Welcome to this issue of the Carnival of the Indies blog carnival. This issue is for June, 2018. 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
Fiona Raven presents Working with a Book Illustrator posted at Book Design Made Simple, saying, “Need a book illustrator? Learn how to find one, how much you should expect to pay, what size, format, and resolution the illustrations should be, and what to include in your contract. Get answers and move forward with confidence!”
Iola Goulton presents A (not so) Short History of Fake Reviews on Amazon posted at Christian Editing Services, saying, “Amazon are (yet again) deleting reviews and making changes to their reviewing guidelines. These changes are frustrating for authors, but are Amazon’s not-always-successful attempt to detect and delete fake reviews.”
Nate Hoffelder presents Nate’s Big List of eBook Market Analytic Tools posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “If you want to know what keywords are drawing the most readers, or check for patterns in your own sales, these tools will help find the answers.”
Book Design and Production
Dave Chesson presents Author Brand 101 – What It Is and Why You Need One posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com Author Branding Expert, Dave Chesson, explains the basics of what an author brand is and how it can turn readers into fans in Part 1 of a series.”
Kristina Adams presents KDP or CreateSpace: Which Should You Use to Publish Your Paperback? posted at The Writer’s Cookbook, saying, “There are lots of sites out there that help authors to publish their books in paperback format. This post takes a look at some of the key differences (and similarities) between two of the most popular options.”
Indie Author
Carole P. Roman presents Publishing on Medium…Can It Work for You? posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “In the latest “Notes from the Field” post, prolific BookWorks.com author, Carole P. Roman, shares her experience publishing on Medium and how it can benefit indie authors.”
Patrice Williams Marks presents What Is a Sensitivity Reader? Who Can Be a Sensitivity Reader? Who Hires Sensitivity Readers? Free eCourse! posted at Author Patrice Williams Marks, saying, “Will be writing a series of articles on Sensitivity Reading.”
Sarah Bolme presents Five More Free Tools for Authors posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Indie authors wear many hats including writer, publisher, book designer, production manager, publicist, marketing manager, and social media manager. It’s a lot to do with multiple tasks to keep track of.”
Marketing and Selling Your Books
Anne Meick presents How to Write a Killer Book Description posted at Writers’ Connection, saying, “This is a blog post written for new and existing authors who need advice and support writing, publishing and marketing their books.”
Chris Well presents 3 Tools to Target Media Topics for Your Pitch posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com Media & PR Expert, Chris Well, offers indie authors 3 research tools to help them target popular, timely and trending media topics that align with their expertise for making their pitch.”
Chris Well presents Author Media Pitch Do’s & Don’ts – Part Three posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com Media & PR Expert, Chris Well, offers Author Media Pitch Do’s & Don’ts in Part 3 of his 3-part series on the 7 mistakes to avoid when seeking media publicity for your book.”
Eric Z presents How to Create Super Effective Audiobooks and Video Slideshows for Free Lead Magnets posted at Medium.com – Eric Z – The Way of the Successful Author Series, saying, “Hi Joel – THANKS! for publishing my previous articles on your blog.
This one is on Medium.com BUT it may go on my website at a later date. I’m testing Medium right now and liking it :-) Let me know if it is to your liking, or if it must be on my own websi”
Frances Caballo presents How I Accumulated 40,000 Twitter Followers posted at Social Media Just for Writers, saying, “I remember when I joined Twitter seven years ago. Within the first day, I had four followers, and I recall running out of my office and into the kitchen so I could tell my husband that four people were following me. “Me!” I said. I was stoked. I didn’t kn”
Glenn Miller presents Where to Spend Your Book Advertising Budget posted at Career Authors, saying, “Most authors should not advertise. Use these questions to see if – and where – you should.”
Glenna Collett presents Use your Book to Build Business posted at Book Design Made Simple, saying, “Have you written a self-help book, DIY book, user manual, training book, or some other book that is full of advice? If so, don’t stop when it’s published. In fact, even before you start writing, make plans to use your book to build business.”
Iola Goulton presents Monday, 28 May 2018 To Pre-order or Not To Pre-order? | Narelle Atkins posted at Australasian Christian Writers, saying, “Narelle Atkins discusses the relative advantages and disadvantages of pre-orders.”
Kristina Adams presents 10 Literary Techniques to Use in Your Copywriting posted at The Writer’s Cookbook.
Nate Hoffelder presents Grow Your Author Mailing List with These 7 Essential Tools posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “Are you using all the available tools to grow your mailing list? Here are seven basic tools that you can add to your toolbox.”
Penny Sansevieri presents Book Cover Rules to Follow for Indie Author Success posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com Book Marketing Expert, Penny Sansevieri, shares her top book cover do’s & don’ts to help indie authors sell more books.”
Penny Sansevieri presents Get the Most from Book Marketing Services: Author Checklist posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Book Marketing Expert, Penny Sansevieri, provides a checklist of steps authors should take to ensure they get the most from their investment when hiring book marketing services.”
Russell Phillips presents Setting up HTTPS and SSL on WordPress posted at Author Help, saying, “There are several good reasons to set up HTTPS and SSL on your website. It gives your site a small SEO boost. Soon, the Chrome web browser will start marking sites without HTTPS and SSL as “Not secure”. You may even need it for GDPR compliance, because th”
Terry Whalin presents Don’t Be an Unreachable Author posted at The Writing Life, saying, “Are you someone easy to reach? Or are you an unreachable author? Editor and author Terry Whalin gives some solid reminders about the importance of being reachable.”
Self-Publishing Success
Carla King presents 5 One Stop Shop Self-Publishing Services for Print & Ebooks posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Tech Expert, Carla King, reviews 5 one stop shop self-publishing services that offer book creation & distribution for print and eBooks.”
Sophie Anderson presents Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing – Case Studies posted at Carmine Proofreading, saying, “If you’re still wondering about whether to self-publish, these case studies take a look at what might work well for you.”
Writing Tools and Tips
Alexander Zoltai presents Blog Conversation About Word Histories posted at Notes from An Alien.
Amanda Linehan presents The Benefits Of Joining A Writing Group posted at Amanda Linehan.
C. S. Lakin presents Evoking Emotions in Readers in a Masterful Way posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Part 4 of a continuing look at the challenge of evoking targeted emotions in readers through masterful writing. One way to do this is to use an emotionally charged flashback at the Dark Night Moment or start of the climax of your novel.”
Ian Martyn presents Ideas – where does that next great book come from? posted at Ian Martyn – Author, saying, “I admit it, I’m struggling to come up with ideas for the fourth book in my Inspector Kirby series. Maybe I need a break and let my subconscious have a go.”
JW Arlock presents What is the difference between Alpha, Beta and Advance Copy Readers? posted at Negative Space.
Katie McCoach presents 15 Things I Learned After Reading 100 Query Letters posted at KM Editorial, saying, “There’s a lot a person can learn by reading 100 query letters and 100 opening pages. In this article, I’m going to share with you 15 things I learned after reading 100 query letters in one week. Here are your do’s, don’t’s, mistakes, successes, patterns,”
Lisa Poisso presents Help! My edit is choking my computer! posted at Clarity, saying, “Microsoft Word takes a lot of heat for choking on big documents when it’s really the user’s computer hardware at fault. The little laptop or older computer that’s served you so loyally for writing may not be able to keep up now that you’re showing and hid”
Lois Hoffman presents Blogging for Profit posted at The Happy Self-Publisher, saying, “Perhaps you want to start a blog, but wonder if it is a profitable investment? After all, any new venture requires time or money – and often both! Considering your overall goals is imperative to determine if or when to launch a blog. You want blogging to”
Louise Harnby presents A beginner’s guide to narrative point of view in crime writing posted at The Parlour, saying, “A tangled narrative point of view mars a good yarn. This article shows you how to keep it tight and make it work. I’ve focused on crime writing but the principles apply to all fiction genres.”
Louise Harnby presents Playing with sentence length in crime fiction. Is it time to trim the fat? posted at The Parlour, saying, “Overwriting can spoil the pace of a novel and frustrate a reader. This post explores how to create tension in crime fiction with sentence length, and how less can sometimes be more.”
Sharon Connell presents Creating Believable Characters & Scenes posted at Sharon K. Connell, saying, “One of the best tips I like to share with fellow writers is how to make the story real. I hope you benefit from this article. And feel free to pass it on.”
Tara East presents How to reduce your word count posted at A Writer’s Blog, saying, “A thin first draft may be the product of underwriting and a bloated manuscript may be the result of overwriting, but the truth is all works in progress (WIP) can benefit from the five tips outlined in this blog. By cutting out filter words, tightening sen”
Zara Altair presents Dialogue Tips for Mystery Writers posted at Write Time, saying, “Listening and observation are the keys to writing dialogue that brings characters to life.”
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 is July 29, 2018 and the deadline for submissions will be July 15, 2018. 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
- Bloggers, grab your official Carnival of the Indies Badges here
- Follow Carnival of the Indies on Twitter to get deadline reminders
- Subscribe to The Book Designer Blog
