This Week in the Blogs, November 4 – 10, 2017

by Shelley Sturgeon | Nov 12, 2017

By Shelley Sturgeon

Some interesting articles again for your review this week, and don’t forget that if you want to participate in the next edition of our blog carnival, Self-publishing: Carnival of the Indies, the submission deadline in Wednesday, November 15th.

Chris Syme on Anne R. Allen’s blog … With Ruth Harris
How to Tame the Social Media Beast
“When it comes to book marketing, there is no bigger potential time waster than social media.”

Tim Grahl on Book Launch
5 Myths About Email Marketing for Authors
“In this article I want to combat the five most prominent myths that authors have when it comes to building an email list.”

Frances Caballo on Social Media Just For Writers
Sometimes You Have to Break the Rules on Social Media
“In the past, I’ve recommended strict rules about social media use. … Don’t argue politics. Stick to neutral topics. Be aware of your readers’ differing opinions. … Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

RJ Crayton on Indies Unlimited
Author Hack: Keeping Your Back Matter Up to Date for both Amazon and Wide Titles
“One of the pain in the rear things about having multiple books is that each time you publish a new book, you have to update all the back matter for every other book you have”

Katherine Lane on Digital Publishing
10 Ways to Drive Traffic From YouTube
“Aside from satisfying people with its wide selections of videos, YouTube has been a great tool for marketers as well.”

Self-Publishing News You Can Use

By Amy Collins

Quite a few closings in our industry over the last two weeks

Macmillan announced on Nov 6th that they were closing PRONOUN, their self-publishing arm. The no-cost self publishing company formed from VOOK a few years back was originally funded by venture capital and planned to create income from high-performing authors signing with traditional partners. The site has a statement which includes: “While many challenges in indie publishing remain unsolved, Macmillan is unable to continue Pronoun’s operation in its current form. Every option was considered before making the very difficult decision to end the business.”

Quality Books in Oregon, IL, a long-time friend of librarians has closed it’s doors. The wholesaler was one of the most respected library wholesalers out there and was known for providing PCIP blocks for small and midsized publishers. The website offers no explanation, but does announce the closing.

And BookWorld in Appleton, WI announced that it would start liquidating its stock on Nov 2. All 45 stores are to close. The mall-based store chain faced dramatically slowed foot traffic at a time when other independent bookstores are seeing an upswing. Some pundits claim that their locations in malls were a big part of the problem.