This Week in the Blogs, February 24 – March 2, 2018

by Shelley Sturgeon | Mar 4, 2018

Table of Contents

By Shelley Sturgeon

Lots of information for you here today to keep you educated and informed, as always, about all things self-publishing related. Enjoy!

Sandra Beckwith on Build Book Buzz
Are you uncomfortable with book promotion? Try this
“When you think about it like that — when you realize you are providing a service to the people you wrote the book for — it all becomes easier. You become much less uncomfortable with book promotion.”

Frances Caballo on Social Media Just for Writers
Are You Ready for Video Because It’s Huge!
“Video, because people watch so much of it, is useful in marketing. At the same time, it’s important to keep your videos to approximately 90 seconds. Five percent of viewers will stop watching a video after 1 minute and 60% by 2 minutes.”

Erika Liodice on Writer Unboxed
How to Find Unique Speaking Opportunities to Promote Your Novel
“If the title of this post makes your palms sweat, you’re not alone. Public speaking is often cited as people’s top fear, even over death.”

RJ Crayton on Indies Unlimited
How Can Authors Protect Their Works in Progress?
“This question gets asked by readers a lot here at Indies Unlimited: How can I protect my manuscript from being taken by someone I let read it?”

Stephanie Chandler on Nonfiction Authors Association
Plan Your Book Launch Tasks
“To begin forming your book marketing plan, start by building a list of tasks. I call this a Book Marketing Action Plan”

Too Good To Miss

Victoria Strauss on Writer Beware
How the Internet Archive Infringed My Copyrights and Then (Kind of) Blew Me Off
“Last month, I wrote about the Internet Archive’s Open Library project, which has been scanning donated print books, creating PDFs and EPUBs from the scans, and placing the scans and the digitized versions online for public borrowing–all without seeking permission from authors.”

Self-Publishing News You Can Use

By Amy Collins

Direct Selling by Authors to Readers is on the Rise

The number of authors and publishers selling their books direct to readers in on a dramatic rise.

Perhaps it is a reaction to Amazon offering their BUY buttons to the most profitable vendor. Maybe publishers are embracing the new direct economy, but more books are being sold direct to readers than ever before.

One of the fastest moving trends driving publisher profitability—as seen from the likes of Simon and Schuster and Penguin Random House—has been increasing their direct to reader marketing. Add to that the growing popularity of BookCon events marketed to young readers and the huge growth of attendance AT BookCon, publishers and authors should be educating themselves about this often overlooked segment of the market.