Author: selfpublishingadvisor

news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Self-Publishing, Self-Publishing Week in Review

News From the Self-Publishing World: 9/14/15

This week in the world of self-publishing:

The Kindle Scout, one of Amazon’s publishing platforms, has long proven to be a handy option for United States-based indie or self-publishing authors looking to connect with new readers, and it has been shown to be just as handy for readers who use it as a discovery tool. As announced in an official September 9 press release, Kindle Scout is now available to readers and authors alike––around the world.  While the Scout will remain available to American authors, it will now be offered to authors in Europe, Canada, Australia, India, Brazil, and elsewhere as well.  These authors may submit their (novel-length, English-language, previously unpublished) manuscripts to be considered. The process is simple: readers read, then nominate which submissions should be published!

According to the press release, “Publishing contracts include 5-year renewable terms, a $1,500 advance, a 50% eBook royalty rate, easy rights reversions and featured Amazon marketing.”  It remains unknown whether Amazon plans to widen its permissions to allow the submission of manuscripts written in languages other than English––but it would make sense as a future step, as Gina Hill (the Scout’s general manager) says that “Expanding [the Scout] platform to authors and readers outside the U.S. has been one of the most frequent requests we’ve received since we launched.”  In the meantime, we’re looking forward to seeing what English-speakers around the globe come up with!

The Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) will soon be holding their annual conference in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The event, which takes place on the 25th and 26th of this month, will cost about $170 for members and $195 for non-members to attend (though this second amount includes a year-long membership).  The IPNE’s conference planners have arranged for keynote presentations geared towards indie and self-publishing authors, featuring representatives from Publishers Weekly, the Independent Book Publisher’s Association (IBPA), Shelf Awareness, and Ingram Content Group.  For more information, check out this online notice.  And on that note, don’t forget that the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) will be hosting its annual conference in July of 2016.  It’s never too early to block out your schedule!

Well, there is always bound to be some bad news mixed up with the good.  In this Publishers Weekly article, Rachel Deahl reports on the Authors Guild’s latest findings, which essentially boil down to one potentially bitter conclusion: “the majority of authors would be living below the Federal Poverty Level if they relied solely on income from their writing.”  (Emphasis mine!)  Contributing factors include the exponential rise of piracy when it comes to digital books, shrinking or frozen royalties in the face of a mounting cost of living, and pressure to keep e-book prices low.  Mary Rasenberger, the Guild’s executive director, does point out a silver lining for indie and self-published authors, however: according to the report, 33% of respondents “reported having self-published at least one book.” Rasenberger says that authors “are starting to see self-publishing as an outlet for projects that haven’t been supported by traditional publishing houses”––which of course happens to make perfect sense to the self-publishing community, but it’s nice to see more mainstream news outlets and institutions catching on!

Good things are happening in Maine!  The Sun Journal put out a press release on behalf of the Auburn and Lewiston libraries, which are now taking a bold plunge into the world of indie and self-publishing: they have joined many other libraries around the United States (and elsewhere) in subscribing to SELF-e, a self-publishing option that doubles as a “discovery platform for local authors.”  The way SELF-e works is simple: authors upload a digital copy of their book to the SELF-e website, then are presented with the option to submit it to their local libraries for access via their digital services.  They may also submit to Library Journal for an additional level of review, during which LJ staff decide whether or not a book may be of greater national interest (and distribution).  Suzanne Sullivan, head of collection development at Auburn Public Library, writes that “This is a great opportunity for writers to build an audience and for readers to discover authors who may be just starting out.”  SELF-e does not pay writers, but submission is free, and it can prove useful in getting the word out that a new indie book has been published!  For a complete list of which states are accepting submissions, visit the SELF-e “Where” page, here.

As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.

Book Reviews, Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week, weekly self published book review

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: “Love Calls and Roundelays”

Book reviews are a great way for self-publishing authors to gain exposure. After all, how can someone buy your book if he or she doesn’t know it exists? Paired with other elements of your book promotion strategy, requesting reviews is a great way to get people talking about what you’ve written.

When we read good reviews, we definitely like to share them. It gives the author a few (permanent) moments of fame and allows us to let the community know about a great book. Here’s this week’s book review, courtesy of the Midwest Book Review:

Love Calls and Roundelays

Love Calls and Roundelays

WYN

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432797690

Synopsis:

Easy to love….

The poems in this collection are easy to love–accessible, plainspoken, yet rich in depth and meaning. As earnest as they are lilting, these poems reach out for beauty and truth–the core of Art. And they are often playful and amusing, as is evident from such poems as “Hey Pretty Kitty,” “Renaissance Man,” or “Ode to a Pearly Naut.” Nor does this book slight the darker side of life, as expressed metaphorically in “To a Lost Friend,” or more starkly in “Delirium.” The visual appeal of the photo–art in this book is an ideal match for the musicality of the poems. Among the photos, you may be particularly struck by “Radiant Autumn” on the front cover, or the glowing “Golden Mountain” on the back. And what a delightful little gift this book is for your friends, relatives, and all those you love!

Critique:

I am one that enjoys poetry and I have to say that placing photos with these poems definitely enhanced my enjoyment. First, let me say that the poems could stand alone, touching the very core of each subject in different ways. Some were gentle, like a bubbling brook, others were telling in soft whispers, while others breathed forth the sorrow and sadness of living and dying. Each could stand alone, yet seemed to wrap themselves together and merge into a story of life.

I loved the photos, especially the one ‘My Dog Shad,’ and the poem that followed, especially the last line. I had to laugh. However, every picture told a story of its own, a piece of life in our ever changing world. They made you pause and think, if just for a moment, and at times they made me giggle. I especially liked “She Stoops to Peruse”…too funny. All in all this was a book that I truly enjoyed reading and ‘seeing’ and I am pleased to recommend it.

[ reviewed by Shirley Priscilla Johnson ]

Here’s what some other reviewers are saying:

LOVE CALLS AND ROUNDELAYS is a colorful assortment of poetry by Wyn. From the stars, to the ocean, to the universe itself, this collection reaches a broad expanse of feeling and depth into the writer’s soul. The gift of summer is expounded on with its visionary scenes of countryside and fertility, while yet another sonnet delivers the sparkling wonders of winter with its crisp air and interfacing light. Emotions are touched, sorrows and tears, while other lyrics proclaim hope and inspiration in the simple pleasure of just living and the hope of a new tomorrow.

LOVE CALLS AND ROUNDELAYS by author Irwin Shishko is a wonderful collection of poetry by a gifted author, who can compose sonnets about the simple housecat to a more broad exchange of God and the universe. Wyn holds nothing back as he candidly reflects on his emotions and visions in this uplifting collection. The book is set off by a variety of black and white photographic pictures stemming from statues, animals, buildings and people in various displays. The photos are visually appealing and worth a second look. I truly enjoyed reading this wonderful collection – especially favoring Wintersong and also Ocean Song. One gets the sense that the author has traveled and seen a lot in his years and has a keen insight into the human spirit. The author is truly gifted with a pondering eye and I enjoyed this wonderful collection of poems. Well done.

– Goodreads Reviewer Tamera Lawrence

I have never been able to really get ” into ” poetry but this little book did it for me. What a wonderful introduction to poetry it turned out to be for me.I was amazed how easily I was drawn into the sentiments many of these poems conveyed and how readily I identified with many of the far ranging subjects they covered. Great book and great gift for the Holidays.

– Amazon Reviewer Arie Nugteren

Thanks for reading!  Keep up with the latest in the world of indie and self-published books by watching this space every Saturday!

Self Publishing Advisor

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Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks

Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer: 09/11/2015

OUR RIGHT TO WRITE AND PUBLISH II

Most writers I know have some file or drawer or box FULL of ideas about where they might publish. This is good! Collecting the physical samples of publishing possibilities can be extremely valuable. HOWEVER they must NOT gather dust!

protesters

Much of my personal collection is now on my computer—in a file that I can update with a couple clicks as I reconsider my categories and the lists within them. Most recently, I’ve been looking at each one—magazine, journal, newspaper—traditional publisher, self-publisher, hybrid publisher, etc.—with the following thoughts.

  1. Have I listed one or more editors or directors for each entry on my list? Do I have a current phone number for them? Have I met them personally at a conference or seminar?
  2. Do I understand the vision and/or motivation behind their publication or publishing house? Do I know anything about their personal motivation for working there?
  3. IF I were to have an opportunity to sit down and talk with this person about my current writing dreams or manuscript, do I know what they need to hear—so that they have the best opportunity to accept my work?
  4. Am I prepared to pick up the phone and talk with these people? Have I created a written outline of the points I want them to hear and understand?

After years of attending writers’ conferences, seminars and workshops, I FINALLY accepted the fact that Editors and Publishing Directors are people and writers. The majority of these folks started walking the same path I did—finding joy in putting pen to paper and communicating their ideas. However, when two roads crossed, they found their passion along the publications and/or publishing path. Since that time I’ve decided to respect each one for the journey they’ve taken and seriously look for common ground. Then, after I’ve thoroughly researched the needs of their magazine or journal—or the contracts or packages of their publishing house—I’m ready to talk. Yup—pick up the phone and do whatever it takes to talk with that person.

“Hello Joe. Thank you for taking a minute to talk with me today. I have just finished a short story that fits right into your magazine’s target readership. The title is…, …”

“Hello Ms. Andrews. Thank you for talking with me at the California Writer’s Conference. I’m calling today to talk about a new article idea for your Christmas 2016 issue.” (Yes, it is always the best plan to plan months ahead.)

The KEY is to talk with this person as if they are your best friend and totally pumped about the article, poetry, short story, or novel you’re ready to publish.

Today, I leave you with this thought, a quote from author Kurt Vonnegut. “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.”  I can easily imagine this comparison because, like the eagle who pulls out every feather to allow new and stronger feathers to grow, writers must continually fly to new creative heights. We must never become petrified wood. ⚓︎

RoyaleneABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.
Alternative Marketing Methods, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Promotion Strategy, flickr, Social Media Marketing

An Indie Author’s Social Media Primer | Flickr

Remember when I wrote a primer for indie and self-published authors looking to make their debuts on Instagram?  Well, I’m back this week with a new primer geared towards those of a visual bent.  But instead of looking at one of the Big Five (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram), I’m going to take a quick gander at one of the less talked-about tools in the indie author’s toolbox: Flickr!

flickr

There are, of course, several key differences between Instagram and Flickr.  If you’ll remember, the top 5 “best practices” I recommended for Instagram users were to (1) “Go for the gut;” (2) “Think regular, but not too regular;” (3) “You’re in the inspiration business, so share yours;” (4) “Use the hashtags and @username functions;” and last but not least, (5) “Don’t posture.”  While intuition, inspiration, reliability, authenticity, and metadata remain important when you make the leap to Flickr, the platform is so different that their manifestations must also be.  In fact, I’d suggest we rethink what makes a Flickr image “social” altogether.

Debunking the Great Flickr Myth: “It’s just a place to store photos.”

While it certainly is a place to store photos, Flickr isn’t just a high school locker we pack full to overflowing.  Other visually-oriented social media websites like Instagram or Pinterest “capture” their users by making it easy to interact with photos and share items within the platform itself, and while you can certainly share links to Instagram and Pinterest content, the format of said sharing creates a hit-or-miss prospect when it comes to non-users viewing your material.  That is, someone may choose to follow a link … or they may not.  You may also end up with duplicates of all of your pictures if you have Instagram set to upload photos directly to dedicated Facebook albums.  Not ideal, right?

A lot of people think Flickr is just another cloud storage option, like Dropbox, only complicated by the fact that you can also comment on and interact with the photos on Flickr itself.  Is it trying to be a social media platform, or cloud storage, or what?  When you approach Flickr with the expectation that it will look and feel and function like either Pinterest or Google’s outmoded Picasa Web Album system, you’re bound to get bogged down in a messy and unintuitive tangle of groups and discussion boards and so on.

It’s so much better just to skip all of that chaos and focus on what Flickr does really well, and what it can specifically do for you, an indie or self-published author.

Top 5 Best Practices:

1. Embed, embed, embed.  One of Flickr’s absolute best features is its embedability.  What do I mean by this?  I mean you can copy either a hyperlink for an individual photograph, or a hyperlink for an entire slideshow, and integrate this code into your blog or website to display continually there.  Why is this useful?  First off, you can create either one-off blog posts which feature beautiful high-resolution images (a Flickr specialty)––as The Daily Beast’s Nicole Villeneuve has done in her “Moveable Feast” article––or you can create a slideshow as a permanent feature of your website, as the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health demonstrates here.  While other social media platforms may enable you to interact with your friends’ photographs within the contained environment of their networks, Flickr fills in the gaps by breaking your images out into any web forum imaginable.

2. Ramp up the quality.  Instagram’s strength is that it relies upon timeliness, and a certain “in the moment” quality that brings immediacy and spontaneity to the table.  Flickr, on the other hand, allows its users to upload truly high-quality photographs with minimal compression and data loss (comparatively, at least).  Other social media platforms capitalize on users’ general satisfaction in simply sharing an image, no matter what quality that image is, quickly and easily.  But Facebook compresses all images by as much as 80 percent, which results in a great deal of fuzz and blur.  Flickr displays images at full resolution, making for giant and gorgeous incarnations of your photos in well-curated, smoothly synced pages.  It isn’t just a place where “hip” amateurs upload happy snaps; it’s a digital home for serious photographers.  Take advantage of both Flickr’s 1 terabyte of free storage and its cachet!

3. Think like a designer.  Perhaps this one’s a little … unconventional, but Elite Truong recently wrote a lovely article for Poynter that provides a lot of great pointers on how authors can learn a little from their more visually-inclined fellow artists––and I’m feeling inspired.  Think of Flickr as a medium, just as you do the white page of your word processor (or the physical paper of your notebook!).  How can you build narratives with images that reflect or complement the narrative you’ve already shaped into a book?  You don’t have to become a watercolorist or a professional photographer overnight––but, but––you can definitely steal a hand from their playbook when it comes to connecting with new audiences or better connecting with existing ones.

4. Cross-link your description fields.  As with any other website, Flickr is rich in possibility when it comes to metadata.  You can tag and even geotag your images, add titles and descriptions, and direct viewers to click on hyperlinks that lead back to your personal website.  You can create thematic sets, albums, and slideshows; each new collection that you curate generates its own wave of metadata, which renders you more findable.  There’s so much metadata on Flickr, in fact, that sometimes it can be a struggle to decide just where to begin.  The description field?  Definitely.  The title?  Oh, yes.  You can even tweak some of the camera settings (like aperture and focal length) that are displayed alongside your images.

5. Think “Portfolio” rather than “Scrapbook.”  This is not to say that scrapbooks aren’t awesome.  They are.  They simply aren’t a one-size-fits-all tool for every situation.  Sometimes, you need a beautifully-built, professionally-presented, visually stunning home for your images.  And whether you, as an author, are posting behind-the-scenes pictures of your writing space, or perhaps high-resolution illustrations of certain pages of your upcoming children’s book, or even art prints of certain favorite quotes from your works, there’s no better way to get new readers to do a double take than with a Flickr slideshow.  A handy rule of thumb might be: If a picture is something you simply want to share, then Instagram or Facebook may be well and good; if it’s something you want to sell, then Flickr will showcase your product to maximum visual impact.

Most Overlooked Feature:

Let’s face it, Flickr as a whole is an overlooked feature.  Sure, it may be making a bit of a comeback since its makeover at the hands of former Yahoo! executive Marissa Mayer, but it’s still not the first social media platform that authors think of when they’re looking to branch out into something new.  And as I mentioned before, there are some ways in which it converses easily with other platforms––there are groups, discussion boards, metadata fields, and profile pages to fill out––and ways in which it stands out.

When push comes to shove, Flickr is not a substitute for any of the Big Five, simply because its many users don’t quite amount to the critical mass of millions or even billions that the upper crust of social media websites has locked in.  Its specialized tools are, however, an asset and a credit to a much-needed niche if you happen to be looking for something a little … glossier … than Instagram.

I hope you’ll join me in building this Social Media Primer!  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or contributions, please use the comment field below or drop us a line at selfpublishingadvice@gmail.com.  And remember to check back each Wednesday for your weekly dose of social media know-how. ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.
from the archives, google, search engine optimization, Self-Publishing

From the Archives: “Promoting your Self-Published Book on Google”

Welcome back to our new Tuesday segment, where we’ll be revisiting some of our most popular posts from the last few years.  What’s stayed the same?  And what’s changed?  We’ll be updating you on the facts, and taking a new (and hopefully refreshing) angle on a few timeless classics of Self Publishing Advisor.

∗∗∗∗∗

[ Originally posted: August 7th, 2008 ]

When you are a self published author, sometimes book promotion is about who you know. Other times it is simply about having the time to devote.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a fast way to find the people or places that were right for your book? Knowing how to conduct an advanced Internet search that yields applicable results is very important. Luckily, it’s also very easy, and in case you don’t know how, I’m going to show you. Go to the Google website at google.com but instead of simply entering a term, use the “Advanced Search” by clicking on the link that says “Advanced Search” in small type next to the “Search” button. You will find a page that enables you to fine-tune your search. By conducting smarter searches, you will find places to promote your book faster. 

You can promote your books on Google for free. You’d sell a lot more books if a lot more people knew about them. Google can help make that happen.

  • Help users discover your books: By matching the content in your books with user searches, Google Book Search connects your books with the users who are most interested in buying them.
  • Keep your content protected: Users are able to preview a limited number of pages to determine whether they’ve found what they’re looking for. 
  • Drive book sales: Links to bookstores, online retailers, and your website make it easy for users to go from browsing to buying — with new ways to buy and access your books coming soon.

Learn more at: books.google.com/partner/

google books

I should warn you right off the bat that a lot has changed since I first blogged about Google’s partnership program for authors, and one of the things that has changed is the link you’ll need to follow for more information.  (The one I provided back in 2008, preserved above, no longer works.)  Your new one-stop shop for know-how as an author interested in Google’s partnership program is:

www.google.com/googlebooks/partners/

The link address may seem only subtly different, but I promise you won’t regret taking the time to access the updated materials Google has compiled there, including recommendations for self-promotion, resources for authors and publishers, and a collection of success stories.  (And let’s face it, we love tapping into the glow of success, if only to learn how others are finding ways to make it work.)  And let’s not forget Google Play’s “Book Partners Center,” a separate (but linked) resource which provides step-by-step instructions on how to publish your book as an e-book in the Google Play store, and put your story on Android devices the world over.

What I wrote in 2008 about optimizing your online presence to help:

a) users discover and access your book,

b) you protect your rights and maintain creative control, and

c) drive book sales …

… remains 100% accurate.  Google can help you do these things, but the ways and means have evolved in the last seven years––dramatically.  I recommend glancing at Self Publishing Advisor’s primer on Search Engine Optimization (SEO); you can find the summary post and links to the individual posts here.  Why?  Because Google is a multi-platform tool now when it comes to self-publishing.  Not only can you use Google Play to host and sell your book as a self-publishing platform, but you can use Google Analytics to analyze engagement on your personal webpage (or webpages), and you can optimize all of your web content across all of your different social media accounts and blogs and so on to better feed into your promotional campaign.

Google is so much more than a search engine, now! ♠

KellyABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the Executive Vice President of Outskirts Press. In addition to her contributions to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com, Kelly and a group of talented marketing experts offer book marketing services, support, and products to not only published Outskirts Press authors, but to all authors and professionals who are interested in marketing their books and/or careers. Learn more about Kelly on her blog, kellyschuknecht.com.