Category: fiction

How to find the precise book subject that others want to buy

I particularly liked a posting by Rob Carver who suggested that writers simply talk to the ultimate buyers in their market to see what they want to read and buy. (This was part of a very interesting discussion in the Linkedin Group called Ebooks, Ebook Readers, Digital Books and Digital Content Publishing.) Getting new book [...]

Friday June 14th, 2013 in article selling, article writing, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche marketing, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, pre-testing, product development, public speaking, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, speaking, webmarketing, writing | No Comments »

List 3-5 benefits or needs to attract your book readers

Why would anybody actually pay for your book, or even read it free, if it doesn’t bring them some benefit or meet their need(s)? Granted, some folks have to at least look at what you publish, like your mate (if they want to eat), maybe your kids and folks, and anybody else who will fan [...]

Thursday June 6th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, product development, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | No Comments »

Don’t write dumb: read five more books very similar to yours

Here are seven very important things to do before you write (and publish) your own book. (1) Find and read all five of these books that are very similar to yours. In fact, read each book twice. (If you can’t read, don’t write a book. If you can, do.) Get reading now and write your [...]

Monday May 27th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, writing | No Comments »

#8 Converting your original book layout to an ebook format

Once you have completed your book and had it proofed, you can go ahead and offer your book for sale as a digital book. You needn’t wait for the bound copy to be printed or even sent to the printer. You will be doing the latter while you set up the digital versions and get [...]

Thursday May 23rd, 2013 in articles, digital publishing, e-publishing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, product development, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, treasure hunt, writing | 1 Comment »

Your book’s cover is its own best salesperson!

Your book only needs three kinds of covers, but they can all be designed from the same model. 1. Your bound books will require a full cover, meaning a front, a spine, and a back. (In the rare case you produce a cloth-covered book–a hardcover book–the needs are the same except that you might also [...]

Monday May 20th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche marketing, niche publishing, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, product development, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | No Comments »

(#7 of 10) Publish your book as a paperback, almost free

The purpose of this 10-unit series of blogs is to answer the working question, “How can I publish a just-finished book six times, all within a couple of weeks?” This unit will discuss publishing your book as a paperback, with the publishing part nearly free. In earlier blogs we read of getting the book in [...]

Friday May 17th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, open publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, writing | No Comments »

Landing pages help sell your books (#6 of 10)

If you’re writing a book to sell, you need some launching pad where the potential buyer can see the book cover, the title, the copy on the title, the copy on the back cover (if it’s a paperback)–or the copy that would go there if it’s an ebook, some selling prose that would be on [...]

Friday May 10th, 2013 in 1 Shopping Cart, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, niche publishing, Nook, open publishing, publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | No Comments »

How many book pages a day should you write?

A hard reminder: if you really want to write a book (even better, get it published), the whole writing issue is up to you. Novelists often write two to five pages a day, unedited. Old veterans can plunk out 10-20. Nonfictionfolk pretty much write once they have the facts. Somebody wrote the story of the [...]

Wednesday May 8th, 2013 in articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, Nook, open publishing, product development, publishing, Smashwords, writing | 1 Comment »

Writing a book? You need three copies at all times

You need to have your book in three places: in your computer (seeable on the monitor), on a USB flash drive (or some equivalent) just in case, and in a three-ring binder. The first is obvious. The second gives you peace of mind and lets you work on others’ computers and keep your results safe [...]

Friday May 3rd, 2013 in 1 Shopping Cart, articles, Blurb, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, Nook, novel writing, publishing, Smashwords, writing | 3 Comments »

(#5) Your book needs a description, a price, and your bio

#5 in our “how to publish your own book” series focuses on a description of your book, its price, and your biography to list in your book “open” publishing listing. Since the submission form requires all three items to have your book published free, or almost free, at Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, iPad, CreateSpace, Scribd, and [...]

Monday April 29th, 2013 in article selling, article writing, articles, Blurb, digital publishing, e-publishing, editing, fiction, iPad, Kindle, Lightning Source, LSI, Lulu, Nook, novel writing, open publishing, self-publishing, small publishers, Smashwords, webmarketing, writing | No Comments »