By Shelley Sturgeon

I remember strolling through the Bluebell Woods in a village near our home when we lived in England. Absolutely stunning–and a sure sign of spring! I know our readers live near and far and may not currently be experiencing the joy and renewal of the spring season, but whether it’s spring or autumn where you live, if you can take a few minutes to read through this week’s selection of articles, I know you’ll be glad that you did.

And, here’s the monthly reminders to add to your calendar:

• Submissions for May’s issue of Self-Publishing: Carnival of the Indies blog carnival will be accepted until May 15th. All the information you need to know can be found here. Our Carnival of the Indies post will run on the last Sunday of the month.
   
• Our May e-Book Cover Design Awards contest submissions will be accepted until May 31st and will be presented in a post at the end of June. April’s submissions will be included in our post published on Monday, May 27th. Submission information can be found here.

If you have any questions about the Carnival of the Indies, the e-Book Cover Design Awards, or self-publishing, just click on the Contact page and fill in that form, or leave a comment below.

Chis Syme on Smart Marketing for Authors
How to Grow Your Podcast Audience From Zero
“In this episode Chris interviews popular podcaster Michelle Nezat about how she grew her podcast audience from the ground up using organic strategies.”

Melissa Bowersock on Indies Unlimited
Audio Books: Working with a Narrator
“A few years ago, I detailed my first experience with using ACX to produce an audio book of my non-fiction work. While the experience was positive, I let the lure of audio books lie fallow for quite a while.”

Nate Hoffelder on The Digital Reader
How to Find Free (and Legal) Images Online
“A few weeks back I discovered another nugget of useful info that I picked up while blogging and just assumed everyone know, and today I would like to share it with you.”

Sandra Beckwith on Build Book Buzz
Why I won’t buy your self-published book
“I noticed recently that an author I’ve purchased from before has just self-published another book. Although the book is on a topic I’d like to know more about, I didn’t click through to read the Amazon description or to check the price.”

Lindsay Buroker on Lindsay Buroker
The Amazon Conundrum (AKA Why Some of My Books Are in Kindle Unlimited and Most Are Not)
“I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, because I get these questions a lot”

Too Good To Miss

Boni Wagner-Stafford on Self Publishing Advice From The Alliance Of Independent Authors
Indie Authors and Copyright Debates
“Copyright is a passive right; its benefit is in the fact that it exists, that the principle of ownership and the right to share in any accruing income has been given the stamp of law.”

Victoria Strauss on Writer Beware
Awards Profiteers: How Writers Can Recognize Them and Why They Should Avoid Them
“Lately I’m seeing frequent ads on Facebook for high-entry fee literary awards, such as the International Book Awards ($89 per entry, though if you enter by April 30 you can get a special early bird rate of $69). It’s sponsored by American Book Fest (formerly known, at various times, as USA Book News, JPX Media, and i310 Media Group), which also runs the Best Book Awards, the Bookvana Awards, and the American Fiction Awards–all with the same huge entry fees.”

Dan Wagstaff on The Casual Optimist
ABCD Award Winners 2019
“The winners of the 2019 Academy of British Cover Design (ABCD) Awards were announced earlier this month and, as in previous years, the winners are an eclectic mix of styles.”
 
Photo: pixabay.com