Self-Publishing: The Carnival of the Indies Issue #102

POSTED ON Mar 31, 2019

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By Joel Friedlander

Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for March, 2019. 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

Kimberley Grabas presents Personal Branding for Authors: What It Is And Why It’s Essential posted at Your Writer Platform, saying, “Personal branding can be a vague term… It isn’t just a website, a font choice or a clever tagline. It’s a blend of your skills, talents, values, interests, and beliefs reflected through your writing, online presence, and offline interactions. For authors, it’s often a mix of professional and personal branding which includes what you do, why you do it and who you do it for. But, It’s not enough just to be good at what you write. You must be able to easily and clearly communicate your vision or the purpose behind your work, and coherently voice its importance to others. This is why effective branding is such a big and significant part of developing and growing your writer platform.”

Carla King presents Comparing the 5 Most Popular eBook Distribution Companies posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Tech expert, Carla King, compares 5 popular eBook distribution and publishing companies that she has tested and used for her own and her clients’ books.”

Frances Caballo presents New to Instagram? Here’s How to Start Plus 9 Tips for Authors posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “If your reader demographic is between the ages of 18 and 49, Instagram can be a strategic application for you to use. Those of you who write young adult, new adult, dystopian, and teen and young adult romance and science fiction novels, will need to spend time connecting with your readers on Instagram.”

Book Design and Production

Dmitri Barvinok presents Editing FAQs: Does my book need copy editing? posted at Front Edge Publishing Blog, saying, “DO I NEED A COPY EDITOR? The short answer is: Yes! That is, if you don’t want to wake up as the author of a brand-new book full of embarrassing errors. Dmitri writes about the many reasons you’ll sleep sounder and wake up refreshed as an author—if you’ve got talented copy editors on your side.”

Meredith Bond presents Judging a Book by its Cover posted at Magical Romance.

Tony Riches presents How to Create Large Print Editions of Your Books With Vellum posted at The Writing Desk.

Indie Author

Amanda Linehan presents Am I Good Enough? posted at Amanda Linehan, saying, “Many writers wonder if they’re good enough to succeed. But maybe the question is more important than the answer.”

Joy E. Rancatore presents Not Just Self-Published posted at Logos & Mythos, saying, “Thank you for your consideration! My desire is that this post will be helpful and encouraging to many Indie Authors.”

Marketing and Selling Your Books

Belinda Griffin presents How to Attract Readers with an Outreach Strategy posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Reader Relationships expert, Belinda Griffin, offers outreach strategies to help authors find, connect with, and attract readers in her new series.”

Chris Well presents Your Author Media Calendar for Pitching Seasonal Events posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Media & PR expert, Chris Well, advises authors on how to set up a media calendar so they can anticipate and pitch upcoming seasonal events and secure media spots ahead of the competition.”

Dave Chesson presents 3 Factors for Choosing an On-Brand Pen Name posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Author Branding expert, Dave Chesson, discusses the 3 factors authors should consider when choosing a pen name that is on-brand.”

Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. presents Understanding Your Reader’s Needs AND Wants Can Lead To Higher Book Sales posted at Kunz On Publishing, saying, “Your needs and wants, as an author, can be surprisingly and distinctly different than those of your reader. But, once you realize these differences between you and the reader, you can then focus your attention on truly understanding who your reading audience really is, and what their needs and wants are about. So, here is a short discussion to help you start to define and understand what your reading audience needs and wants in their own life, which is what has led them to you and your non-fiction book.”

Kimberley Grabas presents Personal Branding for Authors: What It Is And Why It’s Essential posted at Your Writer Platform, saying, “Personal branding can be a vague term… It isn’t just a website, a font choice or a clever tagline. It’s a blend of your skills, talents, values, interests, and beliefs reflected through your writing, online presence, and offline interactions. For authors, it’s often a mix of professional and personal branding which includes what you do, why you do it and who you do it for. But, It’s not enough just to be good at what you write. You must be able to easily and clearly communicate your vision or the purpose behind your work, and coherently voice its importance to others. This is why effective branding is such a big and significant part of developing and growing your writer platform.”

Laura Cross presents Turn Your Nonfiction Book into the Ultimate Lead Generation Tool posted at Expert Author/Entrepreneur.

Martin Crosbie presents Indies Unlimited Do You Write Books in a Series? You Need a Series Page! posted at Indies Unlimited.

Nate Hoffelder presents How to Set Up and Edit Your Amazon.com Author Profile posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “Your author profile on Amazon.com is your first chance to introduce yourself to a new readers. Here’s how to set it up!”

Sarah Bolme presents Why You Should Use Micro-Influencers posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Last Sunday, the pastor at church mentioned a book in his sermon. He even went a step further and said that if the congregants had not read the book, that he recommended we do. I thought the book sounded interesting, so I acquired a copy. That, my friends, is micro-influencing at work.”

Terry Whalin presents Why Writes Need Lead Magnets posted at The Writing Life, saying, “Every writer needs exposure for their book but how do you build your email list? One continual method is through creating lead magnets. Terry Whalin gives you the detailed examples in this article.”

Self-Publishing Success

David Crumm presents ‘A Book Is a Community Between Two Covers’—so, an Author’s Calling Is to Serve that Community posted at Front Edge Publishing Blog, saying, “LIVING IN THE WORLD WE HOPE TO SEE—The best books are invitations to jump into communities we’re eager to explore. In this column, you’ll learn about the colorful worlds opening up in recent best sellers—and you’ll learn how one author, Victor Begg, is meeting this challenge every day.”

Glenna Collett presents Your book needs CIP data—here’s why posted at Book Design Made Simple, saying, “We recently learned how very important it is to put library cataloging data on a book’s copyright page, especially for indie and self publishers. In this article we explain why and how to obtain CIP data.”

Sarah Bolme presents Don’t Just Be Anyone posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Amazon has leveled the playing field for publishing a book. Almost anyone can publish a book through Amazon using Kindle Direct Publishing. Of course, the ability for anyone to publish a book has both positive and negative consequences.”

Writing Tools and Tips

C. S. Lakin presents How to Write a Killer First Draft in 6 Steps posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “A killer first draft, the holy grail—who doesn’t want it? Conventional wisdom says that you can’t write a good first draft. The 6-step process is carefully constructed to help you tell the best version (or close to it) of your story the first time around by limiting potential problems.”

Daphne Gray-Grant presents 21 ways I get out of the writing doldrums posted at The Publication Coach, saying, “We all suffer from the doldrums from time to time but for writers this reality can be especially disconcerting. Instead of letting ennui drag you down and spoil your productivity, consult my list of 21 tips and pick one that will help restore your energy for writing.”

David Leonhardt presents How to write a fiction book cover blurb that can make your novel a best-seller posted at Always Write.

David Leonhardt presents How to write a non-fiction book cover blurb that sells posted at Always Write.

Georgina Jeffery presents Storymart: 5 Pros and Cons for Writers posted at An Inspired Mess, saying, “Anyone familiar with the slog of short story submissions knows just how hard it is to get work published professionally – especially if you’re hoping to be paid for it. ‘Storymart’ offers an alternative paying publishing route for quality short fiction. It’s a very young platform with much to prove: here are my thoughts on whether it’s worth signing up for.”

Lisa Poisso presents Best Books on Writing Fiction: Recommended books for novelists posted at Clarity, saying, “Like all books, books on the craft of writing fiction have their own personalities and approaches. With my clients, I hone recommendations to an even finer point to suggest titles that will resonate with their work styles and needs, but these are my current favorites for everyone.”

Zara Altair presents What Readers Love posted at Write Time, saying, “Thank you!”

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, Link to it!

The next issue is April 28, 2019 and the deadline for submissions will be April 15, 2013. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need