Self-Publishing: The Carnival of the Indies Issue #105

POSTED ON Jun 23, 2019

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By Joel Friedlander

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

Frances Caballo presents How to Conquer LinkedIn – Part 1 posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “Want to learn how to conquer LinkedIn? I know what you’re thinking. “I’m a writer, not a business. I don’t need LinkedIn.” Yeah, well, if you write books and want to make a living at it, guess what? You just started a business. I mean, who writes books, pays for conferences or workshops, editors, and graphic artists and then doesn’t expect to make money? I hope that’s not you. Listen, while Instagram keeps climbing the chart, growing and expanding you need to know this: you still need LinkedIn. So, let’s get started.”

Belinda Pollard presents Should Writers Do Their Own Editing? posted at Write, Edit and Publish Like A Pro, saying, “The answer to “Should writers do their own editing?” is both YES and NO. There are times when we should edit our own work, and times when we need the benefit of someone else’s eyes. This article covers self-editing, using beta readers, and what you could expect from hiring a professional editor when the time comes.”

Jay Artale presents Why Launching a Podcast will Grow Your Blog Audience posted at How to Blog a Book, saying, “Even though podcasting is now mainstream, you don’t have to worry that you’ve missed the boat. It’s never too late to launch your own author podcast, and here’s why you should.”

Book Design and Production

Dave Chesson presents The Parts and Anatomy of a Book posted at Kindlepreneur, saying, “As a writer, you know how to craft useful content or a great story, but what about all those other pages? Copyrights, dedications, tables of content, indexes — it’s a lot to keep track of. This article breaks down the parts of a book so you can check all the boxes in less time and with less stress.”

Dmitri Barvinok presents What authors need to know about errata strategies in book publishing: How can I fix errors in my book? posted at Front Edge Publishing Blog, saying, “What should an author do when they find an error in their published book? In the past, traditional publishing methods and technologies essentially only had one answer for this author: Wait until the next print run—and only then if your book sells enough copies. Such fixes could take years, or were never made. Today, fast and flexible printing technologies mean post-publication changes—called errata—don’t have to wait until the current print run ends. Fixes can be incorporated based on optimal distribution timing.”

Iola Goulton presents Marketing 101: Book Cover Design posted at Christian Editing Services, saying, “Tips for finding a cover design that will attract your readers, and my two favourite resources for cover design inspiration.”

Laura Cross presents How Much Will It Cost to Self-Publish Your Nonfiction Book posted at Expert Author.

Michele DeFilippo presents How to Prepare a Manuscript for the Book Designer and Editor posted at 1106 Design Blog, saying, “When it comes to preparing a manuscript for the book designer, you don’t need to make it look pretty. Honestly, we don’t mind that your manuscript doesn’t yet look like a book; after all, that’s our job! There are some things you can do (and shouldn’t do), however, to make your intentions clearer and your manuscript easier to navigate for both the book designer and editor. Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts—tips for how to prepare a manuscript.”

Sarah Bolme presents The Growing Demand for Paper posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “The cost to print a book keeps increasing. IngramSpark and Lightning Source recently raised their printing fees—again. A number of independent authors are frustrated by the rising costs. We live in a digital age. If we are operating more in the digital realm, shouldn’t paper consumption be going down? If consumption is going down, wouldn’t this mean that paper is more affordable due to supply and demand?”

Indie Author

Joy E. Rancatore presents Why Start a Press? posted at Logos & Mythos, saying, “Have you considered starting your own Press? I did! Here are some of my reasons behind taking these extra steps.”

Terry Whalin presents Be A Visible Author posted at The Writing Life, saying, “With over 4,500 new books a day, some book authors are invisible. Terry Whalin helps you raise your visibility in Be A Visible Author.”

Marketing and Selling Your Books

Belinda Griffin presents 5 Ways of Reaching New Readers Using Social Media posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Reader Relationships expert, Belinda Griffin, shares 5 ways to connect to new readers via social media in her ongoing series on reader outreach.”

Connie Dowell Dowell presents Copywriting for Authors with Brian Meeks posted at Book Echoes Podcast, saying, “Brian comes on the podcast to talk about how copywriting skills for authors can help authors sell more books with better descriptions and advertising copy.”

Jay Artale presents Nonfiction Book Marketing for Introverts – Back to Basics posted at Birds of a Feather Press, saying, “Introverted authors often shy away from book marketing, but with a few simple steps even the most reticent marketer can create a solid foundation for their books without getting overwhelmed. If you’ve been hiding your head under the covers to avoid self-promotion, find out how one simple switch in your perspective can ease the pain of marketing.”

Russell Phillips presents Images, Resolution, and DPI posted at Author Help, saying, “Authors are comfortable with words, but many of them know much less about images, especially technical issues such as resolution and DPI (dots per inch). This can be a problem when choosing images for use in print books or for use on merchandise such as bookmarks.”

Sarah Bolme presents The Book Distribution Conundrum posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “The big news this month is that Baker & Taylor announced that they will no longer sell books to retailers as of July 15, 2019. This is industry-changing news.”

Self-Publishing Success

Dave Chesson presents Inside Your Book & Back Cover Branding Opportunities posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Author Branding expert, Dave Chesson, reveals 3 branding opportunities many authors overlook: the back cover, preface and dedication pages.”

Lisa Poisso presents Decide Now, Decide Later: Decisions to Make Before Your Edit posted at Clarity, saying, “The answer to what your book needs and what it can do without lies in all the other decisions you make about your book before editing. Here’s what to decide—and what not to decide—before you’re ready for professional editing.”

Writing Tools and Tips

Amanda Linehan presents Why To Use Writing Prompts and Where To Find Them posted at Amanda Linehan, saying, “Consider using writing prompts to boost your creativity and put a little distance between you and your story.”

C. S. Lakin presents Writing Authentic Dialogue in Memoir posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Dialogue is the epitome of “showing” instead of telling. Dialogue brings characters to life and engages readers. If we have no dialogue in our “scenes,” those long descriptive paragraphs will get boring. These basic tenets apply to fiction as well as in memoir. Dialogue adds “white space” to our pages, makes the reading move quickly, and helps keep our story from becoming cumbersome. But dialogue can be boring, right Fiction writers learn the technique of distilling dialogue. What this means is exactly what it sounds like. Dialogue should present the gist of what needs to be said, minus the ums and uhs and unimportant stuff. No one likes to engage in boring conversation, so it stands to follow they wouldn’t want to read it either.”

Carla King presents Markdown: The Easy Way to Write, Edit & Format Your Book posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Tech Guru, Carla King, reviews Markdown text editor along with compatible tools/apps to help you write, edit and format your book with ease.”

Cynthia Morris presents Creativity: Why Bother (world peace, that’s why) posted at Original Impulse, saying, “Inspiration to stay the course.”

Daphne Gray-Grant presents 9 ways to make your writing more resilient posted at The Publication Coach, saying, “Writers like to give themselves daunting goals. They might say, “I’m going to write 2,000 words every day until I get my 80,000-word manuscript complete.” And when they fail to meet this goal, they become dejected with themselves and start to feel hopeless. Not only do they need more reasonable planning, they also need a hearty dose of resilience. This blog post describes how they can develop it.”

Lisa Tener presents Writer’s Block? Maybe You’re Not Stuck at All posted at Lisa Tener’s Writing and Publishing Blog, saying, “Starts with: “I was really stuck last week, but now I’m not as much.” I probed Strategic Planning Consultant Karen Barth a bit about the word “stuck” because I had a hunch she’d find herself in a similar state again, and maybe it wasn’t exactly stuck but in need of something…”

Louise Harnby presents Filter words in fiction: Purposeful inclusion and dramatic restriction posted at The Parlour, saying, “If you’re looking for ways to inject some drama into your novel’s sentences, omitting filter words could be just the ticket. Do so judiciously though. Including them can add texture to mood and voice.”

Louise Harnby presents Writing dialogue and thoughts: 8 problems and how to fix them posted at The Parlour, saying, “Powerful dialogue and thoughts enrich a story without the reader noticing. When done poorly, they distract at best and bore at worst. Here are 8 problems to watch out for, and ideas about how to solve them.”

Nate Hoffelder presents How to Find Free (and Legal) Images Online posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “Image license fees don’t have to drain your pocketbook; in fact, they don’t have to cost anything at all. Let me show you how to find free and legal images you can use on your blog, on in your ebook.”

Zara Altair presents How To Get The Most Impact From Your Setting posted at Write Time, saying, “Get the most impact from your setting by highlighted details and character interaction. Learn the four ways to add setting power to your mystery.”

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 July 28, 2019 and the deadline for submissions will be July 15, 2019. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need