Steven Spatz
Giving back: how you can help your community, fellow writers, and beyond
A list of ways writers can put their skills to extra-good use this holiday season
Self publishing continues to grow and evolve at a rapid pace. Yet even as new trends or topics pop up on an almost daily basis, we’re starting to gain some understanding about this very young industry and the way it works. Some of these discoveries are not all that surprising (for example: authors’ increasing need for book marketing and promotional help). Other truths were not so predictable, like this news item: as of July 2014, self-published authors are now earning nearly 40% of all eBook royalties on the Kindle store, per the Author Earnings Report. One of the nicest surprises for me has been learning about the makeup of the people in this fascinating industry. As a whole, the people I’ve met or corresponded with are literate (given!), smart, interesting and ambitious. But there’s another shared trait that stands out. In a word, the writing community is generous. The need to give back is strong amongst writers, publishers and everyone else in our industry.Smart self publishing: it comes down to people

People Powered Publishing.
Books Without Boundaries: Why Distribution Beyond Amazon Matters
Great content can't reach a large audience without a distribution network. If you're a self-published author, you need book distribution beyond Amazon to cast your net as wide as you can.
Let’s talk: tell us about your adventures in writing and publishing

I just wanted to let you know I have used (BookBaby) for all the books I publish under my imprint Publerati and have been very impressed with the helpfulness of your staff there. I recommend you every opportunity I get. I had a notion of what I wanted to do when starting out. But without BookBaby none of what I am doing would have gotten off the ground, so my thanks are genuinely felt. And your staff is among the best I have dealt with anywhere.Caleb founded Publerati in 2011 and quickly assembled an impressive collection of fiction from a diverse group of authors, from debut novelists to writers drawing praise from the New York Times Book Review and Oprah’s O magazine. Publerati proclaims its list of Core Beliefs on its website starting with “A love of writing and reading fosters empathy.”
Authors, leave your literary success up to something other than luck
BookPromo makes the hard work of book promotion a lot easier
“What the internet and e-reading devices have done is open the world up to storytellers to be in charge of their own careers.” So said mega bestselling author Hugh Howey in a recent discussion at Book Expo America in New York. He was one of my speakers on a panel I moderated advising first-time authors, and he shared some thoughts for writers hoping to get noticed in today’s digital landscape. “How hard you are willing to work and how hard you are willing to study and practice are the only limiting factor these days,” said Howey. “Luck will always play a part, but her role has been diminished.” That’s a perfect summary of why BookBaby has worked so hard to create and develop BookPromo for all our authors. I’m pleased to announce the newest additions – targeted direct-to-reader advertising opportunities -- to this powerful suite of tools and services was unveiled today. You can read much more about it HERE. And as always, BookPromo is a free package for all BookBaby authors.The future is bright for self published authors

How Much Should You Charge for Your eBook?
Cruise any of the writer’s forums on the Internet and you’re bound to find a log of discussions on the topic of the optimal eBook price.