Category Archives: Self Publishing

Dead Tree Books, eBook

2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest entry period now open

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest (ABNA) entry period has opened. The ABNA contest is open to unpublished and self-published English-language novels. Entries will be accepted through March 2, 2014, or until 10,000 eligible entries are received, and can now be submitted through CreateSpace. To enter today, log in and select ABNA Breakthrough Novel Award from the left side bar.

Amazon Publishing is pleased to announce that one Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing contract with an advance of $50,000. In addition, four First Prize winners will each receive a publishing contract from Amazon Publishing with an advance of $15,000.

Authors can submit their work in one of the following categories: general fiction, mystery/thriller, romance, science fiction/fantasy/horror, and young adult fiction. For complete eligibility details, review the Official Contest Rules. Visit the prizes page for the full list of prizes and details.

Log in to enter today.

Inspiration, Success Stories, Writer Reference

J.A. Konrath: Fisking Donald Maass

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Oh. My. Goodness.

My favorite author has just spanked the Emerald City Doorman hard enough that it’s going to leave a mark.  And Mr. Maass is going to have a severe limp for quite awhile!

It’s no secret that I am an indie-publishing heretic, posting often and everywhere about how every author should look into getting themselves published without getting ridden hard and put away wet by a legacy publishing dinosaur (that’ll give you a limp for sure!).  But no one – NO ONE – takes the publishing industry or their flan-boys to task better, cleaner, and more beautifully than Mr. Konrath.

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eBook

Helicon Books EPUB validator

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Helicon Books epub validator is more than just another epubcheck.  From the website:

Helicon Books validator has many advantages over other EPUB validators. It uses the epubcheck software from the IDPF but adds many additional tests.

First of all we don’t just take epubcheck output and display it, we display an easier to read and easier to understand error messages. Some error messages have long text, we display only the important part and let you read the rest only if you want (by clicking a ‘read more’ link).

Contact us if you need more information about any error, or if you want to learn more about EPUB3 and how to make it better.

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Writer Reference

Amazon Publishing announces launch of Waterfall Press – a Christian Imprint

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Amazon Publishing today announced the launch of Waterfall Press, a new Christian imprint that will specialize in faith-based non-fiction and fiction. Waterfall Press non-fiction will aim to provide spiritual refreshment and inspiration to today’s Christian reader, while fiction will include stories in the romance, mystery, and suspense genres. Waterfall Press titles will be published by Brilliance Publishing, part of the Amazon.com group of companies, which currently offers readers self-help and personal growth books under the Grand Harbor Press imprint.

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Writer Reference

Self-Publishing 101: Using the Right Search Words

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

 has posted over at Western Fictioneers about using the right search words to use when listing your novel over at Amazon.  From the blog:

Search words are one of the most important tools used to sell a novel, so you want to use them wisely. At Amazon you are allowed 7. That’s it, so you have to pick carefully. Did you know there are rules for what search words are allowed and which ones aren’t? The following is a list of what not to use.

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