ALLi is the Alliance of Independent Authors, the professional association for self-publishing writers. They host an EXCELLENT self-publishing advice blog HERE.
Joanne Phillips has posted an article about bettering your books with beta readers. From the article:
Joanne Phillips, author of two novels and nearing the completion of her third, explains how to recruit and use beta readers to fine-tune your work before it’s published – an invaluable service that won’t cost you a penny.
ALLi is the Alliance of Independent Authors, the professional association for self-publishing writers. They host an EXCELLENT self-publishing advice blog HERE.
Dr. Alison Baverstock and Alli are working together to come up with what is its that SUCCESSFUL self-publishers do well. From the article:
Some months ago, ALLi worked with Dr Alison Baverstock on her most recent investigations into self-publishing, the findings from which will be published soon. Here she gives us a sneak peek at what the research revealed about indie authors.
Lulu has launched a photo book printing service, available through picture.com. The service offers everything from bound books to calendars and even brochures.
From the TechCrunch article:
Founded in 2002 by Red Hat’s Bob Young, Lulu is one of the oldest self-publishing houses on the Internet. Initially the company offered printing services and editing tools for self-published authors and, arguably, in 2002 they would have still been called a vanity press. Now, however, they’re another solid link in the chain between authors and readers.
In his keynote speech Saturday at uPublishU, former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki talked about his personal journey from traditionally published writer to indie author. He also provided 10 great self-publishing tips to the packed house (although, personally, I believe #10 – “Never give up” – should be #1!). Kawasaki is a prolific author of 12 book, including APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur-How to Publish a Book.
In the Publishers Weekly article, he talks about the pros and cons of self-publishing:
On the pro side, Kawasaki cited editorial, sales, and marketing control, quicker time to market, and increased royalties. “APE sells for $9.99 as a Kindle e-book and we make $7,” he said. “And that is remarkable. That is like four times traditionally published…These are good numbers.” The drawbacks, Kawasaki said, include no advance, increased responsibility for all aspects of the publishing process, and loneliness.
You can read the whole article HERE.
You can pick up a copy of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur from Amazon HERE.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Stephen King’s new novel won’t be released as an ebook.
“Maybe at some point [there’ll be an ebook]” King told the WSJ, “but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one.”
While this is interesting … I’m not buying the reasoning. Supposedly, he’s doing this to help out bookstores. Yet he’s releasing the book through the Most Hated Enemy Of Bookstores: Amazon and other e-retailers.
So the take-away for me is that Stephen King came up with a new way to market: make an announcement that people will chew through without thinking about it. Welcome to the wonderful world of press releases.
