Resources | Self-Publishing Review

Best WordPress Portfolio Themes for Authors & Creatives

Earlier, we posted the complete list of free and premium WordPress themes for books. Another option, and perhaps less commercial-looking, is a portfolio template. Normally, portfolios are used for designers and photographers, but they can double just as easily for writers. These themes look very sleek and modern, and are generally easy to configure.

I’ve selected only portfolio templates that easily allow users to upload a tall rectangular (i.e. book cover-shaped) image for the homepage. There are a lot of portfolio sites with other image sizes (example here), and these can potentially be hacked to change the […]

Henry Baum2015-11-13T11:17:52+02:00November 13th, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|

Online Writing Tools That Help You Write

Here are several online tools to help you with the actual act of writing.

Byword

Writers just want to focus on what they are working on, as much as possible they don’t want distractions. This sort of application are now readily available online. Check this tool named Byword, an ideal Mac writing tool that will give writers the ability to focus more on their writing. It has a minimalist interface that you will enjoy.

Storyist

Some say that Storyist provides everything what the writer needs. This is a perfect website application for aspiring novelists. It helps you focus on writing […]

Eliza Sullin2015-07-23T06:46:07+02:00July 23rd, 2015|Categories: Resources|

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|

Creating a Book Trailer for Your Self-Published Novel

: Image Source: NYMediaWorks.com

As many indie authors know, it can be difficult to get your self-published novel read by people outside of your inner circle of family and friends. Facebook, Twitter and other social networks can certainly help, but at the end of the day, they are just words – mixed with a static image, some hashtags and some links. Sometimes you need to go a little further to make an impact.

This is where a book trailer can help. You don’t have to be an internet genius to understand the power of online video. YouTube, Instagram, Vine and […]

Daley James2020-02-21T03:53:43+02:00April 17th, 2015|Categories: Resources|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips|

How to Write a Book Blurb

By far, the weakest part of many self-published books is the synopsis found on Amazon and elsewhere. Worse than the cover, worse than the writing in the book itself, there are a lot of blurbs on Amazon that are pretty near atrocious. I include my own books in this category. Writing a decent blurb is an artform totally separate from writing a book.

Authors are also on record saying this is their least favorite part of the process. It can make you feel icky writing superlatives about your own book. At the same time, too many superlatives can literally be […]

Henry Baum2015-04-13T13:05:43+02:00April 13th, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|

What Should You Charge for an Indie eBook?

The short answer to the question in the title is there’s no set answer. Indie book pricing is a tough matter because each book and each genre will sell differently at different price points. A 10,000-word erotica short can actually get away with charging $3.99. A first (non-erotica) novel by a new author generally can’t.

On Reddit, this was a comment on a post by a new author who was struggling how to set price. I argued that he should lower his book to $.99 from $1.99, as he wasn’t selling any books. This was a response:

99c essentially

[…]

Henry Baum2019-02-03T09:35:00+02:00March 25th, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Promotion Articles|

The Truth About FTC Guidelines For Paid Book Reviews

A flurry of nervous blog posts about “the dangers of paid book reviews!” and “Google Penalties!” drove me to dig deeper into exactly what FTC guidelines mean for sites like SPR. Here’s the upshot of three months of advice and research.

I contacted the FTC, and spoke to an officer about paid book reviews. It is about time we all had it from the horse’s mouth.

Here’s the take-home:

The FTC Guidelines that the doom-n-gloom bloggers have been banging on about (with Matt Cutts of Google quotes akimbo PENALTIES! BOOKS BEING REMOVED! SHOCK! HORROR! SIX-FIGURE FINES! YIKES! END OF THE […]

Cate Baum2019-02-03T09:30:11+02:00February 19th, 2015|Categories: Resources|Tags: Book Promotion Articles|

Authors: Improve Your Twitter Messaging and Control

Twitter Hashtags

Social Media is crucial for people who are trying to break into writing. Today our focus is on Twitter and how you can improve your messaging and communications.

Twitter allows you to reach more people on a daily basis because of its global reach. Authors have known for a long time that word of mouth is still the most effective marketing tool for them to market and sell their books.

It is all about meeting, connecting and interacting with people whether they are readers, resources, support groups or other authors. Your followers can be a source of inspiration and encouragement […]

James Moushon2020-02-21T07:44:29+02:00February 16th, 2015|Categories: Member Blog, Resources|Tags: Social Media|