Showing posts with label independent publishers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label independent publishers. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Book Review: Smart Self-Publishing

Zoe Winters details her first-hand experiences with self-publishing in "Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author". She shares the secrets of her success and she tells of difficult lessons learned the hard way. Her writing is candid, honest and entertaining.
This book will serve as a blueprint for self-publishing from beginning to end.

About The Author
Zoe Winters has sold over 50,000 ebooks independently. She's taught self-publishing techniques along with April L. Hamilton at Publetariat.com with their Vault University series.
Zoe independently produces a series of quirky paranormal romance books, called The Preternaturals Series. The first book, Blood Lust, is a compilation of her three previously-released novellas: Kept, Claimed, and Mated. Blood Lust is available in ebook and print. The second installment in the series, Save My Soul, is now available.

The Life Of An Indie Author
This book is a crash course on self-publishing. It begins with discussing the meaning of self-publishing and determining if it is going to be right for you. Ms. Winters lists the following "success predictors" in indie authors;
  • You need to be a good writer.
  • You need to have the ability to separate yourself from your work.
  • You have to be a self-starter.
  • You have to be organized.
  • You have to be in it for the long haul.
  • You need the ability to blaze your own trail and forget the naysayers.
  • You need to be a good money manager.
  • You need the ability to determine the difference between quality and crap.
  • You need to have passion.
  • You need to be a self-promoter.
  • You need to know what you hope to gain from all of this.
If you are still interested in self-publishing after reading this chapter, the rest of the book explains the steps that you must take to get your book into the marketplace. She explains her method of writing and editing. The information that she provides about finding critique partners, beta readers and editors is very good.
She provides valuable information about choosing the correct format for your book. Ms. Winters tells of her personal experiences with producing books in print, ebook and audio formats. The author states that "digital is where the money is for indies." She explains the process of publishing ebooks at Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and the Amazon Kindle Store.
Ms. Winters offers detailed information about creating the cover art for your book. She gives advice for working with artists and also explains how you can do-it-yourself (if you have to).
Ms. Winters provides step-by-step details on formatting your book and publishing it. She offers many tips that will help the newbie self-publisher succeed. She is not shy about warning authors to avoid expensive and non-essential services.
The final part of the book deals with marketing. The author provides details on platform building and Internet marketing. She discusses blogging, social media sites and forums. She advises authors on how to approach book reviewers and how to interact with readers. She also offers good advice on contests, giveaways and book trailers.

My Thoughts
I saw this book mentioned in several book reviews on Amazon. The reviewers all noted that this was "one of the best" books on self-publishing.  I purchased the book and was not disappointed. This book is a "must read" for indie authors.
This author is the real deal. She writes about experiences and processes that she has actually done...and her unique personality comes shining through. Great reading!

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Indie Book Reviewer Yellow Pages

This is an exciting time for authors who are looking for publishing options. Self-publishing has become very popular for authors who want to get their books into the hands of readers quickly and economically. Promotion and marketing of self-published books are critical. The author of a self-published book must find book reviewers to read and post reviews of his book. The Indie Book Reviewer Yellow Pages: A Reference Guide for Self-Published Authors and Small Publishers, by Christine Pinheiro, is a reference for independent publishers and self-published authors who need free publicity and promotion for their books.

The author sent out questionnaires asking the book reviewers to give detailed descriptions of their blogs. There are approximately 100 book blogs featured in this book. This is the second edition of the book and it was updated in April, 2011.

The following information is given about the book blogs featured in this book;
  • Formats accepted (Physical copies or ebooks)
  • Genres that are accepted (fiction, non-fiction, children's, erotica, young adult, etc.)
  • Blog URL
  • Email contact information
  • Number of followers
  • Approximate turn-around time for reviews
  • Frequency of posts
  • How long the site has been active
  • Overall blog rating
  • Comments from the reviewer

The author frequently updates her list of book reviewers on Step-By-Step Self-Publishing. The reviewers are listed on the web site but the detailed information about each site is available only in the book.

This book inspires me because...it provides detailed information about many of my fellow book bloggers. I am not the author of a self-published book, but I have spent many hours visiting each of these review sites. I have learned some great ways to improve my own blog by checking out the book blogs listed in this book.
I purchased the Kindle edition of this book for $2.99. If you are an author looking for book reviewers, I recommend taking a look at the web site first. The book is a fantastic resource if you would like detailed information about the book review blogs.
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