Your author questionnaire is an important part of your overall book marketing strategy. It's a document that describes essential information about your title, book cover, marketing plans, book description, comparative titles, and beyond. Author questionnaires help you define your book to retailers and focus your efforts on what's most important. Here's what you should include on your author questionnaire.

When you decide to self-publish a book, you are signing up for all the duties a traditional publisher would typically take on. That means you not only have to write a great book but you also have to take on the job of marketing it. Where do you begin? You construct a book marketing strategy and forge ahead step by step! Here are a few key elements for a good marketing strategy.

Thanksgiving in the United States is a time to reflect and celebrate the things in your life that you're grateful for, and many celebrate by going around the table to share what it is they're giving thanks for this year. We did something similar, here at IngramSpark, and shared why we're thankful for authors. Here are a few of ours; feel free to share with us what authors have done for you over on our Twitter or Facebook page!

One of the major benefits of using IngramSpark to self-publish your book is the distribution that is made available to indie authors. When you self-publish with IngramSpark, you have access to one of the publishing industry’s largest global print and ebook distribution networks which makes opportunities to sell your books that much greater.

Even before you are ready to publish your book, you have likely thought about how you want your front cover to look. However, before you can decide on the right book cover design you should have a complete and polished manuscript in front of you. Whether you design the cover and select a binding type yourself or work with a professional, you might want to become familiar with industry standards and guidelines, and take advantage of free tips offered by the experts. After all, the ultimate goal is to get your book into the hands of receptive readers who will be watching and waiting for your next book!

Your interior book design is critical when it comes to making your book presentable and, even more important, readable. Some of the most common mistakes authors and publishers make when it comes to interior book design include omitting hyphens, incorrect margin size, imperfect justification, and allowing widow/orphan lines of text. Designing a book's interior might not seem like as much fun as choosing a book cover design, but it can be if you approach it in steps and follow a few practical guidelines.

Family. Friends. Food. What more is there to love about November? Oh yeah! Thousands of people across the world coming together in a celebration of creativity and the written word. That is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and here is why you should join in.

If you want to write a truly chilling horror story that scares the bejeebers out of readers, there are a few key elements that need careful consideration. It can be easy to assume that all you need to do is push the limits. However, if you read some of the best authors in the genre, you will see that more gore is not always the key to writing great horror.

Mark Twain once said, "The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction." That may sound like a tall task, but you already know that writing is hard work and the hardest part of the process is the editing. If you want to help yourself get through your revisions faster and with more confidence, follow these essential writing tips when working on your first draft.

You've heard the terms: traditional, hybrid, independent, entrepreneurial, co-publishing, self-publishing. But what do they all mean? And is one better than another?