This Week in the Blogs, December 10 – 16, 2016

by Shelley Sturgeon | Dec 18, 2016

It’s very cold and snowy where I am, and I’m surrounded by reminders of the upcoming holidays and all the warm and fuzzy feelings that come with that. So, with that in mind, I’d like to wish each and every one of you, all the best of this season and every season to come, good health and happiness, and of course, success with your writing and self-publishing projects. And, regarding the latter, be sure to check out this week’s roundup of articles.

Debbie Young on Self Publishing Advice Center
10 Data Sources That Self-publishing Authors Should Update Before Year End
“As indie authors, whenever we launch a new book, we spend a lot of time and effort choosing and inputting marketing-friendly metadata about our new books on our accounts with our chosen distributors, such as CreateSpace, KDP, Ingram Spark, and Draft2Digital.”

Virginia King on Molly Greene: Writer
Author Newsletters – A Spy’s Report
“Best-selling indie authors who offer their formulas as courses attribute much of their success to lists. But do they work for everyone? Especially with readers receiving emails from multiple authors each month?”

Stephanie Chandler on Nonfiction Authors Association
8 Ideas for Adding Additional Content to Your Blog
“Whenever I discuss the benefits of blogging, inevitably I hear grumbles and groans from the audience. It seems that many people resist blogging due to the fear that it will take a lot of time. While it’s true that blogging can be time consuming, there are ways to make it easier.”

Bruce Fottler on Indies Unlimited
My DIY Book Cover Blunders
“Five years ago, I finished my very first novel and it needed a book cover. Lacking the funds to hire a designer, or even purchase a pre-designed cover, I wondered: How hard could it be to do it myself?”

Carla King on Bookworks
Tech Tools to Help Produce & Sell Children’s Books
“Lisa needed some help figuring out how to layout and distribute the children’s book she just finished. She had already paid an illustrator and in our conversation revealed that the book was 42 pages long, the text was embedded in the Photoshop files, and images were square. Warning bells were already ringing in my head, so I asked her to send me the files. In review, I found the following issues to resolve.”

Self-Publishing News You Can Use

By Amy Collins

The American Booksellers Association has announced their 2017 rates and programs

Publishers who want to participate in marketing to independent bookstores in 2017 have several options. Boxes of books are sent to stores, netgalley listings, catalogs and more. The growth in independent bookstores in the last few years makes marketing with ABA even more beneficial.