When we need guidance on how to write, there is nothing quite like a book from an author we admire. Which other format could be more appropriate for sharing wisdom about our beloved craft?

What’s the big deal about editing? You add some periods, delete a few commas, run spellcheck and voila, you’ve just edited a book—well done! Nope. It takes years of dedication to the craft before editors develop the necessary skills to help authors say precisely what they want to say in the most effective, affecting way possible.

When I was nine years old, my fourth grade teacher read a story to our class about a boy and his two hunting dogs in the Ozark Mountains. Where the Red Fern Grows did more than make me teary-eyed; it filled my young mind with wonder, imagination, and inspiration. 

Emotionally driven love scenes can be a powerful part of any story in any genre. And in a romance novel, they are even more key, because the love scenes can and should inform the arcs of both the characters and their relationship, letting readers understand more deeply both what is pulling these characters close… and also what is keeping them apart. So how do you accomplish that?

With the growth of other visual social media sites like Instagram, it seems like the buzz for Pinterest has really died down, but nothing could be further from the truth. Pinterest continues to grow. In 2019 Pinterest became a publicly traded company and in Q2 of 2019, it reporter higher than expected earnings, 62% higher in fact than the previous year. 

I’m sitting here in my kitchen window on a January snowy day in New Mexico thinking about all the possibilities ahead in 2020. With this new year just dawning, it’s a perfect time to take inventory of what's happening in the world of self-publishing. Here’s a review of self-publishing trends in 2019 and what I see happening in 2020.

IngramSpark has been hard at work to expand book options for indie authors. Over the last few months, we've launched three exciting new product offerings: groundwood paper, Digital Cloth™, and Jacketed Case Laminate! Learn more about the new product options.

The whole “introverted writer” thing is so cliché. But hey, some clichés are true—and this is one of them. Many writers are introverts, preferring to keep to themselves, only entertaining the ideas and characters roaming in their brains. So the thought of broadcasting videos of yourself on social media may seem like a threat on your sanity—but it doesn't need to be.

As we look back on 2019, we want to take a moment and celebrate some of the best and brightest ideas on the blog. The verdict is in—here are your top ten most viewed self-publishing blogs from IngramSpark in 2019! 

Crowdfunding has become a major source of funding for creative projects since online funding platforms such as Kickstarter began launching around a decade ago. Kickstarter has helped more than 16,000 publishing projects raise over 150 million dollars in the last ten years.

Did you catch the Season 4 finale of IngramSpark's self-publishing podcast, Go Publish Yourself? We featured some exciting guests this season—publishing experts from all over the globe sharing their secrets to successful indie publishing. With over 100,000 listens in more than 70 countries, Go Publish Yourself is the go-to podcast for indie publishing knowledge. Listen to Season 4 to learn more about self-publishing in Australia, the business of book publishing, and the top self-publishing mistakes today!

We all have tasks that we enjoy doing, some we don’t mind doing, and some we dread. Many of us put off doing those tasks that we dread. In fact, almost everyone procrastinates sometimes. Up to 95% of people report that they occasionally procrastinate. However, studies reveal that 20% of people are chronic procrastinators.

Learning a new language is like learning to see the world in a new color: you suddenly notice shades of sounds in rolled r’s and guttural consonants, and potential friendships tucked behind an “hola” or “salut.” That’s why it’s so special when a child has the opportunity to learn another language, especially through a book you write! As language learners embark on this journey, bilingual books can be an incredibly helpful resource for them.

As the holiday season winds down, there’s a new sense of excitement in the air. This is the year that you’re going to publish a book. You’ve thought about it for months, maybe even created goals around writing, networking, and creating a fan-base; but you still haven’t published a book. We get it—life happens, and maybe writing isn’t your full-time job. Now is the time to take a leap and go for it. For all of you aspiring authors ready to take the plunge, we’ve put together a list of New Year’s Resolutions for writers that will make your dream to publish a book in 2020 a reality.

2019 was another fantastic year for IngramSpark authors. We have so much to look back fondly on in 2019, including a successful IngramSpark Day and a brand new look for www.ingramspark.com. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to launch wholeheartedly into the new year! 

There was a time when becoming an author was a far-fetched dream, and writing a paper was the closest anyone in my community had come to sharing a message. The journey to becoming an author has not been a straightforward one. It has been one of mental challenges, imposter syndrome, and lack of knowledge around the phenomenon that is indie publishing—but it's been so worth it.

Finally seeing the nonfiction manuscript you spent months — or years — writing turn into a published book can feel like crossing the finish line of a long and exhausting marathon. But while you have just achieved an incredibly rewarding milestone, the race is not quite over yet. Because now you’ve got to let the big, wide world know that your book actually exists. In other words, it’s time to learn how to market your book.

You’ve just spent what seems like a huge chunk of your life writing your book, and now, at last, it’s time to hit that publish button . . . but not so fast! Is it really time to publish your book? Just because a book is finished doesn’t mean the timing is right. Your publication date is important. There are certain months that would be perfect for your book and make your pitch to retailers and media outlets easier, and some months you should avoid altogether. Below are some tips to help make sure your book doesn’t launch with bad timing.

For most of us, barrelling into the end of the year means getting ready for the holiday season in a flurry of last-minute projects and parties. For many writers, though, November brings an added challenge—National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short.

As of the second quarter of 2019, Facebook boasts approximately 2.41 billion active monthly users. That’s a key reason it’s among the most popular digital marketing platforms. Facebook ads simply have the potential to reach a very large audience, and this remains true today, despite greater competition among advertisers.

Have you ever met an author who doesn’t want to sell more books? Even the authors who claim they don’t care much about book sales secretly wish they were selling more books. Most authors aim to get as many readers as possible to buy their books—which can prove to be more challenging than writing the book in the first place.

Whether stereotypical fact or fiction, many writers prefer the intimate, one-on-one relationship with their keyboard over marketing or promoting their book. Whether that describes you is beside the point. Your success as an author is in your own hands and marketing your books is no different. Having a solid book marketing strategy is key.

Believe it or not, there is a science behind choosing the best fonts for books. Think about all the places you see type today. Whether it’s a phone, a computer screen, a book, an ad, a magazine or a menu, almost every minute of the day is spent reading something. And—other than the menu at your favorite restaurant perhaps—much thought has gone into which font to use.

There are many ways you can leverage your book to bring in more business and ultimately help more people. In this article, I will share one avenue where you can use your book as your golden ticket to receive more exposure for you and your business. I’ve used this method with my own book and have helped my clients do the same. And what is that avenue? Leveraging public speaking to bring a face to the words of your book and generate business from that.

Are you thinking about publishing a cookbook? In the digital age, the opportunities to market a cookbook can seem endless. In this article, I'll share nine steps to help you build a following, three keys to planning a successful book launch, and eight different ideas to add to your marketing plan.

‘Tis the season to be jolly... and productive. With the hustle and bustle of the approaching holiday season, it can be easy to push aside your writing productivity as you focus on all the festivities.

As science progresses, so do the tools we have for understanding the human brain and human behavior. The development of fMRI in the 1990s has opened the door to neuromarketing. You may be wondering, how can neuromarketing help me sell more books? In this post, I'll share three specific reasons.

Writing comes with innumerable choices around characters, dialogue, setting, and plot. But once you finish your masterpiece, there is another set of choices with which you'll be faced. When you decide to print a book, those choices begin with paperback vs hardcover. And once you choose one over the other, there are even more choices that fall under those designations. They're all worth it to print a book that is worthy of the story within its pages, so let's review some of the most popular options available for these print formats with IngramSpark.

Writing is a journey. Sometimes, we could all use little extra motivation! Are you ready to challenge yourself to do more? Learn more about IngramSpark's 30-Day Writing Challenge and join a community of people improving their writing skills, one day at a time. 

The notion of setting type might belong to another era, but with the advance of technology, it’s more relevant than ever. Ironically, technology is the reason that typesetting matters today: increased exposure to (sometimes) beautiful typography in books, magazines, and marketing materials, not to mention websites, has raised our collective expectations regarding appealing type. Even the uninitiated among us can easily pick out poor font choice and bad formatting. So, what exactly is typesetting—and why does it matter for self-publishers?

In honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), IngramSpark is offering FREE title setup and FREE revisions for your print or ebook through March 31, 2020 with promo code* NANO2020. Before we get too far into what it takes to publish your NaNoWriMo book, let’s talk about what NaNoWriMo is and why you should participate.

Let’s face it. A lot of people decide to write children’s books because they seem easier. I mean, it’s a 32-page book for 5-year-old kids. There are lots of 5-year-olds in the world, how hard could it be right?

The thing is, you don’t realize just how hard it is because when you Google “How to market a book”, you get 2 billion results. The problem is that the majority of the book marketing strategies online focus nearly entirely on the adult market.

It’s not until you become a children’s author that you realize that children’s books are an entirely different beast.

Amazon book ads have become complex, but a definite necessity when it comes to book promotion. If done right, these ads can really help to boost your online exposure—but if they’re done incorrectly, they can end up costing you a lot of money. So, let’s look at some ways that you can boost your exposure, without adding to your daily ad budget!

Your imprint name is different to your author name, which is the name you are writing a single book under. It’s also different to your publisher name. Are you confused yet? Let's break down what an imprint is and how to set it up.

Most writers will tell you that writing nonfiction is easier than writing fiction. This is the good news. The less good news: that doesn’t mean it’s less work to write a nonfiction book. While fiction writers often use a basic outline and then go wherever the story and characters take them, nonfiction takes careful planning before you even start writing. To get you started, these steps explain the basic process of how to write a nonfiction book.

Running Facebook ads can be a total came changer for your book career, but it can also be a big waste of time and money if you don’t know what you’re doing. Over the last few years, we’ve worked with a ton of authors and publishers, but one question we get almost daily is this: “Is running ads on Facebook the same thing as boosting a post?” I’d like to give a very Facebook answer and say, “it’s complicated.” (Read on, it’s really not that complicated.)

You can write the absolute best book in the world, have top-of-the-line book distribution and quality, but another essential part to being a successful publisher is taking the time to invest in expanding your publishing knowledge and expertise, because, at the end of the day, your book’s success needs your input.

Coloring books are a great way to relieve stress, have fun, and create a shared creative experience between the customer & artist. Behind the scenes of what goes into creating one is an art form itself, and we’re excited to share our experience. We hope to inspire future indie artists to bring their imagination to life and create that shared experience with others. Here’s our journey in creating Wandering: a coloring book of the unusual!

Over the years, serious fans have taken a variety of different shapes and been called everything from “Super Fan” to “Street Team” to “Tribe.” And while each of these terms is a great descriptor, not all mega fans are created equally.

You posted a photo of your dog on Facebook and all your friends liked it—building a Facebook page to promote your book to fans should be easy, right? Wrong! While your Facebook fan page may look the same and even function the same, the content and mission is completely different. You aren’t talking to your close friends and family, you are talking to over one billion potential viewers, because unlike your personal Facebook page, your fan page is public and a vehicle of your social media marketing. Here are some tips to point you in the right direction.

Cozy mystery (or cosy mystery, in British English) is the gentlest subset of the broad genre of crime writing. As its name suggests, it’s a comfort read that leaves you satisfied and at one with the world, rather than scared to sleep alone with the lights out.

Books are definitely judged by their covers. Those with more compelling and impactful covers, quite simply, have a better chance of being purchased and read. Book cover design trends are constantly evolving, and they tend to affect the industry as a whole—one day, you may walk into a bookstore or turn on your e-reader to discover that the overall look of book covers has changed. As we head toward the latter part of the year, let’s take a look at some of the biggest design trends of 2019.

Have you started planning your holiday book sales yet? Cyber Monday and Black Friday are right around the corner in marketing minutes and those sales are secured by the planning that happens before the big shopping days, and all the effort in between. If you want to grab big holiday sales, you’d better start early, so let’s get up to speed by qualifying your book and brainstorming unique book marketing strategies!

For the past few months, we've been hard at work laying out an new online experience for our website users. We've focused on making it easier to find the self-publishing resources you need, highlighting our IngramSpark authors and publishers, and helping you connect with your IngramSpark community. Now, it's the time for us to share it with the world. 

Writing is a journey, and many people use writing to heal old wounds. It's important to work through the pain in order to create a helping version of your story to share with readers. Are you ready for that next step? Everyone can write about painful experiences by following these three steps.

What happens when your book gets stuck in IngramSpark's title processing? And what if your title is showing up as "temporarily unavailable" or "out of stock" through online retailers? In this post, we'll review common file errors that delay your title processing and how to ensure that your title is available to booksellers worldwide.

Every author has their own way to outline. Some want minimal detail, some want a lot. Some keep the same outline process for every book they write. Some change from book to book—a new method for a new writing experience. Is there anything they all have in common? Yes, they do.

Many authors write a book based on a subject they like, or perhaps on a unique experience they have had. As a book marketing consultant, a question I frequently hear is, “My book is finished, now what do I do?” Successful book marketing lies in giving prospective readers what they want to read. Figuring that out depends on four pillars: target market, customer needs, integrated marketing, and profitability.

We are now living in a golden age for indie content creators. Through Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, and publishing portals like IngramSpark, artists can connect directly with their fans and bypass traditional gatekeepers like agents— they can even make more money this way.

At least once a week, I get an email that reads something like "I found the perfect image for my book on the internet. Can I use it, as long as I give credit to the photographer?" or "I have the best song to set a scene in my book. Can I quote the song lyrics?" In order to answer these questions, we have to understand "fair use." 

A well-designed book isn't just a collection of text and images; it's a work of art. And illustrations aren't just pictures interspersed throughout text, but crucial elements of decoration and style that bind a book’s theme and purpose. In this article, we ask you to take a moment to immerse yourself in the wonderful world where the illustrative magic begins.

Over the years, quite a few business owners, entrepreneurs, and CEOs have come to me asking for help writing a book. Sometimes it's a memoir, other times it can be prescriptive nonfiction, or even inspiration. You may be wondering why this would be a good use of your time—but trust me, there's huge potential to grow your business by writing a book. Here are several different reasons CEOs should write a book.

Social media writer’s block. It’s a thing! You have no problem hammering away at an 80,000 word novel, but when it comes to a 280 character tweet? Forget about it! You end up posting about what you had for dinner or what you did during the day, and nobody seems to be listening... or following. If that sounds like you, then these 10 social media marketing tips are just what you need.

Many of us authors get tired of hearing the word “platform.” Working to build an audience can feel like climbing an impossibly high mountain, where the peak looks farther and farther away as you go. The good news is that the potential audience for your book might be bigger than you realize.

So you just tried advertising for the first time. You signed up for Facebook's ad tools. You made your first ad. You chose an audience, and you uploaded some pictures, and you wrote some great ad copy. Maybe you even tweaked a bunch of settings over time as you figured out what worked and what didn't. Heck, you probably even sold a couple more books than you usually do. So why didn't your ads work quite like you wanted?

You may be ready to start building your marketing plan for your debut book—but where do you start? Some authors avoid planning in general because they don't know how to do it. There are two different ways for first-time authors to create their future marketing plans. One solution is discovery-driven planning in which much is still assumed, but the plan evolves over time through trial and error. A second technique views planning as narrative, conducted as you would when writing a novel.

Do you lose heart when you see fellow indie authors crowing about 2000, 5000, or 10000 words a day, or launching a new book every quarter, every month, or even every week?

Writing and marketing a memoir is so personal. Unlike a work of fiction or a business or self-help book, this is your life. While memoirs probably offer the most opportunities for marketing, knowing how to harness the specific power of your story and use it to make a difference is key.

Being an indie author is one of the most rewarding jobs there is. But it’s far from an easy one. You have to wear dozens of hats: writer, publisher, and marketer to name a few. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and struggle to prioritise. After all, you can’t market books without… well, books. But you can’t write more books unless you’re earning enough to eat.

“You have to be on social media. You simply HAVE to,” is something you’ve likely heard before. If you were to believe this advice, you’d be under the impression that a new author’s career is made or destroyed on the back of every tweet and ‘gram. That your social strategy forms the backbone of every book launch. Which is… less than true.

To self-publish or not to self-publish? For many aspiring children’s book authors, that is the question. In fact, as a children’s book author myself, it’s one of the questions I receive most frequently. While there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to publishing, I believe that fully understanding your options can help you decide.

When I tell people I'm a ghostwriter, I often hear "I've been working on a book forever." Maybe you have a great book premise, and you just need to get it written. People who hire ghostwriters have a desire to write a book, but there are two things standing in their way—time and experience writing.

Let's face it - many indie authors (which I generally refer to as "independent publishers," albeit smaller ones) will dismiss podcasting out of hand.

Too hard. Too time consuming. Don't quite get it. Pass.

And that would be a bad idea.

Why do we make such a fuss about dialogue? I’m going to give three reasons, and then share some ways dialogue can take your story to the next level.

As an author you’ve probably been told to look at competing titles through multiple stages of your journey from writing, to publishing, to book promotion. Competing book titles can be lucrative references for cover design, book length, choosing your categories and keywords, pricing your book, determining the best strategies for marketing to potential buyers in your genre or topic, and more!

When you visit any indie author’s website, it’s not unusual to see that they’re giving away a book (or part of one) for free. It’s classic marketing: give your customers a taste and they’ll come back if they like it. But in the digital age, there’s more to it than just that.

Two concepts determine your success in answering questions during a television or radio performance: preparation and flexibility. In most cases, you will not know the questions you will be asked during the interview. But if you understand your topic and know beforehand what you want to get across to the audience, you will be able to perform more successfully.

Did you know we're on Instagram?! IngramSpark has joined the Instagram #writingcommunity, and we couldn't be more excited! With millions of writing-related hashtags, Instagram is the perfect place to connect with other self-published authors. Following along with each other on the self-publishing journey is not only inspiring, but can also help you learn new ways to market your book, reach more readers, or even improve your writing skills! 

The self-help and wellness industry is thriving. In the U.S. alone, the personal development industry takes in just under $10 billion annually. Books represent a substantial part of this market. So, while this means there is indeed great potential with such a robust market for self-help authors, it also means the competition is fierce. With self-help book marketing, you must make you and your book stand out from the crowd.

Writing and publishing a book is a huge undertaking, and it's important for authors to understand how to make money while doing it! Some may think it's as simple as publishing a book, then sitting back and waiting for it to sell—but that's only scratching the surface.  It takes hard work and a little creativity to make a living as an author, but there’s more than one way to do it.  In this post, we talk about six different ways to earn author income.

So you’ve completed a draft of your manuscript! Congratulations!

What’s next? 

Before sending your manuscript out, you’ll want to edit it to correct your mistakes. While editing your own manuscript might seem daunting or hard to manage, it’s perfectly possible to edit all by yourself. In this article, we’ll share our five best tips for editing your manuscript… without an editor.

While looking for something to get my mom for Mother’s Day this year, I decided to go out on a limb and buy her a copy of Mary Oliver’s Dog Songs. My mom is certainly a reader, but as far as I know, she’d never seriously considered reading poetry before. A few days after Mother’s Day she had already started the book. She called to thank me, explaining she can only read one or two poems at a time because they make her cry so much. “But,” she said, “I really love it.”

The role of an author is to communicate stories, ideas, or facts to their readers in an engaging way. But sometimes, authors struggle to communicate their own intentions to those that are helping them publish a book. One area where this is most challenging is in working with a cover designer. Translating your ideas and mental images into a cover that attracts readers is already a challenging enterprise. And if your designer has trouble understanding what your book is like, who your audience is, or what you have in mind, you’re not likely to get the results you’re looking for—even from a top-notch cover designer.

For the past few years, diversity in the publishing industry has been quite the hot topic and the inspiration for numerous initiatives and social media campaigns calling out for more representation in books. From #WeNeedDiverseBooks to the #OwnVoices movement, there is overwhelming agreement that we need greater representation and inclusion in the publishing industry.

Attending a writers' conference can be a big choice for a new writer to make. There's an investment in time, money, and resources—but the benefits often far outweigh the costs. Everyone can make the most of each conference they attend by utilizing these 5 strategies.

As a romance author, you’re given a wonderful opportunity to speak to readers on an intimate level. Every time they purchase one of your titles, they’re inviting you into their lives and admitting their (sometimes very secret) fantasies and desires! Take this role seriously and use these five essential strategies for selling romance novels and building your return fan base.

When authors are told they must actively market their books, many say, “I don’t like to promote. I only want to write.” However, when a book is published the author becomes a salesperson running a business. It is an abrupt, and in many cases unwanted transition that is usually not handled well. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I created a formula to help people make the transition from author to marketer. It is not a scientific, qualitative equation, but a quantitative method that is adaptable to any author’s personality and genre.

Here’s a big question: why do most successful self-publishing authors write series rather than standalone books? The answer is quite simple: once you manage to hook a reader into a series, they are likely to buy all the books in that series.

"There are some really good reasons that many writers maybe might not want to have a few too many sticky sentences in their personal or professional writing." 

Are you ready to abandon this post? With an opening sentence like that, I wouldn't blame you. We call that a "sticky sentence." It’s grammatically correct, but it's clunky and hard to follow. It wobbles around before it gets to the point, and it includes irrelevant information that should be cut. In this post, we’ll explore how you can identify (and repair) sticky sentences in your writing.

In celebration of National Poetry Month in April and National Haiku Poetry Day on April 17, we ran a contest asking you for your best haiku—and the response was overwhelming. We laughed, we cried, and we counted lots of syllables. Join us in celebrating these authentic, talented poets who entered the contest, and learn more about how to self-publish poetry with IngramSpark today!

Creating an ebook isn’t as hard as it sounds. You don’t need to compose a query letter, secure a literary agent, or cut through miles of a traditional publisher’s red tape before the book is released to the world. You can create an ebook from the comfort of your office—or couch—with the right tools, information, and help from the experts. Here’s are some ebook formatting tips:

When you're self-publishing a book, you have ultimate control over your publishing decisions. You have control over the editorial, creative, and marketing process;  you also have control over your book promotion schedule. So, when do you start promoting your book? How can you start planning now for a successful book launch? We have answers to these questions and more in today's post.

It’s easy to tell a story with words—but pictures? What is a writer supposed to do with Instagram? Should it merely be a tool to post cats getting in the way of your writing by sitting on your keyboard? Perhaps. But if you want to use Instagram as a way of connecting with your readers, here are a few things to remember.

Historically, you've been able to update pricing, returns, and discount information within your IngramSpark account and those changes have been made effective on a monthly basis. As of March 26, 2019, these price changes are now effective weekly. Learn more about how to update pricing in IngramSpark—and a few things to think about before you do.

One of the major benefits of using IngramSpark to self-publish a book is the distribution that's 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.

Every author aspires to have a perfect book launch. However, the problem for most authors is that there’s always a lot going on around the time you launch your book. Maybe you’re planning a book launch party, some local signings, or even a big virtual event. But, there are a few key elements specifically related to your Amazon launch that shouldn’t be overlooked. With that in mind, let’s dig further into their ecosystem to better understand how to plan a successful book launch on Amazon.

This week marks a wrap on Season 3 of our self-publishing podcast, Go Publish Yourself! Since launching in January 2018, we've made it our mission to bring you the best of the best in publishing industry tips, trends, and breaking news. We've been blown away by the support from the self-publishing community with over 100,000 listens in more than 70 countries. Today, we're highlighting some of our favorites from Season 3—listen, learn, and Go Publish Yourself today!

Successful nonfiction writing calls for more than just conveying information to your reader. Not only do you need to know how to deliver that information, but your writing should also be clear and easy to read. And just because you’re writing nonfiction doesn’t mean you shouldn’t engage your reader with a gripping story and impactful language. These nonfiction writing tips will help you steer clear of some of the most common mistakes made by nonfiction authors, who may think that all they have to do is present the facts.

In the age of digital media, everybody and their brother has the capability of reading books online and on digital devices. But what if you want your books to exist in the flesh (or, in the print)? If you’re one of the many authors who dreams of holding their book with their own two hands, we’ve got the information you need to succeed. You can create and print a book, then make it available through online retailers such as Amazon, Kobo, B&N, and Apple, as well as local brick-and-mortar bookstores and libraries, by following these general guidelines:

Self-aware authors know they're taking on a challenge when they choose to self-publish a book, a rewarding and exciting challenge, but a challenge nonetheless. With advancements in technology and opportunity, and a lessening of the bias against self-publishing, every author now has a chance to succeed in the publishing space doing it on their own.

Self-publishing is booming, and with this transition comes a plethora of organisations worldwide offering author services to writers. But what if your budget doesn't extend to a professional editor, typesetter, cover designer, and so forth? Does this mean your book will not meet industry standards, be of poor quality, or sadly never be published? Absolutely not.

Book publicity is one of the least expensive and perhaps most productive of the promotional strategies used to generate exposure for books. And a press release is a commonly used tool to stimulate publicity. However, too many publishers' press releases go unheeded because of one major mistake—they write their press releases about their books.

You've had an idea for a novel...but can you write it? You won't know until you try, and therein lies the problem. There's trying…and then there's trying with a good chance of succeeding. Here are some tactics that will make a difference when you sit down to write a novel.

After a series of recent controversies over fact-checking in book publishing, the question of accuracy is facing more scrutiny than ever. Becoming known as the focus of a book fact-checking controversy is the wrong kind of publicity for any author—and newer authors looking to establish themselves have even more to prove. In self-publishing, the accountability for fact-checking falls squarely on the author (as with just about every other step of the publishing process), and often traditional publishing companies leave the author just as responsible for the accuracy of their work—including any legal consequences. Part of being an author is making sure your information is accurate, and this post will help you get started.

What does it mean to be a professional? According to one dictionary, a professional is “a person engaged or qualified in a profession.” If you have published a book, then you are a “professional” writer.  When you conduct yourself as a professional, doors of opportunity open for you to promote your book’s subject and increase your book’s sales. Read these six tips for building your professional image and boosting your confidence for success. 

Marketing plays a huge role in any book’s success, but this is especially true for self-published books. Before you publish a book (or before you even start writing it!), it’s important to think about who you’ll be selling your book to—and how. Digital marketing is constantly changing, and it can be tough for authors to keep up with the top trends. We've rounded up the top digital marketing strategies to help both new and savvy indie authors understand how to market self-published books.

Authors and small publishers must have their own mobile-friendly, professional looking website—it is, by far, the most important element of a book marketing strategy. I've developed over 150 author and publisher websites in the last 20 years, and although a lot has changed when it comes to developing websites, some things remain fundamental. This blog is the complete guide to creating an author website—from domain names and costs all the way down to specific content categories. Read more and learn how to create a professional author website today.

I’ve been speaking professionally for over twenty years and know first-hand the impact it can have on book sales. No matter how digitized a culture we become, there is no substitute for actual human contact—the sacred connection between an author and their audience. As an author, how can you harness that power of speaking engagements? Here are some tips to use speaking engagements to help you build your author platform and sell more books.

After you've spent the time and money to edit, design, and market your book, the thought of selling it at a discounted price may seem counterintuitive. However, offering a discount is an excellent way to expand your reach in the book distribution channels. Discounting your book can help get it picked up by retailers. Here's how.