If you’re an indie author, you know how hard––it not impossible––it is to get your book onto the shelves of brick-and-mortar stores. Some shady companies offer “distribution packages” that make it sound like your book will be everywhere, but all it really means is that your book will be on a massive list of titles […]
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If you’re like most authors, promoting your work doesn’t come naturally to you. The same goes for the vast majority of your readers. They may love your book(s), but it would never occur to them to actively spread the word. And even if they want to help get the word out, they probably don’t know how. That’s […]
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By far the most common complaint I hear from authors, especially those who go the indie route, is, “I have no clue about marketing!” A close second is, “I have no money to spend on marketing!” Here are two things you can do that won’t cost more than time and effort: Reach out to book […]
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A few years ago I attended a seminar on starting a small business, and each of the six or seven speakers I heard that day emphasized how important it is to build the list! At the time I remember thinking that was the one thing they all had in common. Now I also think they were right. […]
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I’m a big fan of applying for book awards. My first novel (Perfect on Paper) was originally self-published, and I believe that one of the reasons it got picked up by a traditional publisher was that it won multiple awards. However, like every book marketing strategy, applying for awards has its drawbacks. I asked Lauren […]
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I once met up with a friend to visit a store I wanted to describe in the novel I was writing at the time. It was dreadfully hot that day, so after I’d finished my research we b-lined for a quiet (and air conditioned!) pub on a random side street in Manhattan. As soon we’d […]
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If there’s one grammar issue that seems to confuse almost everyone, it’s when to use WHO and when to use WHOM. Both are pronouns, but I’ve found that using the word “pronoun” in an answer tends to baffle already confused people even further, so here’s a less technical explanation: WHO If you would use HE […]
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Each time I go through the process of writing a book, I find that ideas of things to include frequently pop into my head but not always at the right time. For example, I’ll be out to dinner with a friend, and she will say something funny that I might like to use in my […]
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I’ll never forget when my older sister’s childhood friend Julie had her first child. She was in her early 30s at the time, and she said that even though she and her husband didn’t think they were ready for the responsibility of being parents, they decided to go ahead and do it because they realized […]
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When I speak with indie authors about their marketing efforts, one thing I hear quite often is that they have no idea how to find people who will review their books. For many this is a huge source of frustration, not to mention disappointment, which is completely understandable given all the time and effort they […]
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