Self-Publishing: The Carnival of the Indies Issue #94

POSTED ON Jul 29, 2018

Home > Blog > The Joel Friedlander Archives > Self-Publishing: The Carnival of the Indies Issue #94

By Joel Friedlander

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

Louise Harnby presents How much does fiction copyediting and proofreading cost? posted at The Parlour, saying, “What does it cost to work with a professional editor? It depends on the editor’s business model, which industry surveys and reports you read, the required turnaround time, and the complexity of the project. Here are some ballpark prices, and some ideas about how to save money on editing.”

Jay Artale presents Choosing Book Index Software for your nonfiction paperback posted at Birds of a Feather Press, saying, “Nonfiction authors need to help readers navigate their content by creating a table of contents and a robust index, and for this you’ll need to master book indexing software or find a freelancer to index your book for you. But where do you start? Jay has researched free and paid software options, where to find a reputable book indexer, and how much your various options cost.”

Carla King presents 10 Ebook Conversion Tools for Docs to EPUB & MOBI posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “At some time or another in your publishing journey, you will need to create EPUB and MOBI versions of your book, stories, or documents. There are many reasons to do this and I hope that the information in this post will help you plan a publication and marketing strategy that incorporates sharing with early readers (beta publishing), editing, distributing book reviews, sales, and distribution.”

Ebooks and Ebook Readers

Nate Hoffelder presents Book Stuffing Scams: Is Amazon Finally Cleaning House? posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “Guest contributor, Nate Hoffelder, reports on Amazon finally cleaning house by removing book stuffing cheaters from the Kindle Store but concludes this won’t end scam-artists figuring out how to game the system.”

Indie Author

Sarah Bolme presents Does Your Book Have a Firm Foundation? posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Everything we build requires a solid foundation to survive. Books require a firm foundation to stand against the competition. This firm foundation begins with your writing and the promise you make to your readers. It extends to the physical package of your message (layout and design of the book) and includes the price readers pay for the book.”

Terry Whalin presents The Ever-Changing World of Publishing posted at The Writing Life, saying, “Publishing is constantly changing. How can authors roll with these changes and not only survive but thrive? Experienced editor Terry Whalin gives four tips in this article.”

Marketing and Selling Your Books

Belinda Griffin presents This is how to market books under a pen name posted at SmartAuthorsLab.

Dave Chesson presents Your Author Bio Is a Powerful Tool to Build Your Brand posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com Author Branding Expert, Dave Chesson educates indie authors on how to craft an effective author bio as a powerful tool to build their brand.”

Glenna Collett presents Your author website 101 posted at Book Design Made Simple, saying, “When I’ve taught workshops on self-publishing, students have always been alarmed at the thought of setting up a website for their book. Nobody has a clue how it’s done, so this article is for all the authors out there just like them.”

Sarah Bolme presents What Every Children’s Author Needs to Know posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “If you are a children’s author and write for children,your target audience is in the Generation Z group. Generation Z is very different from the children of previous generations. As a children’s author, you need to know what is important to these children so that you can reach them with your messages.”

Steven Spatz presents What kind of timeline should I follow to publish my book during the holidays? posted at BookBaby Blog, saying, “The holiday selling season is a popular time for independent authors to launch and sell their books. But publishing your book successfully––with a purposeful and effective launch––takes time. You can’t rush it. So put down the summer BBQ hot dogs and get writing! There are several important deadlines and milestones you need to hit on your way to holiday sales success.”

Self-Publishing Success

Glenn Miller presents Author Websites: The 5 Things Every Site Needs posted at Career Authors, saying, “Author websites serve one purpose: to sell books. Which means they need these – and only these – elements.”

Lisa Poisso presents 12 reasons to learn how to write a brilliant synopsis posted at Clarity, saying, “Writing your synopsis is a must-have writing skill for every successful novelist. Consider how many times and how many ways you’re going to have to summarize your novel over the course of the publishing process.”

Niki Tschirgi presents Notes from the Field: Ways to Reach Your Niche Audience posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com indie author, Niki Breeser Tschirgi, offers up some strategies that she uses to connect with her niche audience to help fellow authors find theirs.”

Sophie Anderson presents How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 2 – First Steps posted at Carmine Proofreading, saying, “The second instalment of my series on self-publishing, this takes a look at how get your work copy-edited and have a cover designed.”

Writing Tools and Tips

Angelic Rodgers presents The Takeaways from my #fivedaysoffocus posted at Angelic Rodgers.

Daphne Gray-Grant presents How to handle writing while travelling or on holiday posted at Publication Coach, saying, “I thought this highly seasonal post might be a good fit for you.”

Deanna Cabinian presents Why You Should Edit Your Novel Backwards posted at Deanna Cabinian, saying, “The most effective editing tactics are the least conventional.”

Iola Goulton presents Dear Editor | How Long Will it Take to Edit my Novel (And How Much Will It Cost)? posted at Christian Editing Services, saying, “Cover design and editing are the two biggest costs in indie publishing. How much is editing likely to cost, why is it so expensive, and how can authors keep the cost down?”

Karen Conlin presents Spellcheck Cannot Save You! On Constructive Criticism posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWork.com’s Indie Editor-at-Large, Karen Conlin, discusses the delicate nature of delivering constructive criticism to authors and why they should avoid equating themselves with their work.”

Lisa Poisso presents Why your first book should not be part of a series posted at Clarity, saying, “Tackling a series is a serious handicap for freshman authors who are still mastering the mechanics of how to craft a story. That’s a ridiculously high difficulty setting, and it’s no wonder many authors crumple before the finish line or produce a series that peters out with a whimper.”

Louise Harnby presents 3 reasons to use free indirect speech in your crime fiction posted at The Parlour, saying, “Are you using free indirect speech in your writing? This article provides an overview of what it is and how it can spice up your fiction. I focus on crime, but the principles apply across genres.”

Phyllis Zimbler Miller presents Why Writers Should Consider Including Safer Sex in Fiction posted at Writer’s Digest, saying, “I’m starting a #SaferSexInFiction campaign on Twitter.”

Zara Altair presents Unpack Your Story’s Supporting Characters posted at Write Time, saying, “The first thing you need to know about each character is how they work in the story.”

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 August 26, 2018 and the deadline for submissions will be August 15, 2018. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need