Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #117

POSTED ON Jun 26, 2020

Joel Friedlander

Written by Joel Friedlander

Home > Blog > Self-Publishing, Social Media > Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #117

By Joel Friedlander

Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for June, 2020. 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

bloggingLisa Poisso presents Best places to find a professional editor posted at Clarity: Writing & Editing Insights, saying, “Choosing an editor affiliated with a professional group gives you at least some assurance of exposure to professional training, standards, and business practices. And working directly with your editor rather than funneling through a booking service means no middleman upcharging the service or hijacking communications between you and your editor.”

Tony Riches presents Setting up Amazon Author pages posted at The Writing Desk, saying, “Many authors fail to appreciate the value of spending a few minutes setting up author pages on Amazon – and this has proved to be a popular post on my blog with over 1000 visits”

Frances CaballoFrances Caballo presents Book Marketing While People March for Change posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “The killing of George Floyd and too many other Black men and women are part 400 years of oppression of Black people going back to the days of slavery. What should your book marketing look like when the streets in every state of the U.S. are filled with protesters rightfully demanding change and racial equality, what should your book marketing look like? Pause your book marketing and join the conversation.”

Book Design and Production

Helen Vdovychenko presents How to Master Color Theory in Book Cover Design posted at MiblArt blog.

Indie Author

Sarah Bolme presents Should You Create an Audiobook? posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Audiobook listening has been growing for the past decade. The 2018 Annual Audiobook Sales Results published by the Audio Publishers Association showed that audiobooks experienced double-digit sales growth since 2012.”

Connie Dowell presents Switching genres and genre-straddling books with Cassandra Morgan posted at Book Echoes, saying, “Multi-genre author Cassandra Morgan talks the ins and outs of writing more than one genre or writing books that straddle genres, including email lists, social media, the pen name debate, and more.”

Lisa Poisso presents Productivity for Fiction Writers: June 2020 posted at Clarity, saying, “When writing is a habit and not merely a goal, tackling a creative project as large as a novel becomes manageable. Despite everything happening in the world today, writing can serve as your refuge if it’s something you’re used to turning to in your daily routine.”

Lisa Poisso presents Updated for 2020: Best books for writers posted at Clarity, saying, “I’ve curated a new, shorter list of the best books about writing, so you can find what you need and get back to your manuscript. These books seem to pack the most punch for many of my clients—a lean, mean list designed to get you off to a solid start and get back to writing.”

Lois Hoffman presents 5 Ways to Chronicle Your Days Through Journaling posted at The Happy Self-Publisher, saying, “It’s in this space of stream of consciousness, extemporaneous, no judgment, no editing, that my pen flows freely as the words tumble out onto fresh pages. It’s in the time of writing and reflecting, prayerfulness and contemplation, that I work out what I’m experiencing—and so much more in times of crisis when the world seems to has lost its moorings and I search for a safe harbor and solid ground.”

Nate Hoffelder presents Nine Great Twitter Chats for Writers posted at NateHoffelder.com, saying, “If you are looking for ways to connect with fellow authors, here are 9 great Twitter chats.”

Terry Whalin presents The Importance of Consistency posted at The Writing Life, saying, “Consistency is an important trait for every writer according to prolific writer and editor Terry Whalin”

Marketing and Selling Your Books

Doris-Maria Heilmann presents How to Use Sweepstakes to Market Your Books posted at SavvyBookWriters, saying, “Create a theme-based event giveaway that perfectly fits your readers and the genre of your new book. At the same time as the winner invites her/his friends, they also introduce your book(s) to as many people as possible.”

Frances Caballo presents Diversity in America, Diversity in Your Marketing Images posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “When I look at authors’ blog post images and marketing images, I only see white faces unless the author is black. That has to change.”

Nate Hoffelder presents How to Safely Choose Colors for Your Author Website posted at Bad Red Head Media, saying, “The colors on an author website need to send an important message to visitors, telling them what you write about, while at the same time bringing the visitor’s attention to the more important parts of your site. This is something that even experienced graphic designers can screw up, but if you take care you can avoid their mistakes.”

Nate Hoffelder presents The 6 Key Elements Of A High-Converting Website Home Page posted at Yes to tech, saying, “Here are the six elements you need on your home page if you want to turn visitors into super fans.”

Pauline Wiles presents What is Mindful Marketing? posted at Pauline Wiles, saying, “As Indie Authors, it’s common to find advice, articles, and courses promising us dozens of different ways to promote our books. It’s easy to become scattered and fragmented in the ensuing frenzy to “show up” everywhere, and to try everything. This piece advocates for a more thoughtful, measured, and realistic approach to our marketing efforts. By practicing mindful marketing, we protect our energy for the long-term, and form more authentic reader relationships.”

Sarah Bolme presents How to Land Local Media Coverage posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Dream big. But, remember that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The same is true for marketing your book. Maybe you have big dreams for your book. It all starts with a small step. This small step is done locally, right where you live.”

Self-Publishing Success

C. S. Lakin presents How to Write an Author Bio posted at The Self-Publisher, saying, “One of the important marketing tools a writer needs is an author bio. This descriptive bit of writing informs readers, in few words, who you are, what you write, and what makes you unique. It’s the marquee announcing your author presence in the world of publishing. Think about your author bio as your “elevator pitch” that sells you rather than your book. Here are lots of examples to get you on the right track.”

Writing Tools and Tips

C. S. Lakin presents 18 Worthy Websites for Writers posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Apart from your desire to be an author and determination on this thorny path, what makes a successful writer? According to veterans of the industry, it’s lots of reading, writing, and a supportive community. The sites from today’s selection can provide you with all the three.”

Dave Chesson presents THE BEST SOFTWARE TO PLOT OR OUTLINE YOUR BOOK posted at Kindlepreneur, saying, “Writing a book, fiction or nonfiction, isn’t easy, and planning what you want to write before you start can help you write faster and get books to market sooner. That’s why we personally tested four of the best pieces of story outline software on the market–tools and apps that can help you outline your books and even write them.”

David Leonhardt presents 8 tips to write a successful memoir posted at Always Write, saying, “A successful memoir is one that tells a story. People enjoy learning, but they love to be entertained. If you can tell a spell-binding story about something that happened in your life, you’ll write a great memoir.”

Ellie Betts presents How to Plan a Novel in 5 Easy Steps posted at The Writing Society, saying, “Planning a novel doesn’t have to be difficult or intimidating – it can even be done in a few hours!”

Kristina Adams presents Pantsing in Writing: Should You Risk it? posted at The Writing Society, saying, “While pantsing is often seen as a fun way to write a novel, it can cause all sorts of issues and delay the development of your writing career. Here’s why.”

Kyoko M presents Things Feud Taught Me About Writing posted at She Who Writes Monsters, saying, “I take a look back at one of FX’s best mini-series, the 2017 Emmy winning “Feud: Bette and Joan,” and see what it has to teach us about writing.”

Phyllis Zimbler Miller presents Social Media Responsibility in the Time of Plague posted at Joylene Nowell Butler, saying, “While this post is for everyone (not just writers), I believe as writers we have a greater responsibility to participate on social media responsibly.”

Zara Altair presents Keys to Start Your Mystery Novel posted at Write Time, saying, “Who, what, where, and action are keys to get your reader into the story from the start. Save narrative description and backstory for later. Now is the time to show your reader you tell a good story.”

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, Link to it!

The next issue is July 31, 2020 and the deadline for submissions will be July 15, 2020. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need

Joel Friedlander

Written by
Joel Friedlander

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