Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #57

POSTED ON Jun 28, 2015

Joel Friedlander

Written by Joel Friedlander

Home > Blog > Self-Publishing, Social Media > Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #57

Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for June, 2015. 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-publishingSamir Bharadwaj presents Why are you writing for people who hate reading? posted at Divergent Thinking, saying, “”I have news for you, the ones who hate reading are not reading you anyway. They are not listening. They are merely skipping around to the colourful bits and making the right social noises.””

Shelley HitzShelley Hitz presents Tips on Writing a Book – How to Write a Book From Outline to Finish Line posted at Shelley Hitz, saying, “Are you looking for tips on writing a book? In this post, I will share with you strategies on how to write a book from outline to finish line. My focus is on writing nonfiction books because I have personally written 35+ nonfiction books and have developed a system that works for me. There are literally endless possibilities for the books you can write and publish. I look forward to helping you move forward so you can finish writing and publishing your nonfiction book. Learn these 10 strategies to outline your book AND 3 ways to write your book so you can cross the finish line to publish your nonfiction book.”

self-publishingCate Baum presents Seven Reasons Your Non-Fiction Book Might Be A Blog And Not A Book posted at Self-Publishing Review

 

Book Design and Production

E.T. Carlton presents Self-Publishing on…Instagram? posted at Readers+Writers Journal, saying, “Jason Sperling is revealing his book on Instagram, a page per day for 160 days. The graphic/animated guide to branding and marketing called “Look at Me When I’m Talking to You” is about meeting your audience on platforms they already use.”

Lana Pecherczyk presents I is for Interior – Self-publishing from A to Z posted at Author Zoo, saying, “A Summary of what the interior design of a book involves, including common terms explained and where to find more information.”

Sabrina Ricci presents Indie Authors: Marketing Books by Collaborating posted at Digital Pubbing

Indie Author

Alexander Zoltai presents How & Why I Decided to Not Write My Next Book . . . posted at Notes from An Alien

HOLLY CAVE presents 6 Reasons Why YOU Should Read Indie Books posted at Holly Cave

Jay Artale presents Writing: Front and Back Matter for your Self-Published Book posted at ALLi Self-Publishing Advice Blog, saying, “Book promotion expert Ben Cameron always says “writing the blurb is the hardest 100 words you’ll ever write”, and many authors are also stumped when it comes to writing the front and back matter – another task that usually falls just when you’re feeling least like writing another word, after completing your book’s final edit. Coming to the rescue today is ALLi partner member Jessica Bell, also an author and book designer, with this handy summary.”

Jordan Smith presents Four Don’ts (Plus One Do) for Authors on Facebook posted at Fix My Story, saying, “You’ve decided that to succeed as a self-published author, you’re going to need a Facebook page. But now you might be a little bit confused about how it works and what you should do. Here are four don’ts and one do that will help you use Facebook as an author.”

Nicole Cappelleri presents 12 Ways to Embrace Growing as a Writer posted at Active Patience – Helping you build your writing empire one word at a time

Steve Vernon presents The Fifty-First Shade of Grey – how HARD is it to write like E.L. James, anyway? posted at Yours in Storytelling

Marketing and Selling Your Books

Alexander von Ness presents Marketing Your Book: Take the Long View posted at Nessgraphica

Ellis Shuman presents Ten Most Important Things You Need to Know About Working With Twitter posted at Huffington Post, saying, “This will help you build up your name, whether you are an aspiring author or a published one. The tips are good for veteran Twitter uses, and for newbies. I list 10 tips based on my Twitter Philosophy. I am freely sharing my strategy which helped me get 35,000 followers. I use Twitter 15 minutes a day.”

Erica Verrillo presents 17 Free Press Release Sites for Authors posted at Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity, saying, “Getting the word out about your new book is just as important as publishing it. But you don’t have to spend a fortune on publicity. From among the many press release services that exist, I have culled 17 that don’t charge a fee, have a broad reach, and include an “arts and entertainment” category. Most of these also include paid services for broader distribution. It is worth the time to compare what each service offers in terms of paid and free distribution. Not only will a comparison give you an idea of how broadly your release can be distributed, it will let you know exactly where.”

Frances Caballo presents Social Media Strategy for Authors Plus 4 Tweets to Never Send posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “Authors frequently ask me to create a social media marketing strategy for them. In this post (part of a two-part series) I share how you can create one for yourself.”

Geoff hughes presents 5 book marketing insights that inspire us posted at the Write Stuff, saying, “Writing a book is a blast but all that hard work can go south if you forget the single most important part of our unique creative process. Here’s 5 marketing insights from 5 top book marketers to put you on the right track.”

James Moushon presents Author Blogs: Using Your Blog to Market Your Novels to Your Readers posted at eBook Authors Corner, saying, “Blogging for many authors is a way to communicate to their readers and market their books but there are some issues. Finding time and interesting content to write about on a regular basis can be a problem. This is a collection of comments from outstanding, award-winning authors interviewed at the HBS Author’s Spotlight and how they tackle the marketing of their novels and the issues involved.”

Jan Bear presents Two Questions to Book Marketing Success or Failure posted at Market Your Book, saying, “There are thousands of ways to market your book. The only way to select the strategies that will work for you and your book is to begin with two foundational questions.”

Jay Artale presents Book Promotion: Joint Events with Non-Indie Authors posted at ALLi Author Advice Centre, saying, “English thriller writer Alison Morton describes her collaboration with a trade-published author, steampunk novelist Liesel Schwarz, to build the audiences for both of their books via joint in-store events.”

Jordan Smith presents How to Choose the Right Price for Your Book: Case Study posted at Fix My Story, saying, “A follow-up to the article I submitted for May’s carnival. This post takes a real-world example and demonstrates how you can find out what makes a great price for your book by looking at data from Amazon’s Top 100 lists.”

Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents 2 Essential Ingredients That Make A Book Foreword Great posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “A foreword is an essential marketing tool for your non-fiction book. If it is written properly, and with some understanding and forethought about its role in your book’s success, it can have a substantial impact on your book sales. And, of course, there are several ingredients that should be part of a great foreword. But (1) establishing your credibility for the subject, and (2) motivating people to buy your book, are by far the most important ingredients of a very tasty foreword.”

Kate Tilton presents The Reason Authors Must Be Genuine on Social Media posted at BadRedhead Media, saying, “When I teach social media, I give authors tips on how to manage social media so it doesn’t become overwhelming, step-by-step guidance on how to navigate each channel, and advice on what type of content to share. But what I can’t teach is how to be genuine. Being genuine is one of the most important aspects of social media. This article explores tips for being genuine online for authors.”

Kate Tilton presents The Reason Writers Conferences Are Worth It posted at BadRedhead Media, saying, “Every time after a convention or writer’s conference, you’ll see posts going up about how the convention has taken a downturn and isn’t worth attending anymore. So many people seem disappointed in their experience and vow to skip the next convention in favor of something else. And I get it, I really do. But when are these conferences and conventions worth it? This article explores why attending these events IS worth it.”

Kimberley Grabas presents Identifying Your Target Audience: The Top 8 Mistakes Writers Make posted at Your Writer Platform, saying, “Defining your target audience is much easier said than done. Many writers end up skipping this step because they fail to recognize its importance in their book marketing plans. But the truth is, identifying and understanding the wants, needs and desires of your ideal readership can “make or break” your marketing strategy. Without a solid grasp of what makes your readers tick – and what they are really searching for – you will waste a considerable amount of time and energy promoting your work to an indifferent market. Or worse, you’ll begin to receive pushback or negative reviews from people that your book was never written for. But here’s the good news… There is a wealth of information at your fingertips, about every audience and sub-genre imaginable. From basic demographics like age, gender, location, income, occupation or ethnicity, to audience sychographics, like personality, attitudes, values, interests, hobbies, lifestyle and even behaviour. The roadblock? Writers are making some silly mistakes when targeting their ideal audience – 8 of which I cover in this new video.”

Lori Schafer presents Can You Sell Books at the Flea Market? posted at Lori Schafer’s Short Subjects I Feel Like Writing About

Michelle Weidenbenner presents What are Endorsements and Why Do You Need Them? posted at Random Writing Rants, saying, “Share what professionals say about your book to show its value.”

nate Hoffelder presents BEA 2015: Ten Tools For Authors posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “There were no fewer than ten exhibitors at Book Expo America last month promoting marketing and other services that would interest indie authors, including Bookbub, Bublish (book promotion pages), Piracy Trace (antipiracy), and BookHive (a beta reader service).”

Nick Thacker presents If I Could Be Honest… (How I Feel After Advertising On Facebook) posted at Nick Thacker, saying, “This is a humorous post I wrote after spending about $400 advertising on Facebook. I kept getting somewhat ridiculous (real) questions/responses to my ads, so I decided to write (fake) responses to them, and make the conversations I would have with the posters. Have fun!”

Sabrina Ricci presents Indie Authors: Launching a Book posted at Digital Pubbing

Sarah Bolme presents Marketing is Murky posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “There are many good marketing principles and techniques—think product, price, place, and promotion. When promoting a book, I recommend that publishers and authors follow sound marketing practices. However, there exists no proven formula for ensuring sales.”

Sarah Forgrave presents 5 Ideas for Author Newsletter Content posted at The Writer’s Alley, saying, “For the writer who wants to start an e-newsletter, but doesn’t know what to share.”

Stefanie Newell presents How Writers Can Build A Massive Email List posted at The Write One Blog

Stefanie Newell presents What Is Authentic Book Marketing? posted at The Write One Blog

Self-Publishing Success

Alexander Ness presents Expand From Your Core Business to Build Your Book Sales and Profits posted at Nessgraphica

Chris Well presents How writing video games can help you write fiction – with Janine Southard posted at DIY Author, saying, “In this interview, science fiction writer Janine Southard shares how being a professional game writer has improved her fiction. She also explains what she does as a freelance editor, and why – if you’re planning to fund your book through Kickstarter – you may want to learn how to bake cookies.”

Writing Tools and Tips

Andrew Crusoe presents How to Let Go of Guilt & Create with Joy posted at Aravinda Loop, saying, “A wave of inspiration unexpectedly hit me on saturday, and this article practically flowed out of me. I hope this article helps my fellow authors (and anyone creative, really) to release some guilt surrounding productivity. And thanks for continuing to run this excellent carnival!”

C.K. MacLeod presents Mobile-Friendly Web Design for Writers posted at Tech Tools for Writers, saying, “How to make your author site smartphone savvy, without being a tech wizard.”

C.K. MacLeod presents Scrivener to WordPress, Fast posted at Tech Tools for Writers, saying, “Steps for making your blogging workflow more efficient.”

Hanne Arts presents 10 Essentials for Proofreading Your Own Work posted at Hanne Arts

Jessica West presents Enter the Blogosphere: Blogging as a Business posted at Kate Tilton: Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “Thank you for your consideration.”

K.M. Weiland presents A Reactive Protagonist Doesn’t Have to Be a Passive Protagonist! Discover the Difference posted at Helping Writers Become Authors, saying, “One of the stickiest questions any writer is likely to face is: What’s the difference between a reactive protagonist and a passive protagonist?”

Lana Pecherczyk presents J is for ‘Just Write’ – Self-publishing from A to Z posted at Author Zoo, saying, “The best way to get your books noticed is to write more books. Take a page out of Shannon Mayer’s book (pun intended) and learn how to increase your writing output. Read the article for tips on sticking to a writing routine.”

Lisa Lawmaster Hess presents Why Blog? posted at The Porch Swing Chronicles

Sabrina Ricci presents Indie Authors: Writing and Publishing Tools posted at Digital Pubbing

Shelley Sturgeon presents The Writer’s Knowledge Base: A Free and Valuable Resource for Writers posted at Bound and Determined, saying, “If you’re a writer and you don’t already know about this site, you might want to check it out.”

Will Van Stone Jr presents How Serials Can Gain You Epic Fans posted at KateTilton.com

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 July 26, 2015 and the deadline for submissions will be July 15, 2015. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need

Joel Friedlander

Written by
Joel Friedlander

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