Use Amazon Kindle Print plus IngramSpark for Print Distribution
If you’re like most authors, you’re confused about how to distribute your print book. I’ll get straight to the point. I like a combination of Amazon Kindle Print (used to be CreateSpace) and IngramSpark to get your book into the online retailers. This post explains why.Is your book ready to print?Your book is ready to […]
Walmart eBooks takes on Amazon Kindle: What does it mean for authors?
Walmart and Rakuten Kobo have joined forces to create Walmart eBooks by Rakuten Kobo, a brand that aims to give Amazon Kindle and Audible competition in the ebook and audiobook markets.What does Walmart eBooks mean for ebook authors?If you’re a self-publisher who sells your ebook in the Kobo store, either directly using Kobo Writing Life or an ebook aggregator that […]
The Only Self-Publishing Research Tool You Need: The Consumer’s Guide for Self-Publishers
This trusted resource reviews tools and services that help you write, edit, format, design, fund, publish, sell, market, and promote your books. I obsessively update this guide, so when change happens, I record it here. Take all the doubt out of your decisions about what vendors to use in your journey as an independent author and […]
Website Tools to Build Your Author Email List
You author email list is your number one marketing tool. Here’s how to make your website an email collecting machine in 10 steps. An irresistible freebieAn email marketing funnelA self-hosted WordPress websiteA premium themeLead pagesAn email marketing service providerA notification ribbonA timer (for scarcity marketing)A search engine optimization toolTime for experimentationGROW YOUR EMAIL LIST WITH AN […]
Affiliate marketing for authors
Make money selling books and . . . stuffAs an author, you can easily increase you income stream with affiliate marketing programs because writing comes naturally for you. Affiliate programs and curation tools help you make a few more pennies on each sale of your book as well as on other books and products that […]
Distribution: How your book gets to your readers
With all the distribution services available to you, it can be difficult to choose a path. This post aims to clarify those terms and the tools and services I most recommend to independent authors. Ebook distributorAn ebook distribution service distributes your ebook to a wide range of online retailers. Aggregators collect a percentage of sales (about […]
Practical editing software for indie authors
Because professional editors are so expensive (and worth every penny), the purchase of electronic editing software can be a smart investment. Here’s a review of the four best tools for authors offering “first-pass” or “last-pass” editing to clean up mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. These tools do much more work than the built-in spelling […]
Listen to my self-publishing tips on Kobo Writing Life
Kobo US Manager Christine Munroe interviews Carla King, a travel writer and self-publishing expert, on both topics. Listen here.
A step-by-step guide to U.S. copyright registration for self-published authors
With the perceived risk among writers of copyright infringement so extremely high, it’s no wonder self-publishers are increasingly concerned about making sure their work is copyrighted. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created, “without any action taken by the author, the moment it is fixed in a tangible form so that it is […]
How to write a compelling travelogue
Most travelogues, whether in short story or book form, follow the narrative archetype defined by Joseph Campbell as the Hero’s Journey or Quest. The story is about how the hero—that would be you—is inspired to set out into the unknown and, through challenges and temptations (inner and outer), experiences a transformation. A lot of the […]