Have you ever found yourself waiting for the next book in a series to come out? And the next one after that? The truth is book series sell a lot of books. When compelling characters are engaged in exciting storylines, readers look forward to finding out what happens to them even if they have to wait for another book. If you haven't already thought about writing a book series, consider why you might want to and how to do it. 

You had a great book idea, you wrote a fine book, and now you think you're ready to self-publish it. Before you take that leap of faith, however, there are several things you should consider in order to publish like a professional. 

All authors love their books, but some struggle with the idea of promoting them. Sometimes this is because they don’t like the idea of attention or feel self-promotion is arrogant. Other times, it’s because they feel confident in their writing ability, but not in their marketing and distribution abilities. The truth is that you must build your following if you want to be known as an author. Self-promotion is a reality in today’s writing world, and it is neither arrogant nor painful if it is done well.

Your book is finished, and hopefully the orders are ready to start rolling in, but you aren't sure how the ordering process works. Well, there are two ways you can order your book yourself, either specifically for you or for your customers. And the third way your book can be ordered is by booksellers, retailers, and libraries directly from Ingram to sell on your behalf.

A highly important aspect of your book marketing plan is to determine how to price your book. Before you can do that, you should consider your publishing goal. Is it to make as much money as possible? Do you just want to reach as many readers as you can? You will have to take this big question seriously and think strategically about setting your price, but pricing is less overwhelming when you consider a few basics.

Thanks to Print-on-Demand (POD) technology, the costs associated with maintaining inventory for independent publishers have all but vanished. Because POD allows you to print anywhere from 1 to 10,000 copies of a particular title, depending on demand, independent publishers are off the hook when it comes to determining how much to invest in an initial print run. In fact, there are numerous benefits for indie publishers who incorporate POD into their publishing plans. 

Self-aware authors know they’re taking on a challenge when they choose to publish their own work, a rewarding and exciting challenge, but a challenge nonetheless. If your goal is to sell as many copies of your book(s) as possible, it’s important to have a realistic understanding of the effort that entails. With the advancement of technology and opportunity, increase of indie publishing and small presses, and lessening of the bias against self-publishers, every author has a chance to succeed in the publishing space. Making your book available is a necessary step to achieving sales, but commitment and know-how on your part is essential to making it succeed.

There are many factors that go into making a printed product look ideal, and your files are important elements in the printing process. Ensuring that your files are print-ready is key. Knowing what IngramSpark's file specifications are and making sure your titles meet them will allow for a smooth review process and bring you one step closer to printing your book. Once you press submit on that file upload, you want to see your title approved, and so do we!

Are you using metadata correctly to market your book and boost your sales? Ingram’s Director of Metadata, Margaret Harrison, lays out the role of metadata in book discovery and sales and some best practices and actionable tips for getting your work into readers’ hands.

BookExpo was this past weekend which means the second day of Indie Author Fringe also took place. Indie Author Fringe is a 3-day, 24 hours per day indie author conference packed with advice on self-publishing. Every session is available online and 100% free; perfect for aspiring authors and experienced, small to mid-level publishers alike; basically anyone looking for professional advice on how to publish a book. And we're offering a special promotion code to go with it.