Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #49

POSTED ON Oct 26, 2014

Joel Friedlander

Written by Joel Friedlander

Home > Blog > Self-Publishing, Social Media > Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #49

Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for October, 2014. We welcome your submissions on topics related to writing, self-publishing, book design or marketing books.

A collection of outstanding articles recently posted to blogs, your reading here will be richly rewarded.

See the end of this post for links to submit your blog posts for the next carnival, or for participating Bloggers and Featured Bloggers to grab your sidebar badges. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Featured Posts

self-publishingHope Clark presents Face to Face – or – Face to Screen? (Podcast #16 included) posted at C. Hope Clark, saying, “I attempt to direct my blog posts half to readers and half to writers. I am both, and as a reader I like to know how a writer thinks, and as a writer, I wish to understand my readers. So . . . let’s talk about this fan thing. What’s the best way for a writer to earn fans? Face to face or online? I’ve read both arguments, and my conclusion has come to this: one is no good without the other.”

self-publishingAngela Quarles presents Report on Using Amazon’s Pre-Order Option for a Debut Author posted at Angela Quarles, saying, “Recently Amazon opened up pre-ordering ability to everyone, not just the bestsellers, and this is my report on how it went for me and my debut release”

self-publishingJennifer Ellis presents Writing Faster… and keeping it okay posted at Jennifer Ellis – Writing, saying “In the indie world, we are told again and again that more content is the way to make more money, earn a living, and break out of the mid-list, or the bargain basement list, or the complete obscurity list. And in this immediate gratification world, readers are demanding more faster, and the writer who is able to meet that demand might be the one who emerges on top.”

Book Design and Production

Angela Quarles presents Creating an ePub file Using Scrivener + Dreamweaver + Sigil + Kindle Previewer posted at Angela Quarles, saying, “The tools and process I used to create my ebook without using Word”

Heather Wardell presents From manuscript to self-published book – what does it take? posted at Heather Wardell, saying, “I’ve self-pubbed fifteen novels now, and this article describes my process for doing so.”

Karen Lotter presents Publishing: 5 Top Tips for Formatting Ebooks posted at Reaching Readers with Your Own Book Catalogue

Krizia MissK presents 27 Ways To Find More Blog Content Ideas! posted at Book Promotion Hub

Krizia MissK presents 35 Book Marketing Ideas That Will You Sell MORE Books posted at Book Promotion Hub

Randy Stapilus presents More Places for Social Media Marketing posted at BookWorks, saying, “Facebook and Twitter, and the next few best-known media such as Linked In and Instagram, are actually only the largest of a big community of social media around the world. Most are much smaller than these big guys, but some of them could be a closer fit for your book’s audience and so a lot more valuable.”

Sabrina Ricci presents How to Create a Fixed Format Ebook (Part 6): KF8 Magnify Text posted at Digital Pubbing, saying, “In this post I’ll go over how code for KF8, so that hot spots (where you touch the page) can magnify text.”

Ebooks and Ebook Readers

Sabrina Ricci presents How to Create a Basic Ebook in 10 Steps posted at Digital Pubbing, saying, “After my short series on how to create a fixed format ebook, I thought I’d revisit the basic steps on how to create a regular ebook. This is for novels, or books with mostly text. There are 10 steps to creating an ebook, and if you find this useful, you might like to try out my online course, which has a number of videos that demonstrate the steps.”

Indie Author

Alexander Zoltai presents So You Want To Be A Successful Writer… ~ Oh, My… posted at Notes from An Alien, saying, “So much writers’ advice these days — who’s right?”

Hazel Longuet presents ‘Write. Publish. Repeat.’ – a must read for all Indie Authors posted at Novel Experience, saying, “If I’d only come across this book when it first came out. Sometimes you stumble on something akin to the Holy Grail by sheer accident. Something so big, so powerful that it forever changes the way you think and act. I have to believe that the universe only puts things in front of you when you are ready for them, I just wish I’d been ready earlier for Write. Publish. Repeat.”

Kyoko M presents Why Bother? The Two Deadliest Words to a Self-Published Author posted at She Who Writes Monsters, saying, “For all those who need a little encouragement in the darkest hours of self-publishing.”

Nate Hoffelder presents Reedsy’s Indie Services Marketplace Goes Where BiblioCrunch Has Gone Before posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “Reedsy wants to help indie authors connect with the editors, designers, and marketers that authors need to finish their next book and get it on the market.”

Richard Levesque presents Listen Up: Converting My Book to Audio posted at Richard Levesque, saying, “I’ve been interested in releasing audio versions of my books but don’t have the time or know-how to do it myself; fortunately, I ran across ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange), another arm of Amazon, and found that they offer a variety of ways for content creators to connect with audiobook producers, including a path in which there is no money paid upfront; instead, any royalties earned are split between the author and the voice artist. I followed up and found the process of creating an audio version remarkably easy to navigate.”

Ron Callari presents Indie Authors Lost In The Haystack? posted at BookWorks.com, saying, “Yes, while self-publishing has created new opportunities for us to by-pass the traditional publishing system, the harsh reality we’re now faced with is how to be found. It’s great that as a collective group of indie writers, we all have the same chance of reaching our audiences unencumbered by a publisher.”

Ron Callari presents New York Comic Con Includes Indie Authors this Year posted at Blogs on Self-Publishing by Ron Callari, saying, “Have you not attended New York Comic Con in the past due to traditional publishers and established graphic novelists hogging the spotlight? Have you stayed away because it lacked content that spoke to your particular needs? Well, think again, because the self-publishing industry has gained so much popularity with both indie authors and their fans, that today it has obtained too much of a presence in the publishing world to be overlooked any longer.”

Steven Saus presents Getting Published: Some Starting Advice posted at ideatrash, saying, “A new indie author asked me for basic advice on both continuing to DIY and possibly getting picked up by a publishing house. I think these six points are important to consider for anyone getting into publishing at any level, in any style.”

Marketing and Selling Your Books

Deb Dorchak presents What Would You Do If Facebook Went Poof? posted at Blue Sun Studio, Inc., saying, “Seriously, what would you do? You have to admit, this is a pretty big “what if”. So many of us are reliant on Facebook to stay in touch with our friends, clients and audience. Up until a few years ago, site communities were grown on the site itself in the comments section. It wasn’t unusual to get 100+ comments in a day. What can you do to break the Facebook Addiction? Read about it here.”

Frances Caballo presents How to Stop Wasting Time and Focus Your Book Marketing posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “Do authors really need to be on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr and Rebelmouse? I used to think so but I don’t anymore. Now I advise authors to focus on those social media networks where they will find their audience.”

Hazel Longuet presents Pinterest Growth: The Best Kept Secret For Growing your Pinterest Following & Gaining Repins posted at Novel Experience, saying, “Pinterest is fast becoming one of the largest and most influential Social Media sites and increasingly important part of an author’s social media portfolio. Grow your Pinterest followers and gain more exposure for your pins in a simple 10 minute a day routine in-conjunction with, the web’s best kept Pinterest secret.”

James Moushon presents eBook Author Resource List posted at eBook Authors Corner, saying, “eBook Author Resource List – Marketing, Design Services, Information Sources, Reviews, Interviews, Resource Profiles, Book List and more. One of the most frequent questions asked by eBook authors is “What are the best sources of information to help me write, publish and market my book?” I think research is a key element in an indie’s quest for success and a great source list can become invaluable. So I put on my research hat again.”

Kate Tilton presents How to Connect with Readers by C. Hope Clark posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “C. Hope Clark, editor of FundsforWriters.com and author shares about the question we all ask, how do I connect with readers?”

Kate Tilton presents It Isn’t (Always) Personal: a Bloggers Take on Not Accepting Self-Published Books posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “Reviews sell books! But what is an indie author to do when so many bloggers do not accept self-published books for review? Step one: Don’t take it personally.”

Katie McCoach presents Vote up “Helpful” Reviews on Amazon.com posted at KM Editorial, saying, “I’ll let you in on a little secret: Amazon moves the “most helpful” reviews to the top of the reviews list on your book page. So what can you do to influence this list?”

Kimberley Grabas presents How to Get Traffic to Your Author Website: 30+ Tips for Discouraged Writers posted at Your Writer Platform, saying, “I know you want it, but are you ready for a surge in traffic? Attracting the right people to your author website is important, but a key ingredient in exponential traffic growth is also retaining as many of those readers as possible. If you don’t stop the leaks, you end up spending a lot more time and resources than you need to. Therefore, there are two components to “getting more traffic”: ready your website and social media outposts to receive visitors AND draw the “right” people to your site. You’ll need to focus on both to begin seeing an increase in traffic and to start growing your fan base.”

Michelle Weidenbenner presents Book Marketing Mayhem and Product Branding posted at Random Writing Rants, Teaching Teens and Adults How to Get Published“It’s a great idea for authors to consider when writing books–product branding.”

Michelle Weidenbenner presents How to Increase Book Sales: Product Partnering posted at Random Writing Rants, Teaching Teens and Adults How to Get Published, saying, “Authors want to sell more books. Here’s something to consider. Movie producers do it all the time. Why can’t authors do the same?”

Patrick Samphire presents The Ultimate Guide to What Every Author Website Needs – Part 2 posted at Letters from Mars, saying, “This guide focuses on how authors can make sure their websites are fast, efficient, and easy to use, and so improve their book sales. It’s a sequel to a blog post featured on Carnival of the Indies earlier in the year, which talked about content for author websites.”

Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli presents How to sell your self-published e-book in a small foreign market posted at Anakina.blog, saying, “This article suggests some ideas for starting a cooperation with a popular author in a small foreign market to get sales for your self-published ebook translated into another language.”

Sarah Bolme presents Sampling: An Effective Marketing Tool posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “One of the things I really enjoy about my monthly trip to Costco is all the samples I get to munch on while I peruse the aisles and shop. A few of these samples have even convinced me to buy the products being hawked.”

Steve Vernon presents How NOT to promote your next Kindle freebie! posted at Yours in Storytelling

Self-Publishing Success

Corina Koch MacLeod presents How to Become a Publisher, Step 1: Build a Website posted at Beyond Paper Editing, saying, “Want to become a micropublisher? Here’s what we did first. And it didn’t involve writing a business plan.”

Denise Wakeman presents 12 Digital Publishing Tools The Experts Recommend posted at The Future Of Ink, saying, “To celebrate the 2 year anniversary of The Future of Ink, we asked our expert writers to tell us about their favorite digital publishing tools they’ve discovered in the last six months or so. If you are looking for tools to help you publish, curate and create digital content, you’ll find 12 terrific tools to check out in this article.”

William D. O’Neil presents If you write nonfiction, and cannot command mega-advances, you should think about self-pub posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “Many in publishing say that nonfiction books won’t exist without big publishers offering large advances to cover the cost of research, but I disagree. I have published several books on my own, including one history book which was well received by experts.”

Writing Tools and Tips

Blair MacGregor presents Throwing Off the Wet Blanket posted at Blair MacGregor Books, saying, “It happens to a bunch of writers, particularly those writers who are enthusiastic storytellers and seeking better ways to write those stories. You learn a New Thing—possibly the most wonderful and accurate and encouraging New Thing any writer could dream of—and yet your stories grind to a halt. You wonder what sort of fever-dream led you to believe you could string words together at all. The reasons make sense in light of creativity research.”

C.K. MacLeod presents Dictate Your Writing with Speech Recognition Software posted at Tech Tools for Writers, saying, “Dictating your writing can ease repetitive strain injury from too much keyboarding and mousing. And it might even improve your speaking skills.”

Monique McDonell presents Everything Old is New Again or Digging through the NaNoWriMo Archives posted at Monique mcDonell, saying, “This blog post brings together three years worth of tips for writers on surviving NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) including ways to prepare your home and family for the month, exercise advice, time management as well as tips on what not to do.”

Nina Amir presents How to Test Market Your Book Idea with a Blog posted at How to Blog a Book, saying, “How do you know if your book idea will sell? Test it out on your readers. Put that content out in some form on your blog as a test-marketing experiment.”

Nina Amir presents Should You Be Writing Shorter Nonfiction posted at Write Nonfiction NOW!, saying, “Many aspiring authors get stuck because they feel overwhelmed by writing a full-length book. Writing short can get them over that obstacle. Plus, many opportunities exists for those who want to write shorter books. Learn how to accomplish that goal.”

Steve Vernon presents Cutting Your Characters Down to Size posted at Yours in Storytelling

Well, that wraps up this issue. I hope you enjoy some of the great articles here, and let other people interested in self-publishing know about the Carnival—Use the share buttons to Tweet it, Share it on Facebook, Plus-1 it on Google+, Link to it!

The next issue is November 30, 2014 and the deadline for submissions will be November 15, 2014. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need

Joel Friedlander

Written by
Joel Friedlander

Book Cover Design Checklist

Set your book up to SELL with our FREE Book Cover Design Checklist to boost the quality of your book to its very best!
Liked this post? Share it with friends!

More Helpful Articles