If you are an avid reader and a devoted writer, you can add a third leg to keep your stool from falling over. You can review. There are four kinds of reviews. Endorsements: Hand-picked readers with a book, or professional chops, review your book in advance. "The Author of" or their job title works as […]

From time to time, Kirkus will discount its paid indie book reviews by $75. Even if you're not ready for a pro review just yet, you could purchase one at a discount and use it later. Or just purchase it anyway, because pro publishers do this when they publish themselves for real. Some authors, and […]

Here’s your rundown on the review hunt. I’m keen for these; I spent more than $1,400 on reviews for my memoir Stealing Home. Lots of authors take another view: why pay for a review? Jane Friedman, who’s an expert on publishing, thinks paid reviews don’t make much difference for many books. She considers them a […]

So you've finished your book! Good news, if you've already invested in editing and purchased a pro cover. Now is the time to shoulder the wheel of marketing and distribution. Self-publishing is not real publishing until it includes self book marketing. My concise list gives you tasks to accomplish. You need to write sales copy. […]

Lots of us have friends who are authors. Every author needs reviews, and you may be asked to write a review of a book you've read: a review that is fair and honest. You might have received the book for free in exchange for a review. But oh so many of us haven't written a […]

You've been edited and proofread. You have your interior layout and cover done. Your designer has a PDF file ready for a printer someplace (Print on Demand through Amazon, or Lightning Source, maybe) and you have a ebook-ready file in MOBI (Amazon) and EPUB (everybody else) formats. It feels like you're publishing. Not yet. Your […]