7 Worst Mistakes Indie Authors Make by Joanna Penn
To be an independent author means taking your book project seriously. But most of us haven’t been in publishing for…
The Honest Inside Scoop or the Pros and Cons of Indie Publishing by Jessie Harrell
(An introductory note: my comparison focuses on self-published Indies, not Indies who use independent publishers, i.e., small houses.)I know. Many…
The Future of Digital Publishing by Bob Mayer
Where Are We?It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about the publishing business. I used to blog a lot about…
The Internet will Land me in Jail
Irish writer, story teller, broadcaster, teacher, lecturer and workshop facilitator Catherine Brophy laments her dependence on technology in a tongue in cheek blog post, expressing the frustration we all feel at times.
Getting to grips with The Internet will land me in jail because if one more person advises me that the best way to learn how to use it is to “play around” I WILL bite a lump out of their leg.
If one more person tells me “it’s easy, just a couple of clicks” I will smash their face in.
And if one more person advises me to “write the best book I can,” “be myself”, and warns against posting nastys on Facebook or Twitter, I may just go postal and get out my chainsaw.
I am an adult. I know all this. What I do not know is the nitty-gritty of how the Internet stuff works. What do I click? Where do I find it? I mean whereabouts on that page full of information, tiny writing, moving ads, sidebars, links and photos of kittens.
Yes, yes, I know that nobody can tell me everything about the Internet and that I will have to find out lots of stuff for myself. But there are things that people could tell me, things that could help get me started. Give me some confidence. Lead me out of the pit of despair I fall into when, after hours on line, I’ve found nothing I wanted. When I’ve surfed and surfed and surfed all for nothing and I just want to chuck it all in and read a nice book.
50 Ways To Reach Your Reader. # 2: Optimise Your Amazon Author Page
Amazon, the biggest book retailer in the world, was the first company to see the potential in retailing self-published work.…
Beyond The Book
Joanna Penn
Your book Is only the beginning, says writing and publishing expert and ALLi Advisor, Joanna Penn. Technology and online tools now enable any author who is willing to learn a few simple skills to turn their book into a variety of multimedia products.
Non-fiction writers in particular have the opportunity to make their books the basis from which they expand into multiple products in different formats.
This can be the most effective way to make an on-going income from your creative work.
Five Questions Indie Authors Should Always Ask An Agent
The great Max Perkins. But traditional publishing contracts won't suit indie authors.
As more and more self-publishing authors make a success of our endeavours, more agents and publishers come calling. But too often they come with a traditional publishing contract in hand. This fails to recognise that an indie author's situation is different to that of a tyro, unpublished author.
As self-publishers, we have built our readership and already have a following. Our e-rights are very valuable to us and we're not keen to bundle them with other rights. We expect publishers to understand that our situation is different — and to reflect this in their contractual terms and conditions.
Here are four questions that an indie should ask before signing any deal with an agent. (Please note, the first three questions pertain to signing with agents for English language rights; only the fourth to translation rights, which is a different proposition, requiring a different set of questions).
We'll have a blog post on that, and on questions to ask if you're considering signing directly with a publisher, soon.
1. Will my self-publishing income be
How Indie Authors Can Work With Trade Publishers
Jackie Collins now successfully combining self-publishing and trade-publishing
Today, in the fifth and final part of our ‘Which Distributor’ series, Orna Ross explains how independent authors can successfully work with trade publishers to distribute some of their books.
At a writers conference, an agent and writer are putting out tentative feelers towards each other. The agent is from a venerable company, with a long list of illustrious clients. The writer is an independent author, who has earned her indie spurs by successfully self-publishing two ebook thriller titles (with more on the way) and building a vibrant and growing fanbase, both for her books and her writing advice website.
The agent wants to sign this author, who is young, hardworking, full of ideas, with many books ahead of her. The author is actively seeking a trade publisher, because she wants a third party to handle print. For her, print takes too long and requires the sort of activities that don't interest her. It's the one thing trade publishing can do better than she can do for herself, she believes.
The two talk, they seem to understand each other. Back home, the agent sends over an Author Representation Agreement but before she's read too far, the writer is concerned. A clause states that the agent will