Blogs for Self-Publishers, February 10 - 16, 2018

By Shelley Sturgeon

Enjoy this week’s selection of articles on writing and self-publishing. And, don’t forget that you can always access articles from The Book Designer by topic here. Be sure to check back here next week for our Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies blog carnival post bound to be packed with lots of great reading.

Dan Wagstaff on Casual Optimist
Book Covers of Note February 2018
“I such good intentions to post more often this year. Ah well… Here are this month’s cover selections at least…”

Fauzia Burke on Writer’s Digest
How Upcoming Facebook Updates Will Impact Authors
“Last month, Mark Zuckerberg made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the social media stratosphere. Facebook, the largest of the social media networks, will begin to “prioritize posts that spark conversations and meaningful interactions between people.””

Melissa Bowersock on Indies Unlimited
Want to Sell More Books? WRITE More Books!
“Promotion is a never-ending challenge, played out on shifting sand. Promotional avenues — newsletters, sales sites, etc. — change monthly, even weekly. It’s hard to know who to trust, how much to pay, and how often to advertise.”

Alison Morton on Self Publishing Advice
Essential Insights into Translation for Indie Authors Thinking of Self-publishing Foreign Language Editions
“We live in a time when Homer’s millennia-old epics are taught in Tokyo and Joyce’s Finnegans Wake can become a bestseller in Shanghai in the local language. English speakers delight in work by contemporary writers Stieg Larsson, Haruki Murakami and Elena Ferrante. Fresh translations are keep appearing of classical writers such as Kafka, Pushkin and Pliny.”

Chris Syme on Smart Marketing for Authors
Tips on How to Build a Review Team With Krystal Shannan
“In this episode Becca and Chris interview Krystal Shannan, contemporary and paranormal romance writer,on how to build a review team.”

Self-Publishing News You Can Use

By Amy Collins

Chains vs Amazon vs Indie Bookstores

Such a dramatic week in book retail! While they will not verify the number of folks laid off, B&N reports that they laid off a large enough number of employees to recover $40 Million dollars in the next two quarters. This move was reported on their site and quickly followed up by a stream of social media posts from hundreds of employees who had been laid off that day. The decision was attributed to a 6.4% drop in holiday sales compared to the previous year. Compare that to the 3.6% drop in sales for 2017 in the book retail reports from the U.S Census Bureau and we might start getting nervous.

AND Amazon ALSO announced that they were laying off hundreds of corporate employees this week. Matt Day from the Seattle Times reports: “The layoffs, underway now, will fall on several hundred employees at the online retailer’s Seattle headquarters, along with hundreds more elsewhere in Amazon’s global operations, one person familiar with the cuts said. The layoffs are primarily focused on Amazon’s consumer retail businesses, according to two people familiar with the matter”

But independent bookstores are reporting sales growth and the same US Census reports show an increase in independent bookstore locations. The first half of 2017 was a period of growth and it is reasonable to look at B&N’s dismal Q4 sales as the culprit for the segment’s poor showing.