Getting your manuscript ready for formatting means adding front and back material and completing your copyright page. For your copyright page, you’ll need the ISBN numbers for each edition. Make sure you have your book description, eBook cover, and author bio ready before you get started. You’ll need a separate ISBN number for digital, paperback, … Read more
Reviews are an author’s lifeblood. At best, they can strongly influence new readers to buy your book. At worst, a slew of poor reviews or low numbers may lead your publisher to think twice about accepting your option book. The quantity and ratings also affect your promotional opportunities since some ads require at least 10 … Read more
While it may seem a no-brainer to reissue a backlist title in print format, it’s not so easy. There’s a lot more work involved than you might think. Assuming you’ve revised your traditionally published book earlier and reissued it in digital format, you’ll need to refresh this material before converting it into print. My eight … Read more
Your publisher requests a one-page synopsis, or you’re required to submit a short synopsis to enter a contest. How do you condense an entire story into a single page? First give the book title, author name, and series number a few lines down from the top and centered. Then offer a tag line that sums … Read more
Have you noticed how the size of your favorite brand items in the stores have shrunk while the prices remain the same or are higher? You’ve probably observed how your grocery bill has increased while portion sizes have gotten smaller. While I was writing A Bad Hair Day Cookbook, I had to adjust recipes that … Read more
Sometimes as writers, we have to wait on others to progress with our current works in progress. When you are waiting for the copy edits from your traditional publisher, for example, is one instance of this. We play the waiting game when we send in submissions, anticipate our advance reading copies, or expect our edits … Read more
At the Florida Romance Writers Cruise Conference, Penny C. Sansevieri spoke about how to sell more books by optimizing your book description on Amazon. Penny suggests your book should be available in as many formats as possible, including ebook, print book, audio, bundle sets, and spin-off series. You can offer your superfans exclusive content, such … Read more
Hugh Howey: The Publishing World is Changing. How Can You Keep Up? Novelists, Inc. Conference Day 2, St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014 Hugh Howey began his presentation by showing slides on “A history of storytelling.” The order goes this way: Oral tradition Written tradition The first cubicle workers, i.e. monks transcribing by hand Movable type … Read more
Novelists, Inc. Conference St. Pete Beach Oct. 2014 The Novelists, Inc. (Ninc) conference is the only writers’ conference focused solely on the business of writing. To become a member, you must show proof of two published novels. This is not the place to promote your work, pitch to agents or pick up new fans. It’s … Read more
Newbie writers often ask, how do you know when to stop revising and send in the work? There’s no easy answer as each of us goes through our own self-editing process. Revisions are never done. Every time you read through your work, more things pop up to fix. So when should you quit? When the … Read more