Tag: Self-Publishing

Kelly Speaks, Uncategorized

October Writing Challenge #1

One of the favorite months is finally here — October! Witches, ghosts, and goblins! Oh my!

In honor of Halloween, each week in October I will share a Halloween inspired writing challenge. These challenges are designed to spark creative ideas, help you stick to your writing routine, and provide a little fun in your hectic week. (After all, writing is supposed to be fun, right?)

This week, we’ll start with the Spiritual Poetry Challenge. Tap into the spirit of Halloween and write a poem about a spiritual event or encounter. Possible topics include death, ghosts, or after death communication with someone who has passed. For instance, pick a real or fictional person who has passed and imagine what he/she would say to you. Also, if you have ever had a spiritual encounter, you could write the poem about that event.

This challenge will be unique for each individual. In some religions, spiritual encounters and after death communication are significant parts of their beliefs, and the poems may reflect those beliefs. For others, this challenge may simply be a fun way to imagine an conversation with a late celebrity, famous author, or even a childhood pet.

Be sure to check back next Wednesday for the next writing challenge!

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.
Jodee Speaks

The Importance of Book Award Programs

Whether you self-publish or use a traditional publisher, there is a lot of competition in the publishing industry. Thanks to e-readers and online book retailers, readers easily have access to thousands of books. Plus, readers also encounter hundreds of books every time they visit a bookstore or other retailer that sells books.

There are several ways to make your self-published book stand out. One of the best ways to do so is entering (and winning) book award programs. These programs increase an author’s credibility and exposure in several ways:

1) Adding an award to your resume/biography instantly increases your credibility.

2) The programs often help market your book by featuring it in publications, on their website, in a press release, and more.

3) The award badge can be added to your book cover. Be honest, how many times have you picked up a book because you saw an award badge on the cover? It instantly tells the reader the book is worth buying.

If you plan on entering book award programs, it is important that you purchase plenty of author copies to send with your submissions.

I’d love to know, what is your book award strategy?

ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 25 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps, publishing consultants and marketing professionals; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams and on assisting authors with marketing and promoting their book once published. 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.
Jodee Speaks, Uncategorized

How to Format Your Self-Published Book

One of the questions I am most frequently asked by self-publishing authors is how to format the manuscript for submission. Every self-publishing company may have its own requirements, but here is an overview of what is most common:

PAGE SIZE: A typical manuscript page will be the standard 8.5 x 11. If you want an idea of how long your book will be, you can set your page size to the trim size you plan to select. Changing to the trim size you plan to select will also help you see how your text shifts and moves.

MARGINS: It’s fine to use the default margins in Word. However, if you want to get closer to standard margins for many self-publishing companies, set the top and bottom margins to .95” and the left and right to .75”.

SPACING: Most authors prefer to use double-spacing when creating their manuscript because is allows for easier editing and proofreading. It is fine to submit it with double-spacing to most self-publishing companies. However, if you want to get an idea of the length of your book and how the text will look, change the manuscript to single-space.

PARAGRAPH INDENTS: It’s best to not use spaces or tabs, but rather to set your paragraph setting to the first line hanging .25”.

HARD RETURNS: Only use hard returns at the end of a paragraph, NOT the end of each line like a typewriter.

SPELL CHECK: Run the grammar check and spell check and have a third party proofread your manuscript. It is important to note that grammar and spell check don’t always catch every error and the suggestions aren’t always correct. It is best to have another person as well as yourself proofread the text.

ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 25 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps, publishing consultants and marketing professionals; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams and on assisting authors with marketing and promoting their book once published. 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: 9/17/13

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.

Why You Should Self-Publish

This successful self-published author talks about how his latest self-publish book recently debuted #7 on the New York Times Bestseller List and how he has sold over a million books in the last two years. My favorite part of the article is when the author says, “My happiest days were spent writing, not being a bestselling author.” I also like when he states, “Implicit in the message that only some people should publish is the stance that all publishing is commercial, it’s all about making money, about being a bestseller, a pro. But that’s not the reason I do it.”

Self-Publishing on a Shoestring: Amazon’s Matchbook Program

There has been a lot of buzz about Amazon’s Matchbook Program. The program gives customers who buy a print copy of a book in the program a deeply discounted or free Kindle version of the same book. It’s similar to what Amazon has been doing with their audiobooks, where anyone who buys an e-book, can order a deeply discounted audiobook version, as well.

Self-Publishing Is Growing Up

Publishers Weekly is significantly beefing up its coverage of self-publishing authors. PW Select, a guide to self-publishing, will go monthly in October.

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

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.
Jodee Speaks

Selecting a Book Size for Your Self-Published Book

Self-publishing provides many advantages for authors. One of the greatest is complete control over not only the material but also most aspects of your book’s production. Even in full-service self-publishing, where you find a publishing consultant or representative who helps you every step along the way, you may arrive at certain decision you may not have anticipated.

Choosing book sizing and format is often one of those unexpected choices, especially with all of the options available with advancements in on-demand print technology.

Most books fall within a few major categories. Here are some suggestions on book sizing based on your genre:

  • Novella, Short stories, Romance: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
  • Trade paperbacks, Non-fiction, How-to: 6 x 9 inches
  • Children’s, Photography, Manual, Textbook: 8.5 x 11 or 8.5 x 8.5

It is also important to note that larger font and/or word count books often print and market better at a 6 x 9 size or larger. Shorter manuscripts print better at a smaller book size, resulting in a larger, more marketable page count.

Take a trip to your local bookstore and see what sizes books similar to yours are publishing at. It’s generally recommended to stick with what works. Or, be very, very different. Remember, your publishing professional will be available to run ideas by.

ABOUT JODEE THAYER: With over 25 years of experience in sales and management, Jodee Thayer works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps, publishing consultants and marketing professionals; together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams and on assisting authors with marketing and promoting their book once published. 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.