Being a relatively new author, I needed to get my work out in the reader’s hands.

As I always do in this type of situation, I […]

James Moushon2020-02-21T05:52:27+02:00June 3rd, 2013|Categories: Features, Lead Story|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips|

Don’t Fear The Pirates

Damien Walter, blogging for The Guardian, explains why piracy not only need not be a concern for independent authors, it may be just what they need.

Genre writers exist, by and large, in the publishing mid-list, where mediocre sales might seem most easily eroded by the spectre of illegitimate downloads. SF, fantasy and horror are also the literature of choice for the culture of geeks most likely to share their favourite authors’ works on torrent sites.

This is not as much a problem as an opportunity, Walter explains:

Novelist, blogger and digital rights activist Cory Doctorow

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Avery Hurt2020-02-21T06:44:54+02:00April 2nd, 2013|Categories: Features|Tags: Copyright for Authors|

Be There

Photojournalists have an old saying: “f/8 and be there.” I have a very limited knowledge of photography, but as I understand it, this means that if you want to get a good photo, you set your f-stop (the aperture setting on your camera lens) to f/8 to make sure that most of what you’re shooting is in focus. At that point, your task is to make sure you are in place to get the shot when something happens. You won’t get a good shot of the mayor flipping off the city council or the cute kid shaking the president’s hand […]

Avery Hurt2013-04-03T09:30:54+02:00April 1st, 2013|Categories: Features|

Watch A Pro At Work

Here’s an opportunity to get a glimpse of a pro editor at work. This blog post from The New Yorker, in 2007, shows the development of Raymond Carver’s classic story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” in the hands of his editor, Gordon Lish.

The following document compares the original draft of “Beginners” with the final version of the story, retitled “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” edited by Gordon Lish, and published in a collection of the same name by Alfred A. Knopf. Additions to Carver’s draft appear in bold; a

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Avery Hurt2013-04-01T10:49:38+02:00April 1st, 2013|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing Tips|

Guy Kawasaki On Artisanal Publishing

I recently read Guy Kawasaki’s book APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur—How to Publish Your Book, and it was full of extremely useful, practical information. It was also funny, engaging, and inspiring. A couple of months ago, Kathy Caprino talked with Kawasaki for Forbes.com.

Caprino writes:

And if you’re considering self-publishing a book, make the first resource you read Guy’s new book APE: Author- Publisher – Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book co-written by Shawn Welch. I don’t recommend resources lightly, but as one who worked in traditional publishing for years and had my own book Breakdown, Breakthrough

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Avery Hurt2013-03-28T09:19:55+02:00March 28th, 2013|Categories: Features|