Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for March, 2016. 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
Robin Cutler presents How Romance Writers Woo Readers Through Facebook posted at BookWorks Blog saying, “The approach (romance) authors are taking to develop their readerships especially through Facebook Tools can be applied to other genres. In this, the season of Valentines, it seems very appropriate to focus on romance.”
Ron Callari presents Instagram vs. Twitter Advertising for Indie Authors posted at Bookworks.com / Ron Callari blog, saying, “Zeroing in on how two social networks [Instagram & Twitter ] are upping the ante to target self-publishers with some unique advertising opportunities that are cost-efficient.”
Miles Anthony Smith presents 15 Snappy Steps to Self-Publish & Record an Audiobook for $85 posted at Miles Anthony Smith’s Book Marketing Case Studies, saying, “Most people are stunned to learn how little market competition there is in the audiobook space when compared to the overwhelming number of books that are being published each day (traditional and indie). And it is for this and other reasons that Miles has focused creative and marketing energies on audiobooks. He now makes the majority of his book royalties from audiobook than other formats combined, albeit as an indie author. For traditionally published authors, royalties from print and ebook tend to be much more than audiobook, but whether for the indie or traditionally published book, one should not ignore the audiobooks channel, unless you like leaving money on the table. In fact, many traditionally published authors are choosing to retain audiobook rights to their works, since those royalties are more valuable. There are certainly even cheaper ways to record and self-publish your audiobook, but you don’t want to cut too many corners. People will be able to tell if the sound quality is not up to par.”
Book Design and Production
Cathi Stevenson presents Can I Fit 900 Words on the Back Cover? posted at Book Cover Express Indie Publishing Blog
J.M. Ney-Grimm presents Why Revise a Book’s Cover? posted at J.M. Ney-Grimm, saying, “Stories can be forever, but book covers generally are not. An old book cover looks stale and dated to readers. Refresh your book covers every 3 to 5 years. Here’s a step-by-step tour through the revising of one fantasy novel’s cover.”
Ebooks and Ebook Readers
Heather McIntyre presents The Future of ebooks? posted at Cover and Layout, saying, “A gaze into the future for eBooks, drawing on a number of sources.”
Indie Author
Alexander Zoltai presents Find #Gifts for #Readers & Help Build #Libraries posted at Notes from An Alien
Ricci Wolman presents The Best Podcasts for Writers posted at Written Word Media, saying, “Thanks for your consideration!”
Richard Levesque presents The Brass Ring for Indie Writers posted at Richard Levesque, saying, “In a recent interview, I was asked what my “brass ring” is as an indie writer. It’s a good question, one every indie writer should think about. Are you in this to make loads of cash? If so, good luck to you. Or are you in this for something elde? Thinking about it can get you throw those moments when the sales seriously slump. I know it’s gotten me through those periods.”
Robin Storey presents My Five Reading Pet Peeves posted at Storey-Lines, saying, “Indie author Robin Storey reveals the five things that annoy her most in books, from awkward sex scenes to precocious kids.”
Simone Pond presents That wonderful amazing incredible phenomenal feeling posted at Simone Says, saying, “This is probably unorthodox, but sometimes letting go is the solution… Hope you enjoy. Thanks!”
Steven Saus presents First and Exclusive rights… and how robots.txt might impact those rights posted at ideatrash, saying, “Even if you’re selling your book independently, you should be aware of the language of what first rights, exclusive rights, and non-exclusive rights entails…and how the lack of one file on your website might mean your work is accessible a LOT longer than you originally intended.”
Susanne Lakin presents How Targeting Genre Can Make a Difference in Your Writing Career posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Despite extensive marketing and promotion efforts, most authors still fail to get discovered, resulting in frustration and heartache. There is nothing more disappointing for an author than to write a terrific novel and watch it flop. Yes, some writers get lucky breaks. Others have clout or connections. Great marketing and targeted promotion can help only to some extent. But what most undiscovered writers don’t understand is how to take advantage of genre. Genre plays a huge part in sales. And learning to target the right genre can mean the difference between a novel no one’s heard of and one that sells hundreds or even thousands of copies a month.”
Marketing and Selling Your Books
Ben Zackheim presents Breaking down Bookbub’s 98 Marketing Tips posted at Ben Zackheim, saying, “Here’s a breakdown of all 98 marketing tips that Bookbub recommends for authors. What’s worked for me? Which tips are incomplete? And which two tips would I add to make it an even 100?”
Carla King presents Productize My Book? You Bet! Sell Direct! posted at BookWorks Blog
Frances Caballo presents 7 Tips for Using Social Media During Election Season posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “How do you handle all the brouhaha of the current election season when you turn to social media? There are authors who are taking stands, showing their political biases, and in some cases, bashing particular candidates. I’m remaining neutral, and I recommend that you do the same. However, there is a caveat to my rule of complete neutrality and in this post I explain instances of when to remain quiet and how and when to follow the example of authors such as Doris Kearns Goodwin.”
Jordan Smith presents The Killer Tool That Can Help You Sell Your Book posted at Fix My Story, saying, “A good elevator pitch can work wonders for you. This article gives you a jump start into crafting the perfect pitch for your book. Don’t fumble around ever again when someone asks what your latest book is about!”
Kate Tilton presents This is How to Find Your Readers Using eBook Bundling posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “This article explains a new free app called Shelfie that gets books off the shelves by offering free or deeply discounted ebook editions of those print books. A great tool for authors and readers alike.”
Kate Tilton presents What You Want to Know About Author Assistants posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “Have you heard of author assistants before but are not sure what an assistant can do to help you in your publishing goals? This article takes a look at what you want to know about author assistants and how they can help.”
Laurence O’Bryan presents What Is The Best Price For An Ebook in 2016? posted at BOOKSGOSOCIAL BOOK MARKETING BLOG, saying, “Pricing for ebooks is changing. This post is designed to help indies make informed decisions for 2016.”
Lori Robinett presents How to DO a Book Signing posted at Lori L. Robinett – Scandals, Strong Women, Second Chances, saying, “I’ve been doing a series of blog posts called Blank to 50K, geared towards beginning writers who want to go the self-publishing route. This is my most recent post.”
Marcy Kennedy presents Writers – Value Yourself and Your Work posted at Marcy Kennedy’s Website, saying, “Over the last couple of months, an online debate has risen about whether creatives deserve to be paid for their work or whether they should work for free or for “exposure.””
Melissa Wong presents Advertising: Facebook Versus Google posted at Melissa Wong
Penny Sansevieri presents Optimizing Your Amazon Book Page – Part One posted at BookWorks Blog
Sabrina Ricci presents Indie Author Marketing: Analyzing Facebook and Twitter posted at Digital Pubbing
Sarah Bolme presents How to Become a Best-Selling Author posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Do you want to sell more books? The best-selling author of the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” has advice on how to do that.”
Shelley Hitz presents 10 Pages You Should Include in Your Author Website posted at Shelley Hitz | Author Audience, saying, “Your author website is your home online. However, have you really thought through the strategy of how to set up your website or simply put something together? In this post I share with you 10 pages I think every author should include in their website.”
Terry Whalin presents Why Every Author Needs to Understand Your Competition posted at The Writing Life
Self-Publishing Success
Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents What Is Niche And Micro-Niche Publishing? posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “Niche marketing and micro-niche marketing are essential and powerful ingredients in the success of your self-publishing business. With niche marketing you will be primarily concerned with who your tightly defined audience is, what specific problems do they need help with, and where exactly are they to be found. Here is an introduction to some of the terms and ingredients needed to develop and grow your specific niche and make your self-publishing business a success.”
K.M. Weiland presents Need a Good Book Editor? Top Recommendations posted at Helping Writers Become Authors, saying, “Need a book editor? Browse this list of choices, as recommended by top fiction writers.”
Lois Hoffman presents Creating an Author Website: Part 3 posted at The Happy Self-Publisher, saying, “There are many ways to get people to share your content. Your first job is to figure out what information, inspiration or solution you can offer to your ideal reader. The next is to deliver the information in a way that provides the solution and is compelling enough that your reader wants to share it with their friends and followers. A study by The New York Times looks at why people share information.”
Writing Tools and Tips
Carrie Beckort presents Presentation Essentials for Writers: Part 1 posted at Across the Board, saying, “While in my corporate job, I led a training course on effective presentations. This two-part series outlines key presentation tips that writers should incorporate into their skillset. Part 1 shows how 4 essential presentation tips can actually translate into the writing process.”
Deb Dorchak presents Shut the Door and Write Your Story posted at Behind the Words, saying, “Feedback is crucial to writers. Writing groups, critique groups, and beta readers all provide valuable insight you may have missed while absorbed in your story. I have a couple groups I’m a part of. I enjoy giving feedback and I’m happy to say many find it valuable. However, it’s rare you’ll find me standing at the head of the group reading anything Wendi and I are working on. The other members ask, “Hey Deb, when are you going to read?” My answer is, “I’m not.” And here’s why…”
Marcy Kennedy presents 6 Qualities of Bad Writing posted at Marcy Kennedy’s Website, saying, “Whenever a book becomes wildly successful (or even moderately successful), a funny thing seems to happen. Among all the people who love it, another segment of the population rises up who hate the book. So what makes something a good book or a bad book? What qualifies as good writing and what qualifies as bad writing?”
Marcy Kennedy presents Using a Montage to Handle Time in Fiction posted at Marcy Kennedy’s Website, saying, “If you watch movies, you’ve likely seen a montage. It’s a quick collection of images used to compress time or information. In other words, it’s a pacing tool. And a montage can help us handle the passage of time in our fiction”
Ricci Wolman presents 3 Scrivener Tips to Become a Master Outliner posted at Written Word Media, saying, “Thanks for your consideration!”
Sameer Panda presents What Your Blog Post Length Should Be? [Infographic] posted at Gennibbles, saying, “As you know blog post length becomes a huge SEO factor these days, and we are getting bias statements from different people. After reading 100s of blog posts on blog post length, in order to come to a conclusion what should be the blog post length I have written this article “what should be the ideal blog post length depending on the audience and the type of blog posts.””
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 April 24, 2016 and the deadline for submissions will be April 15, 2016. Don’t miss it!
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