Labor day or not, there’s always some great reading to be found in the blogs, and this week, the dog days of summer, is no exception. Keep scrolling down for some news and great free offers you won’t want to miss. Enjoy!
Jane Friedman on Writer Unboxed A Key Book Marketing Principle That Authors Must Learn (or Not Forget) “Social media is predominantly about ‘soft’ marketing when it comes to authors and books. In my experience, the best marketing that can possibly happen centers on creating and strengthening those relationships … that later come into play during a book launch.”
Frances Caballo on Social Media Just for Writers 4 Sure-Fire Ways to Generate Engagement on Facebook“Do you ever struggle with your Facebook profile and page? Do you wonder why your status updates aren’t triggering the type of engagement on Facebook that you’d like to experience?”
Ruth Harris on Anne R. Allen’s Blog METADATA 101: A Non-Techie Does Her Best to Explain Metadata (and Why it Matters) In Plain English “Let me try again: when it comes to a book, metadata can be defined both by what it is and what it isn’t. Metadata’s everything in a file that’s not included between the first word and the last word of your book. Which leaves us, well, exactly what?”
Geoff Livingston on Copyblogger Why You Need to Become an “Independent Publisher”“While some still claim a stigma exists for non-traditional publishing, I disagree. But would-be authors should understand the commitment of independent publishing. Just like a painter can sell her/his own work, so can a writer. Yet many talented painters are not good at presenting their work or selling it. The same could be said for authors. Committing to independent publishing means an author needs to go beyond writing to produce a strong book, and then sell it.”
Suw Charman-Anderson on Forbes.com Readers Feast On Snackable Novellas “‘There is something quite fresh and appealing about it. And for people reading on their phones, it’s perfect: you get short chapters, you get a story that’s easily encompassed, you can read it on the train, often in one journey. So it seems to be attracting a slightly different readership in that regard.'”
Template Sale Winding Up on Monday
There’s been a huge amount if interest in the launch of our Fable ebook template for picture books. And there couldn’t be a better time to try it out.All our children’s book templates are 40% off until Monday night at midnight Pacific time.And our Labor Day Weekend Sale is going on at the same time. That one allows you to get any of our templates—including the already-discounted children’s book templates—at 20% off when you use the coupon code “LD20” when you check out. Full details on Fable and this weekend’s discounts here.That’s a pretty big discount, but it all goes away Monday night. Head over to BookDesignTemplates.com and check out these easy to use templates for Microsoft Word.
Self-Publishers Monthly—The Incredible Free Offer
Have you heard about the new ebook-format monthly for indie authors? It’s called Self-Publisher’s Monthly, and I’m happy to be a part of it.Right now, the first two issues of this useful monthly compendium are absolutely free at Amazon—but only through Monday. The normal cost is $.99 per issue, so this is a great way to see what all the excitement is about. To get both issues free, act now. Here’s the link: Self-Publisher’s Monthly Free Kindle Edition.Here’s what Danny O. Snow, Publisher, says on the Self-Publishing Monthly site:
Contributing editors include some of the most respected names in publishing:
- Scott Flora, VP, About-Books.com; executive director of the Small Publishers Association of North America, 2003-2011;
- Joel Friedlander of TheBookDesigner.com, author of A Self-Publisher’s Companion: Expert Advice for Authors Who Want to Publish;
- Shel Horowitz, book marketing and publishing consultant / internationally syndicated columnist, author of Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers and Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green;
- Florrie Kichler, immediate past president of the Independent Book Publishers Association, a nonprofit serving thousands of publishing firms across North America and around the world since 1983;
- Dan Poynter, widely recognized as the “godfather” of the self-publishing movement worldwide and author of The Self-Publishing Manual with 16 revised editions, 25 printings and two volumes in print;
- Danny O. Snow, author/publisher and former Publishers Weekly columnist;
- Rachel Thompson, author of the bestselling e-Books Walk in the Snark; Mancode: Exposed and the new Broken Pieces, with more than 300,000 Twitter followers; plus
- Widely read guest columnists such as bestselling author Guy Kawasaki, Stephanie Chandler of AuthorityPublishing.com and veteran book reviewer Bob Spear, sharing more expert insights.
SPM focuses on several key topics, condensed for quick and easy reading:
- DIY paperback publishing (editorial, preparation for print, all platforms)
- DIY e-Book publishing (editorial, file formatting, all platforms)
- Book publicity and marketing (print and digital)
- Social media techniques, tips and tricks
- Bonus section with live links to freebies and useful resources
… plus interviews, special feature stories, op-eds, and industry news of special interest to today’s streetwise self-publisher. We are proud of SPM’s unbiased, no-nonsense editorial policies:
- No advertising, period (we want total credibility)
- No articles longer than 500 words with rare exceptions
- No blatantly self-serving articles by columnists
- No strategies that require investing more than $1,000 without realistic evidence of results
- Minimal technical jargon
- No “guerrilla marketing” schemes, like paying for reader reviews actually written by the author
- No reviews or plugs for self-published books except those very closely related to self-publishing
- Always short, practical, low-tech, realistic, author-friendly material
The goals of SPM are simple:
- to help self-publishing writers create better books (printed and digital), and market them more effectively;
- to help you avoid outlets that gouge unwary writers for large investments, or foster unrealistic expectations;
- to keep you abreast of the latest technologies, trends, and new methods that DIY publishers can deploy NOW for greater success in today’s ever-changing industry.
In a phrase: We don’t want to sell you anything except SPM itself. We aren’t influenced by advertisers or underwriters. Our expert columnists are on your side, delivering even-handed reports about ALL the options for self-publishing e-Books and tree-Books. We don’t favor one printer, epublishing service or bookseller over another, except in terms of how you can get optimal results.
That’s an editorial policy that’s closely aligned with how I run this blog, and one of the reasons I’m happy to contribute. I hope you’ll check it out and be part of this new monthly from the ground floor.
Blog Schedule
Monday is Labor Day here in the U.S., and the staff here at The Book Designer will be off for the day. See you again on Wednesday. Have a safe and fun weekend.
Photo: bigstockphoto.com
