We’ve got a big post for your reading pleasure today that includes our usual roundup of great articles on indie publishing, Amy Collin’s self-publishng news and the latest list of book fairs and conferences from Indie Reader. Don’t miss it!
RJ Clayton on Indies Unlimited
Lack Book Reviews, but Want to Advertise? This Article Is for You!
“While most authors want to advertise their books, it’s often difficult to find sites that will accept books that have few or no reviews. Well, fear not.”
Sophie Masson on Writer Unboxed
The Perfect Back Cover Blurb
“Does it even exist, that perfect enticement to readers, that perfect pearl of a teaser which makes you instantly go to the counter and hand over your hard-earned cash? Perhaps not…”
Lisa Wheatly on Where Writers Win
Understanding SEO – Necessary Skills for An Author’s Virtual Life
“The virtual life is so widely spread that attracting visitors has become a really tough challenge for today’s website and blog owners. Statistics say that the number of websites online has now crossed 1 billion and grows by the minute.”
Kristen Lamb on Kristen Lamb’s Blog
Selling Books—The Struggle is REAL but Not New & What to DO!
“I know a lot of authors feel overwhelmed in the digital age of publishing and that is perfectly understandable. But today I would like to pan back and maybe offer a refreshed perspective to keep you pressing.”
Laurie McLean on Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris
PUBLISHING PREDICTIONS for 2017
“Wow. 2016 sucked. In so many ways. I was never happier to kick a year to the curb than 2016.”
Too Good To Miss
Thad McIlroy on The Future of Publishing
An Authoritative Look at Book Publishing Startups
“There’s been a void in our understanding of startup activity in the book publishing industry. Here is the first quantitative analysis of startup activity in the book publishing industry in the U.S.”
Self-Publishing News You Can Use
By Amy Collins
New PR firm dedicated to working with Christian Authors and Publishers
SERVE Literary & Media, a Nashville-based public relations, digital marketing and literary agency specializing in Christian books and media, officially launches with a stable of top-tier experts. This new entity is being launched by long-time PR company, PR by The Book and will be lead by Jason Jones. Jones – a 20-year veteran in public relations – spent 5 years with one of the world’s largest Christian publishing houses, Thomas Nelson/ HarperCollins Christian Publishing. There, he led campaigns for 11 New York Times bestselling titles and managed some of the industry’s most successful authors.
Links of Interest
https://serveliterary.com/
https://serveliterary.com/services/
https://www.standardnewswire.com/news/3308312055.html
https://www.facebook.com/SERVEliterary/
All the World’s a Book Fair (or Writer’s Conference) Calendar
Advanced Horror Fiction Writing Seminar (January 3–27)
Estes Park, Colorado
If everything know about horror fiction you learned from Stephen King, maybe there’s more to learn. This part-online, part-retreat crash course in the art of the spooky might be just the thing to get the ideas (and blood) flowing and to get you to hone your skills (as well as your knives!).
You can earn college credit and get room and board for $3,250. Now, THAT’s scary.
Writers Workshops Costa Rica (January 3–30)
Villas Normas, Costa Rica
You’ve got three weeks to choose from, or you can take them all!
Week 1 is Acting Exercises for the Creative Writer. Week 2 is Fundamentals of Comedy. Week 3 is Success Through Self-Publishing. Whichever week you pick, there’s yoga every day.
A Retreat for Writers in Oaxaca, Mexico (January 10–18)
Oaxaca, Mexico
Oaxaca sounds like an ideal place to escape winter and learn writing in a small six-to-twelve-person group with published “poet and writer” (interesting distinction there! Discuss.) Donna Hanelin.
Key West Literary Seminar (January 12–15)
Key West, Florida
Sounds like another ideal place to escape winter and learn writing–this time in a large seminar taught by the likes of Billy Collins, Jennine Capó Crucet, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Kristen-Paige Madonia, Michael Maren, Daniel Menaker, Kate Moses, Rowan Ricardo Phillips, and Dani Shapiro.
Key West Writers’ Workshop Program (January 16–20)
Key West, Florida
The workshop takes place immediately following the seminar, featuring faculty luminaries including most of the names listed above.
DBW 2017 Indie Author Conference (January 19)
New York, NY
Are you the “new professional author”? If you are, you’re driving your own career. You direct your own output. You position your own branding. You coordinate your own production. You execute on your own market strategy. And even if you’ve published traditionally, you know you’re an indie, an entrepreneur, an agent of your own success. This new DBW program is the “First Conference for the New Professional Author,” and it will cover the landscape for independent and hybrid authors.
SDSU Writers’ Conference (January 20–22)
San Diego, California
Some conferences have an overarching theme, genre, or a killer location, or yoga every day. Some have R. L. Stine, J. A. Vance, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Jonathon Maberry.
The San Diego University Writers’ Conference (now in its thirty-third year) is one of the latter.
ALA Midwinter 2017 (January 20–23)
Atlanta, Georgia
Political comedian W. Kamau Bell kicks things off with we’re guessing some political comedy. None other than Neil Patrick Harris closes the session with—and this is not a guess, this is promised—a magic show. Somewhere in between they’ll be talking about books and libraries. It’s one of the bigger shows.
Capital Christian Writers’ Self-Publishing Conference (January 28)
Clifton, Virginia
Physician, publish thyself! This Christian conference seems much more focused on the business and writing aspects of self-publishing than on matters of faith. Topics include reducing anxiety, social media marketing, and in-person marketing, as well as bringing aspects of storytelling to nonfiction and making fiction more enjoyable.
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