Self-Publishing: The Carnival of the Indies Issue #98

POSTED ON Nov 25, 2018

Home > Blog > Self-Publishing, Social Media > Self-Publishing: The Carnival of the Indies Issue #98

By Joel Friedlander

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

Chris Well presents Introvert’s Guide to Book Promotion: 17 Tips To Make It Work For You posted at Build Your Brand Academy, saying, “For authors who hate being the center of attention, that doesn’t mean they can’t work with the media to promote their books. Just because an author doesn’t want to be on the talk show circuit doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities more in line with their sensitivities. This article offers 17 tips to promote your book even if you’re shy or need to protect your personal space.”

David Crumm presents Metadata 101: How to Request Endorsements, Forewords and Prefaces for New Books posted at Front Edge Publishing Blog, saying “This is the point, close to completing a book, when we summon our allies and angels to help us. If our invitations are sincere, these friends will respond with best wishes—even if they are unable to help write an endorsement at the moment. In 11 years of making these requests, I’ve received only kind words in response.”

Laura Hartley presents Bookstagram for Indie Authors Part Two: Strategy posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “Learn how to #bookstagram successfully with BookWorks.com’s guide to bookstagram strategy for indie authors, by guest writer, Laura Hartley.”

Book Design and Production

Glenna Collett presents Using a layout grid in book design posted at Book Design Made Simple, saying, “A layout grid provides lots of flexibility in your book design. Set up a layout grid and you’ll have plenty of options for placing text, captions, and images.”

Nate Hoffelder presents Pages Now Publishes Directly to Apple Books posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “Got a Mac? Apple’s word processing app has long been able to make Epub ebooks that you can sell in iBooks, and now it’s made the process simpler. Apple Pages can upload directly to your Apple Books account.”

Indie Author

Alexander Zoltai presents Yes, We’re Still Having a Conversation about the “Rules of Writing” . . . posted at Notes from An Alien.

Louise Harnby presents How to prepare your book file for a fiction editor posted at The Parlour, saying, “In this article, I offer 12 tips on how to make your book file editor-ready.”

Nate Hoffelder presents Five Tips for Authors Going to Their First Book Fair posted at The Digital Reader, saying, “Book festivals are often the best way for authors to connect with fans, but getting the most out of exhibiting at a festival takes careful planning and preparation. Here are five ways authors can prepare for their first book festival.”

Russell Phillips presents Easy Backups With Dropbox posted at Author Help, saying, “Backups will save you from all sorts of problems such as ransomware, burglary, computer failure, and simple human error like mistakenly deleting files or chapters. Dropbox provides an easy way to make an off-site backup of works in progress. This article and video show how to set up a Dropbox account and start using it to make backups of important files.”

Marketing and Selling Your Books

Amy Edelman presents How to Increase Your Book Sales and Exposure this Holiday Season posted at IndieReader.

Chris Well presents Author PR Kit Essentials Part One: Author Components posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Media & PR expert, Chris Well, lays out the essential components that authors need to have in their PR kit in Part One of a 3-part series.”

Iola Goulton presents Geoblocking on Amazon: 13 Reasons Why I Don’t Want to Switch from Amazon.com to Amazon Australia posted at Christian Editing Services, saying, “In October, international customers saw thousands of ebooks disappear from Amazon.com through what we hope was a temporary glitch (as covered by David Gaughran in his excellent post). This post shows what I saw (or didn’t see) in New Zealand, and covers 13 reasons why I don’t want Amazon to geoblock international readers and authors and force us to move to our “local” stores.”

Sarah Bolme presents Are Your Marketing Messages Sticky? posted at Marketing Christian Books, saying, “Every marketing message competes with thousands of other marketing messages. Having a message that is sticky is necessary to stand out and grab people’s attention.”

Self-Publishing Success

Amy Edelman presents Social Media, Venting and the Importance of Finding Author Friends posted at IndieReader.

Belinda Griffin presents Your Ideal Reader Informs All 7 Stages of Publishing posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Reader Relationships expert, Belinda Griffin, explains how your ideal reader should inform all stages of self-publishing, in the latest installment of her ongoing series.”

Karen Conlin presents Spellcheck Cannot Save You! 5 Author Mistakes to Avoide posted at BookWorks Blog, saying, “BookWorks.com’s Indie Editor-at-Large, Karen Conlin, shares the top 5 author mistakes to avoid so you and your book editor will have a successful partnership.”

Sophie Anderson presents How to Self-Publish Your Book, Stage 6 – Preparing for Publication and Creating Metadata posted at Carmine Proofreading, saying, “This blog looks at ways of attracting more sales by categorising your book accurately and pricing it just right!”

Writing Tools and Tips

Alma Alexander presents The sometimes bizarre world of a writer posted at Alma Alexander, Duchess of Fantasy.

Bjørn Larssen presents Writing While Depressed posted at Bjørn Larssen – Writer, saying, “Hello, this article proved way more popular than anything else I put on my blog before. It’s my reaction to the most often repeated advice along the lines of “write every day” and “you must fulfil a daily quota” etc., as seen from the point of view of a person with chronic illness. I decided to submit it since I saw the link to “Why you should spend LESS time writing” in the Carnival roundup great stuff, thanks for sharing it!”

C. S. Lakin presents The Benefits and Drawbacks of Immersion for Writers posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Immersion is often a wonderful experience. It’s a particular state of mental involvement that many of us, as writers, find deeply comforting and satisfying, and it’s quite likely that it’s what draws you back again and again for more. But like so many things, immersion is a double-edged sword.”

C. S. Lakin presents Want to Get Published? Try Flash Fiction posted at Live Write Thrive, saying, “Writers are encouraged in this post to stop poring over articles about writer’s block and use the time when their novel or short story collections aren’t moving forward to write publishable flash fiction.”

Daphne Gray-Grant presents How to recover from a writing rejection posted at The Publication Coach, saying, “Being rejected is a core part of the job of being a writer. If you don’t know how to handle this outcome, you’re likely to feel horrible about yourself and discouraged about writing in the future. Don’t look at the world that way! Instead, take four specific steps that will help you become more comfortable with failure and allow you to try again.”

Dave Chesson presents Hemingway Editor Review – Is It Worth It? posted at Kindlepreneur.

Iola Goulton presents Dear Editor | How Do I Give Critical Feedback on a Beta Read? posted at Christian Editing Services, saying, “All writing needs editing, whether that’s from paid editors or from unpaid critique partners and beta readers. Here are some tips on giving critical feedback, depending on whether the author is using beta readers as first readers or final proofreaders.”

Kristina Adams presents How to Fix Plot Holes in Your Novel (From 14 Writing Experts) posted at The Writer’s Cookbook, saying, “Plot holes can make or break a story. But there are lots of ways to identify and fix them. I asked 14 writing experts for their thoughts.”

Louise Harnby presents How to use apostrophes in fiction writing: A beginner’s guide posted at The Parlour, saying, “Apostrophes confound some authors. Not knowing how to use them doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer, but getting them wrong can distract a reader and alter the meaning of what you want to say. This guide shows you how to get it right.”

Ron Herron presents How Important is Dialogue in Fiction posted at Painting With Light.

Terry Whalin presents Create Writing Routines posted at The Writing Life, saying, “Consistency is an important quality for every writer. Editor Terry Whalin encourages us to create writing routines.”

Zara Altair presents Is Limited Third Person the Right POV Choice for Your Mystery? posted at Write Time, saying, “Benefits of limited third person point of view in a 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 December 23, 2018 and the deadline for submissions will be December 15, 2018. Don’t miss it!

Here are all the links you’ll need