It (finally) appears the stigmas once associated with self and indie-publishing are disappearing, or at least waning – though in some cases there are new ones arising and there will always be naysayers. Let me clarify that while I think there are pros and cons to traditional publishing, self publishing and Indie publishing alike, I [...]

13 Comments »

The highway to publication overflows with cars: luxury behemoths; sensible hybrids; nondescript, windowless vans with strange dents that protrude from the inside. Each bears the logo of the mechanic who brought it to life. You’ve built a car, too, with good mileage and a cherry spoiler. [Author’s note: The cars are a metaphor for your [...]

18 Comments »

Back in December we received a note from author Kim Boykin, whose debut novel The Wisdom of Hair was set to release in March. We book WU guest slots far in advance, and had to let her know that we would’t be able to offer anything in March, however something Kim said to us sparked [...]

8 Comments »

Whether on a book cover, a website design, an ad, or even a whole marketing barrage, graphic design can either materially increase your book’s chances of getting attention or can leave it unrecognized in the mountain of competitors. This goes for the self-published as well as for the commercially published. While it is certainly possible [...]

16 Comments »

Recently here on Writer Unboxed, the lovely Sharon Bially wrote about The Bad PR Hangover (and how to avoid it). A fabulous post – if you have not read it, read it too. You see, I’ve also had a handful of authors recently who have found me and relayed terrible and unfavorable stories of working [...]

8 Comments »

GIVEAWAY: I am very excited to again give away a copy of my newest book, CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM. It’s a book all about how to build your visibility, brand, network and discoverability so you can better market yourself and your books. I’m giving away 1 copy to a random commenter based in the U.S. [...]

168 Comments »

Too many book launches are panic attacks, similar to a trip to the dentist. With 1.5 million books published last year, writers nowadays know that publicity for their books around book launch can be challenging. The days where you can silently write your book, and then scream about it on launch day are producing lesser [...]

30 Comments »

One of the things I fear most with all the publishing and promotional advice zipping around the cybersphere is that some people—quiet people who have something really important or compelling to say—will look at all that is ‘required’ of them to get published or to promote their books and they will become so discouraged they [...]

71 Comments »

In the last four weeks I’ve done three workshops, two of them at writer’s conferences. As always, I found it all stimulating. And I sold some of my books—understandably, a number of copies of Flogging the Quill, Crafting a Novel that Sells (usually after the class had happened) and a number of copies of The [...]

15 Comments »

Therese here to introduce a book authors have needed for a long time: What To Do Before the Book Launch by authors M.J. Rose and Randy Susan Meyers. I was given a copy of this to preview months back, and was thrilled to provide an endorsement: Dripping with the wisdom authors gain after years of [...]

12 Comments »

Today, I want to explore two things many writers dread doing, but that plenty of successful authors actually do: Overtly ask people to buy your book. Repeat that request again, and again, and again. I’ll bet you are cringing already. You are thinking one of two things: “I am TIRED of hearing authors push their [...]

49 Comments »

On a weekly basis, I field emails and phone calls from authors who are tackling the world of publishing alone. They have decided to self-publish their book or go with a small press and are looking for guidance to promote it. They often ask – can you help make my book a bestseller? How can [...]

16 Comments »