Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #71

POSTED ON Aug 28, 2016

Joel Friedlander

Written by Joel Friedlander

Home > Blog > Social Media, Self-Publishing > Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #71

Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is August, 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

GoodreadsJ.M. Ney-Grimm presents Do Goodreads Giveaways Work? posted at J.M. Ney-Grimm, saying, “Goodreads announced in April that 50 million book reviews had been posted by readers on its site. There’s no doubt that many, many readers frequent Goodreads. How does an author catch their attention?”

createspaceEric Z presents How to PAINLESSLY create a CreateSpace book: The simplest and fastest way without any software! posted at Zbooks.co, saying, “When you’re done with this massively helpful tutorial you will be able to make and publish a book on CreateSpace so fast and easy you’ll be surprised, and the coolest thing is: we don’t need any software!”

self-publishingCarla King presents Blasty, Piracy & Phishing on the Wild Wild Web posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks Tech Expert, Carla King explains how to remove pirated books from the internet and how not to end up a ‘phish’.”
 

Indie Author

Alexander Zoltai presents “…Assert ‘the Freedom to Read Any Book.’” posted at Notes from an alien.

Darcy Pattison presents What Will You Publish? posted at Indie Kids Books.

Deanna Cabinian presents How to Survive a Scathing Book Review posted at Deanna Cabinian, saying, “A bad review does not have to define you. Here are some tips on how to cope.”

Deborah Jay presents Do you think your writing isn’t good enough? Dealing with your fears Part 1 posted at Deborah Jay – Mystery, magic and mayhem, saying, “As someone who uses a fair bit of performance psychology in my day job, I’ve found it translates well from sport, to writing, helping people deal with and overcome their doubts. This is the first of a 3 part series, and the links to the other parts are at the end of the blog.”

Robin Storey presents Three Reasons To Love Noir posted at Storey-Lines, saying, “Indie author Robin Storey reveals the three main reasons she loves reading and writing noir fiction.”

Marketing and Selling Your Books

Ben Zackheim presents Twitter Cards for Authors posted at The Author Helper, saying, “This is a 10 minute video tutorial that shows authors how to take advantage of Twitter’s engaging product, Twitter Cards.”

Cathi Stevenson presents Are You Selling Your Competitor’s Book Online? posted at Book Cover Express Indie Publishing Blog.

Chris Well presents How can an unknown author publicize a book? posted at Build Your Brand with Chris Well, saying, “An author might assume that publicity and media attention are out of reach. But in today’s world, there are more opportunities than ever before to generate your own publicity. Drawing on 30-plus years of experience working inside the media, I share some basic rules of the road to help authors use publicity to build their platform.”

Daley James Francis presents The Awesomeness of Instagram for Indie Authors posted at Daley James Francis, saying, “I want to help indie authors to promote themselves in the online world in cool and interesting ways.”

Dave Chesson presents How to Validate Your Book Idea posted at Kindlepreneur, saying, “What if I were to tell you there is a way to validate your book idea and ensure there is a hungry market who wants it BEFORE you actually write your book? There is and in this article, I’ll show you exactly how you can do book marketing research and have a better chance at sales success on Amazon.”

Erica Verrillo presents Promoting Your Scifi or Fantasy Novel on Social Media posted at Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity, saying, “If you have self-published a fantasy or science fiction novel, you can promote it for free! Here are 22 social media sites geared specifically to Indie scifi and fantasy writers, as well as dozens of SFF hashtags, Facebook groups, sub-Reddits, and more.”

Frances Caballo presents Have You Seen These Social Media Tweaks posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “Have you noticed all the changes happening on social media? Facebook is making most of the tweaks, but I’ve seen modifications in other places as well. In this post, I thought I’d share a few items I’ve noticed that may convince you to use Pinterest, buy a Facebook ad, or just take note of what you can do these days on different platforms. Let’s get started with my miscellaneous observations.”

Frances Caballo presents Make Your Online Shine in 7 Steps to Make Marie Kondo Proud posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks Social Media Expert, Frances Caballo, takes a page from Marie Kondo’s and shares tips to help authors declutter and polish up their online social media life.”

Georgina Jeffery presents So What IS Episodic Writing? posted at An Inspired Mess, saying, “‘Serial fiction’ is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of story-telling formats, with no distinct language to describe its nuances. In this article I offer some definitions of serial fiction and take a look at problems encountered by both readers and authors, concluding with some tips on how to make your serials more appealing to the market.”

Hope Clark presents Marketing Fiction – selling the make believe posted at From the Writer’s Desk, saying, “A reputation serves as most of the author’s platform, which many consider an extreme advantage of nonfiction authors over fiction, those who choose to live in the land of make-believe. But fiction authors are experts, too. Marketing and promotion isn’t natural for most writers, and for those steeped in fiction, the idea of stepping into the real world to sell books is akin to standing nude in traffic. You have tools, talent, and passion. How can you use those in marketing your fiction?”

Jordan Smith presents Why They Won’t Subscribe: Troubleshooting Your Mailing List Offer posted at Fix My Story, saying, “Having an offer to entice people to sign up for your author mailing list is one of the best ways to grow your author platform. But there might be some things you need to fix before this strategy will really work for you. This article looks at four reasons why your mailing list offer isn’t working.”

Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents Getting a Big Name to Write Your Book’s Foreword posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “Getting a notable VIP, industry guru, or celebrity to write the foreword for your book is a great way to jump-start bigger sales and get positive publicity for your book. If you are an unknown author, getting a notable leader in your field to write your foreword is essential if you want to get readers to take a chance on you and buy your book. Having your name associated with a VIP will greatly enhance your credibility within your industry and with your readers.”

Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents The 5 Elements Of Successful Online Marketing posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “How To Build A Better Marketing Plan, And Sell More Books. If you have any hopes of making money with your self-published book, you will need to become familiar with online marketing. But don’t stress out over this. It’s actually an interesting process. So to get you started, here is an explanation of the five basic elements of a successful online marketing plan:”

Kate Tilton presents Social Media Etiquette You Need to Know posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “Jessica West covers social media etiquette every author needs to know when promoting their book.”

Kate Tilton presents This is Why You Should Try These 2 Goodreads Features posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “Author and social media whiz Frances Caballo covers two important Goodreads features authors should be using to market their books.”

Marcy Kennedy presents Writing to Market: What Is It and Should You Try It? posted at Fiction University, saying, “As indies, one of our major advantages is that we’re quick and agile. In many ways, we’re only limited by how fast we can write and find slots with our chosen editors and cover designers. Because of this, self-published authors have an option that traditionally published authors don’t. We can experiment with writing to market.”

Penny Sansevieri presents Pricing Strategies to Boost Indie Authors’ Sales posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks Marketing Expert, Penny Sansevieri, tackles the challenge many indie authors struggle with about book pricing, with strategic suggestions to help bolster sales.”

Robin Cutler presents The Holiday Season is Looming – Will Your Book Be Ready? posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks’ Distribution Expert, Robin Cutler of Ingram Spark, gives indie authors the rundown on gearing up for holiday season sales.”

Sandra Hutchison presents Romance author offers both “clean” AND “spicy” versions posted at Sandra Hutchison, saying, “Sandra Hutchison interviews MM Jaye, an indie romance author who produced a “clean” AND “spicy” version of the same romance. Why’d she do that? And how’s it working out?”

Sarah Bolme presents Are You Asking? posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Endorsements. They help you sell more books. However, you must ask for them. It’s okay to ask. Here is why.”

Sarah Bolme presents Sells More Books by Bundling posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Bundling is a common strategy in the business world. Consider cable companies that offer bundled packages of cable TV, Internet, and phone, or fast food companies like McDonalds that let customers pick any two of a number of products for cheaper than the two items can be purchased separately.”

Terry Whalin presents Three Reasons to Do It Yourself posted at The Writing Life, saying, “Why should every author be selling their own books instead of simply pointing their website to Amazon? This experienced author/ editor gives three important reasons.”

Self-Publishing Success

Helen Sedwick presents Self-Publishing Companies, Through a Legal Lens posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks’ Legal Expert, Helen Sedwick, looks at self-publishing companies (aka subsidy or vanity publishers) from a contractual standpoint, so indie authors can make an informed decision before signing on.”

Rachael Lui presents The Anatomy of a Best-Selling Book posted at The Expert Editor, saying, “We thought it would be interesting to examine all the different factors that determine a successful book, including content, genre, and publishing market.”

Writing Tools and Tips

C.K. MacLeod presents How to Automate Writing and Editing Tasks posted at Tech Tools for Writers, saying, “Recently, a colleague created a tool for me that accomplished in five minutes what would take me half a day to do manually. In this article, you’ll learn which writing and editing tasks to automate.”

Cate Baum presents Tips From A Brit For Fictional British Characters posted at Self-Publishing Review, saying, “Something light about British characters and dialogue for authors to enjoy among all the dreary Brexit stuff!”

Iola Goulton presents 9 Top Tips for Aspiring Authors posted at Iola Goulton, saying, “My response to a comment on a book review post asking for advice for new writers, from my viewpoint as a reader, reviewer, freelance editor and now fiction writer.”

Iola Goulton presents Is My Novel Publishable? posted at Australasian Christian Writers, saying, “My answers to a common question from new authors: is my novel publishable?”

K.M. Weiland presents Don’t Make This Mistake With Your Story Structure posted at Helping Writers Become Authors, saying, “Readers may be willing to overlook certain missteps in your story structure. But not this one. Discover the worst story structure mistake you can make.”

Marcy Kennedy presents How to Use Layers to Create Rich Character Emotions posted at Marcy Kennedy’s Website, saying, “One of the least effective ways to convey character emotions is to tell the reader what the character was feeling: fear, love, jealousy, anger. The real key to clear emotion that’s also going to resonate with the reader is adding in layers.”

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 September 25, 2016 and the deadline for submissions will be September 15, 2016. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need

Joel Friedlander

Written by
Joel Friedlander

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