Resources and tips for the self-published author.

Indie bookstores are still at it, changing what it means to sell a book.

They always push the publishing model on its head and offer new opportunities for every author to find their own way to sell books that works for them. This opens up new opportunities for the authors who don’t want to follow that traditional route. It gives everyone the opportunity to be an author on their own time. Which can do nothing, but make more writing put out into the world. And this is always a good thing.

On The Journey

Pic : Flickr/Creative Commons /Jogendra Joshi

 

It must be the season for figuring out how to get people reading again. Why aren’t they? Everybody has opinions. Maybe it’s because they can’t find the books in bookstores.

 

Hugh Howey talks about the dismal earning reports of B&N and then goes into detail about how Indie bookstores are changing the face of bookselling. This is a fantastic read and for extra reading credit check out what Hugh would do if he owned a bookstore… highly likely in the future.

 

So what are Bookstores selling? The Guardian wrote about The Secret DNA behind Bestsellers and talked with the writers of an algorithm that attempted to find out. They have published their findings in a … Book.

 

To make the bestseller… you need word of mouth…marketing… advertising budget.. etcetc or you can just get some pods. Jane Friedman has a fascinating guest post about street teams/ mini marketing brigades of fans

 

What about the contracts of all those people helping you to get published. Kris Rusch winds up her deal breakers series with a comprehensive list of who and how to deal with foreign rights requests.

 

And that brings us right to the beginning…. The writing.  Rebecca Solnit has Ten Tips On How To Be  A Writer. They are all good.

 

In The Craft Section,

Is your tone in tune with your novel– Roz Morris

Easy tip for developing story ideas– Janice Hardy

Giving your characters backstory– K M Weiland Bookmark

Inciting incidents – Stephen Pressfield- Bookmark

How to self edit– Now Novel-Bookmark

The pantzer outlining method – Molly Greene- Bookmark

Sharing your protagonists deepest feeling– Angela Ackerman

Shelters for homeless characters– Go Teen Writer

 

Sara Letourneau has a great series on character evolution

 

In the Marketing Section,

Developing your online relationship plan– Romance Times

Self publishing vs Traditional– Joanna Penn- Bookmark

4 steps to selling books on Social Media – Anne R Allen

Writing The End is only the start– Alana Kirk

Do writers need a FB page– Kirsten Lamb- Bookmark

How much does a book cost – Digital Book World

Social Media Care– Frances Caballo- Bookmark

 

To Finish,

While we are figuring out how to get our book out there… it’s a fact of a writers life that they will be spending time alone trying to figure stuff out. Daphne Grey Grant has a great post on how to work alone. Self care tips for the stressed writer. I’m off to find a warm drink… chocolate…

 

Maureen

@craicer

About Maureen Crisp

Maureen Crisp has been writing her weekly publishing roundups for over seven years. She is a traditionally published children's author as well as indie-published. She lives in New Zealand and is heading the team organising the 4th National Conference of Children's Writers and Illustrators. She is currently trying her hand at writing a children’s book series if she can drag herself away from forever tweaking her Mars novel or obsessing over space.