Category: Uncategorized

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

Tuesday Book Review: “The Jar Puppies” (an overlooked gem!)

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:

the jar puppies thomas james

The Jar Puppies

by Thomas James

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781478758075

Synopsis*:

There are miracles around us every day. Some we see, and the most of us don’t ever notice. Then there are other miracles that should remain silent. There are dangers around that some may use the miracles for financial gain. To exploit these miracles and perhaps even hurt a child in the process. They must be protected at all cost from those that may harm what is pure and innocent. There is nothing more remarkable than a miracle in a child’s arms as the two of them combined should be admired and adored, and never taken advantage of. Then there is nature. Something that is beautiful and precious. When combined with a miracle you have heaven. How and why should man be allowed to destroy what was meant to be something special on earth. Those that will fight to protect its secret from harm, even at the cost of a life, should be thought of highly. Then when nature steps in with a fury to protect its own. Even man cannot stand in its way, and must retreat. There are miracles in this world that must be recognized as beautiful as life itself, respected for what they are, and should be left to be. We should never even think of damaging something so precious, and perhaps lose it forever. Look around. What miracles do you see? Would you ever think of doing something to it so that you may never see it again? This book is filled with love, joy, excitement, humor, and sadness. It is for those that are pure and innocent, and know the difference between right and wrong. For those that really care about precious gifts from above.

 * courtesy of Amazon.com

Publisher’s Summary

An old glass maker, tired and looking for new inspiration, is led to a special beach where the sand has properties he has never seen before. He takes some of the sand home, and makes a series of jars, which have a gift that is so precious it can be shared only with a few loving and trustworthy children. But the pure joy given to the children is threatened as others watch, thinking only of how the gift can be turned to profit. The children learn priceless lessons about friendship, loyalty, and the importance of protecting what is precious and unique. The Jar Puppies and Miracle Beach is a unique and beautiful story that you and your children will treasure.

Featured Review

The Jar Puppies made a splash at the 2016 CIPA EVVY Awards for good reason, and it definitely qualifies as one of our most beloved and most overlooked children’s books of the last couple of years! Here, Thomas James takes a story he first received as a dream and later told to his loved ones and translates it into written form. And not just that–he had it beautifully illustrated! This is a sweet narrative rich in potential as both a teaching tool for younger children and as a source of entertainment. One of our favorite elements of this book is that children are given very real agency–that is, they’re given active roles in shaping how events play out, and they take those roles very seriously. Not many children’s books take that sort of approach! We highly recommend you check out this book … and yes, review it on Amazon or Goodreads! It is criminally under-recognized for its excellence.

– reviewed by us here on Self-Publishing Advisor!

Book Trailer

tuesday book review

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

Self Publishing Advisor

selfpubicon1

news from the self publishing world, self publishing news, Uncategorized

Self-Publishing News: 1.22.2018 – Publishing Trends Roundup

January, illustrated name of calendar month, illustration

And now for the news!

Some highlights from this month in the world of self-publishing, specifically regarding publishing trends within the publishing industry, and their implications for all authors!

If there was an article title I thought least likely to ever appear in print or the digital sphere, it was this one: gig economy workers looking to romance writers (including, specifically, self-published authors!) for tips on how to get ahead in the digital age. This fascinating article comes to us from the Associated Press by way of Washington’s Top News (WTOP) and was written by Chris Larson of the University of Colorado and released through The Conversation (“an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts,” according to the article). In short, this has top of the line credentials, and speaks to a felt need in the self-publishing community: to be recognized not just by and within the publishing industry for the many successes and strengths of self-publishing, but also to be recognized by those outside of it–by other professionals in other fields, as a peer among peers. With a caveat to E.L. James (authors of the immensely popular Fifty Shades series), Larson writes that his research indicates that “the median income for romance authors has tripled in the e-book era. And more and more are earning a six-figure income.” This is great news, especially if the reasons why can be extrapolated and translated to other fields. Larson has some thoughts on that, too, and we highly recommend you read the full article at the link!

In another article with shockingly good credentials and authority, New York Times regular contributor Alexandra Alter describes in an interview just how e-books and the digital revolution, self-publishing included, have affected her job. Alter, for context, “covers the book industry” (according to the article) for the Times, and is a regular contributor to their very popular podcast, “The Book Review.” In other words, she’s one of the best-placed individuals to comment upon significant and ongoing trends in publishing at large. Here, Alter writes of how she came to e-books with the birth of her eldest daughter, a familiar tune to many e-book aficionados, all of whom need their hands free for various parenting duties. And despite being deeply vested in traditional publishing and print media, Alter sees value in the self-publishing industry: “Self-publishing has been one of the most fascinating corners of the industry to me,” she writes. “There have been a handful of massively successful self-published authors who have started their own publishing companies, and they’ve started to publish other ‘self-published’ authors. But publishers have survived so far through consolidation, and we’ll probably see more of that.” There’s lots to unpack throughout this article, and we highly recommend you take a look at the original on the Times website!

In one of the more useful trends to arise in the self-publishing industry, companies are now beginning to see the value in providing aspiring authors with tools for taking charge of and organizing their own publication and marketing needs. The latest release comes from Outskirts Press, a self-publishing company with which we are familiar. This month, it released its 2018 book marketing calendar, which comes complete with “valuable book competition deadlines, marketing tips and other up-to-date information they need to successfully promote all year.” If this sounds like the sort of thing which might prove helpful to you (and we’ll be the first to admit that we love bullet journals and budget and daily planners!) we recommend you take a look at the full article on Benzinga.

spa-news

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.

selfpubicon1

Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Conversations : The Best of Royalene Doyle (part 3)

Celebrating the Best of Royalene Doyle

and her fantastic Conversations

farewell goodbye waving

Seasons. They mean a lot to us: harbingers of change, or renewal, or death, or growth, or transformation, the seasons play vital roles in everything from Shakespeare to the Metamorphosis to our very own blog posts here on Self Publishing Advisor. (Did we just put ourselves in company with Shakespeare? Well, maybe he would have self-published too if he’d had the chance!) Many of Royalene’s finest posts tapped into timely conversations about the seasons and how they inform our work–from conception, to the written manuscript, to the final publication and distribution. Her first truly seasonal post for us came back in 2015, when she wrote about the “seasons of creative development.” These seasons provide a useful metaphor for framing the work that lies ahead, and we can’t think of a better foundation for today’s retrospective than this.

Royalene continued her 2015 conversations about seasons by writing a series; you can read the other posts in the series here, here, and … here, with part IV, the conclusion and second post we’ll be looking at today. Why part IV and not some other part? First of all, there’s something fitting about writing about a sense of resolution and hope after writing about seasons and how they inform our work … and more than anyone else who’s ever written for us here on Self Publishing Advisor, Royalene understood how to provide readers with tangible and actionable ways forward. Here, in the conclusion to her incredibly popular series on seasons (as determined by the analytics), Royalene reminds us that as authors we will face seasons as well: seasons of productivity, and seasons which might be called “fallow.” Seasons where we feel frustrated, and like nothing is happening. The good news? Everyone goes through them, so there is nothing wrong with you for feeling down on your luck or discouraged. Authors like Laura Ingalls Wilder get started late in life all the time; Authors like CS Lewis write steadily throughout their lives and into old age; authors like Alice Ann Munroe only receive due recognition in old age; and authors everywhere go through seasons. Just like the rest of us!

The seasons have other connotations, too, don’t they? They’re elemental. They speak to the workings of the world. In a wildly popular post from 2016, Royalene wrote about another set of rich metaphors which often intersect with those of the seasons: the elements. Not the periodic table of elements, although that too is a beautiful thing and worth mining for creative fuel, but the elements as perceived by the ancients in various cultures, and used as metaphors for describing and informing human relationships to the natural world … and each other … and so much more! Earth, fire, air, water, and aether. Who knew that they could help inspire authors throughout the ages, and maybe even you? Well, apart from Royalene, who is brilliant? In this, our final retrospective for the week, we wanted to leave you with a typically “Royalene-y” post, one which provides a fun and useful exercise to help you keep generating the words you need in order to complete your writing project.

***

That’s all for this week! We’ll be back next Friday as we detail more of Royelene’s greatest hits, as determined by our blog’s analytics. You can follow Royalene’s further adventures by checking out her Twitter feed (her handle is @RoyaleneD) or her website at www.DoyleWritingServices.com. We miss you, Royalene! ⚓︎

Royalene

ABOUT 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. She developed 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, has received 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. December 2017 marked the end of Royalene’s tenure at Self Publishing Advisor. and we will be spending the next few weeks celebrating some of her all-time hits, her most well-received articles for our blog, in thanks for years of generous service.
brent sampson, Brent Speaks, Facebook, Uncategorized

How to Market Your Book on Facebook

Facebook

Immediately after you’ve published your book, it’s time to get into marketing. Here’s what you need to understand in order to jumpstart your book marketing campaign on Facebook.

  1. You need a fan page – NOT a personal page.

Personal pages and fan pages function very differently. A fan page offers a one-way relationship between you and the fan; fans see your updates, but you don’t see theirs. A person only needs to click “like” to immediately become your fan. With a personal page, a potential fan has to send you a friend request, which is an intimidating barrier for people who don’t actually know you. Even more importantly, personal pages have a friend limit and only fan pages give you data on how fans are interacting with your posts.

  1. Any given Facebook post will only reach a small percent of your fans.

Fans are people who clicked “like” on your page, but they will not automatically see your updates.

Facebook has become so popular that it had to develop an algorithm to prioritize the flood of posts available for a person’s news feed each day. Say, for example, that one of your fans is a fan of 100 other pages and has 400 personal friends. All of those pages and friends represent hundreds of possible messages going to that person’s news feed. Only a few of those messages will be shown. Your new fan may actually never hear from you again, depending on whether or not you understand number 3…

  1. Likes, comments and shares mean almost everything on Facebook.

Facebook chooses what to show and in what order based on which friends and/or pages a person engaged with in the past. “Engaged with” means the person clicked, liked, shared or commented on a post.

If a fan doesn’t take one of those actions on your posts regularly, the algorithm will decide they aren’t really a fan, and that person will rarely, if ever, see your content again. You could have 10,000 fans but literally be talking to a near-empty room if Facebook is methodically removing your posts from their feeds due to lack of engagement. That means you should write every post in a way that facilitates likes, comments, or shares.

  1. Small tactics can make a big difference in driving “click engagement.”

Here are some tips for encouraging clicks:

  • Experiment with post timing. The average post is only shown in feeds for about 3 hours. If most of your fans are on Facebook in the evening but you always post in the morning, they’ll never see you.
  • Be concise. Studies have shown that posts between 100 and 250 characters (less than 3 lines of text) receive about 60% more likes, comments, and shares than posts greater than 250 characters.
  • Use different types of posts. Some fans click mostly on links, others engage mostly with questions, and some click mostly on photos. To maximize the number of fans who engage with you, use a variety of post types.
  1. Your cover photo is premium real estate to market your book.

You have 851 x 315 pixels worth of space to market your book. Use this space to show off an image of your book. You can also promote a tour or giveaway here.

  1. Connect Facebook with promotional apps.

Use Facebook to successfully host a book giveaway with apps like Woobox, Rafflecopter, or Shortstack on your Facebook page. Be sure to advertise it on your cover photo space. Or use a video app to create a book video to post on your Facebook Page (or purchase a book video trailer).  Show your readers the author behind the writing. People connect with those they can relate to and adding a video of your book will increase interest. Plus, Facebook’s autoplay video feature will entice users to pay attention.

  1. Link Facebook with a way to purchase your book.

Be sure to link to your online shop (whether that’s on your publisher’s site, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your own website). Dedicate a button on the dash below your cover photo for “Shop.”  This will be more successful if you regularly post positive book reviews on Facebook. Reviews are among the best ways to get more eyes on your book. Not only can you get in front of the reviewer, but the reviewer may also recommend your book to others. Don’t expect people to automatically review your book. Actively ask for reviews on your Facebook page.

  1. Use the “Promote” feature.

Under each of your Facebook posts, there is a button that says “Promote.” For a relatively small amount of money, you can get more of your fans to see specific posts. The cost depends on your particular fan base, but typically runs around $5 per thousand people you want to reach. You can also promote your post so friends of your fans will see it. Paid promotion is a great tool for getting important posts in front of as many people as possible. It’s also a great way to get back into the feeds of people you’ve lost due to lack of engagement in the past; if a person engages with a paid post, they’ll be more likely to see your future unpaid posts. Paid posts give you a chance to win fans back!

  1. Be consistent and generous.

The key to engagement is consistent posts that your fans consider valuable. Try to post daily. From time to time, post an image of your book and an offer they can’t refuse, such as free chapter of your new book. The most important thing is to grab people and bring them onto your page. Make sure you use the word “free” in your posts. You want to offer them something to reward for them visiting your page.

brent sampson
In 2002, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Semi-Finalist Brent Sampson founded Outskirts Press, a custom book publishing solution that provides a cost-effective, fast, and powerful way to help authors publish, distribute, and market their books worldwide while leaving 100% of the rights and 100% of the profits with the author. Outskirts Press was incorporated in Colorado in October, 2003.
In his capacity as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, Brent is an expert in the field of book publishing and book marketing. He is also the author of several books on both subjects, including the bestseller Sell Your Book on Amazon, which debuted at #29 on Amazon’s bestseller list.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week, Uncategorized, weekly self published book review

Tuesday Book Review: “The Women of Harrington Hall”

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:

The Women of Harrington Hall by J Alec Keaton

The Women of Harrington Hall

by J. Alec Keaton

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781478761013

Synopsis*:

Harrington Hall at Beaumont University might have been any other women’s residence hall at an institution of higher learning. The women who lived in Harrington Hall might have been any other coeds at a prominent university-and most of them did follow the typical pattern, attending classes, gathering at social functions, making new friends, and relishing the freedom of living away from home. For others, however, the college experience was not at all what they anticipated it would be. Heather falls in love, gets pregnant, and marries her soul mate . . . but she later learns a secret that sends her life into a tailspin. Song Kim seems painfully shy but is hiding a dark secret of her own. Karen, desperate to find a way to earn money for tuition, agrees to become part of an exclusive escort service and then realizes she’s committed to more than she’d bargained for. And Cathy, beautiful and virtuous, gets involved with a boy who has a reputation for using women, leading to a tragedy she never could have imagined. J. Alec Keaton’s The Women of Harrington Hall is filled with happiness and heartache, poignancy and punch. Harrington Hall’s women, genuine and true, are seemingly ordinary college coeds-you might say, “I knew someone like that”-but the twists and turns in each woman’s journey are anything but ordinary. And the telling of their tale will keep you riveted and wanting more.

 * courtesy of Amazon.com

Reviews

As I got to know each of the characters, the book was hard to put down, needing to know what came next. With twists and turns in every angle, the ending was very satisfying. I thought this book was better than “Girl On The Train”.

– reviewed on Amazon by Kathy H.

This story captivated me from the start. The twists and turns just kept coming. The characters were very real. My only complaint was that I could not stop reading so was up late. Really good book!! I was given this book for an honest review by NetGalley.

– reviewed on Amazon by Annette H

I liked the characters and plot of the novel. The modern day-setting brought the characters alive and you rooted for them through-out the book. I agree with the other reviews that once you started reading you didn’t want to put the book down.

– reviewed on Amazon by JJ

A great story, very distinguishable and interesting characters. Easily read, with suspense at every turn. Hard to put down.

– reviewed on Amazon by Joanne

 

tuesday book review

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

Self Publishing Advisor

selfpubicon1