The Book on Writing
Paula LaRocque - 2013
A celebrated writing coach with a sense of humor and a gentle touch, she’s also a master writer herself with a long and distinguished career in both teaching and practicing the art of writing.The Book on Writing contains 25 chapters in three sections: A dozen essential but easy-to-apply guidelines to good writing, from the importance of clarity to the value of a conversational tone. Paula LaRocque believes learning is easier and more successful when we are not only told but also shown. So her Book on Writing is chockfull of actual writing examples that supplement and illustrate principles that apply as naturally to fiction as they do to nonfiction.How to tell a story—from building suspense, to effective description, to the uses of metaphor and literary devices. Paula LaRocque also deals with the narrative “engine” and the value of the archetype in plotting and characterization—as well as with pace and speed and leveling what she terms writing’s “speedbumps.” A clear and concise handbook that deals with common problems in grammar, usage, punctuation, and style—the kind of problems that often trouble even wordsmiths. The handbook also debunks pesky language “rules” that are actually myths. The Book on Writing is one-stop shopping for writers. Read it once, and you’ll be a better writer. Read it often, and you’ll be among the best.
How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market (Reedsy Marketing Guides #1)
Ricardo Fayet - 2021
Marketing it can be even harder.Marketing a book in 2021 can seem like a full-time job, what with the crazy number of things authors seem to be expected to do: social media, blog tours, advertising, price promotions, mailing lists, giveaways, you name it. But here’s a little secret: you don’t need to do all those things to successfully set your book on the path to success. What you need is a solid plan to find the one or two tactics that will work, and start to drive sales… in a minimum amount of time. And that’s exactly what you’ll find in this book.Instead of drowning you in information or inundating you with hundreds of different tactics and strategies that eventually prove fruitless, this book will guide you through a step-by-step framework to find the ones that actually work for you and your book, so that you can start marketing more efficiently.In particular, you’ll learn: • How to change your mindset and sell more books with less effort.; • How to write books that guarantee a lasting, profitable career; • How to get Amazon’s Kindle Store to market your book for you; • How to get thousands of readers into your mailing list before you even release the book; • How to propel your book to the top of the charts at launch; and • How to automate your marketing so that you can spend less time marketing and more time writing,After helping over 150,000 authors crack the marketing code through a popular weekly newsletter, Reedsy’s Co-founder Ricardo Fayet is sharing everything he’s learned over the past few years in this beginner-friendly, jargon-free guide to book marketing.
The Extroverted Writer: An Author's Guide to Marketing and Building a Platform
Amanda Luedeke - 2013
From ideas to tips to absolute musts, THE EXTROVERTED WRITER builds on Amanda's successful "Thursdays with Amanda" blog posts on ChipMacGregor.com. This easy-to-read guide breaks down the most popular social media sites and online options to give YOU the tools you need to be effective when engaging with your readers. Whether you're new to social media or a longtime pro...whether you have dozens of books under your belt or are still waiting for your first deal, this book is for you. I started reading Amanda's posts on chipmagregor.com about the time my novel was launching. Amanda's understanding of branding and her insight as an agent were extremely helpful to me as I thought about an overall platform strategy. I had no idea what to do about Facebook, and her thoughts helped me refine what I was doing and better connect with my fiction readers. Charity Hawkins, author of The Homeschool Experiment: a novel My twitter following tripled with Amanda's training and after putting her Google search rules into practice, my blog posts are drawing increased traffic and new shares. Reading The Extroverted Writer is like getting down-to-earth advice from your best friend. Your extroverted best friend that knows all the social media answers you need. Finally! Laura Anderson Kurk (laurakurk.com), author of Glass Girl and Perfect Glass Amanda Luedeke, agent at the number one literary agency in the country, MacGregor Literary, Inc., takes you through easy, step by step approaches to growing your online presence and as a result, your audience. Her lessons are straightforward, simple and applicable, no smoke and mirrors or degrees in physics required. From growing your readership on your blog, to pumping up your number of Twitter followers, to utilizing the eye candy of Pinterest to promote your books, she has it all. I recommend this book for all authors; newbies, established and everyone in between. Laura L. Smith, author"
The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing
Jana DeleonDenise Grover Swank - 2013
A book so raw it was banned in one small city in Iowa. If you are thinking about self-publishing or you just want to know all the juicy insider scoop this is a must read.
Self-Printed: The Sane Person's Guide to Self-Publishing: How to Use Digital Self-Publishing, Social Media and Common Sense to Start Earning A Living ... or Shouting 'Down With The Big Six!')
Catherine Ryan Howard - 2011
Who want to do it the cheapest and easiest way possible while still producing a quality product. Who understand that much like Starbucks outlets and Nespresso coffee machines, traditional and self-publishing can peacefully co-exist. Who know that they don't have to sell a million copies of their book to start earning a living from their writing, but that they do have to work hard and treat it like a business. Who are blessed with common sense and live in the real world at least most of the time. Who find my jokes funny. If this sounds like you, then SELF-PRINTED: THE SANE PERSON'S GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING may be just the "How To..." guide you were looking for. It will tell you everything you need to know in order to publish a Print On Demand paperback and e-book, and - crucially - sell them, without sounding like anti-Big Publishing propaganda produced by the Ministry of Truth. Be warned: you are now entering a No Saying "Gatekeepers" Zone... Visit SelfPrintedbook.com to see the full table of contents. ABOUT CATHERINE: Catherine Ryan Howard is the coffee-guzzling twenty-something behind the popular blog, Catherine, Caffeinated. In March 2010 she self-published her travel memoir, Mousetrapped: A Year and A Bit in Orlando, Florida, using the Print-On-Demand service CreateSpace, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords. Using free promotional tools like blogging, Twitter and Facebook, she managed to make Mousetrapped an Amazon bestseller and sell 4,000 copies of it in a year. Her success story has been featured in The Sunday Times and The Sunday Independent newspapers, and Catherine has been interviewed on BBC Radio Ulster, Newstalk and RTÉ Radio's Marian Finucane Show. She lives in Cork, Ireland, where she divides her time between her desk and the sofa. She wants to be a NASA astronaut when she grows up. (She's 28.)
How to Publish and Sell Your Article on the Kindle (and Nook!): 12 Tips for Short Documents
Kate Harper - 2011
Topics include: • How to get royalties from selling articles.• Proper pricing.• How to submit articles to the "Kindle Singles" (special Amazon category). • Best ways to sell articles.• Representing articles accurately in e-Reader bookstores.• Avoiding unnecessary costs. • Image formatting.Tips are also applicable for a variety of mobile devices such as the Barnes and Noble Nook and Apple ipad. You will learn how to publish your article in a word processor, without having to learn HTML coding. Instructional Appendices Include: • How to create table of contents and internal links.• Solving formatting problems.• Converting your article to a Kindle device.• Easy preview options before you publish.• A curated list of the 50 best resources for finding free Kindle books, software, podcasts, help forums and the best blogs on Kindle publishing (10,300 words).About the Author: Kate Harper has taught art and computer classes in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys creating visual step-by-step guides for non-technical users. She is a credentialed adult education instructor in the state of California, and is inspired by technologies that encourage people to be more creative.
How to Write a Novella in 24 Hours: And other questionable & possibly insane advice on creativity for writers
Andrew Mayne - 2015
Also included is a bonus section of 100 free (and almost free) ways to promote your ebook.+ How to write a novella in 24 hours+ How to start building your empire+ How long should a story be?+ How to write a bestselling novel on your iPhone+ The secret to making a book cover (that mostly doesn’t suck) in 10 minutes or less+ Why you're staring at a blank screen+ One Weird Trick to Boost Your Creativity+ Your worst idea may be your greatest+ Managing criticism+ The Curse of a Creative Mind+ 100 free (and almost free) ways to promote you ebook
Learn Amazon Ads: Use AMS to Find More Readers and Sell More Books
Mark J. Dawson - 2017
Amazon Marketing Services ads might have the most potential. They enable authors to reach readers looking to buy books on the world's biggest online retailer. And, unlike other platforms, those readers are already looking to buy and can do so with just one click.This book, written by two leaders in the field of book marketing - Mark Dawson and Joseph Alexander - sets out precisely how Amazon ads can work for you.Also includes a free instructional video masterclass written and presented by Mark Dawson, the founder of the Self Publishing Formula.
Writing the Breakout Novel
Donald Maass - 2001
Maybe you've already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo. Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel - one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists.Maass details the elements that all breakout novels share - regardless of genre - then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace.You'll learn to:- establish a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place - weave subplots into the main action for a complex, engrossing story - create larger-than-life characters that step right off the page - explore universal themes that will interest a broad audience of readers - sustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finish - develop an inspired premise that sets your novel apart from the competitionThen, using examples from the recent works of several best-selling authors - including novelist Anne Perry - Maass illustrates methods for upping the ante in every aspect of your novel writing. You'll capture the eye of an agent, generate publisher interest and lay the foundation for a promising career.
APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur. How to Publish a Book
Guy Kawasaki - 2012
Because of this experience, I self-published my next book, What the Plus!, and learned first-hand that self-publishing is a complex, confusing, and idiosyncratic process. As Steve Jobs said, “There must be a better way.”With Shawn Welch, a tech wizard, I wrote APE to help people take control of their writing careers. APE’s thesis is powerful yet simple: filling the roles of Author, Publisher and Entrepreneur yields results that rival traditional publishing. We call this "artisanal publishing"--that is, when writers who love their craft control the publishing process and produce high-quality books.APE is 300 pages of tactical and practical inspiration. People who want a hype-filled, get-rich-quick book should look elsewhere. On the other hand, if they want a comprehensive and realistic guide to self-publishing,APE is the answer.
Self-Publishing Attack! The 5 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws for Creating Steady Income Publishing Your Own Books
James Scott Bell - 2012
A number of writers are now making a living publishing their own ebooks. Most, however, are finding the results disappointing. Usually this comes from the lack of a coherent publishing strategy.It's too bad, because the right approach can greatly increase the odds that a writer will realize significant returns over the course of a lifetime. In Self Publishing Attack! you'll get a simple yet powerful plan for creating an increasing stream of revenue publishing ebooks--and keeping it flowing for as long as you write.This is not a technical, how-to-upload manual. Instead, Self Publishing Attack! provides you with a strategic and businesslike program for long-term publishing success. You'll learn:* The single most important secret for ironclad profitability * Step-by-step instructions for generating marketing copy * How to think like a publisher so your ebooks are discovered in a crowded marketplace* Insider tips for writing books that sell, both fiction and non-fiction* How to avoid the most common design mistakes* The keys to an effective marketing campaignAnd more.From #1 bestselling writing coach James Scott Bell, author of Plot & Structure, Writing Fiction for All You're Worth and The Art of War for Writers, comes a practical, experience-tested method for cashing in on the amazing new opportunities in self-publishing. "As an author with over eighty published books, I'm always interested in learning new strategies to give my older/out-of-print titles new life. In this e-driven age, getting those books onto Kindle, Nook, and so on is critical. Kudos to James Scott Bell for giving me the tools I need to see that happen successfully!" -- Janice Hanna Thompson, author of The Director's Cut
Self-Publisher's Legal Handbook
Helen Sedwick - 2014
Attorney and published author Helen Sedwick uses 30 years of legal experience to cut through the legalese and show writers how to stay out of court and at their desks. Topics include--Business set-up. From DBAs to sales taxes to crowd-funding, Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook walks writers through the process of setting up their self-publishing ventures.Moving from Manuscript to Book. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook compares the options of engaging a self-publishing service company to doing it yourself using a print-on-demand provider. It lists which contract provisions are acceptable and which are not. It explains the mechanics of hiring designers, editors, and other freelancers.Intellectual Property Issues. Copyrights, trademark, fair use, and public domain are explained in practical, useful terms, including how to find copyright holders and ask permission. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook provide tips on licensing images and music for little or no money.Internet Regulations. Any writer with a blog needs to know about privacy policies, SPAM, COPPA, and DMCA. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook explains these regulations in easy-to-understand language.Spotting Scams. Writers are e-blasted by businesses promoting overpriced services, if not outright frauds. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook shows writers how to spot aggressive sales techniques and scams.The Scary Stuff. Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook provides needed guidance on avoiding the dangers of defamation, invasion of privacy, and infringement.Writing and publishing a book is a significant investment. Writers should not be losing money (and sleep) by hiring the wrong self-publishing company or getting sued for copyright infringement. Sedwick’s Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook will help writers safely navigate the legal minefield.
Prosperity for Writers: A Writer's Guide to Creating Abundance
Honoree Corder - 2015
This is a must read for all who seek to live more creatively and abundantly."
"Honorée provides a practical and powerful process for breaking through the blocks getting in our way."
"Prosperity for Writers is amazing, the only book of its kind that takes the principles of prosperity and abundance and applies them specifically to writing and writers." You work hard on your writing. Get the earnings and the life you deserve! Writers don't get paid much. At least, that's what you've convinced yourself. You believe that you've taken up the mantle of the starving artist, and that means you have to struggle for every cent you earn. But what if a simple change in beliefs and tactics could lead you to abundance and success? Your time would be better spent and your bank account would finally be full from your creative efforts. Author Honorée Corder is here to help you transform your life. Most books on writing touch on craft or marketing. Prosperity for Writers goes in a different direction entirely, providing you with the techniques, tools, and ideas you need to revolutionize your writing business and beliefs. Based on her innovative course, Honorée and a laundry list of forward-thinking writers will change your mindset for good into one of abundance. Once you've transformed your inner world, you'll be able to boost your bank account with proven action steps that will help you live off your writing. With Honorée's invaluable 100-day plan and daily practices by your side, you'll go from struggling to prosperous faster than you ever thought possible. By sharing her money-changing beliefs, affirmations, and proven success stories, Honorée has elevated writers from every area of the profession to financial success. Don't suffer any longer. Read this book to finally become the person you knew you could be: a financially-successful career writer.
Buy the transformative guide to claim your prosperity today!
How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times
Roy Peter Clark - 2013
In How to Write Short, Roy Peter Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed-from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill. Clark covers how to write effective and powerful titles, headlines, essays, sales pitches, Tweets, letters, and even self-descriptions for online dating services. With examples from the long tradition of short-form writing in Western culture, How to Write Short guides writers to crafting brilliant prose, even in 140 characters.