Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for November, 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
Iola Goulton presents Is It Really Possible To Do It All? posted at International Christian Fiction Writers, saying, “Juggling writing with other commitments is difficult – most of us aren’t “just” writers. We’re also employees or employers, mother or father, son or daughter. In this article, author, mother and employee Kara Isaac gives some useful tips on “doing it all” without coming undone.”
Martin Crosbie presents Launching Your Book – What’s Working? posted at Indies Unlimited, saying, “Book launch secrets with examples from two recent successful launches. Many sales outlets that authors have used in the past have become either less effective or totally ineffective. But, if you have a new book on the horizon there is good news. By executing a successful launch, you can gain enough momentum to earn consistent sales or have a strong enough initial surge that you can comfortably move on to writing the next book.”
Book Design and Production
Alexander Zoltai presents Book Fair Bonus Post posted at Notes from An Alien, saying, “Free Frankfurt Book Fair Synopsis Downloads :-)”
Carla King presents A Book Production Checklist for Indie Authors posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks Tech Expert Carla King presents the comprehensive book production checklist for indie authors. Read this before you hit “Publish”.”
Frances Caballo presents Sick of Social Media? 10 Steps to Revive Your Enthusiasm posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “Do you ever get sick of social media? Come on. Admit it. I think you know what I mean. The cat videos, the political diatribes, and the men telling you how beautiful you are and with $5,000 they could fly to your location and take you out on a smashing date. Haven’t received any of those messages yet? Consider yourself lucky. What about those pictures of meals that just don’t look that appealing? I’ve seen my share of them.”
Indie Author
Cathi Stevenson presents Editors Are Not As Evil As You Might Think. Honest! posted at Book Cover Express Indie Publishing Blog.
Ian Martyn presents Is it just me? – Adverbs posted at Ian Martyn – Science fiction author, saying, “I stopped reading a book recently after 30%. The over use of adverbs (amongst other things became too much). I wonder if I’ve developed an intolerance. A bit like gluten intolerance and when I see too many adverbs it kicks in. Is it just me?”
Linda Rae Sande presents Authorpreneurship, Part 1 posted at Regency Romance with a Twist, saying, “This is the basis for the class I teach at author conferences and was last presented at InD’Scribe 2016.”
Terry Whalin presents The Unknown Impact of Writing posted at The Writing Life, saying, “if you are blogging or publishing books, some days it is hard to know if you are having impact. Terry Whalin writes about meeting an author who used his BOOK PROPOSALS THAT $ELL to get published–and eventually that book made the New York Times list. You never know the impact of your writing on readers.”
Marketing and Selling Your Books
Clare Whitmell presents 10 Things Your Readers Want To Hear About posted at Publishing Spark, saying, “If you’re new to writing email newsletters, you might be wondering what you’re going to write about. You can obviously tell your readers about your next launch, but too many marketing-type emails end up looking salesy. Here are 10 ideas for email content that will delight your readers.”
Deanna Cabinian presents How to Network Effectively (Even If You Hate Networking) posted at Deanna Cabinian, saying, “Networking is a simple way to help you sell more books.”
Frances Caballo presents 15 Tips to Boost Your Facebook Engagement for Indie Authors posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks Social Media Expert Frances Caballo shares 15 solid tips to help indie authors up their Facebook game.”
Iola Goulton presents How to be on Twitter 24/7 Without Being on Twitter 24/7 posted at Australasian Christian Writers, saying, “We’re all told we need to be on social media. But that doesn’t mean trolling Twitter 24/7 to sell our books. Here are four tools I use to be active on Twitter (and other social media) without actually being awake PC 24/7, and without spamming.”
J.M. Ney-Grimm presents How to Create a Progress Bar posted at J.M. Ney-Grimm, saying, “Most of the readers who visit your author website want to know one thing: when’s the next book coming out? A progress bar – showing progress on your WIP – gives the answer at a glance.”
Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents 4 Hot Tips To Writing A Sell Sheet’s “Call-To-Action” posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “Any sell sheet without an effective call-to-action (CTAs) is missing out on a huge marketing opportunity. These simple yet targeted instructions to the reader are directly responsible for encouraging your audience to take the next step toward becoming a buyer of your book. Without an effective call-to-action, your sell sheet will amount to little more than an unprofitable writing exercise. Here are some tips that I have developed from my self-publishing experiences that will help you improve the response rate of your sell sheet.”
Lois Hoffman presents How to Write a Press Release for a Book posted at The Happy Self-Publisher, saying, “You’ve just published or are about to publish a book and you want the world to know about it, right? A press release is an effective way to capture the attention of the media and other organizations that may have a particular interest in your book… IF you give news outlet, well, news.”
Self-Publishing Success
Alexander von NEss presents Building Your Author Brand posted at Nessgraphica.
Amy Collins presents Book Publicity Do’s & Don’ts for Indie Authors posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks’ newest Industry Expert, Amy Collins, outlines the best strategies for indie authors to obtain media coverage and publicity for their books.”
Bethany Brown presents Avoiding Self Publishing Scams posted at The Cadence Group.
Randy Stapilus presents Yes, Your eBook Does Need Chapters posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “If you think your eBook doesn’t require chapters, think again. A table of contents with compelling chapter titles can turn a browser into a reader.”
Tamara Dever presents 12 Common Self-Publishing Pitfalls posted at TLC Graphics: The Designer Writes, saying, “Every author has a different definition of success, but each one strives for it. For many reasons, a stigma still remains around self-published books. You can triumph by avoiding these 12 far-too-common errors.”
Writing Tools and Tips
C. S. Lakin presents 4 Ways to Subtly and Tastefully Present Theme in Your Novel posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Theme is essential in fiction writing, though it can be a bit tricky to wield. We don’t want to knock readers over the head with theme. Rather, it’s best to bring out themes in a subtle and tasteful way. Here are four tips to doing so effectively.”
C. S. Lakin presents 9 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Writer’s block is a strange phenomenon that almost every writer experiences. While there can be different causes for it, the effect is always the same. Something in your brain prevents ideas from flowing and stops the communication between your head and your hand that’s hanging purposelessly over a blank sheet of paper. Every writer knows the symptoms: zoning out, glancing around for ideas, churning stomach, feeling like your mind is turned on but the gears aren’t rotating. You’re desperate for inspiration. Here are nine ways to work through your writer’s block and get the words flowing again.”
Ian Sutherland presents On Writing The Dreaded Second Novel posted at Ian Sutherland, saying, “An interview with Ian Sutherland on writing Taking Up Serpents, his second thriller novel and how he overcame ‘second novel syndrome’.”
Kate Tilton presents Beyond Good & Evil: The Remaking of Heroes & Villains posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “There’s more to good guys and bad guys. To make your characters feel real you need to mix it up and show the hero’s dark side and the villain’s light.”
Kate Tilton presents Writing and Emotion: Swaying Readers with a Dose of Real Life posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “Author Aria E. Maher shares how emotion plays a huge part in making a story memorable.”
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 December 26, 2016 and the deadline for submissions will be December 15, 2016. Don’t miss it!
Here are all the links you’ll need
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- The original announcement post
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