Tag: Self-Publishing

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.
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.
Kelly Speaks, Self-Publishing Week in Review

Self-Publishing Week in Review: 10/28/14

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.

If You Self-Publish Your Book, Can You Sell It to a Big Publisher Down the Road — And Would You Even Want To?

In this article, Allison Carmen, an author who has published with both a self-publishing company and a traditional publisher, shares her story in hopes of helping you decide the best way to publish your book. This is an interesting read for all writers.

THE TWIBLE Wins in Writer’s Digest’s Self-Published Book Awards Nonfiction Category

The Twible: All the Chapters of the Bible in 140 Characters or Less . . . Now with 68% More Humor! by religion scholar Jana Riess has won First Place in the Nonfiction category in the Writer’s Digest 2014 Self-Published Book Awards. The honor includes a $1,000 cash award, a one-year membership in the Small Publishers Association of North America, and a one-year membership to Book Central Station. I always recommend writers study successful self-published authors as a way to learn about the industry and improve their craft.

The great Amazon debate: A leading Amazon critic and a self-publishing rock star try to find common ground

In this article, two writers each make their case for their view on the Amazon debate. This is an interesting read for all writers.

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.
Jodee Speaks

Self-Publishing, A Trick or Treat

I’ll end the month this week with the pros and cons of self-publishing, so you can decide if self-publishing is a trick or a treat. Be sure to check out the previous posts about spooky self-publishing statistics, why authors are scared to self-publish, and how to scare away readers.

Pros

  • Freedom of expression — You have complete control over the content of your book. You don’t have to edit your manuscript to meet the opinions of a traditional publisher.
  • You control how your book looks – Everything from the cover to the interior formatting is in your hands. With traditional publishers, authors usually have no say in these decisions.
  • You set your own price — It can be as low or high as you would like, depending on your target audience and goals. Again, this decision is usually not given to the author when working with traditional publishers.
  • You receive 100% of your royalties — There’s no middleman stealing your profits.

Cons

  • No one critiques your manuscript — How can you be sure your story is “worth reading”? You can hire professional editors to review your book, test your manuscript on a group of readers, or ask trusted friends, family, and colleagues for feedback.
  • You don’t have to edit your manuscript — A messy manuscript turns into a poorly-written book that very few people (if any) will want to read. You can choose to hire an editor to prevent this from happening.
  • You control your book’s design — This is great if you’re a designer but not so great if you have limited graphic skills. Again, you may want to hire a professional to help you.

While self-publishing isn’t for everyone, it is a great option for many writers. Only you can decide what is best for you. Talk to other writers. Learn about the industry. Research publishers. Educate yourself, and then trust your decision.

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.