Resources | Self-Publishing Review

Ten Steps to Format Your eBook

When it comes to uploading your eBook for KDP or even for selling it yourself from your author website, it seems like a really fiddly job. But there are ten easy steps to getting it right.

This is a very basic 101, and there are many other fancy things you can do. But these are the bare minimums you should aspire to.

You can click the images if you wish to see them bigger.

1. Use Word

1. There’s no point in using a PDF because it’s counter-intuitive to Kindle. Amazon’s system will automatically recognize chapter headings and paragraphs if […]

Cate Baum2020-02-21T03:45:36+02:00July 10th, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Formatting Tips|

20 Book Marketing Strategies for New and Experienced Authors

At SPR, we see a lot of books come our way, and we see some of the same mistakes being repeated over and over again. This is not just the case for a novice author, but for authors who have 10+ books out. Obviously, new authors should take heed most of all, so follow this book promotion checklist to make sure you’re doing everything you can – potentially for no cost at all.

Sign Up for Amazon Author Central

This is one that seemingly a lot of authors haven’t heard of because too often it’s not used. Amazon’s Author Central[…]

SPR2019-07-02T03:47:25+02:00July 1st, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips, Book Promotion Articles|

How Authors Can Help Other Authors

Another author’s success can sometimes sting. But remember: we’re all in this together – that’s why something like #WritingCommunity exists. If a writer is successful, that’s a success for everyone, as books are the underdog in the media landscape.

It can feel counterintuitive to support another author’s book, as they can seem like a competitor in your own field, and you may feel like you should be spending your time only on your own book. However, self-promotion is not normally as effective as word of mouth, so if you spend your days wondering why you’re not receiving enough attention, the […]

SPR2020-02-21T06:49:14+02:00June 3rd, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips, Social Media|

The Best Premade Cover Designers for Indie Authors

In this day and age, there’s no reason to have a bad book cover. Though there are more tools available to make your own book cover, that doesn’t mean you should, as designing a book cover takes as much finesse as any creative art, so if you all you can draw are stick figures, you have no business getting into graphic design.

This is especially true because the cost of book cover design has come down a lot in recent years, while the quality has gone up. This is true as well for premade book covers. You supply the […]

SPR2019-05-23T11:55:07+02:00May 23rd, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Cover Design Tips|

Self-Publishing: What Not to Do

There is some degree of impatience that goes along with self-publishing. Why wait around for a publisher when you can have a book now? That’s one of the bigger fallacies of the industry, because if you choose to do everything yourself it can (and should) be more work. Writers are still driven to cut corners because it can be so difficult to handle every side of the business. So long as you understand there’s difficulty every step of the way, you will hopefully give each step in the process the attention it deserves.

Here’s a primer on the common […]

SPR2020-02-21T03:47:02+02:00April 18th, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Cover Design Tips, Book Editing Tips, Book Formatting Tips, Book Promotion Articles, Writing Tips|

When is the Best Time of Year to Release a Book?

In Hollywood, there’s a pretty set calendar for when movies are released: horror movies are usually released around Halloween, high-concept blockbusters in the summer, Oscar movies start in November, movies that aren’t blockbusters or Oscar contenders in February. Does the book trade follow the same release schedule? The answer is, more or less, yes.

Peak reading and buying season is very much tied to the weather. February and March are generally good times to release a book because the weather’s not great, so people will be stuck inside, browsing the web and looking for something to read. Generally, people won’t […]

SPR2019-03-22T07:04:00+02:00March 22nd, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Promotion Articles|

Book Promotion Services: What Works for Immediate Sales?

A lot of the advice you’ll find about book marketing is frustratingly vague. You’ll find a lot of blog posts touting “Top Ten Book Promotion Strategies” with advice like:

Be Active on Social Media
Blog Regularly
Build an Email List of Readers

While these things may help build a readership, they won’t sell books in the short term…or even the long term. A lot of social media is tweeting into the wind, and blogging can sometimes gain a following of five loyal followers, three of whom live in your house. The same goes for email lists: you can only run […]

SPR2019-03-01T13:40:21+02:00March 1st, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Promotion Articles|

GDPR – How it Affects Authors in 2018 – With FREE Privacy Policy Template

If you’ve been relying on a mailing list to sell books online, or you sell books from your website, you need to know about the GDPR, a new law that comes into effect on May 25, 2018 that protects people online from spam and unwanted data sharing. It affects anyone who is located, does business, or makes contacts in the EU region, which is basically this area shown in the image (click image for interactive version at Nations Online), and carries hefty fines if you do not follow the rules.