How to Write, Self Publish, and Market Your Book Online

This Memorial Day, Share a Book or eBook with Troops Overseas

by Chris Robley on May 24, 2013 in eBook Distribution

With Memorial Day just around the corner, the folks at GalleyCat compiled a list of ways you can give a book or eBook to US soldiers serving abroad.

Troops don’t get to bring much with them when they deploy; according to Army Sgt. Andre Corbin, each soldier has only “1.5 cubic feet of space to pack personal items to last a year.” So not much room for books.

That is where you come in! Organizations like Books for Soldiers, Operation Paperback, and Books for Troops need your help sending books and eBooks to men and women serving overseas.

If you’d like to be involved in those efforts, check out more details HERE.

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How to Build a Stockpile of Good Writing Ideas

by Chris Robley on May 24, 2013 in Writing Tips

Returning to old scraps of writing is one of the best ways to cure writer’s block

Not every idea that strikes is going to immediately turn into the beginnings a novel, story, or poem; sometimes an idea is just a lonely little thing that lives underground for 17 years before… oh wait, that’s the cicada.

But not unlike those weird little bugs, ideas can take a long while to come of age.

You never know when something you thought up months or years ago will fit itself perfectly — almost accidentally — into your latest work-in-progress, or rub against another idea and spark. That’s why it’s important to write everything down: the brilliant lines, the half-baked notions, and that nonsense you scribbled on a sticky-note after a dream.

Gather the seeds. Plant them later.

Scraps of ideas can come from anywhere. The best two lines from a discarded poem. A bit of interesting chatter you overheard in a cafe…

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Order Publishing Credits Today & Save Money on BookBaby’s ePublishing Packages

by BookBaby on May 22, 2013 in BookBaby News, eBook Distribution

Last chance for current Standard and Premium ePublishing prices.

Our Standard and Premium ePublishing packages are changing on June 1st. We’ll be including more in each package, and as a result, the price will go up. So, if you want to take advantage of our current pricing, act now and purchase BookBaby Publishing Credits.

Our current Standard ePublishing package, which includes ePub conversion as well as conversion of up to 10 graphic elements, costs $149. This gives you access to our extensive retail distribution network, which includes Amazon, Apple’s iTunes Bookstore, Barnes & Noble, and more.

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“Never Give Up” — or How One Writer Got Published in Poetry Magazine After 12 Rejections

by Chris Robley on May 22, 2013 in Writing Tips

Why persistence can pay off in the publishing world

I like Todd Boss‘ writing. He’s a little like Kay Ryan, only male and midwestern. His poems, like Ryan’s, are compact, playful, filled with internal music, and demand as much of themselves as they do of the reader — which I guess is my way of saying they strike me as the best sort of “accessible” poems.

On top of enjoying his poetry, I was also happy to discover that he seems like a nice guy. I met him briefly last year at the Printer’s Row LitFest in Chicago just before he gave a reading — and he even took a request. Anyway, I digress…

Dealing with rejection as a writer

A few months later, Todd posted this photograph on his Facebook profile of twelve rejection letters he’d received from Poetry Magazine over the years:

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6 Essential Tips For Your Own Stay-at-Home Writing Retreat

by BookBaby on May 21, 2013 in Writing Tips

[This post was written by guest contributor Beth Barany, author The Writer's Adventure Guide: 12 Stages to Writing Your Book.]

We all want to get our writing done. A writer writes, after all. But what to do when you have a busy life, a full-time job, family, and necessary obligations like health, and oh, sleep? One way to handle getting your writing done is to set up your very own Stay-at-Home Writing Retreat. In fact, because I’m publishing my second novel soon, I go on a writing retreat just about every Friday and Saturday. You can do something similar.

Create your own stay-at-home writing retreat.

What: Typically, writing retreats involve going away, far from everyday obligations, and focusing solely on your writing. Retreats can vary in length, anything from a few days to a few months…

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What Indie Authors Should Understand About Amazon’s Algorithms

by Chris Robley on May 17, 2013 in eBook Distribution, Self Publishing

Cracking the Amazon Algorithms

Our friend Joanna Penn recently took a look at a book by David Gaughran called ’Let’s Get Visible: How to get noticed and sell more books.’

Joanna is a savvy indie book-marketer; when she recommends something, I believe it’s worth checking out — so check it out. But I wanted to also highlight a couple of the points she summarizes on her blog regarding Amazon’s algorithm:

* Amazon algorithms behave differently for different sales charts and territories (and a smart author can make use of “the differences between the Sales Rank, the Recommendation Engine, Bestseller Lists, Popularity lists, Top-Rated in Categories, Hot New Releases, Movers & Shakers and all the other ways you can target the lists and prime the sales pump.”)

* A big initial spike in sales after your book launch can be bad for long-term sales.

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Survey Says — eBooks Are Good for the Book Business

by Chris Robley on May 15, 2013 in eBook News

“Of course they are!”

Perhaps these statistics aren’t all that surprising, but according to the New York Times, eBooks were good for the book business in 2012. A recent BookStats survey of roughly 1,500 publishers (including the big six) shows that:

* eBook sales in fiction were up 42% from the year before — thanks in part to the growing popularity of the romance genre following the “Fifty Shades of Grey” phenomenon.

* eBook sales accounted for $1.8 billion.

* eBook sales in nonfiction grew 22% to $484.2 million.

* Children’s and YA eBook sales increased 117 percent ( to $469.2 million).

* eBooks accounted for 20% of publisher’s revenues in 2012, up from 15% the year before.

* Sales of print formats were flat or on the decline; eBooks and audiobooks were on the rise.

* Revenue from brick-and-mortar bookstores dropped 7%; online sales (through retailers like Amazon) rose 21%.

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Funding for Writers: How to Get a Grant

by BookBaby on May 14, 2013 in Self Publishing, Writing Tips

A writer’s guide to getting grants

[This article was written by guest contributor C. Hope Clark, editor of FundsforWriters.com.]

Grants exist for many writing opportunities, and authors dream of that magic money to jumpstart their careers and support them as they embark in their profession. These are funds that do not have to be repaid and are to aid you in your writing efforts. However, grants are tools, not a mainstay, and as long as we see them as an occasional resource like winning a contest or landing a gig in a magazine, we can utilize them in furthering our profession.

But no two grants are alike. Let’s look at the types of grants out there and see which might be opportunity for your efforts to become a full-time writer.

State Arts Commissions

Each state in the US has one, and each state has different programs.

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Last Lines of Great Books: SPOILER ALERT!

by Chris Robley on May 13, 2013 in Writing Tips

Y’all had a lot to say about some of the opening lines featured in last month’s blog post “First Sentences of Great Books.” Did the energy that made those books famous seem present from the get-go? Few of you seemed to agree. The spice of life!

So I thought it’d be fun to see how some great books are brought to a close. With a bang, whimper, whisper? Do the last lines wrap these book up neatly, or do they leave you with a sense of unease and continuation?

You be the judge, and let me know what you think in the comments section below. [But don't be mad at me if it spoils the ending for you!].

Also, “great” is defined by me for the purposes of this article as the bunch of books that were within easy reach on my closest bookshelf.

She watched the dark highway and entertained me with her vegetable-soup song, except that now there were people mixed in with the beans and potatoes: Dwayne Ray, Mattie, Esperanza, Lou Ann and all the rest.

And me. I was the main ingredient.

- from The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver

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A Checklist of Basic Promotion Materials for Indie Authors

by Chris Robley on May 10, 2013 in eBook Promotion, Self Publishing

So you finished your book. Congratulations! That’s a major accomplishment.

Now it’s time to put together all the stuff you’ll need to help you sell your book once it’s published, including…

1. A short book description

There are a handful of reasons you’ll need a short, compelling book description (one or two sentences at most): as a soundbite in interviews, as a teaser on your website, as the hook in your press materials and communications with folks in the publishing industry, and maybe even as the tagline in your email signature!

BookBaby Blog

This Memorial Day, Share a Book or eBook with Troops Overseas

How to Build a Stockpile of Good Writing Ideas