Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for April, 2015. 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
Hope Clark presents Finding Book Reviews posted at FFW Tips, saying, “There is no solid resource on how to land book reviews. Here are a few ideas and resources to make the job easier. Indies have an uphill battle as do the smaller of the small presses. And you already know that competition is fierce, so assuming you can get some of these bigger sites to accept your book, the wait might be for months.”
K.M. Weiland presents Want to Know More About the Structure of Your Favorite Books and Movies? Announcing the Story Structure Database! posted at Helping Writers Become Authors, saying, “The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points. If you’re ever unsure of a structural point in a story–or just want to spend some time browsing examples of story structure–you’ll be able to search the database to find exactly what you’re looking for.”
Kate Tilton presents 25 Ways To Market Your Audiobook: A Quick Guide posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “How can you market your audiobook? Let’s take a look at these 25 ways to get your audiobook out there.”
Book Design and Production
Colin Dunbar presents Why Self-Publishing Online Makes Sense posted at Format Book In Word, saying, “The first question an aspiring author asks: Should I go the traditional or self-publishing route? This is a brief overview of the traditional publishing industry. In this area the world has changed drastically over the past 10 years or so. The Big 5 publishers are cautious to take a risk on an unknown author …”
J.M. Ney-Grimm presents What Happens After the Manuscript is Complete? posted at J.M. Ney-Grimm, saying, “Once you have a complete manuscript – ready for publication, ready for readers to enjoy – what happens next? The right workflow will ensure you produce the best possible cover and cover copy for your ebook.”
Lana Pecherczyk presents G is for Graphic Design – Self-publishing from A to Z posted at Author Zoo, saying, “Tips for designing yourself as an Indie Author, and tips on what to look for when you want to hire a Graphic Designer.”
Randy Stapilus presents Self-Publishing Takes Off in High Schools posted at BookWorks
Toni Ressaire presents How to Create an iTunes Account posted at Pub.Ink Publish Like a Pro, saying, “This is the first installment of several articles about publishing in the iBooks Store.”
Ebooks and Ebook Readers
Ron Callari presents SELF-e positions Libraries for the Digital Age posted at Bookworks’ Ron Callari Blogs, saying, “SELF-e [not to be confused with the ‘selfie’ photo-sharing craze] is a self-publishing software, which should be on every indie writer’s radar. As the latest in a series of collaborative platforms that have launched recently [see previous posts on Widbooks and Fast Pencil], SELF-e enables public libraries and self-published authors to engage with some new 21st Century technology.”
Indie Author
Gordon Burgett presents A paid speech you can book at every association any year posted at Empire building by writing and speaking, for writers, speakers, and publishers, saying, “Here’s how you take your book or any product you produce and you sell it to every key member at any association workshop or convention. They all want to hear how they are doing collectively, and if you are one of them (or aren’t but can learn the needed information), they will flock to your talk/speech/breakout/keynote–and can’t help but buy what you’ve written since you are so right-on and articulate. Your book is your selling tool. Send it and your outline of the association programmer.”
James Moushon presents Author Blogs: Time Management can be a Problem without Planning posted at eBook Authors Corner, saying, “So you’re an author and you’re considering starting a blog. That doesn’t sound like a problem. You just cook something up and post it on the Internet. It should be a piece of cake. Wait a minute. You say you better know what you’re getting into before you start. I agree. Here is some advice from some outstanding authors who have experience with an author blog. They discuss the time issues and the problems involved in having a good author blog.”
James Moushon presents Author Blogs: What is your Primary blog goal? posted at eBook Authors Corner, saying, “A net presence is a must for authors in the current world of book publishing. And a website is usually the focal point for authors to connect with their readers. Authors are finding out that another successful connection tool is an author blog. Today our focus is on blogging and how you can establish goals and improve your communications.”
Robin Storey presents What Genre Is That? posted at Storey Lines, saying, “Author Robin Storey discusses fiction genres, the challenges of cross-genre writing and marketing and the importance of choosing the correct genres for your novel on Amazon.”
Marketing and Selling Your Books
Alexander von Ness presents How You Can Come Up With More Marketing Ideas posted at Nessgraphica
Bethany Brown presents The Right Way to Price Your Book posted at The Cadence Group, saying, “One of the biggest challenges that authors and publishers face during the book publishing process is how to price their book. Unfortunately, this is also an area where huge mistakes can be made that will adversely affect book sales. It’s vital the publishers do the right research to ensure that their price matches marketplace demand.”
Cathi Stevenson presents Book Cover Design: Don’t Take My Word For It posted at Publishing and Business Communications, saying, “Book cover design is subjective, but it shouldn’t be. It’s about selling the book, not being the prettiest image on the page.”
Erica Verrillo presents 225 Hashtags for Writers posted at Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity, saying, “If you are on Twitter and aren’t using hashtags, you are wasting a great resource. Here are some great hashtags for marketing your book, connecting with other indie authors, connecting with readers, and sharing writing and publishing tips.”
Frances Caballo presents Should Authors Be on Instagram? Absolutely! posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “Do writers need to be on every social media network? Absolutely not. However, if you write young adult, new adult, middle grade, and books intended for the millennial demographic, Instagram is a must have in your social media marketing arsenal. We are increasingly moving toward a visual social web so even other authors who write in other genres can benefit from using Instagram.”
Hope Clark presents Your Opinion and Mine posted at FFW Tips, saying, “In light of the recent threats between authors and reviewers, C. Hope Clark comes back with a solution that makes perfect sense.”
Jordan Smith presents How to Evaluate a Kindle Deal Site Before You Buy a Promotion posted at Fix My Story, saying, “When you’re looking for a deal site to purchase a promo spot on, how should you evaluate it? This is a “do the math” guide to the numbers you need to watch for. Includes a free formula sheet download for finding useful numbers like cost per click, cost per sale, and breakeven point.”
Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents 4 Tips To Writing Better Calls-To-Action: A Guide For Self-Publishers posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “Any sell sheet without an effective call-to-action (CTAs) is missing a huge opportunity. These simple yet targeted phrases or links are directly responsible for encouraging your audience to take the next step toward becoming a buyer of your book. Without a 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 improve the response rate to your sell sheet:”
Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents 9 Tips On Writing A Great Description For A Non-Fiction Book posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “If your book’s description does not grab the reader by the collar, and quickly convince them that you have the answers that they are looking for, you are going to lose them. In a matter of seconds, they will move on to the next book and continue searching for answers. I discovered this very early on in my quest to become a self-publisher. I have developed a short list of tips that can improve your book description and hopefully increase sales.”
Kate Tilton presents Super Blog Tour Companies for Non-YA Books posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “One book promotion item you’ll hear about often is blog tours, but where do you go when your book isn’t a YA (young adult) novel? This is a question many authors I work with have had so I did some digging and asked a few friends. Here are the results.”
Sarah Bolme presents Do You Know What it Takes to Sell a Book? posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Traditionally published authors tend to make more money on their books (even though their royalties per copy sold are less) than independently published authors. Do you know why?”
Shelley Sturgeon presents Hyperlinks: Pretty, Smart and Short posted at Bound and Determined, saying, “Not all hyperlinks are created equally. This article discusses options for making your hyperlinks more user-friendly and intuitive.”
Steven Saus presents Authors and Publishers: Paying for Awards is CRAP. posted at ideatrash, saying, “Remember how scam publishers used to prey on folks who simply wanted to be published? Now that they can’t prey on people who want to be published, they’re preying on people who want their book to win an award.”
Zoe Brooks presents Approaching Book Review Blogs posted at Zoe Brooks Author, saying, “I have been reviewing a book a week for nearly three years on the Magic Realism Books Blog, so this piece is written from my experience as a reviewer rather than as an author.”
Self-Publishing Success
Alexander von Ness presents 10 Things Readers Should Do When They Like You! posted at Nessgraphica
Ellis Shuman presents Why I Offered My Book for Free. Again. posted at Ellis Shuman Writes, saying, “Two years after the publication of my novel, sales had dropped off. And this, despite the fact that I had established my author platform by becoming a successful blogger on The Huffington Post and The Times of Israel. When I offered my novel for free, again, I never expected this to happen!”
Jordan Smith presents Smaller Ponds: How to Use Categories to Sell More Books posted at Fix My Story, saying, “Many of the categories on the Amazon Kindle store are huge! Here’s how to use smaller categories to increase your book’s chances of showing up on the Top 100 charts.”
Writing Tools and Tips
Alexander von Ness presents You’ve Just Completed a Copy Edit. But Do You Really Need a Proofread? posted at Nessgraphica
Belinda Kroll presents Three Ways to Beat Writer’s Block posted at Belinda Kroll | Victorian Young Adult Books, saying, “Belinda highlights three methods that helped her break through writer’s block, curing the block and opening up plot options. Take that, writer’s block!”
Belinda Pollard presents Writers, look after your health & your BACK posted at Write & Publish Like a Pro, saying, “As writers, we so often neglect our sleep, diet, exercise and especially our backs. On a recent huge run of deadlines, I decided to try a different approach, and these were my results…”
Belinda Williams presents Get Back To The Story posted at Belinda Williams Books, saying, “In her blog post, Belinda highlights the common pitfalls made by writers when including backstory in their writing, and her top tips for writing backstory that will keep readers turning the pages.”
Belinda Williams presents How you can write a book on fragmented time posted at Belinda Williams Books, saying, “In her blog post, Belinda discusses how you can write productively on fragmented time and how every fragment can help when writing.”
C. S. Lakin presents Weaving It In: Backstory in Fiction posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Backstory is often the bane of fiction writing. This month on Live Write Thrive we’re looking at the perils of dumping backstory into our scenes, and ways to artfully reveal past important information needed in the story. Editor Rachel Starr Thomson gives helpful tips on how to balance backstory with present action in order to avoid scene failure.”
C.K. MacLeod presents Hemingway App: A Proofreading Tool for Writers posted at Tech Tools for Writers, saying, “The Hemingway app is an inexpensive proofreading tool that can help you see and fix potential problem areas in your writing. Find out what it can do for you.”
David Leonhardt presents The value of cultural signposts for writers posted at Always Write, saying, “You won’t build up fans, partners or a network talking only about your product, whether that is writing, editing or Avon. You’ll only make people yawn. You need to know the cultural sign posts and make good use of them. Be sociable, show your human side – don’t just talk shop online.”
Katie McCoach presents 21 Ideas for 21 Days of Writing posted at KM Editorial, saying, “It takes 21 days to form a habit—so to get you in the habit of writing every day Katie shares 21 writing prompts for 21 days.”
Rae Elliott presents Finding your Unique Voice as a Writer with One Surprising Trick! posted at Barely Hare Books Blog
Shelley Sturgeon presents Do Your Characters Pass the Test? posted at Bound and Determined, saying, “To write convincing characters, we need to be able to get into our characters’ heads and know how they’d react in particular situations. Depending on our storyline and our characters, sometimes we need them to be depressed, schizophrenic, or suffer from insomnia or obsessive compulsive disorder for example. These online mental health tests might help you determine if your characters are being accurately portrayed.”
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 31, 2015 and the deadline for submissions will be May 15, 2015. Don’t miss it!
Here are all the links you’ll need
- Have something to share with our community? Submit your article here
- The original announcement post
- Carnival of the Indies web page
- Bloggers, grab your official Carnival of the Indies Badges here
- Follow Carnival of the Indies on Twitter to get deadline reminders
- Subscribe to The Book Designer Blog
