Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #79

POSTED ON Apr 30, 2017

Joel Friedlander

Written by Joel Friedlander

Home > Blog > Self-Publishing, Social Media > Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies Issue #79

Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for April, 2017. 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

self-publishingDave Chesson presents How to Create a Back Book Cover Blurb that Sells by Kelly Exeter posted at Kindlepreneur, saying, “Learn how to construct a back book cover blurb that helps to sell both your fiction and non-fiction books. What is the most overlooked part of your publishing process can have an incredible effect on your sales. So, learn how to create the best blurbs here.”

blogAli Luke presents Why Novellas are Making a Comeback (and Five Great Posts for Novella-Writers) posted at Aliventures, saying, “Novellas have seen a huge resurgence in recent years, and have proved very popular with writers and with readers. In this post, I take a look at why — and offer examples of novellas in a wide range of genres, plus links to handy resources for any writers who want to try their hand at the novella form.”

Book Design and Production

Dave Chesson presents Book Cover Design Mastery posted at Kindlepreneur, saying, “Learn how to not only create amazing book covers, but also what cover dimensions to use, best tools and software, and even where to find professional book cover designers, all at affordable rates.”

Ebooks and Ebook Readers

Carla King presents 4 eBook Platforms Offering Cool Data, Distribution & Marketing Tools posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks Tech Expert Carla King reviews 4 new-to-you eBook platforms that offer cool data, distribution & marketing tools for indie authors.”

Indie Author

Carole P. Roman presents How This Indie Author Created Her Kids Book Series posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “Bestselling BookWorks author, Carole P. Roman, shares details on how she created multiple successful kids book series. If you write for the junior set, there may be ideas here worth emulating.”

Elizabeth Andre presents 10 Reasons Self-published Authors Should Be Terribly Proud of Themselves posted at Elizabeth Andre’s Blog.

Lois Hoffman presents What’s Your Vision? posted at The Happy Self-Publisher, saying, “What’s your vision? Once you define why you’re writing a book, it’s important to envision your life as an author. If your book is wildly successful, what does that look like? If everything you ever dreamed about as an author all came true, how would you feel about yourself? Where would you be? Who is with you?”

Marketing and Selling Your Books

AD Starrling presents The 411 on Affiliate Marketing for Authors posted at Kate Tilton, saying, “Thank you, AD Starrling”

Carla King presents Comparing and Calculating IngramSpark and Amazon CreateSpace Author Royalty posted at Author Friendly, saying, “The formula for calculating royalty is List Price – Discount – Print Cost = Royalty: Most authors think that using CreateSpace to make and distribute their paperback books ensures more profit in the Amazon store than with IngramSpark. Author Friendly’s Carla King proves otherwise in this nuts and bolts comparison using a 6×9, 280-page book.”

Chris Well presents The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Author Media Kit posted at Build Your Brand Academy, saying, “This is the first in a new series that will outline everything an author needs to know to create an effective author media kit. Working in the media the past 30 years, I’ve received many media kits from folks who wanted access to my audience. This series will be driven by what I’ve seen that works – and what I’ve seen that doesn’t work.”

Clare Whitmell presents 7 Ways You Can Use Your Mailing List to Drive Sales posted at Publishing Spark, saying, “A mailing list is one of the best, inexpensive tools an author can use to sell more books. But what if you’re not making as many sales from your mailing list as you’d like? Here are seven simple strategies for selling more books through your reader list without having to get all “salesy”.”

Darcy Pattison presents AMS Ads: KDP’s PPC Advertising Option posted at Indie Kids Books.

Emilie Hancock presents SELF-e: Indie Authors and Libraries Matchmaker posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “Your local library is a great resource to connect you to new readers. Guest contributor Emilie Hancock from BiblioLabs shares how SELF-e can make your eBook(s) available to library patrons to discover and buy.”

Erica Verrillo presents Self-Publishing: The Perils of Instant Gratification posted at Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity, saying, “One of the appeals of self-publishing is that there is no waiting time. In traditional publishing, there is a lag, sometimes of a year or more, between the publisher’s receipt of a manuscript and its publication. Historically, authors have railed against this lag because they are impatient to see their books on the shelf. But if you publish immediately after you finish editing, you will have no demand and no market, which means you are virtually guaranteed a lack of sales. Here are the 10 steps you need to take before you release your book to guarantee its success.”

Frances Caballo presents 10 Quick Tips About Social Media posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “If you’re just starting out on social media, it may seem overwhelming. Even if you’ve been using it for a while, the prospect of staying up to date on numerous social media platforms may seem like a full-time job. Don’t get disheartened. There definitely are learning curves to social media. That’s a given. But social media needn’t be overwhelming.”

Iola Goulton presents Websites for Writers: Which Platform is Best? posted at Christian Editing Services, saying, “Every author needs a website. But what is the best platform to use? I’ve researched the main options and find I agree with the experts (including The Book Designer): authors should build their online platforms on self-hosted WordPress. This post explains my reasoning.”

Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents 3 Steps To Creating A Winning Sell Sheet For Your Book posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “Sell sheets have a simple mission. To Sell More Books. They’re really just a way to showcase the benefits of your book in a concise and impelling way. And if your sell sheet is created and utilized skillfully, it can become a powerful marketing tool – especially when it’s included as part of your media kit.”

Kate Tilton presents Be the Gateway Interview with Dan Blank posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “In this video, Dan Blank and Kate Tilton discuss how to connect with your readers in a real way and why it matters.”

Kate Tilton presents My Simple Social Media Method for Successful Engagement posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “In this article, I cover my simple method for getting the most out of your social media.”

Sarah Bolme presents To Give or Not to Give? posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “The Internet abounds with advice. Some of it is good and some of it is not.”

Terry Whalin presents How to Get a Wealth of Social Media Content posted at The Writing Life, saying, “As author, you need to be constantly growing your social media, but where do you get good content. Terry has over 200,000 twitter followers and diverse content. Get ideas in this article.”

Self-Publishing Success

Amy Collins presents Indie Authors, Buy Your Own ISBNs! posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks Book Retail Expert Amy Collins explains why you must buy your own ISBNs to retain full control of your work and be taken seriously by book buyers.”

Helen Sedwick presents Hiring Freelancers: the Legal Nitty-Gritty posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks Legal Expert Helen Sedwick covers all the bases on hiring freelancers for indie authors, including where to find them, contracts and tax info.”

Louise Harnby presents The different levels of editing. Proofreading and beyond posted at The Proofreader’s Parlour, saying, “Some beginner indie authors aren’t aware of the different levels of editing required to get their book fit for market. This potted guide explains what the different services might be called and what they include.”

Penny Sansevieri presents What If They Hate My Book? Coping With Negative Reviews posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “Don’t let fear of negative reviews hold you back from publishing. Marketing Expert Penny Sansevieri shares advice on avoiding & handling negative feedback.”

Sandra Hutchison presents Finding success with a hybrid press: An Interview with Michelle Cox posted at Sandra Hutchison, saying, “An indie mystery author tells how she came to be happily published by a hybrid press that combines elements of both traditional and self-publishing.”

Writing Tools and Tips

Frances Caballo presents What It Feels Like to Be in the Zone with Lisa Tener posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “Lisa Tener started us off with explaining what it feels like to “be in the zone” when writing: “You have this sense that you can be there forever. You have a heightened sense of flow. It feels inspired. You feel like you captured something.” Yes!”

Lisa Lawmaster Hess presents Five Things Every Writer Needs posted at The Porch Swing Chronicles.

Lois Hoffman presents How to Frame Your Book posted at The Happy Self-Publisher, saying, “Let’s say you’ve got an idea for your nonfiction book, but you don’t know exactly how you’ll write it. You need a framework to give structure to your book and help sell it, too. Although you can probably build a house by hammering boards together, it’s more effective and efficient to build the frame first and then include the walls before you fill out the interior.”

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 May 28, 2017 and the deadline for submissions will be May 15, 2017. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need

Joel Friedlander

Written by
Joel Friedlander

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