Vanity press is a derogatory term for publishing houses that print books at the author’s expense. There are several reasons why this practice has traditionally been considered bad form, one of which is because money is supposed to flow to the writer. Self-publishing has slowly broken down this concept due to the cheap and inexpensive … [Read more…]
It’s funny. I had this subject in mind for over a week, then today I got a PubIt newsletter. (PubIt is where you self-publish your Barnes&Noble books.) In it, successful indie author H.P. Mallory advises writers to use keywords and category words. For instance, as I type this, DEAD PEOPLE, which I published in November, … [Read more…]
I can’t stress enough the importance of a professional looking book cover. It’s like a restaurant. You go for the meal, and ultimately judge the restaurant on the quality of the cooking, but you make your decision on whether or not to try that restaurant long before you taste the food. That’s what your cover … [Read more…]
One of the first things I learned when I dug into web analytics, was that no two packages are alike. Sure, the names may sound the same (e.g. visits) but the way that the software measures these units could be completely different. One package may obtain its data from a cookie; another off a log … [Read more…]
I’m an excerpt slut, and I’m not the only one. A recent post on Dear Author led to a lively discussion about excerpts in the comments. I know I’ve been burned too many times by books that other people loved and I couldn’t get past the first chapter. So even if I’ve heard buzz about … [Read more…]