Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for December, 2014. 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
Katie Cross presents The Making of a Novel: Behind the Scenes posted at KCross Writing, saying, “Before the release of my second indie book, Antebellum Awakening, I put together a post on all the different elements such as book cover design, typesetting, and editing. It was a huge hit with my fans, who had no idea what went into the making of a book.”
Catriona Troth presents Make Your Own Indie Author Fair posted at The Library Cat, saying, “The inaugural Indie Author Fair brought together forty indie authors to create a pop-up bookshop at the Chorleywood Lit Fest. Organisers Triskele Books and the Alliance of Independent Authors would love to see similar events ‘popping up’ wherever there are indie authors. Here is Triskele’s ‘How To’ guide to making your own Indie Author Fair.”
Mark Coker presents Ebook Publishing Gets More Difficult from Here – Here’s How to Succeed posted at Smashwords blog, saying, “There’s a glut of high quality ebooks, and this glut will increase because indie authors are publishing smarter and more professionally, and because these books will never go out of print. This post examines what indie authors can do to survive and thrive in this new environment. Despite the increased competition, there has never been a better time to self-publish ebooks.”
Book Design and Production
Randy Stapilus presents From Columns, Posts and Scraps into Books posted at BookWorks
Stefanie Newell presents How To Self Publish On Kindle – Best Practices For Kindle Publishing posted at The Write One Blog.com
Ebooks and Ebook Readers
Erik Peterson presents Skills You Use Elsewhere: Fixing a Book for Smashwords posted at Thinking Beyond Coding, saying, “This article explains the issues I ran into with Smashwords and how I got around them.”
Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli presents Observations after the Buchmesse, part #1. Digital publishing and self-publishing in Italy posted at Anakina.blog, saying, “This is the first one of a series of articles inspired by my recent participation as guest during an event at the Frankfurter Buchmesse titled “Think Local, Act Global: How to Reach a Global and Successful Audience through Self-Publishing”. In this first article I analyse the situation of digital publishing and self-publishing in Italy, my country, which can be interesting for a self-publisher considering to have their books translated into Italian.”
Indie Author
Daley James Francis presents 6 Ways to Re-Motivate Yourself After Debut Novel Euphoria posted at Daley James Francis
Katie Cross presents The Emotional Side of a Book Release posted at KCross Writing, saying, “Everyone has tips about the perfect promotional package, or how to conduct the perfect release day. Well, no one ever seems to talk about the emotional side of a releasing your book to the world’s judgment, so I did that to hear what others have to say.”
Richard Sutton presents A Project Checklist for Every Project posted at Saille Tales Books, saying, “So many Indie Authors are overwhelmed with all the variables that are outside of their range of skills, when moving towards publication of their book. In my years of experience in the marketing and advertising trade as a designer, art director and copy writer, I learned to embrace a simple checklist that taught me to get my head on right and keep my expectations in line with what is possible, considering the depth of my pockets.”
Marketing and Selling Your Books
Belinda Pollard presents 2 Enduring, Low-cost Book Marketing Tactics posted at Small Blue Dog Publishing, saying, “While preparing to publish my own debut novel, I’ve been challenged to rethink my approach to two basic, low-cost marketing tools every author needs: a landing page and a media kit.”
Deborah Jay presents What sort of back matter should your book contain? posted at Deborah Jay, saying, “Passive marketing is my favourite type because it only takes a small amount of my precious time, and continues to work long-term with very little attention. Back matter is the most effective tool I’ve found, particularly for gaining a high ratio of reviews per purchase.”
Denise Wakeman presents The Art of Social Media for Writers posted at The Future of Ink, saying, “Building a social media platform has never been more important whether you plan on self-publishing or pitching your book to a traditional publisher. Writing a great book is just part of the equation, your social media platform is where readers will get to know you, find out about what you’re writing, and could determine the success of your book sales. In this article by Peg Fitzpatrick for The Future of Ink, you’ll learn essential steps you can take of six of the most important social media platforms for authors.”
Frances Caballo presents 10 Tips for Authors Using Social Media posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “Frances reviews her ten top social media tips for Indie authors wanting to leverage their time on social media.”
Hazel Longuet presents Book Promotion: Marketing and Networking for Introverts posted at Novel Experience, saying, “Writing is an isolating endeavour which tends to attract those of a more introverted persuasion. Introverts tend to sit back and observe as the world races by – a considerable asset when trying to create realistic worlds and characters. Writing and introverts go together like strawberries and cream until the authors has to get out in the world and promote their work. Speaking as a massive introvert, networking is my idea of hell – I’d rather cut off my left hand (and I’m left handed) than go into a room to network. Yet it’s a necessary evil of the career we’ve chosen. So I’ve done a load of research to find a way to make it more palatable and want to share those with my fellow introverts today.”
James Moushon presents Developing an Author Website – A Marketing and Communication Checklist Study posted at eBook Authors Corner, saying, “What is the goal of your website? What is going to be the title of your website? How will people find your site? How do you make it easy to find your books and buy them? What are some of the topics you should include in your site? These are all questions that authors have when they create a website to sell their books. I have spent the last several years studying, interviewing and writing about authors (250+). One of the first things I do is review the writer’s website. You can tell a lot about the author from their site. Some are complex. Some are simple. Some communicate their message. Some barely qualify as a website.”
Kate Tilton presents How Google+ is Different from Facebook — A Primer for Authors by @K8Tilton posted at BadRedhead Media, saying, “Many authors ask “how is Google+ different from Facebook?” Kate Tilton compares these two platforms, so you can see the differences and similarities.”
Kate Tilton presents Ultimate List of Sites to Promote Your Free eBook posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “Planning a free ebook promotion? Here is a list of sites you can use to spread the word!”
Michele Orwin presents Going Free – Which Way to Go? posted at Bacon and Books, saying, “A short article on using book submission services to promote free books.”
Michelle Weidenbenner presents How to Write a Rockin’ Pitch for Magazines posted at Random Writing Rants, Teaching Teens and Adults How to Get Published, saying, “Here’s a great way to create buzz for your novel. Write magazine articles that focus on your book’s theme.”
Randy Stapilus presents Scout an Indie and Traditional Path posted at BookWorks
Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli presents Observations after the Buchmesse, part #7. Selling your translated self-published book in the German market posted at Anakina.blog, saying, “This is the last article in a series inspired by my recent participation as guest during an event at the Frankfurter Buchmesse titled “Think Local, Act Global: How to Reach a Global and Successful Audience through Self-Publishing”.”
Sabrina Ricci presents How To Promote Your Self-Published Book (Guest Post) posted at Digital Pubbing, saying, “This post was originally published on Pedro Barrento’s blog, Ideas for a Revolution. Barrento is the author of two books, The Prince and the Singularity – A Circular Tale, and Marlene and Sofia – A Double Love Story. After almost two years promoting my own books I’ve reached the conclusion that most of the promotion suggestions you can find on the internet are pretty irrelevant and little more than formulaic. Even worse, the things that do matter are either never mentioned or not mentioned in detail and, as I have laboriously found out, the devil really is in the details. So I’ve decided to write a series of articles on how to promote self-published books.”
Sarah Bolme presents Familiarity posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Research shows that because familiarity is so important to us, people must hear about a new product seven to twelve times before they purchase it. In other words, the product must become a little familiar (at least recognizable) to individuals before they decide to buy it.”
Shelley Sturgeon presents Amazon’s Top 100 Books for 2014: What can we learn? posted at Bound and Determined
Self-Publishing Success
Dana Sitar presents The Only Way to Know Whether People Will Want to Read Your Book posted at Writer’s Bucket List, saying, “Is this thing ready to go out into the world? It never is. You can never be completely sure you’ve done it right. There’s just one way to know whether readers will want your self-published book – and you’re probably not going to like it.”
Dave Cornford presents One Million Words posted at Dave Cornford – author, saying, “After about 3 years of writing and self-publishing seriously, I’ve achieved the milestone of having 1,000,000 words on sale – novels, short stories, novellas, collections, humor and parody. Some series have thrived, some books have bombed, but every release is better than the last and I still feel I’ve got more stories to tell.”
Writing Tools and Tips
Belinda Williams presents No apologies: own your writing style posted at Belinda Williams Books, saying, “For authors starting out it can often be difficult to have confidence in your writing style, but well-established, published authors also experience doubt around their writing style. In this blog post, Belinda Williams discusses the importance of owning your writing style and setting aside perceptions about the ideal author job description.”
C. S. Lakin presents Fine-Tuning Your Writing to Be Concise and Specific posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Being deliberate about our writing style means choosing certain qualities or characteristics that fit the genre we are writing in. Part of fine-tuning your writing style to be specific is making sure it carries the proper tone throughout your book. Another consideration when being specific in your style is to determine just how much you want your presence as the author to show through. However, writers who let their personal feelings, opinions, and attitudes come through their prose when it’s not appropriate for their genre, premise, or plot are going to run into trouble. Readers will cry “author intrusion!” and that presence thrust into the story will feel invasive and jarring. Learn tips on how to write well and bring out your style.”
C.K. MacLeod presents 4 Ways to Customize Word for Self-Publishing posted at Tech Tools for Writers, saying, “Customize Microsoft Word so that it’s a more efficient tool for the editing and formatting stages of self-publishing. Here’s how.”
Ellis Shuman presents The Secret to Being a Productive Writer posted at Ellis Shuman Writes, saying, “It is hard to write if you have distractions, but sometimes you need distractions in order to write!”
Ian Martyn presents Writers – enjoy those revisions posted at Ian Martyn – Science Fiction Author, saying, “Am I the only writer who enjoys the revision process? I see lots of complaints on social media from writers about revising their work. I look forward to going back over my story and improving it. My blog explains why.”
Karen Lotter presents 12 Top Writing Tips for Beginners posted at Alli ‘s Self-Publishing Blog, saying, “ALLi partner member Alison Jack, who is a professional editor, shares writing advice that she wishes she’d known when she was writing her first book , Dory’s Avengers. Her top tips will boost the confidence of anyone at the start of the self-publishing process – and plenty who have progressed beyond novice status or who are trade-published.”
Karen Lotter presents Different Kinds of Editing – Definitions for Indie Authors posted at ALLI Self-Publishing Advice Blog, saying, “What kind of edit does my manuscript need?” “What do editors actually do?” “What’s the difference between editing and proofreading?” ” Do I really need to hire outside help?” These are common questions among author-publishers who strive to make their books the best they can be prior to publication, but with an eye on a businesslike budget. Tahlia Newland, coorindator of the manuscript appraisal service Awesome Indies, provides useful definitions and guidance.”
Katie Weiland presents Want a Powerful Theme for Your Novel? Play Devil’s Advocate! posted at Helping Writers Become Authors
Kevin Johns presents How Long Should Your Novel Be? (The Definitive Post!) posted at Kevin Johns’ Blog, saying, “Hi Joel, I put together this post answering the question, “How long a book should be?” I tried to cover as many angles as possible in answering the question, and was pleased with how it turned out. Hopefully your readers will enjoy the article as well. Cheers, Kevin”
Kyoko M presents Things The Colbert Report Taught Me About Writing posted at She Who Writes Monsters, saying, “I’ve been watching this show for so long and it’s hard to say goodbye, because it’s both funny and a great tool for learning what works with audiences and readers alike.”
Sabrina Ricci presents 5 Fast Ways to Write an Ebook posted at Digital Pubbing, saying, “If you consider yourself a proficient writer, you’ve probably toyed around with the idea of writing a book. However, most of us are pretty busy and writing a book can be a tedious, stressful job to take on if you’re not prepared. Some writers consider publishing e-books instead of novels because it can be an easier method to get your words out there to the public. Short e-books can vary anywhere between 15 and 100 pages in length, and they don’t require much more than that. But how do you know where to start?”
Shelley Sturgeon presents Writers Stack Exchange: A Great Resource for Writers, Editors, Reviewers and Publishers posted at Bound and Determined
Stefanie Newell presents Creative Writing Tips and Techniques For Creating Characters posted at The Write One Blog, saying, “This post provides creative writing tips and techniques to help you create characters that are believable. Learn how to create real characters readers love!”
Steve Vernon presents Writing as a journey – the fine art of kicking butt posted at Yours in Storytelling, saying, “A fun and useful article on the benefits of writing yourself a map/outline of your novel before setting down to work on it.”
Zoe Brooks presents First-Person Narrative Some Issues posted at Zoe Brooks, Books & Things
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 January 25, 2015 and the deadline for submissions will be January 15, 2015. Don’t miss it!
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