Category Archives: Marketing

Tate closes, authors beware, and other normal advice

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I wanted to write a short reminder post about the trials and tribulations of authorship: the news that Tate closes, authors beware of BEA, and other normal advice. This is one of the things we need to do to help each other remember about the dangers [fical] of wandering about in the publishing industry. News like Tate closes, authors beware of BEA, and so on is just normal advice For those not aware, Tate (who is a commonly used … Continue reading →

Digital books still increasing

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There’s a lot of confusion among authors today. Primarily, it shows as: are digital books still increasing? The answer shouts back: Of Course! Here’s a quote from Jane Friedman’s post this morning Looking Back at 2016: “The market for adult fiction is primarily a digital one “It’s commonly said that in the United States, overall trade book sales are divided about 70-30 print-digital, and that ebook sales at traditional publishing houses are flat to declining. (You’ve probably … Continue reading →

For an Author Website I recommend a WordPress blog

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For an Author Website I recommend a WordPress blog — A traditional static site starts at about two grand. But, a fully interactive, responsive site with e-commerce can easily start at $50,000 US and go much higher than that. Obviously, this is much more than most of us need as authors—maybe. It’s also far beyond our budgets in most cases. If you want a good article on excellent author sites, from a worldly point of view, here’s … Continue reading →

Chain bookstores don’t have to die: see Waterstones

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In a fun article in Slate, Stephen Heyman tells a tale of hope. In an article entitled, Big-Box Bookstores Don’t Have to Die, he shares the story of how Waterstones, the largest bookstore chain in Britain, has turned things around. Hint: it’s the same way we have as indie authors. Eliminate publisher control And, give place to the needs of the actual users of a particular store. It’s surprising how badly traditional publishing is still hurting us. Their model … Continue reading →

Curation: a main focus of your blog

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Book business has a good article today entitled: Are content curators becoming more important than content creators? In many ways they are, especially in niches for non-fiction. For example, on my companion blog, Reality Calling, it’s main purpose has become the curation of Christian speculative fiction. These books are hard to find because the major book sites like Amazon, Nook, iBooks, and Kobo have no way to effectively search for them. So, my constant book reviews provide a way for … Continue reading →

Amazon is not the enemy, it’s the pathfinder

Skilled Workman Posted on by

Get off your lazy butt—it’s a jungle out there! The only way to beat the leader is to be better at what the leader does. I was reading yet another excellent article this morning from Mike Shatzkin about the current state of affairs in traditional publishing. He makes good points, which also apply to indies and self-publishers. We need to keep our head in the game. Amazon earned their place in publishing They are dominant in ebooks, not … Continue reading →

Podcasts? Video? or not…

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As most of you know, I do not listen to or produce podcasts. The same is not quite true with videos, but I’m just starting there. But I found this link today and thought some of you might be interested. Like this infographic? Get proven online marketing advice from Copyblogger Media that will give you an unfair business advantage.

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Writing a book title that works

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To the left, you see the cover of a book I wrote which includes some of this information. Marketing your book seems too difficult. One of the major problems is the book title. Many things go into writing a book title that works. But it is an issue I’ve been pondering recently. The basic questions are: Who are you & what is your book? If you are like the rest of us, you’ve discovered (or soon will) that your … Continue reading →

One to watch, maybe: Gatekeeper Press

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There’s a supposedly new player today: Gatekeeper Press I know very little about them—just heard about them. But, it’s an interesting concept. As you know, I am basically against paying publishers anything without a very good reason. My books teach you how to publish for free, and I still think that’s the best route to go—IF you are willing and IF you are able. So, why do I mention Gateway Press? This just seems like another competitor … Continue reading →

Marketing tips for fiction and non-fiction: it takes time

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Joel rarely writes for his blog any more, but it is a treat when he does. Today’s article is an excellent example of why his blog is so good: clean, concise, and useful. We can boil down the advice to the following: Fiction authors are unknown Fiction is marketed to a much wider audience who is initially unknown by the author. The new author  needs to work very hard on becoming known. Giving away books is essential as … Continue reading →