Many authors are frustrated because there are so many options for self-publishing, and they don't know which one to choose or what will be best for their book. Others spend thousands of dollars to publish and end up broken-hearted with the result. But it doesn't have to be this way. I've spent the last seven years self-publishing bestselling fiction and non-fiction books and in 2011, I left my day job to become a full-time author entrepreneur. I've made lots of mistakes along the way, but through the process of self-publishing 17 books, I've learned the most effective way to publish and market your books. In this book, I'll share everything with you. The book includes: - What you need to know before you self-publish - Why self-publishing an ebook is a good idea - How to format an ebook - Exclusivity and going direct - How to self-publish an ebook - Why self-publish a print book - Print-on-demand will change your life - What you need to know before you print - How to self-publish a print book - What to do if you want help with the publishing process - After self-publishing - How much does it cost to self-publish? - How do you get paid when you self-publish? - Book marketing principles - How to market fiction - How to market non-fiction Plus, links to more useful resources. If you're ready to successfully self-publish, then download a sample or buy now. You can also get your free Author 2.0 Blueprint and mini-course at TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint (just copy and paste into your browser)

    Brande believed passionately that although people have varying amounts of talent, anyone can write. It's just a question of finding the "writer's magic"--a degree of which is in us all. She also insists that writing can be both taught and learned. So she is enraged by the pessimistic authors of so many writing books who rejoice in trying to put off the aspiring writer by constantly stressing how difficult it all is.With close reference to the great writers of her day--Wolfe, Forster, Wharton and so on--Brande gives practical but inspirational advice about finding the right time of day to write and being very self disciplined about it--"You have decided to write at four o'clock, and at four o'clock you must write." She's strong on confidence building and there's a lot about cheating your unconscious which will constantly try to stop you writing by coming up with excuses. Then there are exercises to help you get into the right frame of mind and to build up writing stamina. She also shows how to harness the unconscious, how to fall into the "artistic coma," then how to re-emerge and be your own critic.This is Dorothea Brande's legacy to all those who have ever wanted to express their ideas in written form. A sound, practical, inspirational and charming approach to writing, it fulfills on finding "the writer's magic."

    Talent and inspiration can't be taught, but Frey does provide scores of helpful suggestions and sensible rules and principles.An international bestseller, How to Write a Damn Good Novel will enable all writers to face that intimidating first page, keep them on track when they falter, and help them recognize, analyze, and correct the problems in their own work.

    And your next, and your next... The technique I share within these pages is extremely easy to learn and do. You will be able to start using it now, today, and see immediate differences in your writing.It's also a fast read. I've condensed the book down to just a handful of pages, so you can read it all in less than an hour. I know what it's like to try and improve my writing by reading books on how to write. Too much time is lost wading through pages and pages of filler. And the more of these books that we read, the thicker our brains become, with too many details and steps and opinions. This book is different. Read it over lunch, and then go try it out. You'll see for yourself that it works.Here is a bit more about why Tell, Don't Show! is truly worth your time.First of all, the words will come much easier. I promise it. I've seen it transform the writing of many students and friends over the years, and before that, my own writing. The technique is so simple that you won't have any excuse for not using it the next time you sit down to write. It's a real pleasure to write this way. Forget about being a suffering writer. With this one little technique, you'll actually learn to love the process of writing.And do you ever wonder why you aren't writing so much? Do you think that if you could write faster, much faster, you'd want to write more? We're not talking about blindly banging away at the keys, but rather, quickly penning powerful stories and novels in a fraction of the time it takes you right now. That is, if you're even writing now. The truth is that when our writing is too slow and introspective, we lose momentum, and sooner or later, we finally stop. Don't do that. Write faster. The technique I'm sharing in this book will show you how to write faster and a lot more than you are now.Finally, by using this technique, you'll find your creativity expanding by the hour, by the day! It will free up your imagination to focus on the big picture, lifting you up and away from both micromanagement and nitpickiness, such common traps during first drafts. Your stories will grow richer and deeper, and you'll find yourself seeing your characters and settings more vividly. Subtext and subplots will rise up and beg for your attention. And this is just the beginning.You'll find all of the above and much more in Tell, Don't Show!

    George combines clear, intelligent, and functional advice on fiction writing with anecdotes from her own life, the story of her journey to publication, and inside information on how she meticulously researches and writes her novels. George's solid understanding of craft is conveyed in the enticing manner of a true storyteller, making Write Away not only a marvelous, interesting, and informative book but also a glimpse inside the world of a beloved writer.

    From the origins and evolution of the romance novel to establishing a vital story framework to writing that last line to seeking out appropriate publishers, everything you ever wanted to know about writing a romance novel is here.In addition to a comprehensive breakdown of more than thirty romance subgenres, including such categories as historical, inspirational, Regency, and sweet traditional, you'll discover how to:Steer clear of cliches and stereotypes by studying the genreCraft engaging and realistic heroes and heroines readers will adoreConvincingly develop the central couple's blossoming relationshipAdd conflict by utilizing essential secondary characters like the "other woman"Use tension and timing to make your love scenes sizzle with sensualityGet your characters to happily-ever-after with an ending readers will always rememberlus, read a sample query letter, cover letter, and synopsis, and learn how to properly prepare you romance novel for submission to agents and editors. On Writing Romance has everything you need to leave readers swooning!

    What's the secret behind the successful and prolific careers of critically acclaimed novelists and short story writers Amy Bloom, Steve Almond, Jayne Anne Phillips, Alison Lurie, and others? Divine assistance? Otherworldly talent? An unsettlingly close relationship with the Muse? While the rest of us are staring at blank sheets of paper, struggling to come up with a first sentence, these writers are busy polishing off story after story and novel after novel. Despite producing work that may seem effortless, all of them have a simple technique for fending off writer's block: the writing exercise. In Now Write!, Sherry Ellis collects the personal writing exercises of today's best writers and lays bare the secret to their success. - In "The Photograph," Jill McCorkle divulges one of her tactics for handling material that takes plots in a million different directions; - National Book Award-nominee Amy Bloom offers "Water Buddies," an exercise for writers practicing their craft in workshops; - Steve Almond, author of My Life in Heavy Metal and Candyfreak, provides a way to avoiding purple prose in "The Five-Second Shortcut to Writing in the Lyric Register"; - and eighty-three more of the country's top writers disclose their strategies for creating memorable prose. Complemented by brief commentary from the authors themselves, the exercises in Now Write! are practical and hands-on. By encouraging writers to shamelessly steal proven techniques that have yielded books which have won National Book Awards, Pulitzers, and Guggenheim grants, Now Write! inspires the aspiring writer to write now.

    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.

    It's the unique worldview that intrigues readers–persuading them to empathize with your characters and invest in their tale. It's the masterful concealing and revealing of detail that keeps pages turning and plots fresh. It's the hidden agenda that makes narrators complicated and compelling.It's also something most writers struggle to understand. In The Power of Point of View, RITA Award-winning author Alicia Rasley first teaches you the fundamentals of point of view (POV)–who is speaking, why, and what options work best within the conventions of your chosen genre. Then, she takes you deeper to explain how POV functions as a crucial piece of your story–something that ultimately shapes and drives character, plot, and every other component of your fiction.Through comprehensive instruction and engaging exercises, you'll learn how to:choose a point of view that enhances your characters and plots and encourages reader involvementnavigate the levels of a character's point of view, from objective viewing to action to emotioncraft unusual perspectives, including children, animal narrators, and villainsA story changes depending on who's telling it, and The Power of Point of View will help you determine which of your characters can make your story come to life.

    And once you've got an idea, what then? Ideas without a plan, without a purpose, are no more than pleasant thoughts. In The Writer's Idea Book, Jack Heffron, former senior editor at Writer's Digest Books and Story Press, will help you find the answer. Utilizing over 400 prompts and exercises, you'll generate intriguing ideas and plumb their possibilities to turn them into something amazing. The Writer's Idea Book will give you the insight and the self-awareness to create and refine ideas that demand to be transformed into greater works, the kind of compelling, absorbing writing that will have other writers asking "where do you get those ideas?"

    Despite this, little has been written to help authors hone their craft to truly connect with this audience. Writing Great Books for Young Adults gives writers the advice they need to tap this incredible market. Topics covered include: Listening to the voices of youthMeeting your young protagonist Developing a writing styleConstructing plotsTrying on points of view Agent Regina Brooks has developed award-winning authors across the YA genre, including a Coretta Scott King winner. She attends more than 20 conferences each year, meeting with authors and teaching.

    She has taught all kinds--the award winning, the struggling, and those who have been silenced by poverty and hardship. Her innovative methods have worked in classrooms from elementary tograduate level, in jail cells and public housing projects, in convents and seminaries, in youth at-risk programs, and with groups of the terminally ill.Now, in Writing Alone and with Others, Schneider's acclaimed methods are available in a single, well-organized, and highly readable volume. The first part of the book guides the reader through the perils of the solitary writing life: fear, writer's block, and the bad habits of the internal critic.In the second section, Schneider describes the Amherst Writers and Artists workshop method, widely used across the U.S. and abroad. Chapters on fiction and poetry address matters of technique and point to further resources, while more than a hundred writing exercises offer specific ways to jumpstartthe blocked and stretch the rut-stuck. Schneider's innovative teaching method will refresh the experienced writer and encourage the beginner. Her book is the essential owner's manual for the writer's voice.

    The story begins in 1973, in the offices of The Atlantic Monthly, in Boston, where a young freelance writer named Tracy Kidder came looking for an assignment. Richard Todd was the editor who encouraged him. From that article grew a lifelong association. Before long, Kidder’s The Soul of a New Machine, the first book the two worked on together, had won the Pulitzer Prize. It was a heady moment, but for Kidder and Todd it was only the beginning of an education in the art of nonfiction.Good Prose explores three major nonfiction forms: narratives, essays, and memoirs. Kidder and Todd draw candidly, sometimes comically, on their own experience—their mistakes as well as accomplishments—to demonstrate the pragmatic ways in which creative problems get solved. They also turn to the works of a wide range of writers, novelists as well as nonfiction writers, for models and instruction. They talk about narrative strategies (and about how to find a story, sometimes in surprising places), about the ethical challenges of nonfiction, and about the realities of making a living as a writer. They offer some tart and emphatic opinions on the current state of language. And they take a clear stand against playing loose with the facts. Their advice is always grounded in the practical world of writing and publishing.Good Prose—like Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style—is a succinct, authoritative, and entertaining arbiter of standards in contemporary writing, offering guidance for the professional writer and the beginner alike. This wise and useful book is the perfect companion for anyone who loves to read good books and longs to write one.

    Offers advice for would-be science fiction writers, covering such topics as setting, plot, character, and dialogue, as well as the mechanics of grammar, tense, sentence structure, and paragraph transition.

    Through a mix of instruction, examples, and writing and visualization exercises, readers learn how to tap into their own stories and emotions to create realistic, complex characters.