Jodee Speaks, Uncategorized

What Election Day and Self-Publishing Have in Common

Tomorrow is election day. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to exercise their right to vote and think about all the freedoms our country allows us. One of those great freedoms is the freedom of expression, and self-publishing gives authors more access to that freedom as well as more freedom during the publishing process. Here’s how:

1. Freedom of Content

With traditional publishing, editors are looking for content that appeals to the mainstream, commercial market. If your book does not fit this need, regardless of the quality of your writing or idea, it’s likely your manuscript will be rejected. That’s the business side of publishing, but self-publishing helps writers overcome this barrier. It allows authors to share their stories, opinions, knowledge, advice, and more, even if it is different from what’s popular at the moment.

2. Creative Freedom

When working with traditional publishers, authors usually lose a great deal of creative freedom once an editor accepts their manuscript. They are often asked to edit their manuscripts to match the editor’s vision. They have no say in cover art or illustrations. Decisions are based on what editors believe will sell rather than what the author’s vision is. With self-publishing, authors make the decisions during every step of the process.

3. Financial Freedom

Many self-publishing companies allow authors to set their prices and give authors 100% of their royalties. This is not the case with traditional publishers.

In honor of election day, start your self-publishing project and enjoy all the freedoms available to you.

ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 20 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Manager of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Jodee Thayer can put you on the right path.
Kelly Speaks, Self-Publishing Week in Review

Self-Publishing Week in Review: 11/02/14

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 Tuesday to find out the hottest news.

3 Things I Learned About Self-Publishing

In this article, author Anthony Otero discusses his self-publishing journey and his advice to other authors. His words of wisdom cover  support, accepting help, and not taking things personally. This is a fascinating read for authors considering self-publishing.

DIY: Art and Illustrations

This informative article discusses DIY art and illustrations as well as working with professionals. It is a must read for all self-publishing authors.

Self-Publishing Book Expo Evolves with the Industry

The expo boasts new exhibitors and an expanded program to help self-publishing authors. This year’s show, held Saturday, November 15, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, features an expansive program of education panels, events, and exhibitors. Be sure to check out the full article to learn about this year’s show.

If you have other big news to share, please comment below.

ABOUT 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 at http://kellyschuknecht.com.
Conversations with a Self-Publishing Writer, Royalene Speaks, Uncategorized

Friday Conversations With A Self-Publishing Writer 10/31/14

CRITICAL THINKING CAN BE FRIGHTENING

Realizing that this blog entry will land on the day most commonly known as Halloween, it seems appropriate to demonstrate how frighteningly scary conclusions can be when using the elements of strict critical thinking.  I’ve known authors who tell me that they have built all their projects according to “effective critical thinking based on reality.”  That statement always intrigues me because it appears to leave no room for the writer’s personal thought processes and creative skills and abilities.  So it is that I ask for their definition of the word “reality.”  Without exception, they fall back to the dictionary (scientific) definition: Reality is objective and exists independently of our desire, wishes, whims, and motives.  Can anyone really write within that framework?  The box it creates—in my subjective opinion—is a very constraining and frightening place.  Below are several “critical thinking” elements that I hope will FREE every writer to be the most creative they can be.

Appreciate the “realities” known today.  As a plot is developed and character “birthed” into the storyline, the creative thinking process benefits from research and the accuracy delivered from “understood reality.”  Even the most commonly stated “facts” are viewed through the perspective of writers who, in turn, bend those perspectives toward the viewpoints of their characters.  This requires a lot of finesse to make every element in the book believable.

Accepting facts at “face value” creates closed minds and lost opportunities. There is a quote that goes something like this: When I was a child, I thought as a child; now that I’m a man, I must think like a man.  REALLY?  As I’ve grown older, I’ve become aware that people expect me to think (and believe) the widely held opinions of my community (state, country).  There seems to be a “comfort zone” in that majority of consensus-thinking and it is an easy path to follow.  However, writers are cut from a little different cloth.  We need to chew on things a little longer.  We need to dig a little deeper and come to our own conclusions—even if they cause a bit of friction or seem frightening to others.

Be not ambiguous! I’ve come to accept that every piece of writing—whether fiction or nonfiction—that comes into my hand causes me to question something.  Most often, the question relates to the main topic such as the unknowns of outer space or the intimacy between God and man.  If the writer presents the topic with multiple shades of gray, I quickly lose interest and rarely complete reading.  However, if the author presents “the truth” (as they see it) I’m intrigued and consider those points for days, months even years to come.  Truth withstands debate and brings readers back to read more from a particular author.

Be productive! Writers MUST write.  It is literally IN our DNA.  We must also slay the self-doubt dragons and the bad attitude-ites.  If you’ve never had the thought that “this book is stupid,” or “no one reads this genre anymore,” then you must be very new to the craft.  So it is that I offer this strategy:  IMMEDIATELY dismiss those feelings and replace them with WORK at the keyboard.  TURN your fears to dust and your focus to the topic at hand.  Shake hands with your characters and bring their stories to LIFE on the page before you.  And when the writing is done—PUBLISH!

Royalene ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene Doyle is a Ghostwriter with Outskirts Press, bringing more than 35 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their writing projects. She has worked with both experienced and fledgling writers helping complete projects in multiple genres. When a writer brings the passion they have for their work and combines it with Royalene’s passion to see the finished project in print, books are published and the writer’s legacy is passed forward.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: Know God and Love Him

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 by Midwest Book Review:

 Know God and Love Him

Know God and Love Him

Joanne M. Rypma

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432773991

God’s love is universal, one must know how to embrace it. “Know God and Love Him: Prayers with Scripture” is a discussion of Christian spirituality, as Joanne M. Rypma advises readers on how to bring God’s love into their lives, drawing from scripture and finding their own personal truths in their lives. For those seeking prayers to bring them closer to faith, “Know God and Love Him” is a prayerbook very much worth considering.

Alternative Marketing Methods, Blogging Tips for Authors, Book Marketing, Book Promotion, Book Promotion Strategy, Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book, Self-Publishing

Rising Through the Ranks | A Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization (Part II)

Last week, I launched a series of blogs to provide a primer to––or a launching point for future discussions about––one vital way to augment your digital presence: Search Engine Optimization (or SEO).  I argued that by making our digital content easier for the average internet user to find, we can boost traffic to our websites––and by extending the reach of our voices, expand our audiences.

I have already examined the specific benefits to refining the way we use keywords, particularly in our website or blog titles, tags, and so on.  This week, I’m going to turn to matters of content.  How can we better utilize the meat and potatoes of our digital content––the bodies of our blog posts, for example––to push our websites up through the ranks of similar websites that show up in search engine results? 

Step 2: Optimize Your Content

Even though traditional strategies for SEO (like keyword optimization) are vital and critical practices for the average blogger, the search engines of today call for even more sophistication.  Consider: in 2013, Google alone had already indexed more than thirty trillion individual web pages.  That’s 30,000,000,000,000 pieces of content vying for the top slot on any individual search.  Thankfully, search engine algorithms are fairly good at slicing away unrelated material, but you get the idea.  There is a lot of digital content, so you have to take certain steps to make yours stand out––and the best way to stand out is to create unique content. 

The basic notion is this: readers have access to plenty of useful data, but they are looking for something more than just another blog on a given topic.  They’re looking for the best blog on a given topic.  And search engines like Google are getting better at finding it!  According to blogger Sujan Patel, Google in particular looks for “longer content, images, videos, correct spelling, proper grammar, proper text formatting and […] both outbound links to other high quality sites and inbound links (and social shares) from high quality sources.”  You’ll note that this list implies a certain level of polish in respect to presentation (grammar and et cetera), but leaves room for you to play with subject and theme. 

If certain elements of SEO sometimes seem like common sense, that’s because search engines are getting better at shaping common sense into measurable data sets, and using those data sets to refine the search process.  It may prove helpful to consider search engines as just another ‘average’ reader, albeit a powerfully influential one.  So, how do you create content that hooks in the average reader or search engine?  By posting regularly, on diverse but thematically resonant topics, using means that are equally diverse and up-to-date as well as easily shared across social media platforms, and by tying your content to other websites using links, keywords, and meta data.  (As a matter of fact, Google does hire actual and real people to rate websites for quality of content.  The process is a fascinating one, and well worth a look.) 

As I mentioned last week, it’s important to remember that we’re not just looking for more users to stumble across our websites; we’re looking for the right sort of users––those users who will stick around long enough to fall in love with our written voices and, hopefully, our books.  We all have probably had some experience in stumbling across bloggers who are so good at making their content findable that they forget to make it readable, personable, or worthwhile.  Ultimately, your readers want to find a little bit of you in every blog post (or YouTube video, or tweet, or Facebook post) you put together.  You are what keeps them coming back, week after week after week.  Taking the time to craft quality content that reflects your personality is a practice that will pay dividends for a long, long time.

Check back every Wednesday for the next installation of this blog series!  I’ll be taking a look at titles and tags in a week’s time––and how can you use lofty ‘meta-data’ to bolster your SEO.  See you then!

If you have a question about any of these tools for self promotion, would like to hear from me about something specific, or 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.