This author’s note originally appeared in the January 23rd edition of my email newsletter. To sign up for my newsletter, click here. Every week, when I sit down to write the author’s note for this newsletter, I try to come up with something that you’ll find genuinely interesting or insightful. I don’t want to talk… Continue reading 2020-01-23 Newsletter Author’s Note
Tag: publishing advice
Thoughts on Minimum Viable Product
So I read an article on Draft2Digital’s blog about Minimum Viable Product and what it means for writers, and it got me to thinking about what that means for books in general, and my own books in particular. From what I’ve managed to gather (and I could be totally wrong), the controversy in the indie… Continue reading Thoughts on Minimum Viable Product
Rethinking free
I recently read an interesting blog post on Dean Wesley Smith’s blog, about how, how not, and whether to make your books free. The conclusion he comes to is this: Free is short time, limited supply, and never on the major bookstore shelves. In other words, no permafree, no free pulsing, and no publishing free… Continue reading Rethinking free
Updating my backmatter
I read an interesting post on the Bookbub Partners Blog a couple of weeks ago, where they shared some of their findings on backmatter optimization. “Backmatter” is all the stuff that goes in the back of the book, like teasers, first chapters, buy links, author bios, and the like. Way back when I first started… Continue reading Updating my backmatter
Writing is not a business
I recently read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It’s a fantastic book, not only because it gives you a basic education on financial literacy, but because it gives you a solid foundation for making money in general. It’s one of those books that really deserves its bestseller status. About midway through reading it,… Continue reading Writing is not a business
So you’ve written a short story…
So you’ve written a short story, and you’re wondering what to do with it. You think it’s pretty good and you want to see it published, but you’re wondering what’s the best way to do that. I can’t guarantee that this is the best way, but it is the way that I do it. Let’s… Continue reading So you’ve written a short story…
An open letter to my 2008 self
Dear Joe, This is yourself from the future. I know, that sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s true. Pay attention, because there are things I need to tell you. This is not to replace the life lessons that you’ll soon be learning, but to help you learn them faster so you can move on to the important… Continue reading An open letter to my 2008 self
A is for Advice
For this year’s Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I’m going to write about self-publishing. I’m not a huge bestseller, but I have been a self-published indie author for the past three years, and I’m more or less making a living at it now (it’s still touch and go from month to month, but writing… Continue reading A is for Advice
My current publishing to do list
This is what my current writing space looks like. It’s hard to see, but there’s a board taped to the wall with the label “Publishing To Do.” Even though that board is right next to me whenever I’m working on stuff, I hardly ever look at it, and the tasks just keep piling up. So… Continue reading My current publishing to do list
Publishing is as easy as the Irish Tinwhistle
David Gaughran has another excellent blog post up, this time about publishing in general and something that most newbies don’t realize when they first start out. From his post: I’m saying that when a newbie has been convinced that self-publishing is hard or expensive the chances of them falling into the clutches of a third-party… Continue reading Publishing is as easy as the Irish Tinwhistle