Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for November, 2015. We welcome your submissions on topics related to writing, self-publishing, book design or marketing books.
A collection of outstanding articles recently posted to blogs, your reading here will be richly rewarded.
See the end of this post for links to submit your blog posts for the next carnival, or for participating Bloggers and Featured Bloggers to grab your sidebar badges. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Featured Posts
Jay Artale presents How to Leverage Keywords on Pinterest as an Author posted at Bibliocrunch, saying, “Did you know that you could easily incorporate Pinterest into your social media author strategy with a limited amount of effort by following one simple guideline? The #1 priority for using Pinterest is to have a “search mindset””
Russell Phillips presents Creating Book Apps With AppOpus posted at Nonfiction Authors Association, saying, “This post explains how to create ebooks as apps for Android phones and tablets. The apps can be sold on the Google and Amazon app stores, both of which pay 70% of the list price.”
Carla King presents Seven Ways to Jump Start Your Book Cover Design posted at BookWorks, saying, “It’s never too early to think about your book cover design. Even if you’ve got writer’s block, at least you’ll feel like you’re getting some work done. And you are! Here are eight ways to jump start your book cover design process, including resources for artwork and photography. When it’s time to hire a cover designer, you’ll be able to judge from their portfolio if they’re right for you, and you’ll also be ready for an educated and productive conversation with them.”
Book Design and Production
Jennifer Ellis presents DIY Cover Design posted at Jennifer Ellis – Writing
Rebecca Bielawski presents To Translate or Not to Translate posted at Booksbeck
Richard Sutton presents Text Fonts: Book Design Choices Don’t End With The Cover… posted at Design Cents
simon avery presents Book Cover Quiz posted at Book Cover Design Blog
Suzy Vitello presents covers (I know it’s a lame title, but we can change it…) posted at Suzy Vitello’s blog, saying, “This article is an interview I did with Kit Foster, the designer of my book cover, THE KEEPSAKE. His passion, talent and work ethic are incredible – and he has an assistant who is an amazing client liaison.”
Ebooks and Ebook Readers
Sabrina Ricci presents Ebook Formatting Options for Indie Authors posted at Digital Pubbing, saying, “For indie authors, one great way to save money when it comes to publishing your books is to learn how to make your own ebooks. Personally, when it comes to creating ebooks, I recommend using Sigil, and I teach an online course on Udemy on how to use Sigil and other free tools to create your own beautiful ebooks. But there are a myriad of other options.”
Indie Author
Jackie Weger presents Review Mania II~ It Never Stops posted at eNovel Authors at Work, saying, “Hello, Joel: I’m Jackie Weger, founder of eNovel Authors at Work–a loose group of indie authors who network, support one another and pay-it-forward. It is free–I bear all expenses of the site. I’m just two years into indie authorship and am sharing the learning curve–The Basics: what works, what doesn’t. I post about reviews, and ehow to gather organic reviews, and how to approach a reviewer. I vet promotion sites and note if they are above the fold, below the fold or just made the list. eNovel Authors is about THE BOOK. I guess you could say eNovel is book-centric as opposed to author-centric or ego-centric. Love the design of your new site. Regards, Jackie Weger”
Jordan Smith presents Does an Author Really Need Social Media? posted at Fix My Story, saying, “What’s the best social media strategy for an indie author? Do you really need it to succeed? This article answers both questions.”
Robin Storey presents Book Titles – What’s In A Name? posted at Storey-Lines, saying, “Indie author Robin Storey shares her frustration at not being able to think of a title for her book, discusses the importance of book titles in attracting readers and lists some weird book titles you won’t believe.”
Sabrina Ricci presents 805 Writers Conference: Self-Publishing Primer and More posted at Digital Pubbing, saying, “This past weekend, I was one of the speakers at the 805 Writers Conference, held in Ventura, California. 805 Writers Conference is an annual event for writers, and this year had a number of wonderful speakers who covered a wide range of topics, including adapting fiction for the screen, writing a non-fiction proposal, writing mysteries and thrillers, writing articles, how to get published, how to sell books, and book marketing tactics. There were also panels with literary agents and book editors.”
Marketing and Selling Your Books
Alexander von Ness presents 9 Kinds of Sales Opportunities posted at Nessgraphica
Amy Collins presents I Want to Sell My Book To Wal-Mart and Costco posted at New Shelves Blog, saying, “The number of people wanting to get into these venues seems to be growing and I wanted to help them by explaining what it takes to get onto their shelves. It IS possible, but it takes a great deal of hard work and sales before hand.”
Carrie Beckort presents How do you Pinterest? posted at Across the Board, saying, “Thanks for your consideration!”
Chris Well presents Publicity Secrets Revealed: Why You Need a Press Kit for These 5 Important People posted at DIY Author, saying, “Once upon a time, a “press kit” was created for members of the media–and nobody else even saw it. Today, an author’s publicity materials should be created for more types of people than ever before. Who are all these other people, and what do they want with that information? In this article, I name five types of people who may need access to an author’s publicity materials–and explain what they’re going to do with that information.”
Deb Dorchak presents How to Get Fans and Influence People posted at Behind the Words, saying, “Does the thought of selling your book make you want to crawl into a corner and hide? You’re not the only one. The very thought of selling is intimidating for most authors and creative folk in general. What can you do to help your sales? The answer is here.”
Frances Caballo presents How to Promote Your Next Novel During NaNoWriMo posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “If you write fiction, and you’re madly writing enough words each day to reach your 50,000-word NaNoWriMo goal, kudos to you. But guess what? If you’re not talking about NaNoWriMo with your readers, you’re missing out on a great marketing opportunity. As soon as you start writing a new novel you need to start marketing your book — and that maxim holds true during NaNoWriMo as well.”
Gary McLaren presents 40 Ideas for Writers to Post on Social Media posted at Writers Unplugged, saying, “When it comes to what exactly writers should be posting on social media, there are so many possibilities. Above all, you should keep on topic and you must think long term. Here are 40 ideas for what writers should post on social media.”
Jay Artale presents ALLi Insights: Reaching Readers with Wattpad posted at ALLi’s Author Advice Centre, saying, “Summary Article, Video and Podcast about how authors can use Wattpad to reach readers.”
Jordan Smith presents Show ‘Em Around: The Author’s Guide to Welcome E-mails posted at Fix My Story, saying, “A follow-up to my article last month. This post explains how to send a series of welcome e-mails to your new subscribers.”
Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents Differentiation And Positioning For Authors posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “The never-ending quest to get more readers, and their hard-earned money, is more competitive now than it has ever been before. And as you might have already surmised from your efforts to sell your own books, in order to become a financially successful author, you must learn how to differentiate and position yourself and your book as the go-to person and book that will help the reader solve their problems. And fortunately for you and me, this is not a difficult or overly sophisticated thing to accomplish. And luckily for us, it is something that most other authors do not bother to achieve.”
Kate Tilton presents Enter the Inbox: Newsletter Marketing posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “If you don’t know how to use the tools of your trade effectively, they won’t be helpful at all. In this article, Jessica West covers all you need to know to effectively use a newsletter.”
Kimberly Giarratano presents Running A Collective Giveaway posted at Across the Board
Randy Stapilus presents Great Sites That Offer Indie Book Reviews posted at BookWorks, saying, “Many traditional mass media outlets have been scaling back their book reviews, and competition for a spot in the places that remain can be fierce. Worry not. Many outlets still review books. Some even specialize in Indie books.”
Self-Publishing Success
Alexander von Ness presents Checklist for Creating Publishing Team! posted at Nessgraphica
Erica Verrillo presents The Martian: How did a self-published novel become a top-grossing movie? posted at Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity, saying, “The Martian, a film directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) and starring Matt Damon, has grossed over $385,869,582 in less than a month. This is not an unusual occurrence in Hollywood. But how an obscure, self-published novel chock full of math and science ended up as a blockbuster certainly should be a question on every indie author’s lips.”
Gordon Burgett presents How to Write in Financial Comfort Even in Old Age posted at Empire Building by Writing and Speaking for Writers, Speakers, and Publishers
Randy Stapilus presents Book Giveaway Options: What’s Best for Indie Authors? posted at BookWorks
Ron Callari presents Top 15 Blogs for Indie Authors – Part III posted at Bookworks’ Ron Callari Blogs, saying, “Compiling this Top 15 Blog list for BookWorks.com provided me with the opportunity to discover so many quality blogs I might never have been privy to. I must confess there are so many other outstanding blogs to choose from, it was most difficult to narrow this list down to a mere 15 ~ so in time, I will be scouting for others to bring to your attention in 2016. And if you have favorites, please feel free to note them below in the comments section for future considerations.”
Writing Tools and Tips
Alexander Zoltai presents What’s the #BigMagic about #ElizabethGilbert? posted at Notes from An Alien, saying, “The video in this review-post is full of writerly wisdom…”
Belinda Kroll presents Use the Hemingway App as a First-Pass Copy Editor posted at Belinda Kroll | Young Adult Victorian Fiction, saying, “Catching copy editing errors by “yourself” could save you a cool thousand (or more) in editing fees! Find the easy stuff yourself so you can pay someone else to edit your plot by using the Hemingway App. I’m all for it.”
C. S. Lakin presents Check Your Underwriting: 10 Key Questions to Ask of Your Story posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Because of lack of adequate writing experience, helpful critical feedback, and sufficient skill development and training, writers don’t realize they aren’t showing enough—and especially in a scene’s opening paragraphs—to help readers picture where a character is and when the scene is taking place in the story. Writers can imagine all the action taking place, the details of the setting, the sounds and smells their characters are experiencing. But they forget that readers aren’t mind readers. Here are ten questions to ask of your scenes—questions that cover the most common violations of underwriting. Keep your eye out for these flaws in your writing so your readers will be able to immerse themselves fully in your story.”
Chris Well presents 39 Thriller Authors: Best Writing Tips and Tools posted at DIY Author, saying, “Here’s a big list of great writing advice and recommended tools for writing and editing from several authors who write thrillers and suspense. The article includes helpful tips from a collection of both indie and traditionally published authors — including J.F. Penn, Russell Blake, Diane Capri, Jon Land, Rachel Abbott, and more.”
Gary McLaren presents 21 Inspirational Quotations for Novelists posted at Writers Unplugged, saying, “With NaNoWriMo starting in a couple of week’s time, this is a great time to share these 21 quotations for novelists. Hopefully, you will find them to be inspirational as you prepare to work on your stories.”
Ian Martyn presents Blogging – what I’ve learned so far posted at Ian Martyn – Science Fiction Writer, saying, “I’m a writer of science fiction and have been blogging for over two years. I don’t profess to be an expert, but in this blog I share some of my experiences.”
K.M. Weiland presents How to Make Your Hero’s Self-Sacrifice Even More Heartbreaking posted at Helping Writers Become Authors, saying, “Here’s a little nuance you can use to make your hero’s self-sacrifice even more poignant. Your readers will thank you in between tears.”
Kate Tilton presents Women in Fiction: More Than Damsels in Distress posted at Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers, saying, “Author Will Van Stone Jr. covers the importance of women in fiction. Hint: they are more than just damsels in distress.”
Laura Iancu presents 10 Lessons I Learned From Writing My First Book posted at Travelers Universe
M. L. Gardner presents Kill Your Darlings posted at M. L. Gardner Blog
Marcy Kennedy presents Becoming Your POV Character posted at Writers in the Storm, saying, “One of the most common writing challenges is avoiding point-of-view errors. It doesn’t seem to matter where we are along the writing path—from newbie to multi-published—point-of-view errors crop up like many-headed hydra. The key to avoiding them is to think like your POV character.”
Stefanie Newell presents The Elements of a Short Story posted at The Write One Blog
Well, that wraps up this issue. I hope you enjoy some of the great articles here, and let other people interested in self-publishing know about the Carnival—Use the share buttons to Tweet it, Share it on Facebook, Plus-1 it on Google+, Link to it!
The next issue December 27, 2015 and the deadline for submissions will be December 15, 2015. Don’t miss it!
Here are all the links you’ll need
- Have something to share with our community? Submit your article here
- The original announcement post
- Carnival of the Indies web page
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