Jodee Speaks

Should You Create Your Own Cover?

Many self-published authors debate whether they should submit a print-ready cover they have created or whether they should hire a professional graphic designer to create the cover for them. Like any self-publishing decision you will make, there are pros and cons to each method. Here is an overview of the two options.

Creating Your Own Cover

  • If you have the skills to create your own cover, you can save money by doing the work yourself.
  • Creating a professional cover requires both skill and talent. Most writers do not have the ability to create a great cover.
  • You need to know how to format the cover correctly.
  • If your cover doesn’t look great, your book may not sell well, even if it well written.

Hiring a Graphic Designer

  • When you hire a professional, you can expect a great cover every time. Afterall, that is what you paying the graphic designer for.
  • You have a lot of options. If you design the cover yourself, your skills and talent may limit your options, but when you hire a professional, you can tell the designer exactly what you want.
  • This option does cost money, but it is often well worth it.
  • Many self-publishing companies offer a custom cover option. This saves you the time and stress of finding a great designer.

Remember, your book cover has a huge impact on your ability to sell your book! Unfortunately, people don’t listen to the cliché “don’t judge a book by its cover,” so be sure to choose an option that will make your book look professional.

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.
Uncategorized, Wendy Speaks

How to Organize Your Self-Published Novel

There are many ways to organize a novel. Many writers follow a traditional rise and fall plot line, while other writers play with unconventional methods such as moving back and forth between time periods or points of view. While it is up to you how you decide to organize your novel, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. While outlining your story, ask yourself these questions.

1) What happens in the beginning of the book to hook my reader?

2) What will make the reader keep reading the book?

3) Is the story understandable?

4) Have I covered all the information I need to share?

As you write your novel, don’t be afraid to experiment with different techniques. Also, read tons of books in your genre (as well as those outside your genre) to get ideas. Finally, always have someone else read your draft. Whether you hire a professional editor or ask a friend you trust, get feedback from a reader.

ABOUT WENDY STETINA: Wendy Stetina is a sales and marketing professional with over 30 years experience in the printing and publishing industry. Wendy works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; and 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, Wendy Stetina can put you on the right path.
Elise Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book

Espresso Book Machines Offer Self-Publishing Authors a Jolt in Sales

Oh, the publishing industry has come such a long way since the days of minimum advance orders, massive preprinting and prohibitive upfront production costs. Technology has not only given digital readers the gift of instant downloads, but now has given hard copy traditionalists the ability to choose a book digitally and have it in hand in the time it takes to press a few buttons on a vending machine.

In fact, the Espresso Book Machine® (EBM), as the name implies, is essentially a vending machine for literature. Just as an espresso maker both makes and vends a piping-hot beverage on demand, the EBM produces a paperback copy of your selection on the spot. The buyer selects a title and the EBM instantly prints the selection, complete with a full-color cover, that is indistinguishable from a preprinted paperback plucked from a bookshelf. The machine even cuts the book to the proper size for that title!

All that in three or four minutes. You can’t even make a latte that fast.

It’s understandable why so much excitement is brewing over this technology. Booksellers and libraries, wise to many readers’ undying love for both tangible reads and instant gratification, are keen to offer as many new releases as possible, even when shelf space is hard to come by. Naturally, authors are drinking it up, as well; any gadget that serves up their books without requiring huge advance printing and shipment costs is a sweet deal. Authors only pay a small preprint cost and receive the full retail price, minus a consignment fee.

Espresso Book Machines are already working overtime in libraries and universities all over the world, including but not limited to:

  • New York Public Library
  • University of Michigan Library
  • New Orleans Public Library
  • San Francisco Internet Archive
  • University of Michigan Library
  • Manchester Center Northshire Bookstore
  • University of Alberta
  • McMaster University Bookstore
  • London Newsstand UK
  • Library of Alexandria, Egypt
  • Melbourne, Australia Angus & Robertson Bookstore

More vending locations are being added all the time. Self-publishing giant Outskirts Press has added the Espresso Book Machine as an affordable distribution option for its authors, and it’s a smart addition to any book marketing plan. The small set-up fee makes the book available at all of the EBM locations and automatically uploads your title to new machines as they’re added to the EBM network, at no extra charge.

Combine an EBM edition with Amazon book listing, and iPad, NOOK and Kindle editions to maximize access to your book and make it easier for readers to make the decision to buy. Of course, you can still keep your car’s trunk stocked with your latest book just in case, but the Espresso Book Machine can help you lessen the load when preprinting isn’t possible.

Elise Connors ABOUT ELISE L. CONNORS:
Elise works as the Manager of Author Support of Outskirts Press.  She also contributes to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com. Elise and a group of talented book marketing experts assist not only published Outskirts Press authors, but also all authors and professionals who are interested in getting the best possible exposure for their book.
Self-Publishing Book Review of the Week

Weekly Self-Published Book Review: Queen Vernita Visits the Islands of Enchantment

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:

Queen Vernita Visits the Islands of Enchantment

Dawn Menge

Publisher: Outskirts Press

ISBN: 9781432773120

In this book, there is a person named Queen Vernita. She goes to a place called the Islands of Enchantment. In this place, she has a different person come and visit her every month for a whole year. Every time someone visits they learn something every day of the week.

My favorite part was when David came to visit her, and they learned about sharks. I learned that there are 440 species of sharks in the ocean. I learned that the great white shark gets to be 12 to 16 feet long. I also like learned about eels. They can get to 10 feet long. They can weigh 100 pounds! That is a big eel!

“Queen Vernita Visits the Islands of Enchantment” is good if you want to learn about things in the ocean. I learned a lot of new things by reading it. I liked how they had something new to learn every day of the week.

Kelly Speaks, Marketing Your Self-Published Book

Using Twitter as a Marketing Tool for Self-Publishing Authors

Have you ever wondered whether Twitter could be an effective book marketing tool?  I often encourage self-publishing authors to use social media to market their books, and recently came across a really great story I wanted to share.

As I was monitoring the views on the Outskirts Press blog a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that in one day the blog’s Twitter referrals (viewers that came to our blog after clicking on a link from Twitter) went up by 40 percent! Yes, 40 percent!

How did this happen? Simple. Glenn Skinner, one of our Best Book of the Year Award Finalists, had tweeted about the contest that day in an effort to get more votes for his book.  Glenn (@KeyaQuests) currently has over 2,800 followers on Twitter, so his one tweet brought in so many more viewers that the referral rate went up by 40%.  Wow!

By building a strong social media platform, you can create similar results. Whether you are promoting your author website, blog, or book, you can drive website traffic and increase book sales by using Twitter. The key is to build a network of followers who are read your posts and visit the links you share. While keywords can get you some traffic through search engines, social media is the key to increasing website traffic.

If you are new to social media, you may want to consider a self-publishing company that offers help with social media marketing. For instance, Outskirts Press offers an Author Platform Set-up Through Social Media Option which helps authors harness the power of social media to market their book.

I’d love to know, how has social media helped you connect with your readers?

ABOUT KELLY SCHUKNECHT: Kelly Schuknecht is the 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.